|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 1:14 am
THE UNDERGROUND LABS No matter how you turn, it seems the fog is following you, growing thicker and thicker until the entire world seems to be made of grey. And then...it's gone or at least, you've reached a small patch of ground clear of it. The fog creates a large circular wall around you, but this moment of reprieve is worth a sigh of relief or two. Hopefully you're not too caught up in the moment, otherwise your next step will take you to the grave. The headstone above the large rectangular hole in the ground seems possibly promising. Unless its a threat, of course. Peering down into it, there's not a visible bottom. Then you notice the rope ladder at your feet. This probably isn't a very good idea.The OOC Your student has finally reached the path's destination, it's up to you whether or not they take part in the next stage. But not going through it will affect their ability to participate in the final chapters of Part 1. Play Rules and Info: Think of this as a bit of a cyoa game ~ - please state your student's HP when you enter - there are 3 stages (+ entrance) - each full stage will give you a choice and 12 hours for you character to make that choice - unfortunate choices or not posting will lead to the loss of HP - you only need to post once, with your student ICly making their choice IN BOLD.- but please don't feel you have to stop there, and continue to rp using the area descriptions provided! - you can break off into PRPs within this area as well, but please include "UNDERGROUND" in the title - at the end of each stage, the results of your choices will be revealed and your student will be able to move on
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 1:15 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 1:15 am
stage 2 results Climbing down through the dark went relatively well, all things considered. The elevator didn't come crashing down upon those in the shaft, and the students climbing down through the chamber floor found several very sturdy handholds. Then came the thunderous rumble of an explosion above, and the short moment of "things working out nicely" was over. The entire building shook and shuddered, and with the squealing squeal of twisting metal, the ladder in the shaft bent and broke loose, taking the students down with it. The drop turned out to be painfully, rather than fatally, far. Those climbing down through the chamber faired better, their fall happened to be cushioned by a nicely padded floor. Too bad it belonged to an equally padded, very much locked, cell.- elevator shaft: the hard landing cost you 3 hp - chamber floor: the padded landing only cost you 1 hp - no choice: -4hp Stage 3 start According to the map, you now find yourselves within the containment area. And several of you find yourself very much contained, as well. results of stage 1 Anything of interest in the third level of the building was likely locked away, and so onward and downward to the second level! The slippery stairs, while difficult to maneuver, proved uneventful. But those who took the elevator arrived with a tremendous crash after the horrible, much too long journey. The adventurous souls who explored the hole in the bathroom wall ended up falling through the floor, and down into...a large vat of water? Stairs: nothing Elevator: the crash caused a loss of 1hp Office: falling down to the 2nd level cost you 2hp -did not choose: -3hp stage 2 The second level is nothing like the third, no offices here. Now you can definitely see why this was referred to as a "lab." Consoles, broken and powerless, litter the floor and walls. Shattered glass tubes march in a row on one side, and at the center sits a large metal container labeled, "Transformation and Observation Chamber." A note is pinned to it's door. The entire level gives you an uneasy feeling, not quite like the fog. The fog is insanity this is...this is... Compared to a lot places this area looks pretty tame, but a tense desperation like no other hangs in the air. Your Choices: Take the elevator! On the other side of the room, you can see the doors to the first elevator have been forced open. Shining your flashlight down it reveals a metal ladder right beneath you. Shining your flashlight above tells you that the elevator is still very much above you in the shaft. Hopefully it'll stay there as you climb down to the first level. You do your best to ignore the creaking and groaning of metal above you. Choose the chamber! The chamber in the center of the floor has a "you don't want to know but can't help yourself" appeal. The lock on the door is broken, and not neatly either. Something tore into the metal with extreme force. Stepping into the chamber the feeling of desperation is a thick, heavy blanket of awful, weighing you down. The stains on the floor, the scratch marks on the wall, the only good thing about the chamber is the large, broken hole in its center. Peering down, it's dark but...wherever it leads has to better than this, right? Stage 1 It takes this side of forever to get down the rope ladder, but eventually you reach the ground. It's dark down there, no doubt about it, and this is seeming less and less of a good idea as...there's no place to go? "Um..." a small, timid voice begins, "..b-be careful, the way is just right-AH!" You hear a bang and thump and then the voice calls out weakly, "I'm okay! I-it's um...it's another hole...but..no ladder. Careful or you'll fall!" Searching around with your flashlight, you eventually find what she's referring to. Happily, even if you fall the drop isn't to great of a distance. There's a flash of light before you that quickly flickers and dies, but it's enough to give you an idea of where you are. You're in a broken elevator, it's doors thankfully open, and staring into a hallway. Overhead the lights flicker on again and die. The effect is a bit like a slow strobe light, making movements appear jerky and irregular. On the side of hallway you see a map. The girl who had spoken earlier is nowhere to be seen.
