Field Mission 5: Il Prigioniero, Part 2

[balancemod]

Once you sacrifice something here, you don't get it back. NAVIGATION Click here for the RNG thread! 1. THE MANAGER'S CHALLENGE A. MEET THE BOSS Once upon a time, there was a man, a woman, and a little boy. They were a family. They loved each other very much. Once upon a time, there was a monster, a protector, and a dreamer. They never asked to be a family. One by one, they fell under the pressures of each other. There are always layers to any story. There are at least two sides to any reality. When a man kills his wife with no consequences, what is the end of the story? Will the universe allow such an unhappy ending? Or are there forces that drag it on long past its natural span? With a single act of resistance, four Reclaimers have Remembered and thereby broken the cycle of the Night Show. But this isn't the end. This is barely the middle. Because the Wonderland you've seen so far is a layer of new pink skin over an ugly infection, one that goes deeper than anything the Bureau has seen so far. You can see what's underneath, now, as the theme park is whipped away in an implosion of void-space to show you . . . Emptiness. A space that is no space, blank and white in all directions. Free of gravity, every Reclaimer in the park — and, shockingly, Angus McDonald — is held in place with hands cupped and outstretched in front of them, all facing the same way. They cannot move. They cannot speak. They are the audience. Before them stands a man. Slim, tall, nondescript. He wears a bow-tie with a pattern of Rolands on it. And he is smiling. "Welcome to my Wonderland! My name is Adrian Morgenstern, and I am the Manager. It's a pleasure to meet you. Each and every one of you have had a very interesting effect on my Wonderland in my absence. Some more than others, and at greater cost to yourselves — but I encourage individual choice in Wonderland, and ownership of personal consequences. Suffering is a part of life. It builds character. "So, I am proud of you. So proud, in fact, that I've decided to bring you all backstage. You kept trying to see behind the curtain, didn't you? You'll really enjoy it. There is a great deal to do, so much to explore, and so many games to play. Every second you breathe in Wonderland is a game with stratospheric stakes. You're very brave to take the risk. "And to make things more interesting, I have set up a very special game for you little detectives, who so love to stick their noses into strange secret corners. I challenge you to a Scavenger Hunt. You accept, because you have no choice. Here is what you must gather: "The vacant bodies of Leonardo da Vinci, Minato Arisato, and Henrik Merryweather. The people who have been lured here after your carelessness shattered their livelihood. Have you located them all already? Or did you miss a few? Ten lost little elves, misled and apprehended. And, lastly— "My son. Bring me my son. Bring Niel to me, and I will give you the Compact." There's a crack in the facade. A literal crack; something in the structure of his face is off suddenly, like something has fractured and slid. One cheekbone higher than the other, a hairline fracture underneath his eye. You blink, and it's fixed. His smile is wide, but his face is whole. Suddenly, in each Reclaimer's outstretched hands (and in Angus's), there is a single three-sided die. On each side is written a word: BODY, MIND, or SPIRIT. "Don't lose these, now! These are your cheat codes. If you find yourself struggling with the scavenger hunt and in need of a little help, you can play a little game of chance to give Wonderland something of yours. It won't take anything that will kill you, don't worry. But it will take things that matter, and it won't give them back. "One more thing, and then I'll let you go. I've given you some cheats, but in order to keep you from finishing the game too quickly, I'm taking something away, too. Everyone, please take good care of yourselves while you're here. You're all precious cargo. And there's no healing in Wonderland." He winks. And blinks out of existence. And suddenly, the nonspace you occupied is gone, and you are Somewhere Else. Back to top 2. WONDERLAND, UNDER THE SKIN B. THE ILLUSION COMES DOWN CW: Emetophobia, body horror, reality caving in on itself For a short time after Adrian leaves, everything is as it should be. Wonderland is Wonderland, but quiet and still aside from the background music. After a few breaths, heartbeats slowing, the music warps and bends like rotting wood, going further and further off key until it grinds. Clangs once, loudly, down to your bones, and halts. The world freezes in absolute silence. Then. A sizzling noise. Burning paper. The illusion starts to die. To your left, the floor peels up like it's made of paper, mist, waving like a mirage before your eyes. Colorful red velvet floors reveal dark green and glowing violet moss and