lostcarnival | ⇨ 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

Even if 9S voiced his concerns, Strange would brush past them with the arrogance of a man who believes he could do anything. He has raised the dead, defeated a faerie, discovered the secrets of madness, and brought magic back to England. What was curing one infected android compared to that?! He was more of a magician now than he ever was. Of course he would find a way to cure 2B. His mind is already coming up with possibilities: would a virus be cured as an illness or dispelled as an enchantment. He vaguely remembers a tracking spell cast when mad, perhaps he could refine that and use it to find 9S in the first place.

Strange has never encountered a problem that he couldn't solve via determination, steadfastness, and throwing a fuckton of magic at it. This isn't going to change now.

Although...that blindfold may do wonders for hiding 9S's eyes, but it cannot hide the emotion in his voice. Is the android crying? Strange reaches over to give 9S the typical male awkward one-armed shoulder hug.

"I know what it's like to go through hell to save the one you love. If I can make this journey even the slightest bit easier for you, then I shall."

The words are out before Strange can realize what he's saying. Ah. So 2B was the one who 9S felt so strongly for, the one who Strange teased 9S about, thinking it was Rita.

Edited 2017-11-05 15:08 (UTC)

9S doesn't even try to fight the awkward hug, even leaning into it and rubbing at his eyes. After he had laid his feelings bare to (the fake) 2B, and (the fake) 2B had explained the situation, and had returned his feelings, 9S won't deny his strong emotions towards her.

But is what he feels for her love? He can't deny that he'd always felt something... special towards her. But calling her a lover feels too distant. Calling her family feels too unreasonable.

Most of all, he just wanted her to be here.

He doesn't know what to say, other than to thank Strange again. For being willing to go so far for him... As if his life isn't something that's just expendable and easily replaced. As if his life actually means something to Strange. All the words don't quite make it out of his throat, just a croaked out, "...Thanks, Strange."

Eventually, he does pull away, his step a little more determined, but a little less grim.

Time is strange while working for the Ringmaster. If time is still flowing back home, then it would already be too late for 2B. If time isn't, then... as much as he wants to beg the Ringmaster to save 2B... 2B has time. Rita doesn't.

"We have other problems to worry about. Let's work on those, first."

"You're welcome," Strange simply responds, as if this is a perfectly normal thing. Of course he'd help 9S. Of course he'd try and save 2B. After all, was he not a magician? And wasn't a magician's job to save people?

Though, as 9S mentions the other problems, Strange winces slightly because oh yeah, he's just remembered that he has one of those other problems unconscious in his pocket and missing half a tail.

"You're right," Strange responds, with a nod. "After all, I still have a servant turned scorpion turned mouse on my person. The poor thing would probably like to be human again."

That poor servant probably also has a fuckton of issues right now, but Strange is not thinking about that part.

Despite all the emotional support Strange had literally just given him, 9S shoots him a disbelieving glare, though most of it's heat is lost under the cover of his visor.

"That's what you're worried about?" Seriously? Get a grip, Strange! "What about Rita and the others!?"

"Of course I'm worried about them," Strange responds, trying his hardest to keep his tone level. But the fact that 9S thought he wasn't worried about Rita, Lambert, and the rest annoyed Strange more than he liked to admit. It shines through in his expression and the slightly annoyed tone of his voice.

"But I cannot do anything about them just yet. I can do something about this servant," said as he idly pats his pocket. "So I'll help them while coming up with a way to save those captured."

Because of course Strange is going to save those captured. Why wouldn't he?

Fine, he gets it. 9S lets out an irritable sigh, running a hand through his hair before grousing, "Yeah, yeah."

But he doesn't press Strange on it any more; he can tell he's starting to push his luck.

The portal to the Carnival is pretty close now. "Just..." Yeah, he's grumpy, but, "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

[ooc: I think we can tie it up there?]

"Of course I will," Strange responds, with a little nod. Because of course he would. Even before this conversation, Strange would have trusted 9S and told the android if there was something he could do. But now, now that they've chatted and now that Strange knows he and 9S are more alike than either of them realized...he knows he hates being ignored and left out of things. It only makes sense that 9S would be the same.

Though as they reach the carnival portal, Strange doesn't enter. Instead, he reaches into his pocket to take out the mouse-servant, who's just started to wake up and is making tiny little distressed mouse noises. "The last time I saw the Ringmaster, she was outside of the carnival itself. You go ahead in, I'll look around out here."

After all, he's got a tiny little fuzzy problem to deal with.

[ ooc: works for me! ]

⇨ SAY UNCLE

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casual reminder that 9S only knew 2B for a month

he just feels a lot of emotions, okay

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