[stealth mission... the good news is, since none of them are wearing shoes probably, their footsteps are likely to be pretty quiet? just the soft pitter-patter of lil animal feet.
he will make an effort to keep them off to the side/in the dark/have them navigate around as they're following the sounds in such a way that there are things they can duck behind for cover in case whoever is talking and making those footsteps appears suddenly.]
[they're all coming from down in the fossil section!
it is dark downstairs, but - not enough that you can't see what's happening. they can duck behind a couple of boxes at the front if they'd like, but the scene they're presented with is this:
an enormous, ceiling-tall monster, smokey and black, with an almost spider-like collection of white eyes across its face, is curled up on the ground in front of them. it seems to be the source of the whalesong, or at least, what sounds similar to that. it's connected to the ceiling by a set of very large puppet strings, and it doesn't seem to be able to move. above it are a series of metal rafters, like the kind you find on stage at a theater. and up there, is a woman, typing at a terminal. she's talking to the creature.]
Ah, yes. Saya has delivered a letter - she'll be bringing us the bells soon, if nothing has gone awry. I haven't heard from the others today. I'll have to make a few house calls.
[the monster doesn't reply.]
I'll need your help for that, darling.
[the monster shifts, and turns away, and the woman sighs, with a little tsk.]
[it wouldn't be out of the question for that to be a real tag, but sadly it's not. actually, he's looking at the rafters.
also, geez, in his opinion this is such saya slander. she's a good girl!!!!!!! a wonderful girl. a girl who does know how to steal and get into trouble. but a good girl. anyway, whispering to nico and will - ]
...Those puppet strings. If we can do something about them, maybe we've got a shot.
[let's free this giant spider monster because it's very obvious who the real asshole around here is.]
[ he dislikes this immensely, but he's already scanning those rafters. ]
If there's a way to get up there--[ he points as he whispers. ] I bet we can cut the strings and free her. We just have to make sure we aren't spotted. Keep the director busy and make sure nobody else gets in the way either. A ladder? Or anything to climb up.
[ is there a way up? he is not happy with how the monster's sounding. it's...sad, actually. but he can't let that distract him either. ]
[he is also looking around for a way up to the rafters. there's gotta be some way if the woman is up there??? but how to get up there without her noticing is the problem.]
[sure yeah there's a ladder they can climb off to the side they can climb! it'll lead up to the rafters, they just have to be careful because the director is up there and if she turns around, she'll see them climbing it. what do.]
You two try to get up there. See if swords will work, otherwise... [he's...going to hand Nico the bomb. use bombs responsibly, kids.] I'll see if I can keep her attention focused down here.
[...and then he's going to stroll into the room, holding the laser gun. but not holding it like he plans to shoot it, just sort of twirling it in his hand. also, is there by any chance more than one way up there? he'd like to try to talk his way up there too, without drawing her attention towards nico and will.]
Oi, Director, right? Guess we've got a bigger pest control problem in this town than I thought. Confiscated this thing off some brats who were planning to cause trouble, but...I'm more interested in what's going on in here.
[ i know reigen is giving nico the bomb because my tag was next but somehow thinking he was more responsible with this is hysterical, thanks. but he takes it, nodding and handling it with care. ]
We'll be careful. If it gets too bad down here we'll jump back in. [ a sharp nod. ] Come on, Will.
[ he's not going to start moving until he sees if reigen's gambit works, but once he's sure she may not notice he begins to ascend the ladder to get up to the rafters. animal crawling… ]
[okay, but also: nico IS probably the more responsible choice for holding onto a bomb, all things considered.
he nods back at nico and salutes reigen with one paw, and likewise, he also waits to see if reigen is able to catch and hold the director's attention. but once it does seem like they have an opening, he will scale the ladder behind nico.
they're animals, but also they're pretty decent at climbing? thank you, lava rock wall at camp.]
[there isn't another way down, but that might not be a problem for reasons. anyway, nico and will climb up the ladder easily enough. hup hup hup. the monster spots the two of you, but doesn't move.
the woman - the director, as you've guessed - startles, slapping the terminal like she's closing something. she stares down at reigen, completely taken by surprise, and then:]
I'm sorry, who are you?
[...]
