realityshifted | if you die in canada you die in real life

Entry tags:

*hide and seek

if you die in canada you die in real life

[Whether by chance or by fate, all the keys have been assembled and the lock is undone.

With the last key turned, there is a massive, resounding click behind the gilded gates. They swing open automatically, slow and heavy, revealing what lays beyond.

It's the same floorless coliseum the prisoners have been staring at for the past week. A narrow bridge connects it to the gate, just far enough that it's hard for the prisoners to see. As the first person steps into the sanctuary, suddenly the entire place lights up, hundreds of switches snapping as they're thrown.

The static humming stops.

Luminescent blue wires connect thousands and thousands of cages along the walls, lighting up the entire city, giving it life. The locks on the center island flick open, releasing the Plane's prisoners instead of condemning them, but there doesn't seem to be a way to help the faceless victims laying in the other cells. They're too far away. Only something that could fly might reach them.]

Is someone there?

[Strange fog rolls across the bridge suddenly, surrounding all who stand upon it.

All four demons appear, slithering or crawling up the sides of the arena. They look even worse in the light: a dragon, a tiger, a snake, and a wolf, all rusted and worn out from ages of disuse and disrepair, as well as being shot at and blown up.

They're just staring at the bridge, waiting.

After a minute, a slight shape appears in the middle of the bridge. It's a boy of about twelve. He waves away the fog. On his face is a mask painted with the mocking face of a kitsune.]

You did it. You found the light, so I'm giving your friends back.

[He glances at the demons all around them, the countless lives imprisoned.]

This isn't real, though. If this was real, then you wouldn't get anyone back at all. See, this game goes on forever. The people who lose feed the machine, and the people who win have to watch over them.

No one is ever free. No one goes home.

But it was a fun game.

[The fog rolls in again. The boy flees in the shape of a fox-like shadow, and then it's all gone, everything back to how it should be.

Welcome home.]

[ooc: And with that, the plot is over. Make your own posts or tag into this one, doesn't matter. Boy's gone, city's gone, and everyone's safe. Oh and your powers are back. :3

Though, the people who originally found the keys might still have them in their pockets.]

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[Menzies is more relieved than she can say when the gates swing open to reveal all the people who were lost. she rushes inside with the others, scanning for a couple faces in particular--but then the fog rolls in and the child appears]

[while she does listen to his explanation, she doesn't like it one bit. and she's about to start demanding answers when he's suddenly gone, and the Plane returns]

Wait!

[she reaches a hand out toward the boy, but it's much too late. she curses under her breath, but she knows it's no use. so she shifts her focus to something equally important--finding the two people she lost over the course of this mess. she steps out of the group, looking eagerly, almost desperately, for their familiar faces]

[Riku is glad to be free, don't get him wrong, but he's still concerned about all of those faceless victims that weren't so lucky. His teeth are gritted, and maybe he feels a little like there was something he could have done... but he tries not to dwell on it. He needs to find someone.

He spots Menzies from across the way, immediately starts toward her.]

Menzies!

[He's smiling, relieved. He's glad she's alive, that she didn't end up here like he did.]

Riku! [she rushes over to meet him halfway, looking him up and down critically. she's relieved to see that he looks all right, but...well, she knows what death does in this place, so that's less reassuring than it would be otherwise]

That was some fool move you pulled, you know! [although the words are snappish, she does understand what he did. and that's why, with a sigh, she adds more softly:] Are you...all right? [because she's not sure how to say what she really wants to--to ask exactly what happened to him. and to find out if he knows what's changed about him now because she assumes it has. so she'll settle for that for a start]

[North's making his way out of the jail, but he's too late to see the child or anything else. But he hears a voice, and it's that one he focuses on. A smile spreads across his face behind his helmet visor. When that snake came down on him, he had been so sure he wouldn't be the same. He's learned that people change when they die on the Plane, that their blood turns all black...]

[But then he sees her, and he bursts into a jog until he's standing before her.]

Hey, sorry I'm late, Patricia.