fungus. Gold tile floors give way to ebony wood, gone rock solid in atrophy. Disease. A small black vine reaches from the floor towards you, towards Life, but withers and hardens before your eyes. You need to leave. To your right, a wall bleeds. Is it actually blood? Sap? The color seems to run away from your eyes - goldredwhiteyellowblackblackblack - covered with an iridescent sheen, an oil slick, pouring out and up and towards in ways that burn your eyes and soul. You need to leave. All around you, the Wonderland you've come to know burns like shadows in sunlight, or sunlight to shadow. The ceiling and walls and everything morphs to the inside of some unfathomably large tree. Roots and branches and gouged out holes, forming paths of the most non-ecludian sort. Some... things out of sight climb up and down in the darkness, looking for purchase, escape, travel. Far too many limbs, or none at all. You need to LEAVE. Not yet. You want to help. You need to help. You grab the nearest non-reclaimer - an elf, a visitor, someone - and they are both far too light and far too heavy. Stiff like wood in your hands. Their skin is gray, ashen, black veins in porcelain skin. Eyes gone solid black, they try to say something, but all that comes out is a spew of thick black tar - leaking from their eyes, ears, nose, vomit, cracks in their joints and once-flesh. The amorphous Black they just expelled pulses, then skitters down between the wood at your feet. You look at your skin. Your veins are too dark. Visible. Present. A weight builds in your heart, The Reclaimers (and Angus) can still move, bolt for what was once a cascade of colors, lights and joy. Now it's a gaping maw, jagged edges like splintered teeth around a hole like a cavity, sap like pus seeping out of the edges. The once-elevator now-branches bring you back to Shadowdale, covered in a charcoal smog that seems to smile at you from every angle. C. THE CAVALRY ARRIVES Lucretia, after receiving Sans' text about the current state of affairs within Wonderland, is faced with a decision that only she could make. Years ago, she came upon this place and lost decades of her life, all in an attempt to stop the mechanations of this horrific landscape. Her biggest failure, a thorn in her pride, she assembled the Bureau of Balance not long after her visit in order to take down places like this. People or things who obtain a power they should not have. She doesn't know why Wonderland is the way that it is, she can only guess that the Grand Relic has corrupted the World Tree down to its core. But more than that, more than the years she put onto her life for a wager of chess, more than the meticulous, maddening obsession she has with destroying every single one of these objects that threaten the world- her Reclaimers are here. Her Reclaimers. Against the judgment of most of her advisers and Moon Base employees, she grits her teeth and holds tight to her staff. Carey, Killian, and Lucretia descend upon the forests of the Cormanthor region. It takes them far, far too long to make it through the wilds. The forest can sense when someone is coming to destroy it, and thus, sends everything it can against them. Enchantment after enchantment gets flung their way, but she knows better. She's seen Wonderland before and she reckons that no one has ever visited this place twice. Arriving in Shadowdale, she looks up to see Yggdrasil in its sad, sorry state. Clasping her staff in place, finally here, she is resplendent in her detestation of this unholy place. A few of you might be there at the base of the tree when Wonderland transforms into its hellscape, and you might see her approaching, purposeful, as if every step is one of reclamation and poise. Angus McDonald looks upon her and tilts his head, trying to figure out what exactly it is that's going on. Lucretia warmly smiles at him. "Hello, Angus. I've heard much about you." "Ma'am?" But her attention is turned to another little boy, terrified otherwise. His face is darkened, sickly colors rooting through his veins and showing up against a pale skin. Niel. Ah, she remembers him, too. Her face gives no sign of anger, of fear, or resentment. "Don't worry, Niel. We'll free you from that monster." She doesn't renege on her promises. Lucretia slams her white oak staff on the ground and in an instant, a flash of brilliant luminescence fills all of Shadowdale, expelling the darkness that lingers around the corners of the sleeping town. She erects a magic dome from the center of her origin, expanding out from her as she concentrates on her magic. Lucretia's gifted in the arcane herself, you see, and a giant Globe of Invulnerability spell now blocks entrance nor exit from this zone. And for the first time in centuries, Shadowdale sees sunlight. Carey and Killian flank her. She needs to concentrate on this spell in order to keep it active, and they're there to stop anyone who thinks about getting in