⇨ THE GAME CUBE

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone who gets caught in the game.
When: Day 97
Where: Hellbound Hallows, the game inside of a cube inside of a city inside of a computer.
What: On Day 97, a massive Game Cube drops on the city of Mainframe, forcing those caught inside to fight against the User for their lives. This log is 100% Hellbound Hallows gameplay. Plotting deets are here.
Warnings: Diablo-esque violence, characters dying, and edgy video game aesthetic gore.

HELLBOUND HALLOWS↴ The Game Cube drops close to the entrance of the carnival - so much so that it will end up pulling a lot of people from it in, out of sheer terrible luck. Alternatively, your character may have seen it coming down and understood what allowing the programs to fail would mean, dashing in to be caught beneath it out of sheer heroism. Maybe you entered the game for some reason in between. Either way, once the walls of the Cube have passed you, you'll find yourself in a new reality. You find yourself somewhere in the levels of a dungeon crawling game with a dark aesthetic. Some binomes and sprites from the city have been pulled in with you, and all oft them know what to do. It's time to Reboot. Use the icon button the Ringmaster gave each of you. Tap it twice and say "Reboot", and you'll be able to assume your new form. Maybe it's useful, maybe it's not, but it's probably better than nothing. Probably. Now, figure out where you fit in to the structure of setting, and wait for the Game to begin. ► LEVEL ONE: Level one is where the Users will enter. With a cold blue aesthetic, it appears to be some manner of underground fortress, filled with many hallways and grand archeways. In a standard game, the enemies here would be theoretically the easiest to defeat, but you are under no obligation to follow those rules. Level one is ruled over by Sora, rebooted into the form of a vampiric overlord. He must be defeated in order for the Users to gain access to level two. ► LEVEL TWO: The colour pallet shifts to purple here, the corridors becoming darker and only lit with scattered braziers and the occasional stream of lava. Banners and tapestries depicting some hellish god line the walls. The traps here are primarily fire based, with lava traps or geysers of flame becoming more common. Level two is ruled over by Yamato, who has rebooted into the form of a fiery hellbeast. He must be defeated to access level three. ► LEVEL THREE: As the colours shift into a sickly green, the Users will reach the final level. The architecture is shaped based on the screaming faces of the damned, and the rooms are large and dramatic, filled with vast obelisks and deep chasms. Subterranean plant life haunts the floors and shadows of this place, and poison traps become deadly and common. Level three is ruled over by the man Gongenzaka, the final boss of of the game. If he is defeated, the Users have won. Do not let this happen.

Comments

[betheman]

"....I, the man Gongenzaka, was speaking of myself in the Narration, not in the literal..." How is it nowhere, Jimmy, he's trying to figure out how a plant dragon stuck in a hole kidnapped you!!

[empty_vessel]

"In the Narration? I think I was intended as kind of a sacrifice/offering/bribe thing. Maybe you're stuck in there and you've got all your minions on the upper levels bringing you things." At least, that's how he thinks the story goes. He had about two minutes from reboot to capture and they didn't exactly fill him in on what was going on.

[otoko]

"Hmmm, that would make sense..." Two minutes or not, he is curious after all. "...I, the man Gongenzaka, confess, it's a bit strange...filling the role of the 'final villain', and only understanding the combat methods..."

[empty_vessel]

"Maybe it's one of those deep games with plot and story hidden away and you have to go look for it." He thinks about that one for a moment, taking another sip of firebreath and taking another look at his 'assets'. "Or more likely they figured that their primary audience didn't give much of a damn about the story and wanted to focus more on killing monsters and the bit of bonus titillation."

"My money's on the latter, really."

[betheman]

"Hmmmm, that does make the most sense..." Ahhhhh, he has to sigh. "It is a shame, but I, the man Gongenzaka, suppose it does at least shorten the time that we must be here."

...

"...I suppose once they arrive, however..." ...That'll be it for you, huh Jimmy.

[empty_vessel]

"Yup. I'll vanish in a cute wave and a jingle of coins. It's happened a couple of times now, all by the same player. I think they're trying to help him level. He runs over, taps me on the shoulder, there's a noise of chains hitting the floor. Now I know what that is." He adds with a grumble, muttering and trying to grope for the attachment for the harness on his back.

"And then I stand up, wave a little, and then I vanish. Which, until they get down here to you, meant that I'd have a chance of showing up somewhere else in the level they were clearing." He shrugs. "There's four recolors of this model, and I only show up when the dark haired one in the blue wins. There's lots of places where I can show up, though. So it's not bad."

[betheman]

"Hhhhmmnn... ...Either way then, it'll be the last we see of the other until then. ...I, the man Gongenzaka, should thank you for the moment in that case. Even if you appear elsewhere, I would otherwise not be able to offer that gratitude until after the game is over after all.

"...I, the man Gongenzaka...well. I look forward to seeing you as you should be!" In the meantime though...they may hear footsteps soon.