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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"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.

"Yep! Oooh, I hear him. This is probably gonna suck a lot before it gets better. But I got this now! You! Inky. Watch my butt, and don't let him out!"

She's actually starting to feel a little... frustrated? She knows the current Nightrider is... being held prisoner, but is this really how everyone behaves without a leader?

She's been wracking her brain this whole time, trying to remember this tail... skull... guy's name but she can't. It's... well, honestly, it's part of what's starting to get to her about this. There's a lot to think about here... she's not going to get anywhere staying idle.

She crouches, looking for all the word like a professional sprinter, ready to break at the sound of a starting gun. Instead of a gunshot, though... it's just her.

"Ohhh~kay! Mari Makinami Illustrious, going in!"

And just like a shot--she's off.

Directly... into the fireworks.

...and then she vanishes.

Seven feet and facing down pyrotechnics or not, the presence of shadows is all she needs to disappear completely. Her aim: behind him.

A cheerful look cracks onto Tyki's face for the first time in in the last week at the sudden nickname. He pushes his hair back with a low hum of amusement and his eyes are thankfully anywhere but her butt. He might've made a joke in a normal fight but right now his target was the skeleton.

"Heh. Yes, ma'am." She'll get that back up as he turns his head back to see someone else dropping in. It's enough but not enough to distract him completely as that orb cracks open. Long appendages of a white lighted butterfly slip from his open palm and it explodes in a large mass of dark matter as it widens and forms into one of his wide crossed shields.

Except he's disappointed when it is just fireworks and the lady he was watching just disappeared into them. He has to consider whether the orb did that or the fireworks did. He shoves forward then past them deeper into the room as he scans for either of their souls.

He is so preoccupied with his own distraction, and with trying to figure out if there is anything else he can defend with in this box, that he doesn't have the headspace to notice that he's being approached. That means, he pretty much only realized that Mari is there when she's already grabbing him by the tail.

He lets out of short, truncated scream of alarm - a sound rarely heard from the skeleton. Immediately, he's trying to lash out against her with his claws, hoping to force her to let go of him. He yanks against his tailbone in a total panic.

"Get off! Let me go!" he pleads.

Edited 2017-10-30 02:57 (UTC)

Syrlya's eyes widen as the fireworks crack off just as he's getting away from the ladder and closer to the group. He waits for a moment, watching as Mari disappears through the shadows. Fireworks, at least, aren't as long-lasting or covering as an actual fire. Syrlya moves forward immediately towards the explosion, and then blinks himself forward through the explosive lights to the other side.

He ends up some feet away from Mari and the Warden, but he's at least close enough to see them. And that scream makes him flinch.

"Careful!" It's a warning, and while he gives Mari the room to do... whatever she's doing, he is coming closer to close the distance. He just needs to get arm's length from Sans, and he may be able to stun him.

Edited 2017-10-30 03:15 (UTC)

Well, they'll have to see for sure when everyone comes back. If and when they come back, at least. "...The Ringmaster didn't want anyone touching things in there," Reira murmurs quietly-but there isn't much she can do about that. As it is, she looks to Childermass, and holds the radio a little more obviously.

"....It was the lady's-she called everyone before we came here, and that was when the Ringmaster answered." She'd offer it more obviously, but Childermass had used his own to contact this one in the first place. She's not sure if he wants it at all, at this point...

There isn't really much time to decide, either-or at least it feels like it. If the sounds of the fireworks are audible at all, they'll likely find one reason why 'touching anything' was a bad idea, very quick. Yet Reira doesn't flinch regardless; her focus is on the emotions, the feelings in the air. She focuses on the excitement of the two already fighting, and more importantly the sense of success. There is, of course, some added worry as Syrlya joins...

But that isn't as important as the Target. The skeleton's fear hurts-it stings much more viciously, but-

"....The lady has him, I think." It's a big 'think'. But they're close enough, and he hasn't yet moved. "He got more scared, and they're right beside each other now."

Feeling her fingers close over the cold stone of his tail, she doesn't bother to wait.

It takes only a second, but she feels it soften and swell--bulging out into something smoother, and a lot less sharp. And a lot prettier, to boot.

Anyone close enough to see through the cacophany of colourful fireworks will be treated to the sight of the skeleton's scorpionlike tail transforming into a long, suction-cupped teal tentacle in Mari's hands.

The scream is--startling, actually, but she flashes him a successful smile, radiant and cheeky. And... strangely feline.

"Sorry, no can do. Do me a favour though and look at me a sec, okay?"

If he does, though, and in doing so looks into her eyes--any of them--he'll be falling into the oldest vampiric trap in history. If she can hypnotise him, this'll be way easier. If not...

