bravenewworld | Descent into Darkness

Descent into Darkness

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.]

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"Can't you tell, boy?" The woman calls out to Waver, swaggering across to stand a few feet in front of him.

It's definitely Yuuna, though older, more lined...her whole body rigid with muscle and tension. Her hair though, is the most obvious change. It's still short and a bit shaggy, but there are streaks of electric white running through it. Her sneer too, is obviously different, something that's completely replaced the sunny summer smiles of the Ranger.

"You...holy shit! You're...me?!"

The woman scoffs, the Hitmonchan at her side all but growling at her. Yuuna takes a step back, eyes looking away.

"No, weakling. I'm nothing like you at all. I'm strong, and you're weak. You've not come close to your potential..."

Eyes wide now, clearly displaying his fear and unease at the woman's approach, Waver took a step back and subtly shifted closer to Yuuna. A single glance was enough show the veracity in the woman's words; there was no denying that the differences between the two women went beyond age, experience, and relative skill level.

"She's different from you, Yuuna," he muttered quickly in a voice that was barely above a whisper. "There's an electric type-- but that makes no sense!"

He shook his head helplessly, lanky hair flying into his face with the motion. There were so many questions flying through his mind at that moment that he had to accept the raw information that was before him, discrepancies and all.

The skill and power differential was never more apparent than the instant he mentioned that electric typing. "Yuuna" held up a hand, and electricity crackled along her fingers, chittering and snapping in the spotlights. The crowd cheered, and the shadow sneered at both of them.

"I Awakened. I was given a path to power. And I took it." she responded, while the real Yuuna stood there, stunned speechless. She awakened into something like that?

"That...doesn't make sense. I wouldn't...I'm not Enlightened? And I wouldn't use Pokeballs."

"No YOU wouldn't, but when the Gigans came in and took over I sure didn't have much choice. The Warp Band towers are gone. And I wasn't about to lose power. Hell, without it I'd be fucking dead."

"That sort of thinking is no different than the Magi," Waver murmured under his breath, hand flying for his Warp Band while he assessed this woman further. Those were genuine pokeballs she carried at her side, but the team-- besides the Hitmonchan-- was very different from the one Yuuna was using.

"And that's an unlikely fate anyway," he added, finally looking 'Yuuna' square in the eyes with his own blustering certainty. "Gigas seems to have some respect for Union right now. There's no reason for them to invade you. You're too far-- it's a stupid strategy!"

Glancing at the Yuuna he was familiar with, he shook his head. "Don't listen to her. I don't think she's even friends with her team."

“He’s right. We are too far away,” Yuuna says with a shake in her voice. Her body is tense, words strained as she reels at the possibilities of this. Gigas invaded? The Warp Bands are gone? Pokeballs are the only way? Kamui growls, the Gabite stepping forward to form a barrier. “And I’d never…use those things.”

“Wouldn’t you?” her twin hisses, “You did in Sanctuary. Ryuuko made these too, just for me, only…well, it’s not like it matters. They’re power, a means to an end. Just like this so called respect Gigas has for home. They’re just biding their time, amassing forces. Or did you forget that waiting is a sound strategy?”

The malignant shade grins nastily, squeezing the tough, leathery hide of the older Hitmonchan and the duo laughs.

“Weaklings can’t make a difference, and you’ll always be weak unless you do something to change that.” Her hand rises, covered in electricity still, but her eyes are heated, almost challenging.

“I…what?!”

Waver grit his teeth, infuriated to hear that kind of logic coming from someone who had the face of a woman that he had complete respect for.

"That sort of linear, closed minded thinking is what causes all these problems in the first place!" He bit out the words, eyes flashing in a frustration that only someone at the very bottom of the chain would understand. "There's always more than one answer to any problem, and the people like you who don't see that are the ones who prevent progress from being made!"

Lifting a hand, he pointed an accusatory finger at 'Yuuna'.

"Powerful or not, people like you stomp all over people to get what you think you need. I may not have spent much time in the city yet, but that is the complete opposite of what Union's philosophy seems to be.

"...the Yuuna who helped me when I first arrived in Union is smarter than that. It's a pity that you're too blind to see it."

"Union's dead, Waver. Union died because of soft-hearted people like her." came the immediate answer, a finger pointed directly at the real Yuuna. She flinched back, surprised to be living through this yet again. It was like the dream world, only the stakes were different.

"People like her with their philosophy and their kindness. It's because of that that they were such easy targets."

