MISSION: BRASS DEVIL, PART 2

[ximilian]

● ● ● M I S S I O N   2 . 2

INTRO • IT'S SHOWTIME • A LITTLE PARTY NEVER... • HEIST IT UP • THE DEVIL'S GOT RED EYES • FYI

// INTRO.  

Having spent some time to gather information about each of the families, learn about the history of Braccia, and agree upon the secret location of the Orb in this city, now has come the time for the Orbers to put their strategies into action. Through some fairly impressive in cognito antics while maintaining their respective covers, the Orbers will have split into different factions to help with the ultimate goal: retrieve the orb.

Orbers from Lionetta have decided to organize a distraction and gather as many of their fellow Lionetta members away from the headquarters as possible. Orbers from Featherstone, led by Tony Stark, Bucky Barnes, and River Song, have slowly been pilfering and assembling some of the weaponry and helpful tech. And Orbers from the Ti’shaaz have slowly been adding fuel to the family drama, stoking the flames between the Ti’shaaz and Lionetta families in hopes of invoking a battle on the same night as the planned heist.

Everyone has a good feeling about the work that they’ve done, the collaborative efforts that have brought them to the climax of their time on Braccia. But the night is still young, and there are many things that could go wrong if there is one misstep, one cog out of place in this seemingly well-oiled machine. It is imperative that every Orber pulls their weight in order for the retrieval to go successfully. But that shouldn’t be a problem, right?

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// PART I.IT'S SHOWTIME  

Eventually, the time for preparations is over — the team has to make their move. The orb is waiting for them on the highest floor of the Lionetta main headquarters… all they have to do is get in.

1.0   Several different smaller teams decide to head into the old mines that lie beneath the surface of Braccia’s hustle and bustle. Those who decide to utilise the entrances further away from the Lionetta HQ, in the hopes of using paths less traveled and making it there unnoticed, will find that their journey leads them into complete darkness. Be sure to watch your steps — as the tunnels you take along here are ones that have been long since abandoned; there are pitfalls where the rock has crumbled away, leaving nothing but a chasm behind. There are also crumbling walkways and rotten wood that sag and give out from underneath your feet when you least expect it.

Aside from that though, there are no purposeful traps laid out — nothing visible to your eyes to stop you from advancing.

For those who decide to use the lit pathway leading straight from the headquarters to the fountain and the back alley behind Cherry on Top — well, at least you’ll be able to see where you’re going! However, the first thing you’ll notice are the blinking red lights of security cameras deliberately planted along the pathway … and for those who are not Lionetta, it may get uncomfortable, real fast. There are traps set along the way that only activate if the person trying to walk past is not a Lionetta member. Sharp blades might suddenly drop down on you from above. Spikes may burst out of from the ground like killer daisies. And a part of the pathway that you’re on could break into neat square pieces beneath your feet, crumbling away until you’re falling into nothingness.

Irregardless of which perilous road the Orbers choose to take, you will all eventually be led towards the same location: a golden door stands before them, the words For a better future carved into its surface. And if any of you happen to have a key (or a copy of it) like the one that Jim and Finn found, it’s to your benefit that it fits the lock perfectly. There’s nothing left but to go through, right?

2.0   The mines are not the only way in, of course: anyone with an official badge like the one that Kovacs managed to snag on a night out will have access to the elevator and will be able to call it to ground level, as well as take it up to the walkway. Or go straight to the walkway itself, and you’ll be able to boldly enter through the front doors as anyone with a badge has very little reason to be questioned … for now, anyway.

3.0   Meanwhile, An’alya has been mobilising members of the Ti’shaaz family against the Lionetta and are currently hard at work targeting the magical barrier that surrounds the Lionetta HQ. Eventually, those working at the barriers will begin to feel the magic within them weaken and crumble away in a slow but satisfying moment of victory. This weakened security allows Orbers with teleportation abilities to simply zip themselves inside — and perhaps with a few passengers in tow! Rhysand will have one lizard-shaped passenger alongside him already — An’alya herself has taken the first opportunity she could, leading the charge as she scuttles forward immediately upon entry, leaving the others to follow in her wake.

But while those teleporting in may have it easy, it’s hard to know where to teleport — you’d better hope that it isn’t in the middle of a guard shift change, or the guards’ break room, or a room locked from the outside ...

