lostcarnival | ⇨ SAY UNCLE

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⇨ SAY UNCLE

Who: Everyone who isn't in jail!
When: Day 175, 11:30PM onward.
Where: The Realm that used to contain Heartstone Manor.
What: Team carnival has gotten what they came for, but in the meantime they have lost what they came with. With his ace in the hole gone, the Prince is tearing apart the Heartstone Manor and reshaping it into an impregnable fortress to lock away his new most precious commodities - the Ringmaster's captured followers. Welcome to a hostage situation, this could take a while.
Warnings: Violence, and etc.

AFTER THE BALL↴

Around 11:30PM is when everything starts changing - and for most in Heartstone Manor, the triggers will have remained unseen. In the ongoing thunderstorm it was easy to miss, and the Prince losing control over his realm only occured before a small group of workers intent on saving the carnival from a terrible fate. An ancient High Fae artifact called the Blue Rose was stolen from the Prince, and in reaction he is being forced to abandon his plans of controlling the Ringmaster, instead trying to hide away in his realm for the purposes of saving his own skin.

His main bartering chip? The workers that he's been capturing up to this point. He knows that, unlike himself, the Ringmaster cares about mortals, and especially about the ones who follow her. He's willing to bet that she won't allow them to die for the sake of her own convenience, and he's right. Now that the Blue Rose is the carnival's, she's intent to take back what was stolen from her, as well as the lives of all the servants that the Prince has been stealing away for eons. By whatever means necessary.

► SPLIT THE EARTH: Characters all across the Manor will be treated with initial tremours that will soon escalate into a full-fledged earthquake, capable of collapsing buildings and rending the earth. The cause of this is simple: the Prince is using his powers of elemental earth to reshape his realm into something more suited to protect him. Specifically, he is changing what was a manor house into a fortress meant to defend, and allowing the rest to collapse into ruin. The Manor is still nothing but a castle floating in a void - as the earth breaks apart, it will be nothing but an endless freefall between the floating chunks of debris. Over the next twelve house that earthen debris will be reshaping and solidifying into a new layout, but having to be there while it happens is one hell of a ride!

► BREAK THE ILLUSION: It's as the world starts shaking that the last of the Prince's spell over the minds of his guests will begin to fade away. However, it may wear off more slowly than is helpful in an emergency earthquake situation. The ballroom trance may linger even as lives are threatened, and it will take a pointed effort to make sure that everyone gets out of the Manor's collapse safely. At the same time, the illusionary guests will begin to fade and disappear. The ones that remain are the ones that are real, but it may be a bit painful to realize which ones were simply a lie to begin with.

► SAVE WHO YOU CAN: Despite being knocked out by a surprisingly massive blast from the Prince's magic crystal, the Ringmaster will manage to gather herself up eventually. When she does, the last of the storm will finally come to an end. She'll be doing what she can to try to gather up both servants of the Prince and all of her workers, but it'll be impossible to get to all of them first. A large portion of the servants have undoubtedly been stolen away by the Prince into his newly built fortress, but with the effort of carnival members new and old, they can still save as many as possible. Of course, those held in the Prince's most secure prisons will remain out of reach... for now.

► WAKE THE SUN: As the worst of the earthquakes stop and the new islands of floating land begin to settle, the clouds from the thunderstorm will finally pass, as the Ringmaster seems to summon up a sun to light the realm for the first time since the carnival's arrival. In reality it's sometime in the early, early morning by the Manor's schedule, but whatever! It's easier to not die when the sun is out, don't you think? The Prince's security and gargoyle soldiers are still out and about, and they're clearly interested in capturing as many hostages as possible.

► SIGN A CONTRACT: This is when the Ringmaster will be taking those that were summoned to the Prince's ball aside to offer them contracts in order to free them from the Prince's influence. She'll do her best to explain that the only way to wipe out his control is to take on a new 'master', but they can take some time to think about it if necessary. The truth is, of course, that until they officially sign onto the Ringmaster's camp, there will still be the chance that the Prince will be able to control them.

