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acceptedoblivion) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
sunset_horizons2016-09-11 03:41 am
acceptedoblivion) wrote in sunset_horizons2016-09-11 03:41 am
"Please be happy here."
Who: Ira (Riku Replica)
Where: The Tower of Animus, later Order's Sanctuary
Warnings: The Tower being the Tower, there's likely some body horror in there somewhere. Mentions of torture, etc.
So much has happened over the last eleven months. Sometimes it felt as though it were all a blur. Yet when he stepped through the portal, he instantly recognized the area. "This is..."
The long tables, the undeniable scent of the food bars, of collar fluid and heavy atmosphere. There was no denying it. Yet, as his senses confirmed their location, he couldn't help but raise his hands, as if examining them for the first time. The glamour was obviously failing right now--the countdown likely less than a few weeks until the end at most, judging by how it hadn't even flickered toward being "on" in the few moments he'd been staring at the sight in front of him. How was it possible, then, that his hands were still flesh? The armor of a dark knight still broken, and not film? The only glow being that of the emergency lights, and not including a violet light of his soul? Resting his right hand over his heart, he tried to shake the confusion from his mind.
"The halls have eyes and ears. She likely already knows we're here." There was no time to explain what he meant. For the cafeteria, there wasn't anyone present. Almost as though they were called elsewhere. He could also feel the eyes upon him as he took another step forward, motioning for anyone who followed him through to remain quiet.
Focusing inward, he called forth a Corridor of Darkness. There were a few scents he recognized in the Tower still. Focusing on one of them, he motioned for the others to follow him. It was risky, bringing them through the dark. Yet he had healing spells. He'd be fine, as long as the others weren't terrified of the swirling black abyss he conjured from thin air.
"A word of warning. No one in this Tower is what they seem. Those like me... they are souls trapped here, fighting to restore their worlds. If you see a girl with blonde hair, do not engage her--she will kill you without a second thought."
...That's right. It wasn't just his version of their worlds that relied on him, anymore. It was all of their worlds, too. He could taste a bit of bile in the back of his throat, and he swallowed hard. Right. He had to find out when this was and fast, and then find the next portal out of here and find that Tarutaru before it was too late. Letting that realization sink in could come later. First, he had to find a familiar face. Friend or foe, there were ways of getting them to let slip the when.
Where this Corridor took them, he hoped that it was to a floor with a friendly face.
Where: The Tower of Animus, later Order's Sanctuary
Warnings: The Tower being the Tower, there's likely some body horror in there somewhere. Mentions of torture, etc.
So much has happened over the last eleven months. Sometimes it felt as though it were all a blur. Yet when he stepped through the portal, he instantly recognized the area. "This is..."
The long tables, the undeniable scent of the food bars, of collar fluid and heavy atmosphere. There was no denying it. Yet, as his senses confirmed their location, he couldn't help but raise his hands, as if examining them for the first time. The glamour was obviously failing right now--the countdown likely less than a few weeks until the end at most, judging by how it hadn't even flickered toward being "on" in the few moments he'd been staring at the sight in front of him. How was it possible, then, that his hands were still flesh? The armor of a dark knight still broken, and not film? The only glow being that of the emergency lights, and not including a violet light of his soul? Resting his right hand over his heart, he tried to shake the confusion from his mind.
"The halls have eyes and ears. She likely already knows we're here." There was no time to explain what he meant. For the cafeteria, there wasn't anyone present. Almost as though they were called elsewhere. He could also feel the eyes upon him as he took another step forward, motioning for anyone who followed him through to remain quiet.
Focusing inward, he called forth a Corridor of Darkness. There were a few scents he recognized in the Tower still. Focusing on one of them, he motioned for the others to follow him. It was risky, bringing them through the dark. Yet he had healing spells. He'd be fine, as long as the others weren't terrified of the swirling black abyss he conjured from thin air.
"A word of warning. No one in this Tower is what they seem. Those like me... they are souls trapped here, fighting to restore their worlds. If you see a girl with blonde hair, do not engage her--she will kill you without a second thought."
...That's right. It wasn't just his version of their worlds that relied on him, anymore. It was all of their worlds, too. He could taste a bit of bile in the back of his throat, and he swallowed hard. Right. He had to find out when this was and fast, and then find the next portal out of here and find that Tarutaru before it was too late. Letting that realization sink in could come later. First, he had to find a familiar face. Friend or foe, there were ways of getting them to let slip the when.
Where this Corridor took them, he hoped that it was to a floor with a friendly face.
A Friendly(?) Face
"-please don't get hurt. You'll really die if you do!"
"...Tell me something I didn't already know," Ira muttered, just loudly for a few nearby to overhear him. The other residents of the tower may do a doubletake if they notice him, however. Luckily he did practice with Zexion's illusions, disguising the others to blend in. Himself? Not so lucky.
Re: A Friendly(?) Face
"Ira...how long were you here?"
Re: A Friendly(?) Face
But he could tell, Jason's and Riki's scents were gone from the Tower. He cupped his chin with a hand, attempting to differentiate scents of the others' souls as well as make out silhouettes of those still trapped in wireframe bodies. Perhaps it was vain to hope for it, but he knew how stubborn his original was.
"This must be the final battle."
So late, *sob*
"Final battle huh? What does that mean, exactly?" Keeping her voice whisper-quiet, but loud enough for those in their group to hear. Lydia had had enough adventures in the Neitherworld (and on Crystallis) where things had gone sour, to stay alert.
never late <3
"We had a year to stop those in charge and restore our worlds, or be wiped from existence with the fragments that remained. I was summoned to Crystallis a few months before time was up." He informed them all, nearly hyper-focused on the task. "Three of their presences have vanished, meaning the only one left to stand up to the one who caused this mess is that kid over there and those who will follow... but I'm not about to suggest risking your necks against her."
