Infighting Week Three

[animusmods]

Characters: any character participating in the Infighting event
Setting: pods, week three of the event
Format: any
Summary: All week three Infighting event threads should go in here, to keep things organized.
Warnings: horror, trauma, experiment results, impossible geometry, cabin fever

[Week Three Information]
[Week Two]
[Week One]
Dax's Pod
Riki's Pod
Jason's Pod
End of Week Three

Comments

[animusnpcs]

Everyone is brought down to the voting very late on Sunday night--it doesn't really seem they'll be given enough time to vote, honestly. Dax and Riki's pods will find that the third group has been altered quite dramatically--there's no way to describe them other than a cloudy-tendriled monstrosity. Jason looks as if he's been operated on himself, with thick black stitches still bleeding a little. Dax looks entirely on edge, as if he's waiting to get his head bitten off and isn't sure if that's a metaphorical or literal concern. Only Riki is entirely stonefaced. Ruana is dressed in black and red today, and is down at their level--but she's behind glass or plastic, it's hard to tell. The other three admins, once their groups have been escorted, join her, phasing through the barrier as if it isn't there. Anyone else will find it's quite real and impossible to penetrate, though.

"Okay, everybody, I guess there's a few announcements to make! It seems like we didn't actually round all of you up here and since we haven't quite been paying attention to the Tower some of your friends have been--misbehaving. So! We're going to have the results of the competition right now! Let's do that before I keep going, because results are the most fun!

Okay, Jason has been disqualified from this round for negligent behavior, and Dax didn't really have you endure all that much. That makes Riki the winner of this round and gives him six points--and it makes him the winner. Yaaaaay!"

A burst of confetti pops behind Riki and covers him in multicolored paper. He takes this impressively stoically.

"For the next month, Riki's going to be in charge of all of you, okay? Okay! Starting in July, anyway." Yes, this entire competition was really only to decide who was in control for one month. Ruana grins at the group. "Now, I'm sure none of you want to leave just yet, so guess what? No one's getting eliminated this week! Jason, Dax, and Riki have to go take care of the Tower, I'm afraid, so they can't watch you." Ruana frowns, exaggeratedly so, but she's quickly smiling again. "That means I get control of all of you for the last week! Won't that be fun? Don't worry, you're still going to be competing against each other in pods!

"Now, I'm sure you all want to talk to each other a bit. You guys can hang out while I get your new accommodations all~ set~ up! See you!"

Ruana vanishes as if she'd never been there at all. Riki, Dax, and Jason, meanwhile, disappear into a door behind the podium. Those remaining are left to themselves and an army of retrieval drones.

[miseris_socios]

[Ken, from his tendril attached to the group, is just staring at the ground. He's shaking a little bit, and if you get anywhere close to him, you might hear him singing very softly.]

H... happy b... irthday to me...
H... happy bi... rthday t... to me...
H... happy b... birthday d... dear Ken...
H... happy bir... thday to... me...

[pitiedthefool]

[Yu says nothing from elsewhere in the tendril cluster-fuck, only grimacing as he tries to get closer. Just close enough to place a hand on Ken's shoulder. He's sorry... Part of him feels like this is partly his fault that Jason snapped, but the rest...

He's oddly emotionless after the initial inward screaming (sorry about that, Luke). No one but his team members really knows what it means for him to truly seem this blank, and maybe that was for the better. No one needed to see his rage for Jason doing this to him on his birthday. Frankenstein-like appearance be damned.]

[miseris_socios]

[He leans against Yu's hand, not saying anything else. He's just fighting against his own lack of emotion to express something.]

[He lifts his head up a bit, and takes a deep breath, seeming to resolve at some sort of conclusion inside himself. Shinjiro, you're off the hook - at least mostly. From now on it'll be Jason he's going to go after.]

[sacred_flamer]

[Luke can't hear him, but with the weird tendril connection cluster fuck, he can feel everybody, more so than he did before the thing was shoved into his skull. So he feels the song, and he feels the emotion, and he ends up crawling his way over as best he can, careful not to get his line anymore tangled up in the others than it already is, because it's something vastly different from all the screaming that's been going on since this happened.]

[When he sees the source... well, he's just dumbfounded. It's a kid. It's a kid. Dear sweet Lorelei, why did a kid get all mixed up in this? Hell, he looked younger than Anise for pete's sake.]

[Hesitantly, he reached out, resting a hand on the boy's arm. He knew that wasn't going to be enough, but hopefully some kind of empathy would help the poor guy.]