► WALK THE RUINS: One Day 176 things will have settled completely, with the land now forming a massive fortress on the far side of several large floating islands. The ruins of the old buildings will scatter those islands, forming towers that will swiftly gain small colonies of gargoyles, ready to swoop down and attack carnival members. Further complicating matters is the fact that the rending of the landscape has resulted in bursting open the underground prisons that the Prince had been keeping his most bestial servants, which mean all kinds of mortals long since twisted into the forms of giant spiders, scorpions, monstrous beasts, and other terrifying creatures will now be running amock on the islands, desperate for food. Try not to hold it against them - they didn't ask to be this way.

► REGROUP: While the Ringmaster doesn't want everyone to just run back home (if they do that, the Prince will undoubtedly make them unable to enter again, or at least take over the landscape more fully) she will manage to open a portal back to the carnival in the afternoon of Day 176, formed between two freshly grown trees. This means that carnival members will be able to fetch new clothing, supplies, weapons, and whatever they need to prepare for the battle ahead. Right now, the chaos is still unfolding, but the battle to save the Prince's captives is still ahead.

[OOC: Gargoyles and transformed servants from the underbelly can be NPC'd from this point onward. Gargoyles are the Prince's most deadly servants made of extremely durable rock and bearing scorpion tails with venom that can turn bodies into stone. They want to grab anyone they can, trap them, and then fly them off to the Prince's dungeons as collateral. Don't let them!

Transformed servants are the beasts who were freed from the underground prison they were left in to rot. They are servants that were transformed into monsters by the Prince, and most of them have been driven insane with bestial hunger from months and years of starvation and atmospheric poison. The Ringmaster is interested in helping them, to see if there is way they can be changed back, so if you have the heart nonlethal methods are most appreciated.]

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Of course Arabella would realize this is a spell. She's the wife of a magician, she's been enthralled before and, most importantly, she's one of the smartest people Strange knows. Strange isn't one to lie to begin with but he certainly isn't going to lie now. He takes Arabella's hand (what's left of it, he bitterly thinks) and nods.

"I need to get you out of here." The ballroom is falling apart as the floor shakes and tremors. Undoubtedly, everybody else here is in danger as well, but Strange's one track mind is focused solely on Arabella.

Still holding Arabella's hand, Strange looks around: one of the mirrors is already broken but most of them remain intact. Wonderful, he can work with that. He explains as he walks, trying to help move Arabella towards the mirrors with him. "The spell might be only affecting the ballroom." After all, that's where all the vanishing people are. "If I can get you elsewhere, it might delay or remove the effects."

And he can do that. He knows he can. He has to.

Arabella nods. There isn't any panic in her expression, though she is tense -- with a house falling down around your ears, how can one be anything but? As she always has when it comes to magic, she'll trust Jonathan and support him as best as she can, even if all that means is keeping herself calm and collected while he works things out. It feels a little bit like the days he was first figuring out his magic, before Mr. Norrell took him on as his student, watching Jonathan puzzle over some scraps from a children's storybook trying to figure out what's going on.

Since she can't actually help with any of the spellwork, 'help' is mostly relegated to moving as quickly as she can to keep up with him and looking around, trying to make sense of what they're seeing around the. The ballroom's roof is beginning to crack like an egg under the forces acting on it, and there are a lot of panicking people, some fading as swiftly as she is.

There isn't much time. Suddenly, Yuya's words from not all that long ago feel terribly apt.

Thankfully, they make their way over towards the mirror without getting smushed by falling debris or anything like that. Strange looks over towards Arabella—and oh god, her shoulder's starting to become transparent. A brief look of horror flashes across his face before he desperately tries to steel himself.

Once at the mirror, Strange puts his free hand on the glass, muttering slightly. Once finished, he turns towards Arabella, hand still on the glass. "This is a pathway back to the room I've been staying in. We'll go together."