Did you just move in? You do realize there is caution tape surrounding the building.
Yep. I'm new in town. And as soon as I ran into that deer girl and she started hitting me up for money, I knew you had to have some kind of crazy scam going on over here.
[still twirling his gun, but he just waltzes in like he's confident.]
I have to get in on this, you know? I mean, after all, you practically have this whole place under your thumb, but...not completely. There's still a couple of things going on I'm pretty sure you don't know about.
[ up they go! the added invincibility helps to ignore the pain from taking as many hits as they have, and they scale up the ladder and swing gently into the rafters. he knows will is behind him, trusts him to have his back and he begins to crawl closer toward the strings.
he tries to get close to the creature, softly whispering. ]
We're here to help you. Promise. [ another check on the director and reigen, but he deploys the sword and gauges if he can cut the strings on this side from this angle. ]
[he's watching nico's back for sure and moving as carefully and as quietly as he can - reigen at least seems to have the director's attention. they seem to have the creature's, but it's not like, immediately outing them as intruders. so. that's promising.
will smiles down at it in a way that he hopes is reassuring and will very carefully make his way across the rafters to the other side - once he gets there, he will likewise take a moment to see if the strings are within reach, and also glance down at the creature. does it seem chill with the idea of them trying to cut these strings?
if so, he'll test the blade against the strings - does it seem like they might cut?]
[i'm gonna be 100% honest the director really does not know what to do with reigen, she kind of just... stares at him like he's shouting gibberish at her.]
... Such as? [but sue her, she's curious.
she's distracted, for the moment, which is good because when nico talks to the creature, it curls away from him, watching. it doesn't protest either will or nico, just watches them. and they can try to cut the strings, but they're very, very thick. it might take a second.
also, while doing it, their chests feels warm, in an uncomfortable way, like there's something building.]
[that's fine. she doesn't need to like him, she just needs to think he's not worth killing for the next five minutes while she figures out if he knows anything useful.]
Hmm. How about I give you one, and you give me one? For example, I don't think Saya is going to be showing up here with those bells any time soon. Now your turn. What's the big plan? It's got to be about more than just collecting money, right?
[ reigen's doing fine. the creature curls away from them, and he pauses to show he's not going to use the sword to stab it? instead, he will start trying to cut the strings. slowly and effectively.
he's used to feeling weird, so yeah. he notices the feeling in his chest, but he's being an idiot to power through it. he has a task to focus on, but maybe he should consider it a warning. ]
Are you having any better luck? [ murmured to will. ]
[will focuses on trying to cut through the strings, but - yeah, there's definitely some resistance here. probably because the strings are so thick. so he settles in to do what he feels needs to be done, pausing for just a fraction of a second when he feels that uncomfortable warmth in his chest -
(and it's really weird, for it to feel uncomfortable; for him, the warmth has always been a good thing.)
- only to glance over at nico, who seems unaffected, or is at least just powering through it. maybe it's just in his head, then? maybe it's this place messing with him again, taking the warmth that he usually associates with things he enjoys and trying to make him feel weird about it.
he resumes powering through.
but when nico murmurs to him, he shakes his head and murmurs back.]
The string's really thick. But I don't think it'll be impossible to cut. [...he should ask, though.] ...does something feel a little... weird?
[he puts one hand briefly over his chest before returning to trying to cut the strings.]
[the director leans over the railing, looking at reigen.]
... You think that I'm just going to tell you classified information just because you told me that little brat of a deer stole my money?
[that warmth gets a little worse. and a little worse. and - nico, your wound across your face starts to throb. will, the wound at your leg follows suit, pain thudding in and out like a heartbeat. it's starting to hurt, actually, more than it should. it feels a little like the way grief does, when something bad happens, but you don't have time to react. so you stuff it down, and you keep it there, but it builds, and builds, until one more bad thing happens, and you lose it all at once.
but it's worse than that, because - when nico looks at will, he'll see bits of skin starting to show up, instead of fur. when will looks at nico, he'll see the same. like ace, like all of the bodies in the clothing store. and that pressure is building, and building, and it hurts.
the monster below them lets out a wail.
once upon a time, there was a creature that everybody knew was evil...]