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// PART II.A LITTLE PARTY NEVER KILLED NOBODY  

A couple of days before the party, a word-of-mouth invitation begins to travel through the members of the Lionetta family about a speakeasy party with food, drink, and most of all: music. The evening is meant to boost morale and bring the family together, pulling both HQs (lower and main) into an event that has little to do with their daily lives and their grueling jobs. Here they can regale each other with their loyalty and bond to their family; to remember the good times as it were. The party venue occupies the entire ground floor of a building nestled among other bars and clubs of what has fondly been referred to as the ‘entertainment district’. No other signage on the exterior of the building indicates that anything special is happening as the event is very much exclusive.

4.0   When you enter the hall, it’s to the sound of brass and percussion and a male’s singing voice to the tune of something you might have heard before. The makeshift stage is set with speakers and lights and a place for a band to really show the room what they’re made of. There are drinks and bits of food and a small crowd of people have already gathered to enjoy the festivities with a greater crowd expected to fill the room for a good time. It might not be anything to the level of Cheri’s birthday gala, particularly when the theme of the party is to celebrate Lionetta, but it’s an impressive feat all the same and the people here have been promised a good time.

Newly recruited member, Newt, is on stage behind a piano with a couple of other locals not associated with any family in particular who have all had to quickly (but enthusiastically) learn a new set of songs for the evening, music from ‘far away cities’. Joined on stage by another new recruit is The Doctor (11) who has a microphone in one hand and appears to be crooning a rather unrecognizable (by this world’s standards) tune. If you spent any time on Earth during the 1980s, you might recognize it though. It’s very catchy.

5.0   The evening seems to go without a hitch, attracting a large part of the Lionetta family to join the festivities through word of mouth. Everyone is just here to have a good time! As the crowd grows, Majima can be found on the floor keeping the party going by refilling the glasses of family members, while making sure no one gets just a little too out of hand. The music continues, the chatter grows louder, and the laughs and sloppy dancing increases with the hours. Sometime after midnight, when the hours feel a little late, you might find some of the Lionetta members trying to tap into their communications devices with the slow and sloppy realization that they haven’t been operating for … how long has it even been? A while now, right? Some of the members can be found shuffling out of the party in confusion, while others shrug a shoulder and go back to the festivities. Suddenly, someone comes back into the room and yells:

’What the fuck’s going on here? My car’s been tampered with! Can anyone else get to HQ? My goddamned comms won’t work.’

There is a flurry of panicked confusion and Lionetta members pausing in their drinking and dancing to check whether what’s been shouted is true. It looks like the ruse might be up. Will you pretend to be like the rest of the family and act accordingly? Confused and unaware of the plot you’ve cooked up? Or will you come clean and try to find an escape route — perhaps helped by those who, on the outside, have been hard at work making sure the cars aren't in driveable condition.

6.0   As if things hadn’t been chaotic enough, all members of the Lionetta family, including any Lionetta Orbers, will hear a sharp, piercing static crackle through your communications devices as Lionetta members seem to have finally found a way to hack their way through the comms-blocking tech that had been keeping them out. Olexa’s voice cuts in and out and it’s clear she’s been trying to reach her family for a few minutes now. Harsh and commanding, there’s a moment of steady audio that comes through every device in the room as Olexa speaks:

OLEXA

— I repeat, Lionetta HQ is under a goddamned attack! The Ti’shaaz have infiltrated, and they are looking to attack any one of our family members. Arm yourselves, protect our headquarters!

If you haven’t made a decision to stay or leave just yet, you’ll find yourself trapped with the other Lionetta as the doors crash open and colourful blasts of magic are aimed at the partygoers and ricochet off of the venue space. Robed members of the Ti’shaaz family crowd the entrance and start to filter in, officially crashing the party and ending the festivities with violence. The Lionetta, however, won’t be cowed to submission and they quickly gather their wits about them to fight back, throwing punches and swinging kicks to try and disarm the other family, dodging their magical strikes.

Here you have a few options: whether you’re Lionetta or Ti’shaaz, you can stay and fight and keep members of both families occupied, or you can find a way out to join your fellow Orbers at Lionetta’s main HQ for the heist.

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// PART III.HEIST IT UP  

7.0   The smaller team that make it inside first will be the one to hit the control room, revealed in the blueprints to be located on the 20th floor — and whether by teleportation or entry by badge, they are let in through the door… but the room is far from empty. There’s an awkward split second as you exchange glances with the guards inside, and then they come charging for you. When the guards have been incapacitated in whatever manner the team deems fit (depending on their level of thirst for blood), they’ll quickly have the opportunity to get the rest of the team in position for the remainder of the heist. Those with a talent for hacking will be able to access the security system without too much difficulty, shutting the cameras off, or programming them on a loop that should hopefully fool anyone looking at the footage elsewhere.