This is yet another familiar sensation on the ever growing levels of deja vu he's had during the whole stay at the manor. But he's saved Arabella before, he can certainly do so again. And this won't be like before: he's going to stay by her side this time, no matter what, no matter who tries to stop him.

It's a familiar sensation for Arabella, too. Another reflective surface, the desperation in Jonathan's face: as the spell wears off, it feels like she's becoming both more and less real at the same time. Mind sharper -- but also, less present.

The fact remains that for this version of Arabella, it's going to be the first time she's consciously gone through the mirrors, and she straightens her backs and nods at him, gripping as tight as fading fingers allow.

"I'm ready." Like she was trying to soothe Yuya not so long ago, she tries to put as much confidence and reassurance in her voice as she can. Speaking of the boy, though ... where is he?

And so, the two step through the mirror. There's a brief feeling of coldness and darkness before they exit, stepping through to Strange's room. It's oddly neat, considering that it's being shared by a teenage boy and the world's worst bachelor. He supposes he has the manor servants to thank for that.

Strange turns to look back at Arabella. There's a brief expression of hope on his face before it falls instantly. She's still fading away. He's not going to let this happen.

"That should have worked," Strange can't help but respond, worry creeping into his voice. Well, alright, if that didn't work, he had other options that might work. Strange murmurs a spell of revelation but nothing happens. He focuses on Arabella, drawing from the concentration of his third eye, but everything here just seems like the Prince's magic. He mutters the cobbled together spell to dispel an enchantment used on the bicorn. The words just hang in the air as Arabella continues to fade.

It's obvious that unless stopped, he's just going to keep trying, casting every spell he can think of. But with each spell that fails or turns up no results, Strange grows more and more despondent.

Any other time, Arabella might remark on the room, but her husband's increasing desperation -- the the increasingly violent shake of the building around them -- worry her more than anything else. Arabella's quicker to catch on, reaching out to clasp his hands again, stopping them before he can attempt another half-formed spell.

"Jonathan," she says softly. 'This isn't working' has never worked to discourage him from anything, in her experience, and she's no reason to believe that has changed in the months he's been at the Carnival.

"We're out of time," is what she says, finally. "I ... I have to go."

His hands are shaking. But, as Arabella reaches out to grasp them, the shaking abates slightly. At her words though, Strange's eyes widen. What? No, he refuses to accept that. This is Arabella, he's fought his hardest to keep her with him, Strange just refuses to let things go this way.

"I became a magician for you." His voice hitches slightly as he talks. "The start of my magic, all my greatest works, they were for you. That's why—" The words stick in the back of his throat. That's why he can't let her go. That's why he knows he'll break down if Arabella has to leave. What good is this magic if it can't save her?!

"I can't let this happen to you again."

"But you aren't," Arabella says, as gently as she can, squeezing his hands and searching his expression. Self-confident to the point of fault, convinced of his own ability to solve everything he might be, but she also knows there are things he won't let himself see, things obvious enough they have to be pointed out.

"I saw other people fading too. But others weren't, like you." Her own face is serious now, one of the few parts of her still completely solid, though the edges of her body -- the parts that began to disappear first -- are becoming more and more transparent.

Though her voice is steady and her expression is calm and resolute, she is looking a little pale. The unfortunate, slow-dawning understanding that you might have to question your basic existence isn't a pleasant one, but illusion or not? She's still Arabella, powered by a similar spirit.

"You have to think, Jonathan." She pulls a hand away to rest her fingers on his jaw, tugging his gaze to look at her, really look at her. She still has to swallow before she speaks again. "You know what that means, don't you?"

Edited 2017-10-27 02:02 (UTC)

Only when Arabella turns his head to look at her, only when she says those words does Strange put together the facts. He knew he was somewhat enchanted at the ball. He could tell that much, coming out of the haze as he watched Lambert and Sans fight, how his mind slipped and memories faded but he didn't care. But it's only now, only as he looks at Arabella that Strange realizes just how enchanted she was.

