[PRP] Dying to Know (Lucky + Quinn + Mimsy)

[Molten Tigrex]

Everything was suddenly disorientingly bright and real, almost too real. Lucky held up a hand to shield his eyes - he had eyes again - from the glare of so much shimmering white and gold. One moment they had barely been existing, there was a wave of blue crystals, and now --

His heart sank as he listened to the voice echo through what was definitely not an Italian restaurant, Mimsy's basement, or any other remotely familiar or expected place. The anxious feeling that had chased them down the leftward direction had not gone away. If anything, it had just grown stronger. His arm was starting to feel heavy, and as he lowered it he noticed the opulent gauntlet that had mysteriously formed around it in the space of seconds. What?

Lucky glanced nervously at Quinn, just in time for their host to pop into existence along with them.

"Uh, s-sorry?" It was more of a nervous stutter than a genuine apology. This place looked like an improvement from the shadowy room they had seen him in last time. If they had known of a more direct way for Quinn to look into being sacrificed, then they certainly wouldn't have gone and killed themselves. "Stuck where, exactly?"

Lucky attempted to take a few hesitant steps in the direction of the newcomer, only to stumble as an incredibly ornate armor boot formed around one of his feet. It was soon followed by pauldrons, and the beginning of a chestpiece that slowly formed a gilded cocoon around him. He got up with a series of metallic clanks and a little bit of scrabbling for something to hold on to - the chair beside their host.

"No, wait, there must be a mistake, this, the dying, this is all temporary -" This was not an argument Lucky was going to win, but he maintained his denial. "Look, we were just looking - for you, I mean - we - um, Quinn here, mostly - have some questions about what you told him... before..."

Lucky glanced over his shoulder and gave Quinn something that could probably have been classified as a death stare, if the man next to him had not already perfected the concept a few moments before.

zoobey

lilwolfpard

 

[Lilwolfpard]

Things were growing, everywhere. Pale blue and white crystals. Really he should have thought this through more, past experiences he heard from others touching things having bad results...

Quinn should know better, Lucky too for that matter.

At least one good thing happened, they could see themselves now. Plus as an added bonus, apparently their little experiment worked. Death showed up in his full glory, only also oddly he was wearing armor? Come to think of it, so were they. Frowning he also moved closer, Lucky ahead of him already. Moving was suddenly... a lot harder. "Hello, Death." He hoped he didn't have another name, was Alice in cahoots with death?

He also didn't fail to see the look the pair of them were now giving him. "This was your idea Lucky." Quinn added almost defensively, looking down and feeling bad for mentioning it a second later. He remembered Mimsy was watching over them, so they weren't truly dead were they? He had a bit more faith in her at the moment than he had in himself....

He really, really hoped they were not stuck here too. "Why are we covered in armor?" Lucky had already asked the 'why are we trapped' and 'where are we' questions, so he figured he would start with a different one too. If they really were trapped for a while Quinn had a hunch this would be a long talk. He had other questions of course, but one step at a time..

zoobey

molten tigrex

 

[Zoobey]

"How about we answer what should have been your first question," the figure said dryly, repeating the gesture of discarding a gauntlet that just would not go away. Light chains had formed around their ankles and wrists, opaque and blue-white as well, "yes you are dead, and yes, I am aware of the irony of the statement. Perhaps the better explanation is that you are not alive and as you condemned yourself, and whatever this piece was of me, might I add, for however eternity feels, even if Alice, bless that child, really did try."

"Now, your second question should really be, for what reason are you stuck here, which I will also answer. The obvious one is your penchant for touching things, the second is this place's residual barrier. Despite all those ridiculously flashy legacies leaving their marks all over the plate, I have been trying to keep what remains of me to myself. This is becoming increasing impossible as all of you have decided to play hero and become attuned to them. In case I have lost you with my long-winded explanation, I think the better explanation is that in about five minutes of real life time, which could be longer than an eternity here, you will be crushed, compressed, and absorbed along with me into the legacy of Protection."

"So, here is my third question for the two of you. Now that you know this, how do you plan to save yourselves and hopefully, what remains of me."

Lilwolfpard

Molten Tigrex

 

[Lilwolfpard]

Well, Death was as charming and to the point as Quinn remembered him. At least he answered a few questions this time, not wasting any time to assert his agitation.