Your ChoicesExplore the roomsThe main office is full of emptied cabinets and broken desks. The conference room contained a number of comfy chairs and a giant table which at one point, was flipped over.The ladies room is a rusted box of of metal and odd stains, the mirror on the medicine cabinet is surprisingly clean and unbroken. The cabinet itself only contains one bottle of expired vitamin C and a box of tampons. The very last stall is lacking in a toilet, but instead has a large hole in the wall. Big enough to travel through. Try the stairsThe stairs begin uneventfully, but soon it's hard to maintain you footing. If you inspect the ceiling, you'll notice that the overhead sprinklers are leaking. They probably have been for quite some time. At the first landing, a sheet of paper floats by your feet. Try the elevatorAt the opposite end of the hallway, you see another elevator, and upon hitting the open button...you discover it actually works. Inside there's buttons for three floor and a basement level, but only the one labeled Level 2 is lit. You may try the other buttons anyways, but the elevator only beings to move when you hit the lit one. The trip is one of fast starts, abrupt stops, worrisome rattling, and vicious shaking. It seems to go on forever. Eventually you being to wonder if this was a good idea...because it should not be taking this long to go down one floor. Previously: Stage 0 You have reached a deep hole in the ground. The grave seems to have no bottom at all, and the rope ladder hanging down in looks a bit frayed to be honest. Then again... do you really want to stay out in the fog? You notice a slip of paper beside the tombstone,
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 5:26 pm
Apparently in his haste to not be eaten, Calder had found the way. Despite paranoia and worry, he had trusted Emily until the end, and dumped her to be – alone. Still, after the fog had been thick around him, seeing it lift once again made him feel better. His breathing wasn’t as fast as before and he felt the wolves were falling back. Even the distant laughter of the ghost boil was dying away. Yes. He got here. He was escaping, but he was still alone.
Frowning, he put his book back into his knapsack and shouldered it all before he noticed something in the small patch of clearing fog. It wasn’t a nice cottage or even a secure barn, but a tombstone. Not at all pleasant, but rather commonplace for Halloweentown. The fact it was open worried him though, and he approached it with caution. The last thing he wanted was to wake up on some undead taking a nap. Getting caught with trespassing wasn’t something he wanted to deal with at the moment and who knew if the owner of this grave was the shotgun type who wanted people off his corn-stalk lawn.
Upon moving closer, he noticed the grave had no name of what he could tell, and that it wasn’t just a grave. It was a deep drop with a ladder. A ladder. A LADDER! Why did it had to be a ladder, and a rope one at that? He finally saw something that looked like an escape and it had a ladder.
Frowning, he dropped to his knees and held the dirt before peering down to see the darkness below. Where did it go? How far did it go? Thinking, Calder turned about and took a corn stalk and threw it down, wondering if he could hear something. He counted, but he didn’t hear it land.
Ears dropping, he looked about. Lost in the fog forever or until wolves ate him or this ladder. The boil let out a long whine. He wished this grave had a slide instead.
HP:] 25
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 5:50 pm
HP:25
"AHH MISSY YOU LED ME TO A GRAVE?!!"
Vaith was freaking out at this point-- The little girl had led him to his future grave. Oh wait. It was a hole in the ground.
Much better.
The reaper's red eyes looked down, alarmingly wide-- Did she lead them into a den of zombies?! Wasn't under a graveyard the worst-- Why was Vaithscared again?
He was a reaper. Reaper had kick a** skills. Hell, he could take a zombie down easily. One.. or two.. or three. What if there was an army down there? Vaith was forgetting some of the Amytiville residents were the undead. But they were't .. malicious undead. Yet.
"Missssssssyyyyyy.." Vaith's voiced alled out to what had been Emily, looking around. IT WAS A GRAVEAGRAVEAGRAVEAGRAVE .... ... .. But there was nowhere else to go. Just as he was about to turn to talk to Emily, his foot slipped.
Slipped in oblivion. You could hear Vaith's manly scream down from below. The ladder jerked suddenly, implying .. that the reaper had.. some sort of grip on the ladder. Somewhere down below.
