004 - Lucid Dreaming

[tabularasa_mods]

Lucid Dreaming Event Info Pt.1 ▲ Event Info Pt.2 ▼ Comments Please see the two info posts linked above for details on the nature of the event, the nightmares within, and the setting it takes place in. You may ask any unanswered questions in either post. If your character dies at any point during the dream event, please leave a comment in the death report thread to notify the mods.

As a final reminder, all characters will fall asleep for the full duration of this event whether you decide to take part or not. You may continue tagging threads that take place before the event, but everyone will fall asleep simultaneously.

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Falling Asleep, Waking Up
The shift happens without warning, much like the first time people appeared in the world. Perhaps you remember what you were doing in the last moments before a strange feeling of exhaustion overwhelmed you - or perhaps you remember nothing at all. Whatever it may be, you've appeared somewhere new. A seemingly ordinary train station, if not for the bizarre walls of flesh blocking the only exits. The only path forward is down into the pulsating depths, a humid breeze pushing at your back.

There may be others here with you, or you may be alone. Could there be more people trapped in this strange place? You won't find them just by standing around.

Nightmares
The screeching of a distant train will echo through the tunnels on occasion, shadows flicking through the translucent flesh of the walls. Sometimes, however, instead of fading away the noise will only grow louder, closer, until it sounds like the train should be upon you. It never appears, but something else always will.

The train is a siren call for nightmares, and you're unfortunate enough to be their victim. The shadows turn alive, twisting and growing as they rise up from the ground and begin to transform. What form they take varies, but the shadows of the mind know the true fears of those who walk among them. Are you prepared to face the darkness?

Volcanic Panic

The shadows congeal at the edges of the floor, and soon after a hot orange glow begins to fill the room - molten lava is pooling in from the other end of the tunnel. It rolls slowly forward, devouring everything it touches with an unquenchable searing hunger, leaving behind only the charred bones of its victims... although, strangely, the tunnels themselves appear to be completely unharmed.

Outrunning the flow of lava shouldn't be a problem, but there seems to be no end to it. How long can you run from something that never stops? Or worse, what happens if you find yourself surrounded? You'll need to find a way to higher ground before that happens.

A Radiant Plague

The shadows rise up into familiar shapes, and at first glance it'd be easy to mistake them for people. They may even share the faces and voices of people you know, stumbling towards you with wide, open arms... and empty, glowing eyes filled with an orange light. Something smells sickly sweet, and it's only once they're close enough to grab you that they begin to attack.

These are not your friends, and they'll do whatever it takes to make you one of them instead. Unfortunately, it's not an experience you'll be able to survive. Your only hope is to fight back before the plague can take hold, lest you become another mindless husk that knows only to further spread the infection.

Trust No One, Not Even Yourself

The shadows stretch and fill the air, choking everything in a thick blanket of darkness... before dispersing just as quickly as they'd appeared. A few moments pass and nothing else seems to be happening. You must've gotten lucky this time!

... Or did you?

Surely it can't be that simple. Nothing else here has been, so something must have happened just now. It's only you and the person you're currently traveling with... but are you sure that's really them right now? How do you know they haven't been possessed by another nightmare, waiting until you let your guard down to stab you in the back? Should you interrogate them to be sure, or start with restraining them and ask questions later? Wouldn't it be better to just kill them before things get out of hand? The sooner you strike, the safer you'll be when their true form emerges.

Yes, that must be the real explanation. It has to be them that's been possessed by a nightmare. What else could it be?

Joker’s Wild

There’s no limit to what form the shadows can take. The world may have its own perception of fear, but your nightmares are something only you could understand. What darkness lurks in the depths of your heart?

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code bases by tricklet

Comments

[forethinking]

(How in the fuck is Akechi still standing perfectly unmoving, almost like the attacks don't make a difference and much like he's attacking a wall. Ren is starting to get enraged, letting the words and the situation get the best of him, teeth-gritting in his frustration.

If Ren kills you, you won't have a man, you rage-filled idiot.

He refuses to allow that skill reach him, another backflip before he draws his gun, hopefully faster than Akechi can react before he fires half his available bullets.)

