FINAL INVESTIGATION

[strangerpeople]

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.


So welcome, Strangers, to the House of Hades.]







[Once you enter, the investigation shall begin.


Good luck.]



((OoC: And here are team assignments!))

Comments

[not_a_lego_maniac]

Um.




Possession? What...?

[unpossibilities]

You're possessed by a thing from down here, right?!

You can keep control. You're stronger than the evil, whatever it may be! Even if it's...

[Swallows dryly.]

A...g-g-ghost. Even if it's that!

[not_a_lego_maniac]

I. Ah.



No, mate, I'm not possessed. I.

I think it's worse than that.

[unpossibilities]

...H...How can it be w-worse....?

[not_a_lego_maniac]

.............

I think...I actually live in this place. The dog reminds me of my dog, the man with the beard looks almost exactly like my father-Moriarty...he called me Zagreus. That I could help.




But how am I supposed to help anyone if I remember nothing of this?

[godspiousjasper]

I'd imagine there's probably something that has to be done that will properly restore all of your memories.

[ Giving a small wave towards Kaito as he comes up. ]

I would guess you having your memories back may put a damper on our dear captor's plans and that's why you haven't gotten them back yet.

[not_a_lego_maniac]

You really think so?



So if I'm really a...the kid of these people. I'd remember who's responsible?

[...He'd be able to do something, as Moriarty had said.]

[godspiousjasper]

I do.

[ Roland nodded his head, offering a reassuring smile to the poor young man who was not only confused but honestly going through quite a lot at this point. This would indeed be a lot for anyone to be dealing with, after all. ]

That is what i'm thinking it is, yes. It's the only reasonable solution I can think of that would possibly work to why you still can't remember anything about this place, though.. you having some divinity certainly explains a lot about you.

[not_a_lego_maniac]

So...I'm a divinity. A god.


But...god of what?

[lovedthemost]

It's hard to say. [hi here's Brain, floating a bit aways, just...watching. But he'll pop in for this discussion]

If we refer to myth, it's rather convoluted. There's the possibilities of a similarity to Dionysus, but also the son of Hades, and suggested to have some influence in the Underworld. Sometimes even the highest of the gods in the underworld.

However, the records are convoluted, as they often are, and so to be able to pin down what you are the god of, specifically, cannot be done simply from known records.

[somuchshipping]

It's possible the devs didn't include every single actual Greek and Roman god as a gen 1 AI, so maybe he's the god of mystery!

[hatesdeerstalkers]

[Moriarty has also been floating nearby, a bit ominously - but as brain says that, he starts mumbling to himself.]

...the byword of everything here...what charon asked for...even as spirits, we could...found underneath....could it be...?

[godspiousjasper]

[ He takes a moment to think, as he's not AS familiar with greek mythos and gods like Alastor is. So admittedly some of it is speculation based on what he'd seen... then he remembers that atrocious hallucination/figment he'd seen in that master bedroom.

Then how him and Alastor had pulled Zack/Zag from the bloody pool.. Hm. It'd be the obvious one, wouldn't it? ]

You may not like the idea, but I do believe you could be a God of Blood? If not that, perhaps of Rebirth?

[ The last one only suggested due to how hard it'd been to apparently kill the other man before... and even now he was still here and not one of those ghostly spirits that the other souls were. ]

[hatesdeerstalkers]

....That is exactly what I was suspecting.

[ROLAND...he's definitely smarter than he acts, hm?]

[unpossibilities]

[Wave]

...Well. We want those, maybe, but...

I feel like it should be Zack's choice.

It doesn't seem fair to decide for him that he'll just...get his memories back, be Zagreus, save all of us, all that.

But that's a moral debate to have later, I guess...

[godspiousjasper]

No, you're right. It ultimately will be his choice in the end.

[ Roland nodded without so much as missing a beat. There was absolutely no way he'd ever force anyone to do anything they didn't want to. So he could understand where Kaito was coming from as he'd made a good point. ]

We can make suggestions on what we think will be the best, but far it be for any of us to make the decision for him.

[ Then his demeanor shifts to become a bit more sunny as he had caught snippets of the conversation just as he'd come up. Which does prompt him to mention something else. ]

You were talking about him maybe being possessed before, right?

[unpossibilities]

[There was that, and...the fear that lurked within him. The fear that he, himself, did in fact have that similar problem, and...

What if who you were isn't someone who you'd ever, ever, ever want to be?

...But that was his own problem. He does, however, look a little weary again, but for a different reason.]

Yeah. That's...kinda spooky crap that unnerves me a little, so I'm glad that ain't the case here...ghosts are scary.

[don't like 'em! don't like the ghosties!]

[godspiousjasper]

[ That made him pause, then his head canted to the side slightly before he smiled once more. ]

Not all of them! I've had the fortuitous pleasure of speaking with one. His name's Nero.

[ Roland then pointed at himself. ]

I've been possessed by him twice so he could help relay useful information he had to us. The second time kind of winded me a little but other than that, i'm fine.

[unpossibilities]

[Well, this...makes Kaito pause. He sighs, rubbing the back of his neck (so much as it exists right now) with a purple hand.]

I mean, y'ever thought that helping someone isn't based on who you are, it's what you do? [He pauses, and then he decides to share something he hasn't really shared with anyone else.] Sometimes, I....I feel wrong, inside. Like there's something that doesn't quite add up with who I am, what I do, what I think-- there's times when I'm angry for no goddamn reason and I just have to press it down, because I'm not that kind of guy--least, I think I'm not.

Sometimes, I feel like there's another me lurking inside me, too. Just waiting for his day to like, pop out. Make himself known.

I don't let myself get defined by that, though. If there were another me, that guy could be dead. He could be like, long, long gone. But there's me who exists now, there's me figuring out the shit I can do, there's me who can do a hell of a lot. I can probably do everything that that other me could've and MORE!

So...tell me, Zagreus. Zack. What can you do to help? Only you can decide that. Only you can find the true depths of your abilities.

[not_a_lego_maniac]

Well, all I can do right now is......


....I apparently can use a sword.

[unpossibilities]

Then take advantage of that! There's...certainly plenty of shit to cut.

And then you build from that. You grow from that. Healthily. Not like a big bloodsucking tree, but like a normal good tree. Put your roots in the sword, and grow! Slash the hell outta what ya gotta do!

And most of all, believe in yourself! You know I do! Whoever you are, believe, or at the least, believe in me believing in you!

Then if y'need anything else from ol' Zaggyzug, maybe just doin' things will turn into the whole...whole feelin' ya get riding a bike. Y'never forget.

[not_a_lego_maniac]

....So I know how to sword fight, but. I'm not sure what else there is. Other than...I guess petting a giant three-headed dog.

[somuchshipping]

[At some point in this conversation, Hermes nyooms in with a plate with a couple of cooked fish on it. He's offers it to Zack.]

I don't know how death completely works in the real world, buuuuut you might be hungry! Have something to eat.

[not_a_lego_maniac]

.............


Oh...I actually like fish. Thank you.

[You know what, he's going to eat some fish.]

[somuchshipping]

...

...Is Zack Jr. still there, or is she gone for good?