Day 7: Evening

Aftern-Evening: 3pm - Midnight

[ IRL Timeframe: January 22 - January 29, 2020. ]

After all of Seven's fights, ending in Luka taking Ten's hand as the other heroes arrive. The knights will be treated to the sight of something entirely unexplainable: Seven is wounded, laying on the asphalt with a bright white crossbow bolt sticking out of their body. They're still pouring black goop off of their body, but they appear to be wrapped in some kind of cloth tarp. Five is kneeling over them, dressed in a skin-covering assassin outfit that only reveals her five eyes peering out. In her hand is a phone, and that's really all that can be seen before she and Seven disappear into a portal in the ground.

Luka, meanwhile, is standing with Ten's hand in his and his crossbow laid on the ground and not in his hand. No matter what the arriving heroes cry out in order to get his attention, it's too late to stop him. Abruptly, the portal opens and both the Princess and Ten disappear into the ground.

Naturally, the hashtag #princessnapped is forged.

That doesn't prove to be the only hashtag to get some heavy use this evening. The #wizardfound and #robotwizard hashtags find a sudden, new reason to actively discuss what's going on.

The remaining heroes: Garrot, Gyre, Haizea, Matilda, Olivia, (and... where's Terrence?) will find that the events from earlier in the day have caught up to them. There's a crack like thunder as both the Wizard and the Protector flicker into existence and both land in the superhero pose in the center of the intersection that Luka just disappeared from.

The Protector, if possible, is looking even worse than before. He's sporting a black eye and numerous cuts on his forehead, cheeks, and arms. It looks like he's been lit on fire at least once, but even so he's holding his rapier out in anticipation of the next strike.

The Wizard, meanwhile, is finally openly visible to everyone after her absence. She looks rough. It's as if the areas where she'd been harmed have been replaced or repaired with robotics. The left side of her face is no longer bandaged, instead revealing that she now has a robotic eye with a glowing yellow ring. The cables that were visible in the video before are very clearly plugged in just behind her ear, trailing down over her shoulder and down her back beneath the robes.

And of course she's still wearing pajamas. But they look like they've seen better days, charred and ripped and shredded at every edge. In her hand, though, is a massive axe. One side of its head is a giant half-circle axe head while the other side is a heavy weight like a hammer. The entire weapon is jet black, but it has a glossy shine.

What's the worst that could happen?

The Weather
Cloudy, breezy.
48°F / 9°C
Brrr.

Prompts:

3:00pm The Garden, Unknown Location: When Luka falls through the portal with Ten, he'll become immediately aware that the monster has slipped himself closer and snuck his feet beneath Luka's to stabilize him. Despite the falling, he seems surprisingly stable in the air.

And then there's the soft crunch of grass beneath his feet and he shifts slightly, waiting for Luka to step back on his own. Wherever they are, the air is filled with the scents of wildflowers and scents that are both beautiful and entrancing in their complexity. It's clear that there are dozens, if not hundreds of flowers and plants in the immediate vicinity. There's the gentle warmth of sunlight on Luka's skin, clearly advertising that they're outside (or in a very clever indoor garden). But most calming is the gentle sounds of moving water. If Luka focuses, he'll be able to pick out that there's a small waterfall, several waterways, and multiple water features with water tumbling down over rocks. And, of course, a pool or a pond with fish gently swimming about beneath the surface.

But he'll be interrupted twice before he can lose himself. The first is Ten.

"We're here." He says, but if Luka's not shaken enough he'll realize that he doesn't hear Seven and his Seven sense isn't going wild. But the second distraction happens as Luka's phone bloops from an unknown sender with a text:

"Welcome to the Garden, Princess." The text reads... with no explanation of who or how they sent him the text. That's totally normal!

3:00pm Street Intersection, Bamborough: With the arrival of the Wizard and the Protector, it's very clear that shit is about to go down. But that absolutely isn't what the Wizard has in mind for this situation. She's the one running this game, and she isn't about to get five heroes wrapped up in her duel with the Protector. Before anyone can take an opportunity to make any attacks, and especially not the Protector, she snaps the fingers of her free hand five times.

