Add [ 𝙼𝚊𝚍 𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚘𝚡 ] (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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thenearshore2018-01-03 05:27 pm
subtract) wrote in thenearshore2018-01-03 05:27 pm
[CLOSED]
Who: Add, Rin Okumura, Zelda, Oscar, Lenneth... and more TBA!
Where: The depths of Henir's temple
When: October 1st through the 2nd
What: Doing science on the spooky chaos temple core was never a good plan.
Warnings: Various degrees of mind control/manipulation, existential horror, and at least one death. Will update as needed.
Once the formal party is over, Add is already back at his temple making preparations. A pair of messages are sent to his "assistants" to ensure that they're aware of the date—a simple reminder and directions to his temple, along with the slightly ominous "Knock first, I'm not chasing you down if you get lost."
The outside of the temple is looking especially unkempt and overgrown today, but if Add's instructions are followed the door will open up into a wide dark space, blue cubes floating aimlessly about. Star-like lights glitter distantly in the abyss, occasionally blocked out by drifting dark shapes. Even further beyond that is a giant blue orb that never quite seems to stay in the same place. It's hard to miss, at least, but trying to gauge how big or far away it is might give you a headache.
Gravity appears to "stick" to the surface of each cube—any surface—but only as long as you remain in contact with them. So, get used to floating around and jumping between them. The meeting point is at the largest cube near the centre of the cluster, as per Add's directions.
Where: The depths of Henir's temple
When: October 1st through the 2nd
What: Doing science on the spooky chaos temple core was never a good plan.
Warnings: Various degrees of mind control/manipulation, existential horror, and at least one death. Will update as needed.
Once the formal party is over, Add is already back at his temple making preparations. A pair of messages are sent to his "assistants" to ensure that they're aware of the date—a simple reminder and directions to his temple, along with the slightly ominous "Knock first, I'm not chasing you down if you get lost."
The outside of the temple is looking especially unkempt and overgrown today, but if Add's instructions are followed the door will open up into a wide dark space, blue cubes floating aimlessly about. Star-like lights glitter distantly in the abyss, occasionally blocked out by drifting dark shapes. Even further beyond that is a giant blue orb that never quite seems to stay in the same place. It's hard to miss, at least, but trying to gauge how big or far away it is might give you a headache.
Gravity appears to "stick" to the surface of each cube—any surface—but only as long as you remain in contact with them. So, get used to floating around and jumping between them. The meeting point is at the largest cube near the centre of the cluster, as per Add's directions.
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[As much as he's tried to act like he knows what he's doing... really, this is as far as he can be certain. He dimly recalls the research papers he read so many years ago, detailing what little was recorded of the Henir experiments. He knows that objects from Henir's space contain massive quantities of raw energy, possibly enough to compete with even the original El Stone in its prime, and he's performed enough tests on these deep-space objects to know that they're not quite enough for his needs. Nothing was ever reported on the core itself, besides the fact that it was theorized to exist. The ancient experiments were discontinued without any reason given. His own have stopped before the core, at least for now.
It should be fine since he's Henir, shouldn't it? This is his domain now. There's no reason why he shouldn't be able to tap into its powers. He just has to stay calm and approach this with caution.]
Zelda, Oscar—if something goes wrong or the core starts to resist, do whatever you can to restrain it. Lenneth, you are to assist them with your powers if such a situation occurs. Otherwise, you are to assist me with channelling the core's energy. Once I have control of the energy's flow, Dynamo will handle the rest.
Rin... try to stay out of the way. [if he sounds a bit exasperated, it's because he already regrets letting the shinki come along.]
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As they approach the core, Rin notices how their surroundings seem to distort. The air around them feels a little stifling. The feeling seems to intensify the closer they get. It's not enough to scare Rin off, but it does give him an uneasy feeling. His blue eyes continue to gawk at the energy source until Add refers to him. Stay out of the way...shouldn't be too hard.]
Gotcha! [ He gives him a thumbs up, just to hide his own uncertainty. Everything will be okay, right?]
