realityshifted | ஜ 4th Rise of the Phoenix ஜ

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saint seiya (d4) phoenix ikki

ஜ 4th Rise of the Phoenix ஜ

[Someone feels in a joking mood today, enough so that instead of letting people just roam around the Plane or their own worlds they may find themselves in neither of those places.

The sky seems to have been literally dyed in red, so much that the rain that falls from it seems to be closer to blood that to water. The land is technically empty and deserted, just an expansion of dirt and mud with cracks on it from which what seems to be lava overflows. the only sign that there has ever been live there is, ironically, the sea of corpses that climbs down of an ignited volcano. Countless of bodies of all ages piled together, one after the other, at the start of the "sea" they are all faceless, even if one were to inspect them there would be no sign of their identity. If one ventures further the corpses will start to wear faces, all twisted in the most excruciating pain, some of them wearing the remains of broken armors, cloths for those who may be familiar with Athena's Saints. Even the corpses of those Saints who often hang around the Plane can be spotted, together with Athena's body. All of them dead, having suffered endlessly, the only sign of what could have hurt them being deep burning marks in their bodies.

And in the center of all that devastation, sits Phoenix Ikki in silence. His body is literally on fire, the scent of burnt skin is impossible to miss, yet he doesn't move or even flinch, letting the flames lick at his skin and devour it and his muscles inch by inch. Black chains keep him tied down in that sitting position, so tight that they dig into his skin breaking it and allowing his blood to drip down. In his arms he holds a blanket, bundled up in a way that suggest that there may be a baby in it, however it's drenched with blood and there doesn't seem to be any body there, just the cloth and blood.]

[ooc: Don't worry none of this is "real", Ikki's currently trapped in the Dream World in his reality and characters from the Plane may end dragged there as per the Random Encounters feature. If it's within their capacities they are probably capable of realizing that this is an "illusion" or a "dream", either way the revelation will be done if they dare to approach Ikki.]

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[It couldn't be reality. She hopes, this is not a reality. Athena carefully steps around over the corpses, shutting the eyes of her tortured saints. It's when she comes to the sight of her own body she pauses with staff in hand.

Her cosmos throbs like a heartbeat, the vast power descending like a storm of its own. Gold light flares upward, rising off of her as she comes towards the chained Ikki.] Ikki!

[The closer she came the more this felt like when she'd reached out to Sisyphus. She would bear his pain if it made him come to his senses.] Ikki, please! This can't be real!

[Menzies can't believe the sight meeting her eyes, and she immediately guesses it's the Plane playing a joke. but, at a loss for what else to do, she starts to make her way carefully along the landscape, shielding her eyes from that horrible rain and watching for any clues she can find as to what--and where--this place might be. when she finds the bodies and recognises what they're wearing, she realises the joke isn't on her this time, but she can think of two possibilities of whom it might be meant for. even though the situation is horrifying, she looks at the corpses with the eyes of a detective inspector--wondering what might have done this to them and why. even if the place isn't real, she's in this world, and she needs to work out what the rules of it are. but, for the moment at least, the only threat she sees is the volcanoes--and possibly the rain, if it gets worse]

[when she comes upon Mu's corpse, she cringes, closing her eyes briefly] This is one helluva nightmare. And I bet I know whose it is...

[she continues on. she isn't surprised to find Ikki, but the sight of him is one for sure. her eyes widen, and she breaks out in a run] Hey! Can you hear me!?

Shut up...

[It's an order, however it comes out almost as a plea despite the strength of his tone, his voice sounds tired, exhausted and distant. Almost as if he isn't really talking to the Athena that is approaching him.

He really isn't talking to her. However, her Cosmos and voice are just impossible to miss or ignore, the closer she gets the more of a reaction she gets but it probably isn't the reaction she wanted. The flames that were slowly devouring Ikki burst out fiercely, burning more and more at a faster speed, as if rejecting her, at the same time, though, they roast his own body. A bodiless voice resonates in the land, a voice that Ikki knows well but that for Athena won't bear even a hint of familiarity.]

I told you to hate, Ikki. Hate the world, hate your family, hate yourself. Hate is the answer that makes the phoenix raise and fly. It's your fault for not hating enough. None of them would be gone if you had just hated them all.