Strange continues to squeeze Arabella's hands slightly, as if that will somehow change what he now knows is true. Because she's right. She's always right but especially now, in this moment, she's more right than Strange wants.

"You aren't real, are you." He can't help but laugh a little, a short strangled laugh as the tears start to well up in his eyes. Of course, even as an illusion, hallucination, or whatever she is, even not real Arabella would be smart enough, would be sensible enough to point out what Strange doesn't want to see. When he looks back at Arabella, it's as he blinks back tears, giving her a weak little smile.

"God, how I wish you were."

"I wish I was, too," she murmurs, hand cupping his cheek, her own lip trembling slightly as she looks at him. She won't cry, if only because she's never let herself cry in front of him (though she's certainly shed her share of tears in private).

"But I'm not. And they are." She shuts her eyes and pulls his head down to hers so she can rest her forehead against his own. There's still lingering warmth, there, but she's becoming more intangible by the moment. Even an illusion can be a little selfish, before she has to let her husband go, can't she? Magic's made a ruin of them in so many ways, but it's also brought so much wonder.

"You can still save them, just like you saved me."

Strange has none of those compunctions. As Arabella continues to talk, those tears just keep flowing, as Strange moves from watery eyes to outright crying. As Arabella cups his cheek, Strange wraps his arms around her waist, trying not to pay attention how patches of Arabella threaten to fade into nothingness. He's selfish. He wants to be with her as long as possible, now that it's all too obvious this moment, like all their moments, is quick and fleeting.

But she's right—God, she's always right, even now. He is a magician. He is England's magician, Wellington's magician, the Ringmaster's magician, and most important of all, Arabella's magician. If she wants him to save everyone then he shall try his damndest to do so.

"I will," Strange simply responds, blinking back tears. "And then I'll finish my contract, break the curse, and come back to you."

If he says it enough, maybe it actually will happen.

"I know you will," she answers. Though she isn't crying, her breath comes in shaky gasps, body heaving under Jonathan's hand. Disappearing doesn't hurt. Knowing he's going to be left behind does.

Before she can second guess herself, she leans up to kiss him, a soft, quick press of their mouths together. Nothing like those stolen moments on the balcony, or after it. But she won't let it last long, because there's one more thing to say.

"You're a good man, Jonathan," she murmurs. "I've always loved you for that. Now go."

And in the blink of an eye, like she was no more than some trick of the light, she's gone.

Arabella's the one who pulls back. If Strange had his way, they'd stay in this moment forever, lips pressed together, bodies intertwined. He opens his mouth, about to say something in response...but then she vanishes. Arabella's gone. Again. It's as if she was never there. How many times had he lost her already and how many more times must he suffer this?

It is hardly dignified, but it is what it is. Strange simply walks over to his bed, sits down on the edge of it, and cries. To be reunited with Arabella only to lose her again...yes, it was only a few hours, but for Strange those hours felt like days, weeks. They've been apart far too often as it is, Strange clung to every moment as a man clings to life on his deathbed. There's a good minute of crying as his claws dig into his palms, threatening to pierce his skin. And then, he takes a few deep breaths. She wouldn't want him to carry on like this. Strange sniffles slightly, reaching into his pockets to try and find a handkerchief before his eyes fall on the red gemstone the Ringmaster gave him, sitting on his nightstand.

That's right. He always had the memories, always had thoughts of Arabella, could always see her face and listen to her voice. She was never truly gone, was she? Picking the gem up, he presses it to his lips for a moment before pocketing it. Taking a deep breath, Jonathan Strange steels himself, wipes his eyes on the corner of his sleeve, and then starts to leave. After all, he has people to save.

Edited (spelling helps) 2017-10-28 01:42 (UTC)

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⇨ SAY UNCLE

hahaha this is gonna SUCK

but only in the best possible way

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i like how this scene is basically the reverse of the scene in this icon, good shit

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