There was a few things he picked up from this which he would file later and think about. Firstly, it seemed Alice drew them into this room to stop their 'souls' from dying. Secondly, Death referred to himself as a 'piece' of whatever he was. This meant that this death was just a chunk, a fragment? That explained a lot as to how Death could be here and yet be 'dead', this was just a piece.

Yes Quinn wanted to get out of here, but from the way this Fragment spoke of it truly sounded like they could take for a eternity on this end, and still only have seconds pass in the real time. He would use this to his advantage. "You're a fragment of death." He started off with, honestly more for Lucky's sake than anyone else. He wanted his friend to be able to follow the conversation as well. "We will try and get us all out, but before... do you mind a few more questions?" It was true he could try and get the fragment out, not only because this was a quest Caelius had set him on but also for his own curiosity. "Do you know how many of there are you, and possibly where to look, or how to sense if one of close? I think i either met you or another shard of you recently, and he spoke of a curse on our wishes. Do you know what he spoke of?"

Yes he was cutting to the chase here, he really didn't expect Death to give straight answers. Quinn also decided to test the chains that now were forming, seeing if they were as sturdy as they felt.

zoobey

molten tigrex

 

[Molten Tigrex]

"Protection?" Lucky barked incredulously from where he was still bracing himself against a fanciful chair. Quinn could be as calm and collected as he wanted, this was the time to panic. "How is this protecting anyone? I thought Protection was supposed to be - well, I can't call any of those Legacies good, but - I never thought it was big on 'compressing', 'crushing', or 'absorbing' anyone. I'm whatever the opposite of attuned is with all of that. And all of them."

Arguing didn't change the fact that they were still going to be crushed, compressed, and absorbed in a matter of eternity-minutes.

"Alice -" Lucky immediately suggested. "She's outside of here, right? She could pass along a message to Mimsy - and then she could revive us before the five minutes are up -"

Oh. Right. The barrier. "... but we can't communicate with her from in here, can we. And if we could just break the residual barrier, we wouldn't have to."

Lucky followed Death's lead and attempted to pry off his own gauntlet, to no avail. The thing was not only a permanent fixture, but it was now chained to him as well. He paced beside the table in frustration, clanking and clattering as he went. "We've got the tattoos still - the wishes - I could wish us out of here, I think, but - but maybe we could send a message with them too -"

"We're open to suggestions," he added in Death's general direction.

zoobey

 

[Zoobey]

"Alice," the fragment repeated, with less fondness over the name, "that pet name is endearing for you, but it holds no resonance over any part of myself. She and I hold similar interests only due to the nature of our professions."

There was a pause, a little lapse of time, a little too long. "I believe," it began quietly," that conversation is made with questions and answers. While this may be entertaining for you, you can imagine I spend most of my profession not answering every barrage of given questions, given the nature of the volume of my former workload and of course," a skeletal smile, "the time involved. What I will give you is only what is essential. All these other questions I would consider interesting, if your goal was to indeed stay here with me for all eternity. Panic is human nature, but I hope ignorance is adaptable, after all, you cannot produce good results without better ingredients."

"I am a fragment," it restated, "so it implies there are several. Tens, hundreds, thousands, I do not know or do I care. The nature of it is purposefully done. We are not Legacies, we do not construct ourselves if shattered and broken over time. We are introduced to the world again when there is enough, and what remained of us prior is usually recycled back to Fear. If you are seeking fragments of myself, while it is endearing you remember my presence and lingering attachments to this world, I am also, for all intents and purposes of the word, retired. Another will take my place, that is eventuality. What remains of what I was however, that is for anyone's personal gain until I am fully ah, recycled. By now at least you have formulated the simplest answer. You could use me, and easily shatter Protection. Do not ask when or how, those are your personal motivations, and the why is because any who gain fragments have the capability to do so. Is greed not also a natural part of human nature?"

Molten Tigrex

Lilwolfpard

 

[Lilwolfpard]

Well- at least that answered one (or a few) of his questions, even ones unasked as of yet. The more pressing issue, besides getting out of here, was the collection of the fragments. Caelius had assigned him to collect them, he unfortunately had gotten the wrong idea. He thought perhaps there would be clusters of them, a few pieces, not thousands. Thousands implied they were scattered all over the world, it would be impossible for him to collect any huge sum of them within a short timespan. Plus there was the overall sinking suspicion if He was after the shards, other players were as well.

