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

OTA

[aerial_ace]

"Stay close, there is no telling what we might find here."

Traveling with a small group of assorted people from Union and the surrounding areas, Cordelia had grown used to leading larger bands. The past hardly resurfaced in her mind these days, and even then it was a fleeting memory rather than a crippling handicap. The first few steps into the cavern were uneventful. But, pressing further in, her head felt faint, and the world began to fall away; she gripped her spear tightly as the lantern-light behind her flickered, then finally blew out.

To the casual observer, the redhead merely stopped, and the houndoom standing beside her growled low, ears flattened against his head. However happened to be holding the light would find it still lit.

Her world was dark, and the knight looked around wildly. "Be ready, something is coming--" She stopped, abruptly, a faint light flickering in the distance. Gently motioning them forward, Cordelia led the way, not seeming to hear any beckoning words from her comrades. Edging toward the light, she readied her warp band, prepared for the worst.

The worst, however, was not what she saw there.

Blood. Broken weapons. Death. She recognized their faces, mangled and distorted. Luke and Asch. James. Yuuna. Martin. The party she traveled with. Her eyes wide in disbelief, she looked over the scene, finally stopping on the fallen lantern light, and the person lying beside it.

He was turned away from her, silver hair caked with red and brown, a familiar sword tossed aside, left hand reaching out for a fallen, likewise stained, tome; the ring on his left hand matched her own. Her spear fell with a clatter on the ground.

"No," Cordelia's voice caught in her throat. Houndoom barked at her side, trying to get the woman's attention, but she didn't hear him, slowly, stiffly, stepping forward.

Re: OTA

[commissionergrump]

[An authoritative voice calls out, loud and clear.]

Cordelia!

[James grips Cordelia's arm as she steps forward, stopping the advance. Softer than the bark of command, he continues.]

Stay with us. Something's... off about the caves.

[Anyone who spends much time around Analysts will recognize the gears turning in Gordon's mind, grabbing clues and slotting them together into something resembling understanding.]

[aerial_ace]

[ His voice falls on deaf ears, and it isn't until Gordon grabs her arm that the redhead reacts. She nearly jumps back, as if hit by electricity, looking at him yet at the same time past him.

For the first time, there is panic in her eyes, and she looks back upon the scene. ]

[commissionergrump]

[Gordon watches her carefully, gripping her arm firmly.]

Stay with us, Cordelia. There's something up with these caves.

[aerial_ace]

[ Cordelia's vision finally focuses on Gordon, his words beginning to reach her. She gives him an uncertain nod. ]

I believe you're right.

[commissionergrump]

[Gordon looks into Cordelia's eyes, watching her.]

Can you hold it together? This... This isn't really happening, and it wouldn't be your fault anyway.

[aerial_ace]

[ She takes a deep breath, exhaling after a moment. ]

Yes, I can.

[ Cordelia didn't like to be reminded of her failures, especially not like this. The fact that it affected her this much spoke volumes, but was something to be addressed at a later time. ]

We need to find what is behind this.

[commissionergrump]

[Gordon surveys their surroundings, taking a deep, steading breath.]

We'll figure it out together.

[He walks further along, and turns back to the girl, stepping over the carnage reverently. Illusion or not, these are people he knows too.]

[rainsrespite]

By now, Yuuna was getting a bit used to insanity in caves. More than, really if the fact that she wasn't really phased by the fact that an illusion had started but instead by the content of said illusion. It's a disturbing scene, certainly. And the fact that she's seeing it too definitely doesn't bode well.

Her own face and Gordon's she glosses over, that's just nonsense. And Martin's too, because while she's got a good idea of what's happening and doesn't like it? She knows better than to give in. Not when his body is there.

"Cordelia, it's not real." She keeps her voice low and steady, but there's anger there. An unpleasant emotion. "Something's fucking with us."

[aerial_ace]

The world seems to fall away as Cordelia takes a few steps forward. Yuuna's words seem to go in one ear and out the other, or go completely unheard; the redhead doesn't hear her, focused on one person in particular.

