Descent into Darkness

[bravenewmods]

As the characters arrive, they will find what appears to be a rather deep cavern. Upon entering, the caverns are quite narrow, with twists and turns everywhere and different tunnels that all seem to be interconnected. As characters travel deeper within the caverns, reality around them will start to warp, they will start to see and hear things that aren’t necessarily there - images of old enemies, past failures, voices of condemnation, visions that strike at the soul and core of the characters. Once this begins, it will only increase in power and volume, demanding it be confronted, lest they be trapped within these caves forever.

[OOC: This event will run for a week. All characters who enter the caves will be subject to some of their deepest fears, darkest demons, and most abject failures. To overcome them, characters must help each other out, finding their purpose through strength of character and resolve to move forward. In general, these visions should require characters to come to grips with themselves. Illusory images and voices can and will appear and can take any number of forms, depending on what is most appropriate to a character. Additionally, characters may thread with each other and are encouraged to help each other out to overcome these personal demons. For those who wish to take part, they are able and encouraged to narrate their own personal demons, which will be on display for everyone who enters their thread. IC threads may be made in this post.]

Comments

[morituri_nolumus_mori]

"Enhanced ... that's that Gigan thing, innit? Where they take people and 'improve' them?" He frowned. "Can't see the point. It's just asking for trouble." Rincewind, after a brief deliberation, settles onto the ground next to her. He rests his back against the broad side of the Luggage. He raps his knuckles against the lid a couple times and the Luggage yawns obligingly. Rincewind hooks his arm over the lip and blindly fishes for something.

"Why would they want you? Do you have a history with Gigas?"

[morituri_nolumus_mori]

Rincewind successfully pulls himself entirely onto the lid and pulls his knees in. He's just going to sit huddled here for a bit.

"How should I know? It's not like I jumped in or anything. S'far as I can tell, we're at the bottom of a hole in the middle of a cave, it's dark, and we're not gettin' out. I think, if you have any prayers, now's the time to say them." He's only half-joking.

[morituri_nolumus_mori]

I wasn't! That's the point!

[ He's going to keep running, dragging the younger magus along if he had to, unless given a good reason to stop. Rincewind, after all, makes it a point to never look back. It also meant he'd missed the spectacle of the miraculous, disintegrating lecturer! What majesty! ]

[rainsrespite]

Yuuna chuckles drearily at that and nods. "A bit. I fought them in Sanctuary. I've fought against the Enhanced that came down too. Not to mention I'm part of what passes for Union's military, and I've won awards for martial arts and swordplay."

She shakes her head, looking down at her hands after a moment.

"They took my best friend, presumably because he was exceptional. Every single person I know of who's become Enhanced was, in some way? A bit more than normal. Maybe it's arrogant to say, but I'm not exactly boring."

[commissionergrump]

[Gordon shrugs.]

Partly the job, partly just... past can't hurt you.

[He glances back towards where they came, though there's no sign of the blonde, or the rooftop.]

Any more than it already has, anyway.

[The next corner, and they're looking down what is definitely a tunnel made of rock, but one that ends in a door and a wall, like hundreds of others in Union. The Squirtle lets out a happy little noise and runs forward on stubby legs to jump up for the doorknob. At the same time, that tension in the air goes mad, a too taut violin string played by a madman with a razor blade, building to a crescendo.]

[The door swings inward, a startled sound coming from all three Pokemon and the old man at what lies inside. The violin string snaps. On the floor of the home, decorated with family pictures and scattered magazines and a million other pleasant reminders, lie three lifeless bodies, red hair and redder blood pooling beneath them on the floor. Gordon freezes in shock.]

[brandnewshoes]

Those are pretty awesome! You must have evolved!

end here?

[punchesyu]

Hey, you can always count on me. Let's get to the bottom of this cave, and see what's really going on around here.

[This cave was messed up, that's for sure. There has to be a reason for it, and he wants to know why.]

[punchesyu]

Yosuke also, pulls himself up on the top of The Luggage, since it seems to be letting Rincewind do it. Surely it wouldn't try to eat its master trying to get at Yosuke, right? He's banking on that, because it feels safer up here anyway than being in front of the box's mouth.

"What do you mean we're not getting out?! We can't just die down here! I've got a whole life in front of me still!"

[darer]

Now that she was brave, or perhaps curious enough to approach, he finally stepped into her room, nodding confirmation as she repeated his name back to him.

"Yes, I am a guest here." Not so much of her father's, of course, and not exactly invited. Close enough to the truth, still. Thorin crouched to be at eyelevel with her. Perhaps she was a noble child, but she was a child all the same, and she was still Lux. Somewhere in there, anyway. That much was impossible to miss.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, young lady."

[echoingmelody]

Again?

[How come she's never the first to realize this? It will forever be a mystery.]

Well, it's cool either way.

[untalented]

That's crazy! You're crazy!

[Honestly, there was nothing to see. It was merely any bad student's fantasy to see their most hated and feared teacher vanish into the abyss, never to torment them again.]

[celebrity_commentator]

[Rise gasps, and for once is at a loss for words. How do you even respond to this?]

[How do you respond to knowing this is a real possibility?]

No...

Open

[untalented]

[Waver looked up at him, concern and confusion flickering through his eyes at such an open expression of emotion. Books were his specialty, not people, and this sort of raw expression of sorrow and pain was incredibly uncomfortable to watch.