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That statement is at odds with my instincts. But your instructions are understood. [Though her own ability to act on them may be another matter entirely. 'Assist with her powers' is far outside her usual scope of behavior...]
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[After all if Add did, then none of them would be here; he'd just be gloating about it somewhere instead.]
But it will be worth any troubles we encounter if we are able to learn something of returning to our own worlds. We just need to stay alert and focused on our objective.
[Expect the worst but hope for the best. It's all they really can do, at this point.]
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So all that's left is to go forward. Take a chance and hope for success.]
Alright. We'll take this slowly.
[Five of the dynamos resume their position at the back, and the cube gradually starts to move again. The sixth remains at Add's side, projecting a small holoscreen as he continues to monitor the energy levels. They only need to go far enough to tap into the core's power. With the amount it appears to be radiating, that should leave them with plenty of space to keep their distance.
Inches at a time, the cube crawls forward within the endlessly black abyss, stopping every so often for Add to check his scanners. The chaotic aura becomes more and more stifling. But as unnerving as it may be, it hasn't done anything to harm them yet. Clearly whatever dangerous energy the core is radiating is still safely contained within in. Unfortunate, since he intends to use it for himself.
Several minutes pass uneventfully, but the first sign of something wrong comes when Add reaches the next stopping point, carefully calculated and controlled with his machines. They push to cancel the momentum again, but the cube doesn't stop.
Add pauses, confused at first and wondering if his machines might be malfunctioning... but they're responding to him just fine. The cube seems to be moving on its own. He decides not to say anything just yet, attempting to exert more force with Dynamo to cancel the extra movement. He puts the scanner readings aside for now, letting his sixth dynamo join the rest at the front of the cube. For a moment the cube seems to slow to a stop again, albeit clearly further than Add intended to move that time... but he's only able to maintain it for a few seconds before the cube begins to push forward with even greater strength, his tiny machines quivering against the growing force.
This isn't something he's encountered in here before, but it's occurring to him now that the core might have its own gravity.]
Lenneth, I need you to— [and that's as much as he can get out before Dynamo's hold buckles, the cube lurching forward at a far more distressing speed. Add flinches and grabs his head as warning alarms start blaring in the back of his mind.
The core is definitely getting closer now.]
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At first things seem to be going smoothly, then there's this slight hiccup where the cube doesn't cease it's movement. If Add does manages to make it halt, it's only for a few seconds before the cube starts moving on it's own. Things start to go downhill when the cube lurches forward, causing Rin to fall face forward from the abrupt acceleration.
He lifts his head enough to see them speeding towards the core. What should they do now?! Rin wants to do something, but he remembers that he made a promise to not interfere. Damn it!]
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... The oldest stories of Hyrule speak of a primordial darkness, something born from the chaos that existed before the Golden Goddesses brought time and order to the world. An antithesis to all the life and laws born in the Goddesses' light. As the core looms ever closer overhead, she finds herself remembering those ancient stories, and wondering if the primordial darkness they spoke of was anything like this.
It is said Hylia beat back the darkness, though, and Hylia's blood runs through her veins. Not only that, but the very essence of the goddess that gave the world its laws rests literally in the palm of her hand. She has to be able to do this.]
Add!
[Now is not the time to be freezing up in panic!]
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[But there is nothing to fight save her instinct.]
[The Valkyrie steps forward and reaches out, arms lifted to clamp her hands onto the shoulders of her comrades. 'Clamp' is not an understatement, either; both Zelda and Add must cope with a pressure that is not entirely short of painful. But with it, power: a vast flood of power within her, now theirs for the taking.]?
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When Lenneth clamps down on his shoulder he makes a pained sound and winces, but the extra flow of power is immediately noticeable. He bites down on his lip, focusing all his energy into his machines. With Zelda's beam still drilling into the core he's able to slowly start pushing against its gravity again, his arms shaking from the effort as sparks of violet energy snap through the air.