Slowly making her way toward Robin's apparition, she kneels beside it, a hand gripping her mouth. Her shoulders tremble.

[rainsrespite]

"Cordelia!"

Yuuna steps forward, kneeling down beside the redhead, dropping a gloved hand heavily on her shoulder.

"It's not real. We saw Robin not even an hour ago, right? And look." She points to her own corpse, which is morbid and creepy as all hell. "I'm not dead. This cannot be real."

[aerial_ace]

She feels Yuuna's hand on her shoulder, like a pulse through her body, and quickly turns her head. Her face pales, as if she has seen a ghost, her mind desperately trying to work out what she is seeing from what is before her.

"Yuuna." She whispered, the name sounding uncertain on her tongue. Turning to look toward the corpse there, she looks again at the living Yuuna, her mind grappling with what was going on.

[rainsrespite]

"It's the cave, Cordelia," Yuuna's hand squeezes hard, a desperate ring to her voice. There's certainty in it, but worry too. Cordelia's always been strong and seeing her like this, staring at her like she might a ghost? That's unsettling.

"It's an illusion, a fake, just like what Darkrai and Cresselia did last fall. Do you remember that?"

[aerial_ace]

"I do." She says slowly, beginning to nod her head. An illusion. A fake. What she saw before her was not real. Robin, her cousins, the others; they were all right. If this Yuuna could be trusted.

Her hand felt firm on her shoulder, and Cordelia reached for it slowly, taking a deep breath. "I do remember."

[rainsrespite]

"Good," Yuuna replied, reaching out with her other hand to touch one of the bodies, just to be sure. Cold. Completely so. That meant something, quite a lot of something.

"Dead for hours. And that doesn't add up since we just saw some of them. Definitely a trick. But who's doing it, is the question. and why?"

[aerial_ace]

Cordelia took another deep, marked breath. She nods decisively, watching Yuuna's actions as she examines one of the illusionary bodies. "The gods, perhaps?" Her voice was still shaky.

Frowning deeply, the woman averted her eyes. "I'm sorry, I lost myself for a moment."

[rainsrespite]

"The gods, perhaps. I've been confronted with this before, though. When we were in the Dream World, I fought a twisted version of myself. IT was the same here. I doubt Darkrai would bother a second time."

Which meant, maybe it was something else?

"And hey, it's okay. You missed me in my nightmare, I was way, way worse."

[aerial_ace]

"It's inexcusable." She answers, plainly, harshly at herself. Taking a moment to step back, however, Cordelia sighs gently, turning away from the scene. She didn't want to look at it; it turned her stomach.

"I've lost comrades before. This... this was not something I wanted to see again."

[rainsrespite]

“Nobody wants to see that,” Yuuna replies smoothly, releasing Cordelia’s shoulder. She understood that, she’d lost friends too. She wasn’t any sort of veteran soldier, but she definitely understood loss. It’d been only a year since she joined the Rangers, but she’d definitely seen her fair share of people who’d simply vanished. Or worse, in the case of Takeshi and Martin. Those two were outliers, of course, but those two were also among the less fortunate. Blue, Green, Red, Goku, Hawke and others? Well, they may be missing, but they weren’t dead or altered yet, as far as she could tell. Schrödinger’s Purrloin and all that.

“Sometimes it happens though, and there’s no stopping it. But not today. No reason not to be at least a little unnerved. Hell, I’m looking at my own corpse. You think that’s not freaky?” This was how she dealt, she groused and grumbled and poked fun at everything. “It’s okay to let go, y’know. Be bothered by it. “

[master_tactician]

[There's a hand on her shoulder]

Steady. Your eyes deceive you.

[aerial_ace]

[ Feeling something touch her shoulder, Cordelia turns, jumping back. She looks at Robin as if she is seeing a ghost. ]

[master_tactician]

Easy, dear heart. It's me. I'm no illusion.

[aerial_ace]

Robin...

[ She sounds uncertain. Cordelia knew what she saw, but at the same time... ]

[master_tactician]

I am here. Take the time you need.

[aerial_ace]

[ She tentatively reaches out for his hand. ]