8.0   However, as the other Orbers slowly begin to infiltrate the headquarters, now unseen by any cameras, an alarm blares out, loud and insistent. It seems that the use of the stolen badge has finally been registered and the family have been alerted. Evgen, the officer who the badge belonged to, had immediately reported the missing identification … and unfortunately its use has instantly triggered the alarm system. Oops.

Lionetta officers begin to swarm the hallways and the elevator will immediately shut down (hopefully you’re not inside it as it stops between Level 13 and 14!), so the only way to move forward now is by foot.

Those on the lower floors will find that while there are no traps set in the hallways, the space is now filled with Lionetta guards and officers, all armed with a myriad of weapons: standard issue guns, certainly, but also stun guns, revolvers with bullets that have been enchanted to follow their target, and staves and knives with energy blades that crackle and glow with white light. A number of the officers here are also highly competent in hand-to-hand combat — and though some, like Petra and Mikaela, might be dressed in attire more suited for a party than a battle, they shouldn’t be underestimated. Without effort, they can (and will) make a hair pin, a brooch, or a stiletto heel a deadly weapon. Officers who have familiarity with any of the Lionetta Orbers will advance with an especially personal viciousness — traitors, after all, are not kindly looked upon and deserve the worst punishments.

9.0   In contrast to the lower levels, Orbers on the 20th floor and upwards seem to be herded into a narrow hallway with only one direction: forward. At the end of the path is a set of stairs leading to the next level up and onward, each ascension designed to be slow and deliberate with the flight of steps on alternating sides of the building. The only way to get there is to cross the length of the floor’s footprint.

From Level 20-23, guards and officers meet you in a battle round.

On Level 24 the floor is suspiciously devoid of anyone. Before you can think to turn back, every entrance is sealed with heavy, reinforced steel walls, and a roar that reminds you of the ocean sends a prickle up the length of your spine as the entire floor begins to flood with water. Slowly but surely, it rushes in from all sides to fill the space and unless you have the ability to grow gills … how will you escape? Maybe the how doesn’t matter — only that you do.

On the 25th floor, it becomes apparent to you that the air has a slightly luminous, greenish tint to it … but by the time you open your mouth to warn the others, it’s already in your lungs. It won’t take long before you begin to imagine enemies all around you: sudden attacks are coming out of nowhere, guards aiming their guns at you, alien creatures from the fighting ring snapping their jaws and throwing kicks and punches, clawed fingers trying to grasp at your face. You lash out at them in desperation — and, unfortunately, whoever is in their place in reality.

If you happen to make it past Level 25 unscathed, perhaps breathing in the gaseous substance on Level 26 will be what affects you: pouring out from pin-pricked holes in the walls like pores and colouring the air purple, its potency is much greater than the green mist from the previous floor. Instead of enemies, you are surrounded by the people you miss from home, those who might have been passed in your timeline. They ask you to stay with them, plead with you that they’re worried what might happen if you keep going — they murmur, please, just stay with me here and I’ve missed you so much. From an outside perspective, the sight won’t be so heartwarming: anyone observing you with a clear mind will notice a light purplish frost has started to cover your skin as though slowly encasing you in its substance …

With the aid of magic, air bubbles, or the antidote carefully nicked from the Featherstones, you somehow manage past the deadly, magical traps … only the dangers are hardly over. On Levels 27 and 28 sharp, red laser lines that criss-cross the hallways fill the remainder of the room — only those truly confident in their skill and agility can make it across unassisted. For the less coordinated, however, there is still hope: maybe you are one of the Featherstones and were equipped with the reflection tech made specifically for a situation like this one … or, if you can quickly gain contact (use that network!) with the others in the control room, they can do something about these lasers — if they aren’t still occupied with the Lionetta officers currently trying to take their control room back, anyway.

Finally, making it to the second-to-highest level, you will come face to face with two giant dog-like creatures… with glittering collars around their necks, each with a small tag to identify them. They are Ursa and Altair, respectively. Surely you were prepared for this, right? If you’re a Lionetta, you may be familiar with the alien-dogs and have a better chance of getting past them. If you dare to approach, however, you’ll notice that the ground surrounding them is a crimson mess of fresh blood. They’ve clearly had their dinner already… and the eager looks in their eyes can only be read as such: are you going to be their dessert?

