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

[brandnewshoes]

[Estelle hopes that's true. She clams up, but... she keeps walking, cautious and worried.]

[echoingmelody]

[Xiu follows closely behind. She doesn't really want to be alone. Well...Basil's still here with her, but he seems more curious about things than worried.]

I wonder if there's anything actually in here.

[brandnewshoes]

Only one way to be sure...

[She glances back at Xiu, worried, and then she opens the door to the shattered house. Her eyes linger on the broken guitar. She has an idea. She suspects Xiu has to see this.]

[But she's not looking forward to it.]

[echoingmelody]

[Xiu closes her eyes as she steps into what little is left of the house. Most of it is just debris left over from whatever catastrophe hit it.

But it's not a very pretty sight. Among the ruins of the house are a pair of bodies. A woman and a man.

...and in the corner is something Estelle might recognize. There's a bloody broken keyboard and biwa sticking out from under a fallen wall, along with some familiar red hair.]

[brandnewshoes]

[Estelle expected bodies. Her suspicion was that it was Xiu's family; so many of them lost family members, after all. But, that corner...]

[She walks over, staring down at the broken instruments, and then the bit of red hair. A sister, or...?]

[Estelle's strong. Strong enough to lift up a chunk of broken wall.]

[echoingmelody]

[Xiu just stands back, staring at the floor. She doesn't want to see this, but she already has a suspicion as to what's beneath the rubble.

The girl's body is crushed, but it's barely recognizable as Xiu, the remains of a violin beneath her.]

[brandnewshoes]

That's... that's you...

[She stares, disbelieving. How... how is this possible?]

[echoingmelody]

I thought it might be.

[Although she's suspected for a while that something was off. Especially when she started phasing through things.]

[brandnewshoes]

Then... you're...?

[She glances, nervously, at Xiu. She's a ghost? It makes sense; pieces fit together, quickly, and she looks down.]

You don't remember any of this...?

[echoingmelody]

Dead?

[She might as well just finish that question. At the second one, she shakes her head.]

I don't.

[brandnewshoes]

...yeah. I guess it's... it explains some of your abilities.

[echoingmelody]

[Xiu just nods quietly for a moment.]

...does it bother you?

oops wow I forgot to use a real icon last tag orz

[brandnewshoes]

[Does it? Estelle looks at Xiu for a moment, wondering. She hesitates, then she walks closer, and shakes her head.]

...Of course not.

[She smiles after that.]

I didn't know you when you were alive. But I know you now. Even when things look rough, even when they're bad, you can do a song and make things seem like they'll be okay. You're always there for me, too.

You're... like, you're one of my best friends, Xiu.

[echoingmelody]

[Honestly, Xiu was bracing herself for Estelle to say yes. Who'd want to hang out with a dead girl?

...and then she hears the opposite. Estelle's words are very reassuring, but even so, Xiu remains somewhat doubtful.]

I don't like seeing things get rough. I want a world without any of that. Where everyone can just live in peace.

It's silly though, isn't it? Alive or dead, it doesn't make a difference. I can't change anything.

[brandnewshoes]

You can change things. It's not... no one can just make conflict vanish. It would be amazing if we could. But...

[Estelle looks down, her expression growing more serious while she thinks about it.]

You can make people feel better. You can make it easier. You can make it so they keep trying -- or so they stop, for a second, and think. That's important, Xiu.

[echoingmelody]

[The ghost girl goes silent for a few moments, mulling this all over.]

Do you really think that? [While Xiu could deny it, she has made some people happy. That's a start, isn't it? It's something.]

[brandnewshoes]

D'you think I'm the type to say things I don't mean?

[She nods, confidently.]

Of course I do. Every word of it.

[echoingmelody]

You don't seem to be.

[That's right, Estelle's been pretty honest with her so far. There's no reason not to trust her now.]

[brandnewshoes]

See? Maybe you won't see it right away, but...

I know you help. Maybe a lot more than you think.

[echoingmelody]

[A minute of silence passes by, before Xiu crouches down and picks up one of the keyboard's broken keys, clenching it in her fist.]

...you're right.

[brandnewshoes]

Yeah. See? It'll be fine.

[She puts an arm around Xiu's shoulders and pulls her into a one-armed hug.]

[echoingmelody]

Right.

[Xiu gives one of her usual smiles for the first time since entering this place.]

It doesn't matter if I'm alive or dead, or if I can make a huge difference. What matters is that I give it my all!

[And with that, Xiu begins shimmering, emitting a sparkling dust. A solemn, yet somehow cheery tune fills the air as her instruments appear around her one by one...including the guitar they'd seen outside, now restored to its original shape. Then to top it off, a pair of little white, cutesy wings sprout out of her back, similar to a Togetic's.]

1/2

[brandnewshoes]

Yeah! See? It's something you can handle! It--

[She has her eyes closed, to nod sagely along with what she says. But then she opens her eyes, and...]

2/2

[brandnewshoes]

[...holy crap wings]

Dude! You got wings!

[echoingmelody]

Mm. As long as I can make at least some people happy, I don't care.

[She looks puzzled for a moment at the mention of wings, before straining to look over her shoulder, those little wings fluttering slightly. Well, so much for remaining serious.]

Oh, cool!