[ first of all, where the fuck did reigen get more bells.
secondly, the longer they work on the strings and the longer reigen talks to the director to distract her, the more obvious it becomes that something's wrong. the warmth in his chest is tight and uncomfortable, and he faintly thinks "huh, that'd be ironic. local death boy dies of a heart attack." before brushing the thought off. it's manageable. it's tolerable. he's dealt with discomfort worse than this.
but then will asks, and then there's the throbbing on his face just beneath his eye where the scratches are, and he can almost keep time with each pulse. it burns, it stings, it weighs heavily on his skin and drags him down and makes his breath catch in his throat the longer he's aware of it. it's the feeling of dread, the remembrance of sorrow and the agony of grief that always itches right beneath his skin. it's a familiar feeling. until it's not. ]
...mm. [ it's a quiet whimper of an answer, because if he opens his mouth he knows will is going to realize that he's downplaying it. they can't focus on this. they need to keep going. he tries to look up to give him something of a reassuring look, except his expression quickly turns to something akin to horror. ]
Will-- [ it's whispered, but it's scared and he stops moving to try and concentrate, but he's rapidly failing to do so as the pressure begins to crush him. what's happening? why is this happening? even so, he's trying to keep an eye on reigen, too, to be sure they aren't spotted and aren't about to all fucking die, actually. if they look at their own hands and such, is the hybrid transformation happening to them?
the monster below them wails, and all he can think is "yeah, me too." ]
oh, bad. will is used enough to the pain of injuries that the throbbing itself doesn't get him to drop his sword (imagine how stupid that would be - to get caught because of that?), but the grief that settles in and builds starts to. to combat it, he deliberately tightens his grip on his sword and pulls it down momentarily to settle it in his lap.
which is a good thing, because seeing the way nico's appearance is starting to change absolutely would have frightened him into dropping his sword. he can deal with whatever is happening to him, with whatever this pain is, but he can't bear the thought of something happening to nico, and seeing the those bits of skin starting to poke through the fur terrifies him. it makes him remember the others they'd seen, but his damn overactive imagination adds nico to the mix, and he can feel his hands trembling.
the pressure builds, and builds, and builds, and he wishes he was close enough to get over to him and take his hand. paw? hand.
nico's gaze drops to his hands, and will's follows suit, to see what else might be changing.
reigen's keeping the director talking. if they can - if they can just keep her occupied, if they can get these strings cut, then maybe...
he takes a breath, looks up to meet nico's eyes, and whispers - ]
...we're gonna be okay.
[but will they, though? the pressure is building, and he can barely think straight.]
[the director looks like she's going to say something, but reigen interrupts her with the sight of the bells. she pauses. watches the bag for a second, and then:]
... Yes, yes, alright. Bring the money up here, hold on - Monster, if you would --
[she starts, and then stops, looking over her shoulder, like she's going to tell the creature to do something. and then she stops, and reigen can't see this, but her eyes widen, and she stumbles backwards. one step, two, and then she fucking takes off down the rafters, to the ladder, trying to get away from the strings.
[when he sees her suddenly look over her shoulder his heart stops for a second, thinking she spotted nico and will. but then she takes off in the other direction, trying to get away? so then, what's going on?
he glances up at the big spider to see if it's doing anything. at the strings. can he see anything? does he see two more monsters?]
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trying to be very quiet as they approach? can he hear what the lady is saying?]
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he's going to stay quiet, too. this is a stealth mission again, even if he's keeping close to the two of them. is it dark downstairs, too? ]
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he will make an effort to keep them off to the side/in the dark/have them navigate around as they're following the sounds in such a way that there are things they can duck behind for cover in case whoever is talking and making those footsteps appears suddenly.]
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it is dark downstairs, but - not enough that you can't see what's happening. they can duck behind a couple of boxes at the front if they'd like, but the scene they're presented with is this:
an enormous, ceiling-tall monster, smokey and black, with an almost spider-like collection of white eyes across its face, is curled up on the ground in front of them. it seems to be the source of the whalesong, or at least, what sounds similar to that. it's connected to the ceiling by a set of very large puppet strings, and it doesn't seem to be able to move. above it are a series of metal rafters, like the kind you find on stage at a theater. and up there, is a woman, typing at a terminal. she's talking to the creature.]
