[open] If I could store lightning in jars

[oathkeeper]

Who: Sora & OPEN
Where: The mysterious dark forest that appeared!
When: June 1
What: Bright "fireflies” have been luring gods and shinki alike deep into the forest. People are suddenly drawn to the little spots of light and can’t help but follow. There have been reports of screams and unhappy spirits and people never returning. All you know is that the sun doesn’t pierce the treetops and it’s dark.
Warnings: There's lots of creepy demons and stuff!!


[ A ]

[A sudden cold and heavy rain starts. Light and whimsical at first before it starts to pour down in thick sheets. Gray clouds blanket the sky and the sun is nearly blotted out. The atmosphere suddenly darkens and a chill is in the air.

Through the dark Sora notices some sparks of light somewhere near. They’re like candles flickering and dancing through the haze of the rain. A small smile pulls at his lips as he’s suddenly drawn to them like a moth to a flame. All he wants to do is reach out and touch one. They look like fairies.

You might notice Sora wandering through the rain, a blurry image of him slowly walking just out of your reach. Then he vanishes into the dark forest.]

[ B ]

[Perhaps it is you that got drawn into the bright dancing lights. Pulled into the woods as it makes your heart hammer. All you can focus on is the unseen force pulling your legs as you wander closer to the woods.

And suddenly everything is dark.

Sora manages to catch a glimpse of you before you vanish and he calls out.]

Hey!! Wait!! Don’t go in there!

[And promptly chases after you to stop you from falling deeper into darkness.]

[ C ]

[As soon as Sora enters the woods the rain stops. Or so it seems that way. He can still hear the thundering water in his ears but it sounds muted now. Like someone has put a blanket over the heavens and all he can hear is the thin thudding of the rain but no raindrops touch his face anymore.

He wanders through the woods as he looks up at the treetops to find that small beams of light do flicker through. Weakly, but they’re there. The gloom is still heavy.

His feet take him in a random direction until he spots a figure in the distance… Someone already lost here like him, or is that a tortured spirit...?]

[ wildcard! ]

[something else in mind?]

Comments

[oathkeeper]

[As soon as the barrier goes down the cloud of dark smoke starts swirling over them overhead. Sora snaps his attention upwards as he tries to see something tangible to hit inside of the dark cloud. With Kairi at his back he feels confident but also unsure what he should do next.

Just as Kairi predicted, there's soon the sound of the water bubbling again and the creature emerges and leaps out of the water. Sora has just enough nano seconds to pivot and use Guard Break against it. He attacks rapidly and smoothly and each stroke has the demon screeching angrily.

Then all of a sudden the darkness above attacks Sora directly and a vortex of black engulfs both him and the fish demon. Sora screams and everything goes black.]

[oathkeeper]

[Sora squints and tries to see anything in the darkness with each flash of light that he makes. He doesn't reply for some seconds as he keeps sprinting.

But soon enough he sees a flash of something that isn't his magic. ... Sunlight? It's hard to tell.]

There!!

[Sora points and changes to that direction. Just as he does two particularly large branches come down and sweep at them both. Sora gets throws down to the ground with a yelp.]

[toremainbehind]

[A guy like Sora? He believes it.

It takes a split second before Izumo runs after Sora, quickly grabbing his elbow.]

Sora! Remember what we just talked about with you running off.

[oathkeeper]

[Welp, there's his permission. Sanji isn't allowed to get mad at him for this now, if it goes south.]

Okay! Just hang tight.

[Sora lifts a hand and casts the spell Magnet, which allows for things to be pulled to Sora like ...well- a giant magnet. The force should be able to pluck that old man from the tree like picking an apple.]

Magnet!!

[And yeah he'll probably go flying right into Sora.]

[oathkeeper]

[Through the chaos of the birds flapping and the fire burning Sora doesn't notice that Reika isn't near him anymore. He keeps sprinting until the sound of the birds is mostly gone and he looks over his shoulder.

And stops.]

Reika? Reika!

[He'll shout too, because sticking together is much more important. Especially now that he thinks they're from the same Parthenon.

He tries to back track, calling her name.]

[kagenonadeshiko]

A secret?

[What a strange thing for a forest to ask of someone. And of course, it's strange for a forest to ask anything at all but life stopped making sense to her some time ago.

As for secrets, Ayumu keeps enough for a dozen people. Surely, there's something she could share on Sora's behalf. But which secret? There's just so many she has to reveal, most far too dark for Sora's ears to overhear though she supposes she could do it if she had to.

Maybe she can start out with something lighter, simpler. Test the waters a little.]

I lost my memory a while back, pretended that I still had it, and then it returned for real a few days ago?

[Would that qualify as a secret? She hasn't told Sora about it, even though Toshi's been informed. If that isn't good enough for the forest, she'll have to think of something else. Hopefully, if it's satisfied it will release whatever hold it has on Sora.]

[countingthecost]

[Sannan only manages to get a nod in before that eerie giggle punctuates the heavy silence. Yamanami tenses, but keeps his calm. They just need to be truthful to each question. Then they'll be out.]

I don't have any other powers.

[young_oldman]

Wait! We should proceed with caution!!

[But unfortunately, he's gonna have to run after Sora anyway to keep up with the kid. He can only hope they truly reach the edge with no more troubles snapping at their heels.]

[oathkeeper]

[He slows somewhat when Izumo grabs him but he still tugs Izumo forward.]

Sorry, I just- I really can't wait to get out of here!

[And as Sora says that he tugs Izumo past some trees and there's a bright flash.

Of the sun.

And out they are in a grassy open field. There's no rain or gloom it's just bright June sunlight.]

We made it!!

[oathkeeper]

[One of the little orbs of light touches down on Sora's shoulder. His eyes go glazed again as he tilts his head just slightly as if listening to the orb. Then it pops into nothing.]