Past the dogs and their matted fur and sharp teeth, there lies the entrance to the top floor — an entrance that only opens through facial recognition … strange, however is the scaly frost that has spread all over the scanner, leaving it non-functional — and the door… wide open.

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// PART IV.THE DEVIL'S GOT RED EYES  

As the two Orbers who have managed to make it before the others sneak towards the door and the stairs that lead up, they will hear two voices: female, both of them, one strained and quiet, like speaking is a struggle; the other, lilting and sugar-sweet.

● ● ●

“So, you’ve been running all this all along?”

“Why yes. Never crossed your pretty head, did it? My Lexie’s been doing such a wonderful job, you see, no wonder you were fooled. And now you’re going to die for it… just like Dnria.”

The two Orbers continue to creep towards the open door, careful not to be heard or detected. It’ll be a strange scene that opens towards them: a dark office, wooden floors looking far older than the building itself must be — expensive furniture, and all of it is lit with a red glow.

In the middle of it all —

“Just like Dnria H’ia? Ha… what an honour, to die like her. Bested by the same person. Ti’shaaz was right to be wary of you, Ruvia.”

An’alya lies on the floor, eyes blood-shot, a trickle of blood staining the side of her mouth. She’s trembling, breathing heavily, like behind every breath is unimaginable pain.

“Oh, honey, don’t think I gave you permission to call me by that nickname. It’s Cheruvia to you.”

Next to An’alya, her red eyes glowing just as bright as the round object that orbits her head in a slow circle, is Cheri...

… or perhaps that should be rephrased. Next to the fallen gang leader stands not the sweet, cheerful club owner, but Ruvia Alonetti: the owner of the Braccia orb, and the founder of the Lionetta family.

Whatever you do next… it's best to be careful. It will crucial to have a plan — because somehow that orb needs to leave this room with you.

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F Y I

• The events in this log take place ICly during one evening, but OOCly it spans the first two weeks of October.

• The ultimate conclusion of the mission and the return to the station will be posted on October 16.

• If you have questions about anything in this log, please direct them HERE.

• And finally, your soundtrack for this log: ♪ ♪ ♪

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Comments

The Darkling || Grishaverse

[cruelyethuman]

PART 1 It's showtime
1.0 in to the darknes - mines

[The road to hell is paved with good intentions and the Darkling agrees to follow in to the abandoned mines only because every other good intention on this mission has failed. Spectacularly.

Every bad intention as well.

All in all, intentions seems to be the real issue here, and he has none when he steps in the pitch dark and stumble through the shadows that swallow them all up.

The sides are easy to find, and once he stops blinking in the vain effort to see, well, anything, the Darkling walks down the twisting hallways and the narrowing pathways with one hand on it the whole way. Letting the rough stone grind against the palm of his hand, it makes it easier when he knocks in to low-hanging ceilings or outcrops. When he trips over large rocks left and forgotten on the ground.]

This will have to end eventually.

PART 3 Heist it up
8.0 - guards and officers

[The only thing surprising about the building, is the utter lack of proper security and the Darkling steps in to the building, hands out and shadows from the mines already surging up behind him like a solid wall of darkness.]

You can choose to walk away.

[And even that small mercy is only because he's not alone here. There are more orbers walking around, pulling weapons or doing something to the bugs that might be in the walls. The persistent image of real bugs, crawling over the walls comes to him in a flash. Despite Jim's explanation. That this is just another thing that is more like the station than home, the technology too advanced to be believed.

But believe it he does, because Vivica exists and there are the voices of others ringing in his head as he steps further in to the headquarters and slashes his hands at the advancing guards.]

9.0 - level 26

[Panting, hands clenched and resting against his thighs, the Darkling takes a minute to catch his breath.

Every level, every single one, was walking through hell and just when it was too much, too hard and too little oxygen, he had to do it all over again.

The group scattered, and now he watches the next long hallway with tired eyes. Another hell waiting just a step away. Poison, knives, sharp sticks and water. Pitfalls might be hidden, and this time he will step forward alone.

Again.

Always. Nothing had broken him yet, and this will not be how he dies. Not on an alien world, with salvation and hope so close he can almost feel it tingling at his fingertips.

The Darkling steps forward slow, inching himself along. Nothing drops from the ceiling and nothing shoots out from the walls. His shadows writhe at his feet, following him like loyal dogs. Twisting around his legs like black snakes, and he watches.