If they can keep this up they'll be able to retreat. It's annoying, but it's better to fall back and come up with a new plan than try to keep going under these conditions. If he can just muster up a bit more force...
But his thoughts are interrupted by a loud and prolonged crack, like glass starting to break under a heavy strain. The cube they're standing on is losing its shape, distorting and wavering with each ripple that tears across the void.
When the next ripple hits, the cube shatters into hundreds of pieces.
The dynamos go flying behind them, hopelessly out of Add's reach. And with no vessel and nothing to slow its pull, they're left completely at the mercy of the core.]
Shit, hang on! [there's no time left, they're going to hit it no matter what so he tries to reach out and grab Rin before they get separated—]
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Everything goes black, sight and sound blotted out by the endless nothing, an ice-cold numbness coursing through their bodies. The overwhelming chaos around them grasps hungrily at the edges of their minds. It pulls and prods relentlessly, as if the core itself is curious about the strange new entities that've fallen into its lifeless domain.]
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flying
flying
falling--
Impa told her once that she should not fear the dark corners of the world. That shadow and light are simply two sides of the same coin, both natural and necessary in the world created by the Golden Goddesses, both able to be used for good or for ill. But what she's been plunged into now is nothing like the gentle shadows that protected her from the Evil King's sight for seven years; this darkness is all encompassing, sentient and hungry, incapable of sustaining anything but itself within it.
She's cold. She can't hear anything, see anything, but she feels so cold and alone--
Mistress Zelda!
But she's not.
Oscar.
The core pries at her mind, but there's another presence in there too, one that does not appreciate this turn of events one bit. Help me, she thinks, and he does, resisting and repelling the void from its attempts to invade his goddess' mind. Whether his power is strong enough to aid the others as well is something she cannot be sure of, but the momentary relief allows her to think of something other than the endless, lifeless nothing surrounding her.
This was not what any of them planned for, but she still has a role to play. She has to protect them, somehow.
The back of her right hand begins to glow as she allows the essence of the Goddess of Wisdom to spill forth, bringing light and order to this chaotic void, as she has done before. But even as all-powerful as the Triforce might be, it is only a fraction of the Goddess' true power, and she lacks the other pieces besides.
Still. Even if she cannot illuminate the entire void, perhaps it will be enough to light the way for her companions to that perhaps they might regroup and escape this nightmarish world.]
A... Add. Lenneth. Rin. Can you hear me?
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He tries to peer through the abyss, trying to find anyone else, but he can't even see his hand in front of his face. How can he find them? Where was Add?
Rin must feel mentally weak, the darkness starts to creep into his mind. Intensifying his helplessness, and the coldness. It almost feels as if it's going to suffocate him, and he starts to panic. He screams out, but the sound doesn't make it out. Zelda's light manages to peek through to where he is, and warmth of the light staves off the darkness for now.
Maybe Add and the Valkyrie can see it,too. Zelda's voice sounds very clear to him, despite the deafness he experienced before.] I hear you!
[He doesn't go to the light right away, trying to locate his god first.]
Add! Where are you?
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[The Valkyrie's wings spread wide, great gleaming arcs of blue-white feathers that spread from her back as more spiritual energy than matter. There is no air to catch, but they never catch air to begin with. For one moment, the Valkyrie hangs, shining, in the midst of the darkness, like the true goddess she is.]
[Her mind is not mortal, and so she thinks the void is not threat to her. Perhaps had she known the truth, she would have prepared for it... Academically, she is correct not to worry, knowing what she knows.]
[She doesn't know the void has found a crack in the seal on her memories. She doesn't know the seal is cracked, she doesn't know it exists. So when the void breaks it open as casually as one might crack an eggshell, the pain is sudden and intense, like an axe driven into her skull but also like her soul has abruptly swollen so greatly it cannot contain what it holds. Every nerve screams that she is being ripped apart, body, soul, and spirit.]
[The Valkyrie arches her back, eyes wide open and blank.]
[Memory.]
