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sticksandbones2023-09-01 11:03 am
EVENT 004
It’s a calm, misty morning. The sun is peaking over the treetops, and the air is chilled, almost like the onset of fall. How long have you been here, now? Days? Weeks? Months? Everything blurs together. But so you persist… just. Not quite yet. The day’s only just waking up and so are you! Whether you like it or not. You see, as you slept, something has crept its way into your room, and as the sun peaks through windows and closed blinds, it’s finally grabbing you and pulling.
As you meet your rude awakening, the intruder is clear to see. Or rather, it’s incredibly unclear. Mist and fog and sickly-looking vines wrap around your legs and up your body as it drags you to the woods, and attacks of all sorts slide off like water on glass. There is no escape. It’s time to play, and the air is unusually, painfully hot.
The fog of the forest grows dark and heavy as you’re pulled along against your will, and as you go something seems… different. Maybe your body seems lighter and off balanced. Maybe certain features are no longer tickling your skin. Maybe the connection to the world around you has been brutally severed — all that can be said is that as you’re eventually spat out to a metal platform, you feel incomplete somehow. Magic doesn’t come when you call. Gear doesn’t activate properly. Whatever happened, you’re a completely ordinary human, and it stings.
You and your fellow denizens of the Grove stand on a seeringly hot metal platform, and the air burns your lungs. Ash and soot float through the air, singeing wherever it lands for a split second. Towering up before you is a volcano that has no right being here — but it is. Platforms and smaller spires and rocks litter your surroundings, and scorch marks are everywhere.
The only consolation is that whatever is about to happen, you at least aren’t doing this in your pyjamas.
Eventually, as sweat builds up and the wind only burns further, a too-familiar childish voice rings out: "It’s playtime! If you win, I’ll show you something REALLY cool. …Oh, but surely I don’t have to explain ‘The Floor is Lava’, right?"
It goes silent, and there’s a loud metal grind of something. The lava beneath the platform begins to rise, and so does the hateful heat.
At least there are multiple ways out. You can attempt to hop across crumbling platforms, mysteriously and magically floating overhead — though they might break after a few footsteps. You can try climbing the burning-hot, stony surface of the surrounding cliffsides, where flows of magma get a bit too close for comfort. You can take the safer-but-risky way of running through the game area’s many mazelike paths, cut into and through the cliffs, but be careful; should the magma rise too high, those pathways will be flooded. No matter what you choose, the goal is to get to the top, out of the volcanic arena and to a designated “safe zone" waiting on an overhang at the volcano's lip. Up there, an invisible barrier prevents victors from climbing back down into the game zone, and up there is where you will wait with your fellow victors if you succeed. It’s air-conditioned, as if you’re still not trapped within a volcano.
As the first of you reaches the top of the rise, a victory fanfare plays from somewhere, but the lava begins to rise faster. Faster and faster, for each person who succeeds — or dies a horrible, fiery death. You’d better hope your success doesn’t come at the cost of someone else’s life.
As soon as there are no players remaining in the game, another chime plays from a still-mysterious location. After a cheerful voice congratulates you on your victory, the fog encircles you again, as it had done earlier in the day. When you next blink, you’re back in the Grove, standing exactly where you were when you were first taken.
Those of you who died, however, will wake up the following morning in your usual sleeping quarters, be it in your bed or outside in the forest. The good news is, you’re hale and healthy despite everything. A voice whispers to you as soon as you reawaken: "Better luck next time!"
CLICK TO EXPAND!
ii. to rise, to rise, to rise ( closed to add until it's time for elsword )
but the lava's rising and they're both still here at the bottom- )
Hey. I'm stronger than I look- let me help you up.
no subject
he really, really wants this to be a bad dream. if the forest can really do something like this whenever it pleases then it should just kill him now and get it out of the way.
He jumps when Felicity speaks—has she been here the whole time? He's scowling but his eye is too wide, panicked. He's only at Dynamo four of six, the other two rolled to opposite ends of the platform.]
