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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/raises hand

soooo, what about characters that are well aware of how much of a failure they are and already (unhappily) own up to their failures? :D

Sinbad breathes in slowly - finding himself pausing at the threshold of the cave - it's not danger he's feeling, but dread. That's ridiculous, he's probably just still a little jittery from those Ghost-types. Maybe his abilities are just picking up on others nerves, whatever it is - he's going in regardless.

For a good while nothing seemed to happen, but suddenly the dark natural stone was replaced by gleaming white halls - vast and empty, with claw marks of great beasts leaving deep grooves in the wall. "What...?" The young man murmurs, freezing in his tracks, recognizing the place instantly. "This can't be right."

"Ex-patriot," A voice calls out with contempt. "You are not thinking of running away now are you?" It added as a shadow appeared at the end of the unnatural hall. "Not that you are anything more then just another warm body here - but better die as a soldier then live as a coward." With that, the shadowy form vanishes, and soon after so did the strange room.

"Did you see that?!" Sinbad's eyes darted, still disbelieving as the image faded - was he hallucinating?

Edited 2015-07-18 17:06 (UTC)

[ Haruka is getting real sick of caves.

Specifically, she's getting real sick of caves with tenuous grips on reality. The further into this twisting maze she's gone, World Shaking just behind her and her Pidgeot flapping just ahead, the more the shadows have started to look like crumbled, broken buildings. The more she gets flashes of being somewhere else, somewhere other than here. The less her footsteps make any sound.

Eventually, as she continues straight ahead, all ambient sound vanishes - no water dripping from elsewhere in the cave, no wind wafting through the passages. Everything is still. Everything is silent.

And when she enters a larger cavern area, everything takes the form of a deserted, broken city. The passageways of the caves make way for streets, crumbled bridges, buildings that collapsed into each other. Nothing grows. Nothing lives. All is silent.

And a building she passes without even looking at it has its caved-in courtyard blocked by a worn-away sign that says U ON DIV THEAT.

Haruka's only reaction is to lift her head higher and keep on walking, teeth clenched. ]

It's pretty open, feel free to do whatever you want with them. Generally I'd suggest something like forcing him to actually do something about said failures though.

[ Tendou was not pleased. All of this was far too familiar. A settlement, broken, with nobody left to even pull out of the rubble. His childhood home was nothing like Union City, with all its steel and concrete stretching into the sky, but it still resonated with him.

That screeching meteor that had turned his tribe into a crater. Everything Tendou Souji did was driven by that memory, even if he would never admit it. But that was exactly why... ]

Grandma said this: "Once you know the real thing, you won't be fooled by an imitation." I don't know what's going on with this cave, but no matter what it is still an imitation.

[ It was a dead city, yes, but it was a quiet sort of death. In reality life would always take over, growing over corpses without a single care about what used to be. ]

[Yuuna was in a similar boat, completely and totally fed up with caves being more than caves. She frowns as she looks around the wasteland, her Tyranitar, Gouken, and the two baby Dragon Types hovering protectively around their trainer. The lack of sounds, the rubble, and the stillness of everything...it's disquieting, almost unnerving.

As she moves through the ruins, feet crunching on the ruined streets, her eyes focus on the familiar. Shattered stores, broken cafes, places she frequented. Places she spent afternoons at with friends, with Merrill, and with her dad.

Something tells her though, not to focus on that, and to head towards the theater. Maybe it's just a feeling, but it's one that's validated by the sight of a familiar Rhyperior...the only one she knows about.

Falling into step beside the tall woman, Yuuna gives her a look.]

Haruka...

Yuuna steps in immediately behind Sinbad, her Shelgon and Gabite sticking close to her legs, holding tight to the Ranger who'd been raising them since they were eggs. She herself frowns when she hears the boy speak, eyes focusing further down the tunnel. The voice was audible, as was the figure. A second shape melted away into the shadows, a dark gleam in her eyes.

"I did," Yuuna answered after a moment, squeezing the boy's shoulder a bit. She liked him, all the more after she'd worked with him on sword training, and seeing this sort of thing affecting him was pretty unnerving.

"We can leave, Sinbad. If it worries you."

[He hated the darkness.

It was a primal, instinctive fear of all humans. As a species, they relied heavily on their eyesight and took comfort in certainty. Darkness robbed them of both, and left even the most unflappable of individuals wary of what was to come forth.

Waver fought to slow his breath in his unease, and steady his hands enough to invoke a facsimile of a Flash spell, to shed some light on the winding, dusty passage before him.

The mention of radio waves being emitted from these depths was what piqued his curiosity. Such an anomaly was unknown in the current scientific standards, and the curious academic in him had volunteered to join in the explorations as soon as he was able. It was only now, when his overdeveloped sense of cynicism and paranoia-- too mature for someone of his age and stature-- decided to start piling the regrets of his decision upon his narrow shoulders.

