towerofanimus | don't you mess with a little girl's dreams

Entry tags:

don't you mess with a little girl's dreams

Characters: Ruana
Setting: the labyrinth
Format: prose
Summary: Ruana finally appears.
Warnings: graphic description of cannibalism, gore, horror

It was a given all along that Jason would die--he stills with his head nearly torn off his body and a sword in his heart. The atmosphere in the labyrinth shudders to a halt, too, as if everything Jason created has paused to make note of his death. But then the stillness grows eerie and uneasy; shadows elongate, and the stillness goes unbroken out of an inability of anyone in the labyrinth to move or speak at all.

The walls of the labyrinth sink into the ground, revealing Jason's corpse to all who might still live within the labyrinth. It also reveals Ruana, who makes her first appearance this month. She steps as if in a dream across the floor, her bare feet on the ground the only sound, until she reaches Jason's corpse. Although Jason cannot hear anything anymore, she speaks to him anyway.

"Do you know why you were killed?" Ruana's voice is high and sleepy, far from her normal lively tones. "I do not approve of traitors. You understood that. You knew that. But you still manipulated my dear Zo. You made him give you one of his rips in space and then you abused it. You were just too cruel."

She crouches down, pats Jason's head and adjusts it like a girl might to a newly broken doll. "I don't know if I would have caught you if everything that happened last time you were in charge didn't happen, so I thought it would be fair if everyone else got to kill you instead of me just doing it myself. That was the prize--maybe I lied to them a little, but never like you did."

Leaning down, her face inches from Jason's, bright, clear eyes staring into dull, dead ones, Ruana smiles. "I don't blame them for hating you--you were always one-dimensional."

And then she begins to eat him. She swallows up his head first, crunching through bone and flesh and brain matter, not pausing once. She works down and swallows him up with a ceaselessly voracious appetite and a stomach that never seems to bulge out or grow full. Eventually, there's nothing left of Jason at all but the blood that leaked out of him earlier, and even that she's licking off her fingers.

Ruana shifts, then--her teenage body seems to melt away, revealing a younger self. A child that some might recognize from various visions of the past appears. It's as if Ruana never aged a day since then. She yawns and blinks at everyone, as if properly seeing for the first time.

"Good morning."

The spell is broken--everyone can move again. But pressure is building up in the labyrinth, centered around Ruana herself. Staying is certainly a bad idea.

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Link looked around wildly as the walls of the labyrinth sank into the ground. He didn't recognize Ruana, but stared in disgust at the image of the defeated Jason on the chamber floor.

What came next, though...

Mere months ago, the spectacle would have paralyzed him. Even now, it came dangerously close. Link's sword remained at the ready as the thing that had just devoured their enemy took the shape of a young girl. Did she really just wish them a 'good morning'? He frowned upon feeling the strange pressure start to build in the room. Was it coming from the girl? It seemed to be...

Link started to move, stepping back and completely forgetting that he had twisted his ankle while running through the maze's corridors. His gait faltered, and he was torn between advancing and retreating.

Edited 2014-02-23 06:54 (UTC)

Sam was still alive, though he wasn't sure exactly how that had happened, everything had happened very fast and Jason was dead... He watched what happened next with horror because even though he had heard what had happened to Dax, hearing about something and seeing it were not thee same things.

But now was not the time for feeling sick, they had to get out and Sam began to move before he saw the little boy, another child, who was not moving, even though Sam found that he himself could now. He rushed to his side, "It's probably best we get out of here, whatever that strange feeling is, I could bet it's nothing we want to be part of."

Edited 2014-02-23 11:23 (UTC)

Link snapped out of his stupor when a stranger approached him. His eyes darted between the (small?) man and the spectacle at the chamber's center.

"My friends-" Where were Tetra and Zelda? He needed to find them, at least see that they were okay! They had survived here so much longer than he had, but he still worried.

"You're sure?" He haphazardly started toward the room's exit.

