Estylwen

Dark Beyond: Voices of the Past

Side effects on the group:

Due to being ripped out of DiveLink, everyone will suffer from mild internal bleeding, hallucinations, and muscle paralysis when experiencing too strong of emotions, using their powers, or attacking.

They will need to see a neurologist, if they can find one...

---

The current map

Umbra: The Abyssal Connection

New post is up, thanks for your patience!

Umbra: The Abyssal Connection

North Ehlm, Val's Safehouse

@SporkoBug, @Herald, @Qia

---

"Getting shot or getting eaten... gosh, that's a hard choice to make,”

Val

Dex stared daggers at the dinosaur-like Wild standing in between him and his hearts, before his gaze flicked to the wise-mouth. A smile cracked underneath his mask.

”I know that wise-crack voice anywhere. How are you not dead yet, Valentino?”

He spread his arms wide, one hand removed from his gun as he spoke. ”Consider it your lucky day! I'm in a generous mood, and my dogs tell me you're newly… christened. How about you help you round up these other hearts here, and we'll let you join our ranks! Black would suit you, and you'll find the food never runs out, fills you up, and… nourishes your soul.”

But before he could continue his convincing assault, Wren's transformation caught him off-guard. His gun snapped to Wren, though purposely avoiding the heart area. Instead, his gun was aimed for Wren's gut. A slow, bleeding-out kind of death.

VV's eyes darted between the new intruders and A, desperately trying to keep her cool. A had a lot of meaning in her eyes, though. Did she mean to not make a move? But wouldn't they die faster that way.

VV grunted underneath the tail, pulling desperately to try and release the pressure on her windpipe. Her voice was low, horse. ”Don't underestimate yourself, A. You're strong. These monsters got nothing on you.”

A subtle read-in-between-the-lines. VV tried to encourage A to fight. She was the only one out of all of them that could deliver a surprise attack every time.

Le Frey's head turned sharply at her, “Quiet!”

The lead Ravager, Dex, was only delighted by VV's words. ”I do enjoy a good fight before my meal. Alas-” His gun turned towards Wren, and he opened fire. The rest of the Ravagers followed suit, unloading bullets in each and every Lawless, Umbra, Wild and Ghost Corp present.

…

… At least, they tried.

In a flash of brilliant light, a green dragon had emerged from Le Frey, leaving the man weak and on one knee while the dragon, Inu, used its body to block the attack. Inu quickly followed up with an unleash of green fire that scattered the Ravagers. Subsequently, the tails on VV and A loosened and withdrew.

However, the Ravagers were particularly slimey. A few slipped passed Mimi and Inu, one pointing a gun at VV and A while the others began dragging the two Umbra away…

Simultaneously, another Ravager had snuck around the other side, and began unloading his gun. Two shots found their home in Teresa, and she dropped like a sack of potatoes, silent as the grave. Four more shots unloaded in Val's direction, before the Ravager hissed, clicking his gun. Out of ammo.

Finally, Dex himself sized up Wren in his transformed state. One of his men handed him a bottle of liquid with a cloth shoved down the neck. He lit it, a creepy smile in his voice.

”I wonder how you'll taste on the coals…”

Before he lobbed the molotov directly at Wren.

Iris Ascendis

No, noooo, let's not do that. ヽ(O_O )ﾉ

Iris Ascendis

Poetic. ^^;

That was a good round!

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Elysium Island, Tunnels and Mansion Front

_{Interactions:Aggro Group, specifically Sully (@Atrophy)}

---

Alexander swore he had been up and down this island, so it came as a surprise when he came across a small mound, bushes, and most importantly, movement. Was that the tail end of a Sycamore he saw?

He smirked, pressing his comms. ”Got ‘em. They've entered the tunnels.”

Valencia was quick to respond. ”And the status of the front?”

Alexander's head inclined towards the smoke rising in the distance, and shot forward on an electrical current. In a matter of seconds, he was hidden at the treeline of the iced over mansion, witnessing absolute chaos.

”Mum, you gotta see this. A massive apparition, headed straight for ‘em. Ghost projectiles too.” Alexander said through his comms.

There was a definitive pause before Valencia responded. ”...Let's use these opportunities. Jin, send your biggest to assist the apparition and attacks at the front. Zi, coordinate with Jin, and back Alex up. Alex, you know what to do...”