Not to mention this death seemed to be unwilling to come out of retirement, so that left him with the question as to why Caelius of all people wanted the shards. The shards were to be recycled back into fear, and thus the power that ran halloween. Was Cael trying to keep them out of the hands of others? He didn't trust the legacies - they had a history of playing around with them as if pawns in their 7-way chess game. "Will you always show yourself in this form if one of you is near, and do we need to be.....'dead'" he paused. "To see you?" Yes, he was still asking questions not related to the other issue at hand, for now.

Walking back and forth nearby to Lucky, clanking noises following each step, he realized that Death essentially told them they could use him to escape, the power of the shard. Quinn didn't want to, if he could help it. This was part of his quest, to find fragments of death, and collect them before the new 'death' rose to power. "You say this is the 'simplest' answer out of here, to use you. That insinuates there is possibly a more difficult method of escape? Do you have any idea how?" He thought for a moment - remembering the warning from earlier about outside the room they were in presently "What happens once the Barrier is broken?"

zoobey

molten Tigrex

 

[Molten Tigrex]

"Sorry, uh, I don't know what her name is in whatever... Fear... language you probably use." Lucky waved his gauntleted hands dismissively. "But you didn't answer the question. Can she help us from here or not? I thought you were supposed to be - I don't know, like gods? Don't your similar interests include surviving?"

He regarded Quinn and the fragment with a degree of impatience, but didn't interrupt. This was still Death they were talking to - or a piece of him. Maybe the revelation that he was as powerless here as they were was giving Lucky reason to be less than cordial with him. The idea that the Legacies could not be destroyed so easily was worrying to hear, but this wasn't the time to go over it. They had more pressing concerns. "What you have essentially told us is we're going to die - well, more than we already did - unless we use you to get out of here. But we also have, from our perspective, forever to find another way out and take you with us."

"I think that's enough time to... find a different way out." Lucky offered the fragment a wry but nervous grin, and Quinn a considerably less confident look. "Quinn, you stay here. I'll... look for an exit."

Lucky turned away from the pair of them at the table and walked deliberately toward the too-bright light at the far end of the room.

zoobey

 

[WE ARE HALLOWEEN]

"Gods." The mostly-armoured, slightly less skeletal figure leaned back. "Yes, the greatest misfortune to all. There are no gods in this world, just the residual aftermath of countless powers clashing. Humans or not human, the result has always been the same, and the reason why I have existed for quite some millennia and will continue to exist. Gods indeed, who crave still power and worship. It must be so easy for them then if that is how must humans perceive."

A face, hollow and caved out turned to stare directly at Quinn. "There is another method, but it requires waiting. How long are you willing to wait hopes someone will come and find us, and that someone is willing to help? You could wait, or you could make it happen. Such a minuscule part of me cannot refuse a command if it is a wish granted by a greater fragment."

Lilwolfpard

Molten Tigrex

 

[Lilwolfpard]

Quinn couldn't help but wince at Lucky's words, was the other man TRYING to piss off the Ancient Fragment? Who knew what powers this one had up his sleeve. Clearly the fragment said they could use it to break the barrier... so it wasn't harmless. Still the ancient answered, and Quinn let out a breath of relief. Lucky wasn't nerfed on the spot, cool.

The other hunter also seemed to feel the need to walk away, searching for an exit. That was a good idea, until Death decided to focus on him alone - crap.

His words were troubling if anything. Quinn knew exactly what the Ancient was hinting at, a hand involuntarily reaching up to cover where the hourglass mark would have laid under the armor. Being dead he wondered if it was there or not, but didn't feel inclined to check. He had a choice, and didn't have Lucky to confer with. Well, not true. He probably could have gone rushing after the other.... but really, was there a choice? He refused to use the fragment, that was enough right there. Caelius had given him a mission and there was one right in freaking front of him, he wasn't wasting this chance. Not the bit about the wish... Oddly they had come here to learn about the wish, to see about the 'curse'. If qQuinn used it now he would be rid of the curse, right? All logic said so... but oddly, he really didn't want to use the wish. Not on this. Funny really, both Quinn and Lucky seemed ready to die for knowledge. Now they had, and now he didn't want to use the resource to make them live. Irony at its best. Quinn moved towards the table, and took a seat - directly across from death. "I would rather try my chances and wait, thank you."

