ataraxionlogs | EVENT: MELPOMENE ▒ HOME

Entry tags:

EVENT: MELPOMENE ▒ HOME

CHARACTERS: Ensemble production!
LOCATION: Corridors in the belly of the Tranquility
WARNINGS: Creepiness, disturbing imagery, violence, etc.
SUMMARY: Characters discover slices of sanctuary deep in the maze.
NOTES: Open to all! Covers Stage Four of the plot & Escape.

You've been running and fighting for what feels like weeks now. Exhausted and desperate, you find another door, stumbling through into—

You're home, finally, far away and safe from monsters or spaceships. You're not alone, someone here who's been waiting for you, and they're so happy to see you. Relief overcomes you; you just want to rest, and there's no reason to believe anything here isn't what it seems, is there?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Firo's following her line of sight to see if she's coming up with any clues.

He spots it a second after she stops, though his reaction is a bit more dramatic. He jumps back from the car, "Shit--!"

Though experience has taught him it won't do much good, he reaches for his knife. He's been through enough here that he won't give up without a fight.

The moment it hears Firo's curse, the manticore turns its head and lunges towards him.

Rey, not nearly as vocal, does the first thing that anyone would do in her position--

She swings her fist back and punches the eyeless creature in the jowls mid-jump. Clocking it in time to send it flailing over the asphalt instead of making a meal out of Firo's jugular.

The only thoughts in Firo's head are those cursing his inattention. Running on instinct, his knife shoots up, though just a little too slow. Thankfully, Rey's there.

He steps back again, sinking into a better stance. This time, his blade is ready to catch the thing if it comes at them. That is, if it comes from the front. He doesn't know how to prepare for a flank attack from something this quick.

"Th-thanks! Nice hit."

The punch, while effective in diverting its lunge towards Firo, stuns but is only effective enough to stun the manticore temporarily. Though she did punch it pretty hard, throwing it off by several feet.

It quickly turns, recovering its senses, and bolts back towards them from the earth and snow.

"Look out!" Rey shouts, no time to really appreciate Firo's compliment or appreciation.

Though she really should be taking her own advice. The manticore isn't going for him so much as the object of its rage now -- her.

Shit.

"I'm--" Firo's ready to defend, but then he realizes that the creature isn't heading for him. It should be a relief, but not when the manticore is going for the person who just saved his bacon.

Well, crap. He can't just watch this go down, even if he isn't sure he can actually take down one of these monsters.

As it lunges, he darts forward, knife out ahead. He's moving as fast as he can and aims a cut at the side of the beast's neck. It might not cut as deep as he wants it to, but he hopes it'll knock it off balance.

Not sure how well she can hold against one of these in close quarters combat, she shifts her stance anyway. But before she can give it a try, Firo takes the initiative.

Much like the first blow, the manticore seems to regard the slice with all the inconvenience of a shaving nick. It lashes out blindly, uncaring who or what it hits.

Rey grunts, stepping back and swinging her leg into a swift kick into side of the creature's ribs. The force blows it even farther back once again, neck bloody and now possibly even more pissed off than before.

The muted reaction from the monster isn't all that surprising, but it is disheartening. Firo watches as Rey's kick knocks it back--still nothing.

"Are we doin' anything besides makin' it angrier?"

But what else can they do? Even if they're willing to consider running, this thing could probably be on them as soon as they turn their backs.

He darts forward and swings his knife again, going for the eye. The strike misses and Firo narrowly avoids getting bitten.

This isn't going to work. She knows it, and has a feeling that Firo knows it as well.

"Its legs!" Rey barks as Firo makes a futile attempt to strike the creature's face. "Take out its legs!"

If nothing else, it'll slow the manticore down, giving them a chance to make a run for it through this place to...

Wherever they need to go.

Realizing that, unarmed as she has found herself being since -- well, she can't remember when, exactly -- there's not much she can do. She has brute strength, but that'd require her actually getting close to that thing.

Fuck it. Steeling herself to act as a decoy for Firo's bladework, she bolts, flanking the manticore to capture its undivided attention.

Damn it. Firo's not sure how much he likes a plan that involves someone else putting themself at risk (especially if that person, however much tougher than him, is a woman), but he has no time to argue. And though he may not be a genius when it comes to strategy, he can see the wisdom in what she's trying.

As the manticore turns to Rey, he runs behind it, slashing at what looks like it could be a tendon in one of its hind legs.

Though the beast again seems more angry than pained, the wound at least forces it to take weight off that leg.

Anything can be expected to get pretty pissed off when you start cutting it, especially the way Firo did just then.

Which is why it starts to turn that rage on him. Start attacking him instead.

Its head turned, Rey throws herself towards it, swinging a leg underneath the creature and kicking up from under its feet, knocking it to the ground.

With a grunt, she brings her fist down over the crown of its head, slamming its face down over pavement. Hard enough that cement breaks.

He should have been quicker with the second cut, but hindsight doesn't help now. What does help is Rey's fist. Despite the tension of their situation, he's amazed enough to comment.

"How the hell--? How'd you do that?!"

He hasn't even seen Claire break the ground like that, and he's supposedly even stronger than Ronnie.