He can feel that magic go through him, he can feel his tail go soft, but he doesn't know what it means. He's still thrashing around, making desperate noises, his eyes refusing to settle on Mari for fear of what she'll do.

There's too much noise in his head for Mari's compulsions to settle in. The desires of the one holding his Name are the only that that matters.

"No, no, no," he begs, holding his claws up in front of his face.

Edited 2017-10-30 03:47 (UTC)

Wait...

what? What. It's a tentacle! It's somehow even weirder, because now he's a skeleton with a piece of flesh attached to him as well. It doesn't slow Syrlya down, but he does look awed and speechless as he comes up to Mari trying to... calm him down? It doesn't appear to be working. Who can be calm after their tail just turned into a tentacle?

It'll probably take a little more force, and Syrlya looks at their skeleton friend morosely. "My apologies, Warden."

He holds his hand out, and there's a momentary explosion of light as an illusion of magic cracks around Syrlya's body. Mari and Tyki won't see anything but reflective light. But to the Warden it will be like, for a few seconds, his whole vision is enveloped--like there's a flashbang in his head trying to wash out his ability to react, to move, to claw himself.

It doesn't last long, but Syrlya's hopes are that he'll allow the effect to linger out of his own weariness. Or they'll figure out a quick way to restrain his arms before he grabs something he shouldn't.

He's not wary of the ladder being used anymore as he pushes forward after Syrlya. A few of the larger Tease slide from his back to block it but other than that he's joining the others. Uh, it takes him a little longer to squat down next to them all as he watches the tail erupt into a tentacle. Sadly, that is the strangest thing he's seen all week and it has been something. There is a bright light and he cannot explain where it is coming from. He doesn't need to understand as he takes up the space the other two aren't using.

His eyes drop to that cloak around the small skeleton and his hands make quick work to grab the longest part of it. He pulls it as fast but as gently as he can to wrap it around him the small skeleton.

"We're not here to hurt you," he repeats again with a low tone and a sense of calm. His hands make short work with how deft they are and the Warden will find himself snugly wrapped by the time he's done. He pushes the end of the fabric through another portion as his power activates. His fingers disappear into it near his back until it almost looks as if it was one long piece without any seam or seal. Only then does he pull his hand back.

"None of us are here to hurt you."

Syr's dazzling spell is enough to floor him - he's already been kicking up a fuss, so when he's caught off guard, he loses his foot and falls to his back. The way his tail moves now feels strange and unfamiliar, which sends a ripple of additional fear to him - is he changing? Is the way he was just a moment ago the way he's supposed to look, or is this? He has no instinctual idea of what his body is supposed to be like, anymore.

His sense of reality is quick to slip through his fingers, and he's paralyzed with both physical and existential shock as Tuki manages to wrap him up in his own clothing. It's not enough fabric to get his entire body, but it's enough to bind his arms - which at least means that he can't keep scratching himself or anyone else. His tail tries to squeeze Mari's arm, not that it helps him any - her getting to hold on tighter plays right into her hand.

He squirms, kicking his feet, his gaze empty of anything but fear and longing. He feels like he needs to beg for help, but he doesn't know what anyone could do to fix this. It's him that's broken, that's lacking.

"Stop," he keeps pleading, unable to believe that Tyki could understand what is going on inside of him, just how deeply wrong it all is. "Please, I can't... I can't get it back, here. Don't leave me like this - I can't take it..."

And he sure doesn't mean the tentacle tail or the fabric binding his arms.

Edited 2017-10-30 04:25 (UTC)

The hypnosis not working is... not good, so much so that Mari doesn't even bother to complain about the flash of light in her sensitive vampire eyes. Well, maybe a little.

"Owwwwww.....!" It's kind of a whine, but honestly? Whatever.

She's so relieved her... target... isn't pleading and screaming and thrashing on the floor that she just... lets her breath out all at once in a huge sigh. Standing there holding his tentacled tail while he begs her for mercy is... pretty awkward. Yeah, she doesn't like this.

"Well... that's a wrap." It's a touch too casual, and as usual she doesn't bother to worry about whether anyone wanted to hear that joke or not.

But there she pauses, still not letting go of the tail. She doesn't... trust any of this enough for that. Her non-facial eyes divide their gazes three ways--one third on Tyki, one third on Syr, and one third back, towards the ladder.

Her face's pair, though, remain locked soberly on the burrito'd skeleton as he tries to... talk his way out of this.

She crouches down to his level, and for a moment, she actually looks bothered enough to be taking this seriously.

"We're not gonna leave you like... like this," she informs him. "But we're not letting you go back like this either. Got it?"