As some walks slowly towards him, and the wall of darkness trembles against the palm of his hand. The person walking closer still, head down and skirt swishing around her legs. Feet bare and treading softly on the carpet, and his heart flips.

Luda, hair loose around her shoulder and her eyes bright and alive. Skin pink with blood and her hands--]

What?

["Aleksander-" she breathes, his name on her lips for the first time in centuries. For the first time since he held her in his arms and she died there, nestled close to his chest. "What are you doing?".]

Luda, what-?

[It makes no sense. She's dead, have been dead for longer than she was ever alive. Her body lost inside the Fold, curled up on a cot. Except, she's not. She's-

Another deep breath, hands shaking as he reaches for her and she dances just out of reach. The station promised- Vivica told him - patience, do the job and be rewarded, but he hadn't- "Stay with me, Aleksander. I haven't seen you in so long. Did you find me an amplifier?"]

I- no. I looked, but you were... you died.

["Silly, do I look dead to you? Open your eyes and look at me."

She doesn't. She looks just like his late wife, the last love of his life and the reason he's even here. Why the promise made by the voice in his ear got his attention. His eyes are wet with tears when he looks up, taking in every inch of her.]

I can't. Luda, I can't. I have to do something, but once it's done. We will have all the time in the world-

["You're leaving me? That isn't what we promised," her hands clench, "We are never alone. You and me, against the world. Protecting our people. How could you forget?"]

I didn't- I never forgot.

PART ??? network. (locked to Peter Quill, aka Star-lord)
Peter. I need your help.

??? - wildcard

[Do you want something else? Any ideas what I didn't put up? Wildcard me or plot with me on ireth

Network | Un. Star-Lord

[spacedisaster]

[ Given what they are doing and how things have gone lately, seeing 'I need your help' it's an instant red flag for Peter. It doesn't take him long to answer. ]

Yes, I'm here. Are you okay? Did you get caught?

Network. UN:Kirigan

[cruelyethuman]

No.

[But since he was the one to open up the line of communication, he adds;] I'm fine.

[Alive. He was alive, and that was all that mattered. The darkness is thick around him, his own breathing bouncing off of the stone walls of the mine.]

You mentioned that you- [the Darkling stops talking, swallowing hard.] I might have made a mistake. With Daisy.

[Half-truths, from someone who is not unwilling to use his own faults as a weapon. To yield his vulnerabilities as a blade if it gets him the desired results.]

[spacedisaster]

Ah, good. That's a great start. [ He sounds even relieved, look at that. Don't scare him like this, Peter's already a bit on the edge these days.

The Guardian is silent as he tries to make sense of what the Darkling is saying, or rather, not saying. When the realization dawns on him, he relaxes marginally, tentatively categorizing the issue as 'girl problems' in his mind. ]

I can't say I ever talked to her, but perhaps I can help. What happened?

[cruelyethuman]

[Hand trailing along the wall, he huffs. Some of that might even make it across the network. The edge of hopelessness that lingers in the exhale as the Darkling sorts through the events.]

I might have made a mistake.

[Which is sufficiently vague to mean anything, but-] At the party. I- [Alina is not something he wants to discuss, whatever wayward emotions that surge at the thought of her is buried too deep. Nestled too close to his heart, and he blinks in the dark.] You know that Daisy and I agreed to be married for this mission.

She saw something at the party, that she would be well in her rights to be upset about, had this been... real.

[spacedisaster]

[ Peter is still getting used to having voices in his mind that are seemingly harmless. After Ego, it makes him a little twitchy, and when he's nervous he also has a hard time keeping himself from broadcasting ALL his trail of thoughts on the network. It can get messy sometimes but talking to the Darkling it's not so hard. ]

Those happen. That's pretty much the reason why all of us ended at the station, but perhaps this one is more easily fixed.

[ Peter has talked to Alina briefly, she's a nice lady, but Daisy is someone he has yet to meet, and he had no idea that the Darkling was playing fake marriage with her. It's a cute mental image regardless, to try to imagine Kirigan as a boyfriend. ]

Right...I knew that, sure. [ He did not, but that's unimportant. He can more or less figure out where this is going. ] So...your fake spouse saw you doing "something" and is now angry with you because she took the marriage things more seriously than you did?

Where you doing something or where you doing someone?

[cruelyethuman]

[The regret that brought him here was the darkness that would swallow the world. In the face of that, Daisy's outrage and outstretched hand in warning was nothing.

He hums anyway. Peter can read anything he wants in to that soft sound.]