[simulatio]

[Akechi dodges, too. Ren's last trailing shot manages to snag him in the arm, but it doesn't slow him down. He can be wounded, but he doesn't even seem to notice, simply laughing again as if from the sheer thrill and madness of combat.]

That's more like it!! Blow for blow, until one of us is dead!

[He doesn't bother to draw a gun: with Satanael, Ren resists gun damage. Instead, he simply gestures for another Megidolaon. And again.]

[forethinking]

(This time, Ren holds his forearms up to help him support the damage... And he doesn't attack back. It's too shady at this point, past the line of Akechi's usual angry, homicidal fighting remarks and the fact that he really isn't bothered at all by any of the attacks he casts on the other, as it barely even hurts. Joker knows how much damage Akechi has taken, and yet, he's standing on his two feet, while Joker definitely has seen better days.

Fuck, is this another nightmare?)

What are you doing?

[simulatio]

Isn't it obvious?

[He looks at Ren, and a laugh bubbles up from his throat, harsh and unrestrained.]

I'm finally, finally going to defeat you.

[His voice pitches up higher as he stalks forward, eyes almost glowing behind his red-tinged visor.]

Come now. You didn't honestly buy that whole "repenting criminal" act, did you? These last few months, I was just biding my time, making you trust me, until I could finally destroy you. And look at you now!!

[Another laugh.]

You can barely fight back!! Are you really the same Joker I fought before? Did I weaken you that much? Your attacks do nothing.

[forethinking]

(Joker's eyes are as big as they could be, cold sweat running down his spine as he attempts to process what he just heard.

It's... Not true. It can't be true. It wouldn't be the first time Akechi has lied to him, but even in order to succeed in the most important mission of his life, there were holes in his story. There were slips.

Decided refusal to believe it comes quick, both from the emotional part of him that screams that there's no way the last few months have been a lie, and the logical part of his brain arguing that if he sees Shido repeatedly, this might as well just be an illusion of the Void.

Even so, this is not a fear of his. Either out of foolish faith or of a deeper connection, Ren has always been convinced that this was not even a remote possibility.)

You're not him.

(Hatred oozes from his words, the eyes behind the mask as intense as they could be as Satanael nearly triples in size behind him, intimidating and authoritarian, towering over them both and only stopping before he hits the ceiling.)

I will ask you once. Where is he?

[simulatio]

Joker.

[All at once, his voice takes on the smoothness of honey, even as Loki still drifts behind him. Satanael's size doesn't deter him as he steps forward with sure, confident steps. He pushes his mask up with one hand to reveal his face as he approaches, eyes never wavering from Ren's.]

So sure. So confident. So trusting. So willing to see the good in others, even if it doesn't exist.

[His eyes glimmer with a strange emotion as a smile tugs at his lips again.]

And I can assure you, it doesn't exist. Doing good is just performative for someone like me, after all. And oh, how I'll weep over your corpse when your friends find you. How much sympathy and attention they'll give me. I could do anything at all to them, and they'll chalk it up to the grief of man losing his lover.

[His clawed gauntlets clutch at his chest over his heart in fake sorrow.]

It's pathetic how easy you and your friends are to manipulate. Your feelings, your emotions. Poor little Yoshizawa-san doesn't even know the truth about me, does she? [He drops his hand.] How perfect.

And even if death isn't, shall we say, "permanent" even now... why, you'll just forgive me again, won't you?

[forethinking]

(The Shadow speaks, and it goes straight over Ren's head. Once he makes up his mind, there's not a force that can make him step back. A decisive, furious step after the other, Joker makes his way towards the Shadow with a grip tight around his knife. Soon, the blade is pressed against the neck, gaze not leaving the man for a second.)

I asked you a question.

(And he add pressure, only enough to slightly puncture the skin. It's a Shadow that bears the face of Akechi, but if the Thieves had to deal with seeing the Cognitive versions of themselves and their loved ones, certainly Joker can go through this too.

It's not real, the words only serve to enrage him.)

[simulatio]

Do it then.