[The fire keeps burning, unstoppable until it Ikki's body just... Turns into ashes together with all the corpses that had been lying around seconds before. The ashes get carried away by a breeze as the flames reduce their size, behind all that's left is a small child, still recognizable as Ikki, still cradling in his arms the bloody blanket as if holding a baby and mumbling to himself.]

... I don't care. I don't care what you say. I don't care if you think it's better for him, I won't let go of him. I'm going to take care of him. I won't hand him to anyone...

Hate, Ikki. If you hate him and abandon him he will be saved. You would have been saved. She would have been saved. Hate as much as you please, that's your answer.

[As Menzies runs towards Ikki, a bodiless voice resonates in the place, coming from nowhere and from everywhere at once.]

Isn't it your fault? If you had hated as I told you, if you had pushed everyone and everything away no one would have gotten hurt. Look what you have done. Look what not hating has brought to you.

[As if on cue the fire on Ikki increases and he cringes, however he doesn't scream in pain or agony. Instead he smirks, as if having heard an amusing joke even as the flames devour more and more of his body. Blue eyes raise and try to focus on Menzies' figure, she's definitively an alien presence, enough to at least make the hold the nightmare has on Ikki's mind to waver. But not enough to make him wake up from it.]

What now? You don't have enough showing me all those corpses, you're going to go with those people too? As if I cared about that place...

[His words are harsh and strong, yet his voice sounds tired and exhausted, it lacks a real bite and it resonates as nothing but denial. He keeps looking at her but after a few seconds it's almost as if he's just looking through Menzies, perceiving her as part of the dream rather than someone real.]

[at the voice:] Oh, shut up!

[she stops in front of Ikki, not sure what to do. she has a feeling those flames are going to be real for her, and she doesn't see any easy way to get him out even if she tried]

No, this--whatever it is--I'm not part of it. Listen to me! The Plane must've sent me. This isn't real. How do I get you out of it?

I said I don't care. Show me all you want, those people have nothing to do with me!

[His voice raises in an attempt to be more demanding and firm, and the flames around him increase in intensity and range as if protecting him as if rejecting Menzies and everything around him. Yet, at the same time, they devour his skin and muscles even faster, the chains tighten and the blood drips even faster. As if more than protecting him they were hurting him answering to his attempts to protect himself.]

I don't care about what you think, you hear me?! So what if they all are dead? So what if everyone thinks there were other options? Whatever you say has nothing to do with me!

[He's obviously not talking to Menzies, it's as if she's not there once again, he raises his eyes to the sky as the flames and chains hurt him more and more. And yet he doesn't scream in pain or cry in agony. He keeps smirking as if it's exactly what he wanted.]

[ For a moment, Saga almost swore he had gone insane again, or perhaps one of those nightmares that left him sleepless for so many nights. Almost real it is eerie: the bloody-resembling rain, the tremendous heat, the rising volcano... the faceless corpses at the trailhead. But something that catches his attention is the familiar dead bodies of his peers. His expression turns into one filled with contained dread when he spots the face of his beloved Goddess.

Hand clenched in a fist, he goes on in his walk, carefully stepping amidst the lifeless frames... until he meets the one responsible of this illusion.

There is him, the immortal bird. What Saga didn't expect was the condition in which Ikki was at the moment, ablaze, as if he were melting. And why is he holding that bloody blanket?

He reacts and calls for him. ]

Ikki!

You killed her.

[Ikki doesn't seem to react to Saga's call. However, when a bodiless voice, the voice of his master Guilty, resonates in the area, the immortal bird flinches. The fire that's burning him intensifies as the bloody blanket starts to move on its own, shifting, elongating, changing it's shape until it turns into a young girl, a child compared to Ikki and Saga now. She wears a ragged dress and her body has obvious bruises and scars here and there, her hands aren't soft looking nor delicate, instead they are the hands of someone who works hard every day to the point of exhaustion. A large wound in her chest drips blood as if it was a river and her blonde hair is dirtied with blood and mud. Ikki's voice is barely a tired whisper before the bodiless voice keeps talking.]

Shut up...