The crowd began to shout, chanting and calling out various names. Intimidating ones, titles this woman had obviously earned. Thunderfist, Goddess of Victory, Hero of the Arena. And other ones too. Lewd ones, laced with meanings that Yuuna doesn't even want to process.

"I...holy hell. Are you what I'm supposed to become?"

The double offered a scathing look and mouthed Obviously before drawing that battered old sword.

"People like this brat are the problem. They'll just chain you down. Sometimes you have to step on a few people to get ahead. Waver, Rincewind, Haruka, Ami, all the rest? Hell, even Merrill. They're holding you back. So let me help you out. It's kinda like helping me out..."

She charged now, sword drawn, going right for Waver.

Waver yelped, eyes wide in terror as he saw the glint of steel and the violence in the shadow's eyes as she lunged for him-- and promptly disappeared a mere heartbeat before the blade could strike him.

He landed on the opposite side of Yuuna, crouched in the dirt on his hands and knees and his hair in a disarray. His breathing was ragged as he stared at the two women, fighting through his own fear to recall the spell he had prepared for such a situation. A few muttered words and a flick of his hands later, a simple Reflect was cast-- it wouldn't be much, but it was something.

"What do you think you're doing?!" He finally shouted when he found the words to speak. Another second's delay and he would have been--

No, he wasn't going to finish that thought. Not here. Not now.

"Removing an obstacle," the shadow answered curtly, aiming another strike at Waver.

A strike that crashed hard against Yuuna's own blade. The real one whipped forward, kicking her doppleganger in the stomach and sending her stumbling a pace backward as the crowd roared!

"You will do no such thing," the true form said, cold fire in her eyes. "You think you can just insult me like that? Fine. But nobody attacks people I care about in my presence..."

The shade cackled cheerfully, reaching down and plucking a pair of Pokeballs free. Out popped a Gengar and an Alakazam. They roared, surging forward as Yuuna's two baby dragons zipped forward to meet them with a crash. Yuuna lunged, her shadow lunged, and the fight was on. The shadow's attacks were brutal, vicious strokes with little finesse and a lot of muscle, while Yuuna's own were nimble, and backed by something...more than was usual, it seemed. Desperation? Adrenaline?

For Waver, though? There was only the Hitmonchan. The specter of Gouken blitzed forward, leading with a fist!

Waver rolled out of the way of the Hitmonchan's fist with the inelegant movements of a Wooper and, more comfortable now that his opponent was a pokemon rather than a person called Atlas onto the field.

The newly evolved Seismitoad was instantly on his trainer's defensive, all four limbs in smooth, even motion.

"Atlas, let's hit him with an Acid attack before he recovers," Waver shouted, hoping against all odds that it might at least buy them some time while he thought of a plan.

The Hitmonchan recovers almost immediately though, decades of combat experience helping. He zips forward, jabbing Atlas with a Mach Punch before taking the acidic spit right in the chest. It sizzles a bit, but he's still up.

Yuuna, on the other hand, is engaged in a duel with herself, swords flashing and arcing through the air. Sparks fly, and the women grunt in fury and pain as they both take wounds.

"You can't win! You don't have the stomach for it!"

The distraction from the Acid attack gave Waver just enough time to throw a carefully aimed Confusion spell at the Hitmonchan. Though both he and Atlas were overwhelmed by the Hitmonchan's greater experience, he was hoping that the trump card of his own typing would help even the playing field a little more in their favor.

After all, he was just a stuffy academic from Sanctuary. Actual combat was well outside of his experience-- unlike Yuuna.

He cast a brief look up at the two women, awestruck by the odd grace of their terrible dance. It was hard to get a good reading of either of them amidst the clash of steel, but he heard the words from the Shadow as plainly as the cheers from the stands.

"Don't listen to her, Yuuna!" He called. "You know yourself better than that!"

"R-Right!"

She almost slips up, dodging a strike that slams into the ground beside her. The concrete floor cracks under the force of the blow. If that had hit. No...No time for that! Her knee comes up, cracking into her twin's chin. The double roars and kicks back before they renew the fight.

The Confusion does something, and the Hitmonchan's next punch goes wide, ricocheting off the side of Atlas. His pudge is good for something.

"Have you ever killed anyone before? Because you're going to, or you're not leaving this cave alive. And neither is the kid!