[He wants to scoop her up and hug her tight, but considering his last message to her, he plays it safe. But boy, is he just happy to see her face.]

[He's looking her over - not quite as critically, but still sharp enough to be absolutely sure that she's okay. No lingering injuries, nothing severe... and satisfied, his expression settles back into a small smile.

Then she chastises him, and that smile turns into a slightly sharper smirk. Man, he's so used to this at this point... He shakes his head, rolls his shoulders in a lazy shrug before crossing his arms.]

Hey, it worked, at least. You were able to keep going. [A small pause - he doesn't want to think about it either. I mean, getting chomped on is pretty, uh, traumatizing, no matter how you swing it - and he nods.] I'm all right. This was.. You can usually feel something different after something like that happens here, but there's nothing.

[Please pick up on his meaning, he doesn't want to elaborate jdfksal]

[she stares at him because she could honestly punch him for saying that, but she's just so relieved to see him--or his armour, anyway. and on that note, she demands:] Helmet off. Now. [and just watches him, waiting for him to comply. because she has to know--is he injured? is he different? seeing his face won't give her all the answers she wants, but it might at least help. so she stays back for now, looking him up and down and glad that his armour at least doesn't show any signs of damage]

Yeah well, next time that's my move, all right? [she crosses her arms over her chest]

[she does get his meaning, but unfortunately for him, she didn't know that he'd died here before. so, incredulously, she asks:] What, this wasn't the first time for you!?

All right... [He reaches up, the seal hissing as its broken and the helmet comes away. His face is uninjured and he looks the same as she last saw him. He's even wearing a half-smile.] Hi, again.

[she's uninjured as well--just a bit dirty from traipsing through the rubble, and the bun holding back her long hair has come half-undone. she steps up to him when she sees his face, her expression tight with emotions that she isn't sure how to articulate. and so, she compensates by punching him in the chestplate. naturally, this does nothing but make her hand sting, but she ignores the pain]

What exactly did you think you were doing down there!? You...

[she trails off because she's getting choked up, and that just isn't something that she's willing to do in public. so she shakes her head furiously and then reaches up with her stinging hand to run it down his cheek, as if that will somehow convince her that it really is him standing there before her]

You can't just do things like that, you ridiculous idiot!!

Heh. I guess it'll depend on the situation. [Which means to say, not if he can help it!] It's not exactly something either of us should have to do.

[ohhhh. oh crap. He thought she knew about that already! He's lost track of who knows and who doesn't OH NO ABORT ABORT--

no he keeps it together. Mostly. He does go wide-eyed, like a deer in the headlights, though he manages to only look that way for a second or two before he reclaims enough sense to look off to the side, sheepish, as he runs a hand through his hair.]

No, it wasn't. [He sighs.] And don't worry, I don't plan on making it a habit.

[she doesn't budge. they'll just have to see about that, won't they?] Even so.

[oh Riku, that doesn't make her feel any better. especially considering she's always wondered what he had to do to get her that apple and, well, now she thinks she might know] It was the apple, wasn't it? [she eyes him, ready to meet his gaze if he so much as glances back in her direction]

[He seriously was all set for a slap across the face--but then he gets that and he just leans into her hand and cups it after a moment. The emotions behind her words hurt him more than anything she did to his chest plate.]

I was searching with Kay. We ran into trouble, but I was faster. I got the creature's attention so Kay could get away to help you and the others. I'm assuming he did since he didn't turn up in there with me. [He pauses and turns his head just enough to softly press a kiss to her palm.] I'm sorry... Neither of us were going to make it out of there if I didn't do something. I wasn't afraid, and I knew I'd see you again no matter what happened.

You are such a damn hero! [she pulls away, but she grabs one of his gloved hands in both of hers, looking down at it. she has an irrational desire to study every part of him now--as if she has to find what's changed]

What did this place do? Do you know? [she doesn't even look up as she makes the demand, her attention focused on that gauntlet like it's some sort of lifeline to the man she knew]

[He stiffens, again preparing for a slap that doesn't come. But when he realizes that, he instead turns his attentions to her for a second, then reaches over to undo the gauntlet around his hand.]

