towerofanimus | Visions of Envy (Closed)

Entry tags:

Visions of Envy (Closed)

Characters: [AU2] Chloe, [AU2] Rose & [AU2] John
Setting: Starting in the Gallery, and going to the Torture Room Floor afterwards
Format: Action Spam unless Prose is desired. (Post Order established by first three posts)
Summary: A glass of wine that was supposed to go bad ends up going a whole hell of a lot worse because of a Lorophage's intervention.
Rating: R - Since it's mostly violence, and I've rarely seen violence mature-locked I won't be locking it.
Warnings: Violence, lots and lots of violence. Torture. Drug use. Impromptu and very crude surgery. Blood. Gore. Insanity. Demons. Yeah, ummm... someone's probably going to die, possibly Chloe, possibly Rose and John, maybe even all three of them.

[Chloe was holding a bottle of wine, a small pouch and a bottle of water, just in case a certain someone didn't feel like booze. She'd already laced the water with some of the mushroom powder in the palmed bag. Oh, teasing and tormenting the two of them while they suffered hallucinations would be fun... and she could blame it on the tower.

She needed the stress release, and Kirika wasn't safe, nor was she around her right now. Really, she wasn't planning to hurt them that much. Maybe scare Rose with the memories of their first meeting? She'd seen a painting in the gallery that would work wonders in that...

But, as she turned the corner, there ahead of time of the two where she'd told Rose to meet them, it was there waiting. She'd just set the bottles down when she saw it. It was like a mosquito, only almost her height and half again. As her hands darted for the knives, it sprain, slamming her against the wall. The probe lanced through after she'd been twisted, going into her skull from behind, and she could see...

It was like she was living the days as a drone all over again, feeling the need to punish, to break, the malfunctioning urges. Worse, she could see the visions Parsee had brought to her once, long ago, the envious, bitter want and craving. Why did they get to be happy together like this? Why did anyone? She... she was always alone.

She collapsed to her knees, panting, eyes wide and a sick grin concealed in her hair as the thing darted away, sated for now. A little giggle came and she checked the back of her head. No blood.]

Didn't she say she wanted to be with him forever?

[getting up, she tried to get the crazy look out of her eyes. Her... toys would be here soon.]

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[[Rose had insisted, promising John she wouldn't get drunk and insisting a casual drink is all it would be. Just something with a friend that she wanted to introduce to him! And she wasn't surprised to see Chloe there before them, though she wouldn't have minded being first either.]]

Ah! There she is! [[She waves to the other girl, tugging her fiance along.]]

[Though John was still a little wary of Rose being in a situation where alcohol was involved following the events of the other night, he trusted her not to break her promise to him. Especially with him being right there with her. And, truth be told, he wanted to meet her friend, because any friend of Rose's is a friend of his.]

[Though when they arrive, he's a little surprised to see somebody he already knows. Surprised and...some other emotion that he's not really sure how to place or describe. Unease, perhaps? Not that that makes a whole lot of sense to him. Sure, Chloe and Rose apparently met under some pretty fucked up circumstances, but she seemed nice enough. There's nothing to worry about here, surely, whatever part of him is having doubts and feeling weird is obviously just being silly.]

[He offers a quick wave to Chloe as he's tugged across the gallery towards her.]

Hey, Chloe. What's up?

[Looks like you get to skip on introductions, Rose!]

[She kept her face away from them for a moment. It let her still her features slightly so that her mood wasn't quite so obvious. Seeing them together was sending stabs of nearly psychotic envy into her, fierce and vicious cruelty that played off of the hunger she'd felt only a short while ago. It was a stew that left her anything but stable.

When she turned fully to face them, she smiled. It was a low, playful one, but it didn't meet her eyes.]

The roof over our heads, I imagine John. I see they haven't caught you yet...

Come. This bench is clear, and these pictures not 'quite' as offensive as some of the others here.

Oh so you've formally met already? [[That's fine by Rose! She smiles, moving to sit on the bench indicated with Chloe.]]

Good. Meaning we can appreciate each others company without anything awkward between us.

Heh, yes we have! But no, they haven't caught me yet. [He chuckles a little, taking a seat on the bench next to Rose] Though if a random unit shows up, don't be too surprised. I did my best to shake it off before we came here but what can I say? I am suddenly a popular guy!