Very small though probably not quite as small as Link. "I'm sure they are getting out as well, no one's going to be left behind." Sam knew Enoch was here, he wouldn't let anyone be left, especially if this boys friends were as young as he seemed to be.

He reached out to help him, "Are you hurt?"

Link nodded enthusiastically at Sam's words of reassurance. Yes, they would find their way out as well.

"Not really." He bounced up and down, trying to demonstrate that he was fit enough to get away unassisted. Truth be told, his ankle was throbbing, but Link had pushed forward with worse.

"Let's go." He nodded toward the exit.

"Alright." Sam nodded, "Well you just let me know if you need any help." He followed the boy, and the crowd, headed towards the exit.

Link nodded, trying to hide his limp as he made his way quickly for the exit. The strange, heavy feeling coming from that little girl was beginning to worsen. After a moment, he addressed Sam again.

"...Do you know what that guy was?" Because all Link knew was that he had a bad reputation, for good reason if he locked a bunch of people in a maze.

"One of those that ran this place." Sam explained, though even thinking was getting hard with all the pressure.

"He usually looked like a human, but that were his form when he wasn't under the affects of the glamour that covers this palce."

Another nod. Link was picking up the pace, ignoring the pain in his foot as the pressure increased. At least they were nearing the exit.

Glamour... What a weird thought. Not as scary to consider as Link initially may have thought, but... weird.

"Everyone here comes back to life, right? What if he..." It was one of the few aspects of the Tower Link had yet to fully grasp.

"They don't." Sam shook his head, "I weren't here the last time an administrator died, but he was dead, dead. He never came back. I think it's just because it's only our souls here that we can come back."

"That's good." The tension remaining in Link's shoulders deflated as they finally made it to the exit. One less thing to be nervous about.

"I don't want anyone to have to deal with him again." His voice was small, as if addressing himself as well as Sam.

"They won't need to." Just her, and Sam thought that Ruana was worse than Jason had ever been, for all she looked little and innocent.

Not that anyone could believe her innocent after what had just happened. He let the boy go past him into the elevator, wanting to make sure he was safe.

"What's your name?"

"I'm Link." He was hesitant to go first, but it was only a step. Link shifted his weight as he settled in the elevator.

"An' I'm Sam," He followed him into the elevator, "Pleased to meet you Link even if the circumstances aren't ideal."

"Sam." Link repeated the name to himself, committing it to memory.

"Thanks for helping." It was easier to speak to Sam than most other adults. The little Hylian didn't have to crane his neck too much.

"It's alright," Sam smiled at him, he tended to talk to children a lot, mostly because they were more of a height with him.

"Wasn't going to leave anyone behind in there."

Link shook his head at that. No, nobody could be left behind in a place like that. Especially not after what had just happened.

The elevator was reaching their original starting room. The "secret" room, did they call it?

"I'll see you later?" Same seemed friendly, and Link needed to get to know as many people here as he could.

Sam nodded, "I'll see you around Link. Stay safe." Easier said than done, but Sam hoped that a child such as Link had plenty of people keeping an eye on him.

Asako remembers.

That's why--

She's shaking, eyes wide, not sure if she wants to speak to the child or run for dear goddamn life. On the one hand, that's a harmless-looking form right there. On the other hand, that's still the person who could mess around with the Tower with thought alone - as the labyrinth dissolving had just shown.

(She'd never been good with those anyway.)

...Helping others get outta dodge seems like the right thing to do right now, so she will probably be approaching anyone who seems to be having trouble and asking if they need help getting as far away from Ruana as possible - toward the elevator she and the others arrived in.

Edited 2014-02-23 07:06 (UTC)

After all his encounters in the labyrinth, Lancer is stumbling around due to the extent of his injuries. He leans against a wall a few steps from the elevator, panting in exhaustion.

Help him?

She won't be able to help many before having to run for dear life herself, but - sure, why not.

She grabs one of Lancer's arms, hooking it over her shoulders, and acts as support as best she can. "Come on, man. Almost there. One foot in front of the other, I got ya."

He opens his mouth to protest, but she's already supporting him. He tries not to throw too much weight on her as he walks alongside her.