It was your fault that she died. It was your hesitation what killed her. Your compassion and mercy killed her! I told you to hate, Ikki! If you had hated and killed without mercy she would have been saved. If you had hated her she would have never been in danger. You're the phoenix, you can't do anything but hate. Hate is your only answer.

[Picking his way through the corpses is a man with a song.]

[He hums to himself, stepping along between the bodies. He doesn't seem to notice the familiarity of any of them, picking his way without any attention to the faceless or the faced alike. But when he sees Ikki, he stops. He smiles his sharp-toothed smile and addresses him.] Hello, friend. Those chains seem painful. Shall I set you free?

Damnit, wake up! [he's not listening, so even though she's not sure what's going to happen, she reaches a hand into the flames to grab him--though she's ready to snatch her hand back immediately if the flames are real for her]

[ That voice...

Never thought he would hear that voice once again, after so long. Saga tries to sense that man‘s Cosmo but it‘s nowhere, however the intensity of the fire alerts him. ]

Ikki!

[ By the time he tries to walk towards him, the transformation catches him by surprise. A girl whose pitiful appearance and fatal wound causes a throb in his heart.

Is she the one Ikki...?

The voice speaks again. The consequence of his actions as the evil Pope through Guilty‘s words. Saga can‘t help but to feel the heavy weight of his crimes.

Despair is shown in his features. ]

Ikki, don‘t listen to him!

[The more his Cosmos rejects her, the more her own enfolds the area, rolling over everything like a sea of brilliant gold. What his burns, she heals. The voice makes her eyes narrow as she crosses the last bit of distance to try and touch Ikki. It reminded her of Kagaho, the same sorrow and rage rising out. It didn't matter if it burned her, she would seek to hold onto him.]

Hate only creates pain and sorrow. It has nothing to do with what makes a fire bird fly! Yet, it's foolish to say one thing or another makes humans 'evil' because we're all desperately trying to live our lives and protect others!

Give me your pain, Ikki. I will protect you. I will protect those who in turn seek to keep safe. [At last her fingers touched him and she let the vast cosmos at her command ring out like a gentle call.] Ikki, this is a dream. Focus on me. Ikki!

[oh. Well this was certainly not what Richter was expecting. Normally, being on the Plane was a welcome respite from the deep, endless red of the Ginunngagap. He'd never expected to drop onto the Plane and be greeted by a landscape that mirrored his 'home' - 'prison' was a more apt description - in colour and atmosphere. The sight of the corpses prompts the half-elf to move instead of just slipping off the Plane.

The identity of the corpses means little to him; the possible significance, on the other hand, does not. Richter takes care to step around the bodies all the same. If he was in the same place as this individual (ha), then the half-elf would have appreciated the courtesy given to his own ghosts.

Richter couldn't help but recoil at the scent of burning flesh though. Burning one's mana wasn't the same as actually burning but-]

Either this is a dream or else this is someone's idea of what repentance should be. [a second to recover from the smell and to inspect the other. What were the chances-?] Are you even alive?

[Her touch makes him flinch, as if it burned more than the flames themselves. In a burst of flames Ikki's figure is that of an adult again, a hand leaves the bloody blanket to take hold of Sasha's wrist. He looks up at her, clearly seeing her there even if the flames are still burning him and the area is still almost nightmarish.]

You...

[Recognition comes in his voice after a second and surprise, shock even, comes to his face. It lasts only a second, though, before he scowls and snarls at her.]

Who asked for your help? If you have the time and power to be roaming here like this go and take Sisyphus out of his own dream, he needs you.

[He tries to push away her hand, the flames are calm now, but there are still many around his body, burning him and devouring his skin. He doesn't pay attention to them though, as if they weren't there, as if they weren't hurting him. Instead he just glares at Athena, hoping to will her away to save the Gold Saint they were trying to save. It's obvious he recognizes her but it's also obvious that he doesn't realize that this Athena isn't the one from his world.]

[The flames are warm but she will find that they aren't actually hot, at least not enough to burn her, despite the obvious damage they are doing to him. As her hand touches him there's a moment of shock in his expression before he frowns confused.]

You shouldn't be here. How did you get here?

[He doesn't mean just his world but the nightmare he's trapped in.]

You promised to help her, you wanted to save her but all you were doing was drag her to her own death. If she had never met you she would have survived, wouldn't she? Even a slave's life is better than being dead.