[And by popular, he means they found out about the tape. And the bedroom intrusion. But hey, they haven't done anything too harsh to him yet. He can deal with being trailed, especially when he has a Pokémon capable of altering its appearance with illusions at his disposal. Technically, that unit is still trailing John Egbert at the moment...just not the right one.]

Now now, you never know what sorts of ... awkwardness you can run into in a place like this, Rose. Sometimes, you just have to be ready to forgive a few surprises. Still, I don't think I've ever gotten to see the two of you together quite like this before.

[She took a trio of glasses out and set them on the space between. With nimble hands, she began to pour one glass, the bit of powder being slipped into it with a bit of sleight of hand before she poured one without for herself.

It would take just a minute, but hallucinations could be quite potent for keeping them busy long enough to bind them.]

Now then... did you actually want wine, John, or do you want to be the responsible one today, I wonder...?

[[Rose thanked her, taking the first glass poured and waiting for John before taking a drink. It was only polite.]]

I suppose, but still.

[He laughs a little nervously.]

Thanks but I will pass on the wine. Alcohol isn't really my thing., I guess I am just not mature enough to appreciate the taste yet or something.

[She chuckled and tossed him the bottle of water with a wink.]

Nothing to be ashamed of. Fine wine is an acquired taste. I was raised with it from time to time at dinner. This... is passable, but I wouldn't dream of insisting.

[She motioned towards the painting near to her. The two figures were clearly inhuman, one with pointed ears and the other a massive horn on her head. If they looked very carefully there were woods in the background as the two embraced, a shadow there, watching them.

It was ... similar to a memory she herself shared from Atia. Fitting in its own way.]

But I thought she might enjoy a sip or two while we looked at paintings and tried to forget the last few weeks.

I've already promised I wouldn't drink too much. [[Chuckling, she finally takes a sip.]] It's a casual drink. Nothing more than that.

[[And then she turns her attention to the painting indicated, tilting her head a little as she examined it.]]

I love the paintings in here.

[Still not seeing any reason NOT to trust Chloe, John takes the bottle with a smile, offering a quick thanks before uncapping it and taking a drink. If the water tastes at all funny, he doesn't seem to notice, still smiling as he glances around the room at the various paintings.]

I will admit, I haven't really spent a whole lot of time on this floor but they are nice.

[She contentedly sipped her untainted wine as she looked over at this one, leaning back.]

You should ... be careful which halls you walk down. You never know what sorts of paintings might turn up. Some are not quite so ... sweet.

[Like the ones in the next room, where that demon had slunk past later. Some of those gave even her jaded sensibilities the shivers. But, they'd be great for when the two started hallucinating.]

Would you like to see a few more, perhaps?

Ah, so I've found... But they're interesting in their own right, at least. [[A few more sips and she nods.]]

I would love to wander around and admire them. How about you John?

What, seriously? [He really wasn't kidding when he said he didn't spend much time on this floor. He'd given it a quick glance over within his first few days of exploring after he arrived, but that was really it.]

[Art galleries weren't really his thing.]

Why am I not surprised though? I should have known better than to write this off as a normal art gallery. [He takes another swig of water.]</small But alright, that's fine by me.

Nothing in this place is ever truly normal, John. [sip] There are always strange and surreal things that could terrify you around every corner.

[She chuckled as she rose and started to walk towards the next room's alcove. Mentally, she was ticking away the time, keeping a rough idea of how much she'd dosed them with while her eyes scanned. Good, no demon.

However, inside, there were several paintings of a gruesome sort. At first glance, they would have been just disturbing, hard to identify, like a geiger piece from Alien.]

[[Rose got up as well, turning to offer John a hand before following. Though if John took her hand, she didn't plan on letting it go apparently. Hand holding is a thing that is happening on this trip apparently!

She continues sipping at her own drink, trying not to just...guzzle it down or anything. The plan was casual drinking. There's no reason to knock it back like an alcoholic.

Despite how gruesome they are, the blonde seems to be able to appreciate them. At least from an artistic standpoint if nothing else.]]

[John takes Rose's hand in his own all to happily, taking a few more sips of his own as they start the tour. Though the minute they enter the alcove, he can't help but cringe and choke a little, spitting some of the water back out.]

Aaa, come on now! You did that on purpose didn't you? Gross...

Maybe I did... I always did have a wicked sense of humor.

