15strangers | FINAL TRIAL

FINAL TRIAL
(1 of Hekatombaion)

[When the time comes, Charon arrives on a boat, hrrhrrhrring a little tune as he rows. No need to worry about space, even with all of the shades coming with. Fluffles, unsurprisingly, doesn't go; he does see everyone off, at least, before he falls asleep.

With a final hnnnngrrrgh, they're off. Charon is the master of the Styx, in his own way, deftly avoiding roots and branches from the Qliphoth as he guides his charges up through the layers of the underworld. From the dark and gloomy green of Tartarus, to the lava-flooded Asphodel and it's giant many-headed bone snake, sadly snarled in demonic roots (without thinking, Zack waves to it), on through the lazy rivers of Elysium, and lastly through the pitch stink of the corridors of a temple separating the underworld from the living world.

Throughout, there is eerie quiet. No shades appear to watch their procession-indeed the few wisps around seem to be fleeing, hiding. No rats try to bite Zack's face off. Aside from Lernie, there's truly nothing but tree, tree, and more tree.

Finally, though, the surface air hits, and it is...not cold, but not warm, either. Though, as everyone disembarks, that's probably not what catches everyone's attention. No-it is the barren fields of ancient Greece, just outside the entrance to the underworld-and there is only one thing alive in the area.

It is late afternoon, and the silhouette of the new moon is the only thing that emits real light now in the grey. Indeed, if there is a sun, it is blocked out by the massive, massive roots in the sky, swirling into the stratosphere. The roots in the underworld were in fact more akin to greedy branches; the roots in the sky of the world of life, however, are far more massive, and it's clear the tree is fully grown. And-if the dead grass and trees and barren lands around the Temple of Styx are any indication-it isn't simply feeding on human blood-it's affecting the life of the earth itself, greedily lapping up what it can as it further embeds itself, further spreads, further grows. Further destroys.

It won't stop. There is obsession and power, and Delta is right-it will never stop unless someone intervenes.

Wordlessly Delta points to a Spire of blood in front of them. Yup-they need to enter it to get to where they need to go. Lovely.]

Through here is the core of the tree where the fruit of the Qliphoth is being cultivated. Come.

[Well, no turning back. With luck, the Catillac has some extra towels.

So, immediately after squishing into the...blood elevator?...everyone is schllllorped on a ride akin to w water slide, going up and down, left and right, up, up, up, then down, down, down....down.......

d

o

w

n

into the depths.

And when they emerge...]

[Bright flowers grow on the vines. There is distant birdsong, and the sun shines among fat, lazy clouds. But you can see the shine of glass in the corner of your eye; the air is too perfect to breath, too cold to touch. You don't feel the grass or dirt underfoot that you can clearly see The smell of blood is everywhere.

An illusion? A dream? A delusion? Something else? Who knows. There is a patio table laid out with tea, and four seats. It's almost as if the owner simply got up and left for a moment. It's all strange, all...wrong.

Still. You're finally here. You're in the core. You freed a possible god from the grip of forced ignorance. And you have-you hope-everything you need to end this. But there is still one question:

Who is the true Mastermind, and what is their goal in doing all of this?

It is time, Strangers. By the seas, the heavens and the earth, by blood and darkness, it's up to you.

Good luck.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I never changed.

[Her hands clench.]

They changed...they became...those monsters, fighting in a place, just like this...

Was this....

[Akane turns and gestures around her, behind her, at the tree high around them and the empty ground down below]

... really what you always were? I don't believe that. Not when you care so much about what happened to all those people. Not when it's caused you this much pain, that all this....

This was the only way you knew to handle it.

The only way to stop changing is to die, but even then, that's not really true, because your body still decays. But just because something is changed... that doesn't mean it's worse.

.......

I want my children back. I want them back.

Eva....

They're right there.

They....

I don't... know them very well. They weren't on the ship with us. But....

They miss you too. They love you too.

Why have you given up on them? Don't! You're willing to fight to have them back again, and you have the chance!

No...no, they're not!

[She doesn't sound quite so certain, though.]

[Akane looks at her, eyes bright with unshed tears, and then after a moment takes one step forward, two, her heart fluttering fast, and finally reaches forward to hug this other woman. She seems to need it, and Akane is small, and warm, and oh so fragile, probably the least threatening of the strangers, physically, so even if it's dangerous, even if this is dangerous....

It's also who she is.]

Eva....

It's okay. You can make it okay. It won't be the same, but that doesn't mean it won't be okay.

[Eva is also warm. But she's also a tree. She doesn't have the same kind of warmth.

At the action, Eva freezes.

And the ceiling of the sanctuary starts to crack.]

[That's okay, she's hugged all types here. Hermes is not your usual hug subject either, she may as well hug tree women now.

She doesn't pull away.]

They're all right. Your children are right here. They're terrified...even when everyone realized it was you, they never stopped believing you wouldn't do such a thing. They had faith in you.

Did you know that?

What do you think they're fighting for?

I know why they were fighting. I know what Vergil did.

Oh?

[Go on...]

He was my master, when the Qilphoth bore fruit in Red Grave City.

. . .

Your--master?

[That. That clearly horrifies him.]

[Ritsu has had some time to cool her heels. There are still a good many angry things she wants to say, but they're not helpful right now. And as ever, she tries to be helpful.]

...He doesn't sound like a man who doesn't care about the destruction he'd cause.

...I hadn't cared. But it's...complicated as to why.

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autonomousthought - 2023-07-23 05:09 (UTC) - Expand

DMC 5 spoilers

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autonomousthought - 2023-07-23 05:27 (UTC) - Expand

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valkavian - 2023-07-23 05:47 (UTC) - Expand

What the fuck?

[Vergil did a dumb]

Everyone changes. Including me... I once learned that just sitting back and watching everyone else do things and decide things was the safest option available to me so I wouldn't be hurt anymore. I just sat there watching people die when I could save them.

Sometimes people die. But sometimes, they don't. A lot of people here are looking after me and care about me. They want me to make decisions of my own. And it's terrifying. It still is.

[Hermes looks to the GigantiCrew.]

...But they're still here to care about me and support me. And...

WE want to support YOU. I know what it's like to try hiding your pain for so long. But you don't have to do things on your own.

[Hermes will offer a footclaw to grab.]

Even though deciding for yourself is terrifying... scary... we'll ALL support you.

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

[She stares at the footclaw.]

Why are you doing this?

Because I choose to. It's my decision.

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

why......

[The fence begins to fissure.]

[Hermes is smiling encouragingly.]

Everything is going to be alright.

[He does not take the hand away. The offer is still there.]

[ Val is not joining in but is going to silently fistpump U GOT THIS HERMES ]

[Makima is watching this with a blank look on her face and a sword in her hand to raise in Akane's defense at any moment but shrugs and smiles at Val. It's working?]