5137/ICoT: What's Left Undone
From Multiverse Crisis MUSH
| ICoT: What's Left Undone | |
|---|---|
| Date of Scene: | 13 March 2017 |
| Location: | The Bastion |
| Synopsis: | Kid invites Elites into the rarely-explored Jawson Bog on his hunt for Shards. What happens next is I N T O X I C A T I N G |
| Cast of Characters: | The Kid, 325, Alexis, Kotone Yamakawa, August Kohler, 1094 |
- The Kid has posed:
Jawson Bog is certainly that. Upon emerging from the warpgate at the coordinates given, the heat and the smell hits you in the face like a lukewarm fish. The humidity seeps in fast, with the thick foliage overhead trapping in whatever warmth gets in. This has caused an explosion of all kinds of moss and lichen over the course of centuries, leaving trees so choked in the stuff they've withered and died as a result. The aroma of rot and sullied water is everpresent, leaving the air itself feeling grimy in the lungs.
The Kid is waiting, sitting on a fallen tree. His best friend, his Cael Hammer by his side as usual. The handle leans against his chest, supported by his arms. It's almost like he's holding it close for emotional support. Coming from a gruff character like him, the idea is almost laughable. It doens't help that he seems half asleep, head nodding like he's about to drift off. But as people arrive, he snaps out of it and stands.
"Thanks for comin'," he murmurs, rubbing at his eyes. "C'mon. We reckon it's this way." And with that, he's walking along ancient wooden planks left by Jawson himself to make the rudimentary path.
- Rhapsody (325) has posed:
It was clear this was Rhapsody's first journey out into this world, but that wasn't going to slow the guildmaster down one bit. The armoa of the place will certainly strengthen the memory of Jawson's bog, but who knows what actually waits within it's borders.
Laying eyes on the Kid, the dragon is about ready to offer her hand before he makes motions to wander further into the bog. Without missing a beat, Rhaps simply closes up the front of her jacket and moves to follow after the Kid. "Anything we need to know?"
- Alexis has posed:
Such is life in the Multiverse. You step through a warpgate and you get slapped in the face by everything foul in a new environment. The heat doesn't bother Alexis so much, but the humidity and the stench of rot in stillwater is still enough to get her to briefly cover her nose. "Good goddish it smells worse than the last time my aunt didn't clean her Purugly's litterbox for a week!"
After a moment to recover from the introduction to Jawson's Bog she clicked a pokeball, and appearing before her is the stout avian-humanoid form of her Hawlucha. Whom strikes a pose or two as wrestlers are tendant to do before folding his plumed arms around himself like a cape. < .. There is wretchedness here. It permutes the land. >
"You can smell it, too. Keep your eyes open, Hurri, these places have gotten... crumbly in the past." The avian simple nods before trodding after Alexis as she starts to follow the Kid. "Yeah, what the dragon said. Any idea what we're walkin' into here?"
- Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
SO here Kotone was, she'd seen Rhapsody it was a not expected she knew the dragon was quite busy running her guild and likely trying to mitgate the insanity of the League. Kotone was ready for trouble though as she was clad in stealth gear and packing a rifle across her back just in the event theeis trouble she looks to the Kid for a moment with a smile.
"Good to see you."
She gives Rhaps a no for a moment grinning but she'll fall in step with the Kid and also taking note of Alexis as well.
"Oh Alexis didn't think I'd see you in the sector. I'd heard youd gone to ground, something about bikes and a kid with a red cap...?"
- The Kid has posed:
"You'll get lost in that bog. And I won't be able to guide you back."
Kid ruminates on those parting words her had with Rucks. Unfortunately, Zulf's episode left the Bastion in a real bind. They can keep it going, but all the Cores, even the ones the Ura took, can't make fully operational anymore. Now they need Shards, objects that could be described as baby Cores. Back in the frontier days of Caelondia, they seeded the Wilds with the ones that had, so that as the City expanded, they would have time to grow into Cores, ready and waiting to power the new parts of the City they built there.
And as it just so happens, the Shard in Jawson Bog is there as a result of the only successful expedition to the place, by the man it's named from.
At least, that's how Kid explains it all to the uninformed as they walk. The path is thick with overgrowth, which explains why he's also brought his War Machete to cut through the branches and vines in his path. "Haven't a clue," he says in response to queries as to what to expect. "Jawson and his boys never spoke much 'bout what they went through here."
And then, there it is.
A purple light cuts through the air like a knife, dimly lighting the clearing it occupies. It's emanating from a crudely cut hunk of rock, hovering in the air and shimmering gently. "The Shard," the Kid whispers, quickly moving towards it. "This is it. Let's grab it and get outta here." But then, as he gets close in the darkly lit clearing, he seems to stumble. Did the moss get him, or just his apparent exhaustion?
- August Kohler has posed:
August Kohler is, and has been exhausted. He still hasn't fully recovered from his excursion into Ainsley's mind, but that's not going to stop him from assisting where he can, even if that's a terrible idea for his health. Due to the fact that it's a bog, he's dressed in just a t-shirt and jeans, a cheap reflective bracelet on his wrist. August is the last to arrive, having been preparing a backpack: water, rations, cleaning supplies. He's been in swamps before, a bog is pretty much the same.
The redhead covers his mouth as he first inhales the air, coughing up. "Ugh. It's way too hot here. Let's get this done and get out of here." August glances around the area as they approach, idly wondering who would name their kid Jawson, before they spot the shard. The Kid goes to grab it...and stumbles, leading for August to rush up to him and try and give him some support. "Hey, you alright?"
- Rhapsody (325) has posed:
A friendly wave is given to the others that arrive, Alexis, August, and Kotone are all familiar, "Nice to have some friendly faces coming to this .. really -awful- place. Guh. I can't even lie about it, there's nothing good that could come out of this place, it feels like," the dragon grumbles before falling in behind the Kid. One of her blades is drawn loose, cutting away at anything that the Kid doesn't get himself.
Coming on the shard, Rhapsody is surprised, "Well, I stand corrected, that is probably the only decent thing in the whole place." When Kid stumbles, and August moves up, Rhapsody actually draws out her second blade and moves to stand between them and ... nothing. Something? It's a bog, she doesn't want anything attacking them.. "You okay?" She asks over her shoulder, still watching the edges of the area around the shard.
- Alexis has posed:
Alexis snorts with bemusement at Kotone's question. "Ash has enough girls hounding him." At least two over broken bikes, and who knows what else. "I can do more to help folks around these parts... Besides, with how well he gets lost, you'd never find him -trying- to."
One 'travel exposition' later, and the purple glow of what they're apparently searching for is before them. Only for Kid to take a tumble trying to get to it. "Hey, be careful. Don't forget what you just said about not knowing what's out here." The Shard just makes Alexis grimace a little even as she steps closer, keeping pokemon at her side.
This didn't feel right. After the insanity they had gone through with previous ventures, just finding the Shard like that felt... too simple. And that was making her hackles bristle.
- Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone is moving quick she keep with the group in the Bog, she darn well knows that ignopring the locals could end in disaster zo she keeps in the group she moves. "I see, soundd troubling if they never wanted to talk about it..." She moves towards the shard too she sees the kid stumbke abnd takes note of August's arrival he's looking tired hell Kotone's feeling worn out wihich is odd. She nods ot Rhapsody.
"I have to agree on that good to ahve some friendly fashes.
"Ah I see must have bene some faulty information, I never got to meet him but I heard stories about him. Something about his Chamader's war against Gravity and how it never ended well."
She'll look concenrely at Kid as well as August, is everyone just worn out already?
"Kohler, good to see you and ... your right? Kid is something wrong?"
- Flamel Parsons (1094) has posed:
Agent Parsons was involved last time, and so, too, will he try to get involved in this one. He's one of the ones who got late to the Bastion, after all, so he's decided he'll take some responsibility for what happened and try to get the Shard. Oddly, though, it seems... Not very difficult. Or perhaps difficult in a very strange way. He remains wary, keeping to the fore of the group, peering... Right now, he has no cause to believe that anything unusual is going to happen, and is more humorously concerned with saying a variety of humorous and blatantly false statements about government mind control gasses as they deal with the swamp's stench and The Kid's apparent difficulties...
- The Kid has posed:
As they come to check up on the Kid, the reason for his sudden collapse becomes immediately apparent. The darkness obscured it, but there's a thick cloud of spores around the Shard, hanging in the air like a green mist. It gets all over the skin, into the lungs, making the air spin. The smell is...
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- August Kohler has posed:
August's eyes widen in alarm as he sees that the Kid has fully collapsed, but before he can say or do anything, he swallows the mist, and after a few seconds, falls to the ground beside The Kid.