The callous tone of those chilling words struck Waver cold, as if he were just processing the level of danger they were all facing in that moment. No one would know if they were to meet their demise inside of those tunnels-- and, somehow, that was not a fate that Waver was willing to face.

"Atlas," Waver called, bracing himself for what he knew was to come, "Make an Uproar!"

And, as if on cue, the Seismitoad's bumbs along it's head and arms vibrated, emitting a cacaphonous sound that would hopefully throw all of their opponents off guard.

The Uproar echoes hard throughout the cave, battering at Hitmonchan and forcing it to cover it's ears. Which is the perfect time for the real Gouken to join the fight. He zips in from behind with a corkscrew fist, sending his evil self right towards Atlas!

"I won't...RAH!" Yuuna snarls as she swings again, a furious strike that knocks her opponent's blade wide. She follows it up with a kick to the wrist that very clearly breaks the delicate bone and drives the double to her knees.

Angrily, the tip of her sword digs into the doppleganger's neck.

"Tch...finish it then."

Ears ringing from the discordant sound from the tumultuous sound of the Seismitoad's vibrations, Waver barely had time to think about the scene unfolding before him. Acting on instinct, he leapt into the fray and bodily shoved Atlas out of range from the incoming Hitmonchan, both of them falling into the dirt in a tangle of vibrating limbs.

But, at least the two of them were spared from further battle as both trainer and pokemon fought their respective shadows. Breating heavily, Waver wildly looked up with panicked eyes and stared at the two women. He could barely hear the words being exchanged, but he didn't need to be a mind reader to understand the gist of what was happening.

"Yuuna! You don't have to do it!" He shouted across the arena, not knowing if his words would be heard or not

There was no way to know. Only Fate could decide.

"Finish it?" Yuuna replied. She heard that shout. She understood what it meant. And she knew what she was going to do.

"Kill me, finish it." Her clone answered, and the crowd roared, bloodlust apparent in their cries. They wanted to see their hero fall, they wanted to see what would happen next, and above all, they wanted blood! And as these stories so very often go? They were going to be disappointed.

Yuuna's boot lashed out once, kicking her double in the side of the head, sending her spinning to the ground. The crowd started to bellow in rage, but then her foot darted out again, kicking the doppelganger in the stomach. The clone coughed, spitting up blood, reflexively flinched away even, but that was the end of it.

The Ranger dropped her sword, and the illusion began to fade, leaving behind only the clone, the real, and Waver.

"Why...Why didn't you?"

"Because I'm not you. I'm better than that."

"But you...kicked...me...?"

"Nobody ever said I was a saint. You were talking shit about my friends. I don't let that pass."

Not daring to recall the Seismitoad just in case there was another incident, Waver carefully drew closer to the duo. Stopping a few paces behind Yuuna. He glanced over at the real one, a note of uncertainty in his eyes-- as if he were a child afraid of overstepping his boundaries.

"Friends also help eachother not make stupid choices. They're not a bad thing to have."

"No. No they aren't," Yuuna nods. She takes a deep, steadying breath as Gouken wanders over, wrapping his arm around her waist and staring down at the copy.

"Hitmon." the Pokemon agrees with his usual terse commentary.

The shadow just shakes her head, already beginning to fade out. Her eyes are tired, drained...

"Well for both our sakes, I hope things play out differently. Don't let them take you, if you don't want to end up like me..."

Heaving a sigh, Waver shook his head.

"Anyone who tried to take Union now is an idiot. It's not going to happen."

And, after spending time in the city and seeing how the people held fast to their convictions, he didn't doubt his own words either.

Union was special. May the Gods spare it from any trials that were on the horizon.

“What makes you people say that?” Yuuna can’t help but laugh a little at his certainty. “We’re just one city, and yeah the name is Union and all but…heh…you guys expect us to be superheroes or something.”

Waver pouted, flustered.

"You break the rules and defy expectations, while staying true to your own values and ideals. You find different, untested options for change-- isn't that reason enough?"

"I guess when you put it like that..." She laughs again and tosses her sword down, pulling the tiny wizard into a hug. "Thanks, Waver. You are a good friend."

"I--ah!"

He didn't expect to be hugged like that, especially by someone he had only met a few short weeks ago. It was new, but not unwelcome.

Awkwardly wrapping his arm around her to return the gesture, he buried his face in her shoulder to hide the embarrassed flush that was creeping onto his cheeks.

"Uhm. Thank you, too. You're also a good friend."

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Descent into Darkness

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