"Thanks. Sorry for making you see me like this."

"Don't worry about it. I've seen worse."

It's true, honestly. Between the Tower and the Lockdown...there's been worse, a lot worse.

"And I've been worse. Just that I've never had the luck to have anyone help me out before."

Oh.

Oh.

The extent of what went through Veronica's mind in this moment was somewhere between curiosity and horror. The walls had come down, Jason had been slain, a woman Veronica could only guess was Ruana had appeared and...

Well, she'd seen it happen before. It was still really shocking though.

As soon as movement returned to her, Veronica began to backpedal away from the woman, sword held in a death grip and her eyes never leaving the woman in case she did something. Her arm was beginning to bleed quite heavily.

"R-rick?" She hated hearing the fear in her voice, but she was defenseless. "G-guys? We n-n-need t-to go. Everyone n-needs t-to g-go right now!"

Edited 2014-02-23 16:09 (UTC)

"Aw, but I wanted to stay and chat." But yeah, it was probably best if they left, though exactly where would they go now? He should have known this was a bad idea. Scratch that, he had an inkling that some shit was going to go down, it always does. But it was still a bad idea, none the less.

This is what they get for picking at Jason. This is why he was against it in the first place. But nope, everyone needs a villain, he was just unlucky enough to be the big one.

Moving to grab Veronica by the shoulder and forcefully drag her away. Hopefully to a place where the condensed explosive energy would not affect them too much, and if no one else got away besides them, then oh well. He couldn't give a damn about anyone but the two of them at the moment.

"She... s-she a-ate him..." Veronica stated obviously, disbelief in her voice. For the moment, Mitchell could drag Veronica all he wanted.

"I-I s-shouldn't be surprised. She's messed up a-as all h-hell."

"Indeed she did, but I really don't see your point."

There were more pressing matters too attend to. Such as getting out of here without losing more than just a limb. "The elevators should be our destination. If you trip me I will trip you back. We are not outrunning a bear here."

[Lancer can't help shuddering as he stares at Ruana in the wake of her feast. It had been so disgusting and so nightmarish, but she looked so innocent now. She was just a child.]

[Perhaps, that was her true form from back when she was an experiment.]

Good morning, Ruana.

[He croaks out before turning to scramble out of the labyrinth, stumbling because of his wounds.]

Edited 2014-02-23 07:14 (UTC)

David wasn't anywhere near the fighting with Jason—he'd been focused on trying to rescue as many of the "contestants" as he can find. As much as Jason deserves justice for what David's seen him do (and for who knows what else he's done that David hasn't heard of), that's best left for others to handle. David was certain that if he were to fight Jason in his present condition, he'd maybe get one good swing at the admin before getting killed.

Besides, there was no telling how the other admins would react to the rescuers who have come to evacuate their fellow Tower residents. No, David would best serve the people of the Tower trying to get them out of here.

That's what David was thinking, right at the point when everything seemed to suddenly stand still, including himself.

At first, he's alarmed—did the admins finally notice the rescue party? What're they going to do—use that instant kill switch Zelda had spoken of? Drop monsters on everyone and watch them die helplessly? No—wait, the walls are coming down.

David realizes he's not so far away from where Jason fell. Certainly close enough to recognize the corpse on the ground as Jason's—and who is that girl with him? She looks sort of young—

... oh.

Oh man.

Even after everyone's freed of ... whatever it was that bound them into watching Ruana's method of disposing with Jason, David can't help but rubberneck and gawk Ruana's way for a few moments more. The mounting pressure will motivate him to get moving again, but—not just yet.

Edited (I really should have paid closer attention to the format ...) 2014-02-24 14:45 (UTC)

He's frozen in place. His mind races. What now?

The shadows elongate. Had Ruana found them out?

The walls lower. Jason is dead.

He wants to call out as Ruana appears, call out as if he can change what's about to happen, what he knows will happen. As Ruana works her way past Jason's chest, fear tightens his throat, stabs into his heart. Does she have his psionics now? Or did that sword destroy it? He watches in shock as another administrator is devoured, this time right in front of him with all its sickly smells and sounds. Even when he is able to move again, he's rooted to the spot.