- Rhapsody (325) has posed:
Once she's certain that nothing is about to ambush the group, the dragon sheathes both blades and turns to the Kid and the Shard, moving closer. "Hey, are you ok-.." and then the spores come into view far, far too late, "ggh, oh.. that..... isn't.... ngh..." it sets the dragon stumbling before taking a knee. She actually fumbles for her radio for just a second but doesn't manage to transmit anything.
- Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa gets closer and while he's mostly machine her brain is still mostly flesh and certain things can get past her filters. Kotone gets closer to the kid then even she collapses like a puppet with her strings cut. When she stops moving there's a creepy loss of life to Kotone's form as it hits the muck infested ground.
- Alexis has posed:
Too concerned for the Kid to notice, until it's too late. "I knew this felt too easy!" Alexis manages to cough out, before slumping herself. She stumbles back a little, which only accomplishes that her Pokemon breaks her tumble. Because she falls on top of him. Crap crap crap, what manevolent environment did they wind up in this time?! Why does it feel like this very world has it out for people trying to -save- it?!
- Flamel Parsons (1094) has posed:
Agent Parsons finds his mind under assault the moment he steps forward to try to help the group! No, this isn't ordinary gas. He can feel psychic damage on a deep and profound level, and he knows the sensation when it hits him. It's looking for something... A hook, a foothold, one it can't find in his mind. He's missing something that the others have. Something that's hard to figure out. But he can't focus on that right now. It's finding it in the others. As the others collapse under the mind-bending assault, he staggers back and stumbles. "No no. Wait. Just wait. Everyone just... Uh oh. This is bad. This is bad! This is bad, bad bad bad. Crap crap crap, it's a Psychohazard! I'm sure! No no no no no wait."
He strains. His head sparks like an overloaded lightbulb. "Just," He stammers, "Everyone just hold on a second! Please don't panic too much! This is going to be risky, but... Just hold on! I promise, everything will be alright." The others are fully gone now, there's already nobody to talk to. He closes his eyes, trying to tame his own skull. "Everything will be alright." He says, as much to assure himself. But the moment he reaches out in psychic planes towards the influence, he realizes how bad an idea that is. "NO NO NO NO NO, NO" He mutters intensely. "No no no no this is... Too much for me to deal with. No I can't deal with all of them alone!"
He calls out to the collapsed group, even though his voice won't break through their daze. "Listen." He says, "If any of you are able to hear any of this, I'm going to try putting us together. Maybe you can help each other." He can't approach the shard like this, or even get near the collapsed allies himself. But he can cast off his sunglasses, press his fingers to his temples, and open his glowing-white eyes wide. "Just hold on." He says. "Prepare your mind."
He's got an idea. But they'll have to keep together long enough for him to act on it. And that's going to be its own challenge.
- The Kid has posed:
~August's Nightmare~
"I don't /enjoy/ a hunt unless I get to play with my prey."
August awakens on a stone floor. It's slick, and not entirely with water based on the taste of copper in his mouth. Or maybe he just bit his tongue? Upon raising his head, he is immediately confronted with the sight of iron bars before him. He's in a cell, somewhere deep in the dungeon. The atmosphere of the place reminds him of something...
The trap-filled castle where he met the Huntsman.
The cackle of the Shadow fills the air as this realization hits, only to be cut through by the sound of bright, sunny meowing. It's in a voice that most often was accompanied by strange, playful banter and the promises of exciting violence.
Panzercat.
"Run for him boy," the Huntsman says from nowhere as the doors of the cell swing open. "Maybe this time you'll save him. Try to make it fun for me, won't you?"
- The Kid has posed:
~Alexis' Nightmare~
"Human and Pokemon can /never/ be friends."
Alexis awakens in her bed. Her bed, back home, her early home. She's the age she was when it happened. Everything in her bedroom is exactly as she remembers. It's like that day never happened.
The day that Mewtwo came.
As if she had beckoned the devil himself, he appears. Hovering high above. Even in spite the walls and roof around her, Alexis can feel his presence immediately. And no matter the distance, she can hear the screams turning into guttural howls, reminiscent of Pokemon.
He's here, and he's activated the device, again.
"Come, human. Try to help. It will only hasten your inevitable destiny," Mewtwo says, addressing /her,/ his tone cold and alien.
- The Kid has posed:
~Kotone's Nightmare~
"You're like me. Better."
Kotone's awakening feels hazy and distant, as if she were not entirely there to experience it. Her eyes open, only to behold herself lying on an operating table. Her blood soaks the feet of the surgeons operating in vain to salvage her body, mangled beyond recognition, concealed under a sheet that might have been blue once, but is now entirely stained crimson.
Memories flash before her eyes. The runaway cyborg plowing into her, the vicious snap of bone breaking hard enough to break the skin, distant sirens coming closer and closer.
Is this it? Was everything a dying dream? The Multiverse, the Union, the Paladins... hallucinations of her hoping for a better life as she died here?
- The Kid has posed:
~Rhapsody's Nightmare~
"The essence of every world, every spell, and every thought is power. Nothing else matters, because nothing else exists."
Rhapsody's eyes snap open to behold the Izzet League far below. The sun is setting on the day, with everyone on their way home, or to spend the night making merry. The end of another warm-hearted, productive day.
And then a cruel, reptilian voice hisses in her ear.
"Burn it down," speaks Nicol Bolas, the Planeswalker's words sinking into the dragon's soul. Even without thinking, her red scales hum, so infused by Red mana. The power of simple, fiery destruction comes unbidden, ready to be unleashed on all below her. All she need to is unleash it.
And she will. For Nicol Bolas has commanded it.
- Rhapsody (325) has posed:
The spores choke the breath out of Rhapsody, vision fades, strength falters, and a clawmark or two are left in the dirt before darkness washes over mind and body. At least there was peace in unconsciousness. A place of respite from a world that seemed to be irritated by coming to help the Kid claim a shard. It's comfortable here, nothing can harm you there.
Then why is there such a pounding noise?
https://youtu.be/6DpB9R8GGAs
It's a heartbeat, it isn't hers, but it's familiar all the same. As her eyes manage to open once again, she can see her home far below. She can feel her wings against the sky, the warmth of the sun at her back, and yet her whole form feels cold. When she hears -that- voice, hears -his- command, and feels her body slowly move to comply, she panics, only to find herself trapped in her own mind once again. She's a prisoner behind her own eyes as the scales along her back start to channel the red mana of her home, as a breath is taken in and the flames in her chest start to spring to life. The people below have no -clue-. In her mind, she thrashes against the chains of the name-magic that was used against her by that dark dragon once before. Here she is again, at his mercy, with no way to fight back.
<NOT AGAIN!!!>
- Alexis has posed:
Choking, collapsing, gasping for help that wasn't there because everyone else was falling in the same way. The humid haze lingering with the fade of conciousness.
And then the flutter of blankets as Alexis bolted awake from the bed. She heaved a few times, trying to recompose herself, putting one hand to her forehead.... and then pulling it back slowly as she sat up, going slightly crosseyed as she tried to peer in front of her. The hand had pushed her bangs to her face making them easier to see. And to confirm what she had seen she reached back with one hand to grab the rest of her hair and pull it over her shoulder.
It hung over her shoulder in a braided ponytail like she use to wear it. And dyed dirty blonde like she use to, to hide the bubblegum pink color she use to think was too girly for her tomboyish attitude... Or is that was, and everything else she was remembering up to passing out a dream?
This was her old room... or was the barn with all the pokemon and other monsters the dream?
And it doesn't matter, because everything is going into nightmare when she hears -that voice-. That one demonic psionic tone she had never wanted to hear again. Backdropped by the screams that start human but distort all the more eerily as they become more feral, more Pokemon like.
"Why did it have to be... Catalyst, I need a mental blo--" No, wait, there was no such pokemon. This was long before she had ever ventured to those regions. Or to the rest of the... the something...
"Fuck!" A curse is all she manages to sum up with, grabbing the flannel shirt (and not the hoodie she's more currently known for) hung over the end of the bed and trying to yank it on even as she's racing out of the house.
Why the hell was it this? Why the hell was it -him-?! It was always that genetic freak, coming back to haunt her...
- Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Why is she awake the pain is gonethat's bad she knows, the man who attacked her the cyborg crushing the sounds of bones brekaing one should never hear breaking. Was it all just a dream? Her mind playing with her as she lay ding a hope for a better life? Her failing brain trying to strike back at the cold reality of the universe by giving her an dream of a better life, trying to replace reality with her own desires? Did Rory? Maaka and Corona really exist? Was tis all a dream? She can hear teh surgeins wor but the talk is grim.