Their lives are more precious than his own, after all. Yet he muttered one more thing as he turned from the machine to face the two. "...They'll never succeed if this Tower is assimilated into Crystallis and Narayana, if it hasn't been already."
Re: never late <3
WARNING: link to extremely disturbing content/vision of the past
This hesitation is what kept him from calling himself a hero. "-I can't ask any of you to fight someone you know nothing about. With her, it'd be like throwing a bound lamb into the lion's den."
Perhaps it would be best to show them. It would be exhausting to try, but for a moment, things begin to flicker around them as a little girl with blonde, curly hair and black eyes formed in front of Lydia, holding onto a teddy bear. She looked almost completely normal, except something didn't seem... right about her.
It takes a lot of concentration for him to focus as a man in a suit soon appears as well, and then they both begin to speak to one another like the group isn't there. Like none of those still gathered can hear or see them. Though just before it gets to the bad part, he warns anyone to look away if they're at all squeamish.
Both illusions vanish the moment Ira nearly falls to one knee from overexerting his borrowed power.
Okay, yeah--that's disturbing. (Horror game and all right?)
Not that she hadn't seen horrifying things, scary things, terrifying and haunting and creepy things in the Neitherworld. It was the land of the dead, with powers that warped reality and twisted it. Her best friend being one of the most powerful ghosts with said reality warping abilities too.
But what she'd just seen...the cruelty of it.
That was what horrified her--the utter cruelty. That not only was it happening, but that the little girl felt as if she had every right to do that. No remorse, not even a hint. That was true evil, as far as Lydia was concerned.
It seemed only a second or two that she was stunned (even if it felt longer), and then she was wrapping her arms around herself. Trying to not shake, swallowing to find her breath and taking a deep one.
"We have our Job-powers...but against a being that can twist reality to their own ends." Quietly at first, then speaking to everyone. Even though it hurt--that they couldn't help. "We'd have to know their weaknesses, what they're vulnerable against and how to exploit it, and we'd have to be clever because it'd only work once. If we tried..."
Still determined to offer, the desire to help others is clear. (Maybe that's why she was summoned to Crystallis, instead of someone else from her world. Certainly it was what made her try and be a Hero.)
[Lydia is used to some disturbing things in the Neitherworld. But the callousness, the willfulness and lack of caring?--that's True evil. She's not used to that.]
(Y e a h. That's why I warned. Twice, technically.)
He pointed toward the little boy who was leaving with a group of the others. "That kid... he has power over the barriers of existence. He had enough power to pull the souls of us who weren't completely decimated by their worlds' destruction here. With him, we have a fighting chance." More than that, he thought. It was all but assured. Especially as he saw a few familiar souls follow suit. "I don't sense the other Admins, either... so it's safe to assume all but that kid got the same treatment Dax did."
A year and a half late
She limps over, favoring one of her legs, but waits until she's closer before calling his name out. Softly, out of habit.]
Ira! You- You got back!
[One of Zo's portals must have opened to his world somehow. Somehow. They don't know quite how but...]
shh it k
[It's more out of surprise, and relief. Yet when he notices she's limping, he rushes to close the divide. To make sure she's alright, if he could help. Whether or not Ganondorf, or one of their allies were here, he didn't care. This month had been enough for his garden of damns to grow barren.
When he reaches her, he offers his arm, bending down and very much in his real body, and wearing an outfit she's never seen him wear before.]
What happened? [Mainly to her, because if there is anything obvious on his face, it's worry.]
no subject
It's... Shion thinks it's sprained. We were fighting Riki and dropped the elevator so we could knock him outside the Tower. I landed badly.
[She still can't believe it's him, that he's actually here. Her grip on his arm might be a little tight.]
no subject
I noticed his scent was gone. Jason's, too.
Better late than never
But as they walked along, as he watched and listened to Ira, as he took in their surroundings, he wondered if he was still out of his league. "Ira...is everything okay? You seem a bit-"
He stopped, cut off by his friend's muttering. He stopped in his tracks, frowning as he looked at him. "Maybe we should leave this world now. Before we encounter anything."
aw ye
Something that he hadn't said before, or really told them at all. What he was before, he'd hinted at rather heavily. Though anyone who knew a single hint of Latin likely knew what 'animus' meant.
"I wonder..." He paused for a moment, looking at his hand before uttering darkness under his breath. Lo and behold, for the first time in almost a year, his entire form is enveloped with a familiar darkness, revealing his Dark Mode. "Well, good to know even without the glamour, I can still use this." Without explaining what that meant, he continued. "Besides, those that ran this place before were scientists exploring the depths and strength of the soul. There might be something here we can use to help Crystallis. And if we stick together, I should be able to teleport us away if trouble comes."
At least here he won't be completely useless.
Re: aw ye
The word wasn't precisely familiar to him, but it was close enough that he could get the implication behind it.
As the darkness burst forth Cloud took a step back, more out of surprise than fear, and more directly at the suddenness of it than at Ira and his change of look. In that instant Cloud couldn't help but worry he'd been caught in some trap, but he was relieved to see his friend seemed okay. And rather than pester him with questions, the blonde opted to trust the silver haired youth.
"Right. Lead the way. I've got your back."
A Trip to Jason's Floor (WARNING: mentions of vivisection, body horror)
"Take anything you can carry. Never know what will be useful later."
Especially since he was the surgeon of the five. Guy was practically covered in scalpels.
???
no subject
"...Guess this is it," he stated, a bit of bitterness behind his tone. He knew, he couldn't let this be for nothing. Their struggles, their lives. He can't. Not with the other two "saved" were still in stasis. He was the only one who could fight for these multiple versions of hundreds of worlds.
So why? Why is he hesitating now?