I know, and I was prepared for it, but I promise I'm okay. I'll show you.

[The gauntlet comes away easily and he frees his hand from it. There's a small cut on the top of his hand that's already begun to heal, so he must have done it some time ago.] When I woke up, this is the first thing I checked. My blood is normal. Not oily black or anything. I'm 100% me still. I can even give you my knife if you want to double check.

[Lucky for Menzies, he does turn his gaze back to her! Except instead of any sort of expression she might be expecting from him, he just looks... confused. Eyes narrowed, head slightly tilted to the side, he blinks.]

The apple...? [He thinks about that for a second, and once he remembers that particular chain of events and exactly when everything happened, he shakes his head.] No, it wasn't the apple. [He sighs, and that's when he looks off to the side again.] But it was because of the candy. It affected someone else, and I had to stop him. I did, but... he got me, too.

[she's still not looking at his face, keeping her focus on his hands as a way to help her hold her emotions back. but at his words, her disbelief is clear] It's...normal? [she immediately runs her hand over that cut, prodding at the skin around it as she tries to see the hue of the thin slit. finally, she looks up at him, questioning] But...how? You and I both know that's not how that works 'round 'ere. You don't just--get a do-over. You died!

[as glad as she is to find out that he didn't die for her twice after all, she's not at all happy to hear that he not only died but did it while killing someone who was under the candy's influence. but she doesn't want to pry for details now--there's more at stake here--so she just sighs, scowling. sometimes she really hates this place]

All right. Then...what do you mean about it being different this time? How was it different?

[Pry later, Menzies. Maybe you'll find out just how much it killed him in a metaphorical sense, too. ... He really hates this place too.]

This time, nothing changed. [He crosses his arms as he explains.] There are more changes than just the color of your blood. That didn't happen this time. I'm exactly the same as I was before. [His eyes narrow.] That kid... he said this had been a game. Maybe losing was just a game this time, too.

I did...but I didn't. One minute I'm up a giant snake's mouth, and then I'm waking up in this weird kind of jail. That one back in there. [He points in the direction he came from.] I wasn't the only one there, either.

But I really am fine. Here. Watch your hand. [He takes his knife out and pokes the tip of it into his finger. The blood that comes out of the puncture wound is crimson.]

[she lets his hand go without protest, eager for him to do the test. and she gasps at the sight of his red blood, the sound a mixture of both shock and relief] It really is the same... [it's all she can say. Menzies might be good at rolling with the punches, but this sort of stream of emotions isn't something she's used to, and the fear and relief are mixing so intensely that she's just coming out numb. and so she's staring at his hand again, in the hope that what she's seeing means what she thinks it does]

[she can guess how much it might--she knows how she'd feel, and she's not carrying around half the baggage that Riku has already. but that's a conversation for later. for now, she gives him a considering frown for a moment, uncertain if she should ask for more details or if that's too personal]

You could be right. It'd...be some relief if you are. [because she knows Riku must have suffered in that attack either way. it'd at least be some measure of comfort if he didn't have to suffer any more consequences than being in that cage. she's not quite sure she can believe it, though. she wants to ask him how he knows, not because she doesn't trust him, but she's so skeptical of this place that she wishes she knew how he could be so certain. after a pause, she decides to ask:] Could you tell me more about it--about what death does? Or would you rather not say?

[He smiles and puts his knife away.] Always a detective.

[He sucks the blood off his finger as he watches the emotions wash over her face. It kills him that she was put this so much.] Come here. [He just gently pulls her in close to embrace her, but with his bare hand, he feels something weird through her clothing. She's not as soft as he's used to.] Hey, what's this? [He doesn't quite let her go, but he pulls away enough to look at her.]

