...?

[idolpro]

[ At once, whether you were going out somewhere or you were starting to head home— everything stops. You can tell, for the birds in the sky have stopped mid-flight, the trees have stopped rustling, and even the breeze has stopped.

Time itself seems to have stopped, save for you.

At the same time, you hear it—the sound of something, someone, something?, calling you. Toward the direction of Honmachi Sakura Park. ]

Comments

START

[idolpro]

Re: START

[crossmyheartandhope]

Hey.

You hear that?

Re: START

[unbr8kable]

You do?

[She looks up to the sky, and the streets, and to him]

...We should go.

Re: START

[crossmyheartandhope]

I can't even tell who it was.

[But he's turning that direction already, toward the sound of whoever-it-was]

THE GATEHOUSE

[idolpro]

[ At the end of the chainlink "ladder", there are, of course, the two gates. The first pair, filigreed and pearlescent, is open to you. Something glints in the distance, inside Heaven—something that calls for you, something that must belong to you, surely.

But the sound—harsh metal scraping against metal, you can identify it better now—comes from behind. From the abyss below. Does it beckon you, or does it warn you? What is it trying to say?

Will you proceed further in—to that which belongs to you—or will you abandon it to jump into the abyss? ]

Re: THE GATEHOUSE

[unbr8kable]

[Looks over the edge, squinting into the abyss. Is there anything she can see at all?]

What is that sound...?

Re: THE GATEHOUSE

[crossmyheartandhope]

I don't know.

But don't it sound sort of like...?

[Heading closer to the edge, to try and listen to it better]

Re: THE GATEHOUSE

[idolpro]

[ You stare into the abyss—and nothing stares back at you.

It is so incredibly empty, so incredibly void, such a sheer drop with nothing there that you almost feel compelled to jump down yourself—even moreso if you have corruption. This is where you belong, Heaven tells you; the emptiness and void, though not whatsoever welcoming, seems to beckon you anyway.

You hear the sound again, harsh metal scrapes that sound something like squawks, and it is a headache to listen to.

But you know, instinctively—follow the noise now, and you'll never make it back to Heaven. ]

HELL

[idolpro]

[ With Leviathan's help, you find yourselves landing safely atop an abandoned warehouse.

There's an ambient buzz in the background—noticeable after the quiet of Heaven, where the only noise is what you and the other idols make. This place is populated. It sounds like voices, raised and laughing, like the clatter of coins and chips against counters, lever-pull machinery, and gunshots.

This, you are likely familiar with, is Vengeance Hell.

The sound of metal scraping against metal is distant, above you now. Somewhere in that space—somewhere in that void—must be that voice.

But how will you get there?

. . . On Hurricane and Nemesis both are two thin threads of golden light. They shine brightly in the darkness of Vengeance's night, but all they are is light—the threads are immaterial, unable to be touched or held. Moreover, they look like they're growing thinner and thinner, as though they'll sever soon. ]

Re: HELL

[unbr8kable]

[Waves her arm through the light, careful]

...Ain't exactly subtle. Either way, I'm pretty sure if we're gonna try to get up there, we better do it soon.

Re: HELL

[backstory]

It doesn't seem as though you have much time.

Re: HELL

[unbr8kable]

Yeah, yeah. Behind the eight-ball, what else is new?

...There anything you need? Assuming we make it back up, should we be tossing snacks down for you?

Re: HELL

[crossmyheartandhope]

Yeah. I guess we better get going.

You doing okay down here, dude?

Re: HELL

[crossmyheartandhope]

Yeah. We better get moving. Think we missed 'im.

Ravioli? Come give us a ride back up.

[A very good bird flickers into being, hunkering down so that they can climb on board]

Re: HELL

[marsascending]

[ there is a mysterious woman wearing a large hat and big sunglasses tied under her neck with a scarf leaning against the roof railing with a glass of wine. she might be familiar. ]

Soon? My, my. You just got here, though.

That said, you should get a move on quite quickly, regardless of where you go.

Re: HELL

[crossmyheartandhope]

[It takes him a long couple of moments, to settle himself once they've landed. There was a whole lot of nothing on the way down, after all -- endless void, and endless grief, silence and loneliness that too closely reflected his own]

[So there's a long beat, and then another, when he stares about the place they've landed -- when he cranes his neck back up toward the void above them]

[At length, he manages to unstick the words from his throat -- reaches out, automatic, to retake Nem's hand]

Thanks, Levi.

Re: HELL

[unbr8kable]

[Squeezes back readily]

Shoulda brought the gliders, I guess. Woulda done better with aiming...

Re: HELL

[backstory]

The princess would cry if something happened to either of you. And I would be sad, too. Are you sure you are alright?

[ That light there is a little... different. ]

Re: HELL

[marsascending]

[ there is a mysterious woman wearing a large hat and big sunglasses tied under her neck with a scarf leaning against the roof railing with a glass of wine. she might be familiar. ]

Goodness. Is someone holding a party up here? All this company, all of a sudden.

[ ]

[idolpro]

[ You follow the threads back up. Up and up you go, but—as you go, it feels like the air is thin, like the atmosphere itself is fading. It is suffocating, and at the same time, it is cold, emptying. Your lights, those threads, are weak. They could snap at any moment, and you would be lost in the abyss forever.

As you climb higher, you can hear the faint sound of metal scraping metal, a thousand voices shrill in their screams. It is all around you, it is above you, it is below you; cover your ears and you'll hear it inside your mind. It disorients, and up becomes down, down becomes up—your Aibou does not experience the loss of navigational understanding, fortunately, but you must suffer the vertigo as you climb higher and higher.

Heaven seems so distant.

The scrapes seem so distant.

Will you be able to get there? Where do you think to go? What do you pursue? Do you remember why you're here? ]

Re: [ ]

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Thankfully, they don't have to pick]

[Thankfully, aibous only do what they're told, and Hurricane gave that order before they left the ground -- up toward heaven, where Paloma and Levi both think they'll find something to help them find Mehniel]

[He clings to Ravioli's back -- calls out, in the endless void, to that sound of metal on metal:]

We're coming for you! Hang in there!

Re: [ ]

[unbr8kable]

We're here--we're here.

[And what else is there to know? She is here, and Hurricane is here, and if they can keep moving then that should be enough...right?]

HEAVEN

[idolpro]

[ Beyond the Gatehouse is the Courtyard, which is eerily silent—reminiscent of the time that Tokyo-F was plastic, for there are no ambient sounds, nothing that would indicate that this place has any life—except for the feeling of something beckoning you.

A gate, which is normally sealed shut, is open. ]

Re: HEAVEN

[crossmyheartandhope]

[He hesitates, just for a beat -- reaches out, offering his hand to Nemesis]

You ready?

Re: HEAVEN

[unbr8kable]

...

[Looks in through the gates, and out, back towards the abyss...and up, in case she can still see her connection to Tokyo-F]

[...And then, inevitably, back to Hurricane, as she takes his hand once more]

Yeah...let's see what they got, I guess.