sticksandbones | [CLOSED] Zahliyaquest...2

[the time fuckery of the grove is not new to kiera; she's been here quite a while now. what makes it bad is the fact that before everyone had grouped up on zahliya this morning, she'd been on her way to the bar, which... effectively means that she can't tell how long it's been since her last drink. it could be hours, which sucks but is ultimately fine, or days, which is not great. the headache could be some sort of forest torture. the tremble in her hands and the pounding of her own heartbeat could be psychosomatic. or she could be on the verge of collapsing or getting sick or any number of unpleasant things.

they finally lose the will to hold out and reach down to look in their pouch for emergency rations, but by the time they look back up... their group is fragmented, luca nowhere in sight. kiera definitely doesn't remember entering any sort of temple, and the combination of unfamiliarity, screaming, and thudding on the outer door is enough to snap them to attention out of self-preservation alone.

unfortunately, by the time she gets her bearings, loop is already sprinting off in the direction of -- the false god's voice and. honestly? kiera doesn't really give a shit. loop can make a ragdoll of themself for the creature if it gives the rest of them time to organize, or at least arm themselves. she lays a hand on her sword hilt, lets loop go, and shoots a silent look to both wolfwood and joshua, gauging their reactions as well.]

[ Joshua, for his part, has been following behind most of the rest of the group. Not because he doesn't want to be seen through the glasses - he really doesn't care - but because he's used to observing. It's a lot more fun to observe the rest of them under the clarity of the glasses, anyway! Look at all of these new and exciting revelations that he's committing to memory. Will he use this information in the future? Maybe, maybe not.

The strangeness about time passing registers, and while the momentary confusion about how long it's truly been is very briefly and minorly unsettling, it never lingers for long. Time hasn't truly been normal for him in a long time, between Rindo's reversals and his existence in general. No, what's really unsettling to him is the odd feeling of a migraine. That's something he hasn't felt in a long, long time. Whatever influence hovers over the forest, it's clearly affecting him, and not knowing what it's actually doing isn't the most comforting feeling.

Hearing Ourania's voice before his vision goes starry had him briefly, mentally going 'Ah', as everything goes blank for a moment. If one of the voices was her, it stands to reason that the other must be...

His thoughts seem to be confirmed, once he's able to orient himself. The room they've found themselves in seems to belong to Beiwe in some respect, just based on the decor, and he takes note of that. He takes note of the sounds of agony from the other room, too, once they begin - and he registers what voice that is, somehow. Well, that's fun. Are they trapped in here with the False Sun, now?

And Loop is taking right off after it. Joshua lets out a sigh, lifting one hand to play with the ends of his hair. ]

What a shame. Too bad they've never seen a horror movie.

[ Glancing at Kiera and Wolfwood, he shrugs his shoulders in a slight gesture of "what can you do?" ]

Well? We have "rushing headlong into danger" covered. What next?

Son of a-

[Lmao welp. They're already rushing forwards and they haven't even figured out what the fuck happened, or where they ended up. He has half a mind to just hang back for a smoke until they return, but let's be real that's not happening. It would have been nice to regroup first, but they very much don't have that option anymore.

He sighs deeply and repositions the way his hand holds the straps on his gun, making sure it's secure in a way that he can just bring it down to start shooting at a moment's notice if need be.]

Well we can't just stand 'round in an empty room with our thumbs up our asses, and our teammate kinda just made the choice of when t'go for us. C'mon.

[Incredible job everyone. Incredible job to Loop specifically. Speaking of Loop...

Loop runs out of the room and down a brief hallway decorated with similar sun motifs. You're in the sun wing, surprise surprise there's sun things everywhere. Not that Loop seems to be looking, since they're headed out to stab the crying thing like an unhinged moron.