"Good morning," he whispers, responding in shock. And then the pressure begins to register. Somewhere in his mind, it clicks, psionic pressure.

And then he sees there's a little boy almost right next to her. One he recognizes, at that.

"Quark!" He finds his voice and his legs at once and in an adrenaline-powered surge of energy he sprints towards the gathering, collared heroes and head administrator, even as the pressure grows more painful as he draws near.

If Quark had had control of his body, he would have probably thrown up what very little substance he happened to still have left in his stomach. All he can do, instead, is watch as Ruana devours Jason. He could almost touch them both, they're so close. Never has he seen anything like this--never had he imagined anything like this. Never had he wanted to. He could handle murder, he'd seen it. He'd gotten used to creepy monsters and things that go bump in the night.

But this? The small boy had been ill-prepared. He almost screams the second his body becomes his again. He's forgotten all about the fight he just aided, forgotten about the shadows he had been able to control. Quark stumbles backward before finding the sense to turn and run. He doesn't offer Ruana a good morning, too afraid to say a thing as he scrambles away from the power she's radiating.

It all hurts so bad, and his head is spinning with a mixture of fight and sleep deprivation and hunger. He sprints in a mad dash to get away from the much-younger-looking admin, breath coming out in a wheeze as his small legs strain themselves. Quark's head snaps up when he hears his name. "Mister--" he starts, then his feet catch on one another and with a startled cry, he goes crashing to the ground face first.

In that odd dilation of time the mind goes into in moments like this, Enoch notices there are other children here, others unprotected, someone is collapsing. But as he's thinking this, he's skidding to a stop, almost falling to the ground beside Quark, but catching himself on one hand while the other arm scoops the boy up.

"I've got you. I need to help-"

He's cut off by someone else picking him up, an arm going about his waist and his other arm clutching Quark protectively so he won't fall as they're both lifted off the ground and carried at impossible speeds. Enoch barely registers the movement, noticing a certain jacket, one Lucifel had created for...

"Solomon..."

The retrieval unit - the one that had been following him for months now - gives him the slightest of smiles, almost imperceptible, before moving on. The elevator is fast approaching now, far from as hopeless as it once seemed.

Quark manages something a mix between a whimper and a yelp when Enoch lifts him from the ground. He can feel his whole body shaking of its own accord, wants to stop it and wants to be able to walk but all he can think is how scared and tired he is and how badly he wants to get away. To get out of this place and never ever look back.

Instinctively, the boy curls into his savior, clutching into him as tightly as his tiny, weak fists can manage and burying his face into Enoch's chest. It's a bit of an awkward fit, what with Enoch being carried in turn by the retrieval unit Solomon, but Quark hardly notices. The world was already spinning enough before their speed increased so dramatically.

"T-T-Thank you," he manages, though it comes out hardly more than a close-to-tears squeak.

Enoch hears but doesn't respond, can't respond, until they're huddled in an elevator filled with other residents and chipped units. Enoch still clings tightly to Quark for a few moments after Solomon sets them down, only loosening his hold when the elevator doors are closed and they are moving.

"It's...we're safe..."

"P-Promise?" Even when Enoch's hold on him eases, Quark keeps his face hidden against the older man, eyes tightly shut and hands clenched into fists. His whole everything is shaking, and part of him wants to cry--as if the entire week had just caught up to him all at once. But he also knows he shouldn't cry. He's a big kid now. He's supposed to be strong. "She's not here anymore?"

Ruana had always scared him--so much. He never thought she actually ate people. It's all Quark can do not to replay that idea over and over in his head.

"She's not, we're going somewhere safe now."

His reply was automatic, reassuring, but his voice was shaky from what he'd seen, from his own lingering fear, from the adrenaline still flooding his system. "I promise."

