The Fifteen Strangers Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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15strangers2023-07-20 09:54 am
strangerpeople) wrote in 15strangers2023-07-20 09:54 am
FINAL INVESTIGATION
[Fifteen X-Passes. Six weeks. Freedom at last.
But it's not the end. Of course it's not. There are questions to answer, and souls to save. And now that the group is outside, they can see where they are.
They are inside a massive cavern, illuminated in an eerie green light, standing on a stone path. On one side is the ship-or rather, a massive, ship-shaped tangle of bloody branches, the trunk-like roots snaking out and into the river its buoyed on, as well as into the ceiling of stalactites. Said river is wine dark, but it's clearly not water. No-it is blood.
And on the other side of their little pathway? A root-encrusted palace. It sits over a labyrinthine city, bathed in emerald, and all is eerily silent save for some sounds coming from within the castle. It's clear the infestation somehow started here. And it is here that answers are likely to be found.
The doors are right in front of the group-and they are already open, covered in branches. From the outside, it seems little more than a ruin. Once everyone goes in, though?
It's even worse. The tree has taken over. Whatever lives here is no longer in charge. There's no easy way to disentangle the Qilphoth from this place. But there is life here, somehow. You can see figures entangled within the roots as you explore. And-they are still, somehow, alive. More than alive. They are beings that bleed ichor instead of blood-beings of incredible divinity and power. They are gods. And they are hostage to the tree, forever and ever, trapped in induced ennui, unless something is done.
[Once you enter, the investigation shall begin.
Good luck.]
((OoC: And here are team assignments!))
no subject
Ah, Makima-san. [he sounds very pleased to see her.] I'm not entirely certain.
If possible, however, I would prefer not to stay in this form. [if one could put the motion of 'wrinkling his nose' into a tone of voice, this would've done it.]
no subject
What is that form even supposed to be? Nero didn't look like that... I've never seen a ghost who lost their appearance, but still maintained their memories.
no subject
I shall be quite honest, I don't know. It was mentioned by one of our adversaries during our escape that our bodies are gone, so I would assume it's something along the lines of a soul, or at least that's what was mentioned as well.
Though admittedly I find that confusing, as Roidmude do not have souls, rather cores, but I assume in my case it has something to do with what this ship has done to my body.
[in any case--]
What has happened up here?
no subject
[Makima is wearing a long-sleeved white T-shirt underneath her black Public Safety overcoat, which has several gashes that make the clean white fabric show through like snow. She's got her left hand curled around Kira's chest in a very familiar way, at a specific angle that she's careful not to change as she leans back to turn her body towards Brain. With a shy smile she tucks the stump of her right arm - the reason she's not wearing the dress shirt and tie more difficult to put on - into her coat pocket. But he probably had time to glimpse the situation.]
You may not have been fully informed since Hubert-kun's death was reversed before he could have arrived in your realm. But the deaths of Zack-kun, Aoi-kun, and even Hubert-kun all yielded an X Pass, bringing us to a total of fifteen. Though we spent some time preparing to fight the tree from within the ship, Nero and Charon conveyed to us that it was time to go through the door for the fight. Now here we are.
no subject
There's a beat, and then--]
No, I was uninformed, you're correct. Thank you for the information.
[. . . . ]
Makima-san, what happened to your arm?
no subject
[As in, Kira 'took' Makima's hand, and she 'gave' Kira the Many Stabs he is currently bleeding from because the submotive keeps opening them.]
However, that's all behind us now... isn't it, Makima?
cw slight violence
[Makima seems to have a mysterious distance in her eyes when he calls her name, but she brightens in a sunset kind of way as she plays footsie with the right calf that got impaled by a javelin.]
This was fated to happen. It was foreseen. That's why we believed in Charon's vow and came here.
no subject
After a moment, though, Brain lets out a huff, as if fondly exasperated]
That's a rather strange courtship, but if you are happy, Makima-san, then far be it for me to say anything against it.
[he tilts his head]
Though I admit I'm curious as to what you mean by "fated".
no subject
It was inevitable that, given the opportunity, Kira-kun would fall in love. What I mean by having the opportunity is that Aoi Kurashiki claimed to have memories of experiencing this same killing game dozens of times, witnessing myriad permutations of deaths. Except that of Zack Prince, thus taking matters into his own hands this time. I honestly still find aspects of that hard to believe...
[As she'd said at the trial, she and Kira, who has shown his bloodlust, slept in the same bed for the first time after they were so frustrated with their roommates Zack and Akane. But it's a petty concern not worth dwelling on.]
But there was also a blood oath by Alastor-kun to open Aoi-kun's letter only after the trial, which said "Makima gets her hand cut off this week" in his infamous handwriting. [As best she recalls.] Kira-kun and I were alone the entire night as the altercation occurred. Alastor-kun and Roland-kun were together. Aoi-kun and Hubert-kun were together. Thus I truly believe that the letter was written in advance and that the oath was binding.
When we first read the letter, we agreed not to use the X Passes on threat of violence. We needed to destroy the tree for any true freedom. However, Charon took an oath to tell us that it was time. And I had now seen those were deadly serious. That is how we ventured out here. It is fate.
no subject
But then why would Zack--probably Zagreus--appear now?
As for the rest of that]
Predetermined, then. I see what you mean.
[a huff of air]
It seems that these oaths, also, end up being very important. Perhaps unbreakable, especially if they involve blood. It seems to be a common...theme, here.