Maybe ths is the end but ... it was such a nice...dream in the end wasn't it?
- August Kohler has posed:
It takes a few seconds of blinking for August's eyes to adjust to the sudden change of terrain. As soon as he awakes, he glances around the cell, frowning, before looking down at the slickness. What's going on? Wasn't he just-
And then he realizes why this cell feels familiar. The German moves to grab his radio...but it's gone. "Shit." August's eyes move towards his wrist, where the mirrored bracelet also was. Gone. Backpack, gone. Still incapable of summoning his spoon to his side. He has nothing. He's about to shout out for help...when he hears the Huntsman's cackle, and he hears that meowing. August's body freezes, chills running down his back. The Huntsman is alive? No, they killed him...and Panzercat...he shouldn't be here. This shouldn't be here. But this is real. It feels real. That voice is exactly the one he remembers. That meow. That cheer that could be used either for joyful comments or declarations of genocide. August remains silent as the Huntsman's voice manifests, telling him he has a chance. This can't be happening...but it is. It's definitely happening, and Panzercat is still alive. August can save him. And if August saves him, then maybe that means that the events that day never happened. Never will happen.
There's hope. There's most certainly hope. August Kohler springs to his feet, bursting out of the jail cell and trying to find the source of the meowing. Fate will change...right?
- Flamel Parsons (1094) has posed:
Parsons' eyes begin to glow more and more brightly. This isn't going to be a normal, everyday astral projection. His plan is simple. Establish a miniaturized version of the collective unconscious. A collective mental space. Something to connect the Psychohazards together. If he can get this right, the group might be able to work together to fight each other's manifestations of the psychohazard. The group might be able to turn the individual manifestations against each other.
Or... Or maybe the Psychohazard will just manifest collectively and get stronger. Which would be /vastly/ worse. No, no. No fears. Focus. Focus on this. And then, step in, and...
He moves forward with short, cautious steps, and then, to finalize the connection... He breathes in. He breathes deeply of the gas, intentionally linking himself as much as possible to the psychohazard to pull as many of the people here into the network as possible. He takes as big an inhalation as he can stand. And just like the others, it's...
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| No no. Wait. Just wait. Everyone just... |
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| Uh oh. This is bad. This is bad! This is |
n | bad, bad bad bad. Crap crap crap, it's a |
| Psychohazard! I'm sure! No no no no no wait |
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| Just | o
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| Everyone just hold on a second |
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| Please don't panic too much! | c
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| This is going to be risky, but...|
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n | Just hold on! I promise, |
| everything will be alright |
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| Everything will be alright |
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| NO NO NO NO NO |
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|NO|
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| No no no no this is |
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| Too much for me to deal with. |
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| No I can't deal with all of them alone! |
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|Listen.|
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| If any of you are able |
| to hear any of this, |
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| I'm gonna try putting us together. |
| Maybe you can help each other. |
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| Just hold on |
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| Prepare your mind |
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- The Kid has posed:
As Flamel willingly submits to the vapors, he hears a high, distant cry coming from somewhere in the Wilds. This place is meant to be dangerous, right? Is it really okay to le ave th e ir b o d i e s u n a t t e n-
- The Kid has posed:
~Collective Nightmare~
The nightmares shift, shudder, and coalesce. In a single blink, Rhapsody is no longer alone in the skies. A strange, gray cat creature now hovers nearby, paying her no mind. The Izzet League below has suddenly been mashed with another town, but that matters little. Above them floats a rock in the sky, the sounds of violence echoing from it.
From the dragon's mouth erupts fire, fire that ignites the buildings far below. The screams only intensify as a result, people running for their lives from the flames as well as those who suddenly begin shifting, their eyes pleading for help. "Now. Go down, and cut a path of carnage through them," Nicol Bolas hisses into her hear, her wings and muscles tensing already. Far below, she hears a familiar scream... is that Yunomi?
A woman who escaped the flames but not the morphing stares pleadingly at Alexis as she sprints into the mashed-together city, horns and spines erupting from their skull. As the young girl runs past, her arms shift into forelegs, causing a mighty scream to rip from her lungs. The city isn't quite as she remembers anymore, but it's in utter chaos. Humans slump, with their Pokemon looking at them, trying to help however they can. Police attempt to maintain order, only for those in their ranks to be struck with sudden cramps as their very skeletons warp painfully.
And throughout it all, that damnable mutant stares down at her balefully. "The screams and pain will end soon, humans. This will erase your own hateful nature. Be thankful that I offer this instead of death."
In a hospital in the city, Kotone watches as her own heart rate monitor begins to flatline. A nurse screams as blood gushes from the soon-to-be corpse to hit her in the face. There's a lot of noise coming from outside the surgical theatre now, but it's hard to pay it any mind. Is this really the end? As things start to go dim, the doors suddenly slide apart, a man in a suit striding in.
And then everything snaps back into horrible focus.
Whereas before she could feel nothing, now she feels lies, illusions of something that pretend to be as keen as what they were before. Script hovers before her eyes as they focus, syncing with her occipital lobe. Everything seems miles away as her fingers twitch without consent, sensations from nothing hammering her somatosensory cortex.
"Perfect," whispers the voice of Rory White as clamps on her limbs come free, releasing her from the bed she lay on.
Beneath the city is the sewers, which are now also the dungeon August races through. Unarmed and with nothing to summon his Persona. Panzercat's voice bounces around the tunnels, always clear and keen, beckoning him to chase harder, run faster. Thus far, nothing has jumped out to kill him, and no traps have been placed. Is it all a trick by the Huntsman, or is he merely letting the tension build?
From around the next corner, a woman screams. It's a familiar voice.
As August rounds it, he finds the body of Janine. Run through by her own sabre, it's clear to see that she's already dead. Scowling face has gone placid with blood dribbling down her chin. But Panzercat continues to beckon, even calling the boy's name now.
And somewhere in all this, Flamel manifests.
- Rhapsody (325) has posed:
From within her mental prison, Rhapsody is likely having a mental break. This was quickly becoming the most vivid nightmare the young guildmaster has experienced since the yellow dragon came around before. As fire and lightning mix and crash into the city below, tears do manage to form, the only way she's able to protest the current reality she is experiencing. She has -no- clue that something other than herself and Bolas are in the skies above the city.
A second command comes, and her pleas never make it from her mind to her muzzle.
Unable to fight back against Bolas, who has her True Name, Rhapsody's draconic form sweeps its wings back and plummets downward, looking to apply tooth, claw, and tail to any that would be too close. As second fireblast rings out, and a far-to-familiar scream rings out, every fiber of her mental being actually, finally, gets her body to pause. Not her. Not Yunomi. She would rather -die- than cause someone that close to her harm. For a moment, her body is in a 'vulnerable' state, if only someone could capitalize on it.
- Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Her mind is going, this is what it's like to die? The total breakdown of one's sense of reality and everything that goes with it? Fading away into nothing in a storm of pain and madness she hears herelf flatling an a terror grips her she doesn't want to just vanish sge doesn't want to fade away here. No it's something else the cyberization seems to be under way now her mind is reeling. Forms of information bombard her mind in ways she's never experianced before data, raw data as she look sup or in some way she does she looks t Rory for a moment and is /very confused. She's scared and overloaded she lets out a cry of just raw senory overload what ws going on she didn't understand anything the data was too much too fast Kotone was just being overhwhelemd why was Rory doing this to her?
- Alexis has posed:
It wasn't unusual for doors to open to entirely different scenes in nightmares, but the strange menagerie of cities and other worlds is still enough to startle Alexis when she whips the door open. But only for a moment, before she takes off running again. This wasn't how she remembered it, but it was still too real to ignore.
When this had happened, she had still been young and inexperienced. When put up against an unknown thing like Mewtwo, with powers and mcguffins to warp the world around him, even her spirit had faultered, and she got dragged into the madness as well. Forced to do instead of stop it.
There was no way to stop it. To help these people. It didn't matter if this was a dream, knowing that felt miserable. Reminded her of how helpless things had felt, the city succumbing to Mewtwo's warped reality.
She didn't know exactly where she was going, the misaligned landscape throwing her off. Alexis kept running though. Through the helpless shifting crowds, as much as it frustrated her to do so. There was only one way to deal with this, as dumb and reckless (and typical for the younger her) as it was. That was to find him, even as the streets twisted around her from the mashing together of nightmares.
Find the source of this madness, the psychic to this day still haunted her and her failures of the time. Even if she couldn't do anything to stop him... even if it was what got her into trouble in the first place...
It was more than doing nothing at all. Reliving the failure was better than the lack of action that might of saved her. "MEEEWTWOOOO!" And screaming. Plenty of angry screaming despite the lack of capacity in this nightmare.