Shut up!

[Ikki doesn't seem to hear Saga's voice, his hands hold the body more tightly against himself. The voice doesn't stop, though and the body transforms once again... Into Shun's body, bloody and broken, traces of what was his Andromeda Cloth still clinging to him.]

You destroy everything you try to protect, don't you see it? You promised to protect your brother, to keep him safe, but because you refused to let him go, to let someone else adopt him, you pushed him to a life of fighting. Now he's with you, but he has to fight every day despite how much he hates it. You blame your father for the life you two have, but it was you who denied Shun the chance to have a normal life!!

[The fire around Ikki intensifies, burning him faster and more deeply, enough to finally make him flinch and twist in pain. His voice comes out strangled as he refuses to give in and cry in agony, as he tries to endure it.]

If you had abandoned him when he was a baby. If you had killed him when you had the chance. He wouldn't have had to endure a life doing what he hates the most, suffering as much as he does. All your love can do is hurt those around you. Your hate was the only way you can protect them.

[The dream prisons are designed solely for the person trapped in them, visitors aren't wanted, neither expected. Specially visitors that aren't known by the person trapped. The man's presence and voice is enough to disturb the dream, not enough to dissolve it, but enough to make Ikki aware of his presence. He raises his head to the other a bit, enough to look at the sharp-toothed smile with a confused frown.]

Who are you?

[The dream prisons are designed solely for the person trapped in them, visitors aren't wanted, neither expected. Specially visitors that aren't known by the person trapped. Ikki stirs and looks up at the other, frowning but looking more confused than anything else at the moment.]

Depends on what you consider as "alive". You don't look like a Specter, how did you come here?

You should give yours first. I can probably break the chains. If not, you could always lose a few limbs! [He says it with such serene cheeriness that he is almost certainly sincere about it.]

[The moment her hand closes around her wrist she looks up at him. She doesn't feel threatened or afraid of him. Instead, a calm claims her.] I did. For you it hasn't happened yet, for me it has.

He was trapped by his own guilt. He was the one who took me to Sanctuary and away from the orphanage where I lived with Tenma and Alone.

It wasn't his fault our lives became what they did. The gears of fate began to move the moment I was born. Just as they always have moved with each Holy War since the age of myth. That was not any one's fault, it is the series of events taken by a rogue, by Pandora, and the twin gods that ignited the conflict once again.

This dream isn't the instrument of the Gods of Dreaming. It is the affect of this Plane. [She meets his glare with a peaceful determined look. There is no way she'll rest until she reaches him completely.]

'Breathing' would be the most basic requirement.

... I was hoping you'd have the answer to that. [a blunt response that doesn't give away Richter's own confusion. But he's one of Sybak's best researchers for a reason and putting two and two together isn't the hardest puzzle he'd ever come across]

[he fixes his glasses before crossing his arms] My best guess would be that this is the fault of the Plane. The original idea was to have a change in scenery...

[the half-elf tilts his head to one side, indicating their current environment] But it seems my plan has fallen through once again.

[she keeps that hand on his arm, relaxing a little when he finally acknowledges her] The Plane, I'm guessing. Look, what's it gonna take to get you out of 'ere?

[ As the girl's body takes the form of Shun's, Saga resumes his way. This time, his own body lies in front of him, but that doesn't stop him despite the chill that runs through his spine.

When the flames begin to consume Ikki's flesh, his eyes widen and his feet take a more quickened pace, calling out. ]

Ikki!!

[ He doesn't care if the fire burns him too, hand finally reaching the other man's arm. ]

Snap out of it! You are the Phoenix! Will you let yourself be overcome by this?!

[In his current situation, losing a few limbs or not doesn't really matter to him. Ikki frowns a bit more, glaring at the man.]

What do you want? If you aren't involved in this you shouldn't be here.

Why, to help a friend.

[His expression is positively sunny. He would be more than happy to rescue a total stranger on what is pretty much a whim.]

[Ikki remains silent for a moment before he curses under his breath and smiles wryly and without humor.]

I thought the Plane was accessible only when we thought of it and that we could only visit other worlds by touching when leaving. So now it can bring people to other worlds even without mutual agreement? Wonderful.