her way. D. NEW RULES OF WONDERLAND It's a zero-sum game here that Adrian is wagering. Lucretia didn't bring Dr. Tank down to Shadowdale for a very specific reason; an expert chess player herself, she always thinks in terms of move by move encounters. She figures that the rules would change quickly once the Reclaimers had figured out what was behind the curtain, so to speak. There's no way that Wonderland would allow healing or restoration of a body within its confines. She aims to cut this place off from the outside world. To quarantine it away from escape and cage it inward like an animal. No, Dr. Tank would be useless here, and if anything... dangerous, to put their chief of medical staff here in the middle of the mission. And thus, no one can come in or out of the area once she's erected the barrier. Returning to base is no longer an option for the remainder of the mission, including any and all facilities provided by its administration: Bender's food, Fantasy Costco, items you may have left behind, etc. Those of you who have opted out of the horror plot for the month will most likely be spending your time in Shadowdale for the next two weeks, providing back up and support to Lucretia. The work you do out here is equally as important as the work that needs to be done on the inside. Whereas the forest was quiet and still before, it seems to have taken on a new life of its own, now that it senses the Source of its life deeply threatened. Killian takes command from here on out. Anyone not willing to go up to Wonderland needs to stay down here and stop the encroaching darkness from attacking. And she means that, literally. As you look around the outskirts of town, the dome extending well beyond the vantage point you can see, there are creatures, made of darkness, dripping a deeply red sap that sparkles in the newfound texture of light Lucretia's spell provides. One bounds forward from the edge of a building, four legs crawling and made of pure shadow, and attempts to make an attack towards the Director. Carey cuts it down as it splits into two and vanquishes into a dark dust. "What the hell are these ugly gods-damned things?!" Some of you might've noticed it before in your rolls, but in the light provided by Lucretia's spell, there's no denying it. Negativity forms a dark cloud straight from Carey's mouth, as her eyes go wide at the sight of it. The monster at her feet, now a cloud of dust, seems to feed on it as it reassembles back into its form. What the actual fuck. Back to top 3. A TASTE OF GOOD SUFFERING E. REEDS GROWING OUT OF MY FINGERTIPS The Wonderland the Reclaimers and Angus find themselves in now looks nothing like the Wonderland they left behind. The feel of it is similar, except that the creeping dread has officially crept. It's here now, fully-formed and breathing down the back of every single neck. What was whispered before is screamed now: Wonderland is here to hurt you. The fun it seeks is not for you, but fuel for something else, something you haven't found yet. Nonetheless, you're here to feed it. And so, you begin to realize, is Yggdrasil. The naturally-minded among you begin to realize it with sickening certainty: the roots, the veins, the stiffness and the ever-present tarlike substance stem from the sickness of the World Tree. Wonderland, and all of you, are within Yggdrasil's rot now — and as much as it tries to reject this magic, the insidious power of the Compact has taken over too far. The tree is dying. Inside of it as you are, you can practically feel it. The entire place is a warren, structured like the tree it's draining the life out of. From the central trunk, the central locations that used to be Squares slide off from the main body in long, twisting branches that turn in nonsensical directions before abruptly coming to a halt. Each Square exists in uncomfortable parody here — or maybe the original was the cruel joke, because the purpose of Wonderland is suffering. At any turn in your path through the channels of Wonderland, you'll be swimming through darkness creeping in on all sides. No light can penetrate past your periphery, with very few exceptions; you are a moving lantern in this blackness, functioning on faith that whatever comes at you, a mystery until the last moment, will be something you can handle. Stumble into Battle Square and find yourself face-to-face with a monster of vicious intelligence and amorphous shape, delighted to cut you to ribbons over a period of hours while telling you every secret shame you've ever harbored. In Event Square, a knot midway up the endless trunk, time goes taffy-sticky as you trip through loops of memory blasted on every wall, loud and confusing and overwhelming, going on for what seems like forever. There's more, of course — more discrete spaces than you could even see in Wonderland. Any manner of horror you can consider can be found here, as vast as Yggdrasil itself. One or