In the darkness, Vaith was hanging somewhere on that ladder. Upside down. Feet clutching the frayed rope, he shakily made his way .. Ugh, did he just feel dirt fall on him? WAS IT A ZOMBIE MOVING AROUND?!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 6:33 pm
Yes she failed. She failed at following one scent at a time. There were too many out there. While chasing after that oh so familiar scent, she'd run across another one. It was strange and pulled the little she-wolf to a stop as she stood and sniffed. What was it? Something dangerous most likely. But...it was nagging at that curious nature of hers. Candlejack. She was going to regret this, wasn't she?
Pace slower, LW padded along after the new scent. It grew and as she got closer...were those voices? Wait! Oh Jack was that the horse scent too?! How...what...the she-wolf was confused. She'd just been following that scent before another one had turned her from the kelpie's trail. Now she was following yet another scent only to find the kelpie's scent again?! What was with this island!
There were other voices as well. None that she knew. It sent chills down her spine and LW started to regret every leaving the comfort of a group. She picked up her pace, hoping to find whoever was speaking. The voices got louder and she all but ran towards them. Except, when she ran towards the distinct shape of...something - was that a headstone? - and skidded to a halt in confusion, a new sound reached her ears. A...scream? It scared the ever living daylights out of her and...well LW discovered the hole with the ladder, whether she wanted to or not.
With a squeak, she went down, arms flailing until her hands caught...something. Whatever it was (rope ladder...fellow student...something else entirely?!) LW clung to it, heart pounding and eyes squeezed shut.
HP: 23
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 6:39 pm
"Caaaaaaaaaaaldeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrr..." Came a voice. A voice that sounded strangely creepy as it trailed off through the air; followed by a hand that reached out and gripped the kelpie's shoulder. "I told you to wait up! Why did you take off like that!? And after all that talk of not leaving anyone on their own, jeez!" He growled. Thanks to this entire trip, he was now very irritated, scared, and tired. Not to mention worried for everyone else who got separated in the cornfield. At least he found Calder again... But what the hell was he doing?
"What's with the open grave?" He asked. "Planning to bury yourself? I wouldn't advise it."
HP: 23
(( I'm assuming Calder hasn't gone down yet? |D ))
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 6:42 pm
HP:25
Finding the grave had seemed like a great stroke of luck. There seemed no possible reason why Belladonna should be worried about a grave. Seeing a grave was as natural to her as seeing a pumpkin sun. In fact, her parents had once won the Best Grave Yard Award when she was 13. It had been magnificent, really, with tall oak trees completely drenched in grey Spanish Moss and a large mausoleum and of course many grave markers. Yes, that had been a glorious year for the Divine Family.
It didn't make any matters worse that the voices accompanying Belladonna at the moment were those of her most disliked family members, all telling her NOT to go down into the ground.
"Oh hush up." The witch shooed, squaring her shoulders as she stood over what was essentially a monster-rabbit hole, her prepared to fall down it and hope something pleasant was below. "You all never knew anything anyway. Pfft, Aunt Petunia. Thinks she knows Tarot Cards. HA. You wouldn't know tarot cards if the Empress was having tea with you, if the Hanged Man was a pinata and Death chopped off your head, handed it to you and took your scone." With that she 'hmphed', grabbed the rope and descended.
Which was about as far as her courage and determination brought her for she was suddenly in the dark and didn't agree with that at all.
"D-d-d-d-daisuke?" She hesitantly asked, as if he would suddenly appear all blue and knightly and come to rescue her. With a sigh she lowered herself further, hoping entirely for the best and only hearing it contradicted. How annoying...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 6:44 pm
((He hasn't. ))
He forgot how thick the fog was before it cleared and it seemed people were just running in the corn stalks without looking. Calder had at least paid that much, but if they were escaping the wolves, it made sense to run. The smell was still thick in the air, and he kept his back close, wondering what would happen once all the wolves pinpointed where he was and lunged at him.
Just then, a cornstalk snapped and he heard something rush by. Cringing, eh ducked and watched as – WAS THAT A BOIL? – fell into hole. “No! WAIT!” HE called out, but it was too late. Whoever it was fell over and down into the darkness, but not without the rope ladder being pulled tight and swaying. The boil much of caught i!
Gripping the edge of the hole, Calder peered down, long hair slipping past his shoulders to hand down. “Are you okay?!!” He cried out, wondering what he should do. He didn’t like ladders. They weren’t deigned for hooves. What if the boil was hurt? Then again, what if he wasn’t real?