[The sarcasm in his last word is painful to hear.]

[Unfortunately Ikki doesn't really know what is to help people just on a whim and without second intentions so he asks again.]

Why? There's nothing to gain from it.

The Plane? The Plane brought you here?

[Ikki glares at nothing in particular, obviously not pleased with the situation.]

It really was too much to ask for the Plane to not affect my reality... You should leave this place.

[She shouldn't be there, maybe she's not tied to the rules of his reality and is an alien presence, maybe she's not in danger. But he doesn't bet on "maybe"s. Obviously his own situation is nothing to worry about, nope.]

[Her words only confuse him more at first, angering him more, until he realizes that this Athena isn't the one from his reality. Unfortunately that realization makes him ignore everything else she says.]

You shouldn't be here. Go back to the Plane. Go back to you reality. No one asked you to come here and I don't need your help!

[The flames ignite once more as if following his will, however they still do little against her, most of the damage goes to him instead.]

The Gods, the Plane... You think I give a damn about whose work this is? You think something like this can bring me down? I don't need you help, I've never needed it, so get out and go play savior to someone who actually wants you to do so!

[Despite the fact that he talks to her, glares at her, holds a tight grip on her... His words don't really seem directed to her. Nor to Sasha neither to Athena, it's as if the words are just being projected to her because she's similar to the person to whom they really are directed to.]

Edited 2012-08-16 21:27 (UTC)

[Saga's touch is like a trigger. The flames ignite again, higher, louder, stronger and Ikki jerks away as in pain once more, but he doesn't move away from the flames. No, he moves away from Saga. Blue eyes finally focus on the other Saint, however it doesn't seem as if he really recognizes the other.]

Saga? Saga?

[There's a choked laugh as he glares in disbelief before growling.]

Is that your next attempt at a torture device? You must be joking. If you think that your bullshit is going to make any more of an effect on me by using his voice and face, you really are an idiot.

Let myself be overcome by this? You wish.

There are three things I hate more than anything else. The first is anyone who doesn't respect the majesty of nature. The second is modern art. The third is car parks. The term is contradictory and obscene. And the fourth is being bored. [His gentle smile is full of teeth, and a gunblade appears in his hand.] So why not?

[ Damn it! This isn't working. As a last resort, he flares his own Cosmo bit by bit until it's vast enough, trying to keep the fire away from Ikki's frame. He can't help but to think that the flames are a manifestation of his desire to not be saved.

Even so, Saga touches him once more and sends a piece of his gold light through his hand. He speaks to him in calm -- ]

It is me... Ikki. I am real. [ -- voice echoing all over the area. ]

What about people who start a list of three things and add a fourth one?

[Is that a joke? It's hard to tell in the current situation, Ikki's consciousness is still focused in the interference the man produces but it doesn't seem he can move at all yet.]

If you think that helping me will kill boredom you'll probably be disappointed.

[Part of him doubts the other can break the chains... Or that they will remain gone for long, but he will let him do whatever he wants.]

[The flaring of Saga's Cosmo seems to spark something in Ikki's eyes which finally focus on him. Ikki looks honestly surprised for a second before he glares at the Gold Saint, the surprise is enough to make the flames stop and reduce, they are still there but their speed is sluggishly slow.]

This isn't your place. Go back to the Plane, Saga.

[brusquely] Yeah, not gonna happen. Is there a lock on these things? [she removes her hand, taking a step back to get a better look at the chains]

Don't you have paperwork to do?

[He has no idea if they have a lock or not, he doesn't care, the chains don't bother him. They don't have a lock, though, just coming out from the ground as they wrap around him.]

I appreciate your worry but I don't need help.

[Even when the flames keep burning his skin in ways people normally can't stand.]

[ A sensation of relief is visible in his features when Ikki finally acknowledges him, proving his theory. He chuckles as if the other were joking, not desisting in what he's doing. ]

Sorry to disappoint you, but the Plane found it suitable to drag me here.

[ Emerald eyes focusing on the chains -- ] We need to leave. [ -- placing a hand atop the ones attached to his leg but not touching. He will break them with his Cosmo if only Ikki allows it. ]

You need to leave. You are dead in this place and I'm not going to allow you guys changing that. We're already screwing up this place to add the Plane's shit to it.