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
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Except it stops. The darkness doesn't recede, but its hold on him softens into something almost soothing. He can distinctly feel the strange energy flowing tightly around him—through him—but the sense of danger is gone, and his panic slowly fades as he eases into the void's embrace. This is Henir's domain, the heart of his temple. Of course he'd be welcomed here.
He's tempted to just drift off into a hazy sleep, but something bright and blinding pierces through the thick darkness surrounding him. The light feels painful, and he lifts a hand to shield his eyes. There's shouting nearby, someone screaming, a prickle of fear along the back of his neck. Gradually, his awareness starts to return to him as his mind and body adjust to the situation.]
Zelda...? [He sounds uncertain, though his voice booms and echoes strangely in the unnatural space. He recognizes that light.] Ugh... where is everyone? I can't see anything...
[Add closes his eyes, trying to summon his clairvoyance to peer through the blinding light. There's a slight shudder through the void as he unconsciously draws on its power, a large blue and black eye blinking open in the darkness.
Except instead of just one eye, hundreds of eyes open up around them, forming a giant sphere that seems like it might encompass the entire core. The ones pointed at Zelda squint uncomfortably.
Well. Now Add can see literally everything in here, and it's super weird. The eyes glance around in unison as he locates the rest of his party.]
Is everyone okay? I think I'm... ah, over here. [He stares at himself, which is also super weird. He's been pulled much deeper into the core than the rest, barely visible as a shadowy silhouette against the glowing blue irises. He focuses on himself for a moment longer before dividing his attention evenly between the other three.] I'm fine. How's everyone else?
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[Okay. Okay. Stay calm, Zelda. Take stock of the situation and focus. Rin seems like he's alright, Lenneth is definitely compromised, somehow, and Add is...
Add is everywhere, apparently.
Zelda squints suspiciously at the eyes that squint at her, and absolutely no part of her is tempted to turn off her light. Dread sinks like a block of ice in her gut, but she can't tell if that's an effect of the core or her own intuition.]
I am uninjured; I am going to check on Lenneth.
[Rin is clearly making a beeline for his god, so that leaves the Valkyrie for her. Except it takes her a second to make any progress on that front-- she tries swimming as she would in water, but with nothing to push against, she doesn't make it very far. Fortunately, Oscar's shinki power once again proves to be the most useful of all in this situation. Dividing his attention between protecting Zelda's mind and moving her body means that it's slow going, but soon enough she's floating through the void, looking for all intents and purposes like a gently falling star.]
Do you have any ideas on how to get out of here?
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He hears Add after awhile, he seems to be okay. The scientist speaking normal enough, until suddenly Rin finds himself surrounded by eyeballs! It's the most creepiest, scrutinizing thing he's ever seen in his life. At least, currently with his lack of memory. The teenage shinki is at awe of how to fathom this, and so he goes for the first thing that comes off the top of his head.]
How the fuck are you fine?! You're a mass of eyeballs! Eyeballs!
[ He catches what remains of Add,the shadowy silhouette that he tries his best to get to. Though it's increasing hard without some sort of propulsion to move him forward. Flailing around in zero gravity doesn't seem to get him anywhere.
With all the eyeballs, the space becomes even more clear, and he can see Zelda and Lenneth. The princess seems to be making strides to get to their comrade, but there has to be a better way to manuver around.]
Maybe you can help us out, and call your dynamos in here.
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[Her expression is agony.]
Lucian!
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I think... I might be able to reach Dynamo. Hang on, let me try something else first. Tell me if anything weird happens.
[The eyes all close shut in a wave, disappearing and returning the space to total darkness (aside from Zelda's light, anyway). Even without the eyes in place, though, Add finds he has no trouble finding everyone within the core, picturing Rin in his mind as he wills the void to cooperate. He's the god of this place—he should get to decide the rules.
There's another shudder through the void as Add asserts himself, and an invisible force starts to wrap itself around Rin's body, holding him in place and restricting his movements. It's a bit uncomfortable, tightening and easing itself as Add tries to find the proper balance, but eventually he deems it acceptable and starts to move Rin through the void. He stops once he's next to Add, the hold on him lifting instantly.