- Flamel Parsons (1094) has posed:
Parsons tries to dive in. There's a moment where he releases those hands from his temples, trying to "grasp" something. But then there's a sudden, dangerous cry. "Hallucinations?" He thinks. "Or are wildlife too low-capacity to be driven off by a Psychohazard? Should I...? Should I..." He looks to the group, collapsed on the floor. "...Dammit. I need to." And then, he takes another sucking breath of the hallucinogenic.
Pow. He pops right into Alexis' own territory of the nightmare. What a lucky guy. He crashes, stumbling, into the street in front of Alexis. "AAAAAAAA!!" He shouts, quite coherently, as he slams into the street somewhere at Alexis' side. "What the hell have you been through?! This is a high-class nightmare!!" He hopes she can just catch on quick. "I'm here to help! Hold... Hold on!" He's floating, levitating alongside her and planting both hands on his temples. He's going to try a pulse of CLAIRVOYANCE to locate Mewtwo, though he doesn't know anything but the superpsychic's broadcasts, and to point Alexis in the right direction. And then, of course... To float alongside her and engage in some aggressive projectile covering fire, emitting a massive, powerful psychic laserblast, sustained over time. It's artillery-scale combat, meant to occupy Mewtwo and hopefully let Alexis interrupt this long enough to get things together and potentially start collaborating with the others.
Of course, fighting the World of Pokemon's practical god of psychic powers, or at least the abstract representation of the fear of him, in a psychic duel, is probably not a good idea, and Parsons will likely learn this lesson VERY swiftly with his comparatively weaker abilities. But, as long as he can make it a little easier for Alexis to try to break him, that's enough.
"He's not real, whoever he is!" Parsons calls out. "This is a psychohazard! Focus on memories of this guy being defeated! Think about how he was stopped! Focus! Focus focus focus, don't let this thing sweep you away! Try to push this fight towards the others!"
- August Kohler has posed:
August's feet can't carry him fast enough. He wants to be faster, faster. Even as the dungeon turns into sewers, August can only think of it as a trick of the Huntsman: he was goddamn full of them. He only stops running when he hears that voice, that /scream/, and slowly moves around the corner. Once again, he can't help but freeze and shudder. Someone he knew, /a/ friend, Janine Liberi, dead. And it was almost certainly his fault: he was imprisoned here, so she had to have come to rescue him, because everyone keeps rescuing him. And she died because of him. His staring is blank, almost hollow, as he just keeps moving, keeps running. Maybe, maybe Panzercat is still alive. Maybe he still has time to save him, instead of this all being for nothing...but no, he no longer believes that. Everybody's going to die, so he'll have to die too.
August just needs a weapon, and he needs to kill himself along with the Huntsman so this can all end once and for all. His pace quickens as fast as it can, causing August to pant. It can't end this way...it can't.
- The Kid has posed:
~Collective Nightmare~
"Pathetic. What hope could a human girl do? Even if there were one thousand of you, you're no match for me. Embrace what I have to offer," speaks the artifical Pokemon as Alexis races through the streets, past those she knew, hideously transfigured into Pokemon-suggestive shapes. And then there's a man from a vague yet menacing government agency here to support her.
Mewtwo was not expecting that. Nor was he expecting his telepathic link to be backtraced to his position in the sky, which is then promptly bombarded by psychic power. It's not difficulty for him to wrap himself in a barrier to defend against it, of course.
Nor is it any trouble to instantly teleport right in front of Alexis, like he emerged from her palpable sense of fear, and to grab her by the neck with her tail. "Bring all the allies you like. None can stop this."
Meawhile, in another part of the city, Rhapsody comes crashing down like death itself. Those who are able to flee, due to lack of, or in spite of the horrid transformations the people are going through do so. Those who cannot are crushed underfoot or flung back.
One of them is Yunomi, who was trying to free someone trapped under burning rubble.
"Why do you hesitate? Kill them, I command it," Nicol says, with all the gravity of him requesting that Rhapsody pick up his laundry. But in her vulnerable state, someone does strike at her.
Ryxinel lunges, wielding paired Spell-Blades like Rhapsody's own, fresh from the forge. His eyes betray the pain and hurt he experiences in doing so, but he cannot let this continue.
In the hospital, Kotone's panicked flailings brings abour two cyborgs to come up and pin her down once more. Both of them are the ones who did this to her. Rory is scurrying around the walls of the room, peering at her through optics. "Why are you so afraid? You're amazing like this. Just take a look."
A mirror on a mechanical arm slowly lowers to Kotone's eye level. She feels as if her heart should be pounding in dread, but her chest feels hollow. When the reflective side is revealed, she sees herself.
A mangled mess of machinery and circuitry, with no artificial skin to conceal it. Fake eyes, wide and bulbous, spin without sockets. Her teeth dip straight into the uncanny valley, real enough to pass muster but looking horrific and alien over the machine that is her.
Far below, August runs, harder and harder. Around every corner, another corpse. Ira, bludgeoned with a baseball bat. Damita, stabbed through the chest with an arrow. Hikaru, with a switchblade sticking from his throat. Ran, choked to death.
Other members of Die Reisende lie among them, all dead, all because of him. The Huntsman is cackling nonstop now, revelling in August's well-deserved torture. Far ahead, Panzercat's voice has turned aggressive, and there are gun and cannon shots overlaying it. Is he fighting the Huntsman?
- Alexis has posed:
Figures it would take another outside force nearly crashing into her to get Alexis to stop, and peer at who just fumbled across the ground rather ungracefully in landing. Another person... Or not, as Flamel gets off the ground by floating and starts using his own psychic powers. "Shit, now what?!" Normally Alexis would be able to tell the difference between using such powers to help or to cause more trouble, but she's not exactly emotionally stable at the moment. Not the best for giving explainations of what's brought this dreamworld madness into being.
She backs a few steps away from Flamel at first, then as Mewtwo appears right in front of them. And that freaky tail! She hisses, trying to grab it with her hands. Even if the words sting more, because how many more people would suffer if they tried to follow her? Even if people were willing to help, why--
And then there was a blast of phenominal energy, carefully aimed to blast Mewtwo without getting too close to Alexis, and give her a chance to jerk free of the tail hold. She staggered backwards, only to bump into something large and furry. She craned her head back, and blinked at the lion-like visage looking back down at her. ".. Wildfire?... Wait, that's not right, you didn't even exist yet.."
"But I am here now." The Entei lowered his head to give her a nudge. Even if he was only a clone of a legendary, the bond was strong enough for him to use his own supernatural abilities to follow their bond to her, as his presence was actually there in one of the pokeballs on her belt. "You help me through my nightmare, it's time I return the favor."
"Right... Right. We gotta find the others." At least she did hear what Flamel had said, even if it didn't register entirely at first. "And the source of the corruption... And a plunger." Hey, he said to think about how he was defeated. Someone once disrupted Mewtwo's focus by throwing a plunger in his face!
Wildfire grabbed Alexis by the back of her shirt to pull her away from Mewtwo again, then toss her onto his back. "Hold on." Alexis grabs onto his mane as the great beast takes off, using Extremespeed to barrel past the nightmare Mewtwo. Once again running through the twisted city.
But this time it wasn't alone. And with a purpose.
- August Kohler has posed:
Every body August sees, the angrier he becomes, and the faster he pushes his pace. He stops only to glance at each body briefly and grab the baseball bat, smashing it against a wall in order to make it a sharp instrument. They all came to save him. Which means...which means that what he thought was being saved, was just another trick. The Huntsman just played with his mind, made him think they won, and then finally revealed the truth. "None of you deserved this...I'll end this, GOD DAMN IT!"
August can't tell it in his rage, but he's crying. He considered all of these people /friends/, whether he'd admit it or not. And that's exactly why this happened. Once he gets to the battle between the Huntsman and the Panzercat, he'll rush straight at the Huntsman, he tells himself. If he gets even one second to get in the way...he can avert atleast one death. That'll be enough.
- Rhapsody (325) has posed:
The sound of the closest person in her life screaming out is what gave Rhapsody pause. Seeing her sent flying as a result of her actions actually seems to break Nicol's control for a moment, her gaze turning toward the yellow dragon with murderous intent. The control comes crashing back as her own brother crashes into her, the newly forged spellblades carving into her scaleless hide.
A roar of pain echoes across the city as a result. The mental cell that Rhapsody had managed to open the door of, ever so slightly, slams shut, sending her flying into the back of her mental cell, falling to the ground. Through the two round windows outside, she can only watch in both horror and dispair as her body turns on her brother in a follow up roar of complete rage. Bolas' command urges her form forward toward Ryxinel, lashing out with her claws before a blast of flame surges out of her maw.
- Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa is scared she's held downa nd soon she can see herself in the mirror she looks she stares her eyes would go wide if sh could and he attempts to /scream/ the scream doens come out right it comes out as a mess of binary and old modem like noises and he doesn's stop, she panics, she struggles but she can't get free. Kotone is running n pure fear now and he's al laong with these people. Was the Rory who was like a siter to her a lie and had been tormenting het this entire time in some twisted game.
WShe doesn't know and Kotone keeps screaming wodlessly it's clearly tortured and very clearly inhuman as well a she tries and fails to get free.
- Flamel Parsons (1094) has posed:
Parsons' clairvoyance flickers again. "Ffffffffffffhhhhhhhthis is bad!" He groans under the strain of continuing his psiblasts. "Yeah, yeah, please handle the rest of this, please please please, Lead him through the city! Try to get to... Rhapsody! Or find Kotone! WORK TOGETHER!!" He tries now, to evade Mewtwo's attention, so the man himself vanishes. Of course, there's still a good chance he'll be chased, but this thing is focused on Aleis. Now, time to try to find another... The damaged cityscape gives unique access to the underground, and his awareness of the broader network gives him a rough direction for where August is.
So now he takes off through the underground, levitating as fast as he can, heading towards him. And when he finds him, it's in exactly the wrong place. He does a burst of dashing, and comes out of a tunnel to August's side, grappling him to halt his charge with a heavy telekinetic large hand. "SHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" He makes urgent noises, whispering and staying invisible. The invisibility... May be just as haunting, honestly. "This isn't real!" He whispers stressfully. "This isn't real. Nobody real is at risk besides you. It's a ploy. The psychohazard, the nightmare, is trying to draw you out. None of this is real. You need to focus on getting away. Getting out. Escape." And, presumably, finding a mirror, though Parsons doesn't know about that need.
"Run, August Kohler! And focus! Your friends, your /real friends/, need you!" The whispering voice urges from an increasingly vibrant ghostly shadow-figure. And he lets go of the grapple, if it's worked... He pulses his clairvoyance again! He's going to try to find the psychic traces of the Huntsman's passage! If August can find where the Huntsman gets in and out of here, it'll be far, far more useful, so he hopes to create a trail of psychic footprints to show where the Huntsman passed before. "Try to seal him in! Don't let him free!"
- The Kid has posed:
~Collective Nightmare~
This is all very unexpected for Mewtwo. For another legendary Pokemon to aid Alexis, to blast it aside with a gout of fire and spirit her away. Well, nothing it can't handle.
Even in spite of Extremespeed, Mewtwo keeps pace with Teleportation. He says nothing now, eyes only narrowed with hate for Alexis. With a single telepathic command, the path is suddenly blocked.
Kadabra. Slowpoke. Hypno. Xatu. Ralts. Wobuffet. Reuniclus.
A horde of complete Psychic Pokemon-human hybrids appear on the path before Alexis and Wildfire as they race by the hospital. Mewtwo stands before them as they add to his already immense power. A massive wave of Psychic power rushes from the catlike creature, aiming to annihilate them both.
Inside said hospital, Kotone shrieks in dial tones as Rory comes closer and closer. "I'm afraid you're still reliant on that mass of meat in your headcase. But I assure you sister, that will be corrected in time," she coos. But at that moment, that massive wave of Psychic rattles the building and blows a hole in the wall. Kotone is free, to run or to lash out at those who twisted her into this abomination.
Near the massing of Psychic Pokemon hybrids, Rhaposdy bleeds and stares down her brother. He always was better in the forge than on the front. And that might explain why her breath of flame is sufficient to distract him long enough for her claw to sink through his chest, pierce his ribs and clutch his heart. His eyes betray the immense sorrow he feels as Rhapsody's body crushes the life from him.
"That was irritating," speaks Nicol in a blase tone. "Now, find that girl and rip her head from her shoulders." The dragon's nostrils twitch instinctively, seeking out the tanuki's scent. She's hiding behind a pile of rubble. A good swat would send it all flying and expose her. A harder one might just collapse it on her, possibly killing her instantly.
Below this very scene, August races through tunnels with only a sharp shard of wood in hand. As he rounds the corner he runs into-perhaps quite literally-Flamel Parsons who pleads with him to calm down, to accept the unreal reality of where he has found himself.
But that might be hard to focus on, because Panzercat is duelling the Huntsman right behind the agent, no more than 10 paces away. And the cat seems to be losing. His eyes look about, and spot the two. "Help me August," he mewls.
- August Kohler has posed:
August would have ignored Flamel. He would have just kept going, kept running to his death. But a giant psychic hand makes that impossible, and the pure surprise of the situation causes August to change focus to Flamel. "But-", August tries to speak, tries to rationalize that this is real - but it makes no sense. It feels real. It still terrifies him to the core, angers him, /traumatizes him/. But why would Flamel Parsons be here? Why would he be here encouraging him that this was fake? The Huntsman would want him to continue, to worry, wouldn't it? Or maybe this is another one of the Huntsman's traps. Either way...if Flamel Parsons is right, he can still undo this, can't he? And whether he's fake or not, he has a very valuable asset.
"I need to borrow your sunglasses. NOW!"
If Flamel doesn't immediately comply, August will move to /snatch them/ so he can get a good look. As soon as he does, he looks into the glare, the reflection protruding off of them...and speaks. His voice is angry, but full of resolve, to at the very least, /kill the Huntsman/. "TIN SOLDIER! I NEED YOU!" Energies swirl around August as he shouts, summoning his burnscarred, gun-legged robot soldier to his side.
And then, August charges into the battle. And Panzercat glances at him. And the cat speaks. But it feels...wrong. It doesn't have the spirit that August remembers. It doesn't have the determination, the /fearlessness/. Which doesn't mean that August wants this Panzercat to die, or will /let him/...but things are starting to make sense, and he's been cooled down, even if he's still crying. "It's going to be alright. I'm going to end this nightmare, Panzercat." One small step after another. The Tin Soldier turns towards the Huntsman, a face full of rage. But the Tin Soldier does not aim for the Huntsman, or for Panzercat, or for anyone. It aims above, at a diagonal. For the tunnel's roof. And it stops there, just long enough for August to follow the psychic footprints and get on the Huntsman's path. August takes one look at Panzercat, before shouting.
"PANZERCAT, GET OUT OF THE WAY! EVERYTHING'S ABOUT TO COME /CRASHING DOWN/!"
Fueled by August's rage and determination, the Tin Soldier releases more fire in one burst than it ever has before. The shot goes to impact straight against the tunnel ceiling, possibly crushing both the Huntsman and Panzercat. And if Panzercat doesn't go to move...the Tin Soldier will go to move to push it out of the way. But it may be too late. Either way, August will desummon the Tin Soldier afterwards, and begin running reverse down the path, running to find his friends.
- Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone not having a good time of it, she doesn't know that omeone is looking for. She stammers more at Rory, why ws Rory doing this to her? How could she do this? She'd been used te entire time? It was a liose but she had to get lose. She had to escape. She gets up trying to not look at herseld. she says nothing her mouth is closed nwo she now turns to start running she wnts to get away, she want to flee. She wants to get away from all this. The horrible skeletal and somehat t-800 looking Kotone tuns nd runs not stopping, just wanting to get away.
hermind is reeling she's confused her mind'sbrekaing down she doesn't know what is real anymore. She jus simply runs...away and doesn't care where she's going.
- Rhapsody (325) has posed:
This isn't happening. This -can't- be happening, yet for Rhapsody, it's all very real to her. With nothing but those two 'windows' out into the world, she can't tell it isn't Ravnica. She can't tell that there is something very -wrong- with the world outside. All she can see is that she just killed her brother and now she was being forced to turn on Yunomi. Like before, the very thought of hurting the tanuki actually causes her physical form to shudder and pause. In her cell, she's actually shoulder-checking the cell-door again and again without any regard for her own wellbeing. Each time she does, her body outside pauses as it marches toward the pile of rubble.
Having her True Name gave him so much power, it was overwhelming. Her utter rebellion against it was making it hard for her body to move, but because of that, an alternative was forced into action. A breath was being sucked in, and inside her mind, it was all starting to go in slow motion. With -every- fiber of her being she was trying to break down that cell door. Her shoulder was in agonizing pain from slamming the door over and over, and with one more slam, she just has nothing else to give, slumping down on the other side of the door, with only one word uttered in complete desperation...
"Help.."