Biting the ends of his fingers, he looked about only to see someone else rush in and trip into the hole. “AH!HH!!! STOP!!!” HE called out, watching as a ghoul started to fall. Luckily he was already there, and lunged out to grip her arm, grabbing at anything he could until he grabbed her hand. It wasn’t the brightest move considering he almost fell in with her, but he dropped to the ground and held himself in place. UGH! It hurt his arm!!!!
Cringing, he gripped the dirt and dead grass as he tried to keep in place. He was about to yell for everyone to stop running around blindly when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Laying on the ground, belly down, Calder glanced up between pulling up the nameless ghoul to look up at ...
"Dog?" He asked, trying to be sure. Well, he did smell like one. It was that boil from before. "HELP ME PULL HER UP!" Saying he was here to kill himself! HE WAS TRYING TO KEEP EVERYONE ELSE FROM DOING THAT!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 7:04 pm
(( Ah okay XD ))
"Dog...?" He repeated flatly. He was sure he mentioned his name earlier...
"Pull who up?" He finally asked, getting on his knees so that he didn't fall in himself. It wasn't another illusion was it? He had already had his fill of those. Though as he leaned in closer, he could see the redheaded ghoul who was dangling from Calder's grip. So it wasn't an illusion, but how did she manage this? Had she fallen in or something? But aside from that... she looked oddly familiar...
"Ah! Your that ghoul from from before!" He exclaimed, pointing at LW before actually reaching down to help haul her back up. "I thought you went in the opposite direction back there. How did you end up here as well?" He asked; confused.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 7:12 pm
When it finally clicked that no, she was not falling anymore, LW risked opening one eye. Her first mistake was when she looked down. Into a black oblivion. Squeaking again, her grip on whatever was keeping her from falling tightened as her panic increased.
"P-Please d-don't dropmeohJACK!" She had no idea what was down there. And the scream that she'd heard before had unnerved her.
Finally looking up she saw...who was that? White hair cascaded down and...did he smell horse like? Was he...how ironic. He had to be the kelpie she had been helping the others chase before. And as if to confirm this, a now familiar head appeared. The black dog. Tybalt. Her hand clutched at him as the two pulled her back up.
"I...I was!" She said after taking in a few deep breaths. "I-I was following the scent of my friends. And then caught a strange scent that distracted me. I followed it here and...well," LW glanced back at the hole. "Someone screamed and I freaked and...fell...in..." Jack. she just wanted to find her friends. And go home!
"T-Thank you." LW said in a small voice to the two boils.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 7:29 pm
Once he and Tybalt managed to pull and yank the ghoul up, Calder could finally breath. She too smelled like wolves and he was growing more and more suspicious of his senses and wondering if it was just all in his head. Had it just been all these students hanging around each other that caused him to get a bit crazy and confused? Then again, he still wondered if he was just talking to himself and these students weren’t even real. Still, even if they weren’t real, it was nice to have company again.
Resting as he sat, he looked around and then back at the pair. “What is it with a grave in the middle of a cornfield? I thought I was supposed to find a door? Not some pit.” He looked back at the grave, it’s open mouth smelling of overturned dirt. “I’d say it was a trap, but ….they don’t give you ladders for traps.”
He hated ladders, but it did show that someone wanted others to use it and that there was something down there to get to. Crawling over, Calder looked down. “Some boil fell down in there, but I didn’t hear him land. I wonder what is down there…..and if it’s better than up here?” He glanced at the pair, unsure. It wasn’t the dark or the dirt, but the ladder that bothered him the most. “I have a flashlight in my bag.” He suggested, seeing if they wanted to go down. He didn’t want to be up here anymore, but he wasn’t quite sure of down there either. “There wouldn’t be any fog.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 7:37 pm
HP: 25
The fog had become so thick it quickly became almost impossible to see two inches in front of his nose, and Gabrian decided he did not like it one bit. Due to the fact he was still carrying Ren, whom... hadn't really budged, in piggyback position, it meant his hands were occupied holding the gryphon up. As such, the nix had done the next best thing that occurred to him; he'd wrapped part of his tail around Alessa's waist, keeping her frame next to his as they walked. He'd offered her no explanation for his behavior and she'd done nothing to refuse the contact; she'd looked at him for a moment and then had continued walking beside him in silence. Unfortunately, seeing as how he had just one tail, he had to content with walking closer to poor Tsetliya.
Thankfully though, the voices seemed to be receding the further the walked, and along with them... the hallucinations that had been haunting him, or rather, them all. Both Ren and Alessa's proximity had been enough to keep most of Gabrian's own metaphorical demons at bay, and those few he'd been unable to dispel had been easily ignored with much more ease thanks to his friend's warmth.