If only one of them were here to help. But Rey's doing a damn fine job and, though he's still stunned, Firo won't let that opening go to waste. Again he comes forward with the knife, this time digging it into the uninjured rear leg and twisting.

Rey doesn't answer. It's possible she can't even hear him. She's focused. Her vision blurs, and the surrounding world becomes an infinite static that fizzles and all she can see is redredred--

The creature struggles to get back up. But it's immediately thrown back down by the force of her blow, hurling it against the street. And again, and again. More cracks burst up from the ground, more chunks fly and rattle.

By then, between disabling its legs and the many blunt force throws to its head, the manticore twitches and doesn't get back up.

Her breathing labored, Rey takes a step back, not wanting to get in the creature's path in case if it decides to spring another surprise on them. She can't tell if it's dead. Doesn't care to check.

As her vision clears and color returns to the world, she looks at Firo. Blood splattered all up her arm, her sleeveless shirt, and pants. But it's obviously not hers.

"You okay?" Rey finally asks.

Firo's ready to spring back into action once he wrenches the knife away. Apparently that's not necessary. He watches, still primed, as Rey pounds the sorry creature into the pavement.

"...Holy shit." He thought they were going to have spill some of their own blood to get out of here. He's not at all disappointed that they didn't have to, but, once again, Rey has him stunned.

It takes him a second to register her question. He nods, "I'm fine." The implied observation being that the monster at their feet isn't. He's not too broken up about it. Brutality is the name of the game.

He shakes his head, as if rattling his brain a bit will clear it. "How the hell did you do that? I've never seen anybody punch that hard and I know a lotta tough people."

When it becomes clear that the manticore isn't getting back up anytime soon, Rey heaves a heavy exhale and steps back. She throws her hand back and forth, wringing the blood still wet on the arm she had used to subdue the creature.

The look that Firo is giving her -- she's seen it before. Many times, actually. It's no skin off her nose, because she's used to it.

"Am not people," she simply says.

Rather, the proper response would've been I'm not human, but it's all the same to her. People had done their damnedest to dehumanize her at any given chance. She's not about to get twisted up in specifics.

He blinks. "What?" She certainly looks like a people. Then again, Firo's learned people can surprise you. Maybe she's something like a homunculus..?

"Either way..." He smiles tiredly. "Thanks. If we were back home I'd offer to buy you a drink, but... Ah, well, I owe you, all right?"

It's always humbling to be helped by someone outside his close circle. Not pleasantly so. But even Firo can't deny that he really did need the hand this time.

There's visible relief that Firo allows the subject to drop before prying for more answers. It's not a particularly long and complex story that she feels necessary to indulge in their current circumstance.

Still wringing blood from her hands, Rey shakes her head at his mention of owing her. "No need. This is what I do."

Which is killing things. It's what she does best, and what she was made to do.

Is she a bodyguard? Or maybe a hitman, like Claire? He glances at the bloodied remains of the monster. Her style does seem a little similar to "Vino's"--which is leaving the target a puddle of blood and mush to ensure the job's been done. With the adrenaline slowly wearing off from their encounter, he's aching to ask. But escape comes first.

"Suit yourself." He shrugs and looks around to make sure nothing else is coming at them. "Guess we should get the hell outta here... But which way do we go?"

He definitely doesn't want to go back to where he just came from.

Rey doesn't give her "work" so much a second glance, doesn't even seem to care. It's been awhile since she's had to get her hands dirty, and it's not something she takes great pride in.

She glances to Firo, opening her mouth to speak when the ground shakes.

It's not an earthquake, she knows. She's felt this before, back in her "bedroom".

She whips her head to the road before them, seeing bits and pieces of it crumble like puzzle pieces. Giving way to a black void gaping back at them from all around. The snow becomes nothing.

"Not that way," Rey says as she begins retreating several steps before turning completely, snagging Firo by the shoulder with her clean hand and forcing him to come along.

The grab is more than enough to spur Firo into following her. He doesn't even have time to be thankful that she's using her clean hand.

Should he be as stunned as he is to see the world just give way into nothing? Slow learner he may be, the absurdity of everything he's experienced up until now should have prepared him for something like this.

If he hadn't already given up on the idea that this is all a drawn-out nightmare, this would be the last straw. He's not crazy enough to come up with this.

"What the hell is goin' on here?!"

Even Rey has more tact to realize that touching someone with the hand missing three fingers is preferable to smearing bloodstains across their clothing. Not that the thought's really crossed her mind, since she's more concerned with getting them out of this situation alive than worrying over the cleanliness of Firo's clothes.

"Just run!" She keeps him going ahead of her, occasionally glancing over her shoulder to check the state of the world behind them. She sees the manticore, bloodied and beaten, fall away into pieces with the darkness consuming the snowy road. It's crumbling, similar to the way that her bedroom disappeared when she had escaped with Charles.

Unlike her bedroom, however, there had been a discernible exit. A door. There is no door here. Only a road that keeps on going.

Firo obliges; when he looks back on this, he'll be glad that he was with someone who can take charge.

He doesn't look back. The future, though, is weighing on him. "We can't--" He takes a breath, "run forever."

There isn't even an end to the road or some sort of gate that might signal a way out. Like Rey, his room at least had an obvious exit.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

EVENT: MELPOMENE ▒ HOME

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