lostcarnival | ⇨ SAY UNCLE

Entry tags:

⇨ 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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's a good thing Mari's a vampire, or she'd probably not be seeing much at all. As it is, she's squinting a good twenty eyes just to make sure she's got the right thing in her sights. Dressed in black, fast a fuck--

Whoa, whoa, what.

Mari is startled enough by the kid that she almost missteps--in the half a second it takes to figure out what the kid means to do, she grabs Reira by the jacket and in a swift, confusing sequence of movements (that takes three out of her four arms), has hoisted the kid up on her shoulders and is already racing in the direction.

"Not fast enough! I got us a radar!" she announces to... uh, this guy. Her backup, she guesses? Holy shit, she doesn't know anyone. This little black-clad shadow better not have a mole, because she wouldn't recognise a plant from her own side right now...!

"W-wuoh!" Oof! It's fortunate, truly, that Reira was wearing a jacket at all. As it is, she has no argument to her speed. She's sick, she's tired, and frankly this is better than running. It means she can focus on tracking that Someone, if anything. "...Quieter," she does warn, her voice a hoarse whisper. "They're teleporting-if they hear, they'll do it again."

That said, she quickly adds- "....Left. 9 o' clock." Turn a bit, just so they stay in course, please!

With Reira's help, they'll end up at the Ringmaster's tent in fairly short order. For the moment, the emotional presence is stable, and it feels like it's coming from... beneath them?

Everything in the tent seems normal, except for one thing: off in the back of the tent, behind the Ringmaster's desk, there is a large steamer trunk that is currently sitting wide open. A few boxy compartments seem to have been removed from it, revealing it to be effectively bottomless - a dark hole leading into some kind of underground level.

There is a ladder sort of build into the stone that the trunk leads to, or you can just jump in there. Both are fine, right.

Hilariously if he had been met a couple of days earlier he definitely would have been the mole. Tired but functional enough he'll say nothing at her comment or the fact she just scooped the kid. Instead he just side eyes them both as he picks up the pace. The movement is rough on his sense of duty with his weak body but it is keeping him moving.

He stops short of the object in question and leans over to peer down. It's only a second longer than his usual leap before looking practices. If there is no prompt to wait he'll jump right down into it. He's still a gentleman and he's willing to take any ambush that might be waiting.

Mari corrects to her passenger's instructions, but it quickly becomes clear where they're headed--with or without directions.

The Treasury.

It makes sense, but... wait.

How did it know?

How did it know where to go? How to get in?

Yeah, she doesn't have time for that kind of ruminating.

She's got four arms, grabbing her radio to put another message doesn't take but a second--but in that time, her backup has already followed the target down. In the same motion, she takes the kid off her shoulders and sets him(?) on the ground.

She missed this, actually. Holing up in a fortress, fortifying defences, playing politics... that's fine, but this is the real party!

"If the target escapes, help us out!" She says, then shoves her radio in Reira's hands--apparently way less concerned about her helper's age than she probably should be.

"There's only one way out now!" She announces, and follows Tyki down--and no, she doesn't use the dang ladder either.

There are some torches lit in the Treasury once they've dropped down there, seeming to recognize their arrival. It's a bit like entering Area 51, except a lot less well organized, with what are essentially mounds of random items piled within the cavern. Off ahead, there are more valuable items protected by various means, and also an area for jailing criminals that is currently blocked off.

They'll hear movement off ahead, like someone is sifting through items in one of the piles - upon getting near, they will see a familiar looking skeleton, clothed in some kind of black draping cloth and also jamming a few items into a small circular hole cut into timespace, leading to a personal pocket dimension. Upon hearing them, he looks up in shock, his seven eyes going wide while his pupils narrow into pinpricks of white light.

They know the warden when they see him, but somehow they'll be unable to remember any name for him. It's mysteriously absent from their memories.

A moment later and the skeleton has closed the portal hole, vanishing completely as he teleports. Of course, they'll be able to hear him move in a different section of the room moments after, dashing behind some piles of loot - teleporting out of the Treasury from here seems to be beyond his capabilities at the moment.

