paixaorpg | Heart of Darkness [Active]

Entry tags:

Heart of Darkness [Active]

Character(s): Tear, Alice, and a load of Heartless.
Content: On her way to Nifleheim to rescue Belle, Alice finds that she herself needs to be rescued ~~and swept under a rug to avoid spamming the plot~~. Luckily, who should arrive but Tear?
Setting: Central Station
Time: Shortly after Belle's voice post on the MB.
Warnings: Violence.

She didn't even know the woman's name, not really. She must have heard it at some point, surely, but it had been drowned out by the rushing in Alice's own ears. She was afraid, and hardly the hero type, so why was she even doing this? Because of her own time at the asylum, all those times she'd screamed and wrestled with the dark, and nobody had come for her? To prove to herself that she could be brave? Because someone needed help? She didn't know; perhaps it was all of them. She took the large knife from the kitchen and slipped out without a word to anyone, running to Central Station.

She hated trains, for a reason she couldn't yet discern, but this would be useful in getting there. She just hoped it wouldn't be too late by the time she got there to do anything.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

With the device in her hand, Tear was replaying the events of the morning carefully in her mind. When she'd left Yulia City, she'd intended to spend the evening in a field of selenias. Waiting, praying that maybe there was a chance, on this anniversary that -- Luke would...

She paused for a moment, standing there with her eyes closed and breathing a quiet sigh. She was here now, that was the reality of it, though it certainly didn't didn't seem very real. What was for certain, is this wasn't the world she she had woken up in this morning. She opened her eyes again, aimed upwards, the fact solidified by the domes she noted overhead upon first arriving.

"Just... what sort of place is this?" she asked herself outloud.

As Alice ran to the station, the shadows collected in the alleys and streets between buildings shifted. Every shadow she passed seemed to shiver just slightly, as if alive. Now and again a shadow that was there before slid away unseen, reappearing wherever Alice turned next.

By the time she reached the station, she was surrounded. Pairs of yellow eyes formed in the darkness, widening and growing in number. Sliding out from the shade, Neoshadows formed, flexing their long claws as they inched closer and closer. Without warning, one leapt at Alice, its claws swiping towards her.

Alice had ignored the waving shadows, simply putting it down to a burgeoning hallucination on her part (and hopefully one that she could repress or break free of in some way, without going back into Wonderland). When she arrived at the halfway point to her destination, waiting for the train that would take her to Nifleheim, she glanced about herself warily; hallucination or not, she disliked letting her guard down. Her suspicions were immediately proven correct when she was forced to stumble back, the claws of the strange creature before her dragging across her forearm and drawing blood.

Gritting her teeth to prevent herself from crying out, Alice simply drew the knife and let her instincts take over, slashing at the shadows like a wild thing. Unfortunately for her, her blade was passing through the creatures, not harming them at all, but Alice's quickly-deteriorating mental state (the trees were already beginning to twist, the scream of the Jabberwocky sounding in her mind) meant she didn't even notice.

Tear kept on her way. It seemed that just up ahead there was a larger building coming into view. Surely it was some sort of landmark in the city, so investigating it for herself was definitely a good idea.

There was a strange feeling that shivered down her spine briefly -- something up ahead? It was almost as though there was a shift in the mark up of the world around them... as though something had taken shape. Frowning, the fonist continued forward, the sensation intensifying as the building grew in her line of sight.

The Neoshadow that attacked sprung away, unhurt by the common knife. Others leapt forward to swipe at Alice, ignoring her attempts at fighting back. They shifted into flat shadows on the ground, sliding under her feet and over walls, reforming into their usual shape, muscled and large and menacing. Again and again, they attacked Alice. It was only a matter of time before the final blow was delivered.

Alice bit back more cries of pain as she continued to attack them, not having a mind to run away (and there were shadows everywhere, everywhere; she couldn't run even if she thought of it now). Unfortunately for her, she felt herself growing weaker as the attacks took her toll - she wasn't nearly as strong in reality as she was in Wonderland. The madwoman sank to her knees for a moment, then struggled to her feet, meeting one of the creatures' eyes. "I will not die here," she informed the shadow in a low, shaky voice. She let out a maddening scream and rushed back into battle.

She wouldn't give into despair, though her skirt was tattered and the slashes all over her body ached and bled. But determination is no match for blood, and it was only a (small) matter of time before she was overwhelmed.

There was a sharp inhale as the sounds of a blood churdling scream reached her ears. She turned immediately in the direction of the commotion and started to jog towards the cause. Someone was obviously in trouble, and while Tear herself had not yet encountered any hostile beings, she was sure they had just been in hiding.

She tightened her grip on her staff as she rushed forward, heels beating into the ground below. She was only a little out of breath by the time that she reached the scene, sizing up the situation. She paused, breathing heavily as she took note of the amount of enemies, and briefly studied their movements -- before realizing the young girl in the middle.