First some exposition: The room they step into is a wide main room with a rectangular altar in the middle, emblazoned with symbols of a sun and moon on the sides. It's carved from stone like everything else here. On the wall hangs tapestries of similar make; the sun to the lefthand side when standing where the stone double-doors are, and the moon to the right. It is a place of worship for Bewie and Ourania... or it was. Because on that altar, held down by magic shackles of Sun and Moon, is a man of dark hair and complexion, screaming and thrashing against that which holds him tight to the stone. Vines of a different magic weave through his body like stitches, each one reinforced with interwoven threads of water and magic circles that look like swimming, translucent fish at the roots. Plumage of rainbow rests on the ground, lifeless like the Guardian it once belonged to, struck down long before the Black Sun was sealed. Yet here they rest. Here they rest as part of the ritual meant to seal the man away.

And he bleeds. Each vine, each thread of water, slices into flesh that heals and is lacerated again unendingly. Blood drips from the Black Sun and oozes into carved tracks in the altar and on the floor in something that neatly resembles a second, larger magic circle. One fuelled by the blood of the deity they mean to keep inside. A clever contraption, if one has the time to appreciate it. All of this is clearly meant to trap the Black Sun for eternity... perhaps, for him, it has already been eternity.

Something outside still bangs on the doors to this main room, still trying to get in. There's chatter, but no one can make out what's actually being said over the wailing.

And here's Loop. Loop, who decides that the only thing worth doing right now is... stabbing this guy? No one should be in this temple, and yet the four of you are, and Loop craves more blood than has already been spilled. As that knife cuts, well, wherever they aim for, they seem to forget that they are dealing with a fallen deity. Someone whose strength is enough to give all of the living Guardians and several overpowered pseudo-deities back at the Grove hell every damn day. Someone who, while bound and unable to move... can still manifest enough power to blast Loop with the very power of the sun itself, a black flame that licks up their arms and across their eyes, blots out the shine of their head and feasts upon their twisted flesh.

To those of you who might be rounding the corner in time to see this, it looks as though Loop was instantly vaporized. To Loop, it feels like hundreds of years of searing agony, even when their body is nothing more than a burned-out husk. Their death is cruel and painful, and they will be gone only for mere seconds before they are right back in the room they started in, feeling Beiwe's warmth and strength at their back.

Don't do that again, buddy.]

[Did they have a plan, going into this? Do they even know who it is they're attacking? On some level, maybe. But it's mostly an act of instinct, the cold stone walls surrounding them, the scent of blood and unknown Craft in the air. The atmosphere screams danger and who are they to deny it? It's been so long. It's been so long.

They thrust ahead, hands outstretched in the shape of scissors, cutting deep into the edges of the altar in one powerful strike

only to get vaporized like, instantly? Wow. That's pretty sad. Even the King left them clinging to life for a few minutes, this is more like... well.

It'll make sense, once their brain unscrambles from the endless heat that burns out from their centre. They collapse onto the floor of the starting room with a guttural hiss, clawing at the tile with their blunted fingers. The light of their head flares violently. The sizzling spikes along their skin hide how much their body shakes.

Ah. It doesn't smell like sugar.

How odd!]

[... nah, sorry, kiera has at least one thing to live for. they're not in a hurry to scramble after loop.

though it turns out they don't need to. there's a blast of heat from the hall, and suddenly, loop is back in the room. kiera doesn't understand the concept of, say, video game respawning, but they're aware that folks in the grove have died and returned. though not so quickly.

they wait for something to come down the hall, ready to either fight or transform into something far more subtle. when that doesn't happen, they turn their attention back to the fallen star, as it were.]

... What was that?

[If whatever is in here doesn't kill them first, then these bright fucking lights will.

It is obliterating to the senses just how much visual noise has gone on in the last few moments. Between their arrival being such a clusterfuck of shit blinding them before they got just ported in unannounced, to Loop....deciding to make the actual worst decisions ever and just gunning it into the fray, which has resulted in them getting instantly vaporized by something in there because honestly Wolfwood does not get a good enough look to actually tell. He just barely makes it around the corner by the time Loop is already gone and the room is flooded with darkness and heat, which causes him to recoil backwards. If anyone was standing, like, immediately behind him, he's going to run into them sorry.]