Syrlya takes a step back as Tyki wraps the skeleton up. In this state, he's pitiful to look at. Syrlya's brow furrows before he looks to Tyki, then to Mari. He doesn't recognize her, but she certainly sounds particularly concerned. That's what he decides to trust her on, that she wants to save their Warden as much as the rest of them.

"We'll take it back for you," he turns back to the Warden as he speaks. "The Prince will not have any hold of you much longer."

All of their assurances are probably lost on him when he's like this, scared and lost and not himself, but what else can they say in the face of his murmuring.

Syrlya absently fiddles with his sleeve. "You can keep him steady? We should alert the Ringmaster. Hopefully she has a safe place for him."

His eyes haze over for a moment as he forgets what is going on. Those words are too familiar for his own mind and he has to close them just to block out the sight. He remembers how much his brain rationalized everything to a near impossibility. He didn't believe a word anyone said and when his own convictions had been called into question he had been angry.

Now that Sans was cozy as he could be he'll run his hand up to scratch at the back of his shoulder blades. The wings may be small but they felt heavy for not just the new physical weight.

He snorts at the horrible joke on the woman's part and he'll look up at her again. She's gone through some changes if she is in fact a carnival member but that was a bit extreme. His information gathering mind was already considering the possibilities.

"The Prince has taken his name. Over time with extreme methods of starvation, poison and lack of sleep it becomes easier to lose yourself. He likely took it if I cannot remember his name."

But as not to be rude and talking about said skeleton right in front of him, "You won't be alone. There are others already working to save everyone else. For now we'll get you somewhere to rest, eat and worry less." Regardless he'll just keep occasionally repeating, "None of us here are going to hurt you."

Edited 2017-10-30 16:24 (UTC)

He's no longer capable of feeling particularly angry about anything - being angry would imply some sense of injustice or resentment, which would probably require a stronger self image to violate in the first place. Instead, all he can feel is helpless, as if the Prince and now these people are free to dangle his freedom far out of his reach, like nothing will ever make any of this alright.

All the same, he remembers Tyki. He remembers the idea of hunger and illness, somewhere dark. That had been related to the Prince, too, before he ended up... like this. So, it really had gotten worse, hadn't it?

"You got away..." he mumbles, laying prone on his side. He's out of energy for thrashing - all he's got left in him is some vague squirming, clawing the stone with his feet but unable to muster any momentum. He's tried teleportation, but he can't make it happen. Too much drag, not enough energy. "How did you..."

He closes most of his eyes, only a couple remaining hazily focused on the people crouched around him as he lets his head rest on the floor. God, he's tired. He's so tired. Now that he's forced to slow down, even lifting himself is seeming more and more impossible.

"What happened to me...?"

Mari's ineptitude at comfort is pretty well documented. She doesn't go for platitudes, and she uses her upbeat persona to cover for being extremely emotionally unavailable. And there are few crimes Mari considers significant enough to merit temper.

But.

"His name...?" Mari squints at Tyki with the relevant eyes. But she doesn't want to leave this situation where it is any longer than she possibly has to. His name... his name...

Is that why--

Oh, now she's mad.

Without asking anyone, she thrusts her monstrous paws under the skeleton's prone form and scoops him up like a large, extremely lumpy baby and stands up--suction cupped tail wrapped tight around her arm, one of her smaller hands hanging onto the tentacle's tip firmly.

"Someone with a radio," she orders the other two sharply--forgetting, possibly, that she's not in charge around here any more. But her eyes narrow down at her bony bundle. All of them.

"These yahoos are right--that shithead's got it coming. And we're getting you back if I have to rip the magic out of him myself."

Then, before anyone can interrupt her, "Let's go. I'm getting him out of here."

Yahoos...? Syrlya raises a brow. He's reaching for his radio, however, dialing it back up to speak as he walks.

"We've restrained him. He does not appear to be at risk to himself or others now, but he needs medical attention and rest. The..." He looks ahead at Mari, but introductions will have to be in a moment. "The lady with multiple arms and eyes has him."

He doesn't distrust her, but the more they stay aware of each other, the better. They can't afford to lose anyone ese.

He stays behind Mari and Tyki to let them go up first.

He did, in fact, bring his own radio along, so Reira's mild effort to hand the one she has off to him is waved off. If it mattered a little more right now, he might wonder why she didn't have her own radio on her, but as it is, she's lucky what's happening in the treasury overrides the need to tell people off.

It's only when Syrlya speaks back over the channel that he'll tug his radio off his belt and answer, still frowning, always frowning. Let's be real here, he's not going to stop frowning until this is all over and then some.

"Then get him up here. We'll move him to the medical tent, though I doubt they have a way to restrain a teleporter," he answers, though even then he's sifting through who's left in the carnival, who might be able to do something. Strange was heading this way, wasn't he? Maybe he can figure something out...

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