I could understand jealousy. [Doesn't he know it intimately? The claws that sink in to his throat when he watches Alina and Rhysand, the hook sunk too deep in to the softness he doesn't want, but it still lives inside his heart. Less than the guarded jealousy he felt in Ravka, from watching Alina shield the tracker and surrender herself to protect him.] She says that she isn't. But I might have--

[A longer pause.] tried to hug her.

[spacedisaster]

[ They all have big regrets and big secrets, often dangerous ones. But even the small ones can hurt people deeply, and it's when we think our faults are unimportant that these cause the most damage. Peter learned that the hard way, too.

It doesn't go unnoticed that the Darkling doesn't really explain what he was doing at the party, but he won't press the issue for now. ]

Really? You don't strike me as the hugging type, that's new. [ A hug doesn't sound terrible in the big scheme of things, yet Peter knows he's missing a ton of context here. ] Did she want to be hugged? Perhaps she didn't want to be touched at all and that's what upset her further. What were you doing before that point? Talking, dancing, arguing...?

[cruelyethuman]

I might not hug every stranger I meet, but I would hug my wife.

[The Darkling shoots back, slightly uncomfortable at the suggestion of overstepping.]

We were- [that pause again, as he picks through the right words to use. The right way to phrase this without mentioning Alina. Or the dance. Or anything at all that might matter even slightly, as he works to fulfill his personal goal.

How far would you go to right a wrong?
What would you sacrifice to undo one regret?] arguing. A lot of things were said on both sides in the heat of it, and I might have... accused her of being jealous. While I touched her shoulder.

[It had been more than that, but for now, he's inching his way along the dark pathway that hopefully leads to the orb. To the end of this, and it carried the gist of what had happened.]

8.0

[laviny]

I don't think they can, actually.

[Yelena says from nearby, appearing out of the shadows like a wraith, like someone who knows how to use darkness to her advantage. She lifts her arm and fires a blast from the gauntlet attached to her wrist, knocking an approaching guard back with a powerful bolt of electricity.

She slides into the fray, pulling the batons strapped to her back free and proceeding to take out three more guards in short order. She's ruthless. Efficient. She doesn't see the point in offering them a way out. They have family loyalty to consider. If they run, they'll likely be punished for desertion or cowardice. They probably have better odds here with the orbers, and at least making a show of fighting.]

[cruelyethuman]

[The second she steps out of the dark, the Darkling freezes. Hands up, fingers splayed for the Cut and the shadows quiver at his fingertips. The thin blade of Small Science poised to forcibly separate the guards from their heads.

But she comes barreling in to the fray, arms fast and sure as she puts the guards down, voice carrying easy. As if she's done this before.

He watches, the blade morphing between the palm of his hands. He watches Yelena fight, the surety in her footsteps and the force behind every punch. She's good, very good.

Watches as the guards do down, faces spurting blood and the pained groans from the floor. And he watches as she doesn't kill any of them.

The shadows surge, a flurry of darkness flying out to wrap around the heads of the guards still standing. Shadows thick as slurry pour in to their mouths, slipping down their throats as he clenches his fist and they drop down to their knees, hands scrabbling at their closed airways. The moans turn to wet gurgles, as his Small Science fill their lungs.]

True as that might be, I want them to remember that I gave them a choice.

[A flick of his hand, and the shadows evaporate. The guards fall over, labored breathing and all. Half-truth, he doesn't care about this world, or anyone in it. But he wants Yelena to remember. That he was kind, when he could have been cruel.]

Are you okay?

[laviny]

[That seems silly to Yelena but she shrugs in response. If that's what he wants to do, fair enough.

She turns just in time to jab another goon in the gut with her baton, hitting him with a volt of electricity in the process. But when the Darkling asks if she's okay she turns to look at him, her brows drawing together in a confused frown.]

I'm fine. Why are you asking me that?

[She sounds a little incredulous. It just seems strange, considering how he attempted to choke her when they met and proceeded to try his best to be intimidating. Though in all honesty, she doesn't hold that against him. It seemed honest enough. She'd spooked him and he lost it. It happens.

But she has no idea what he'd be asking after her well being. She's doing fine and he really has no reason to care.]

[cruelyethuman]

It could be because I know just what it took for you to get here.

[He looks pointedly at the hallway, the door at the end opening and more guards assemble. These ones seem of have a shield of some kind. It glows vaguely red in the near-dark, their muffled shouts to each other indistinct and impossible to hear.

The guards on the floor, twitch.