He didn't know how to help. Not really.]

...What do you mean, Sir? You still have someone?

[It certainly sounded like it-- and he wished the older gentleman all of the luck in the world.]

[actsmagnificent]

[ They're being played with. No, she's being played with. If this were targeted at Rise, it'd have a slightly different cast. The absolute cheek of their unseen puppetmaster has Haruka's teeth clenching, her hands fisting at her sides. She's not scared or nervous any more.

She's pissed, and fighting to keep that under control. So her voice is oddly level. And rather cold. ]

Now they've done it.

{{ It hurts, doesn't it? That's what talking yielded. }}

[ The voice reverberates everywhere. It's got shades of Darkrai in it, but also a deep, more primal resonance. It sounds like someone crossed Darkrai with the roaring sounds of the creature that'd attacked the Citadel - heat to Haruka's cold. ] {{ Who's next? Her? }}

[ The wind picks up suddenly, out of nowhere. And it whirls itself right at Rise, attempting to knock her off her feet. ]

[outtahere]

...

[He's quiet for a bit. A while, actually.

"My memories of her, taunting me. Me taunting me." Those words get him thinking, and finally he speaks.]

...I've lugged these memories around for the past eight years. Never brought 'em up with anyone. Didn't wanna burden anyone else with 'em.

Dunno how to forget 'em. Or even what I'd do without 'em.

[incousinswithyou]

Darkrai. [the Pokemon emerges, almost melting out of the darkness. Of course it's the one that took Haruka away from her for a week thanks to a petty domestic squabble. Michiru hides a sigh.

Rapidash steps back from the edge, keeping some healthy distance between them. Michiru looks back at the destruction of the buildings, but that seems to have stopped. Or...slowed down? They don't have much time, huh?]

Waltz! [her Gardevoir immediately sets up a Light Screen. Rapidash's flames get even higher as it snorts, pawing at the ground.

Darkrai, on the other hand, disappears from view using a Feint Attack.]

[lunchleader]

The Lord of Nightmares? What's he doing here? [Oh, crap; not the grumpy god of the Dream World. His concerns deepen once he notices that Light Screen.] H-hold on a sec! Can't we try and talk to him for a few moments?

[This...this is starting to remind him of his team's expedition back into the past...and how terribly wrong it went. He can even hear the haunting wing beats of the white bird-God in his head...

...or is it just in his head?]

[lunchleader]

Ohsh--Get down! [Right immediately moves to cover Wagon and Yami with his own body from any possible debris from the blast. His Lucario, in turn, shields him as well.

Vlad, being part-Flying, simply flutters high above them due to being immune to any Ground moves.

Hikaru the Litwick...simply turns invisible. Such a lovely benefit of being a Ghost-type!]

[steelbeowulf]

Dense muscles come in handy.

[actsmagnificent]

[ The illusion wavers for a moment, yes, but it straightens itself out as the voice laughs triumphantly. ] {{ Are you trying to finish them off yourself? Do you really think they're that useless? }}

They distracted you. [ She barks at Right, jerking her head at a nearby ruin. ] That building!

[ If they all attack the same thing, then maybe -

This time she'll go for Fissure. World Shaking, however, decides to just Bulldoze. ]

[nippy]

[ he's reluctant to turn his back on a Mage, even a fake vision of one, but Jack whirls around to face Waver anyway. this guy is so frustrating! what kind of person just sighs and accepts this kind of thing? ]

Then who cares?! Screw Sanctuary! [ he reaches out with his unarmed hand to grip Waver's shoulder; even through cloth, his touch is cold. ] You're not stuck there anymore, Waver, this guy doesn't mean anything. Leave idiots like this to me.

[ with a promise of violence in his voice. Magi like this one Waver is scared of must be the types he talked about, and they're the ones that have been making the Homunculi, that refuse to drop the experiments at the cost of all else. Jack still fully intends to do something about the Homunculi's situation, and if that means taking these guys on— well, this illusion isn't doing much to convince him that it would be a bad thing. ]

[brandnewshoes]

[Estelle laughs at that. Hey, maybe they have a trend going!]

Yeah! You wanna get out of here, though? This place is pretty... intense.

[echoingmelody]

[Xiu concentrates for a moment, those little wings beating as hard as they can.]

Aww...I guess I can't fly, though.

[Oh well, at least she can do her ghosty floaty thing.]

Let's keep going. No point in turning back now!

[incousinswithyou]

[there could be! Michiru is distracted however, trying to figure out where Darkrai is going to reappear on top of Right's crazy suggestion.]

Talk? What use is there in talking? [the logical part of her mind agrees that it really does seem to work on most of the gods, but all the other parts are simply connecting 1) Haruka is missing and 2) Darkrai had taken her away in the past.

Gardevoir lets go of Hikari and takes up a fighting stance at Rapidash's flank, so they have eyes all around.]

[morituri_nolumus_mori]

Rincewind gives her a look that could read as either, 'boring? who needs boring?' or 'that wasn't humble at all'. Knowing Rincewind, it was more likely to be the latter.

"I'm guessing you haven't seen him again." He had a good guess. When Gigas was involved, the answer to any missing persons case was almost always 'over there', meanwhile pointing a finger in the rough estimate of the damned civilization and wondering who'd go missing next. "Funny, them being behind almost everything."