i will burn my dread

[miseris_socios]

Who: Everyone!
What: Welcome to the Dark Hour!
Where: In the Strega warehouse.
Warnings: Possible blood and gore, Persona 3/general SMT-level disturbing topics, possible violence (knowing this group). Will edit if needed.


[When he first wakes up, Ken finds himself lying on a bed. That in itself isn't so unfamiliar, but this one has dents where it should, the shape of a small body pressed into it over weeks and months, and the sheets are soft and scratchy in just the right places and -]

[Oh no. He sits up and pulls himself out of bed, reaching almost automatically for Koromaru but... he's not there. Of course not. He'd been expecting the Tower, but this is worse, because they're not here because this is his Heart, not theirs, and because -]

[No. He has to think of what to do. He grabs the dangpa that Shinjiro made him and the copy of Gae Buidhe that Diarmuid gave him, strapping them onto his back. He needs to stay defended in this place, no matter what - the last Heart taught him that much.]

[The familiar pressure of the Dark Hour doesn't bother him, but it's worrying. It should be gone now. They won. It's over. Even in his Heart, it shouldn't be around. But it is, and there's a brief flare of panic before -]

[No. He needs to get going. The puzzles aren't going to find themselves.]

Comments

[miseris_socios]

[Dining Area]

[He should have expected this. He runs the tap and - nope. Blood. It's definitely the Dark Hour, though his TV is working. It must have something to do with Hearts being weird. He frowns, turns the tap off, and opens the fridge.]

[Oh. It's just Suppressants. At least Koromaru's food is here, if he exists in this place. He could have sworn he heard him somewhere... but no. Hopefully they won't get desperate, because dog food is edible. He's learned that before.]

[Electronics Room]

[Jin's room, obviously. The computers are locked, and he's not sure what the passwords are. It's not like Jin kept stuff around on sticky notes or something. The explosives around make him nervous, but they always did. Jin knew what he was doing, though. Usually.]

[The Revenge Request board makes him a little worried, though. Not that he should care what people thought of how they got most of their money, but... well. It's not something other people really would understand. He stands there for a bit, looking at the faces of the people they killed. ... It wasn't right. Was it the only way? He's not sure anymore.]

[Art Room]

[Chidori would have hated random people stomping around the warehouse. He doesn't like it either, but at least in her room he can have a moment of peace. The mannequins aren't in the best shape, but they always worked. He walks over to one of them, carefully holding the sleeve of a half-finished dress. ... Would she ever get a chance to finish all of these? It hurts to think of the time that they might not have, even as they swore to do what they could with the time they had left.]

[800isenough]

[The moment his eyes snap open Liao is out of the coffin without a second glance at anything. He's sworn on his honor to Rabbit, and he treasures his honor more than anything. He will not fail.]

Entrance Hall
[Poking around the crates, Liao wonders at all these items and knickknacks and gadgets. Cautious at sticking his hand out at anything he doesn't understand though, he leaves them untouched, only investigating the boxes in hopes of stumbling upon a puzzle.]

Second floor Bathroom
[There wasn't any indoor plumping in 2nd century China, which is why he doesn't quite understand the function of this room. Those little knob things look like they can be turned though, and he places a hand on one of them tentatively.]

Open-air art area
[Paintings! Yes!! And Liao's somewhat relieved to see them framed up on the wall. Not because he has a secret artistic soul inside him somewhere, but because it's finally something that's familiar to him. Sure the art-style's really different from the traditional Chinese paintings, but anyone can recognize paint slapped on paper. He'll just take a quick look around the room, see what he can find.]

[hesmypuddin]

[ Entrance Area ]

[Harley had woken once more with a start, sucking in a quick breath as her eyes darted around. It's with a grim sort of realization (lord knows how many times her Puddin' had shoved her into a coffin or tied burying her alive over the years, the big kidder) that she notes what it is she's laying in and she makes quick work to pull herself out again. Once out of the oversized coffin, Harley's gaze moves around the warehouse. She makes rather quick work of trying the windows and front door, but it seems they are securely locked; at least for now. She moves to the crates, pulling the tarps off one at a time.]

Just like Christmas! Come ta mama!

[While her teammates may consider it with some degree of horror, Harley feels extra uneasy and is making certain to look out for number one: herself. A few minutes and a handy crowbar later, Harley has the crates open and is loading up with several favorites; don't think you'll see everything. A few knives get stowed away within her bodysuit (how???) and she's managed to find another mallet. However, she's also got a loaded .45 revolver in a holster at her thigh, the weapon looking almost too big for her petite form.]

Eat yer heart out, Lara Croft... [She smirks and begins digging through one of the explosive crates, grabbing and tossing things into a pile nearby.]

[ Second Floor Bathroom ]

[Having loaded herself down with an assortment of weapons that make her feel (slightly) less uneasy, Harley continues moving through the warehouse. She still wasn't sure what the Cat had meant about competing to get out, but she wasn't slowing down to mull over it.

If it was a competition, Harley was aiming to win.

Though, under the unease was a niggling doubt that none of this even mattered. What was there to go back to, anyway? Mistah J needed her, right? Bud and Lou? Even Pammy had to be missing her by now... She passes the dining area and stops short of the bathroom with a soft inhale, falling silent at the sound of claws on floor.]