Syrlya catches the first radio message, but he's in the Prince's realm at the time. It snaps him to awareness, and by the time they're calling second back-up he's dashed and teleported to the opening of the Ringmaster's tent.

He breathes deep, winded, his hand absently finding the hilt of his blade while his radio echoes the rest of the chatter.

Seeing Reira, a small child, alone with the radio makes him pause. And then hr approaches, reaching to gesture her back.

"Do not stand too close, they may come up violently."

And taking that hit is the job of other people.

"Whaaaaaat--"

Oh. Oh. Oh...??

She... fuck. It's--it's what's his face. She was just talking about him yesterday. Replaced the old Warden, turned into a kitten once, almost burnt to death in her trailer. Kidnapped. Fuck. Shit.

"I definitely can't let him leave here...." she mumbles, but by that point he's already gone.

Except she can still hear him. He's still here.

And why is that?

"Hey, bones!" she calls out gaily, though she immediately wishes she'd picked like, any other way to say that. That even felt lame, and she never feels like she's said anything lame, because identity and its subjective qualities as perceived by others are all performative anyway. She isn't in a hurry to run after him--not yet. Instead she falls back towards the ladder, raising her voice to shout into the torchlit caverns instead. "What're you doing here? Someone just told me you were trying to copy my style...!"

Fuck, is it too late to climb back up the ladder and leave? This is going to be a lot of effort on his part considering he likely shouldn't use tremendous force with all these fancy things laying around. There's a sigh on his end as he primarily stays where he landed with a step forward just for balance.

"He's still here," he remarks with no clear way of how he can tell. Now that he's close he can feel that soul clearly unless something is interfering.

"The Prince took a few of us under his control and... he was one of them. I don't know what his healing is like but he was rather injured earlier." Tyki himself has no idea how durable the skeleton is.

This isn't going well. He didn't feel like it would, but he never had a choice.

Life for the last few hours has been a nightmare - worse than when he'd just been hanging in the prison, waiting for something to happen. He's not sure what he was hoping for anymore, or what would be preferable to what he's doing right now. All he knows is that he's terrified, and that people are chasing him, and that he's not supposed to be here. Yet, he knew how to get in.

Part of him realizes that's because of past experience, a role he'd played in some alternate universe where he had any sort of purpose. There's exactly one thing that he relates to, and that's the knowledge of what he's missing. Somehow, him doing this is related to that, but the specifics are unimportant.

He hears her calling out after him, but he's struggling to contextualize how they know each other. He knows who she is - she's Mari, the former Nightrider, someone who'd possibly been dead - but what relation had he had to her? He can't remember.

Who is he, even?

He stays hidden behind some of the larger objects in storage - some wardrobe shaped things and a giant clock. He's trying to teleport to the outside, but he can't make the connection here. He must have to be closer to the entrance. But... he hasn't gotten anything worthwhile yet? What happens if he doesn't?

"Leave," he growls, defaulting to an aimless threat. He doesn't know what else to do.

"Nope!" Mari calls back. "I live here!"

Which, in fairness, is true. Well, mostly true. She's not 'alive' any more in a biological sense, but she's got consciousness and also a bedroom like five/ten minutes from here, and 'I inhabit this place' sounds like something out of a pre-Second Impact sci-fi about aliens.

She doesn't like how... sparse... that response is. Bones... guy... (ugh) loved to banter. And he didn't make empty threats. This isn't just worrisome. It's... creepy.

Several of her eyes fix on the... dude... with her and she lowers her voice. "Yeah, I heard. How do you know where he is? Can you tell how close?" She pauses. "I don't wanna have to nail him. If I even can... when I am, I don't miss, but aiming at him is... look, I don't wanna have to hit him." Normally she'd be all for a challenge, but...

"I don't like the odds if I do."

Normally Tyki struggles with names but this one he was sure he'd remember. It's why his face is reflecting confusion at not bring able to remember his or exactly how he knows him. Though he had bones and he distinctly remembers him down in the Underbelly. He knows he was with him and the other enchanted. He's not the tall one. But that is not important right now.