And reality fractures. The way that the cracks in midair begin to fold and reflect the area and people around them, it's like the world is folding up into a trick mirror house. It's... actually exactly that. Reality twists and folds, forming reflections and containers out of the air itself until every single hero is enclosed in one. The hero in the middle of their own box, reflected on two opposite walls. But on the opposite two walls, the Wizard is visible beyond in one of them and the Protector is visible beyond in the other room. Uh. This conversation might get awkward. Worse is that they can't get distracted by their Seven senses, because no one can feel them anymore.

3:15pm To Everyone: In the middle of the earlier events, every hero in Bamborough receives a text from an unknown sender. The only one who's spared this text is Luka, because he got a text earlier. The text reads: "I can give you one teleport to anywhere today. Tell me when and to where. Don't be unreasonable!"

8:00pm Onward, Everywhere: The day is done, the events are finished. How does your character get home? Do they go home alone? Do they seek the company of their fellow heroes? Do they stay alone, or do they get a room together? Either way, it's a rough night for everyone.

Procedure:

Reply to the appropriate toplevel comments for events below. Indicate if a post is a private conversation with "Private" in the subject otherwise all threads should be open to interaction with others. Plan OOCly how you'd like to toss everyone around.

Activity Check: January 2020

[ IRL Timeframe: January 1st - January 31st, 2020 ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Don't start with that. Talk about something else first." He starts to answer, before he quickly glances to the side as a portal opens up over a nearby patch of grass.

Out of the portal flies Garrot, straight up for a foot, and then the portal vanishes just before he falls right back down for a foot and a half and onto the patch of grass with a soft 'thmp'.

Ten, meanwhile, glances down to where Garrot is now laying on the grass and blinks all ten of his eyes in a circle before announcing--

"Hello Garrot."

Honestly, Garrot was braced for a fight; he wasn't sure what the Protector would do, or how fast he was going to do it. Was he going to fire a gun, like Six's play showed? So he's absolutely relieved to be, uh, not there. The impact helps shake him from his combat focus, but he's still on the ground. So he picks up his head, taking in the beautiful scenery and the sounds of nature for a moment before confirming that yes, that was Ten.

And Luka is there, too. Whoever got him out of there deserved a hug.

"Hey, uh..." Garrot effortlessly does a sit-up, pulling himself up with only muscle before looking back and forth between the two. What he absolutely does not realize is that his hands are shaking, his palms are speckled with four gently bleeding puncture wounds each, and his fingernails are also a little bloody. He must've been gripping two things for dear life!

"Where are we?" The question, delivered with a shaky waver and ending with a shuddering breath, is directed to nobody in particular. Also, tears are streaming down his face.

Edited 2020-01-26 02:16 (UTC)

"G...Garrot?" Luka's turns in his direction, his surprise and slight confusion echoed in his voice. Where is everyone coming from? "Did Eight bring you here, too? Did he bring everyone here?"

It sets in that though the voice he heard was distinctly Garrot's, and Ten had confirmed so, there was something decidedly troubling about how he sounded. Luka rises from the bench, taking a few cautious steps toward the source.

"This is Twelve's garden. But... it's much bigger than you'd expect, isn't it?" He starts, his voice soft. "What happened? Are you okay?"

Garrot doesn't notice at first, but he seems... slower, somehow. Or, well, it's more that everything else seems to be moving in slow motion. Luka's talking so slowly, which gives him more than enough time to note that Eight may have been behind the teleportation, and that the two of them may not be alone here. In Twelve's garden. Twelve. Were this any other time in his life than just moments ago, the realization would have him all teeth and claws and bloodlust like a starving beast. But now?

Maybe it's the garden's similarities to the monastery, where he screamed and wailed and detoxed for years, where he built himself into something good, but he's oddly calm. At least until he registers that Luka, the bound servant of that murdering bastard, is moving towards him, is showing concern, and suddenly his hands are balled into fists, claws digging back into open wounds.