Shit-

[His shades make the oppressive darkness worse in that moment, and it's like being blinded in a different way. Dark instead of light. As if his vision weren't already swimming badly enough.

He manages to get back into the room by the will of God because it's certainly not his eyesight getting him there, just as Kiera turns to Loop and says something he doesn't fully make out. But eventually he gets his bearings and manages to shake it off, and he's fully ready to whip around and ask Loop if they've had enough of just running in guns blazing because he hates to say he told you so but h-

It feels abruptly like his head explodes from the inside. And for a brief, terrifying moment, he thinks Loop's brought some sort of bullshittery onto them over their stunt. He has no clue this is a delayed aftershock from Dipper, several rooms over, who has connected himself unfortunately to Wolfwood's brain and, well...

He grips his head with one hand while the other lets the Punisher slide heavily to the floor behind him (it leans up against the wall, thankfully), going stonily silent as he fights through whatever the hell is happening to him now. Maybe it's for the best it prevents him from opening his mouth, otherwise they'd be here all day. He blinks hard, his vision still blurry, and it feels like he's crying and he doesn't know why. He's so numb to pain there's no way he'd be crying.

But no, no. It's blood. Coming from his nose and one of his eyes, because he can taste the bitter iron on his tongue as it gets onto his lips.]

[ ... well! This is alarmingy severe. In the span of mere seconds, one of their group has been effortlessly obliterated from existence - at least returning immediately, it seems, which is a sort of blessing so long as nothing is lost - and another has apparently been hit by some sort of debilitating attack. That bodes well for whatever the rest of this is.

Caution is key, then. As he figured. With a sigh, he lifts one hand to manifest a handkerchief, holding it out to Wolfwood. No, he doesn't want it back later, ew. Once it's taken, he crosses his arms, tapping his fingers against his elbow thoughtfully. ]

So, clearly, rushing into things isn't the way to do it. Though, I can't say I'd react calmly if I got viciously attacked out of nowhere, either. I'm a little concerned about those designs on the floor, though... This is certainly a puzzle.

[ At least he likes puzzles! ]

Probably best if Loop and Wolfwood take a moment to recoup. That didn't look like a pleasant experience. Kiera, what do you say we play a little game of Detective? They can join along once they're settled.

[Loop is still quivering on the floor, doubled over and curled in on themselves. It's hard to tell if it's a response to Kiera's question, or Wolfwood's sudden psychic attack, or something else entirely, but—a sound bubbles up from their chest, rasped out between laboured breaths.]

Ha... haha! Hahahahahahahahahahaha!! Seriously?! Seriously?!? Hahahaha, oh, that's rich, you're killing me, you think you're so blinding funny, don't you?!

[they're so normal right now they're cry-laughing into the floor, it's fine. totally nothing bad happened in there. they're fine. super fine! never been better!!

They rise to their feet with surprising ease, a manic look in their eyes. They barely even glance at their party members, gaze already fixated on the exit once more.]

Just like riding a bike! Hah, not that I'd remember that! This is so much easier!!

[Back to the stage. They've got a weapon to find.

... yeah, they're going to march straight back into the vaporizing room if someone doesn't stop them.]

[As irritated and disoriented as Wolfwood still is, he will take the handkerchief and haphazardly wipe his face with it, because as it stands he still has no clue what happened to him. He's assuming it has to do with what Loop just did, and maybe because he was the only one to actually round the corner, he got hit with the residual blast. That's what he's being led to believe anyway, though he's honestly shocked he didn't get his own face melted off (and he would be ten times more pissed off if that was what had happened, let's be real here).

Blood smears across his cheek as he tries to blink it out of his eyes, currently only really able to see out of one of them as Loop starts hysterically shriek-laughing into the floor. His gaze shifts from them, to Josh, to Kiera, and for once he's fine with just sitting his ass here for a few minutes while Josh and Kiera do some more careful looking around.