[Sephiroth had managed to put distance between himself and Jason after the futile attempt at attacking him. Lent heavily against one wall of the Labyrinth or the other, bleeding from more than a handful of scalpel lacerations, with his thick head pulling his posture now almost hunched from as a result of the exhaustion - but it was nothing compared to the fact that he'd had to retreat.

Heavy silence was perceived through labored breathing, creaking vertebrae as he found he couldn't move away from his current position. Walls lowering left Sephiroth wondering how he was still stood upright, but the spectacle revealed-

Ruana's cannibalistic leanings are not fresh news by any means but there was something to be said for watching the whole grotesque affair in person as opposed to on the other side of a monitor. There was something perhaps more significant even than Jason's body being consumed-

He had been lied to, yet again. Or rather, brainwashed into believing his most yearned for desire would be granted to him. Turns out that even the stronger reality of his will couldn't resist the will of the Tower. Talk about salt in wounds.

Once released, Sephiroth managed half a stride before the weight on his shoulders and it's strained neck crumpled him under the rest of his injuries. Pitching forwards, he very nearly crashed face first into the floor but swung the rest of his body against it at the last moment. The result being a heavy land on his back, igniting fresh agony to his neck as his head was forced back with the momentum.

For a long moment, Sephiroth couldn't move, even if he did register Ruana's greeting to them all. Then, somewhere in the thick dizziness that swam over his consciousness he registered a certain pressure - it's not completely foreign to him being psionic in nature but it was clearly an indication that now would be the time to get out of here. He couldn't allow himself to die here like this, that blister on his ego this whole thing had caused might very well pop if that happened.

Pity that the strength was quickly waning from damaged limbs now as in lacking bursts of energy Sephiroth tried to drag himself across the floor towards the exit, clear enough in the elevator at the center of what had been the maze.]

[Everything happens in slow motion for Arturia. In one second, she's beginning to tighten her grip on Caliburn to attack Jason despite beginning to feel her strength ebb away. In the blink of an eye her sword is wrenched from her hand, Asch and Jason are both half decapitated and Zelda, still strong, is plunging her sword into Jason's heart.]

What did--?

[The moment the body hits the ground is when she realizes how still everything is. It takes seeing Ruana step into view for her to realize the labyrinth walls have even receded, and the woman speaking for Arturia to notice she can't even move. She isn't sure if she even would, given her shock in the moment.

The next few moments are gruesome. Arturia has seen many, many horrible things in her long life, but she still finds her stomach churning at the sight of a person--even if it is Jason--being eaten in such a manner. The squelch of Ruana pulling Caliburn from Jason's chest like some fancy toothpick and tossing it to rest at Arturia's feet only serves to punctuate how surreal the last few moments are.

Then Ruana's body changes into that of a very familiar little girl. Somehow, Arturia isn't surprised. If anything, she has questions, so many questions. Questions she opens her mouth to ask when she begins to feel that pressure. So much time around Saber and then Avenger has told her such pressures are dangerous things--and this is so much more stronger than either one.

Her first instinct is to shout for Ruler to grab Zelda, she'll going to help evacuate people. Whatever is going to happen, there's no time to wait and gawk. They need to get out of here.

The 'thank you' she tells Ruana as she picks up Caliburn is more out of habit than anything before she dismisses it in a flash of light and runs to the nearest fallen person. It matters not who he is in that moment. This person can hardly move and no one deserves to die in such a manner. The fact that this is Sephiroth doesn't even register beyond a simple fact as she grabs him under the shoulders, lift him the best she can, and begins to drag him to the elevator. He's heavy, to the point she's certain the only reason she can drag him at all is adrenaline, some lingering effect of the spell Ruana used to transfix them all, and Arturia's strength coming back to her.]

I'm not letting you die here. [This is said more to herself than to him, to get herself moving, her grieves digging into the ground as she pulls him along. So what if he's so much taller than she is to begin with? She's getting him to that elevator.]

Edited 2014-02-23 16:48 (UTC)

[The floor tilts wildly from one side to the other for Sephiroth as he finds himself lifted, surprisingly firmly, underneath the shoulders and somehow mostly supported by the small form of a blonde warrior whom he thinks he recognizes at first but then they are moving and the thought is ripped from him as he struggles stubbornly to help.]

