[that other group... it's on sight... that or there's no group at all, and all of this is a game with cards stacked against them. exactly like wiwaldi,
well, Manwol hit the button, so she'll step off the podium and head towards the Darkness Waiting Beyond]
[the colors help him figure out the verdict and he just huffs in annoyance. it'll be fine. but he's quick to follow after the others into the darkness.]
[Onward you all go! This next room is circular, also very neon-colored and bright, and it's covered in... machinery?
A few huge blocks that appear to be dice fall from this machinery, covered in adjectives-- you can see words like fiery, poisonous, and so on.
"Welcome to what we like to call the Fear Factor... y. The, uh, the name is a work in progress, but this is very exciting! Now, we already know what you're going to have to fight. The form it will take, though, that's going to be something special," says the male voice.
The female one says, "You're going to roll these dice to help build a customized, more dangerous version of the foes we've prepared for you to face. The end result will be like nothing any of you-- or us!-- have ever seen before. So, each of you go ahead and give those bones a roll or two, and we'll find out just how dangerous your challenge is going to be."]
[is manwol more offended that she messed up forsake/trust or more offended at this name.... She'll pick up the dice and roll them twice, getting a 2 and 9.]
[So, here's the thing. As Malik is a little shit and Rita and Taichi react, the two of them breathe out a little wisp of what looks like black smoke, which floats up toward the ceiling and disappears. Huh. It happens to a lesser degree with Manwol's comment.
Anyway, here's what those rolls get you!
Manwol has rolled: Aggressive and False Appearance. Malik has rolled: Stench and Petrifying Gaze. Rita has rolled: Death Burst and Flying. Taichi has rolled: Teleporting and Fiery.
"Oh, these will be fun," the male voice says excitedly. "Go ahead, let's crank 'em out!"
The machinery whirs to life, and in four containers, shapes appear. Machinery nearby attaches to those containers, and with a lot of very loud whirring, beeping, and clanging, they do... something to the things inside, though it's impossible to see. When it all comes to a close, the containers open, and reveal four things.
Out of the container closest to Manwol comes... Claude? He's covered in blood, but seems basically uninjured, and there is an unnerving, almost malicious smile on his face. Sakyou's sword is in his hand, and he pulls it out of an unmoving body dressed in a kimono, idly flicking off the blood. His other hand is holding a bloodied piece of Tsuyukusa's staff, which he throws carelessly aside. When he stops moving for a few moments, though, his outline begins to blend in with the factory scenery like a chameleon.
From the one closest to Malik comes... his father, with a very strange glint in his eyes that Malik might want to look away from. There is also a horrible fucking smell coming from the area he's standing in, and you all kind of get the sense if you got any closer it would be choking. He begins to advance on Malik, so that latter part is going to start being a problem very quickly.
Near Rita, a container releases a twisted-looking spirit, transparent and misshapen, mouth open wide in a constant, spooky-sounding wail. It quickly lifts off the ground to hover over all of them, but its glowing red eyes are focused on Rita, its long, clawed arms beginning to reach out toward her from above.
And finally, the one that Taichi is closest to releases-- himself. Something looks pretty off about this version of Taichi, though, and it's not just the fact that heat emanates from him; it's the expression. He looks blank, like he's barely even aware of being here at the moment, even as he abruptly blinks closer to advance on the real Taichi-- familiar sounding yells come from behind the fake Taichi, but he ignores them, leaving them behind as the container closes off again.
Manwol barely has time to register the black smoke that comes?? out of their mouths?? and wisps to the ceiling?? but she's definitely alarmed because black smoke is not good in ghostie world, and then she hears the whirring machinery and sees the containers, and then containers open and out comes --
fuck.]
-- You have got to be kidding me!
[She's suddenly very aware of how badly outmatched she and the others are -- even if they each take their own enemies -- what are the chances of them... but she doesn't have time to ruminate, she lunges for the piece of Tsuyukusa's staff Claude(?) throws to the side, trying not to focus on the limp kimono-lad body, and Muramasa in Claude's hands...
not that she can even see them now that he's -- flickering?? blending in?? SHIT. i hope the piece of staff Claude threw is like the size of a fcking chopstick, but it's better than nothing?? MAYBE??]
[ malik sneers at taichi, despite black smoke wisping itself away out of their mouths. false bravado is easy to keep up, and honestly, when he sees claude - there's a little fear, but nothing compared to when he sees his dad.
he doesn't make eye contact, his first reaction being to immediately look at the floor. he's shaking. nothing is even happening in the second this takes place, and malik knows he has to move.
thankfully(?) the stench keeps him from staying still and he just runs in the opposite direction from his father. nope! not today! not again! fuck this! ]
Does anyone have a weapon?!