Her words are almost like a warning and he is reminded of someone afraid of their power. She seems confident and his mind rolls over other reasons. He hasn't looked at her as he keeps his eyes forward. His hand raises and points in his direction. Ah, he doesn't like opening up to strangers if not in the mood, "There just behind that tall structure. I can see his soul." And it looks like a painful mess.

"You've too loaded of a deck or is he short a hand?" Ahem.

The message for backup had roused Zangetsu from the best sleep he'd had since they'd been forced into the Prince's realm. He was asleep in his own bed in the trailer, in his own pajamas... But business was business, and as part of patrol, it was his duty to protect the carnival.

Even if it was from one of his own bosses.

But he doesn't have time to change out of his ridiculous pajamas (a button-up flannel shirt and pants, white in color with large light blue polka dots) as he rushes to the Ringmaster's tent.

He stops at the trunk, looking at Syr and Reira, then down into the pocket dimension of the trunk.

"... Woah. Neat!"

Nice Pajamas, to be honest. Reira keeps her standard vigil with the radio, watching Zangetsu walk in without much of a pause. She does, however, take a minute to point.

"............They're under that spot, right now," she says, her voice far more hoarse in person. "....But the bone person teleports. And I don't think they know what to do... ...but they're too scared to be someone that's strong right now... ...so try not to kill them." This seems important to note, regardless of who it is, but she really has no idea how important it might BE now.

And true enough to Childermass's word not even a minute ago, he's there. With it being this dark out, traversing the carnival in a single step is a simple matter for him. One moment where he appears is empty, the next, well, there he is, and he's walking up to join the rest around the trunk.

First order is business is to frown at Reira, but now's not the time to scold children. Secord order of business is to look at the trunk with Syr and Zangetsu, though he has no intention of going down there himself. He's not a nightrunner. He's not on patrol. The other two definitely are.

"Who's already gone down after him?"

In case that's changed from Tyki and 'some lady' in the time it took to arrive.

Edited 2017-10-29 22:24 (UTC)

"Only the first two to pursue him, Tyki and the lady."

He glances down the hole. While he hasn't spoken up during the radio discussion, he is listening. "Papyrus is at the portal."

But now that Childermass and Zangetsu are here, he doesn't necessarily need to wait at the opening in case they come charging through. "We should restrain him with as little chance for him to fight as possible."

'I can see his soul.'

He's been straining to listen, to hear what they are saying to each other, and that's the only part that sticks out. They know where he is. Anxiety rises in him immediately, no longer secure in his ability to hide.

He already feels so tired from all this. There must be something wrong with him, but he can't exactly recall what it is. It's just not something that surprises him, as much as it gives him reason to fear for his life.

Mid-conversation, he will blip right over to behind Mari, already mid-swing with his tail, attempting to catch her leg with its scorpion barb. Whether or not he hits, he's aiming to teleport back into the depths of the Treasury before either of them can tag him.

"That was an awful quest--whoa!"

It's a damn good thing Mari used to pilot Eva, or she'd be down a leg right now--and she only has two of those.Tyki will at least get part of his anwser, as her method of dodging appears to be a one-handed front-handspring--designed to dodge and get her facing the enemy in the exact same moment, but it's already too late.

Fast she she is, Sans' magic is faster.

"No--damnit!"

Already--!

"That's it, I'm going after him!"

As.... soon as someone points the way.

Meanwhile, back up here where there's no danger of being tail-shanked... The lady, some lady, those aren't exactly telling him who else is down there. Childermass carries on frowning at the trunk, though he does ask, "What lady? Surely it's not just some random woman."

For all they know, it's someone who's just as much trouble (and once he realizes who it is, he'll know he was absolutely right about that, but whatever). Regarding what to do, well, he just shakes his head and looks up.

"Do we know if he can teleport back out? It could be easiest to simply lock him in."

Edited 2017-10-30 01:47 (UTC)

He can feel that soul move and it takes a second too long to feel it behind him. The last thing he wants is more poison and he knows that is a huge ace up the skeleton's sleeve.

His own heel pivots as his other foot braces and seeing as he's not the target his palm opens in an open handed snatch towards that tail. He wasn't prepared. It's obvious enough the way his hand snatches air instead. He turns back around to face the area of junk surrounding them with a quick scan.