- Flamel Parsons (1094) has posed:
Sunglasses? Uh. Okay? "I don't-- Okay." Parsons whispers, awkwardly. You know what? He doesn't need those, probably. So he takes off as soon as August grabs them. Off he goes, turbo-charging his levitation. He knows the way he came in... And presumably the Huntsman doesn't. Or he hopes. He can tear ass back towards that, and burst out! And as he does, he can ping his Clairvoyance again... That hospital just exploded! And it's roughly on his radar for where Kotone is, so he takes off towards that, rocketblasting his way there on a jet of psychic energy. His panic is rising, but his morale isn't falling. He just has to evade all those pokemorphs and the stray destruction from Rhapsody and...
He lands somewhere nearby, slamming and skidding on the ground, eyes wide with panic. "Where is she where is she where is she..." He mutters, in distress. He eventually finds... Kotone? IS that Kotone, running from the hospital? "Augh. AUGH! Kotone? No, that's definitely-- No, no!! It's wormed into your body decathexis?!" Well that might be a hasty diagnosis, but Agent Parsons doesn't have time. "Kotone!! Listen!!" He calls out, trying to keep pace with her, even grab her with one of those big telekinetic hands he so favors if she doesn't stop. "This isn't real! Listen, whatever you're worried about, about your body, this isn't real! Right now your real-life, your /real/ body, is lying in Jawson Bog! I need you to calm down and focus! Focus on whatever parts of you that you remember still being there! Try to... Try to reboot everything but that! You need to cleanse your system, focus on what you REALLY are! This is fake! The moment you wake up-- The moment you REALLY wake up, this is going to be gone! Jawson Bog, Kotone! Think about it! Think about how much you want to keep what you already have!"
This might be an unhealthy motivation, but... "THINK ABOUT IT! However much humanity you have left! Think about KEEPING IT!" All of a sudden, he's not calling her a synthetic government infiltrator, he's just... Trying his hardest to flash-diagnose her amid this awful apocalyptic brainscape. Speaking of which, he's going to try to make sure to keep any hostile pokemorphs away from her. Who knows what kind of weaponry is built into that terminator shell.
- Alexis has posed:
Oh of course he would use teleport to keep up, and even get ahead of them. She was stupid for not considering that. And now he was drawing in his victims to help. This is where things always went to pot. Mewto started using his converts like weapons. Like tools for his own whims. With little to be done to help them. Especially the poor chump that got fused with something disturbingly awkward like Reuniclus.
... Reuniclus ...
Wait a minute, that pokemon wasn't even discovered in this part of the world yet! Was this source of the nightmare just plucking things from her mind without being aware of certain time frames? Either way, it fractures the illusion a little to see something that's not suppose to be there. It's a crack, a sliver to grasp at. A tiny little bit of something. A reminder its a nightmare, or psychohazard or whatever it was Flamel called it. Abiet one that was about to blast them into oblivion. Unless... they weren't on a mountain but...
Alexis grabbed extra tightly onto the strands of mane in her hands. "Wildfire, Rock Climb!" Just as Mewtwo unleashes his boosted attack the Entei leaps! But it's not to attack. Massive paws dig into the side of a building, instead using the move's 'field' ability to climb steep surfaces to run on the buildingside and avoid the attack. Or at least the worst of it at the center. The boosted psychic hits with enough explosive force to blast apart the wall! The vertical run falters as the wall breaks apart from the force, which still sends beast and trainer tumbling as the surface they're travelling on literally collapses beneath Wildfire's feet. Still better than being blown into nothing, right?
Wildfire hits the ground hard, disloding Alexis from his backside. The girl skids on the ground, stopping not far from a pile of rubble. Which she uses to brace herself to try and get up. If this was just a bad dream, why did it still hurt so goddamn much...
A hand grasped for something to help brace herself as Alexis tried to get her wits back in order and get up... and is that Rhapsody? Why is she... god, is this more of the nightmare, or something else?
It didn't matter. Mewtwo was still right over there, but that didn't matter anymore either, the nightmare haunting her, didn't matter.
She had friends that needed help. Deep beneath the fears and nightmares, that still came first.
"STOP IT!" Her own terror forgotten as Alexis dashes towards Rhapsody and, despite the claws and spellswords and who knows what else, tries to tackle her. "Whatever the hell is happening, SNAP OUTTA IT!"
Alexis always was the one brave/stupid enough to try and tackle an angry dragon. Especially when it comes to friends.
- Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa Wouldn't even get what Parsons is saying if she was far more luicd she does stop as he calls her name he's ocmming fror her? Wat a MIB? The telekinetic hjand get ahold of her she freaks out even more but then? He mentions the Bog she pauses for a moment she stops panicing as much. She shivers in fear as much as she can. "I... don't know what's real anymore." She's whimpering, here the poor girl's mind really a mess from this.
She pauses real life? Is this real? Was her dream of the multiverse real she stops she takes a moment she's thinkng abotu it tht much is real she's human, right? She's human no matter what she started as such and will forever be one of those crazy primates.
Flammel would notice Kotone is quite as he fighs off hostile poke morphs, he might notice her body warping skin taking shape, covering the machinery as it takes on more and more her normal form. Soon clothing starts to take form afte the skinand Kotone sags in the mental grip hanging there seemingly herself again.
"I...don't know what's real but if the Bog's a dream? It's a far better one than ... here...where...are we ... going next....?"
- Rhapsody (325) has posed:
The breath is taken in. Inside her cell, she turns away, only to see the windows open on the other side of the cell. No matter where Rhapsody turns, there no looking away as her body prepares to disintegrate the most important person in her life.
Thankfully, her plea was heard.
While Rhapsody's true form is a bit bigger than a horse, Alexis' tackle is still able to knock Rhapsody's blast off course, sending it flying into the air, far and away from the rubble pile and the one hiding beneath it. The dragon's body slowly turns to glare at Alexis, but in doing so something clicks. Alexis wasn't there. She wasn't at that fight, she wasn't in that war. For once, what is said in the mind is said in 'reality', "Alexis..?" The realization causes so much more to be realized. She's not in the cell anymore. She blinks once, and she's back in her body, in her true form, looking at Alexis in person, in her smaller form. "What is...?" Suddenly NONE of it makes sense. Yunomi wasn't so helpless. Ryxinel wasn't so helpless. Sidonia wouldn't have just stood idly by. Nicol Bolas was DEAD. It all rushes back into her mind like the feeling of someone having a lucid dream. "If you're here, and she's here, and -he's- here..." the dragon's gaze turns up toward Nicol Bolas. She wouldn't hide that she was terrified of the ancient planeswalker, but.. "Then HE should be here!"
As if on queue, the sky over Rhapsody, and Bolas, changes from blue to red as if a massive wave had crashed across the sky.
< https://youtu.be/Ide3_1BVoSY?t=2m45s >
At first, nothing at all happens, just a brilliant point of light appears in the sky. After a moment the single point stretches out to two points, a brilliant white line forming between them. Then, accompanied by a blast of thunder, the line splits open into a massive rift, swirling in blue and red energy. A titanic roar echoes forth, and then Niv-Mizzet's form erupts from the tear in the sky, looking only to sink every claw and fang into his ancient hide.
- The Kid has posed:
~Collective Nightmare~
The burst of Agidyne is so hot that the puddles of moisture in the area burst into steam. The stone roof begins to collapse, parts of it melting into magma. Thanks to Flamel, August's aim is true, based on the horrendous shriek the Huntsman gives off as the rubble collapses. It's muffled almost immediately, emanating from the pile of cherry-red stone.
Panzercat had the good sense to dodge towards August's voice. And now that it's over, his wounds have healed. He looks up at the boy and flashes a toothy grin, his teeth audibly shining. "A fine shot, Firehair! I only wish I could stay and have that duel to the death you promised me. But, I believe you have somewhere to be. Good luck, friend!"
And with that, he disappears.
As August retraces his steps, he reencounters Die Reisende. No longer dead, but up and standing, all offering a wave, a gesture of support. Each one disappears as he runs past. "Good luck August!" cheers Ran. "Stay strong!" says Hikaru. "Do't lose hope," shouts Damita. "Live through this, so you can pay me back for that bat," says Ira. "Fuck 'em up," says Janine. But as she disappears, her polished sabre remains. And Augusts cell is now a staircase to the city surface above.
In the hospital, Flamel manages to shake some sense into Kotone. Not all, but if it means she's growing her fake flesh back, that's all the better. Rory and those two cyborgs are pursuing, but they hiss and retreat when they see her looking human again. The Pokemorphs... are not all that interested in them, honestly. They are under Mewtwo's command, and his focus is purely on Alexis. Whose focus is now entirely on Rhapsody.