two places, though, will be particularly easy to recognize — and difficult to escape. F. THIS IS NOT FOR YOU Sometimes, investigation gives us little tips and tricks for solving the next stage of the puzzle. For example: Michael found a map to the mirror maze, back in the first iteration of Wonderland. But unfortunately, sometimes the setting also cheats. Ghost Square is still here — but maps aren't going to do you any good. Enter this section of Wonderland and the door behind you doesn't exist anymore. It doesn't pop out of existence; it just isn't, like it never was, like maybe you imagined it in the first place. A hallway, apparently manmade, stretches out in front of you, dark and cold. It appears to be approximately 60 feet long. The walls are black. When you reach out to touch them, they are freezing to the touch and too smooth to be natural, not shiny enough to be polished, too hard to be plant matter. You have no idea what they are, but touching them saps the warmth out of you, so you stop. You keep walking, a halo of light around you but stretching no further than a few feet in any direction. You walk for 60 feet. The hallway keeps going. It hasn't gotten longer, but it hasn't gotten shorter, either. It keeps going. It keeps going. You continue until your feet hurt or you get sick of this bullshit, whichever comes first, and then you turn back the way you came. Maybe you think you'll see a door, or maybe you're not thinking very clearly anymore. Back the way you came, there is a staircase. It wasn't there before. You certainly didn't pass it. It spirals down into the depths. It could be a story deep or a hundred. You have no way to know. You turn back towards the direction you originally walked, and there is only a wall. It's the spiral staircase or it's nothing. You go down. As you descend, it gets colder. Colder and darker, and the darkness and cold press against you, creep under your skin and make you shake. The halo of light around you begins to dim the deeper you go. If you go deep enough, it will be hard to tell what's light and what's your imagination. Because really, honestly? The longer you stay in this place, the more you begin to think you're hearing things. Whispers just beyond your ability to decipher. A soft laugh, like that of a child or someone trying to stay quiet. And if you stop, or rest, or feel something negative — anger, frustration, sorrow, despair, it doesn't matter, because a black fog drifts out from between your lips. And in the distance, something roars. Just a little bit closer every time. Every once in a while, as you descend the staircase, you will pass a mirror with a red X taped near the top. Sometimes you'll see yourself in it. Sometimes you'll see something worse. When you get right down to it, what you get out of the world has a lot to do with what you put in — so we hope you're staying positive, or you might see something really nasty. G. THE SONG BEYOND THE SONG The aftermath of MARIA's destruction, the Area That Was Once The Night Show is a blasted husk. More than anywhere else, the walls ooze Yggdrasil's lifeblood from where something... was. Something large used to be chained here. Open gashes and empty sockets line the walls and floor. A large root knotted like a spine shoots through the very center of the room, a support pillar, entwined into the ceiling and floor and Everything of this cavern. Growths like tumors rise from the floor - what was once gambling tables look more like grasping hands. A few curl into themselves, knocked over, shattered to splinters in the wake of what was once there. Maria is gone. She is free. There is a sob. Small. Weak. Mortal. At the base of the pillar, half-absorbed into the plant matter of Yggdrasil is Stylosa. Black roots creep up through her arms, chest, face. Her tears are tinged black, but the eyes are still hers. One arm reaches out. She whispers 'please help, it hurt̷̟͂s̶͕̓ ̵̻͂ĩ̸̺t̸͔͐ ̴͙̍ḧ̷̜́ù̸̘r̶̢̓t̶́͜s̸̫͒ ̸͑ͅî̶̺Ṱ̴̿ ̵̠̃H̷̙͊U̸̻̒R̶̯͛T̸͓͠S̸̢͌`- The world goes static, right then wrong then right again, and the original Wonderland surrounds you. Silent - for a second. An explosion of color and canned applause comes from behind you. What was once a stage opens once more. There is the Henrik some of you were searching for, skin plaster, eyes matte black, a rigor mortis smile across his face. His voice booms out of speakers that aren't there. "Welcome, one and all, as we embark on this, our first night! To the new and improved Night Show, with one hundred percent more audience participation!!! Guaranteed to keep you rooted to your seats, haha!" Confetti falls from nowhere, more false cheers from an invisible audience. He bows, stiff and chipped as a wind-up toy. It gives you a chance to angle your gaze to where there used to be an exit. It is there no longer. Doors appear and disappear in wrong places. Chandeliers swap between designs. The new Show is still trying to acclimate