Just when the demon had thought that perhaps they'd never leave the fog... it suddenly seemed to vanish. The change in scenario was so jarring that the nix actually stopped walking, frowned and took a moment to look around; it was thanks to doing that, that he noticed the fog hadn't technically vanished. It still stood just a couple of feet behind him, forming a wall around the area, "Well, I'd like to say that's the strangest thing I've seen in days but... that'd be a lie, now wouldn't it?" this was murmured to Alessa as he shifted Ren's position on his back so that the gryphon's head was resting on his right shoulder more securely. He even paused to give thanks to the fact the other boil wasn't as heavy as he could have been; probably had to do with the fact he was part bird.
His gaze shifted to look about the clearing, though honestly, there wasn't much to look at aside the open grave in the dead center and the few students that seemed to have stumbled across the place too. Gabrian had been about ready to ignore them in favor of a) getting the gryphon off his back and hopefully into a much easier, resting position b) stretch himself out as soon as point 'a' was done c) rest up before they were inevitably ambushed again (because it wasn't a question of if they'd be ambushed at this point - it was a question of when they'd be ambushed) when... he noticed several familiar faces. Calder he recalled vividly from music class, and Belladona just briefly from minipet training, but the one that really caught his attention was LW whom seemed to have fallen into the open grave (Of course), from which Calder and another canine boil were pulling her from, "PUPPY!" this time, when he called out her nickname, it didn't sound as happy as it had that first time; there was instead, a mixture of relief and joy, but the tone of it was almost bittersweet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 8:07 pm
HP: 7.
Man, Ren thought to himself. Why is everything so dark?
And why do I hurt like Jacking hell?
Silence. An endless silence. Then -
Oh, right. I passed out, didn't I. Is that where I am? In the land of unconsciousness? Is this what it's like..?
...I don't like it. I want out. Where is everybody? I can't hear anything. I don't like this, I don't want to be alone -
Wait. What was that?
...I hear something.
More accurately someone. Someone very, very familiar, someone who's voice Ren had not heard in a long time, longer than he had thought was necessary. Yet he still couldn't see anything; why was that?
Oh, right. Eyes. Open. OPEN.
It took a significant bit of effort for Ren to get to the point where they actually fluttered open, slowly and with great pains. He winced. Then noticed he wasn't exactly lying on the ground anymore. Isn't that where I passed out? Or was it somewhere else? He was losing track of time.
The first thing Ren said was "ow" followed closely by "...where am I..?" and then, somewhat hoarsely, "...LW?" because that was most definitely the shewolf over there, crouched by...is that a grave..? And who was that - oh, jeez, not TYBALT - is that Bells? When did she get here?
"Where...where am I...?" Ren asked again, a bit groggily. He could see a familiar head of dark green hair in front of his face; Gabrian. He was being carried by Gabrian, on the nix's back, piggyback style. "Sir Snake," he said weakly, and hugged the demon from behind, losing any drive to say something snarky to just be relieved that he was, in fact, still alive and that that Jackdamned cloaked figure hadn't killed him this time. In fact, Ren felt marginally better than he had before, which was odd; he'd now passed out twice, and he should not feel this way. Glancing down, he saw something wrapped around his injured hand - white...fabric?
"...Lessa...?" Ren said, reaching up his other hand to rub at his eyes, almost sleepily. "Lessa?"
"What's going on? Where are we?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 8:19 pm
"No problem." He answered, now that she was finally pulled clear of the hole, but keeping his attention on it regardless. It looked really deep. Not even his nocturnal vision granted him the ability to see that far into the dark.
"Someone fell..?" He asked; looking back at the two before he looked back into the hole. "...think he's alive?" Well, if not dead, surely injured at least. No living creature could take a fall like that without an injury of some sort. Maybe they should go down to check if he's alright...
"I don't think a flashlight is going to help much." He answered the kelpie. "I think the only way is to go down..." He paused; looking back up at the two. "Can't be any worse than up here, anyways." He added. Course, he could be wrong. It could be far worse. But it wasn't like they could just turn around. All they could do is move forward.
"I can try heading down first if you guys like..? Even if I fall, it shouldn't hurt me much. Being a ghost and all."
Though just as he was about to get to his feet, more faces appeared out of the cornstalks. All of them strangers, save for one.
"...Ren?" He stared at the gryphon boil, who looked even more beat-up than he last saw. "What happened to him?" He asked the one carrying him. Some horned boil. "He looks like Hell ran him over and then backed up and did it again." Though rather than show concern---he was grinning.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