[Ikki glares and moves just enough to try to bat away Saga's hand.]

Don't be mistaken, I'm not in a position in which I need help.

[Even if it looks quite like he does. Oh, the denial.]

You think I want to mess with your reality? It is the least of my troubles.

[ Offended by the disavowal as he glares as well. ]

This isn't one of those times where you can easily escape, Ikki.

What kind of friend would I be if I didn't even try? [With well above human strength, he slams the handle of his gunblade against the chain to break it.]

[she ignores that question--and she gives him a look at his statement. is he mad?]

All right, if you don't need help, get yourself out of it! [she steps back, crossing her arms over her chest] I'll leave when you've done it.

That's for me to decide. It doesn't matter either way, it's not as if I can stay dead so you have no reasons to worry.

[Glaring.]

A best friend.

[No, really, why does no one ever do what Ikki tells them to do anyway? All with the excuse of friendship. It's even more ridiculous now as he doesn't even know the name of this guy. Ikki groans though it's hard to know if it's because of the situation or because as the other tries to break the chain the flames around Ikki raise, burning more of him. They are cold for the other but that's not of Ikki's concern.

Under the abuse the chain ends breaking, but just as it does another one suddenly sprouts out of the ground, chaining Ikki again. There's a shift in the air and Christopher will be greeted by a strong wind that tries to push him away, to expel him from there, it lasts only a minute, though, before it stops so it shouldn't be hard to withstand.]

... Guess they don't want you here either.

...

[He glares at her and then at himself before looking away arrogantly.]

I don't feel like leaving yet. I'm comfortable here.

[Yes, that sounded like a kid who is too proud and stubborn to admit thing.]

[She narrows her eyes at him and sets her feet in a clear gesture of resistance. There is no way she's going to pull away or go anywhere else. Not now.]

Ikki, I was brought here just as you were. But, [As his flames rise, she stands up straight. Sasha sets her jaw and meets his glare as she breathes in.]

I'm not leaving you here. I'll wait for you to break this dream then we'll leave together. I do have faith in you, phoenix saint.

Or we wouldn't have entrusted the next age to you.

[He's seen scenes like this. Usually it's a stack of dead Daves or the murder by the the numbers, every way you go you die, nightmare. He can't tell if it's a good or bad thing they're faceless he steps carefully over someone's lifeless shell.

The heat reminds him of the Land of Heat of Clockworks. It has the same blasting effect that makes his throat hurt and the air taste dry. The rain's new. What's his subconscious telling him this time? He treads deeper and the faceless bodies wear faces and armor. Like knights.

Or something like it.

He freezes when he spots Mu's corpse. Awesome, just the sort of thing he wants to wake up with lingering in his head. The bastard is going to pick up on that like a shark scents blood in the water. Dave squares his shoulders and keeps walking, this time a little faster.

He catches sight of black chains and thinks of the chain he cut to set a moon free for his and his sister's suicide mission. The exhaustion, the heated tempers...

As they argued which of them should die in place of the other.

Dave slips over another pile of dead and he's at the edge of the center. That's when it hits him none of this feels like one of his dreams. Or a dream bubble for the dead to relive their best times out while dark gods watch over them. He stares at Ikki for the longest time then takes a few steps forward. He isn't an idiot. There's something wrong here.] So.

What's the deal with all of this. Your doing or something else? Because I gotta say, there's horror and there's tacky. This bordering so hard on the later I expected to hear dark brooding goth music.

[He makes ready with his time powers in case this turns ugly. But really, what does it say about his life that standing in the center of a bunch of corpses talking to a guy on fire is NORMAL.]

Edited 2012-08-30 16:54 (UTC)

Then it's a good thing I 'aven't got anything better to do.

[can't get rid of her that easily, Ikki. not that she even knows if she can leave...]

[Christopher stands his ground, fighting back, but when it's done he's all rumpled and he's got a bit of a pout.] They're just playing hard to get. Why don't I try cutting off your arm? [FRIENDSHIP, ladies and gentlemen.]

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ஜ 4th Rise of the Phoenix ஜ

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I found this notif in my spam folder /punts gmail

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