[If anything, Akechi only presses closer into the blade, hints of that deranged smirk playing at his lips again. Loki still drifts behind him, dwarfed by the height of Satanael.]

I told you. One of us is going to die here.

[He barely seems to move, and yet suddenly the barrel of a gun is pressed to Ren's stomach.]

You searching eternity for the man you killed, doubt clawing at your heart with every step where you don't find me? Why, that's almost romantic. A way to make sure I'll never be forgotten, even if it's only by someone like you.

[forethinking]

Shut up!

(The voice comes out as an aggressive, stern order as he once more closes the distance between the blade and the neck, a deeper cut forming. It's almost like his own Shadow, in a way, that bleeds instead of proofing into smoke and it's rather disheartening, even if he doesn't waver in his posture or intensity.

The pressure is definitely on, with heat on his stomach and the knowledge that the Shadow will not hesitate to just do it. If he's scared, it barely shows on his expression aside from the tight upper lip and the narrowed eyes. He can't act without the fucking directions.)

Where's Goro?

[simulatio]

I'm right here.

[His empty right hand rises to where Ren can see it, reaching forward in a gentle attempt to cup his cheek.]

Shall I drop my gun? Beg for forgiveness? How much will you let me do to you before you accept the kind of person I am, Ren?

[forethinking]

You're a Shadow.

(And now, it makes much more sense why he's seen no objections, conscious or otherwise, at the open and intimate affection.

He tilts his head away from the hand, naturally.)

What did you do to him?

[simulatio]

That hurts.

[His hand wavers in the air where his cheek had been.]

You're so willing to believe in me, after everything I've done to you, that you can't accept the inevitable truth.

[Heedless of the knife, he drags the gun up higher.]

For Satanael to heal you, you have to win the fight, don't you? I haven't even used my full power against you.

[He leans in closer still, turns his head just enough so the blade rests against his carodid artery, and whispers,]

Debilitate.

[This close, Loki's red-hot sword slices as though to burn them both, casting his spell to drain Ren's strength and vitality, lower his defenses and exhaust him in one blow.]

[forethinking]

(This Akechi's fearless, just like the real one, leaning towards the dagger and daring him to do it. It would be a lie to say his patience wasn't diminishing - he needs to get this over with and find Goro, make sure he's alright, get rid of this menace of a Shadow before the girls arrive. Fuck this, he can find Akechi on his own.

It spills more and more bullshit and Ren's had enough of it. The moment he starts to cut through the neck, the last words hit and all his life force is sucked from his body, leaving him pale, coughing and weak. Satanael had already placed his skill - whatever Cognitive Akechi does next, he knows it won't kill him, only leaving him close enough to death for Ren to obliterate it.

Right now, even keeping the dagger on the other is exhausting. It will be for a while.)

Fuck you.

[simulatio]

I'd like that.

[He wipes at the blood on his neck with a gloved hand, eyes glimmering with a mad orange light as if the power of that blazing red Persona behind him is too much to be contained in such a small form. Another Megidolaon after being hit with Debilitate, with the damage he'd already sustained? Akechi laughs as the power builds, arms wide at his side as his spine nearly snaps in half backward.]

Suffer while you die! [he taunts, and then from nowhere, a black and blue blur charges into Ren.

Clawed boots dig into his side as he's bodily kicked out of the way of the spell with a sharp bark of,] Move!

[The real Goro Akechi stands in the space he'd forcibly kicked Ren out of as the full brunt of the Megidolaon explodes at his feet, washing the fleshy cavern in bright white light. When the light clears, the bodysuit-clad Akechi's dropped to one knee, gasping and coughing for breath.]

Get out of here! [he orders harshly, trying to struggle to his feet.]

[forethinking]

(In the tiny second he had to think, he had a plan - he'd surely withstand this attack, giving the opportunity to attack with his own. He's getting out of options with how even the most powerful attack doesn't seem to make a difference - but surely a sinful bullet could shut this thing up, couldn't it?

He's already braced himself for the attack when suddenly, he's been pushed out of the way. He coughs when he hits the ground, swallowing the blood that found its way to his mouth before he got to process what was going on.

