Palace Game 6/5

[fujimaru]

The Dreamer In The Grand Temple
Humanity Foundation Value: ????

What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.

Comments

[fujimaru]

He bows low, a courtly sort of gesture. No matter how he acts or speaks, he was, once upon a time, a gentleman.

And then he sets out, striding confidently into the muck. It seems to sizzle and burn, flinching away from his presence, which means something of a clear path, and at least the smell is weaker... but boy is it noisy here, as they walk. Nothing here sounds like it's having a good time.

[davincible]

[ She inclines her head, slowly and gracefully, before she walks after him, making sure Ingo and Emmet are close. She can't do anything about the smell or the noise, but sometimes you just have to power through it. ]

Thank you, for holding this back as much as you could.

[ Not just now. She knows what this represents. ]

[fujimaru]

Avenger glances at her, a quick sharp look, and then he nods.

"It was unavoidable," he says flatly. "It was foolish to expect that even a trained mage would be able to shrug off as many as she has shouldered... and even the dumbest of demonic beasts have their own animal intelligence. We might be the sword to cut them down, but she is the hand who wields the blade."

[davincible]

I know. Unfortunately, there's very little we can do to help, beyond what we've already done. And I can't walk with her after this.

[ Not anymore. This is only going to get worse. It already has gotten worse, she's certain of it. But she keeps her chin lifted, staring straight ahead as she walks. ]

[fujimaru]

"You cannot," he says. "In the end, it will only be her choice that brings her forward! But fear not! So long as my accomplice calls for me, I shall always answer! She will not need to fear Hell! It will need only fear me!"

[davincible]

Poor Hell.

[ Good to know he's just as Edgy as ever. ]

[fujimaru]

Some things will change, but this Avenger will not.

But as they walk, there is the sound of bigger and worse moving in the distance. Da Vinci's eyes are good enough to catch sight of one particularly huge thing, dragon-winged, horned, another Beast that lurks in these depths, unmoving.

At some point, though, something IS going to make a grab for her ankle. If she's still holding onto the twins, it is going to try and pull them all down.

[derailer]

[Ingo is reflexively bracing himself to hold her still with all his strength and an IRON GRIP. But he is only human.]

[likewinning]

[ Emmet will also do the same, bracing himself and grabbing for Da Vinci. ]

[davincible]

[ Something darkens in her gaze when she spots that Beast-- but then she feels that grip and she only has a hold of Ingo's hand, Emmet attached to his other and she will let go if she can't immediately shake the mysterious assailant off with a vicious yank of her foot.

For now, she'll hold on. ]

[fujimaru]

When she yanks her foot back, the thing breaks the surface for a second. It is definitely a human hand, grabbing desperately at the air for a few seconds, like it is desperately trying to seek out something, anything, to pull it up.

[davincible]

[ She stares down at the hand, freed foot slightly raised so it can't just grab her again and now held onto by both twins. Yikes. ]

... I'm sorry. I can't let you drag us down to join you.

[ Unless the hand is Ritsuka's and um SURELY NOT ]

[derailer]

[Okay he was taking a hard-line stance against indulging this thing but... human...

Suspicious, he turns to look at Da Vinci, and then Dantes, and then Da Vinci again, looking for canon-familiar answers.]

Who is this?

[davincible]

Someone who's already passed on, very likely. It's not anyone we can do anything for.

[ Her tone is very terse now, if just because it's shaken her slightly. ]

[derailer]

...Move forward.

[His tone is similarly clipped, but in essence, he agrees with her decision.]

[davincible]

[ She's silent but yep. We moving on. ]

[derailer]

[After a moment of continued silence on his end, too:]

Must all of these people remain? We cannot remove them?

[davincible]

We can't, no.

[derailer]

This is... a nearly impossible burden for anyone to bear.

[fujimaru]

Well. It isn't immediately possible to tell; the arm is relatively slim, and it is covered in blood so there is no sign of the identifying command seals... but also, there is no actual sense of connection with Da Vinci in it. It's just one more restless soul, trying to reach for freedom.

[davincible]

... Not her.

[ Mostly to herself, and she keeps walking, this time being exceedingly careful with making sure to avoid additional grabs while leading the twins. ]

[fujimaru]

After she's done away with the first one, there are others that are still making grabs, but they all appear to be clumsy with it. Once in a while, part of a head breaks the surface too, though they're also unidentifiable: wet skulls with thin layers of skin stretched over them, empty eyes and open mouths, adding to the cacophony of wailing in this whole place.

[davincible]

[ THIS IS FINE :)

LET'S IGNORE IT :) :) :) ]

[fujimaru]

EVERYTHING IS FINE HERE IN FATE GRAND/ORDER.

The walk is one of those things that just feels a bit like it both takes forever and very little time at all. Maybe it's five minutes. Maybe it's five hours. Eventually, though, the path does start to slope upwards... even if, for some reason, the bloody waters do not get any more shallow. Somehow.

[davincible]

[ HOORAY. FURTHER UP AND FURTHER IN.

This is not fun but it is fine. :) ]