[miseris_socios]

[The unfamiliar hand on Ken's shoulder makes him twitch slightly, but he just looks up at Luke.]

'Who is this guy? Why does he even care? This is the worst birthday ever - even worse than the two I spent on my own.'

No bughugs like this but bug handholds okay?

[myblueskies]

[Romeo was more scared then he had ever been in his whole entire life, he had hoped that mister Jason had decided he'd changed them enough, and this morning had been awful...

When he heard Ken singing he tilted his head carefully, trying not to bash the person next to him with his antlers. He didn't recognise the tune but the words were clear...

It was so unfair, that it was Ken's birthday and such bad things were happening. Carefully he lifted one of his insect legs and stretched out towards Ken; he could reach just. He poked his hand softly.]

Aww. ;w;

[miseris_socios]

[Ken blinked and turned around, looking over at Romeo. He reached over and carefully held the insect leg. He didn't need comfort, but he wouldn't... ignore Romeo.]

[sageprincess]

[Despite retreating so deeply into herself, Zelda's hearing is still as good as ever, and Ken's broken song just manages to breach the all-consuming numbness she feels. She's still in a bit of a daze as she makes her way over to him, the light in her eyes dull and uninspired, but there's still a practiced sort of gentleness to her voice when she calls out his name.]

Ken...

[miseris_socios]

[He looks up, trying to keep his voice steady, though it's still rough.]

... Yeah?

[myblueskies]

Somewhere in the cloudy-tendriled monstrosity that was Jason's group Romeo was stood. He was very very quiet, Jason's anger had terrified him and now... He wasn't going to cry though because twelve year olds did not cry even when they had tentacles attached to them and couldn't move properly.

He hurt where he had been kicked and shoved to the meet up. He had to be careful that he didn't bump anyone with his antlers. He listened to the announcements silently. He was glad mister Jason had been disqualified, he was a cheater, but mister Dax hadn't won either... and now mister Riki would be in charge for a month...

And now miss Ruana was in charge and she was badder than any of them. He stood trembling, trying to not cry, trying to keep his spirits up but it was harder than it had ever been.

[pitiedthefool]

"...Hey." The voice came from somewhere else in the monstrosity, and it was hoarse from his previously failed attempts not to scream, but it maintained the strength of who he was. He'd promised someone else he would never forget that again, and now a kid needed that strength as well.

"Don't give up. We'll make it through this somehow." Whether it was false hope or not, he wasn't going to give in to their mad games. He'd fight, whether it be actual fighting or merely giving support to the others who were suffering alongside him.

[myblueskies]

Romeo looked round as best he could, but couldn't see because he kept being pulled about by the tentacles and didn't want to bash anyone with his antlers. He recognised the voice though, "Mister Yu?"

"We gotta..." He stumbled again, "Keep our spirits up... No matter what!"

[pengeen]

Tch.

[Of course Dax's team didn't win, even though they all tried so hard. Riki winning over Jason was a relief, though Kidou had no idea how Riki ran things. It made him a bit wary, to say in the least.

What was on his mind at the moment though was the Tower. What had happened that made the "competition" end early? Was Genda and Haruna alright? And what kind of person is Ruana, anyway? What kind of things would she put them all through?]

[Fists clenched by his sides, he raises his head and stares at the area the administrators stood only moments before, eyes narrowed in suspicion.]

Just what is she planning...

[chainsawn]

[ In the midst of on one hand the realisation that even though they tried hard, Dax didn't win once again, and on the other hand the sight of Jason's group, Urotsuki isn't sure what to do anymore. Especially not when this woman is making changes in the competition yet still letting it go on.. Instead she finds herself gravitating towards a familiar face - it feels slightly more comfortable. ]

.. What will we do..? [ Her voice is a little quiet, even if she's trying to keep it steady. At least nobody has to be voted off, but.. ]

[pengeen]

[Hearing Urotsuki's voice interrupts his thoughts and he turns his head to look at her for a moment before answering.]

... There's not much we can do besides wait and see what happens, as much as I don't want to do nothing.

[kickspenguins]

[As usual, the first thing Sakuma does is look for Kidou. It takes him awhile because the fact that he hasn't slept much all week is really weighing him down. Finally he's able to spot his friend though and calls him through the crowd, thankful that at least he looked okay.]

Kidou!