The darkness around Add seems to be especially thick, though the glowing and glittering decorations on his outfit make him a lot easier to see. Physically, he's fine, though his body is a bit unnaturally cold to the touch right now. He opens his eyes normally, relieved to see his shinki is alright.]
... It works kind of like controlling Dynamo, but with a lot more features. [controlling an array of six hovering drones vs controlling all the laws of physics within a contained space] I'll see what else I can do with this. What's going on with Lenneth?
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She... She seems like she's in pain, but I do not see any injuries...
[She answers Add, uncertain. But they don't have a lot of options right now. With a gentle touch, Zelda places her hands on Lenneth's shoulders, trying to get the Valkyrie to look her in the eye.]
Lenneth. Lenneth. Wherever you are, you have to come back to us!
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Once he's at Add's side, the power navigating him disappears. He's able to see for himself that his god is okay. Although, he seems to be shroud in the darkness, and that unnerves Rin. Is it really okay for Add to take control of the void?
His attention leaves Add to see how Zelda is dealing with the Valkyrie. It's hard to imagine such a stoic, and composed warrior could now be screaming in hysteria. He frowns,something's not right.
He turns back to Add.]
We've got to get outta here. You didn't see an exit somewhere with those creepy eyes?
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[That lifeless mien breaks, after a moment, with a tremble in her hand, as her fingers slowly curl into a fist.]
I am...
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Lenneth seems to be... better? Maybe? But he frowns at Rin's question, a few more floating eyes appearing around Add and his shinki. It's easier to just extend his clairvoyance in this state rather than open his real eyes at the same time.]
I don't imagine this place would have an "exit" in a traditional sense. It's essentially just a giant ball of energy with a powerful gravitational force holding us inside. All we need to do is reach the outer surface and fight the core's gravity and we should be able to leave. [In theory. They didn't meet much resistance on the way in, so it should be fine on the way out.
... still, he hesitates. It's true that they should probably focus on getting out of here... but he feels so powerful right now. Like a real god. Like he could really do anything right now if he tried. And isn't this exactly what they came here for in the first place? To find a massive well of divine power and harness it for their own needs. Why leave now only to come back later when it'd make more sense to try it now?
The darkness coils around him, and the more he thinks about it the more it sounds like the right decision.]
I should be able to get us out of here, but I need some more time to figure out the controls. [And pull in Dynamo. He'll be able to control more of the core's power with Dynamo's assistance, and the timespace coordinates for the portal are stored on it as well.] After that it'll be a cakewalk. Things might look bad right now, but I don't think this place can actually do much to hurt us. We all just have to stay calm until we can leave.
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The eyes reappear, and Zelda stares back at them, her expression turning to one of confusion and alarm as Add tries to reassure them.]
It can't do much to hurt us...? Add, this place has been clawing at my mind since we fell into it. Kageki has been trying to protect me, but... [She doesn't know how long Oscar can last against this, and she's not very keen on finding out.] ... I have to imagine Lenneth's state is because of that as well. Rin, how are you feeling? Is it the same for you?
[Is Add the only one that doesn't feel it?]
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Thankfully, Zelda acts as the voice of reason. If Lenneth's state isn't enough to prove their escape, then her words should carry more weight.]
It's as the princess says! At first, I thought I was a goner. When I was further out, I felt as if something was trying to get inside my head. Though I don't feel it so much now.
[He doesn't know if being closer to his God staves off the effect, or maybe it's Add harnessing the power of the core that distracts it away from him. Still...]
This place is givin' me major heebie-jeebies! If we have to fight our way, then let's do that!
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[Add's statement coaxes coherent words out of the Valkyrie, if barely so. One eye half-opens, then the other, though her form has no strength in it. The pain she feels is not physical as mortals would understand it.]
Your souls... are in danger here.
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sorry for the delay, everyone
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