[ yeah manwol just picked up a piece of one but like. anyone else. ]
rita's already disturbed by the smoke, but what follows is absolute nightmare fuel. seeing tsuyukusa's staff and sakyou's body is plenty disturbing, but then there's this horrible thing reaching for her, and she's backing the hell up, nearly tripping over her feet as she does. also, there's another taichi??]
What the hell is all this!?
[she takes a breath, a heavy gasp, and manages to answer malik.]
I've got magic. Three -- four shots. [her gaze turns to "claude."] ... That sword. [they might need that.]
I've got one fireball and that's it, and that's not gonna help if I'm fighting fire with fire! [he says all of this while he's immediately backing away from. himself. leery and uncertain and trying not to fall on his ass as the blurred vision of himself flickers with flames and draws closer.
the fact that there's a second him is both alarming and also a little irritating, actually, for a multitude of reasons. he doesn't quite understand what's going on with everyone else, or the black wisps that float to the ceiling, but they can ruminate on that later.]
Scatter and try to grab the sword if you can. Look for anything we can use to either fight back or open the containers and push them back.
Edited (you ever just forget to put in a wholeass paragraph.) 2021-07-20 05:15 (UTC)
[Manwol grabs that staff piece! It has a sharp enough end where it was snapped, and is about half the staff, because I am a kind DM. Claude just winks at her, still grinning as he takes a step forward with that sword in hand.
Malik can't see it, since he's turned away and running, but he's pursued by his father. He'll be able to tell if he gets too close, because a wave of horrible nausea will overcome him just from being nearby.
Rita backs away from the spirit, and it wails once more, floating closer, reaching, reaching, reaching. Maybe it just wants its hands held? Wow. They do look sharp, though, so maybe not.
Taichi's other self teleports another short distance, ending up behind him this time-- he'll feel the heat like he's standing close to an open oven, and the other Taichi reaches out to try to grab him with very hot hands.]
[It's not him, she thinks. It's an illusion. Claude fights with a dagger, and he's skilled with a bow. The sword is there only because she cares about Sakyou. The same with Tsuyukusa's staff in her hand. Thinking about him hurts, but thinking about him reminds her of what Tsuyukusa would do. He'd never back down from a fight, and Manwol's not about to do the same.
The staff is too short, it won't prevent Claude from slicing at her if he tries, and while she's confident in her abilities she has a bad feeling about what the 'false appearance' part of her roll means -- especially with the way he's blending in]
Rita! Shoot him before he disappears!
[Manwol takes a chance, turning on her heel and running towards Rita's ghost instead, aiming to block its claws with the staff before they can swipe down -- hoping to buy her just enough time,
if it works then maybe he'll be distracted long enough for manwol to grab the sword, but for now]
[ they're stacked with magic, but malik's one useful ability can't be accessed here. so he's left to fend for himself while the rest of the gang gets coordinated.
he has to try, though. when he takes a moment to stop running and to face his fear head on-- it. doesn't go well. he can't even get close, the stench being too much to bear and making his stomach churn. he has to keep moving away but, there's only so much room for him to run, lest he run into his unfortunate groupmates or another fear that would also annihilate him.
but maybe if he keeps his own fear away from everyone else's, they won't be affected by it. or... would the false taichi and claude be affected since they're based on people? would they be able to handle the stench? that gaze?
sorry gang but he's gotta find out. he's booking it over to the two taichi's to test this theory out. ]
[rita's backing up a few more steps without even realizing it, but when manwol runs over, she snaps out of it. and nods, turning her attention to "claude."
she starts casting, motes of light gathering around her, a magic circle appearing at her feet. she'll have to trust that manwol can hold off her pursuer... and even if not, this is their best chance.]
I got it! This oughtta wipe the grin off his face!
[there's a flash of light! but nothing comes from where rita's standing.
instead, from the floor below "claude," a stalagmite bursts from the ground, sharp and jagged and aimed to run him through.]
[well the girls are doing great with their teamwork, to say the least. he can't quite see what exactly is going on, though he sees the light and vaguely recognizes the circle as the kind rita started using in their paintball game a few weeks ago.
here's the thing. taichi has a fight or flight tendency permanently set to fight, so even though the other taichi teleports, he feels the heat. he turns and tries to get out of the way of touching, but he can see a blur heading toward him. correction: two blurs.]