His mind was so awhirl with 'what-ifs' and other concerns regarding his personal safety that he didn't notice the familiar scent of dust as he trekked further inward. Nor did he notice how the shadows were slowly starting to shift into familiar forms. A stalagmite became a towering shelf of books. A rock became uneven stack of dusty tomes, pagemarked with ribbons by some unseen hand and promptly forgotten. The glistening sheen of water dripping down the walls became ancient atlases, and veins of different rock became akin to carefully drawn mountain ranges and forests, with their names inscribed upon the paper in unfamiliar letters and words.

Slowly the shadows and illusions grew denser, until he was somehow in a facsimile of one of the labyrinthine libraries of Sanctuary. It had to be a trick of the mind, Waver deduced, and he would have kept pushing forward if not for a particular shadow that fell upon him.

It was tall and lean, the cut of an imposing figure in a long coat, one of a lineage so long that the origins were forgotten with time. Waver froze, eyes wide, when he heard his own name echoing through the expanse.]

"Well if it isn't Waver Velvet," [The voice, a man with a rich baritone, said in a dangerously smooth and silky tone.] "Whatever is a child like you doing with my research?"

[Waver couldn't move. He couldn't speak. The silence around them was so suffocating that he couldn't hear anything more than the echoes of that Magus' voice, his ragged breathing, and the haphazard pounding of his heart deep within his chest.

Oh, gods. What had he walked in to?!]

[ Somebody else is walking here too. Haruka spares the guy half a glance and keeps going. Somewhere. Somewhere there has to be an exit, a way to make whoever's trying to spook her stop. Until she finds them, she's determined not to give them that satisfaction.

Even if it means she's rather awkward company right now. ] Keep your voice down.

[ "Silence" is a keyword of this illusion. So if she can hear something move, does that mean it's real...? ]

They're cutting off sounds. [ Haruka stifles a laugh, glancing about without really taking any of this in - it's not real, she knows it's not real, she knows it's coming from her head (intrusive jerks) so the frustrating part is being unsure how to switch it off. ] Listen for a source. Don't look.

[ Don't confront that apparently this is what Haruka thinks is going to happen if she screws everything up. Even she knows this landscape, devoid even of Pokémon or greenery, is an exaggeration. But she's not Michiru. She can't be right all the time. ]

[Saber had accompanied her erstwhile roommate with little commentary. She had barely even thought about it, truthfully, simply unwilling to let a friend unaccustomed to fighting walk into a place where there might be unknown aggressive Pokémon.]

[The depth of the darkness was unexpected, though. Even ghosts had reason to be afraid of the Dark. Saber's ears echoed with the ringing sounds of battle, and her mind seemed in a haze, trying desperately to warn her about something...]

[When this apparition appeared to Waver, however, she put it temporarily out of her mind, even if the sound of steel on steel only grew louder in her head as she prepared to fight, dropping into a ready stance and preparing to Shift.]

Hold. Who are you, and how do you know Waver?

[Foreboding. It's not a strange, unusual, or foreign word, but it's meaning tends to always be just out of reach. Not these caves, though. Even before stepping into the dark, lightsource in hand, there's something about the caves that has James only bringing in Rex, Mike, and Mac. The three Pokemon who have been with him the longest, whose lives have most thoroughly intertwined with that of his family, before he had to start making hard decisions about who could come home and who had to spend most of their time in the habitat.]

[Gordon's in full regalia today, long, Steel Type coat, wide brimmed hat pulled low over his brow. It's ridiculous with the summer sun, but as soon as he's in the damp and the dark and the murk, it is a welcome bit of insulation. When, at first, the little band is only met with silence and damp, it's almost a letdown. Soon, though, there's... not a sound, not a vision, but just a sensation. A sensation of violin string being pulled taught, silently screaming in protest.]

Commissioner.

[The voice is distant, derisive, the old nickname, first given to a driven young rookie putting in long nights, a drive to help the people of union superseding all other needs, in its original tone. He stops at the familiar voice, hesitating before turning the next labyrinthian corner, to be met with a scent of perfume and a more familiar, if younger than he's heard it in years voice.]

The children and I need you, Jim.

[The pokémon perk up at the familiar voice, more youthful energy than they're used to, but still recognizably the same. The old argument continues, but with Jim's own voice, different, minus years of the passage of time and cartons of cigarettes, but unmistakably his.]

Union needs me too, Barbara.

[Saber had come along to help a friend, but she definitely was not counting on the deep effects of this place.]

[She had first come into awareness in a tomb. That tomb had been her home. There was nothing to be afraid of here, except...]