Or, he would have been, if he didn't catch Loop getting up and starting to go right back where they came from HELLO--

He snarls under his breath, and since the Punisher is too far away, he'll just grab for his revolver under his blazer instead, the gun making an audible click when he pulls the hammer back.]

I am going to blast your brains out if you don't fucking stop.

[This is a promise, not a threat.]

[The gun does make them pause, but this is probably not the reaction Wolfwood was hoping for.]

Pfffftt, seriously?? Forget what I said last time, you're hilarious! A real comedian! Well? Go on, then! Don't tell me you're all talk.

[still walking away, bye. blow their fucking brains out see if they care]

[No it is not, but honestly it's not a surprising one to him either. And unlike if this were Vash he was trying to make stop, he doesn't hesitate. He won't hesitate. He didn't hesitate when it was Rollo, and he won't here. Especially not when Loop is putting them all in explicit danger by just?? Doing whatever the fuck they want. No bothering to consult with the group or figure anything out, no, just guns blazing let's fucking go try and stab the evil deity again that went so well the first time!

So he'll fire three times in rapid succession the moment Loop turns their back to him and starts trying for that room again.]

[HELLO???? HE ACTUALLY DID IT??

kiera flinches -- not exactly at the fact that wolfwood is shooting at an ally, more that he is just shooting -- and whirls toward wolfwood. not approaching, just glaring!]

We're in a tiny room! Don't fucking fire your loud-ass metal bow!

[Wolfwood lowers his arm, the tip of the gun still smoking, and looks over at Kiera out of the corner of his eye as Loop's form dissolves. They'll be back in a second, he figures, but this at least gives him enough time to respond.]

Oh I'm sorry, did you have a better idea? I don't think they were gonna be receptive to bein' grabbed and held back!!

[He actually...isn't sure that they can be, but he wasn't going to be the one to put his hands on them to test that theory.]

[Their brains do indeed get blasted. It looks a little a star exploding, lights shrinking back for a second before a blinding flash—nowhere near as bright as what happened before, but still painful to look at. Painful to feel, too! Wolfwood has good aim!

Before anyone can ask me the player what the insides of Loop's weird star-head looks like, they're already back to normal standing at the respawn point. They recover more quickly, this time, only a brief stumble as they adjust to the sudden loss and then regaining of balance.]

Hah! Not bad! I'm sooooo proud of you, good job, good job!!

So! What's your plan, then? Because we could do this aaaaall day, but I think we've got more important things to do than play chicken! [loop you LITERALLY started this shitshow]

[Just as he suspected, they're back faster than the time it probably took to process he shot them. And (maybe a bit less expected? maybe not? he isn't sure he even knows anymore), they return no less worse for wear, considering. If anything, he's being congratulated on actually going through with it.

He feels like he's going insane, genuinely. But at least with the way he drops the gun into his lap, still holding on just in case but you know, it's clear he won't try shooting Loop again. If anyone wants to stop them it'll have to be via other means next time, he isn't wasting all of his ammo here.]

Are you fuckin' stupid? What do you think's gonna happen if you just run back in there again? You wanna see if you can get blown up even faster a third time?!

Maybe!! Faster, slower, different approaches get different results! Come on, I know this isn't your first time in a death loop. Try to keep up!!

[At least they're not sprinting to the other room for a third time... but they're still moving in that direction, albeit a tad more relaxed. Why hurry? This will get boring if Wolfwood just keeps shooting them, anyway.]

There's only one way out of here, so we'll have to go in there eventually~ Now, do you want me to scout out a safe path through, or do you want to give it a try yourself, hmmm?

I can tell you right now, it's going to be a looooot worse for you than it is for me. Are you sure that's what you want?

double sorry that kiera is just gonna let it happen. also cw alcoholism / withdrawals

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cw: blood, ritualistic occult bullshit, torture & body horror, ao3 voice: major character death

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cw: uhh blood, specifically blood from the nose/eyes, thanks dipdop-

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cw: shooting to kill im so sorry

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cw: can we just put a big suicide/death/gore warning on this thread for awhile it's gonna be a night

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