Malik, dodge! [without a second thought, he's using his soccer legs to try and kick the other taichi backwards to make him stumble into the figure following malik. somehow he did not think about how this might burn his foot but whatever, desperate times.]
[Manwol can come successfully block the ghost! It still wants to attack Rita, just like Claude wants to attack her... but that does give them something to work with, too. The ghost only vaguely turns its attention to Manwol so that she isn't dealing with two enemies, and as Rita blasts Claude with a whole stalagmite, he shouts in surprise and is knocked back. It doesn't impale him, he seems to have had the reflexes to dodge that, but he's no longer blending in after being shoved off his feet.
Meanwhile, Malik draws his own pursuer over to the two Taichis, and real Taichi will also feel kind of sick just from his approach. Fake Taichi gets kicked back, stumbling, but-- yeah, Taichi is definitely going to get his foot and his leg burned, as the heat around him flares into a flame that scorches him during the attack. The good news is, though, that fake Taichi definitely does not do well being near Malik's dad. He looks a lot like he feels even sicker when he's gotten close, wheezing for breath.]
[Manwol's tempted to run forward and engage Claude(?) herself, but she grits her teeth -- glancing briefly at the others to gauge their status, soon enough to see Malik running towards the Taichi Twins and Taichi sending his apparent clone stumbling.
Instead, she tries to make eye contact with Rita and then glances over at Taichi's clone who's apparently wheezing for breath. if Rita wants to take a shot then Manwol will continue to keep her ghost enemy at bay in order to buy her some time. meanwhile,]
Malik!
[and she points at claude with one hand in the universal gesture of 'try to kill him with ur poisonous dad, or at least damage him maybe before he MORPHS BACK ALL CHAMELEON LIKE, HOPEFULLY']
[ he dodges as instructed, although it's a narrow miss. he's starting to run out of breath between his sprinting and his ever encroaching disgusting dad.
he hears his name and snaps his attention to manwol, then claude(?) - okay. he has enough stamina left to make one more sprint over to where he needs to be, but this better work, because his energy isn't infinite.
so he runs in the direction of claude, but careful to keep his distance because of that sword. ]
[rita follows manwol's gaze to taichi's clone, wincing when she sees his kick connect with fire.]
... Damn it! I can't use my water magic with everyone spread out like this! You'll all just get caught up in it!
[she doesn't hate malik that much, you know? she's looking between him and taichi, and... makes a quick decision. she pulls out her phone, accesses something on it, and tucks it away again. she starts casting another spell.
another flash of light, and the spell manifests as a heavy burst of water that blasts the fake taichi from below, then falls back down on him from above.]
[a few things happen here. one, the claude monster's knocked back and he has a brief moment where he's very excited to see that that plan worked! two, he's not a fan of nausea and he finds his head spinning a little as the stench approaches. and three, there's a startled, pained yelp as his foot and leg catch on fire. the flames go out and the burns settle as he stumbles a bit to keep his balance, falling back a bit to make sure malik and his dad are bolting for claude and trying to keep an eye on his clone.]
Nice shot! [this is kind of wheezed out because wow, being sick and on fire and half-blind is truly a horrible combination but honestly? good for her. he's trying to keep an eye on all four of the figures as they go. that ghost really isn't looking good...so yeah. he does the stupid thing and begins making his way toward manwol to help somehow, even if it's just to be a distraction to confuse this stupid ghost.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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The walls in this room all light up white, becoming screens, and on the far wall across from you everyone sees the following words.
YOUR DECISION: appears, and then in big green letters, TRUST.
THEIR DECISION: appears on an adjacent wall, and then in big red letters, it says... FORSAKE.
"Ooh, tough luck," says the female voice, sympathetically. "Let's hope Taichi was right about strength in numbers, shall we?"
And the door across from you opens, again with only darkness beyond it.]
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well, Manwol hit the button, so she'll step off the podium and head towards the Darkness Waiting Beyond]
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he follows manwol again into the darkness. ]
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... Whatever it is, we'll handle it.
[and she follows them into the darkness.]
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Just be ready for anything.
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A few huge blocks that appear to be dice fall from this machinery, covered in adjectives-- you can see words like fiery, poisonous, and so on.
"Welcome to what we like to call the Fear Factor... y. The, uh, the name is a work in progress, but this is very exciting! Now, we already know what you're going to have to fight. The form it will take, though, that's going to be something special," says the male voice.