What are you standing around for?! Give me a hand, we need to move now!
[that's
exactly what she was saying... it's fine.]
no subject
though, goddamn she hates her cardigan for once. tying it around her waste, it's easier to see her defined muscles on her arms now- though, even the tanktop feels suffocating right now. hair, up; it's still too long to be practical in this event, but it's too much to put in a bun so. they're both out of luck. turning around, she gestures- )
Either this, or I'm carrying you like a princess. C'mon.
( it's piggy-back time. )
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I can't leave without Dynamo! [They're built to take a beating, heatproof even, but that doesn't mean much if they're buried under a sea of lava. Without his Nasod chip he can't tell which one carries the AI. If he loses them here...
he knows it's stupid, irrational, dangerously reckless, almost suicidal, literally against his own advice and everything Dynamo has ever done for him, but he still tries to drag himself in the opposite direction instead of climbing onto Felicity. just one more, he can grab just one more before it reaches them, and then—]
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( unlike her tone before, which was almost- almost- playful, she's much calmer here. it's risky, running to grab them when they don't have a lot of time, but if it's important, it's important. as much as she hates to admit it... this is what she was made for.
felicity's fast, and this... okay, the lava's pretty bad, but she's run obstacle courses like this. start at point a, grab something at point b, get back to point a, get the haul and go. add is the haul in this situation. she was trained for greed- to claw and tear and take whatever she wants from the world around her.
bout time she uses it for something kinder. she knows add will yell at her for this- leaving him for a moment when they don't have time, but it's fine. he needs to have something to give him a semblance of control, she gets it. she'll let him have his cake and eat it too.
point a is dangerous and the heat warps her vision- she wants to try, for him. she
wants to be his friend. and to be better. they're already roommates but that can be turbulent and shaky and- and she's always been a lonely girl.
she can only scoop the nearer drone up, before she's forced to turn back, wrapping it in her cardigan so it doesn't burn her hands. they're out of time, and she can only flash him an apologetic look as she presses the bundle into his arms and just... scoops him up. ... she'd wanted to give him some dignity.
she doesn't look around at the other platforms for any sign of anyone else. all they can do is go. )
no subject
(she's stubborn, she's pushy. if she drags him out, he can blame her for his failure. if she abandons him then it's her fault. but if she tries to do it for him, even in spite of the risks, the only one to blame is...)
he's not thinking straight. there's no time to dwell on it, a bundle pushed into his arms before he's swept off the ground, unable to do anything but watch as Fel hard-carries him to safety. It only takes a couple more seconds for the last Dynamo to sink below the lava completely.
He clings to the bundled up machine, tilting his head down to hide under his visor. Fuck.]
... We won't stay dead, s-so... [it's such a pathetic excuse he can't even finish it. so what? her life is less valuable than his machines? a painful death and a sacrifice doesn't matter as long as she's still alive later?
he scoffs, shoving all his unpleasant thoughts away. he'll wait until they're in a safer spot first, but it's still not long before he's nudging her with his elbow]
Don't just run around blindly. We'll stop and assess the situation. The path ahead could change so we need to be aware of our options.
no subject
... Are they actually alive?
( ...
she should have tried harder, if so. it's not an unusual concept, not to her. not with everything she's seen in her short life. she grits her teeth, and almost effortlessly makes a leap that might give someone else pause, even with his weight- )
Once I secure a safer position. ... I know we're basically strangers. But I was the top of my class, and we were raised for things like this. Trust me. Alright?
no subject
Does it matter right now? They're my assistants, so I'm not leaving them behind. If you have a problem with that then no one's forcing you to do anything about it.
Unless you were raised for volcano-diving, I'm the one with more experience here. [it's ???? not total bullshit, he did make it through Lanox in one piece... but most of that was thanks to proper gear, preparations, calming an elemental beast that could prevent the volcano from erupting any further... not exactly helpful advice to their current scenario.] I can't walk, but I can watch the road ahead for instability, map out a safe route... if we work together, we can make it out of here.
