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.]

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[darer]

[ Noise comes and goes in waves. A cacophony of screams and the sounds of fighting all around. The pleas of the dying and the wounded. Thorin has to stop, sometimes, one hand to the wall of the tunnel, just to be sure where he is.

Swallows thickly, and continues walking. Stubbornness is the one thing that carries him now.

As time goes on, the noise subsides until all that's left is an eerie silence. At that point, he can often be found kneeling at the side of the tunnel, near what appears to be a body, or someone badly wounded. Most are human, but some are pokémon. Any words that pass between them are too quiet to hear without coming closer. ]

[windyflower]

[Fuuka didn't know what she was doing here. All she knew that was one thing lead to another and now, she found herself here. Of course, in hindsight, she should have known better than to come charging head on in hopes of trying to figure out the source of said radio waves.

Still, she didn't want to give up just yet. As she hugged herself, she was trying her best to embrace for the silence and whatever might come her way. However, as soon as she spotted someone nearby, she had to smile just a bit. At least she wasn't alone right...?

Although, that soon changed once she got a closer look. As she gave a gasp, she immediately covered her mouth before looking back at the stranger.]

....I-I'm sorry, were they...someone you knew?

[darer]

[ It's the gasp that finally drags his attention away from the body, even though he only glances up briefly. The body before him is that of a younger man, dressed as a Calderan soldier. Even with the wounds and the blood on his face and his body, he looks much like Thorin, if with shorter, lighter hair. ]

Yes.

[ Thorin brushes a sticky, bloodstained strand of hair out of the terribly still face. ]

He was my little brother.

[ Even to his own ears, his voice sounds hollow. He makes no move to get up. ]

[windyflower]

[Fuuka didn't know why but she didn't want her Pokemon to see the blooded person next to the stranger. Espurr wasn't by any means young and covering her eyes wouldn't make things better but at least it made Fuuka feel like she was in control of the situtation.

Just a bit.

As she bit her lip, she looked away from Thorin. As if she might have offended him in someway.]

O-Oh, I didn't mean...I'm sorry, sir. I...I didn't mean to be rude and interrupt you.

[darer]

It might be for the best that you did.

[ Otherwise, who can say how long he would have stayed here? Thorin pushes himself to his feet, even though he still finds it difficult to look away from the body. ]

The truth is, he cannot be here. Even his body cannot be here. He died a decade ago.

[windyflower]

[Did he just say what she thought he just say? But that's impossible, how could that be...? As she looked at the body once more, she looked back at the taller stranger.]

T-Then...are you telling me that this body over here is a fake? How can that happen? That can't be a fake, it looks...too real be one!

What's going on...?

[darer]

[ He sounds grave, but resolved. ]

It is fake. Not only did he die a decade ago, he died in Caldera besides. There is no way he could be here in truth.

[ Finally, he looks at the young woman trying so hard to make this all make sense. ]

I'm afraid I can't offer you an explanation. Maybe the gods that Union seems so eager to believe in have a hand in this, as well.

[windyflower]

But what for? It just seems so...cruel to do this to someone and especially to someone who was related to them.

[But then again, who was she to answer that question? With a heavy sigh and a mumble, she quickly gave her hand out to him]

...Then perhaps maybe it would be better if we quickly found a way out of here. Whatever is going on, it seems rather unsettling to me.

[expertonshutters]

[Well. If this wasn't familiar. By now he was aware of the kind of stuff this cave was capable of. More shit from the gods? Or was the radio signal something this powerful? He didn't know. He didn't care, either. He was on a mission. He needed to find the others and tell them Kili was okay.]

[By some stroke of luck he got what he wanted. He just wasn't so sure about the bells and whistles that came with it.]

[The loud barrages of gun fire, the clashing of swords, the scattered sounds of various pokemon attacks. It all comes back to him- he remember the battlefield all too clearly, thanks. He didn't want this sort of a reminder. Still, he only has to stop a little before he's taking a deep breath and trudging on.]

[After a time he finally finds who he's looking for.]

Thorin!

[darer]

[ He only half turns at first, not sure if the voice is part of what this place is doing to him or not. In the end, once the sounds ebb away again, he turns anyway. In the gloom it's hard to tell, but it looks as if he's back in uniform, like he's covered in blood - then the impression fades, leaving only civillian clothes.

It's plain to see that this place has been wearing Thorin down. He's never looked so weary. ]

Hayato. Did you find him?

[ Please, please. ]

[expertonshutters]

[Oh man. He stops a little short at that but only for a moment. He clenches his jaw and hurries to close the distance between them. He's done this, it's not the worst he's seen. It's fake, it's an illusion, its in his head.]

[He's a little on edge, though not nearly as worn as Thorin appears- which is a problem all on it's own.]

[Once he's there he nods to him, closing his eyes.]