The female one says, "You're going to roll these dice to help build a customized, more dangerous version of the foes we've prepared for you to face. The end result will be like nothing any of you-- or us!-- have ever seen before. So, each of you go ahead and give those bones a roll or two, and we'll find out just how dangerous your challenge is going to be."]
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[is manwol more offended that she messed up forsake/trust or more offended at this name.... She'll pick up the dice and roll them twice, getting a 2 and 9.]
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[ ah. there it is. anyway, malik also gives the dice a roll and gets 8 and 10. ]
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rita rolls the dice, and gets a 10 and a 1.]
Whatever. I'm more than ready for a fight.
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Anyway, here's what those rolls get you!
Manwol has rolled: Aggressive and False Appearance.
Malik has rolled: Stench and Petrifying Gaze.
Rita has rolled: Death Burst and Flying.
Taichi has rolled: Teleporting and Fiery.
"Oh, these will be fun," the male voice says excitedly. "Go ahead, let's crank 'em out!"
The machinery whirs to life, and in four containers, shapes appear. Machinery nearby attaches to those containers, and with a lot of very loud whirring, beeping, and clanging, they do... something to the things inside, though it's impossible to see. When it all comes to a close, the containers open, and reveal four things.
Out of the container closest to Manwol comes... Claude? He's covered in blood, but seems basically uninjured, and there is an unnerving, almost malicious smile on his face. Sakyou's sword is in his hand, and he pulls it out of an unmoving body dressed in a kimono, idly flicking off the blood. His other hand is holding a bloodied piece of Tsuyukusa's staff, which he throws carelessly aside. When he stops moving for a few moments, though, his outline begins to blend in with the factory scenery like a chameleon.
From the one closest to Malik comes... his father, with a very strange glint in his eyes that Malik might want to look away from. There is also a horrible fucking smell coming from the area he's standing in, and you all kind of get the sense if you got any closer it would be choking. He begins to advance on Malik, so that latter part is going to start being a problem very quickly.
Near Rita, a container releases a twisted-looking spirit, transparent and misshapen, mouth open wide in a constant, spooky-sounding wail. It quickly lifts off the ground to hover over all of them, but its glowing red eyes are focused on Rita, its long, clawed arms beginning to reach out toward her from above.
And finally, the one that Taichi is closest to releases-- himself. Something looks pretty off about this version of Taichi, though, and it's not just the fact that heat emanates from him; it's the expression. He looks blank, like he's barely even aware of being here at the moment, even as he abruptly blinks closer to advance on the real Taichi-- familiar sounding yells come from behind the fake Taichi, but he ignores them, leaving them behind as the container closes off again.
Let's fucking go, y'all.]
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Manwol barely has time to register the black smoke that comes?? out of their mouths?? and wisps to the ceiling?? but she's definitely alarmed because black smoke is not good in ghostie world, and then she hears the whirring machinery and sees the containers, and then containers open and out comes --
fuck.]
-- You have got to be kidding me!
[She's suddenly very aware of how badly outmatched she and the others are -- even if they each take their own enemies -- what are the chances of them... but she doesn't have time to ruminate, she lunges for the piece of Tsuyukusa's staff Claude(?) throws to the side, trying not to focus on the limp kimono-lad body, and Muramasa in Claude's hands...
not that she can even see them now that he's -- flickering?? blending in?? SHIT. i hope the piece of staff Claude threw is like the size of a fcking chopstick, but it's better than nothing?? MAYBE??]
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he doesn't make eye contact, his first reaction being to immediately look at the floor. he's shaking. nothing is even happening in the second this takes place, and malik knows he has to move.
thankfully(?) the stench keeps him from staying still and he just runs in the opposite direction from his father. nope! not today! not again! fuck this! ]
Does anyone have a weapon?!
[ yeah manwol just picked up a piece of one but like. anyone else. ]
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rita's already disturbed by the smoke, but what follows is absolute nightmare fuel. seeing tsuyukusa's staff and sakyou's body is plenty disturbing, but then there's this horrible thing reaching for her, and she's backing the hell up, nearly tripping over her feet as she does. also, there's another taichi??]
What the hell is all this!?
[she takes a breath, a heavy gasp, and manages to answer malik.]
I've got magic. Three -- four shots. [her gaze turns to "claude."] ... That sword. [they might need that.]