He doesn't want to leave the ladder but he can feel other souls gathering above him. Honestly, he just wants to blow up the entrance but he can't trust there will be any way out after that.

"There," he points out as he steps away from that ladder and closer towards Mari. If Sans goes to attack he wants to be ready this time. "No one is here to hurt you," he says calmly. He may as well try to work that silver tongue of his.

Reira ducks her head almost immediately, when Childermass arrives-and she tenses slightly, the literal feeling of any disappointment hitting where it exists. She keeps herself quiet long enough for the others to speak-long enough for Syrlya to explain that no, no one had gone down, and long enough for her to realize that Strange was...Probably the one that arrived outside the tent. Probably. But as Childermass asks the question, she takes a deep breath to speak up, pushing her anxiety back down.

"...She was tall," Reira explains, swallowing. "...There were eyes, on her front, and on her arms...two of them are normal-size, but the other two were big after the elbow, almost with 'paws'," she explains, rattling off her memory of the woman as best she can. "There were horns, too, and little wings...I think she has a tail, too."

That was as best as she saw, at least. But if there is anything else she can do, it is keep explaining what she knows-or at least, what she can guess. "The one under us..." CAN he teleport out? He could definitely teleport far if he wanted, she was sure, but...

"....I don't think he can," she announces, raising her voice as clearly as she can through the strain of it. "....His feelings keep teleporting inside-but he's scared. ...More scared than anything," the girl adds, pointing to a spot on the ground. "...He was there, with them for a second....but then he appeared there," she adds, moving the finger.

"....If someone's that scared, they run. ...But he keeps running inside the same room, instead of leaving it. ....In other words..." She swallows, gauging her current supervisor's emotions as best as she can read. "...I think he's stuck."

Syrlya shrugs. "I didn't recognize her, but she appears to be on our side. And I suppose the Ringmaster would know best the warding capabilities of the treasury?"

But if the Warden can teleport around, he's not sure he wants to risk that. They should probably just knock him unconscious with as little actual violence as possible. He sets his hand against the trunk and fiddles with his radio to mute it.

"I'm going down, my magic should be able to help. If he attempts the ladder instead, be ready." And with that, Syrlya moves to quickly slide down the ladder to the ground below. He squints a bit to adjust to the change in lighting, surveying for what everyone else down here is doing.

"Yeah uh... if we don't wanna kill 'im, I'm probably not the best man for the job. Besides, I bet it's getting cramped down there."

A joke. It's a joke! Because judging by how the reiatsus are moving around down there, the space in the box is way bigger than the size of the hole would indicate. But the first part isn't a joke.

"I'll watch the exit. Or uh, close it shut real fast?" he looks at Childermass. That DOES seem like a good option, but he doesn't know what kind of stuff is down there, either. Stuff that maybe shouldn't get broken by a desperate skeleman whose name is completely eluding him for some reason.

Tall? With lots of eyes? Doesn't he know someone like that? Someone long gone, so no, probably someone new, which means he just shakes his head and lets it be. Syrlya isn't wrong. If she appears to be on their side, they can just deal with it.

"Watch yourself," Childermass tells Syrlya as he departs. As for himself, he takes a step back from the trunk and turns his attention back briefly to Zangetsu. "If it comes to that, yes, closing it to keep him inside. I'm not thrilled at the idea of trapping anyone else in there, but..."

But they don't need him running loose. He's dangerous enough, even without a name.

"Let us just hope, then, that you won't have to make that decision."

As soon as he's back out in the caverns, he's rifling through the junk again, desperately looking for anything he can defend himself with in the wake of his waning magical ability. He heard Tyki trying to assure him that they don't mean him any harm, but it just doesn't register with him as a possibility.

He has to do this, and they don't want him to do this. Therefore, he can't cooperate, even if he wanted to.

He pops open some kind of chest, filled with glass orbs containing various types of glowing fog. He grabs one in a hand, looking at it in a desperate attempt to figure out what it is. Of course, when he hears someone else starting to come down... he panics.

He hurls one of the glass orbs in the general direction of Tyki and Mari. As it smashes on the ground, the internal content ignite and explode into rainbow fireworks, that just seem to keep exploding for way longer than reasonable.

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