From the sidelines, she began to sing -- "Croa riou ze tue riou rei neu riou ze~" it was a fonic hymn. The Force Field she cast built itself around the girl who was being attacked, shielding her, which defend her completely for only a few short moments. Tear took this opportunity to put herself in between the monsters and the girl, staff at the ready.

"Are you all right? Can you stand?" she called back.

As the force field formed around Alice, the Heartless swarming her were blown back. Dazed, they skirting around the edge, yellow eyes burning as they watched Tear, prowling restlessly. A new wave leapt forth, clawing and scrabbling at the force field with the mindless force of their being.

Alice, meanwhile, had collapsed, her injuries combined with her unstable mental state. The world shattered around her, the winds of Wonderland rushing about her. She could feel herself twisting, changing into the person who'd once emerged from Wonderland victorious. It was who she was, still, and the woman she should have remained, but the distant rush of a train sounded in her ears already began to uproot it.

The madwoman was deaf and blind to the reality around her, completely catatonic now, even as the distant strains of foreign music reached her in her own little world.

With no response, Tear assumed the worst. The force field began to fade, and she assumed a battle stance. She swept across in front of herself, trying to keep the closest ones at bay so that she had time to cast again. Another cross-slash upwards, and she jumped back, closer to the girl, protectively.

"Pow Hammer!" she cried, lifting her staff from above as toy hammers began to rain down on the heads of the Heartless. It wasn't a strong attack, but hopefully it would stun them long enough. Taking the chance, she began to concentrate on the next spell. No matter what, she wouldn't lose her concentration, even if they lunged towards her... not before -- not until...

"Healing Circle!" the glyph beneath her and the stranger began to glow, radiating with magic.

The Neoshadows regrouped, stirring restlessly as the force field faded away completely. They lunged as one, claws like swords all around the pair but the hammers raining down stopped them all in their tracks, slamming them back down to the ground and flattening some, stunning others. Only a scant few burst into nothingness, however. A greater attack would be needed to get rid of the pack for good.

As the light of the glyph glowed, the stunned Heartless skittered backwards.

This wasn't good. Her healing artes didn't seem to be doing anything of use in terms of the girl coming around, and the longer that she remained unresponsive, the worse off things would be.

There was no time for low-level magic in a situation like this. Even if it would cost her some recovery time -- she needed to take a chance. She assumed a defensive stance behind her staff, and began to chant a new spell. This one took a little more concentration, but she was sure that she could do it. Tear remained calm, focused, then finally, the air around her seemed to radiate some sort of glow...

"Eclair de Larmes!" she shouted, unleashing the explosion of pure light.

As the light flooded the area, the swarm of Heartless seemed to dissolve and crumble away, holding up their claws in a futile effort to shield themselves. A single Neoshadow in mid-jump towards the two girls stretched out its arm and faded away right before them.

The station was much brighter now and peacefully quiet.

Tear assumed a defensive stance after her attack was finally unleashed, and only relaxed once the last of them had dissolved. Her shoulders heaved slightly in a sigh of relief, then she spun on her heel, crouching to her knees.

She exmained the strange girl's form, worry furrowing across her brow. "Are you all right? Can you hear me?" She waited, and with no response, decided to take the next step in trying to ensure the girl's safety. She took hold of one of the limp arms, and strung it over her shoulders, easing upwards with her knees and scanning the area. In the distance, she squinted, making out what she was sure was a hotel.

"Just... hang on," she encouraged, beginning to make her way towards the building.

...

As she laid the girl on the bed, Tear was feeling only slightly fatigued from the trek. Not only was she thrust into this strange new city, but to be attacked like that so suddenly as well? This wasn't exactly shaping up to be the day she had expected.

Frowning, she took a seat on the opposite bed on which she had placed the stranger, and sat. Was there nothing more her magic could do?

It was some time before Alice awoke, coming slowly back to herself in an unfamiliar place - though that was nothing new. Her head felt as though it was stuffed with cotton so that even her thoughts were fuzzy and unfocused - again, nothing new. She groaned and finally sat up, gaze settling on the strange woman.

"Who are you?" she asked, placing a hand to her head and closing her eyes. The train, the Infernal Train - hurry up, Alice, you've already missed it! - the bones of the Jabberwock, the Vorpal Blade, a fleeting grin. Her world had broken around her again, and it hurt. But this was not Wonderland, and the girl before her was just as strange to her as anything else right now.

"Where am I?"

Tear sat up straight as the girl finally spoke. There was a wave of relief that she felt, finally hearing her voice. "My name is Tear. You're in a hotel, Actua Are," she nodded, "I found you in the middle of a pack of monsters. Do you remember?" She spoke softly, but firmly, trying to gague the severity of any injuries she may have incurred. Her eyes swept over the girl's form again. "Are you hurt?"