[notagiraffe]

Taiki hadn't stopped crying, he thought he could cry forever and still not run out of tears for this. When he saw what had happened to Jason's group he made a sound of muted horror, bringing his hand to his mouth to stifle the sound.

And they still hadn't won... Taiki could smell blood and it was making him feel dizzy, he stumbled a little. The news that there was to be no deaths this week was good, but Riki had won...

And now Ruana was in charge... Taiki felt a stab of dread, though it was hard for the little kirin to imagine how things could get worse, he could never have imagined things being this bad either...

[chainsawn]

[ Everything is confusing, really. And despite the fact that Urotsuki is so confused - or maybe exactly because of it - she tries to seek out people from Dax and Riki's pods (she isn't entirely sure if she should approach Jason's group - not because it looks scary, but it's almost as if she might bother them or something..) and try to catch their attention. ]

.. Um.. Do you know what that woman's going to do..?

[sageprincess]

What...

[Zelda watches Ruana's weekly spiel in numb shock, her blood running cold in her veins. As usual, it is... a lot to process at once, almost overwhelmingly so, but this week brings a sense of absolute dread and defeat the others didn't.

Dax has lost.

Someone on the outside has forced the competition to end early.

All this suffering has only been for a month's worth of time.

Ruana's in charge.

For once in her life, the Princess of Hyrule is brought to her knees, a profound sense of emptiness taking up where hope and determination had once been in her heart. She doesn't scream, she doesn't cry - no, all she can find in herself to do is stare without seeing at the floor in front of her in wide-eyed bewilderment.

They... failed.]

[pitiedthefool]

...Get up.

[The voice comes from the tendril mass of those who had the misfortune of being under Jason's "care," and it's hoarse from earlier screams, but remains strong in a sense. He had been the same the week prior. Now all he wants is to give her the same strength two others had then.]

Don't lose hope just yet. Not like I almost did.

[...Had. Before someone smacked some sense into him. But he doesn't voice it, instead favoring to do what he can to support another.]

This will be over soon, so don't... don't slump in defeat.

[fusedstars]

[Hei had no expression on his face, his mind trying to go into the blankest of spaces, to make sure his rage could not be summoned. Connected to everyone within the pod, he couldn't risk getting everyone electrocuted because of his own behavior. Still, unknown to him, the chips were triggered if everyone became rowdy.

Honestly, he just wanted this to end, just so he could finally think using his own mind again.]

[wrigurun]

She's entirely at her limit. After living in a place where she can't tell up from down her ultimate comfort is being able to focus on one place and have everything around her be still. Wriggle doesn't notice the abomination from Jason's pod, or the reactions from their captors, all her attention is on Ruana.

As she begins to speak she feel a knot tightening in her stomach. They'd lost every event so far. This was it. Their numbers had been dwindling and with each execution the odds became higher and higher than the next would be her own. When the winner is announced she can hardly beleive it. For a moment her mouth hangs open, unable to comprehend what happened.

The next she's whooping and shouting and wearing the biggest smile she's had since she arrived in the tower. Wriggle jumps up and down on the spot completely overwhelmed with joy, so much so that she doesn't catch the fact that Riki will be in charge for the next month. But who cares? Winners get prizes! Like food, and money, and maybe even home.

WRIGGLE, NO... ;A;

[mutab1e]

And from somewhere nearby, there's an awkward alien kid with doom on his mind like everyone else. He's about ready to sink into his own personal pit of despair when the commotion sounds from a few bodies away, and immediately the second-hand embarrassment hits him like a freight train. It only gets worse when he realizes who it is; that youkai girl he spoke with earlier on in this hellish experiment. So he quickly maneuvered his way over to her, made slightly easier by the fact that everyone else was now unsettled and unlikely to stand their ground.

"Hey, shhh," he whispered, kind of skulking up behind her.

/obviously on another account

[deatharcana]

[ Minato doesn't speak. He's stopped being anything but dead weight on the end of said clouded, tendriled monstrosity; he'd screamed himself hoarse in the beginning and the last of what was left of him was really gone at this point.

There would be no point trying to speak to him, or doing anything else. All he could do is move when the others wanted if prompted. He, at least, still had enough left in him to do that. Although he... had no emotions left, he still felt a primal sort of fear. The pain had long been something he got used to, though, so he saw no point in trying to otherwise... fight anymore.

The others, even Jin or Chidori, although he had not been altered as badly physically except for the tendrils himself, were still far more there than he happened to be. ]