Event || In Your Worst Memory

[0301120113092025]

Characters: All Heroes of Light. Only those who signed-up can start a memory.
Where: Interdimensional Rift
When: May 27th - May 30th
Summary: The Heroes of Light relive some of their worst memories, with a twist. All characters participating in this will be physically missing from Crystallis for the duration of the event.
Warning: It depends on the memory.

Where you were or what you were doing— It does not really matter. Not any more. Everything around you freezes, nearly as if time itself stopped, as if the world was frozen in time. And before you have a chance to understand what is happening, you can hear a voice right behind you.

"Kali Shashidhwaja."

Should you turn around, you may see a child who seems to be the only one aside from you unaffected by what is happening. And as she stares right at you, it makes no doubt these strange words are aimed at you. But before you can reply to her, the world around you collapses. Reality twists and shatters... Or maybe you are the one who is collapsing and shattering away from reality as you know it. No matter what the answer is, it will only take a few seconds for you to find yourself sinking into a void, Crystallis vanishing into the distance. There is nothing but darkness as far as the eye can see.

And once again you feel different: all the powers from your Jobs are fading. Not only that, but you might find that your Crystal is gone and your clothes back to what they were before you woke up in Crystallis. It is silent, cold and before long it feels as though life itself is slipping out of you... And yet, slowly the world reforms around you. The darkness fades away and a new world appears, yet at the same time this is not a world.

This is a memory. The question is, is it yours or that of someone else?

Comments

[iknowtheconsequences]

"IB!" As soon as he appears, the first word out of Kaji's mouth is Ib's name, desperate. No no, he got pulled out of that place he was at, and now he's somewhere different, entirely. He looks around and around at the art gallery for anything familiar. The painting catches his eye, and he stares at it for a second, but he looks closer at the people. There are one or two familiar faces in the crowd. But nothing else. A frustrated growl escapes his lips, but before he can vent that frustration, the lights flicker.

Back into something weird. Just what he needs. He can't hold back the chill that runs down his spine at the abrupt silence and darkness. When everything goes still, he looks around again. Who's still here? The Marshall. Zelda. Someone else he doesn't know the name of, but recognizes her from around. But no Ib.

"Damn it!" Kaji breaks the eerie silence with a sudden shout. "Ib. I just saw her." He runs a hand through his hair, already ruffled. His voice shows a sign of helpess distress that nobody has seen out of him so far. Not in Crystallis, not in Tokyo, either. "Whatever's going on here, whatever we've been dragged into? They're specifically targeting her. She's in danger."

[red_planet_blues]

Uh oh.

[Sparks looked around the room with an uncomfortable grimace on his face. At first, he was naturally confused about where he was. But the message, and Kaji's pleas clue him in fast, and Ib's story about the haunted gallery comes back to him in a hurry.]

I don't know how we got here, but this ain't good. Reckon Ib told me somethin' about a gallery before. Why she doesn't like 'em.

[victorix]

This is the first memory Rikku finds herself in, she turns about dizzily, trying to locate the child that called out to her. Had the girl fallen with her? With a frown she feels for her now absent daggers, feeling uneven without their comforting weight. "What...?"

Spotting the Marshal, she wrinkles her nose in distaste. The bully who locked Luffy up. The expression quickly jumps to back to confusion at the flickering lights, her brows knitting into a frown as the words appear. Ib, the young girl in front of the museum. This was terrible, her eyes flicker between her companions, widening at Kaji's statement,

"Well what are we waiting for! We gotta find her!"

[goddessofthesky]

Zelda wasn't sure what was happening either. She glanced between those she knew who appeared with her nodding to Rikku before walking forward. "We will find her. If she's here, we'll get her out."

She had a strange confidence but when it came to the young girl Zelda wasn't taking any chances. She inspected the dripping painting careful not to touch anything before moving around the room. Maybe this was something meant for Ib? She really couldn't tell.

"Sparks." Zelda turned towards him. "What did Ib tell you?"

[red_planet_blues]

Sparks scratched the back of his head, trying to remember the story.

"She said somethin' about visiting a gallery once, when everyone disappeared. Paintings 'n such started movin', jumping off the walls and comin' after her. Like it was haunted, I guess. Something about ladies in red dresses 'n blue dresses, too."

He looked around the room with a mistrustful look, and wished that he had his guns on him right about now.

"Said she still had nightmares about it. Reckon this is where we are."

[iknowtheconsequences]

Kaji knows Ib has had a reason to be as strong as she is, but he hasn't asked. He's seen the aftermath of nightmares, but he wanted her to try to forget about whatever had happened back home. Give her as much of a chance to be a normal kid as she could here.

Obviously, Crystallis has other ideas. "Someplace secret," he reads the message left for her. "It's not like this place was going to let her go until she followed along." He looks around the room, searching for any obvious direction to go next.