[she lets him embrace her. if she's honest, she's grateful for it--because feeling him after she thought she'd lost him is more comforting than she's likely to admit. but she gives him a curious look at his hesitation. and then she realises what he means. she tugs the end of her shirt up a bit along her side--just enough to show him a peek of the black bulletproof vest she's wearing underneath] You remember when the invincibility started after those wishes? Well, as it turns out, it wasn't the only thing I got. Too bad it's not your size.

[because she wishes more than ever now that she'd phrased her wish differently so he would have gotten something to protect him instead of her]

[He shakes his head slightly.] I don't mind. It's fine. The first change is the black blood. You've seen that. But something else about you changes, too. For me, my power over light and darkness shifted. I had more control of the darkness, but in return, less control over the light. ... For me, it means more than just my magic changing a little. But who's to say just how personal everyone else's changes are?

Something happens in your reality, too. No matter where I go now, there's a piece of my home world that I see everywhere. It's like it's following me.

[she frowns curiously. not knowing a thing about the magic in his world, she doesn't really understand the repercussions of that] What do you mean--what else did it do?

[but at his comment about his home, she shakes her head, her expression wry] You know, Riku, the way you say that, I'm not sure if it's a blessing or a curse. But all right, good to know. [because not having experienced death yet herself, she definitely didn't realise all the repercussions] Remind me never to die 'ere if I can 'elp it...

[she pauses for a moment then, putting together all the new information that he's given her. thoughtfully, she asks:] So...what, you think if it'd been a "real" death, your magic would have changed again? That's why you're certain?

Well, son of a gun. [He grins--then something catches his eye on the vest.] Hey, I think I recognize that. [He pulls her shirt up just a bit more and sees something a small, thin tag along the seam.]

It may not be in my size, but I recognize the manufacturer. It's top of the line where I'm from.

Nothing. I was just trying to say that I took it personally. [His tone implies that his answer is pretty darn final, too.]

I'm not sure which it is, either. [He shrugs a shoulder.] I guess... it's just a reminder. For now. And yeah, don't die here. Not worth it.

[He nods at her conclusion.] Yeah. And if something like that had changed about me, I would know it.

Yeah? I thought it might 'ave been your wish. Guess the Plane figured protection was 'appiness after all. [her smile is tinged with sadness. she reaches to her side and pulls his hand away from the vest, taking it in hers. then she steps forward to lean against him, burying the side of her head against his chest. for once, she's actually looking for an embrace, even if she's not quite initiating it. but the smell of him alone is such a relief that you can't blame her for wanting to get closer, can you?]

I see. [she can't help but wonder if this goes back to the grey colour she saw from him during the pollen mess, but hearing Riku's tone, she's not going to pry. so she just moves on] Same goes for you, in future. [her tone is stern]

[she nods] I'll take your word for it. Then that is a relief. [she even gives him a small smile. she still feels terrible about what happened, but if he doesn't have to suffer further consequences from it, then she's grateful for that at least]

[but she pauses before asking a little awkwardly:] You...gonna be all right, kid? [because she has one other person she wants to find, but she doesn't want to just leave Riku after what he went through]

I guess it did! [He smiles and moves his arm around her, holding her snugly against him. Honestly, he wishes he wasn't wearing his armor so he could hold her tighter and feel her warmth, but for right now, this will do.]

[After a few moments have passed, he doesn't move but he does whisper to her:] Let's get out of here, Patricia.

[He nods, sharp, absolutely agreeing.] Yeah. Trust me, I don't want to.

[When she asks, he smiles a little - soft and hopefully a little reassuring.] I'm fine. Go on, I know you have other people to talk to than a kid like me.

[It's fond teasing. He's not offended at all, just poking fun at the age difference.]

[she wraps an arm around him, eyes closed, just glad to feel him there. and at his whisper, she says softly:] My place, then.

[without waiting for a reply, she thinks of Manchester, taking him away with her]

[she snorts, knowing that teasing for what it is. but she nods, taking his word for it that he'll be all right] Yeah, well, I'm sure I can spare some time for a kid like you again soon. See you around, Riku.

[her tone is fond, too. but with a wave, she heads off to find North]

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if you die in canada you die in real life

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