"N-No!" The demand is dire, as much barked order as panicked begging as the towering, proud Monkey Knight reflexively scrambled a few feet backwards like a scared, wounded animal. But... he meant to shout to stay away. Garrot's thoughts are racing, and were it not for the years of zen conditioning coming into play like muscle memory, the crushing weight of his entire world falling apart would have spurred him to violence. Instead, his racing mind brings his widening eyes to his hands as they open and tremble. He sees the tears fall from his face, salt and iron mixing in his palms. He tries to take a deep breath, and his nose is... congested? He closes his eyes for the briefest of moments. The monastery was the only place he felt attuned to his spirit, so he's able to center himself with an uneven, shuddering sigh, and-

"I..." Garrot's eyes open as one hand moves behind him, reaching to dislodge his first-aid kit from his belt. "I'm having a mental breakdown. Give me space." The adrenaline will wear off and his emotions will catch up to him if he doesn't hurry.

Luka recoils, shocked, at Garrot's aggressive response. He backs away, unsure of the scene unfolding in front of him. He nearly backs into Ten, though he finds comfort in knowing Ten was close by and takes position behind the monster.

"What happened?" He repeats himself, though the words slip out more on instinct than an expectation of an answer. Luka had last left Garrot in the cafe parking lot when Seven had thrown him through a portal. And from then on, Seven hadn't encountered any Knights - so what had Garrot seen to lead him to this?

"Ten, is he okay?" He whispers.

Ten, meanwhile, makes sure that Luka doesn't fall as he retreats from the new arrival that is Garrot.

He watches for a moment before attempting to explain to the Princess what he's seeing in front of him:

"Garrot just saw the Protector and the Wizard. He looks like he is about to throw up. I wouldn't call him okay." He decides is the best microsoft sam monotone explanation for what he's seeing in front of him.

"Mental breakdowns normally aren't okay, Princess." Garrot's words are monotone, almost dead, as he looses a sigh that causes his posture to just slump. As he eases into that shift, his hands retreat from his medkit with a syringe, a vial, and an elastic band. That's three things, and he only has two hands!

"Fuck!" A second, whimpering Garrot voice whines, like a kicked animal. Even under normal circumstances, it takes effort for him to keep his clones from speaking their mind about everything. But now? No way in hell. So the second Garrot that appears takes the elastic band and quickly ties it around the main body's arm.

"I think I do need to throw up and fuck there isn't even a trash can so where can I throw up and TEN wherecanIthrowup?!" While that breakdown-in-miniature unfolds, the main Garrot calmly fills the syringe with whatever's in that vial. With the ease precision of someone who spent a portion of his life recreationally ingesting drugs via the bloodstream, he sticks the syringe right into a vein and shoots up. Then suddenly, before the clone can escalate, it disappears in that typical cloud of golden-bronze dust. Dodging emotions is easier when a clone can experience them for you, take a little off the top.

"That was a military-grade sedative. It'll take a minute to circulate." Despite that, there's a bit of a hurried tone in Garrot's voice, because he's not quite sure when that adrenaline will run out! "I need somewhere quiet and empty." But then he clambers awkwardly to his feet, because it's possible he shouldn't be walking right now.

"Definitely somewhere I can vomit." Someone should absolutely keep him from wandering off on his own because he's sure as hell about to. Can't rely on none of these godsdamned whippersnappers to know when to help their godsdamned elders...

Fortunately as Garrot unfolds like... well, as he unravels at the seams, Ten is watching it happen. He pulls out his phone and sends a text to Eight to prepare for what's about to come.

So when Garrot asks for somewhere quiet and empty and with a place he can vomit, he gets all of those things at once.

A portal opens up directly beneath Garrot, depositing him a few inches off the ground in a remote part of the garden. It's a hidden circular area with benches surrounded by hedges. There's only one way out, and it has an (unlocked) wooden door to keep him separated. This is definitely a reading area.

And, of course, there's a bucket. Perfect for throwing up in. The benches are perfect for curling up on and losing it. It's a win-win.

As the portal closes now that Garrot's gone off to collect himself, Ten turns to Luka and:

"Eight gave him some private time."

There's a long, quiet pause while Luka stands, still behind Ten, in confusion. Everything happens so much.