[her_rose_is_red]

[An inspection of the area will turn up several other blotches of blue paint on the floor. Some of them look a little like footprints. There are also a lot of strange sounds. Footsteps, quiet indistinct whispers, and what sounds like water splashing.]

[victorix]

Feeling goosepimples rise, she finds herself subconsciously reaching for the comforting presence of the hilts of her daggers, only to grasp at nothing once again, "Does, uh...anyone know what we're supposed to do if anything does attack us? Anyone have their abilities?" Rikku looked over her companions with a cursory glance, noting they lacked weapons as well. Perhaps they had a mage among them?

"Huh?" The former ninja was certain someone had replied. The sound repeated when she looked up, too faint to make sense of, but clearly words, uttered while the lips of all her companions remained motionless in the otherwise empty room. Paling, her shoulders arch upwards defensively as she moves slightly closer to her fellow heroes. Rikku tries to be subtle about it, unfortunately subtly is not her strong suite. "This place is creepy."

[goddessofthesky]

Zelda would have to agree with Rikku's assessment but hearing Spark's and Kaji's words made her nervous. She looked around spotting the footprints first. "Could they be Ib's?" She had to be here and she hoped that they would be able to give them a clue to finding her.

She heard the echoes around them and felt a shiver run through her. "I don't have any magic." At least she didn't normally and she had no weapons on her.

[red_planet_blues]

Sparks patted the belts on his hips. "Me neither. And while I'm glad to have my clothes back, it woulda been nice of my guns were in these holsters. Guess we're just gonna have to stay on our toes, and deal with any problems mano a mano."

He cracked his knuckles for effect. He wasn't going to let some haunted museum get the better of him.

As for the footprints, Sparks nods at Zelda. "We ain't got much else to go on right now. Might as well follow 'em and see what happens." And he would lead the way, of course.

[her_rose_is_red]

[The footprints do not form a clean line, sometimes ending abruptly and then picking up again ten feet away. But they're still easy enough to follow. Along the wall are helpful(?) messages like 'Come Ib' and 'let's play together.'

Eventually they reach an area of the gallery that is showcasing a large painting on the floor. It's all in shades of blue and depicts deep sea fish swimming in dark waters. Except the fish look like they're moving within the painting. And suddenly it's obvious where the splashing sounds were coming from. A large plaque in front of the piece calls it 'Abyss of the Deep.' The blue paint was definitely leading to this.

And the characters also arrive just in time to see Ib staring down into the painting. She doesn't look up or acknowledge their presence and won't respond to anything they say. Instead she simply takes a step forward, and plunges into the painting with a splash. Just like that, she's gone.

Those with a remarkable attention to detail can notice that everything that has eyes, paintings, sculptures, etc, were all watching Ib very intently. Once she's gone, they start watching their new friends. That's right, you.]

[iknowtheconsequences]

"Ib!" As soon as he spots her, Kaji cries out, and he tries to rush to her side. "Ib, what are you-"

Too late. Sploosh, Ib vanishes into the painting, and Kaji shouts in surprise. He looks for an instant like he's going to jump right in after her, but something stops him, and he gets a very annoyed look on his face. His weight is rocked forwards, one hand is tensely held up in the air, stopped in mid-motion, like he's holding himself back.

"If I'm running this- then that's a trap." He has to say that out loud, both to stop himself and everybody else. Look before you leap, Kaji. Literally. It takes him a few seconds to try to relax and look around.

[victorix]

Relief eases some of the tension knotting up Rikku's stomach when they spot Ib, her voice calling out in tandem with Kaji. When the young girl vanishes into the painting, Rikku covers her mouth with a startled gasp.

Normally rouges are not the type to go first, but Rikku has always been the type to go against the grain. The Al Bhed also tends to act on her passions before thinking things through - she can thank Cid for that one. Fixated on the fact that a young girl seemed to be pulled into the wall somehow, she completely misses the pointed stare of the fish. The Spiran was used to ignoring fish, water was kind of her thing anyway...right? It couldn't be that bad...?

With hesitancy, her hand reaches out to try and touch her fingertips to the surface of the painting.

[goddessofthesky]

Zelda had also felt the urge to follow Ib into the painting but there was a voice echoing in her head that was suggesting that it wasn't a good idea. She stepped forward and gently placed a hand on Rikku's shoulder.

"Be careful." Her tone was soft but firm. Zelda wasn't going to stop her but she didn't think that touching the painting was a very good idea either. Something strange was going on here.

Zelda looked over a Kaji. "A trap for us? I thought this was for Ib?"

[her_rose_is_red]

[Rkku's hand passes through easily. It feels like wet paint, but somehow her hand remains clean and dry. The fish watch with interest, but otherwise let her be.]

[red_planet_blues]

[While the others looks to the painting, Sparks narrows his eyes at the other artworks that are staring them all down.]

Reckon yer right, Kaji, but I bet we don't got much of a choice. Anyone else notice we're bein' watched?