The Darkling looks at Yelena, eyebrow arched.]

Are you ready?

[Even as he speaks, the shadows swirl around his feet, spiraling upwards like tendrils of darkness pulled from a nightmare and he shoots his hands out towards the new platoon of armed henchmen as a loud boom thunders through the room.]

[laviny]

[She glances down the hallway and then back at the Darkling, her own brows furrowed in doubt.]

Okay, but why would you care.

[It's not really an accusation or an attack on his character. As far as she can tell he has no reason to care about her well being, regardless of the circumstances. She wouldn't even necessarily blame him for it or be insulted. He's entitled to his priorities, which from what he said in the alley are himself and his people. Respectable, she supposes, but not something she's a part of.

She seems willing enough to let it go, though. It wouldn't do to get distracted now. She shrugs at his question.]

I am always ready.

[cruelyethuman]

[He doesn't. Not really, not in the way Yelena means it - as if something would be missing if a few or all of them failed to return to the station once this was done.

But Vivica mentions teamwork and trust, like it matters to what they will have to do. To what they are already doing, and because it could prove near-impossible to get the orb alone. He nods sharply, hands slashing down as shadows wrap themselves around the faces of the guards closest to them.]

Because we are all important. Even you, malen'kiy voin.

[laviny]

[She gives him a dubious look and then snorts.]

Aw. I’m flattered.

[Her tone is dry, but she won’t argue the point. Instead she turns an punches an incoming guard squarely in the face while Kirigan's shadows smother the other goons.]

[cruelyethuman]

[Without a comment, he turns and tightens his hands in front of him, twisting and the guards drop but another row takes their place in the narrow hallway and guns are pulled.

A wall of shadows surge up in front of them.]

Why?

Level 26

[morethan084]

[Having just escaped a dangerous hallucination that ended with her hurting innocent people, Daisy is still dealing with the side effects when she enters the next level. She hesitates near the door when she spots Kirigan already in here.

Is it really him this time? Or is it just another hallucination?

At first, Daisy thinks he's talking to her, but then he says the name Luda. She looks behind her to where his eyes seem to be, but no one is there. The tears in his eyes, the sincerity in his voice--

It's jarring.

Cautiously, Daisy moves further into the room, taking a quick glance around before her eyes land back on him. Hand raised in case he lashes out. Again.]

I'm not Luda.

[Is this a trick?]

plese ignore my horrible html fail in the TL. Geez!

[cruelyethuman]

What?

[Luda smiles, and she looks achingly real. Her loopsided smile, the dimple that shows up only on her right cheek and the tiny lines that have started to appear at the corners of her eyes when she laughs. It's all there, every little bit that he could possibly remember and the things that were lost to him with the passage of time.

Time hasn't touched Luda.

She tilts her head, eyes rolling before they settle on him again. The calm on her face a balm to his savaged soul. "I said, you promised that we were never alone."]

Yes, I did say that, but- [he never lied to her in life. She knew him, in ways that no one has since. His heart hardened by what happened next, by the cooling body in his arms and the threat knocking on their door. The king's men and the army that was sent to kill all of them.] So many things have happened- Luda, I made a mistake.

["Was it bigger than the time you forgot the latch and we woke up to chickens roosting in our bed?"

His face turns in to the light, purple crystalline designs crawl across his skin, clinging to his eyelashes and his smile is trembling and edged with purple mist.]

A little.

[Luda just laughs, that deep and throaty one that makes his stomach feel warm and too full all at once. The memories unfurling like flowers blooming in spring, of Luda. How she made them a home in the woods, her hands careful in her Healing and with him. How her kisses always tasted like that saints forsaken tea she loved and how she would spend her nights curled up at his side, her hands busy with sorting herbs and roots.

"You will never be alone, Aleksander" her voice is nothing but promises made in the dark, "If you stay with me".]

You left me.

[morethan084]

[There he goes again, speaking to 'Luda' This time she's convinced he's seeing things, and this purple mist is the cause of it.]

They're not here.

[She keeps her distance, still worked up from their last interaction.]

This place is missing with your head.

[She could just leave him. Should just leave him.]

/sobs in to hands. Html...

[cruelyethuman]

[There's another voice, and Luda arches an eyebrow at him. Familiar in ways he forgot. The silhouette she makes in the light, the precise line of her nose as she stands with shadows dancing over her lovely features.