And in a sense, is that not the best way to move on from him? To focus not on what he did and how she couldn't stop it, but instead focus on what she can do now? The mutant Pokemon seethes as Alexis awakens Rhapsody, who summons Niv-Mizzet to claw at her tormentor. Nicol bellows in defiance as his ancient form is ripped at, thrown from the red dragon to crash through several buildings, bleeding.
But that stray blast of fire had to hit something. And it strikes that rock in the sky. Immediately, it begins to crumble, spreading the ash of Caelondia's dead all over the city below. The Kid plummets, locked in a mortal duel with what Flamel may call his shadow archetype, a black wispy version of himself who swings hammer against the real Kid's shield.
The ash moves with a mind of its own. For while four have 'awoken' from their nightmares, even just one can fuel terrors. The other terrors, ignored or dispelled, awaken to it. Across the city, the Pokemorphs and Mewtwo, Rory and the cyborgs, what remains of the Huntsman and Nicol dissolve into dust themselves, melding and writhing with the falling ash.
And from it, a new horror is borne.
It has the body of the great Planeswalker, but it has been augmented with horrific, spindly and inhuman cybernetics. The head is that of Mewtwo, telekinetic waves dispersing the rubble around it. Wrapped around the body like armour are the ashen corpses of Caelondia's citizens. And at the tip of its writhing tail, the Huntsman grows like a tumor, rifle raised and ready as he cackles with glee.
- Flamel Parsons (1094) has posed:
Flamel Parsons seems so relieved. Okay, they've managed to deal with this. At least... MOST of them. MOST of the people are dealt with... if they can just ease out of this now... "Alright. Alright, good work, Kotone. Okay, we need to... Just stay calm, stabilize, and let's push through. Push on towards-- T-towards..."
But now, he's seeing the Pokemorphs decay to ash. He's seeing the horde link together, and become one amalgamation. "AaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA NO NO NO NO!! IT'S A CONVERGENCE!!" He says, his eyes, for once not covered up by sunglasses, going wide with fear. This is why this sort of mind-meld is risky. The last time any Psychonaut saw this was the Lake Oblongata Incident, and that was a close shave with driving three experienced Psychonauts insane. He screws up his face tight and makes a telepathic broadcast to the others. "EVERYONE!" He calls out. He needs to get The Kid up to speed on this too! "I can't pull our minds apart with this thing holding it all together! If it gets you like this, there's no telling what sort of psychological damage it'll do!!" His telepathic voice fills with stress and panic. "I've done everything I can to get you back on your feet, but you have to KILL IT AS FAST AS YOU CAN!!! EVERYTHING YOU HAVE, ALL THE DETERMINATION AND AGGRESSION YOU HAVE, EVERYTHING!!!"
He follows up on his words. He pushes up into the air, achieving telekinetic flight for one of the first times in his life, even on a mental landscape, and plants every finger in an array on the side of his head, pulling together all of the aggression energy he has to immediately hit this thing with as big a sustained laserblast of psionic force as he can manage, while simultaneously grabbing and hoisting chunks of the city's buildings with huge telekinetic hands, to throw at the beast.
It's pretty intense, to say the least. Parsons, for classified reasons, has no Nightmare of his own, but in some sense, a convergence event like this is close, judging by how much it makes him panic.
- Rhapsody (325) has posed:
The world goes red, a roar echoes out, and Rhapsody can't help but cheer as she sees her father tear into Bolas. The ancient evil goes crashing through buildings until it turns into nothing but dust and ashes. An ally in this current war, dream or not, Niv comes soaring around, lands beside his daughter and Alexis, but doesn't say a word. Instead he makes a motion toward the plummeting Kid and his shadowy enemy.
And thus, a new horror forms.
For years now, Rhapsody could not have imagined something worse than what Bolas was, but here and now, combined with the nightmares of all the others, she can't help but shudder at what she sees. However, with her friends at her side, and yes, a dream version of her father, she can't help but find her courage.
< https://youtu.be/4Twd965VzX4 >
"We are the ones to ignite the darkened skies
The champions of a world that we defy
A solemn reign of the few who rise up high
And we all fight at this last light!"
And without another word, she charges ahead, her father in her wake. There is no fear here. The world's collide and she will fight on. They will ALL fight on!
- Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Things are getting better butnot all eh way there, she's trusting Parson's enough to follow him She sees that Rory and the other two cyborgs are fleeing now they see shes/ human. She raises up an arm she pulls back and hello thee there's an intergrated /shotgun/ there she falls in step with Parsons and looks to the pokemorphs as they move to snatch Alexis she's not sure but she doesn't like wht she sees happening to them all.
"What is...that?"
She looked as tghe Pokemorphs turn to ash, she looks s they fuse and she sares.
"What... so we're linked?"
Like Cyberbrains fused into some kind of hive mind that actually /helps/ her get some more focus. She opens fire with the shotgun firing blast and then the weapon morphs into an echo of Overclock the arm strips bear and some sort of energy canon fits there she aime and then she fires.
"I WANT OUT! I DONT CARE IF THE MULTIVERSE IS A DREAM OR NOT I WANT TO BE THERE NOT HERE!"
- August Kohler has posed:
That's the Panzercat August remembers. An accurate one...from before he died. He's dead. August can't undo that. This is a nightmare, and the one he just saved is dead in reality. But for right now, those words of encouragement are enough to fuel him. "I won't let you down, Panzercat." He speaks, after the Shadow disappears. The support from the manifestations of his friends keeps his feet moving, and gives him the energy to keep going, even after how much he put into that blast. It's to Janine that August stops, nodding, and grabbing her sabre as she fades away. He heads up the stairs, stopping to breathe and vent when he sees the others...
And then the horror appears. A convergence of everyone's fears. But they can't stop fighting. Everyone's facing their worst nightmare, and they're waking up. August can't say he's not scared of the Huntsman, or that his martyr philosophy on life has changed: one nightmare that ended happily does not make up for hundreds that ended in despair. But for once, he has hope that he'll be able to slay the Huntsman, atleast once, and get everyone out of here alive. And as long as he has that hope, he's going to fight. August glares into the sabre, seeing his Persona in the reflection. "Let's finish this, Tin Soldier!" As the robotic soldier reappears, August begins circling towards the rear of the Horror, looking for the Huntsman. But he does not attack with the Tin Soldier. He wants to end this with /his/ hands.
And so, the Tin Soldier pours fire out of that gun, coating the sabre in brilliant flame. August has never wielded a sword. He has zero training. But he does know one thing: if you stab a guy with a flaming sword, he's not going to enjoy that. The firehaired boy charges straight for the Huntsman-tumor, not fearing return shots. As he gets close, he speaks, his voice full of wrath. "Every night, I see your face, and that grin, and I watch everything fall apart around me. For /once/, I'll kill you my goddamn SELF!"
And then that flaming sword moves to thrust into the Huntsman, with every ounce of strength August can put into it.
- Alexis has posed:
Things start to click into place, as overcoming the nightmares in whatever way causes them to crumble apart. For Alexis a bit of weight is off her shoulders, and while Mewtwo may not be entirely gone from her personal fears, being able to put them aside to help someone else has certainly lessened how much it eats at her.
Unfortunately that's not the end of it all, as the defeated terrors give spawn to a new algamation of their worst attributes. "... And just when I didn't think that freak could get uglier." Well, there's the wisecracks, Alexis must be back on her game a bit. Having recovered from the crash and tumble from the wall Wildfire is back on his feet, letting out a low snarl. But Alexis holds a hand up to pat the side of his head. "Thanks for the help, big guy. But I've got this, now."
For all the different regions and worlds she's traveled over the years, Alexis was still a Hoenn girl at heart. That is what she dips into, and being relatively in control of things now, draws from and wills a version of one of her pokemon into this dreamscape. "Boomboxer, I choose you!" A bulky form hits the ground in front of her on broad stumpy legs. Meaty hands clench as popeye-esque arms flex at it's sides, huge mouth closed as it instead inhales deeply through the various tube-like growths on its head and back, eyes narrowing at the monstrousity taking shape before them. One of the strangest pokemon Hoenn has to offer, both in its appearances and in its peculiar abilities, and still one of Alexis' favorites even if not of her typical Types. They were native to the same part of Hoennn as she was, and that was more than enough to bond over.
"Now then." Alexis brushed a hand through her hair to get it out of her face, now that it was back to the longer style she usually wore these days. Then struck one of her dramatic poses to point at the nightmarish behemoth. "Live up to your name, crank it to eleven and KICK EM IN THE BASS!"
No, that's not just a fancy wordplay to avoid swearing.
It's literally what the pokemon does with glee, opening that massive maw.
"Eeeeex-PLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUD!"
And blasting out all the air it had been sucking in with such tremendous force that the resulting blast of soundwaves has much the same force as bombs going off, which is probably one of the reasons the attack is known as BOOMBURST.