I did. He's safe. He hasn't left the city.

[darer]

[ He bows his head as he sighs, relieved, shoulders slumping. ]

Thank you.

[ Pulls himself together with so many years of practice. It might be he stands a little straighter now, too, with not quite as much weight on his shoulders. ]

We should never have come here.

[expertonshutters]

You had to try. We didn't know where he could be. I'm just glad I dropped by the park before I came down myself.

[He offers him a wan smile before he turns and looks towards what he hopes is the way he came.]

Let's just try and get out of here. Did Fili come, too?

[darer]

He did. If it wasn't for him, I might've waited on word from you first.

[ Really, after the debacle with the last mysterious cave, Thorin hadn't expected Kili to be very eager to explore another one. In a few long strides, he catches up to Hayato. Truth be told, between time and hallucinations, he's completely lost his way. ]

But we got seperated. I can only hope he's made it out already.

[ Wait. Wait- dropped by the what now before he- ]

You said the park? That's where he was?

[expertonshutters]

Heh, go figure.

[But okay, they should probably start heading off then.]

I'm sure he's fine. He's a tough kid. [Are you even older than him, hayato. Probably not.]

[But he nods.]

A small one on the other side of town.

[darer]

[ Thorin nods in return. ]

Chances are, Fili will already have left this place. I'm not even sure how much time has passed since I entered. It seems Kili was the sensible one this time, for not coming down here.

[ Mark that one in the calendar.

... Wait. Did the ground just shake? It definitely felt that way. ]

[expertonshutters]

There's a line about irony here, somewhere, but this is probably a bad time.

[He was attempting to lighten the mood, for however good it will do. He turns like he's about to head back the way he came when the ground shakes. His goes tense, staring around.]

Did you feel that?

[Caves and earthquakes were not things that should ever go together.]

[leadingspirit]

[Taki had always been probably the singlemost tight-lipped about himself and his own demons. For that reason and that reason alone, once getting an idea of what was going on in the tunnels he wanted nothing more than to avoid them like they would cause him sudden and excruciating death (which, you know. They might just.). But then came the notion that there were people he knew down there. So he steeled himself, made a conscious decision to keep his wits about him, and went looking.]

[He found Thorin first, and while his skin certainly prickled with a familiarity he didn't want to admit to through the cacophonous sounds of battle and death, he managed to stay clear-headed to reach the former military man crouched on the ground.]

[He didn't speak, when he got there, just set a hand on Thorin's shoulder.]

[darer]

[ There's a body in front of him. A body that can't be here, that has no business being here. Thorin doesn't even react to the hand on his shoulder right away, unable to look away from it.

Kili has never in his life worn a uniform. It looks wrong on him. Nobody would ever make a soldier out of him. All the same, there he is, for all intents and purposes looking like he died a gruesome death in battle, even though the sound of it has dimmed like it's far, far off now.

It's a few false starts before Thorin manages to look up far enough to recognize Taki. His shoulders shake at his attempts to compose himself enough to say... something. Anything. ]

I know- I know this isn't real, but-

[ He trails off. How could he walk away? He can barely look away. ]

[leadingspirit]

Someone else helping to convince you that this would be more likely the fate of whoever tried to put him in that uniform might help.

[The smile is brief, because he doesn't want to just joke. He understands the bomb that drops in your stomach and explodes into dread so cold it feels hot when you see something like this. Even the objective knowledge it isn't real is hard to swallow when it's looking you right in the face, and he won't tell anyone, much less Thorin, that they're wrong for looking twice.]

[darer]

[ The joke falls flat for Thorin. He only shakes his head. ]

If he were to choose this, I wouldn't stop him.

[ This. The Battallion. War, and everything it entails. He doesn't feel like he has the right to decide for his nephews, even if this is what it comes down to, and he does not say so lightly. ]

I only hope he never does.

[leadingspirit]

[He withholds his brief horror over Kili joining the Battalion. Lord help all involved if he did.]

[His hand, though, is still on Thorin's shoulder, which he squeezes very slightly.]

Me, too.

[darer]

[ Lucky for everyone involved, that day won't ever come.

Thorin sighs, and very slowly wills himself to get back to his feet. He can't stay here forever. It's still hard to look away though. ]

I shouldn't have come here.

[leadingspirit]

[Taki takes a small step back from him to let him stand, bracing his hands on his hips.]

I'm about 90% sure that's something that most people down here have thought.

[darer]

Likely so. But I should have known better to begin with. The last time tunnels opened near Union and groups went in to explore them, their so-called gods had their fun putting us to some kind of test. Hayato may have mentioned it.

[ Finally, finally turns away from the body to look at Taki instead. Around them, the shadows provide muffled, distant screams for ambience, the shriek of metal being torn and twisted by something far too powerful, but all of it far away. ]