Tear? That was an odd sort of name. But it appeared the girl had been of help, and it would have been terribly rude of Alice to not acknowledge that. "I'm afraid my memory is lacking. The last thing I can really remember is seeing the shadows begin to move." She'd chalked it up to another mental break and had braced herself... and what then? Alice looked down at her arms, feeling only mild aches and bruises in contrast to the burning pain she'd felt before. "Not terribly. I've had worse." She wondered if what Tear told her was true, or if she was still having another "episode", as Radcliffe, her family's lawyer, would have put it.

"My name is Alice," she finally said, the statement almost an afterthought.

She nodded slowly, expecting as much in the memory department, but slightly disturbed when it came to the injuries she'd incurred. Of course, she tried her best not to show any of her surprise on the surface, lest she make Alice more uncomfortable than she potentially already felt.

"When I came across you, you were already unconscious, it seems." Tear just figured that they must have knocked the girl out with ther attacks. "I'm not sure what those monsters were exactly, they're not quite like anything I've encountered before but... I'm glad to see that you're recovering."

Luckily for Alice, Tear's healing magic had ensured she wasn't in much pain now, at least not compared to what she'd felt earlier. "So they were real?" she found herself asking, cautiously, watching Tear intently. She wasn't completely insane, then - but if it really did happen, then that meant her knife hadn't done much good at all. It was only to be expected, of course - it wasn't as though Alice was accustomed to running around and stabbing things outside of Wonderland - but she frowned nevertheless, displeased with herself and her own weakness.

"I see. Thank you," she managed, knowing Tear must have saved her.

"I'm afraid so," she informed flatly. She gave Alice another sweep with her eyes, trying to maintain a straight face the whole time. Quite frankly, she looked like hell. Inwardly, she wondered if she shouldn't perhaps keep an eye on her for the rest of the night at this point...

"Are you from this city?" This was the first person she'd encountered that wasn't... fair-haired, with a glazed look. Maybe she knew something...

Tear might not have liked to give that answer, but the relief that swept through Alice was palpable, so much so that it even showed itself on her face. She wasn't so insane as to be completely lost in her own mind, yet again. Were she less cynical and bitter, Alice would have described the feeling that washed over her now as hopeful.

"No," she replied. "I'm from London. I'm not sure if you've heard of it; it sounds as though people from many sorts of worlds were pulled here." To a saner mind, the explanation might have been absurd - but to Alice, who'd known Wonderland for a good deal of her life, it was something she easily accepted.

"I haven't. I'm sorry," she frowned. "I don't suppose the name Auldrant means anything to you either, does it?" she looked up to ask her question, even though she was certain she already knew the answer.

With a sigh, Tear lifted herself off of the bed. "Why don't you rest? The room is paid for," since it seemed that the locals accepted... just about anything as payment, "and it's safe here. I'm going to go out to get some supplies, something to eat..." because goodness knew that Alice looked like she could use something. "I'll be back shortly. Why don't we plan our next move after we recuperate?"

Alice shook her head then fixed her eyes upon the stranger, her gaze sharp and unyielding. "I have no idea as to what you're talking about - regarding the name, at least." Then again, Alice had been away from the world, and even when she'd left the asylum, she'd mostly isolated herself from others, save for when she needed to do otherwise.

At Tear's suggestion, she nodded, suspicious at this stranger's kindness but willing to accept it, at least for now. "I think I will," she replied. "We can discuss the best way to take the necessary actions later." She didn't hurt at much, but she was still exhausted, and she knew she still looked a mess, even with the odd lack of injuries on her person.

Tear nodded curtly and rose to her feet. "I shouldn't be too long," she assured, and headed towards the door. As she reached for the handle, she paused, and turned back, looking over Alice one final time. "I'm not sure exactly what sort of creatures those were, so... at the very least, if you decide to venture out... you should probably bring something to defend yourself," she advised.

"I do have a knife," Alice offered, showing it to Tear. "I'd been using them against those creatures earlier." Given the situation, she hadn't exactly noticed it hadn't worked on any of the Heartless, but at least it was there. She had no intention of leaving in this state; even though she wasn't terribly wounded any longer, she was still tired, and she very much doubted she had the strength to bother with fighting, inexperienced as she was outside of Wonderland.

The sergeant looked over the knife with a concerned glance, knowing that the blade hadn't done much for the poor girl to begin with, but... it was better than nothing. "Keep it close, then," she added, with another nod, "it seems like we should expect just about anything in this place. We'd do well to keep on guard."

She opened the door with a swift full swing, "I'll be back shortly," she cemented once more, and pulled the door closed until it clicked into place behind her.

Perhaps luckily for Alice, she was unable to remember just how ineffective her weapon was. She nodded at the other woman, watching her leave, and decided to simply sit, thinking of everything that had already occurred inside her Wonderland. She idly polished the blade with the edge of her apron as she pondered the sound of trains.

She didn't think she liked them very much.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Heart of Darkness [Active]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject