001 - open

[groundzeroes]

🧙 WHO: Rei Amayado & Anyone
⚔️️ WHAT: A research stint at the library, or Fear Cave Crystal Conquering
🕒 WHEN: Mid January
🗺️ WHERE: Camelot Public Library & Brave of Soul cave
⚠️ WARNINGS: none ATM. Possible later: language, vague hospital-oriented trauma mentioned (as part of the greatest fear trial)

Internet Trolls

[Camelot's public library is pretty fancy, in keeping with the royal capital's image. Full of traditional effects like ceiling-tall book stacks and modern amenities like a little cafe, it houses resources for any kind of patron.

While not usually one to step foot in a library, Rei is currently situated at a table tucked away between some of the stacks on the main floor. Using the extant troll quest as explanation, he has commandeered two laptops from the circulation desk (and from some very grateful librarians-- that lewd-spamming troll has been making their lives pretty difficult), and is busy typing on one while the other stands by with an auto-refreshing feed of some kind.

He's also got several books pulled from the shelves and stacked in a few piles beside him. AOL: A Founding History and FaySQL Queries for Mere Mortals are probably programming-related in some capacity, but some others are more broad: Dark Magic and its Nomenclature: A Dissertation on Language, On The Origin of Magical Species, Revised Hexes: A Primer... and it looks like there's a manga volume buried in there, too. He looks like a college student during finals week (although perhaps more well-rested).

Should you pass by looking for a seat, Rei will look up with a smile (and a wink if he knows you) and scoot his stuff aside to make room.]

Oh, 'scuse me.

Brave of Soul

i. outside
[Rei has made his way to Albion's White Cliffs, intent on entering the eerie cave said to hold the mirror-required crystals. Rei looks ready enough, though his familiar, a large hou-ou with trailing tailfeathers, is perched on a branch nearby with an expression that can only be described as disdainful.

That cave is dark, partly magicless, and most of all dirty. She is NOT going in there, moral support be damned.

Tossing the flashlight in his hand idly, Rei sighs up at the bird.]

All right, princess. You stay there. But if the crystals are nice enough, I'm keeping them instead of handing 'em over.


ii. inside
[The cave IS, in fact, very dark, and the ground damp and cold with seeping seawater; it's a perfect location for a test of nerves. Rei counts himself lucky that he picked up a normal flashlight instead of a magic-powered one; it very well may have shut off once he hit the magic-damping section. Rei is TOO OLD to spend any amount of time wandering around blind in a cave.

Should he encounter someone on his way in, Rei will greet them-- though his smile may be a bit hard to see without the flashlight on it.]

If two people go in at once, do you think the illusion will show some god-awful fear combo?

Comments

brave of soul i;

[monostich]

[...He's pretty sure he's not supposed to have overheard that. What if he got mad over it or something? Isn't he worried about someone else finding out about his... His schemes and getting him into trouble??

...Should he say anything? Do anything? What if it's just a joke? He does not understand people who are people well enough for this.

So he just says the first thing that comes to mind that is not about the crystals.]

That's a very pretty bird.

[He wants to walk into the cave and never come out.]

[groundzeroes]

[In contrast to poor Kaede's inner panic, Rei is completely unruffled. What's he gonna do, tell King Arthur??]

Haha. Don't encourage her-- she's prissy enough as it is.

[The hou-ou clacks her beak at Kaede, turning her head from one side to the other to observe him.]

You here to go spelunking?

[monostich]

Isn't it a good thing to be encouraged?

[Is being prissy really such a bad thing... She's a pretty bird and deserves to be treated like a queen!!!

Anyways, it takes him longer than he wants to admit to realize what he means be spelunking - he really needs to like... get an encyclopedia from the library at some point - and he nods.]

We're supposed to try, aren't we? So I thought... That I would at least see what it's like.

[groundzeroes]

[Rei's familiar trills in agreement, shuffling on her branch. She likes this boy, Rei. Listen to him. >:( (Rei ignores her)]

Sure enough. Same here-- might as well check out all the fuss. [Rei's eyes sweep over him, making a brief assessment. Frankly, the kid looks like he just came out of a cave after a lifetime lived there, rather than preparing to head in to one.

Rei was going to go alone, but... this guy probably isn't a threat. And it might be worthwhile to see someone else do the trial, if they make it that far.]

Well? Care to go in together? Though I only brought one light, I'm afraid.

[monostich]

[It will be the only correct thing he says in this entire adventure, he's sure.]

Yeah... Yeah.

[He feels a bit like he's being picked apart, but maybe he's just gotten so used to that feeling he assumes that's what everyone's doing. Regardless, he straightens up and nods slowly.]

I'm... Sure it'll be fine with just the one. And there's safety in numbers, isn't there? So...

[...Not that he'd be able to fight anything, if it came down to it.]

[groundzeroes]

Then it's decided. [Rei switches on the flashlight, and with a final smile leads them into the cave entrance.

The cave is dark, of course-- and a bit damp, being so close to the ocean. It smells faintly of salt, and their footsteps echo off the stony ceiling.]

This kind of excursion used to be popular with kids, wasn't it? "Tests of courage" and all that.

Can't say I ever encountered anything while on one, though... [It was more about having an excuse for students to hold hands, really.] Living somewhere without magic probably helped with that. Heh!

[monostich]

I wouldn't know.

[Courage wasn't exactly something he was tested on, but he also... Gets the feeling that's not what Rei means, exactly. Considering he mentions kids, and... Kaede never was a child.]

It wasn't something I ever did, and I come from a world with magic...

[He looks around the cave, but he doesn't see anything all that interesting in the beam of the flashlight and can't see anything at all beyond it. It's all just... Rocks and dirt.

He was kind of expecting a cave that's apparently as special as this one to kind of... Look special.]

I don't know if I would have encountered anything actually scary if I tried, though... There weren't monsters or creatures there like there are here.

[groundzeroes]

Magic but no monsters, huh? How interesting. [Not that that precludes conflict, of course. Rei's world has neither magic nor monsters, but it's got PLENTY of fights!!!!!!]

Well, we've probably got enough on our hands with this cave's magic, so I suppose it's just the same. [The technicality of the illusion being cast by some monster spirit aside.] Got an idea of what it'll show you?

[monostich]

Animals can't use magic, so I wonder if that's why...

[The only thing he knows that could be considered a monster was created by magic, after all, even though it was utterly harmless. So probably not a monster. He's pretty sure to be considering a monster you have to be dangerous.]

I'm... Not really sure, no. It's supposed to be our worst fear, but... There's a lot of things to be afraid of, aren't there?

[Death, living, failure... Even more concrete things like the dark or the people around you. Kaede doesn't even know what could classify as the "worst".]

[groundzeroes]

Right, right. [Rei's flashlight beam sweeps across the floor in front of them, but there's nothing of interest-- just cave.]

Not sure I've ever bothered to rank fears, or if I even could. 'Sides, some of the worst ones are pretty abstract, so you'd think it would be pretty difficult to conceptualize visually, wouldn't it?

[As they keep walking, something in the atmosphere changes; it's... empty, somehow oppressive.]

--Ah, must be the anti-magic section they mentioned.

[monostich]

I'd think so, yes... How would you show the fear of dying without just killing someone?

[That's said more to himself than Rei, and he grimaces as the cave just begins to shift. It's...

It's strange. He feels hollow, like he's left a part of him behind. The magic here was different than he was used to to begin with, but it was still magic. It was still something to give him a purpose, and while he knows it's only temporary it's still unsettling.]

...Yeah. This is awful.

[He sounds almost... Petulant, really.]

[groundzeroes]

[Rei can't help it-- he laughs at Kaede's tone. It is the first time he's heard the guy sound like something other than "vaguely nervous," though, so it's duly noted.]

Heh! It just feels normal to me. [Guess that's an upside to coming from normieville.] Think it means we're getting close?

[Speak of the devil, of course. As they keep walking, the cave floor begins to fade, transitioning into something distinctly more...man-made.]

[monostich]

[He doesn't know what the laugh is for - doesn't see what's so funny about this, but he won't question Rei. He just purses his lips and shakes his head.

And then the cave starts changing. Kaede tenses, before letting out a breath.]

...I think this is it.

[The test of courage. Their worst fears. It's...

It's not what he was expecting, but he can't ignore the spike of panic at the sudden change. It's... Maybe it's his fear, not Kaede's, and he should stop overreacting!]

I-it's not what I would've expected.

[groundzeroes]

[It's not what Rei would have expected, either. He switches off the flashlight as their surroundings get brighter, illuminated by the ceiling lights the cave's illusion is mimicking. What is this supposed to be, some kind of... lab facility? There's no end to it, from what they can see at least.]

Recognize anything?

[monostich]

[He lets out a breath, but it doesn't do much to calm the racing of his heart.]

It's...

[He swallows, looking at the walls. Man made, with doors sporadically dotted here and there, though. No windows, though, which he knows now was intentionally done.]

This looks a lot like where I-I was before. But that's...

[That's impossible, but is it, really? Is this what he's afraid of?]

[groundzeroes]

Hmm... [Oh, this guy is surprisingly open! Rei looks around with renewed interest, trying to glean more about him from their surroundings. It's kinda.. nondescript, though; there's not much to glean from, aside from noting the lack of it.]

Bit like a warehouse or something, isn't it. [Idly, Rei thinks of his lab; boring decor, no windows, bodies and all. Guess the scare factor is a bit dialed down when you own the place.]

[monostich]

[The fact that he's so calm... Kaede kind of hates it, but he's not sure why he does. He's just being irrational. This isn't... Real. When he speaks, his voice is clipped.]

It's a research facility.

[Takes a deep breath, lets it out, then hangs a left... If he remembers right, this hallway should lead towards the isolation rooms... Though he's not sure he wants to see them again, it's better than running into the damaged wing.]

[groundzeroes]

A research facility? That's interesting.

[Kaede is right to be annoyed; as he follows the shorter man's lead Rei's commentary is laid back enough to be flippant. An optimistic person could argue that it's distracting conversation to make things easier, but...]

Didn't take you for the scientist type.

[I mean, that would be kind of rude even in the best of times?!?!?!]

[monostich]

[If only Kaede had anything resembling a backbone...

Instead of protesting, he freezes in place. There's something he doesn't like about all of this, but he can't put his finger on what it is. He grits his teeth.]

That's because I'm not.

[Hell, he's not even a person. He could never be that smart.]

[groundzeroes]

[Rei makes a questioning hum, slowing to a stop behind Kaede.

He takes in the sight of the man-- stock still, shoulders up, nerves all pulled together, standing in the oppressive air of a blank, windowless, neverending hallway.

...]

...Ahh. I think I get it.

[Somewhere further down the hall, glass shatters.]

[monostich]

[He startles at the sound of glass shattering, and his lips press into a thin line. He looks at Rei sharply, and it seems like some of his fear has ebbed away.]

Something about a place like this scares you, too.

[Because... Glass breaking means something, but it means nothing to Kaede. There wasn't any glass when he lost control of himself - it had been the cracking of stone and twisting of metal.]

[groundzeroes]

You think? [Rei returns Kaede's stare with an enigmatic grin. That expression of deduction is a good look on him, Rei decides. A quick thinker, then.] Well, I'll be just as surprised as you to find out what it is.

[Rei strides ahead, then, hands in his pockets. The completely unconcerned air he put on for Kaede is a bluff, sure, but only halfway so. For all of the trepidation that comes with confronting an unknown, there's also a large amount of curiosity.

After all, maybe the cave overlapped their illusions for a reason.... if this guy is some kind of test subject like Rei thinks he is.]

You coming?

[monostich]

I'm sure of it.

[Though he can't explain why he's so sure, except for how alien the glass shattering is for what this place means to him. He frowns at Rei, not believing at all that he'll be surprised.

But the man is hard to read, and what does Kaede really know about him? Nothing, so he can't say why this man would be afraid of a place like the facility. He just doubts it's the same thing he's afraid of - of never being able to leave.

He follows after him, keeping quiet. He'll just wait and see what Rei is afraid of in this maze of familiar hallways.]

[groundzeroes]

[It takes a bit of walking to reach the area the noise came from, even though it didn't sound quite that far away. The cave's illusion must be messing with them.

Eventually, though, the two come to a door leading to a lab room. It's filled with tubes, brightly lit; inside each one is an identical copy of the same pink-haired boy. Further in, it's obvious what happened to make the crash. Sprawled on the ground is one of the copies, surrounded by the glass of a shattered capsule.]

Ah, hell.

[For what it's worth, Rei does sound surprised!

He approaches the trembling body and kneels down, heedless of the leaking fluid coating the tile. The clone, gathered in his arms, looks up with watery eyes.

"I'm-- I'm scared," the boy whimpers in a raspy, unused voice.]

No kidding. [Rei's voice is incredulous; his gaze slides past the clone, taking in the whole of the scene. How strange, that an illusion can reach so deep.]

[monostich]

[Kaede trails after Rei, still on edge even if he knows this place isn't just after him. When they get to the room filled with tubes, he freezes. It's... Different, from how he was made. It's completely and utterly alien, but looking at the same boy over and over again...

It's obvious what's happening, even if it's not the same.

He's distantly aware of his nails digging into his palms, and when he speaks his voice sounds distant, even to himself.]

What are you going to do?

[It's an illusion, yes, but it's something that Rei is afraid of for some reason...]

What would you do if this was real?