"Ten..." Luka begins, breaking the silence as a slight panic sets in. "What happened to them after we went to the portal? Gyre seemed fine, but..."

He takes out his phone, checking for any messages or even if he has reception here.

"I haven't heard from anyone. I want to make sure they're all alive. I've never seen Garrot... like that, before."

Luka will find out that he does in fact have reception! But while he does that, Ten has a moment to formulate and then send an answer.

"They faced the Protector and were saved by the Wizard. Everyone is alive." He answers, pausing so that Luka can digest it. That was all he knew so that's what he was sharing.

"Oh. That sounds... bad."

He collapses back onto the bench, exhaling a deep sigh. Luka briefly wishes that maybe he could stay here forever instead? There's a vegetable garden and a soft breeze and the warm sun and absolutely not the burning pile that is everything waiting for him on Harsen Island.

"The Protector attacked them." He says aloud, more to himself than Ten. "I think it might be my fault. I shouldn't have come here."

Ten watches as Luka comes to the stupidest conclusion:

"This would have happened with or without you." He comments, deliberately pausing before adding:

"No one is dead if you are all here."

"Why did he attack everyone then?" He sits up, a skeptical expression crossing his face. "It doesn't make sense, even if you don't believe him. What does he gain from attacking all the Knights, unless he thinks they've all betrayed him?"

He rolls his phone around in his hands nervously, desperate for something to distract himself with.

"It happened after I went with you. What other reason could he have to do that?"

Ten lets Luka work through his thoughts, watching him carefully and quietly, seeing him reach some dramatic conclusions and--

"If he can't trust the knights, he kills them. She forced his hand early this year." He begins to explain, before glancing to the side at a portal that's starting to flicker and crackle into existence nearby,

"He would kill you too if he knew you suspected anything."

"I know. The Wizard told me so the first time we spoke, actually." He thinks back to his first encounter with her on that rooftop and how cocksure he'd been despite how little he'd truly understood at the time. "If he tries to kill me, though, he's going to regret it. I'm not going to die."

Luka hears the portal beginning to form and, now familiar with the sound, he braces himself for whatever or whoever is about to come through it.

"Who is it?" He preemptively asks Ten. Maybe he can tell?

"I did tell you that." The Wizard's voice arrives before she does, responding to Luka's first statement from the other side of the portal after a moment. She lands on the grass nearby, surprisingly softly for someone seemingly made of metal now.

Ten blinks at the Wizard, then at Luka, and decides that 'who is it' has already been answered before he could even chime in so he shrugs and adds:

"You're back late."

While the Wizard, meanwhile, glances back at the now-closed portal before summoning a mug of coffee a few inches from Luka's hand on his bench.

Despite Luka bracing himself for whatever came through the portal, he certainly wasn't prepared for this.

He tenses when he hears the voice of none other than the Wizard herself, still conditioned to view her as threat.

"For me?" Is all he manages to spit out, noting the radiating heat and the muted *clunk* of the mug appearing on the bench. His unburnt hand moves toward it instinctively anyway, lifting the mug and settling it in his lap. "... do you have any milk? Sugar?"

Abruptly there's the soft sound of sugar being poured into Luka's mug, followed by the sound of liquid pouring into his coffee, too. The distinct sugary smell wafts up towards Luka's face after it's been added. Looks like milk and sugar were available!

"It's quite hot." She explains, looking him over as she takes several slow, relaxed steps over to the edge of the water.

"The others are safe."

Ten, meanwhile, has just taken up observing quietly. He's... also a little surprised.

Edited 2020-01-29 01:30 (UTC)

"I'm glad." He says, still dumbfounded at her sudden appearance. Luka passes the mug back to the bench. It was, in fact, quite hot. Too hot to hold on his lap.

"How'd you make him think you were dead?" He asks, after a moment of silence passes. "He has eyes everywhere and he's not easy to fool."

He hopes this isn't a sensitive subject. Luka has found he doesn't quote approach the concept of death well, lately.

Fortunately for Luka, she's pretty nonchalant about the whole thing. She pops a mug of coffee into existence for herself, first.

"Getting shot in the head is an effective way of fooling almost anyone." She drops that nightmarish statement out like it's just a well-known fact.