itself. "Now, I know some of you have had a bad time here before, but please romaine calm. We-" And then Da Vinci's Body, appearing from nowhere, the same black eyes and battered smile, smacks him upside the head. A slapstick comedy in all the worst ways. "That one doesn't work! We're in an ash tree!" "No, we're in a cactus!" "Ahahaha! Oh, Henrik, you know I'm a succa for your jokes!" Both them and the invisible audience crack out into raucous laughter, doing matching poses like they're both on the cover of Vogue magazine. They whisper something to each other and 'Da Vinci' runs off stage to prepare. "Tonight, in celebration, we'll be holding our first ever... talent show!!! Our main acts are just boooring now. You know what I mean? Look at this mess-" A hand waves out, and Minato unfolds up from the floor, harp welded into his hands, painted and decorated and held in place with pipes and wire. 'Da Vinci' waves her arms, unveiling the elaborate music box. His hands play against his will, plinking out the sad notes to a certain Velvet Room theme. He gets left alone in tired silence for a bit before a note goes off key. 'Da Vinci' yanks his face into the same smile, freezing it in place. TODAY IS A JOYOUS DAY, we are all so very HAPPY, and the eyes of 'Minato' go black. The room is filled with cheers and rainbows, an excited irish jig played out by their wind-up stage musician. 'Henrik' doesn't wander the room, choosing instead to make sure the background music keeps going. The statues and paintings once lining the walls bend before your eyes - reforming into memories from your home, replays of your failures, but all done up in catchy pop-art style and played for hilarity. Rather than Marias, all newcomers are visited by a black-eyed ghoul wearing a human skin. They hand out drinks and paperwork, what would you like to participate with in our talent show? The winner not only gets a job but- One wish from the Compact. Surely that's way more interesting than trying to get out, right? Back to top 4. OOC In order to keep to our goal of providing the most personalized Wonderland experience for all of you, we're setting a limit of 1 RNG attempt per character this log. Additionally, please be aware that while some mundane rolls will have standard-level DCs, many rolls, including those with the potential to uncover plot information, will be high-risk high-reward and will have a very high DC along with steep penalties for failure. As always, we will let you know of this before we roll, and you have the option to decline any roll at any time. If you would like to gain a bonus of +2 on any given roll, those who have opted in to horror content may make the choice to sacrifice something of body, mind, or spirit. We will determine your sacrifice based on your horror homework. It is up to you whether this sacrifice is for the duration of the mission or a permanent sacrifice. As an additional reminder, there is no healing in Wonderland. To a few of you, this will be even more detrimental than usual. To those of you who went too far with your debts or your choices, who have lost your very Selves to Wonderland. A list: ○ Michael ○ Kaede Akamatsu ○ Minato Arisato ○ Akira Kurusu ○ Guido Mista ○ Ryuji Sakamoto ○ Leonardo da Vinci ○ Willard H. Wright Despite Lucretia's spell, the Light won't effect you guys. Over the course of part 2 you'll find you're slowly falling prey to what hit everyone else in wonderland. Your skin will turn pale, your veins will turn dark, you'll start vomiting viscous Abyss that occasionally comes to life, and eventually your eyes will turn black and you will Petrify. Should you as a player not want to play out the vomiting part, it can be exchanged with breathing out black mist. Whichever's cool with your school guys. The speed/intensity of this change and all of its symptoms is also up to you. There are two exceptions. Da Vinci, while she is still a Roland, will simply start going rotten, seams growing old and fur collapsing away. Constant Mending will mitigate this, but she's on a timer to get her body back now. Willard will find that as the hardening of the glass continues, it will start to lose all color and begin to crack in places. These cracks will leak the same tar infecting the other players. Minato, despite being a Music Box right now, is still in his physical body and is not an exception. On a more general note, we encourage you to make your own mini-horrorscapes in this setting! The entirety of Wonderland is available to dark-side, with the exception of what we've already laid out for Ghost & Wonder Squares. Improvise and make a mess. Just make sure to tag anything warning-worthy. Anything on the OOC post is fair game, and if there's something you'd like to try, please don't hesitate to let us know on the RNG thread. Should you have any questions, please direct them to the OOC post linked above. Back to top blurb code by photosynthesis