Ah, yes. Saya has delivered a letter - she'll be bringing us the bells soon, if nothing has gone awry. I haven't heard from the others today. I'll have to make a few house calls.
[the monster doesn't reply.]
I'll need your help for that, darling.
[the monster shifts, and turns away, and the woman sighs, with a little tsk.]
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also, geez, in his opinion this is such saya slander. she's a good girl!!!!!!! a wonderful girl. a girl who does know how to steal and get into trouble. but a good girl. anyway, whispering to nico and will - ]
...Those puppet strings. If we can do something about them, maybe we've got a shot.
[let's free this giant spider monster because it's very obvious who the real asshole around here is.]
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If there's a way to get up there--[ he points as he whispers. ] I bet we can cut the strings and free her. We just have to make sure we aren't spotted. Keep the director busy and make sure nobody else gets in the way either. A ladder? Or anything to climb up.
[ is there a way up? he is not happy with how the monster's sounding. it's...sad, actually. but he can't let that distract him either. ]
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You two try to get up there. See if swords will work, otherwise... [he's...going to hand Nico the bomb. use bombs responsibly, kids.] I'll see if I can keep her attention focused down here.
[...and then he's going to stroll into the room, holding the laser gun. but not holding it like he plans to shoot it, just sort of twirling it in his hand. also, is there by any chance more than one way up there? he'd like to try to talk his way up there too, without drawing her attention towards nico and will.]
Oi, Director, right? Guess we've got a bigger pest control problem in this town than I thought. Confiscated this thing off some brats who were planning to cause trouble, but...I'm more interested in what's going on in here.
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We'll be careful. If it gets too bad down here we'll jump back in. [ a sharp nod. ] Come on, Will.
[ he's not going to start moving until he sees if reigen's gambit works, but once he's sure she may not notice he begins to ascend the ladder to get up to the rafters. animal crawling… ]
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he nods back at nico and salutes reigen with one paw, and likewise, he also waits to see if reigen is able to catch and hold the director's attention. but once it does seem like they have an opening, he will scale the ladder behind nico.
they're animals, but also they're pretty decent at climbing? thank you, lava rock wall at camp.]
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the woman - the director, as you've guessed - startles, slapping the terminal like she's closing something. she stares down at reigen, completely taken by surprise, and then:]
I'm sorry, who are you?
[...]
Did you just move in? You do realize there is caution tape surrounding the building.
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[still twirling his gun, but he just waltzes in like he's confident.]
I have to get in on this, you know? I mean, after all, you practically have this whole place under your thumb, but...not completely. There's still a couple of things going on I'm pretty sure you don't know about.
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he tries to get close to the creature, softly whispering. ]
We're here to help you. Promise. [ another check on the director and reigen, but he deploys the sword and gauges if he can cut the strings on this side from this angle. ]
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will smiles down at it in a way that he hopes is reassuring and will very carefully make his way across the rafters to the other side - once he gets there, he will likewise take a moment to see if the strings are within reach, and also glance down at the creature. does it seem chill with the idea of them trying to cut these strings?
if so, he'll test the blade against the strings - does it seem like they might cut?]
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... Such as? [but sue her, she's curious.
she's distracted, for the moment, which is good because when nico talks to the creature, it curls away from him, watching. it doesn't protest either will or nico, just watches them. and they can try to cut the strings, but they're very, very thick. it might take a second.
also, while doing it, their chests feels warm, in an uncomfortable way, like there's something building.]
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Hmm. How about I give you one, and you give me one? For example, I don't think Saya is going to be showing up here with those bells any time soon. Now your turn. What's the big plan? It's got to be about more than just collecting money, right?
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he's used to feeling weird, so yeah. he notices the feeling in his chest, but he's being an idiot to power through it. he has a task to focus on, but maybe he should consider it a warning. ]
Are you having any better luck? [ murmured to will. ]
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(and it's really weird, for it to feel uncomfortable; for him, the warmth has always been a good thing.)
- only to glance over at nico, who seems unaffected, or is at least just powering through it. maybe it's just in his head, then? maybe it's this place messing with him again, taking the warmth that he usually associates with things he enjoys and trying to make him feel weird about it.
he resumes powering through.
but when nico murmurs to him, he shakes his head and murmurs back.]