[The tomb was calm. Dead, until humans re-awoke it. Nothing moved there. There were no sounds of battle, no heat of conflict, no taste of blood in Saber's mouth like there was now. Did she even bleed? What was she?]

[That question came to the forefront of Saber's mind for the first time since she reached Union, and she paused in shock as the question itself caused a panoramic image to open in front of her.]

[It was a battlefield. Not during the battle, but after. Humans and Pokémon lay dead and dying, humans still gripping their strange weapons and Pokémon flopped down, cut to pieces, but expressions still contorted in righteous fury. In the middle of the carnage, at the top of a hill, a lone human woman seemed to be standing, leaning on a sword. Saber looked around at the scene, a single still image burned into the darkness by her mind's eye, in shock.]

What...what is this?

Edited 2015-07-19 20:38 (UTC)

[The apparition of the man made a derisive sound from his place in the shadows.]

"I am a Magus from the esteemed towers of Sanctuary," [he sniffed,] "That's all children from the streets need to know."

[Hands clenched together, Waver couldn't stop himself from shaking like a leaf. This was a mistake-- a big one. He never should have jumped at the call, even if the prospect of helping uncover something that no one had ever heard of was a tantalizing prospect.]

He's a lecturer from the academy, [he explained in a hushed town, barely turning to glance at Saber.] I never made it in officially, but I wanted to learn anyway.

[He shook his head, unwilling to mention any names for fear that, somehow, word would make it back to the appropriate ears in Sanctuary. No one needed to know of his night time escapades after curfew during tail end of Gigas' seige upon the city.]

And this "lecturer" didn't want to share his knowledge? That seems a bit lazy.

[Waver's - and her own - fear aside, this didn't feel like this was going to escalate into a fight. Even if it did, passive-aggressive insults were never a bad opening move when someone was insulting a person who'd shown her kindness.]

So you still haven't told them?

[Isabela is walking through the caves, trying desperately to ignore the phantasms around her and remember both the way out and why in the Land God's flaming ass she had come here in the first place. She's currently being bothered by a middle-aged woman who looks a bit like Isabela would if she wore decent clothes and put on about ten years.]

I think they've a right to know about you.

Go away, mother.

You're lucky I'm even talking to you, you know. How many other worthless rebellious deadweights get a chance to make up with their parents?

Very few who were sold into slavery, I imagine.

Marriage isn't slavery, little one.

Hell, then. And shut up, I'm trying to find my way out of here.

You never will, you know. Not while you chain yourself down. Trapped, trapped...

[Isabela clamps her jaw shut and draws a knife. She doesn't think this image is real, but could it really hurt to try?]

The caves were dark, full of that musty and uncomfortable smell that permeates the underground portions of the world. Yukiko, as someone so tied to the sun, never liked caves. It helped that she was easily able to call up light, sure, but the heavy stillness of a place free of breeze and untouched by the sun was not something that'd go away easily.

Stepping forward though, she balled her fists up and willed a light into being. She had to do this, she was a Seeker now, and there were people counting on her to explore and find out if those radio signals were a threat. The narrow space was troubling though, as it prevented Jiraiya and Peter from following along, severely limiting the Pokemon she was able to rely on in case of danger. In this case Tohil the newly evolved Heliolisk and Cassandra were about it, unless the cave widened.

Forward she goes, with a possible companion behind her, and as she reaches a wider opening in the cavern, she stops. A tinkling laughter, a lyrical sound edged with cruelty echos through the chamber, and something moves on the far edge of the light. A pair of golden lights burn just outside of her ball of sunshine, and Yukiko immediately takes a defensive stance. It's clumsy, amateurish, but better than she had before Mami started teaching her.

"Be careful. That could be anything..."

Well, you see, that's not exactly--

[The apprition tutted from somewhere in the shadows, cutting Waver off before he could continue his sentence.]

"In the world of the Magi, bloodline is everything," [he declared in the annoyed tone of an academic who had answered the same question far too many times.] "This is because no one can hope to learn all of the secrets in a single lifetime. A parent passes on the result of a lifetime of training to their child, who will use it as a tool to further their knowledge. It's a principal lesson that everyone in Sanctuary learns early in their life-- except for this foolish child."

[The final words were spat with disdain and annoyance. Waver looked away, unable to tear his eyes from the dirt beneath their feet.

After all, it was the truth. He had nothing to base his work upon, and not even enough funds after selling all of his family's meager estate to gain proper entry to the academy.

Biting his lips to keep from lashing out and causing an even bigger problem for both him and Saber, Waver searched his mind for something to latch upon. This was too convenient-- why would that man be here? Unless--]

"Then again, you were never born to stand in the towers anyway. Were you, Waver Velvet?"