His eyes flick to Daisy, before his eyes slide, almost as if his gaze was tied to a string and Luda held the reigns, and they go back to her. To Luda. To the catalyst of his inhuman nature and the pain painted across Ravka like a wound.]

Daisy. I don't know what-

[But Luda cuts him off, her fingers laced in front of her. "Who's this?" and before he can get a word in edgewise, Luda smiles softly. It lights up her face, as if she was standing in sun light. Nothing but care in her voice and unspoken words in her eyes, "Should I be jealous, Aleksander?"

She doesn't look jealous, eyes sparkling with mirth and humor as she giggles. "Oh, don't you make that face at me. You know it won't work, it never did before. I know you, remember?"

Whatever Daisy says next it drowned out by Luda and her hand coming up to curl a finger in his direction. "Come here. Stay with me and tell me everything."]

I'm sorry, Daisy. It's fine, just- go on, find what you came for. [The Darkling's face breaks in to a smile, the corner of his lips quivering with sadness as he shakes his head, eyes locked on Luda.] How could you ever find reason to jealous of anyone? Haven't I given you the world already. The world and chickens.

HTML is so hard

[morethan084]

[Seeing him so vulnerable like this leaves Daisy feeling conflicted. Of course she remembers just how he made her feel the other night, the way he seemed to purposefully hurt her. Ignored her boundaries multiple times.

And then there was just before, when he tried to use his powers on her. Which she's now questioning. How did he manage to get here so fast? How did he go from such anger to this? Her stomach churns with unease.]

We all came here for the same thing.

[Daisy reminds him, having to look away when she sees the tears in his eyes. It's a stark contrast to his hardened expression during their argument.]

[cruelyethuman]

[They did, and Daisy's face stirs at the place inside of him that knows this isn't real. That this place could do so many wondrous things, with its technology and magic, but it could not bring the dead back to life.

Sabriel had confirmed it. That anything dead brought back would come back as an abomination. Rotting flesh and corruption.

But that doesn't stop him from taking a step closer to where Luda is, his hands clenching and opening at his side. Heart beating crazily in his chest, loud enough to sound like the crush of waves. Of the untamed True Sea, and the howling winds in the port cities.]

No, Daisy. We didn't.

[His regret was not anyone else's. The merzost still crawling through his veins from that one moment of heated grief. That minute of losing control, and it had cost him dearly. Not merely the Fold, uncoiling across the once-lush valley, killing everything it touched. But everything that had followed.

This time, he would make a different choice.

Luda cocks her head, still smiling. She would smell like home, the scent of her hair and the touch of her hands on his. The taste of herbs on the threads of her Small Science as it rose to meet his. Hers was not the face he had seen in the Making at the Heart of the World, but it was close.

"Are you just going to keep watching me, or are you going to explain what all of this is about?"]

I wouldn't even know where to start explaining. ["The beginning is always nice" she shoots back, quick-witted and lovely, and the Darkling's heart aches from watching it. "I have nowhere else to be, but with you."]

You died, and- I didn't know what else to do.

[morethan084]

[Daisy notices, for the first time, the purple frost reflecting off his skin. Whatever this mist is, it's doing this to him. She feels sick to her stomach with confusion. Was any of this real right now? What if he wasn't actually here? What if someone or something was messing with her mind, distracting her?]

We need to--

[Daisy looks around the room. No one else is in here. She hears him continuing to talk to someone, but she isn't paying attention to the one sided conversation. Too distracted by her hazy thoughts.]

We need to go. Now.

[cruelyethuman]

You can go.

[To Daisy, his face tipped in her general direction as more purple frosts across his cheekbones, climbing down his face in tendrils of darkness against his pale skin.

It blooms across his wet shirt, clinging to his skin and his drenched clothes like snow flakes, it paints his lips a dark purple as he looks at Daisy.

Luda is still standing close to her, his eyes darting between them for a handful of seconds, the edge of his lips twitching up in a smile.]

Go on, do what you came for.

[He wants to stay, standing in the darkened hallway with Luda almost close enough to touch and his fingers twitch with the urge to do just that. To reach out and catch her, to trail his fingers over her now-warm skin. To explain all the reasons why.

The words crowd inside his mouth, kept at bay by his tongue pressing against his teeth as the Darkling breathes, deep and calming breaths, the purple fluff fluttering around his head swirling before being inhaled.]

I need to- [Luda laughs, the sound of happiness and redemption, her head thrown back and her hands reaching back towards him as she tips her head forward again, eyes sparkling. "Stay with me, Aleksander, forever"] -stay here.