Goro. Goro against that thing. Not again. Ren didn't even think twice before standing up, each and every bone in his body feeling like they're about to snap while he does it.)

Not a chance. (Stubborn as ever, Ren steps back to where he had once been.)

I'm not leaving you.

cw character death, we in it now fam

[simulatio]

That thing doesn't die.

[Clawed gauntlets dig into the ground, ripping up muscle and sinew as Akechi shoves himself upright, clutching his ribs.

With the real Akechi standing across from it, somehow, the fake looks more puppet-like than before, its joints creaking, eyes just a little glassy. Fake, artificial when compared to the real thing, plastic smile stretched across perfect skin.]

It's going to keep hunting you, and it won't stop. Believe me, I've tried.

[If Ren looks, there are fresh and scabbed wounds sliced through the other boy's bodysuit, hinting that it isn't his first encounter with the apparition.]

That's right. [Even its voice sounds more artificial now, like it's being broadcast over TV.] Hurting you is the only thing I'm capable of, after all.

[Akechi snarls, reaching for a gun he simply doesn't have. He inhales to yell for Loki, but before he can say anything, a gunshot echoes through the cavern. It sounds like the engine room again, even though there's no way these fleshy walls can echo like that.

Akechi's horned mask shatters, and the back of his helmet cracks. Soundlessly, the older boy crumples, eyes wide as blood leaks down his face. Across the cavern, the doppelganger collapses like a marionette, limbs akimbo at awkward angles. The pistol it had held in its hand clatters across the ground, sound inordinately loud in the wide space.]

[forethinking]

(Obviously so. Even colossal damage hasn't scratched it.

And just now, it hits him. Is this why he hasn't seen Akechi so much as of late? Clearly, he has been trying to keep that thing at bay with how battered up Akechi is, and has been for a while given that there are scarring wounds on his skin.

Akechi should have told him, but this is not the time or place to start an argument over that, when there are clearer priorities to deal with first, nor is it the time to try and analyze what exactly does that represent. They can talk about it after this is done with, when that thing is ripped into pieces on the ground.

With the knife in hands, Ren stands next to his partner, ready to lunge with all that he has, even if it's not at its full strength of capacity as of now. It doesn't matter. The puppet then speaks, and Ren's eyes double in size.

Is that Akechi's nightmare? Hurting him? There are a million things that force their way into his brain, and Ren has to make an effort to repress them and keep focused, feet prepared to dash and finally, finally end this. They're together and there's not a doubt in his mind that they can beat it.

Until they can't. Just with the booming sound of a firing gun, the ground beneath them feels like it has disappeared, his blood suddenly becoming frozen inside his veins and there's deafening ringing in his ears. All he sees is that moment again, and he can't escape it in his brain, both his memory and Akechi's melding into the purest form of desperation, longing, sorrow and just the feeling of death weighing him, nearly halting his own breath.

Simultaneously, the Shadow ceases in its existence - a threat that Ren would have paid little mind when he ran towards the body, kneeling and taking the lifeless boy into his arms. First, there's denial, Ren's hands frantically looking for a pulse, a heartbeat, something to indicate that perhaps, it's not all lost. Naturally, he finds none and it finally hits him.

Goro's gone.

It takes him long minutes to get himself back together the best he could, even if it's poorly, perhaps managing to make the tears stop falling upon the other boy's face before he takes his phone in hands. He needs to tell the others and he must be stronger than ever now.)

[simulatio]

[The Shadow dissolves into the fleshy floor, but Akechi's body remains, eyes wide open and staring endlessly upward, almost as if surprised. Under all the blood, it's the expression Ren's used to seeing while the older boy is sleeping; the only time his tension eases and his face relaxes.

His black and blue bodysuit dissolves away in a flicker of blue flame, leaving him in his usual school uniform. The entry wound from the gunshot is relatively clean, at least; the exit wound is not. His helmet had kept the bullet contained, and now with that gone, it's best not to think about the gore splattered against the ground beneath him.

No parting words, no sad goodbyes. He was there, and now he's dead.]