Comments

[noblegarnet]

[Damn it, Maya.]

Don't be stupid!

[He's berating himself over this, still stuck with the idea that he and everyone else are better off separate, but it's out of concern—and focusing on that is enough to help him pull against Onyx's influence. Frost has built up on some of those chains, making them more visible, but they're not frozen enough to be brittle. Not yet.]

Get out of here while I'm trapped!

[Onyx isn't pleased, but he hasn't lost confidence yet, his voice echoing against the dark, corroded walls as he forces Ferran to try to break free.

Even now you can't escape me—I've controlled everything about you since I burned your life to a crisp.

Ferran still believes this, even though the man has been dead for months—whether the influence was supernatural or just psychological, he's there, and Ferran can't forget him. But even with the power of that belief, the spell he's cast on himself was more powerful, and he stays where he is. The ice doesn't even crack.]

[feytality]

[ what's that, ferran? be even more stupid?? ]

There's nothing stupid about believing in a friend!

[ what's a little papercut between friends. ]

[ she wavers - not sure whether to move forward or stay in place -- there's a big part of her that wants to go and try to bust him out herself -- and she considers taking action against the phantom itself. how much would that even help? he's driving her crazy, though, she hates to see him hurt ferran like this -- to manipulate him like a puppet. literally. ]

And I'm not abandoning you. You and I are going to leave here together, once you've shaken off this creep and broken the chains around your heart!

[ stop with this shounen nonsense, maya. ] He's not real... he's not here. It's just you and me. So, come on, please.... have a little faith. You're already defeating him.

[noblegarnet]

[NO!!!!!!]

You don't get it!

[He has no faith. That's been true practically since he was brought here—he's just waiting to die in an unfamiliar world, and recovering the relics won't do anything to destroy the hunger or restore their own worlds. Hope is a concept that's utterly foreign to him, at this point.]

Aside from taking my parents from me, aside from getting me to trust him... he did something to me. Even if he's dead and gone forever, I can't get him out of my head.

[... but Maya isn't leaving. If actively attacking and hurting her hasn't made her go, then... she's not going to later. Onyx can hurt him all he wants, illusion or not, but he can't stand the thought of letting this hurt anybody else.

That's what he's thinking when he tries to break free of those chains again. But with a fucking critical fail the fake takes control again despite his best efforts, and he goes silent. Ferran himself may not be able to move, but his familiar can, and Agate flies in to attack Maya with her beak and talons.]

[feytality]

[ she might get it more than he thinks, honestly -- unless the doing something is literal, like a spell, or something. it's hard to say. ]

You're stronger than he is, Ferran. No matter what he says. I know you are. You just need to know it, too!

[ she's still pleading with him, but firmly. he can redo his roll with a lower dc now, and fortunately this time she's prepared. agate divebombs but maya disappears in a flash and reappears several feet away. ]

[ she casts hideous laughter on agate. if it lands, it won't hurt her, but it'll be very distracting. ]

we can still move towards a conclusion despite ferran being a failure ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

[noblegarnet]

[A little from column A, a little from column B. They'll get into the details when they're out of here.

Maya's spell is enough to break the illusion's control of the familiar, and she flaps wildly before falling to the ground and writhing in confusion, struggling with the same suggestions her master is. Their telepathic connection causes him to be knocked out of sorts as well, but just enough to bring him back to the surface. Even with Onyx's control, though, it's not like he can do anything but struggle at this point. The ice around his legs and hands cracks, but doesn't break.

Onyx's voice, deliberate, echoes at the same time as Ferran speaks regretfully. There's not much to be done now. His tools have become useless.]

You... you're such an idiot. How did you even survive this far, acting like that...?
You... you're such a fool. How many times have you been hurt, trusting this blindly?

just give him another 10 rolls he's good to go, but yes!!!

[feytality]

[ well, that's one attacker taken care of. maya was more concerned about the effect agate hurting her would have on ferran -- but that's looking less and less likely. ferran himself is still struggling, and she genuinely believes he can break through. he just needs a little more of a push. ]

[ it's not the first time she's been called an idiot, and it probably won't be the last. they're probably right. but she doesn't really care. ]

I'd rather be an idiot than turn my back on a friend.

[ (it's a fair question, ferran... and onyx). then, for the first time in a bit, she addresses onyx. kind of. ]

But lemme just correct one little thing for you, 'cause you're a little turned around, evil creepy guy. I don't trust blindly. I know exactly who I'm trusting... [ back to ferran! ] Ferran.

[ onyx is right, she's been hurt before by doing this. and she'll be hurt again. she knows that, too. ]

[ it doesn't stop her, though. ]

[noblegarnet]

[Onyx laughs in a low chuckle, and Ferran's expression turns pained. They speak again, in unison this time.]

You don't know anything.

[The illusion starts to fracture around them, spreading out from Onyx himself. The caped figure holds the chains out in front of him, as if to display them—]

You'll regret it, eventually.

[—and he drops them just as the last of it breaks with the noise of shattering glass, leaving the two Reclaimers and familiar in an empty, dark space inside Yggdrasil. Ferran finally breaks free from the ice and falls to his knees. Wonderland may be done with him for now, but... he'll never be free.]

[feytality]

I won't, though.

[ she says that with utter confidence. she's known way worse people than ferran, no matter what he or his hallucinations say. ]

[ then onyx disappears and ferran's finally free of the chains. it's.... not quite what she was hoping for, but she'll take it. she rushes over and falls down to her knees, too. she wants to hug him, but after being cut that would be a bad idea. ]

Ferran! Are you hurt?

[ says the moron who got cut ]

[noblegarnet]

[It takes Ferran a few moments to respond, covering his face with a shaky hand, but now that the illusion is gone, he can freely suppress everything again. This isn't the place to think about his issues, even if he wanted to. Which he doesn't, thanks.]

Be quiet and hold still.

[He sounds tired, but puts a (very, very cold) hand on Maya's shoulder next to the wound. Gauze and bandages appear in his lap with the usual glittering.]

[feytality]

[ she's just hovering on her knees in the meantime, not quite encroaching his personal space but just sort of there. ]

[ she flinches at the icy touch, but otherwise does as she's told. ]

... Sorry.

[ is she apologizing for getting cut? maybe. ]

[noblegarnet]

[A part of him wants to scream at her that he should be the one apologizing, but he doesn't. He doesn't know that it would matter anyway, so instead he summons a flask of water and a cloth, which he cleans the cut with as well as he can.]

You should be.

[Is he crying? ... He's crying.]

[feytality]

[ that mean tough guy act is not gonna work on her, ferran. she smiles a little sadly, though it's undercut by her continuing to wince like a baby at how much it stings. her shounen energy is all gone now!!! ]

Hey.

[ she brings up her non-bloodied hand to try to wipe at his tears, if he even lets her. ]

Don't beat yourself up, okay? It was my choice.

[noblegarnet]

[He doesn't swat her hand away because he's too busy taking care of her injury. If he were feeling a little less raw, if she hadn't seen what she did, he might have replied with something like I can't just forget about hurting you. Or You should take better care of yourself. Or an apology.

He scowls at the bloody mess he's made and says this instead:]

You don't get to decide how I feel. If you choose to let me hurt you, then you have to deal with me hating myself for it.

[He wipes his hands clean before pressing the gauze against her shoulder.]

[feytality]

[ she does wince at that -- and there's a brief moment of self-doubt. did she make it worse? should she just have left? but she can't imagine that being the right answer, either. ]

.... I know. I messed up. I should have dodged better.

[ that's the problem here. she probably deserves to be snapped at. ]

Sorry. I don't want to tell you how to feel.... I just think that you've already suffered too much.

[noblegarnet]

You should have left when I told you to. Please, just...

[His voice breaks just before he trails off. Maybe he has suffered enough. But if suffering more means he can keep others from doing the same? He'll take on every single burden he can physically and mentally handle. He hangs his head and takes a breath, pausing in his attempts to bandage her. His voice is quiet when he continues.]

Just listen next time, okay? I don't want you to suffer, either.

[feytality]

[ it happens regardless of what she does, so she's pretty resigned to it. she almost blurts that out, tired as she is. but. ]

In a situation like that..... I don't think I could ever just leave you. I think that would be worse.

[ she's a little fidgety as he's bandaging her -- it's hard to keep still, even when she's trying to. ]

So what are we gonna do, huh? We gotta find a compromise so neither of us suffer.

[noblegarnet]

[His grip is strong enough that he doesn't slip up with the bandages, at least, as shaky as the ice has made him. He's learned enough first aid that he's sure it'll hold long enough for them to get somewhere it can be properly seen to.

Ferran meets her eye. It's a tired, miserable look that says they might not come to a compromise. He thinks they both know they're too stubborn for that.]

Step one is getting the hell out of here.

[feytality]

[ it does seem like something they're going to butt heads on later. but he's right. they have to prioritize now. ]

Sounds like a plan. This place majorly sucks.

[ once he's done she'll get back to her feet, and offer him the non-bloody hand. ]

[noblegarnet]

Yeah. It does.

[Ferran takes her hand, but mostly for the sake of making sure she doesn't run off and get more hurt somehow, rather than to pull himself up. He probably won't be letting go until they're officially back in Shadowdale, in relative safety.

It might have been a time for them to talk, if everything there was to talk about didn't create shadow monsters.]

[feytality]

[ that's fine. no matter his reasons, it's comforting to hold onto his hand -- and maybe it provides a bit of comfort for him, too. (if anything, just to make sure she isn't running off to be stupid elsewhere). ]

[ she debates trying -- opens her mouth, and closes it, several times. but now's not a good time, when the slightest bit of negativity could land them in another world of pain. ]

[ so, another time. ]