Clink, Clang, Clink, Clang

Sounds reverberate in the cavern all around Lucca, the young scientist's eyes going wide as she freezes in the entrance to the chamber. Behind her, Gato and Gonzales both stop, looking to one another before bodily lifting their trainer up and moving a few steps forward so she's not blocking the entrance to what appears to be a workshop. Gears and cogs churn in the background, providing an industrial sounding rhythm to it all.

"No...put me down!" Lucca squirms and wriggles free, drawing her plasma pistol and ducking back behind the Pokemon.

"I...this...this cannot be real!"

Edited 2015-07-19 22:00 (UTC)

Caves don't bother Fili, not usually, but something about this one sets his teeth on edge. He came here in the hopes of not only discovering something useful, but finding his runaway brother, who'd disappeared immediately after returning from his trip. Kili had a knack for finding trouble, so it made sense that this was where he would go, doing another incredibly stupid thing after the first. Only this time there was no Belbul to let him know what direction to even start looking.

His Pokemon companions are uneasy too. Dagny is sticking very close to his legs, slinking along beside him nervously. Even unflappable Alden is spooked, the Skiddo pressed against his opposite side. Egil the Mawile takes up the rear, unusually quiet as they proceed. Fleur and Keil stayed behind; Keil didn't like caves and Fili hadn't liked the idea of carrying an armful of crying Teddiursa.

"Fili!" Kili. Fili can tell just from the tone of his voice that he's scared and in trouble. Hair standing on end, heart pounding in his chest, he starts to run.

"Hang on, Kili, I'm coming!"

The yells continue, turning into screaming, and to Fili's horror, it seems no matter how far he gets, his brother is always just out of reach.

"Fili, why won't you help me? I need you!"

He keeps running, growing frantic, until the screams are suddenly cut off. Fili freezes in place, and Alden nudges the back of his knees gently, reminding him to keep moving. Find Kili.

There, around the next corner, is a strange shape on the ground. "Kili!" He drops to his knees to gather him up. There's blood everywhere. He isn't breathing.

"Wake up, wake up, do you hear me?!" Fili shakes him roughly, but the still-warm body of his brother does not stir. He's gone.

Edited 2015-07-19 22:12 (UTC)

Caves were something Yuuna was getting more and more used to. Weird things happened down there, she'd begun to realize, and she'd come loaded for Ursaring. Her Warp Band was filled with her five oldest, strongest Pokemon, and just to get them used to this sort of thing Kamui and Kuina were along too. The Shelgon and Gabite have split, with their trainer between them in the pinched hallways. Holding up a small flashlight, she presses ahead until eventually a strange lightheadedness hits her just as Kamui steps forward into a wider room.

And into an arena, it looks like, with unfamiliar flags and pennants flapping wildly in the breeze. A cheer erupts from the stands around her as she looks around, eyes wide in confusion.

"What the hell?!"

They grow wider still as she sees the object of adulation. A tall, muscular woman in a Ranger's jacket, with short hair, a battered old sword, and a Hitmonchan at her side. Along with five pokeballs clipped casually to her waist...

"Well look who it is."

Yuuna's fingers fly up to her mouth in sudden horror.

"No...you cannot be serious..."

At first, Fuuka was excited to see what the caves had in store for everyone. Ever since she heard about making possible contact, the only thing she could think of was go with whomever she could think of and just go. Of course, in hindsight, that wasn't the best idea. Perhaps this was her naive talking to her but all she could do now was to hold her breath.

Now with Yukiko in front of her, Fuuka made sure to keep her guard up. It didn't help that her Espurr was now on her shoulders and holding her head for dear life too! As she heard the laughter, she immediately took a step back and waited for what her friend would do.

"R-Right..." A pause. "But...what was that? That sounded like..." Someone who didn't want us to be here.

Rise, being in her position of 'not actually a Seeker or a Ranger but likes hanging out with/is supposed to keep an eye on the activities of both' had volunteered to come along with Yukiko, and gamely stood carefully behind her when the strange sounds and lights started happening.

Taking a deep breath, she nods. "Right. Let me see if I can analyze...it?"

Then she blinks. "Uh...I'm not reading anything."

[Perhaps going straight ahead to the caves was a bad idea. When she had heard about the caves, she wasn't thinking. All she could think about was trying to establish contact and maybe try to make up for what happened a couple of weeks ago.

Although, as she tried to muster up her courage to walk through these dark caves, it was slowly taking a toll on her. With her Espurr holding onto her head for dear life, she was scared. It was almost as if anything can and could suddenly appear before her.

While it didn't, she did happen to find a young man staring at a strange person. Should she say something...?]

U-Um, is everything okay?

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Descent into Darkness

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