And it's all directed at the algamation of nightmarish beings. Dust and debris swoosh off to the sides of the blast. The entire world seeming to shake from the vibrations for the unfortunate target. That Exploud can cause tremors and rockslides just with it's voice is not an exaggeration.
- The Kid has posed:
~Convulsing Nightmare~
It's the Kid that's fueling this, still locked in his nightmare, stained in the blood of everyone he should have died with. But if there's anything that can snap a Kid out of his torment, it's a yelled order. One that Flamel was all too happy to provide. He snaps out of it, jerking in the air as he plummets towards the earth, towards the collective nightmare. He looks up at his shadow, who merely nods and dissolves, leaving Kid's Cael Hammer behind.
The Nightmare is a mass of surging emotions, but it holds one for itself: supreme confidence. The writhing mass of petrified dead expands over its form, another layer of defence on top of its scales, cybernetics, and psychic barrier. But there's one thing it failed to account for.
Caelondia's Masons had a special technique for swinging hammers, one that was used to drive in the load-bearing stones of the Rippling Walls. The Kid, despite his short stature, is trained to do this. And as he falls, he swings that hammer in just the right away. This method, coupled with the atmospheric drop he's in the middle of, allows him to smash through the psychic barrier and drive the head of his hammer right into the Nightmare's spine. The dead of Caelondia collapse into dust once more, and the beast screams, the pain nullifying the psychic barrier. Its spine snaps, leaving it limp and unable to evade what comes next.
August charges the tail, clutching a blade that burns. Not just with flame, but the courage that even the Red Woodsman acknowledged. His iron will shines, and in this mindscape, will can make up for lack of experience. For what other reason might his hand shift just so, cutting the bullets the Huntsman fires right from the air, leaving him untouched? The growth-like horror has a moment of fear as August finally, finally gets to drive his blade into the Shadow's guts, the fire cooking him from the inside. He shrieks, rifle clattering from his grip and he flails, collapsing into ash immediately.
Kotone produces her traditional shotgun. But in this place, and against this creature, such a thing is not enough. So it shifts, becoming an laser cannon melded to her arm. The beam fires, fuelled by her own drive to return home. The Nightmare screams as the energy cooks the cybernetics in it, explosions erupting from all over its form. Steel and plastic and bone and flesh and scales fly.
The air buzzes with immense sound as Alexis brings out Boombox to provide the soundtrack for this finale. A mighty and joyous song, one that pays ode to the past but does not fixate on it. Mewtwo's head vibrates and twitches as it struggles to focus through it all to mount an attack. At some point, it may have hit the resonant frequency of bone based on how the head ruptures and collapses.
Rhapsody burns and rips and tears at the body, leaving nothing left. Attempting to leave her tormentor as not even a greasy stain, letting nothing hover over her present, her family and friends. What is left of the Nightmare shivers and twitches, no more oily words of power to rip control from her.
Flamel's psychic beams cut through what is left, segmenting it so that nothing can get up and attack again. And for good measure, what is left of the city is stacked on top, burying it utterly. It's done. At the very least, he might be able to brag that he defeated a five-mind convergence, if it's not too heavily redacted.
- Rhapsody (325) has posed:
A whirling frenzy of flame and steel, claw and fang, emphasized by the fire of her father. When the slashes slow and the steel can be returned to its sheathe, Rhapsody heaves a breath and takes a knee, then both of them. Even if it was all just a dream, what they all just did was something incredible. The sky shifts from red back to blue. A light hug is exchanged between her and Niv-Mizzet before he seems to fade away, turning into motes of energy that simply drift off into the sky.
"I promise, I will find you. A thousand armies won't ever stop me, I will break through. I'll soar all the endless skies for just the sight of your starlight.." she quietly decrees before rising back to her feet to look at the others. "Are.. are you all okay?" Much like Alexis, she's going to be worried about the others before herself.
- Alexis has posed:
No one of them could of done it alone. But together, the monstrousity is broken and beaten down under the combination of assaults.
Alexis gives Rhapsody a lopsided grin. "Normally this is when I would say I've been through worse... but nope, I think this tops off the weird-shit-o-meter this time." Followed by a long sigh of her own. She feels exhausted, even if she does show it because she's too stubborn.
Wildfire plods over to give her a brief nuzzle with his shaggy head. "I will see you back in the sensible world." Then turns and runs off to return to his proper awareness.
"Yeah... we should probably figure out how the hell to get outta this crapsack."
- Flamel Parsons (1094) has posed:
"This is what the Psychonauts live and breathe for! THIS IS WHAT WE'RE MADE AND TRAINED TO DO!" Parsons shouts, as he piles on the rocks and the lasers. "This is what the world needs! Tearing through psychological hazard and despair to solve the real problems!" The laserblasts continue and don't stop, they get MORE intense. "Not letting psychic warping, or neurochemical anomaly, or least of all FEAR AND NIGHTMARES, GET IN OUR WAY!!" The Nightmare is done, but he's going to finish this off properly. He's going to split the minds again. "FREE THOUGHT AND JUSTICE! The ideals of EVERY PSYCHONAUT!!"
"No more nightmares! No dying alone in a swamp sucking on death from a dying world! WAKE UP!" His beam intensifies and cracks the ground around the site where the Jawson Behemoth died. "WAKE UP!!" He calls out, widening and brightening it. "IF THERE'S ANYTHING WORTH LIVING FOR, THEN!!!" It spreads and begins to separate the mind, out into its six distinct segments again. "WAKE!!!" And the cracks in the city split, forcing the chunks into distinct islands. "UP!!!!"
He separates them. A modern city full of pokemon and trainers. An elaborate, extensive academy and surrounding a heavy forest surrounding it. The city of Ravnica. The cracked landscape of old Caelondia. The hyperurban landscape of the cyberfuture. And an odd, dense facility, yet to be known fully...
With the Nightmare no longer creating any obstruction, Agent Parsons tears the mindscape apart again into disparate islands and subsequently blasts the entire nightmarescape apart, flinging all five other minds back to their respective places and forcing himself to awaken from the dazed trance with a shout.
The others will too, as he does.
- August Kohler has posed:
As the Huntsman gets impaled, August shouts one last time. "THIS IS FOR EVERYTHING, YOU BASTARD!" His willpower has given him the ability to win a fight that, in the real world, he never would. And he knows that...but he'll take his victories where he can get them, thrusting the blade into the ground when the beast dies and leaving it there before moving back from the site and taking a seat. As Flamel shouts, tearing apart the islands in order for them to wake up, August looks at him with respect in his eyes. He's thrown back into his own mindscape, and then everything goes black, briefly, before light returns.
Back in the waking world, August takes a moment to wake up, quickly reaching for roots to lift himself up and not be covered in bog. He's breathing heavily, as he speaks without turning. "Are we alive?"
- Rhapsody (325) has posed:
The nightmare is torn asunder, the Ravnica Rhapsody knows stretches out before her, and she just closes her eyes. A moment later, with a deep breath choking on the damned stench of the Jawson bog, the dragon wakes, sits up, coughs once, and seems to slump at having to wake up in such a horrible place in the real world. "Ugh. right..." sigh. "Okay, seriously, get the shard and lets get the heck outta here." She answers August, "Yep.. in this stinking bog.."
- Alexis has posed:
Alexis lets out a groaning cough to make sure none of that gunk lingers in her throat. "Agreed. Lets grab the thing and--" She pauses at a muffled sound from underneath her and shifts a bit to the side. Then rolls over. "Oh geeze, I'm sorry Hurricarana, I didn't realize I landing on you." The Hawlucha just shakes his head a bit as he gets up. It was no big deal, sometimes you're the noble hero, and sometimes you're the pillow.
- Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone doens't know which ways is up but she knows where she wnats to go, she keeps shooting along with all the other attacks. She doesn't let up and she lets out a yell as she does so. She was nothing she's still nothing in the multiverse on the grand scale of things. But soon the thing finally is cut down and she just stops for a moment she looks top Rhapsody with a look for sympathy.
"Find him, you have the life span to do it."
She looks to the Dragon again and shakes her head.
"Honestly no, but nothing can be done about it. I haven't been all right...for a long time."
People have pulled her out of the abyss buit she's likely not to ever been fully all right ever again. She thinks sh emoves to get up slowly and she thinks for a moment.
- The Kid has posed:
~Jawson Bog~
Awakeing comes like the cool breeze that blows through the clearing, dispersing the cloud of spores so that there are no repeat incidents. The Kid sits up, then stands. Without a single word, he claims the Shard and tucks it away before nodding to everyone.
"Let's get outta here. I need a drink... thanks everyone."