H'lo? [It had sounded like a dog, but she doesn't hear it again. With a shiver moving down her spine, she shrugs it off and steps into the bathroom to look around.]

[ Child's Bedroom ]
[Drawn by the sound of the television, Harley makes her way into the child's bedroom in the loft. She creeps in, mallet in one hand and her eyes widen as she sees the fire escape in the other end of the room. She curses when she finds it locked, nearly stumbling as she hears the foot steps again.]

Who's there?! I heard ya, so don't try no funny business, huh???

[Not knowing if she actually heard anything besides the television, she begins digging around the bedroom for clues.]

[not_that_sasuke]

[Electronics Room]

[Perhaps surprisingly, Sasuke is actually up and about again. Especially odd since he never showed up for the pizza party, but... At least he seems to be in one piece?

Currently, he's looking over those photographs with the red Xs, though he'll eventually make his way to the back of the room and the locked door to see if he can't find the way to get it open.]

[Ground Floor]

[The most obvious place to look, right? He's most interested in what appears to be the warehouse exit, since doors seem to be good places to start when it comes to finding - and subsequently solving - puzzles around these places.

He has to make himself useful here, after all...]

[hopedout]

[ There's an ominous feeling about this place and Hinata himself can sense it already. It's the feeling of dread that runs down his spine and feels heavy, but he decides to ignore it for the time being. This is fine. At the very least, he can deal with this kind of thing for long periods of time.

The first place he visits is the dining area, and when he find that there's no food he can't help but worry a little. This reminds him too hard of the Funhouse and he wonders if there isn't going to be anything to eat while they're there. Which is is kind of unsettling because he's... actually starved himself to near death for several days, and that isn't exactly a fun experience. That's fun.

Later, he decides to visit the electronics room and out of curiosity decides to go ahead and check the computers to see the password input screen. He isn't going to type anything just yet, he just wants to see how many characters he can put in and if there is a password hint before attempting some investigation. Of course he could always utilize Kamukura's talent as a hacker, but-- he isn't sure if he should risk that chance. ]

INFIRMARY

[worldkeys]

[ Now that Tartarus has been revealed, once the group makes their way to the fifth floor, they will be greeted not with more Shadows, but the familiar smell of most hospitals.

When they enter the overly-sterilized Infirmary, they will note it is devoid of any Shadows (thankfully), and nothing followed them up here. There is plenty of medicine if they need to rest, and several large beds, though it's obvious these aren't for sleeping on unless you're sick or injured.

The group will feel an odd sense of paranoia on this floor, as though they are being watched. They will also feel like they need to do something here, but are not entirely sure what it is, as though it slipped their minds. ]

On the Third Floor, locked initially to Cheshire Cat

[800isenough]

[Sometime while the group was heading up, a strong chill down the back of his spine, sending all the hairs on the back of his neck standing up on their ends. That strong sense of unease hinted that a malicious, blood-thirsty person was stalking them. And the last time he felt such a presence told him who was following them.

Although they'd gone up to the Infirmary that feeling never quite left him. So while the three were looking for a key in the Infirmary, he'd went back downstairs. Down all the way to the third floor to look for a certain Cat.]

ART GALLERY

[worldkeys]

[ A lone vending machine sits at the beginning of this floor after the arduous treck through the three floors of Arqa, infested by Shadows. It has various settings for foods and drinks that, frankly, a vending machine has no business having on it.

The Art Gallery itself seems fairly normal at first glance, but continue onward through it (you have no choice, really), and... well. You might regret looking too closely. The further in one goes, the creepier it gets. Eventually, the paintings will ooze blood, show realistic gore, hideous nightmare-like landscapes, and so forth. Ken, especially, will not like what he sees here.

And... did one of those paintings just... speak? ... No, it was your imagination. But it sounded an awful lot like, "one of one and three inside".

The longer one stays in this floor, the more one begins to suspect they hear voices of people they knew speaking to them, distantly. ]

FLOOR THIRTEEN

[worldkeys]

[ The golden hue of the room's walls, ceiling, and floor is in stark contrast to its constantly-changing "decor": bloody handprints slamming themselves onto the walls and ceiling as a constant shriek echoes throughout the room.

But whose handprints and screaming is it? No one is visible. The voice may sound like someone you know who died, or otherwise, an indistinct female voice. Either way, it may be best not to... linger.

One of the hands constantly slamming into the walls appears to have a bloody piece of paper in it. However, someone would have to catch it before it changes to another side of the room. ]

FLOOR FIFTEEN (HOLDING CELLS)

[worldkeys]

[ The jail floor is filled with tables, an air of dread, and a drain in each cell for blood, as though someone has recently held people within them. Each cell contains a small table with various things scattered on it that may prove interesting if examined; there are quite a lot of cells, but they all have sequential numbers up to thirteen.

One of the cells is closed and will have to be manually opened, but it appears something on a gurney is inside of it. It is cell number 8. Being in this room will constantly increase how uncomfortable everyone is and make them feel as though they are awaiting someone to come back and do them physical harm the longer they remain in it.

There is a blockade stopping their progress, as well. ]