HEARTGAME DRESS REHEARSAL

[finalbows]

thank u rah u hero

tracking sheet
 

[ ..somewhere in the pasture, Angel Devil falls down.
His clothes have twisted away into bone-white rags, leaving a body covered over with only thick swathes of red fur, and downy feathers. His long tail is curled into a tense arc, banded fur standing on end.

The air wavers like he’s a heat mirage, not a man. He’s boiling away with absolutely stupid amounts of arcane power… and, most frighteningly, he does not seem in control of the fact that it is there and being brought to bear. It’s impossible to get any closer to him.


When he speaks, it’s quite timid. ]

Ah,
I thought… I had a little more time.

[ (and in a blinding flash of light, there is the sound of something breaking.) ]

~KRRSHHK~

[any observers will see, strangely see-through and superimposed on the scene, some kind of vast tree, illusionary roots twisting over and around to frame a door.  the door itself is wrought of opaque stained glass in blacks and whites and greys; a stylized rendition of Angie in that strangely ragged, feathered form, curled in on himself, eyes closed.  Angie himself is nowhere to be seen. ]

instead, a shadow . . . steps into view from behind the door.  for a moment it looks like nothing so much as a second genome – then it turns, gaining features and definition with the movement.  The monkey tail separates into three plumes; a ponytail unfurls into wings that lift up from the sides of the head.  

Teleute(?) is here, dressed in her customary black, but there is colour in her skin, and her hair and eyes are blue.  she’s frowning.]

. . . well.  This is the least I can do before I go, in exchange for the safe harbor.

[she lifts her head, nodding to any observers, and gestures at the door.]

You’ll want to head in there now if you don’t wish to lose your flockmate, I think.  Even the false-death of this place won’t be much help to him, if his soul is left to finish pulling itself apart.

My sisters and I can maintain the way into and out of it for you, but we were not made to knit such wounds by ourselves.  Have a care.

Comments

[wants_the_phd]

[OK but she really is soggy this time. Method acting.]

[She comes in, shyly halting at the door (while discretely checking for someone who might be getting ready to jump out at her with a knife.)]

Um. Is that Chaos?

[finalbows]

[ the coast looks clear. no bad vibes from the shadowy corners. ]


[ more subdued, as she goes back to sweeping all the petals together into a pile,]

"Yes... the God of Destruction. I used to be one of his servants."

[ but not anymore, is the unspoken bit. ]

[wants_the_phd]

Then, do you know Révérence? Seven feet tall, long silver hair with feathers, never stops talking?

[I mean. Obviously she does, since azdaja found some of her hair under his bed.]

[finalbows]

"We've never had a proper conversation... but... he helped me, once."

[ she sets the broom aside, and holds out her hands where Azdaja can see them:
tens of cut threads, dangling from where they're tied haphazardly around her wrists. ]

[wants_the_phd]

[Desire Clown strikes again]

What happened?

[finalbows]

"...A lot of it is a blur. I didn't know who I was... and when I wasn't fighting, it felt like my body was sleeping, even though I was awake. But one day, he just... showed up. Talked to me. Even though I couldn't speak.

And then... he cut them."

[wants_the_phd]

The strings?

Who put them on you? Was it the clown-looking guy?

[finalbows]

"Yes. His name's..."

[ ... ]

"...not... what matters, anymore. He turned me into a weapon. Because of my magic."

[wants_the_phd]

Your magic? Is it different than what Révérence can do?

[finalbows]

"I... would assume so? We're from different worlds... I would tell you more about mine if I could, but..."

[ she sits, resting on the edge of the big empty basin at the goddess Cosmos' feet. ]

"...I just can't."

[wants_the_phd]

That's okay.

Speaking of Révérence, though -- I think he's in trouble. I saw a glimpse of him... he looked asleep, or catatonic. Or... dying, maybe? The clown guy was trying strings to him and trying to wake him up, but I think he...

What should I do?

[finalbows]

"Is that the source of this horrible feeling of dread...?
...ever since I came to this church, I just knew... there's something I need to find here...
I didn't know why. Or even what I was looking for.
But I knew that...

It felt like hearing something crying out in pain...
I couldn't pass by and ignore it.

Maybe... we need to find it?"

[wants_the_phd]

[She comes farther into the church, looking around more earnestly, too. Sniff sniff sniff what smells rotten, what looks misty, etc.]

What were the skeletons outside?