[She was standing in front of a painting of what looked like someone with a bladed instrument, cutting into another living soul. Neither the person cutting nor the victim were clearly visible, but there was a truly macabre realism to it. Not enough blood was spattering, making it clear that the chop was happening to a body already dead.

And those delicate, all-too-familiar hands were being ever so gentle to the arm as the blade slammed into the joint.]

This one is one of my favorites in the room. The affection is what gets me about it... for as horrific as it is, we're meant to feel sympathy for the butcher, that they have genuine affection either for the task or the victim.

[A glance back at them saw the handholding, and her smile took a faintly sadistic element that she had to control. That giave her an idea.]

[[Rose moved her eyes away from some of the others to the one Chloe was looking at, but her eyes didn't stay on it for long. Once it registered just what the picture was, she had to look away. Sorry Chloe. It's a nice painting and all that, but it...really drudges up memories she doesn't want to think about. She was doing her best NOT to think about them...]]

Yeah. It's...it's nice.

[[Let's look at a different one!]]

[John probably would have been mildly uncomfortable by both the picture and Chloe's words were it not for the fact that, at that precise moment, the mushrooms began to kick in.]

S-sorry, what was that? I didn't quite...catch...it.

[There's something familiar about this sensation. The numbness of his limbs, the dizziness, sense of distortion of the world around him. He closes his eyes, looking faintly sick as he tries to regain his sense of balance. Unfortunately, the slight shake of his head only makes things worse.]

[Just what in the hell is going on all of a sudden? This is almost like...]

[She kept from smiling a little, her eyes shining as she turned to another. It was a bit of bullshit she'd wanted to play on them, to confuse the two and play with their heads, but now it served a double purpose. She was getting tired of waiting, impatient, and pretending that the next painting was affecting her own mind would not hurt.

She gestured towards it. It was like a grand, macabre optical illusion. Scintillating spirals of gore in very precise paintings wormed their way around, such that if you looked for just a little too long it almost seemed to be moving, crawling, making the whole world.]

Never quite sure what to think of this one... John, you should take a look at this. It's like the whole world moves when you... staare.

[And she proceeded to do just that, letting her half-full glass of wine drop dramatically. Maybe they'd buy it later, probably not. If it worsened hallucinations, it would make them both easier to catch.]

[[Rose avoided that painting too, because now she was starting to feel strange as well. She wasn't...positive how to describe it. She felt dizzy almost, like the world was off kilter or balance. Closing her eyes, she tried to ignore it, to shake it off, but that didn't help much...But when she had them open, things started to seem almost too bright at times...]]

[John's stomach lurches at the sound of shattering glass, which does nothing to help the growing sense of nausea clawing at his insides. Once again, he misses half of what Chloe says and with his eyes still closed, he has no idea who dropped their glass but he can tell that something here is distinctly Not Right.]

[His eyes snap open and he almost wishes he'd left them closed. Not only is everything still moving, but it's as though somebody is slowly dialing up the color saturation of the room.]

[It's almost like...no. No it's exactly like the time that Gamzee had talked him into licking that Paras. Only multiplied by some number that he doesn't even want to think about calculating in this state.]

What's going...hehe...heh what's going on? [There's absolutely nothing funny about this. Why can't he stop laughing?] Is it the...hehehehe the room or did you...

[The water bottle slips out of his hands. Chloe wouldn't drug him, that's ridiculous. Why is he even thinking that? It had to have been the room or a some kind of monster or something. Because Chloe has no reason to drug either of them, right?]

[She'd promised to give him information one day in return for the video, after all! They were on good terms, allies even. Right? And you don't drug allies...]

[Yep, definitely a monster, but she'd definitely drugged him too. It was sort of a catch twenty-two after a fashion. Worst of all, poor John didn't know the sorts of ways she'd played with her friends.

She giggled, sounding more than a little insane herself, shaking her head while she leaned up and close to him, patting him on the head.]

Did I...? Hehehe, what could you possibly mean John? Are the paintings getting to you? I hear they can play with the mind.

[[Rose has no idea why they're laughing so much!!! She doesn't see what's so fun about any of this!!!

She's just...admiring the colors. Wow. Were they that vibrant before jesus...

And it's at the mention of playing with the mind that Rose finally starts chuckling.]]

...can they? Haha, why am I not surprised? Man, hehehe, nothing surprises me in this place!

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