... What was the memory you were trying to hide? And why?

[Sora looks drowsy, his voice distant again.]

[oathkeeper]

[The dark creature giggles again and weaves upwards into the treetops. But the voice sounds like it's close in their ears.]

"Is that so...? Have you other things to share with me? And you too.... god-child."

[Sora stiffens and keeps his gaze locked upwards, trying to find the figure.]

I have magic.

"Tell me something, young ones. Something your heart keeps locked up tight. So tightly that magic weapon of yours could never unlock."

[oathkeeper]

Come on, we're almost there Lu Meng!!

[Sorry Lu Meng, Sora is hankering to get out of here. He's tired of how the place makes his skin crawl.

He runs ahead and towards the light and he feels as if his lungs might burst and then there's a flash of white.

Of bright sunlight.

His running slows to a stop and he finds himself in a grassy field with only the June sun above their heads.]

We made it!!

[toremainbehind]

[Sunlight

Izumo evidently looks relieved when they're out of the forest, though them being out on the grassy field is a lot better than the dark forest.]

It's good to see the daylight again. [Or anything relatively better, anyway.]

[concasse]

[Regrets are had, and they're felt the moment Sora utters that word.

It's as if Sanji's been blessed with a moment's clairvoyance; he can chart exactly how ugly this is gonna turn out, but any attempt to dissuade Sora is replaced by a grimace once the spell catches hold of him. He can feel his body being tugged, first gently but then with growing impatience, and just when he thinks his hip socket is going to pop--

Sora's entirely correct. Sanji does go flying, much like a bullet, and the kid has 2 seconds to get the hell out of the way]

[young_oldman]

[Lu Meng slows down to a jog, a hand to block the rays as his eyes squint at the sudden sun. But as they finally break away from the wall of trees, he shares Sora's relief with a sigh of his own.]

We did. It's good that we got out, but please be careful. That could've been an ambush.

[countingthecost]

[...it's like the universe really has it out for him, huh? But regardless of how he feels about the matter, Sora's well-being counted on him telling the truth. Sannan takes a deep breath to keep his composure and calm.]

That's quite a vague description. You'll have to be more specific on what sort of secrets you'd want to pry out of us.

[minogame]

( He opens his mouth to start to say something but... what good would that really do? There's nothing they can really do about it now so he just turns back to Sora, following along, )

Mm, I'm okay. ( Especially now that the worst of things appears to be over. ) What about you?

( Because for all of the concern, Sora is the one who wandered in without any recollection how or why. )

[heatupnever]

[SUDDENLY]

Found you. Let's go before the fire attracts something worse.

[Because the only ones heading toward the fire would be things that aren't afraid of it, and thinking enemies would probably be way worse to fend off in the dark. Not something she wants to try, at any rate.]

You okay?

[oathkeeper]

Whua- Reika!

[Sora turns. He thought he lost her, and he was really worried for a second there. He looks relieved.]

I'm okay! You're okay!

[oathkeeper]

Good? It's great!!

[Sora turns around and glomps Izumo in a tight hug. Hope he doesn't mind the teenager clinging to him.]

We survived that dumb forest!

[oathkeeper]

[ ... Sora doesn't always have fast reflexes. Two seconds is not nearly enough for him to dodge roll out of the way this time and Sanji goes flying right into him. Sora wails and gets thrown to the ground in a painful heap. But it was Sora or a tree?? Probably less broken bones this way, tbh.]

ooophh!!

[Sora groans and lightly pushes at Sanji.]

...Sanji, are you okay...?

[Hey, it was the fastest and the easiest way to get him down, okay?]

[oathkeeper]

Ahh, we would've been able to handle it! You and me make a great team! You kick some serious butt!

[And Sora then decides to collapse onto his back onto the grassy space and stretches out like a star.]

The sun feels so good...

[volksdaemon]

[Schuldig shrugs.]

Have it your way then.

[He watches Sora go, and go, and go. Energizer Bunny of a kid, maybe that's where the 'light' part was all along - boundless light energy.

He watches some more, letting Sora counter.

Aaaand... then he teleports to where the cat gets knocked into. Schuldig grabs it by the scruff and holds it up.]

Bad kitty.

[And the cat stops fidgeting quite as much, then goes still. Schuldig turns to face Sora - the demon's not dead, as evidenced by the fact that Schuldig sets the cat down while still holding it by the scruff and it actually stands steady on its legs.]

[oathkeeper]

[He glances at Urashima and squeezes his hand gently.]

I'm okay too. I don't know how all this happened but I'm happy that we're okay. That's all that matters now.

[There's a sparkle that catches Sora eye in the next moment and Sora looks up. The sun is starting to peek easier through the treetops and the trees are starting to thin.]

Come on!

[And he tugs on Urashima, because he wants to run.]

[pure_radiantics]

[Kairi and Sora are separated as he starts fighting so intensely, and it takes Kairi by surprise when he screams.]

Sora!

[This isn't good, no, no- this is a whole different kind of darkness than just wandering around the forest! She starts reaching out with her hand, unafraid of touching the slimy thing, she just wants to find her friend.

But there's a kind of light that slowly gets brighter coming from somewhere around her and she doesn't know how, but she keeps reaching out, and that queasy feeling is there. The creature from which the darkness is emanating, and it likewise shrieks as Kairi's light approaches it.]

Border...

[She raises her hand to the proper position and waits, then runs towards where she can feel the monster's black energy coming from and slices above Sora's head.]

LINE!

[It howls from the cut, a splatter of something going over her, but it lets Sora go and as Kairi grabs for him, the two of them fall into the shallows of the river along with the fish monster.]

Sora? Sora, are you okay?