[finalbows]

[ the girl's answer is.. beleaguered, let's say. ]

"People... that someone in here... was forced to kill."

[ meanwhile, inside the church:
wall sconces for flowers filled with dead roses. candles upon candles, many burned down to useless stubs, but enough you could make a demon summoning circle if you really WANTED to. nothing immediately obviously used to light them with. old sticky bits where rose incense was burned over and over and over. broken pews. one single non broken pew. the broom, kinda knobby handle. the chaos and cosmos effigies and empty basins below, which very obviously have traces of old blood when she sticks her nose up in there.

loose plank of wood in the floor that seems rather promising, if she got some leverage on it.

stained glass windows. too dirty to make out the design.

a few rose petals Terra had missed. when did she say her name? eh. don't worry about it. the fact of it simply sank into you like holding your hand to a hot mug.


an empty chandelier, above them. ]

[wants_the_phd]

[taking note of all of those things.]

[She's going to start by investigating the one non-broken pew, just in case there's something tucked under it.]

Were they on the side of... uh. [Looks at goddess statue,] that one?

[finalbows]

[ let's take a look underneath pew number one!

jackpot! YOU HAVE FOUND...
...it appears to be a small satchel with tasseled fringes and little colorful baubles hanging off it, along with a sheathed sword. it's got a deep purple handle, a red orb on the guard and pommel, and a slim, curved blade... that seems like it would fit perfectly in Terra's hand.

she's currently working on getting those last few rose petals in one spot, so she thankfully isn't watching you paw over what's obviously her stuff. ]


"No. They weren't involved at all. ...no one in the Cycles ever even leaves a body behind. They just... fade."

[wants_the_phd]

[Oh okay. Her stuff doesn't appear to be howling or petrified or anything so it's probably not what we're looking for.]

I know the name of Chaos, but what's the name of the other one? Why does this church have both of them in it?

[She takes a moment to make some fresh roses bloom in all the places dead ones used to be. Do Rose powers work like this? Idk who cares we're in a monkey's head]

[finalbows]

[ she watches you refresh the flowers with open awe, and... when you catch her watching... shyly looks away, into the stone face of the goddess. ]


"Her name is Cosmos... Goddess of Harmony. As far as I know... all she really wants is to live in peace. But Chaos won't... allow that. So... she has people who came to protect her."

[ the actual plot of dissidia is that she's a clone of chaos's dead mom and they're fighting to save the world or something but neither terra nor kuja know that so . big shrug ]

"I guess, if both are here... it might be... a neutral meeting ground? But I've never seen them agree to something like that before."

[wants_the_phd]

What are you doing here, then?

[She crouches to test the structural integrity of this loose floorboard with her fingertips. How much effort does she have to invest to prise this free, let's find out.]

[finalbows]

"Maybe I belong here in the middle. Not really part of either. I changed sides, thinking I could make a difference, but..."

[ ow, splinter. your hands aren't gonna do the trick.
you could definitely use a sword to crack this sucker open!
or a machete. ]

[wants_the_phd]

Is that possible? Changing sides?

[She doesn't want to damage her machete, so first she's going to try coaxing some vines to grow up from under the board and through the cracks. See if she can pop it off that way and conserve some of the strength in her noodle arms.]

Chaos doesn't, like... mind control you or anything?

[finalbows]

"No, he doesn't... but it's not that simple...
To live in the realm of the gods, they need to give you a tiny bit of their power. They can even bring back the dead..."

[ with patient coaxing, the vines she's been calling, urging up are starting to bend up the plank out of place. ]

"...but that means your life counts on theirs. They can take it away... or give it to you to keep.
I think... a lot of the other warriors are dead, at home. I don't know if I am. But... most of Chaos' warriors..."

[ the wood finally snaps. ]

[wants_the_phd]

How were you able to switch sides without dying, then? I wonder if Révérence could...

[What's under the floor!!!!]

[finalbows]

"Um... well..."

[ the secret cache, filled over with dust and detritus of the ages, somewhat predictably contains a red mask that feels correct to hold in your hands,
and a very heavy, ornate sword.

Gained MASK OF THE ROSE.

...also gained SAVE THE QUEEN.
]

"...One of her warriors took me to see her... and... I just asked."

[wants_the_phd]

I wonder if Cosmos would accept him, too. Though I kinda get the impression he's had it with fighting other people's wars. The bigger question, I guess, is how can he get his freedom back entirely.

[...experimentally puts the rose mask on her face]