The string's really thick. But I don't think it'll be impossible to cut. [...he should ask, though.] ...does something feel a little... weird?
[he puts one hand briefly over his chest before returning to trying to cut the strings.]
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... You think that I'm just going to tell you classified information just because you told me that little brat of a deer stole my money?
[that warmth gets a little worse. and a little worse. and - nico, your wound across your face starts to throb. will, the wound at your leg follows suit, pain thudding in and out like a heartbeat. it's starting to hurt, actually, more than it should. it feels a little like the way grief does, when something bad happens, but you don't have time to react. so you stuff it down, and you keep it there, but it builds, and builds, until one more bad thing happens, and you lose it all at once.
but it's worse than that, because - when nico looks at will, he'll see bits of skin starting to show up, instead of fur. when will looks at nico, he'll see the same. like ace, like all of the bodies in the clothing store. and that pressure is building, and building, and it hurts.
the monster below them lets out a wail.
once upon a time, there was a creature that everybody knew was evil...]
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[he reaches into his flesh pocket and pulls out one of the 20,000 bags of bells.]
I think I have something you'd be interested in.
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secondly, the longer they work on the strings and the longer reigen talks to the director to distract her, the more obvious it becomes that something's wrong. the warmth in his chest is tight and uncomfortable, and he faintly thinks "huh, that'd be ironic. local death boy dies of a heart attack." before brushing the thought off. it's manageable. it's tolerable. he's dealt with discomfort worse than this.
but then will asks, and then there's the throbbing on his face just beneath his eye where the scratches are, and he can almost keep time with each pulse. it burns, it stings, it weighs heavily on his skin and drags him down and makes his breath catch in his throat the longer he's aware of it. it's the feeling of dread, the remembrance of sorrow and the agony of grief that always itches right beneath his skin. it's a familiar feeling. until it's not. ]
...mm. [ it's a quiet whimper of an answer, because if he opens his mouth he knows will is going to realize that he's downplaying it. they can't focus on this. they need to keep going. he tries to look up to give him something of a reassuring look, except his expression quickly turns to something akin to horror. ]
Will-- [ it's whispered, but it's scared and he stops moving to try and concentrate, but he's rapidly failing to do so as the pressure begins to crush him. what's happening? why is this happening? even so, he's trying to keep an eye on reigen, too, to be sure they aren't spotted and aren't about to all fucking die, actually. if they look at their own hands and such, is the hybrid transformation happening to them?
the monster below them wails, and all he can think is "yeah, me too." ]
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oh, bad. will is used enough to the pain of injuries that the throbbing itself doesn't get him to drop his sword (imagine how stupid that would be - to get caught because of that?), but the grief that settles in and builds starts to. to combat it, he deliberately tightens his grip on his sword and pulls it down momentarily to settle it in his lap.
which is a good thing, because seeing the way nico's appearance is starting to change absolutely would have frightened him into dropping his sword. he can deal with whatever is happening to him, with whatever this pain is, but he can't bear the thought of something happening to nico, and seeing the those bits of skin starting to poke through the fur terrifies him. it makes him remember the others they'd seen, but his damn overactive imagination adds nico to the mix, and he can feel his hands trembling.
the pressure builds, and builds, and builds, and he wishes he was close enough to get over to him and take his hand. paw? hand.
nico's gaze drops to his hands, and will's follows suit, to see what else might be changing.
reigen's keeping the director talking. if they can - if they can just keep her occupied, if they can get these strings cut, then maybe...
he takes a breath, looks up to meet nico's eyes, and whispers - ]
...we're gonna be okay.
[but will they, though? the pressure is building, and he can barely think straight.]
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... Yes, yes, alright. Bring the money up here, hold on - Monster, if you would --
[she starts, and then stops, looking over her shoulder, like she's going to tell the creature to do something. and then she stops, and reigen can't see this, but her eyes widen, and she stumbles backwards. one step, two, and then she fucking takes off down the rafters, to the ladder, trying to get away from the strings.
as two more monsters join the fray!]
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he glances up at the big spider to see if it's doing anything. at the strings. can he see anything? does he see two more monsters?]
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