I-

[His single syllable is almost sleepy-sounding at this point. Sephiroth doesn't want to die here though so his own internal complications of accepting help will have to be put on the back-burner. He can't afford to lose now that which he has spent months gaining.

Still lurching forwards all the way on account of the weight of his skull, his dirty hair hanging mostly over the opposite shoulder Sephiroth does indeed end up mostly dragged by Arturia by the time they make the elevator. He couldn't concentrate on putting any limb motion in the right place to take any of his balance, and his condition is compounded further by the blood-loss as eventually collared units come to take him from her.

There are other people that Arturia needs to save, after all.]

Somewhere on the fringes of the group there was a wolf. And somewhere inside the wolf, though he was barely hanging on, was Capell. The more he had attacked Jason and the more he had used his senses, to know who was around them and when more people were coming, the more the wolf had taken over.

As Ruana appeared the wolf was frozen just like the others, and the tiny part that was still Capell watched, slightly horrified by what he was seeing. It was enough for the wolf to take over completely and as whatever had stopped them moving faded the wolf set off, not towards the elevator though, just away, growling at anyone who was near and who tried to come near.

Veronica was near, trying to get to the elevator and get herself, and all of her friends, out of here. She struggles a bit though, having to hold her heavily bleeding right arm.

For a moment, she stops and stares at the wolf, almost unsure if it really exists at the moment.

There definitely wasn't any recognition from the animal and it growled at the staring girl before running off away from the group of people.

"...Huh."

Jut going to keep going now. She almost doesn't care.

As soon as she can move again, Yukiko bows lightly.

"Good morning, Ruana-chan."

Yukiko's response doesn't quite have the same automatic quality to it that others' voices have had, but there are clear notes of shock in it. How can there not be, considering everything?

It's the second time she's seen Ryoji kill himself in the Tower, both times under someone else's control. Then there are the other deaths, in the fight, and now? Now she's seen Ruana eat Jason's dead body. She can feel the pressure building up, and logically? She knows she should leave.

There's something she needs to ask before she does, though.

"Can I ask you something, Ruana-chan? Just two questions, I promise."

Yukiko steps forward, clutching at her head a little; she won't pretend the pressure isn't painful. Something about this reminds her of her homeworld, though, and she needs to know.

"You don't really want to play these games with us, do you? Someone else made you play games, and now you want us to know how you felt. Isn't that right?"

Someone with more sense than she has should probably pick her up and take her out of the labyrinth, otherwise Yukiko's going to wait for that answer until it's too late.

Good thing there Arturia managed to get Sephiroth to the elevator with time to spare. Before the door can close, she happens to glance out and sees a familiar red sweater standing near the child Ruana.

The girl must still be in shock and so Arturia dashes out of the elevator, running back to the teenager and scooping her up as one would carry a princess. Her head feels ready to crack open at this point, but it doesn't matter. They need to get out of here.

"We have to go!" is the only explanation she gives Yukiko before hiking her up to get a better grip and running back to the elevator.

It's almost more of a shock to be picked up, but to be honest? Yukiko wouldn't have run away otherwise. She can't help a surprised yelp.

"A-arturia-san?!" There's not much time for her to protest, not that Yukiko would at this point. As much as she wanted to hear Ruana's answers, it's a lot more important for everyone to get out of there.

"Yeah. You're right. That pressure can't be a good thing, and who knows how long the elevator will even work..."

She can't manage to turn her head in her current position. If she could, she'd look back, but there's no use and no sense in trying. She doesn't try to fight being carried off to the elevator, either.

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don't you mess with a little girl's dreams

open!

Re: open!

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open~

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OPEN~

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open

O-PEN O-PEN O-PEN </jc penney's>

Closed to Quark

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[Open - to gloat at or rescue, otherwise a group of chipped units will]

Rescue hoooooo!

:3 small thread, epic though

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