"... So could you please tell me a little, at least, about those 'curse' attached to the 'wishes'?" Well if they were stuck together anyways -

zoobey

molten tigrex

 

[Molten Tigrex]

"Nothing on this side," Lucky called from across the room as he walked back. With all the armor, they could hear him coming for quite a while. "Well. I still think we should call for help."

He continued talking, something about 'event horizons' and 'time dilation' and a variety of seemingly unlikely ways to escape the barrier. Between his accent and the recent addition of a partial helmet that had grown around the side of his face, it was more or less impossible to follow. But from the way he was talking it was clear he hadn't heard what Death had suggested - or he would already be wishing his way out. He took a seat beside Quinn at the table. "Right, Quinn?"

As he tried to find a comfortable position to sit in all of his armor, he took note of the array of too-vivid food down the whole length of the table. "So how does this even work when we're dead, anyway? 'Sorry I'm going to crush you to death, here's a fruit basket'?"

zoobey

 

[Zoobey]

The fragment made the motions of speaking, and then simply stopped, looking at Quinn, and Lucky, and then past them. Their gaunt face, or what seemed like a face between the crevices of helmet, split into a toothy smile. "It looks like you have your answer."

Before either of them could ask what or who, a white dove flew from seemingly nowhere, landing on the fragment's shoulder. It shifted positions as the fragment relocated it to its un-gauntleted finger. "A convenient loophole. None can leave but all can enter. If all enter, then none leave. In this situation, you have been outclassed. I'm afraid my time is no longer yours."

And before Quinn or Lucky realized what was happening, the fragment, the visualization of the fragment and the dove were gone. It was just them alone at the table, and then oddly enough, the table itself began to transform, turning into cold marble, the plates into red-figure pottery, the cups into rhyta. Slowly still, the walls disappeared, decaying, dissolving into open sunlight and vast marble fountains. Around them, instead of seats, were statues, each one oddly familiar looking and yet strange at the same time.

"It is nice to finally meet you," she said earnestly, and leaning behind Quinn was a woman with long, braided black hair. She brushed her long fingertips into his own hair, stroking him gently as someone would a pet. "I have only heard interesting stories about you two." A slow smile as she continued her grip on Quinn. "Sometimes, when I have nothing to do, I speak to memories. Sometimes, they speak back, unaware that they are just memories."

Lilwolfpard

Molten Tigrex

 

[Lilwolfpard]

Quinn made a valiant effort to try and shut Lucky up, in the form of a well-placed elbow to his side. "Are you TRYING to piss him off?" He hissed under his breath towards the other death hunter who currently sat next to him. Fragment or not this 'death' still could mess them up more than likely if it wanted to, he had a hunch.

All too soon that didn't matter. The fragment was gone, as was Quinns first chance to begin his collection of them. He spared a moment to look irritated with a narrowing of his eyes. Who just 'outclassed' them? The changes to the room were subtle, but even he was shocked into standing and backing away from the table - the sunlight that came out of no where momentarily blinding him as he backed into something - no, someone. A voice from behind made him pause, looking over his shoulder to see a beautiful woman with long braided hair. An attempt to move away was quickly stopped by nails gripping his hair. "Who are you -." What he truly wanted to ask was 'what are you'. "Where did the fragment go?"

zoobey

molten tigrex

 

[Molten Tigrex]

"Ow! It was a joke!" Lucky had stood up again, whether to move down a seat or to pace the room again. Neither mattered, as the fragment's cryptic words suddenly had his full attention. The illusion began to crumble.

... and be replaced by another, possibly stranger one. They weren't rescued at all.

"Not again," Lucky lamented at the same time as the woman appeared. He immediately backed up practically into one of the statues with his haste to give the woman a wide berth. Even in death he wasn't particularly keen on being flipped over a marble table.

"That's, um, that's great. That's a great word for it. Interesting. That's us." He was staring at the woman like he'd seen a ghost, which was surprisingly accurate to the circumstances of their first meeting. He did not like the idea of Death itself being outclassed by anyone, especially someone who'd proven to be hostile and aware of them. "Uh, not that I'm not grateful for the help, but why did you help us?"

zoobey

 

[Zoobey]

"I am someone who knows both of you very well," she responded in earnest, paying them equal amounts of attention. "And I will set you free, if you would please, satisfy a curious question of mine. Would you consider yourselves human?"

Lilwolfpard

Molten Tigrex