The voices rose around him, and for once, he wasn't the object of their discussion. It felt as though he'd been accepted. That he was just another voice lost in the fog. Perhaps he was actually the voice of the woman laughing hysterically in the distance. He could be the voice of Humphrey Bogart telling Ingrid Bergman that they'd always have Paris. Maybe he was the voice of the professor droning on about psychology and the various layers of the subconscious.
Id. Ego. Super-ego.
He was losing himself.
Quiet minds cannot be perplexed or frightened but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm.
Yes, yes, he needed to stay calm, to assess the situation and figure out where to go from there.
No, no, he needed to react, to act quickly and kill the threat before it hurt him!
React to what? There was only fog and voices.
Crush them! Take from them! Protect what's mine!
Lacking cognitive cohesion, the single voice was quickly becoming two, as a large, well-fed part of it shrugged free from its binds, and stretched. It laughed like a child, and swatted at the encroaching tendrils of fog.
The part left behind watched impassively as the former's blow flew through the fog and instead slammed into the bark of a tree hidden within it. Pain lanced through them both, and the first one howled, clutched the offended limb for a moment, and then attacked the tree in anger.
"You'll just hurt yourself even more if you do that." the impassive one said, watching as the beast-like one tore branches, bark, and leaves from the hapless plant. He made no move to stop the beast, though. Only watched.
"You should help him." a tiny voice whispered at the impassive one's ear. "I'm still here. I won't leave you."
"He's very strong. If I try to stop him, he's likely to attack me, too." he observed, turning to see that this third voice was so weak it couldn't even form a body. "You've been neglected."
"I know, but at least you can hear me clearly now." it answered, and floated downwards to create a warm point on the impassive one's shoulder, like a reassuring pat on the back. "Don't be afraid, I'll help you."
"I don't know how much help you'll be."
"Please try."
The impassive one considered this, and influenced by the small voice, decided to act. They approached the beast-like one as he thrashed his surroundings triumphantly with a broken branch. When the impassive one laid a hand on his arm, the beast like one whirled around, branch raised to smash them. But it stopped when it saw who it was. The impassive one could see blood and splinters embedded in the beast's fists. All that just for a branch? The beast followed his gaze, and whipped the branch behind his back.
"Mine." he growled, distrust and greed glimmered in his eyes. The impassive one could have sworn he saw the gleam of scales beneath the beast's skin.
"Yours." the impassive one agreed, and the Beast relaxed, a carnal grin spreading across his face.
O my poor old Harry Jekyll, if ever I read Satan's signature upon a face, it is on that of your new friend.
"Good, then you'll do as I say from now on, if you know what's good for you." the Beast growled, trying to shrug off the Impassive one's hand. But the Impassive One wouldn't let him. Anger returned to the Beast's face.
"We can't let you do that. If we let you have your way all the time, we'd grow weak." The Impassive One said, looking back at the blood dripping from the Beast's fist. "Though you're more likely to get us killed before then. And then what would happen to your things?"
"IT'S MINE! IT'S ALL MINE! THEY CAN'T HAVE ANY OF IT!" The Beast roared, enraged at the thought. "I WON'T BE DEPRIVED EVER AGAIN, D'YA HEAR ME?!"
He tried to throw off the Impassive One's grip, but the combined force of the tiny voice and the Impassive One's will kept him in check. The Beast switched tactics, seeing that he wasn't intimidating them. He smiled wickedly, and lowered his voice.
"You and that pipsqueak think you can contain me, but I always break free! Just like the casino, just like that little dog, just like that pretty little thing back in Toronto." he hissed, voice full of cunning. The small voice dimmed at their mentions, regret and sadness tinting the Impassive One's hold on the Beast.
"You can't keep doing this! People rely on you! They need you, they need us!" it cried out, but was nearly drowned out by the sound of the Beast's growling. "They're our family!"
"They're your family." the Impassive One amended, recognizing a way to appeal to the Beast's nature. "If you don't protect them, they'll be taken from you. If you keep acting this way, they'll leave you."
"I'll kill them first!" the Beast retorted, but a glint of uncertainty had entered his eyes. He struggles lessened.
It was at that point of tentative equilibrium, that the fog began to recede. The Beast renewed his struggles, sensing that he only had a short time before he'd be trapped once again. The Impassive One and faint voice held on. The space among them was becoming indistinct, the Beast was being pulled back into his cage. They, no- he, Bing stumbled and fell to the ground as the fog completely left, trying to reconcile the feeling that he'd been three separate people just a short while ago.
Jesus H. Christ, was that what he was really like?! As he pushed himself up to a sitting position, he found himself checking to make sure his things were still with him, and even though they all were, an anger continued to simmer just below the surface. Where he used to feel in control of his emotions, he now felt like he had to constantly check himself to make sure he wasn't close to boiling over. Did the pieces of him not fit together quite right anymore? Was this something new?
Bing began to sweat as he tried keep a rein on his emotions. He shakily climbed to his feet, and staggered off across the grounds, as far from the fog as he could get.
OOC: SCENARIO *6*
Scenario requirements: Your character wanders around outside, too scared to go into the hospital, too scared to go back to the fog. At some point the fog encroaches, and envelops them entirely. They begin to hear voices from all directions, and it directly shatters their psyche as they are no longer able to process or comprehend what or who they are. They wander the fog for hours, trapped in a state of non-living, as they begin to develop several personas, and talk to each persona of themselves to cope with the situation.
Eventually the effect subsides, and they escape the fog, feeling shaken. It feels like however, a switch has become undone, and they might become unstable again, to the point of even being taken over by the other personas.
If rping this event with multiple people, you only have to pick ONE person to get trapped by the fog, as the other people simply search for them. At the end as the fog recedes they can find them again!
When the event is over, add +10 infection to your character's infection meter.
Characters involved: Bing Bonhomme
Extra effect: Any player in your party [ carrying a flashlight ] will be able to shine it in dark places. This does an additional +1 damage every time they hit any sort of mob (including boss mobs!) when they flash it at them.
OOC
[ Infection Rate ]: 40+10= 50/100
Character's name: Bing Bonhomme
Character's faction: Prison
Character's journal link: Here
Character's survival stats: View
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MY CHARACTER A great hulk of a man. Strong, but with little muscle definition. Slick-backed blonde hair, pale blue eyes. Waist-Up