[...
he's missing an eye, and also, his microchip is broken... how is he supposed to do any of that like this? but he has to make up something he can be useful for. if he can't even pretend to be useful, what's stopping her from leaving him behind...?
she's been kind to him so far, but. no one in the world is truly selfless. he can't trust her.]
no subject
( his only hint that she was raised for cruelty. she won't clam up if he decides to pry, though.
she hums softly in agreement, hopping over a fissure (ignores how the steam scalds her legs) and comes to a slow as the initial rumble of the lava's rise stops. they've got a bit more time, she can't afford to blow all her energy early. )
I'm trusting you to be my eyes, then.
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He hugs the bundled dynamo to his chest like it's a security blanket, trying to keep his eye on the path ahead... he's quickly starting to notice the little differences, all the ways his enhancements have been helping him that he's taken for granted. Even with an eye missing he didn't have to worry about depth perception because his implants can detect distance with ease. His vision is overall poorer, inhibited by dust and smoke and waves of heat, can't search for specific shapes or movements, can't even adjust the image quality...
it's giving him a headache. He groans, already giving up on the one task he accepted responsibility for—just let him close his eyes for a minute, it'll be fine, probably.]
... do you feel anything strange? Besides the obvious... ["it's hot" isn't a necessary observation]
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though, now that he mentions it... )
Mm... A little, but I think it's because I've been cut off from what is essentially my lifeblood? Without my magic my entire species itself is invalidated-
no subject
... if he can explain it, it's a little less frightening of a situation. okay. so they've been brought somewhere that has a disruptive aura, capable of shutting off his implants and Felicity's magic. that's something he can understand. he can work around it.
deep breaths. stay calm.]
... Dynamo is also nonfunctional. It's likely to do with this place, so it should go back to normal once we leave. Will you be alright until then?
no subject
( but these are very abnormal circumstances. she's not sure how much she's got in her- all the more reason to get as high as they can while they can, right? she knows for a fact elsword won't enter the safezone before he can ensure everyone is in- she'll pass add off to him and rest, and then catch up, if it comes down to it. )
I can work through any discomfort, though. It's not the worst I've lived through.
no subject
Add leans over to dig through his medkit, yes he is doing this while being carried, no he is not giving her any warning. He'll wait until they are not in the middle of a dangerous path but if she drops him he'll get mad.]
There's no time to test the effectiveness, but— here. [he holds up a vial of purple liquid that pulses with an erratic glow. totally safe, probably, maybe.] It's meant to amplify resonance and increase physical capabilities for a time, but if the El energy it contains is close enough to your body's natural production, it may also be able to stave off more unpleasant withdrawal symptoms... in theory. [ahem. she can imagine her own fine print to that.]
I'd advise against using it unless you feel you need to... but take it. Just in case.
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... el energy, huh? that's the magic elsword produces. maybe... though, his felt so much more holy than hers ever could. ideally, it may even improve her performance a little... )
In theory. ... I've got the pros, so what are some of the cons? Best to make an informed decision, and all...
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Aside from that, the only side effects are from repeated use in a short span of time... I also have medicine to treat that effect, so it's fine if you have to use more than one.
[it's actually kind of impressive how confident he can make himself sound while explaining how he intentionally made a drug that hurts his teammates and strengthens enemies "for efficiency"
please tell him he's being helpful.......]
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( hate that she actually still takes time to debate mentally. ... well, it's just the heat, right? if it's just a matter of not taking damage, that's actually pretty easy, even with carrying him. the passive heat doesn't count- )
Yeah, alright. I'd rather not risk the symptoms kicking in at a bad time, honestly.
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... but this is business, so he is quick to pull his emotions back to something more presentable. just a small, reserved smile for a happy customer.]
I have a few more on hand if necessary. This is something I can make in a snap, so don't feel like you have to suffer through any symptoms.
no subject
this is normal for her is what i'm saying. )
Alright. I'll let you know if I feel any changes.