"But I wouldn't recommend it to anyone." She adds, glancing over at Ten who is giving her just the most frustrated look.

What a statement to return to. He can't help perking up a little when he hears the cadence of the Wizard's voice, hurrying down the path away from Twelve and bringing himself to their little group just in time to hear her joking about the means of her own death. ?Death? Did she die? She certainly doesn't look incredible.

"Dying isn't exactly fun no matter how you do it," he says by way of announcing himself, opening his arms to let Fen go floating around them again. He goes to the Wizard's side, reaching up to tug at her sleeve. He wants to fuss but he's not sure how when she looks awful from head to toe basically.

On the other hand, he's looking better. Or well. All his cuts are sealed up anyway. He's definitely still coated in sticky goop, the smell of basil hanging around him.

"Are you alright? Does this mean everyone escaped?" he asks softly, making sure the knights are safe before he deals with either the Wizard or Luka.

Edited 2020-01-29 02:49 (UTC)

Luka is surprised and relieved to hear Gyre return. His presence relaxed the lingering tension of dealing with the Wizard one on one.

"They're all alive." Luka confirms, before taking a sip from the coffee mug. Surprisingly, the added sugar and milk were the perfect ratio to suit his tastes. "Or, so I hear."

It felt intrusive, somehow, inserting himself into a conversation between Gyre and the Wizard. It still felt like a place that he intrinsically didn't belong.

"Not everyone can get shot in the head and just bounce back like it's nothing." He adds. "A mortal wound is a mortal wound... in most cases."

The Wizard has a little smirk of a smile as Luka shares what she'd shared with him. She nods in confirmation when he says they're all alive, because they are. Also it's her secret how she got the perfect milk/sugar combination for Luka.

"Everyone should be here somewhere, or safe away from him. I sent him on a little trip for a while." She answers, vaguely, first. But after a sip of her coffee, she continues her story as Ten regurgitates his phone before holding up a news broadcast.

"I hit him like a baseball." She states, not elaborating that she got the idea from Sxicq. The news broadcast has two announcers analyzing how the Wizard managed to hit the Protector with a giant hammer-axe and send him straight out into the ocean. No one knew if he drowned, if he made it to safety, or what. All they knew is there was a visible blood path from where his body had been sent hurtling from the strike.

"Is all hope lost?" One of the announcers elaborates on, while the other talks about how the stock markets and economical predictions were in limbo with how grim the stakes were looking.

"He is barely injured." Ten chimes in, referring to the Protector, glancing towards the Wizard.

"He'll bounce back like it was nothing on his own, I had help." She finishes, agreeing with Ten, before glancing back at him with a little nod.

Edited 2020-01-29 03:17 (UTC)

Gyre turns to look at Luka, listening as he answers the question. He sighs as he hears, relaxing even if only slightly at the new that they're all safe. That's all that matters now. They got Seven out, and no one else died. That's enough.

Or well, it would be enough if Ten didn't go an show them that broadcast. His chest tightens awfully as he suddenly realizes what this must look like to the rest of the world. He doesn't doubt what they're doing at all, but he's more then aware of the power of a crowd when it's turned against you. His eyes flick over the faces of the newscasters, trying to find something in it to cling onto. The second they flip to economic predictions though, he's utterly lost, turning to the four of them again.

"Who helped?" he asks almost automatically, falling into the familiar rhythm he has with the Wizard. "How long will it take him to get back?"

He realizes something about halfway through that question, and his attention snaps to Luka, taking a nervous step towards him instead. "Does he know you're here?"

"I don't know." Luka admits. "I thought it must be why he attacked all the Knights after I'd gone, but Ten said that it wasn't."

He drums his fingers nervously against the mug in his hand, the sound of his rings making a satisfying clink with every tap.

"He miiiight have at least seen me go through the portal with Ten. They're calling it a 'hashtag kidnapping' online, but I know it looked very consensual. I even abandoned my weapon." Luka takes a moment to drink, not out of any real desire for coffee, but to settle his nerves with something warm and comforting.

"He can't... get to us here, can he?"

The Weather

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