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the fact that there's a second him is both alarming and also a little irritating, actually, for a multitude of reasons. he doesn't quite understand what's going on with everyone else, or the black wisps that float to the ceiling, but they can ruminate on that later.]
Scatter and try to grab the sword if you can. Look for anything we can use to either fight back or open the containers and push them back.
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Malik can't see it, since he's turned away and running, but he's pursued by his father. He'll be able to tell if he gets too close, because a wave of horrible nausea will overcome him just from being nearby.
Rita backs away from the spirit, and it wails once more, floating closer, reaching, reaching, reaching. Maybe it just wants its hands held? Wow. They do look sharp, though, so maybe not.
Taichi's other self teleports another short distance, ending up behind him this time-- he'll feel the heat like he's standing close to an open oven, and the other Taichi reaches out to try to grab him with very hot hands.]
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The staff is too short, it won't prevent Claude from slicing at her if he tries, and while she's confident in her abilities she has a bad feeling about what the 'false appearance' part of her roll means -- especially with the way he's blending in]
Rita! Shoot him before he disappears!
[Manwol takes a chance, turning on her heel and running towards Rita's ghost instead, aiming to block its claws with the staff before they can swipe down -- hoping to buy her just enough time,
if it works then maybe he'll be distracted long enough for manwol to grab the sword, but for now]
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he has to try, though. when he takes a moment to stop running and to face his fear head on-- it. doesn't go well. he can't even get close, the stench being too much to bear and making his stomach churn. he has to keep moving away but, there's only so much room for him to run, lest he run into his unfortunate groupmates or another fear that would also annihilate him.
but maybe if he keeps his own fear away from everyone else's, they won't be affected by it. or... would the false taichi and claude be affected since they're based on people? would they be able to handle the stench? that gaze?
sorry gang but he's gotta find out. he's booking it over to the two taichi's to test this theory out. ]
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she starts casting, motes of light gathering around her, a magic circle appearing at her feet. she'll have to trust that manwol can hold off her pursuer... and even if not, this is their best chance.]
I got it! This oughtta wipe the grin off his face!
[there's a flash of light! but nothing comes from where rita's standing.
instead, from the floor below "claude," a stalagmite bursts from the ground, sharp and jagged and aimed to run him through.]
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here's the thing. taichi has a fight or flight tendency permanently set to fight, so even though the other taichi teleports, he feels the heat. he turns and tries to get out of the way of touching, but he can see a blur heading toward him. correction: two blurs.]
Malik, dodge! [without a second thought, he's using his soccer legs to try and kick the other taichi backwards to make him stumble into the figure following malik. somehow he did not think about how this might burn his foot but whatever, desperate times.]
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Meanwhile, Malik draws his own pursuer over to the two Taichis, and real Taichi will also feel kind of sick just from his approach. Fake Taichi gets kicked back, stumbling, but-- yeah, Taichi is definitely going to get his foot and his leg burned, as the heat around him flares into a flame that scorches him during the attack. The good news is, though, that fake Taichi definitely does not do well being near Malik's dad. He looks a lot like he feels even sicker when he's gotten close, wheezing for breath.]
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Instead, she tries to make eye contact with Rita and then glances over at Taichi's clone who's apparently wheezing for breath. if Rita wants to take a shot then Manwol will continue to keep her ghost enemy at bay in order to buy her some time. meanwhile,]
Malik!
[and she points at claude with one hand in the universal gesture of 'try to kill him with ur poisonous dad, or at least damage him maybe before he MORPHS BACK ALL CHAMELEON LIKE, HOPEFULLY']
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he hears his name and snaps his attention to manwol, then claude(?) - okay. he has enough stamina left to make one more sprint over to where he needs to be, but this better work, because his energy isn't infinite.
so he runs in the direction of claude, but careful to keep his distance because of that sword. ]
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... Damn it! I can't use my water magic with everyone spread out like this! You'll all just get caught up in it!
[she doesn't hate malik that much, you know? she's looking between him and taichi, and... makes a quick decision. she pulls out her phone, accesses something on it, and tucks it away again. she starts casting another spell.
another flash of light, and the spell manifests as a heavy burst of water that blasts the fake taichi from below, then falls back down on him from above.]
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Nice shot! [this is kind of wheezed out because wow, being sick and on fire and half-blind is truly a horrible combination but honestly? good for her. he's trying to keep an eye on all four of the figures as they go. that ghost really isn't looking good...so yeah. he does the stupid thing and begins making his way toward manwol to help somehow, even if it's just to be a distraction to confuse this stupid ghost.]
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