[iknowtheconsequences]

Kaji pauses and frowns. Okay, thank you, Zelda, for being the one to point out the logic flaws in Kaji's quickly dialing-up paranoia. Which is not helped when Sparks speaks up and Kaji slowly looks around to see how many eyes are on them. He can feel the little hairs on the back of his neck standing up.

"Great." Either Ib's actually in danger, and they need to hurry, or this is a trap for them, because someone knows they'll rush in after Ib. Either way?

Trip the trap. "I really hope everybody can swim." Kaji reaches out right next to Rikku and sticks his whole arm in, starting to enter the painting.

[her_rose_is_red]

[Entering the painting is easy, and those that do will find that although it feels like wet paint, they will remain clean and dry. Thankfully breathing isn't a problem either. But that might be because the trip is so short.

Almost immediately, they find themselves at the bottom of a staircase, in a blue hallway. Across the walls the message 'come ib' is written over and over. At the end of the hallway, there is a vase of water with a red rose in it. And Ib is there as well, reading sign on the wall behind the vase ad frowning. After a moment, she shakes her head.]

I don't know this word....

[But the characters will find themselves unable to move past the very bottom of the stairs, and Ib seems to still not hear them. She's trapped in this memory, making all the same choices she made then. Which is why, even though she hesitates, Ib still reaches out and picks up the rose. Instantly, the words on the walls change. They now read 'thief' over and over.

Startled, Ib flees down the hallway in the other direction. Once she's one, two things become clear. First, everyone can move again. Also the stairs are gone. Wait. Three things. Each of them is now holding a rose, in whatever color would be appropriate to them. They have 4 petals each.]

[victorix]

Rikku's face bunches distastefully at the feeling, it's certainly not what she expected. At the Marshal's words, she finally pays attention to the fish. That's...unnerving, but she plays it off. "They're just silly fish. What are they gonna do, nibble us?" She takes a breath, it doesn't feel a thing like water - but it still hurts her brain like she's expecting it, and jumps in.

The definition of insanity may be trying the same thing over and over expecting different results, but when she sees Ib she can't help but try to run up to the girl and try to catch her attention, calling out when she finds herself frustratingly stuck at the staircase. When the words 'thief' starts flashing on the walls in a threatening manner, Rikku assumes it's for her, shrinking backwards at the menacing scrawl just as the young girl flees.

Unfortunately Rikku was stepping upwards expecting her foot to find a now nonexistent stair, and so she finds herself sitting on the floor after she trips, staring down at the orange rose in her hand with a befuddled expression.

[goddessofthesky]

Zelda followed those through the painting and was surprised to see Ib. They had to keep following her. She stared on in wonder at the strange writing on the wall as if Ib's actions were seen by the paintings and hence the change. When Rikku falls forward she runs to her side. "Rikku."

She looked at her friends rose and then her own. Zelda's rose was white.

"We should keep going." After she made sure Rikku was okay she stepped forward to follow Ib down the hall. There had to be a reason that she was running.

[red_planet_blues]

Sparks looks over his own clay red rose with a raised eyebrow. Were they all considered thieves now too? What did that even mean? Well, no time for that anyway. They had an Ib to catch up to.

"I don't think we can actually affect anythin' here. She can't here or see us. I guess we're just watchin' what had happened. And what happened was pretty dang weird."

[iknowtheconsequences]

Thief. An accusation, or a reminder? The class Ib had when she first got to Crystallis. Kaji turns to sharply look at Rikku as she falls, and calls attention to the fact that their way back is now gone. She's okay, though.

He holds up his own rose with distaste: blood red, same color as his NERV id card. "But she made it through okay." For some value of the word okay. "If a ten year-old kid can make it through this place, we should be just fine. Only way through is forwards, anyway, I think."

He pauses to make sure Rikku is still going, and then follows Zelda's lead. He tucks the rose into his shirt pocket, not sure what it's for. Even if he tried to throw it away, he gets the feeling he would end up with it again.

[victorix]

She springs quickly back up to her feet, placing the rose in her painfully empty alchemy pouch. So this has happened before? "Does that mean, there's nothing we can do to help? Is that even her?" Just an echo? Better than...Ib having to endure anything like this again.

Falling in step with the others, the thief keeps a close eye on the the surroundings as they make their way forwards.

[her_rose_is_red]

[Following her leads to a door that opens into a green hallway. Ib is nowhere to be found. To the left is a small alcove with two paintings. One of a face that is very animatedly sticking it's tongue out at you. Next to it is a white painting that appears blank at first glance, but there seems to be some sort of mark in the very center.

Ahead is a hallway too long to tell where it leads. In front of the hall a note has been dropped on the floor.

To the right is another hallway. This one is shorter, but there does seem to be something on the wall at the other end. And about halfway down, something is written in yellow paint on the wall.]

[red_planet_blues]

[Sparks sizes up everything, and is about to take a few steps down the long hallway when he spots the note on the floor, almost stepping on it. He'll snag that and read it out loud to the group.]