There was a chorus of affirmative voices over the comms, before the House of Cards made their move.

A portal opened in the sky over the mansion, and out came a glowing gold dragon. It took longer than one would think for it's entire body to twist out of the portal; it had to be at least fifty to sixty feet in length, rippled with muscles and thickly built with the width of at least ten feet.

As the portal closed behind it, the dragon screeched, eyes feasting on the Sycamore below. It twisted as it circled in the sky, opening its maw. A hot jet stream of fire exploded around the most densely packed group of the Sycamore, including Sully, Drake, and Lila, to name a few - burning the trees behind them and the grass in front of them, scorching a few Undead in the process (oops). It attempted to create a semi-circle of fire around the Sycamore, giving the magma apparition a clear way to attack them, and to cut off the Sycamore's ways of escape.

A slow breath in, and one more jet of fire was unleashed, this time unfurling directly on top of Sully's location.

All the while, the dragon kept twisting and moving in the sky, intentionally trying to be hard to hit.

At the same time, Alexander stood at the entrance of the tunnel, cracking his neck and rolling his shoulders, before he grinned, and disappeared in a streak of electricity into the tunnel.

---

Elysium Island, The Tunnels

Interactions: Artifact Group, specifically Clancy (@Zombiedude101), Luca (@Fernstone), and Britney (@Mixtape Ghost N)

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”How far can you separate from Alizee? She can't die; if she gets destroyed, she'll just get returned to your soul.”

Britney

Layla's smile was contagious as she looked up at Britney, before it flattened into a wincing grimace. She whispered, ”Not very far. It's fine, though, I'll stay here with her.”

Aislin's panic subsided a bit at Britney’s words, though she still kept an anxious watch on the creepy monster. Alizée's chains seemed to be doing the trick, however, so Aislin lowered her gun just slightly.

At least, that was until Autumn let up a warning:

"... Adept en route! Red and Purple!”

Autumn

Aislin half turned. “Red and… pur-?”

Slow clapping echoed off the tunnel walls as Alexander came forward from behind, a nasty smirk on his face. “And here I thought I'd get the jump on ya'll.”

A portal opened beside him, revealing Zi for a flash of a moment as he summoned an undead king into the tunnel. It was so massive it had to bow its head slightly to avoid scraping its crown against the ceiling. Then, the portal shut.

The undead king's hollow eyes stared through the Sycamore, before it raised a bony hand, and green fire burst forth, arcing over their heads and burning the T-section hallway, further entrapping them with enemies on both sides, and cutting them off from moving forward.

At the same moment, Alexander raised his own hand, and grinned.

“Ya'll fuckers killed Luna. That won't stand, no. So, enjoy.”

And a bolt of black electricity shot out in a wide range, aimed for Clancy, Luca, and Britney.

Umbra: The Abyssal Connection

@CavnderOHeart Hey! You're welcome to join us, just give the OOC and IC a careful read and write up a CS. You can submit it here and I'll look it over. :)

Umbra: The Abyssal Connection

Bit of a delay on my end, I'll aim to have something up this weekend. :)

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Elysium Island, Through the Side Entrance

_{Interactions: Britney (@Mixtape Ghost N), Sloane (@Atrophy), Artifact Group}

---

Layla could feel Autumn's gaze on her, and a flush crept over her cheeks as they walked.

Alizée simply stared back, red eyes cold. ”The hell is her problem?”

Layla grimaced, her thoughts mumbled. ”Probably still mad I caused that big argument…”

Alizée sneered in their direction, her own thoughts sharp and uncompromising. ”You were in the right. And, from what I read from your mind, you were only looking for justice, an explanation. Leave these weaklings; we're here to support the Sycamore, and that's it.”

”And get a leg up on Father Wolf.”

”And that.”

Aislin nudged Layla as they walked, “You got some glum look on your face - cheer up! This will be over before you know it.”

Layla forced a smile, nodding. ”Right.”

Layla, Alizée and Aislin were in a group after Luca, huddled in the blind spots as they shifted from one space in the hallway to the next. Until, eventually, they too were merely steps behind Autumn and the rest as they approached the T-section.

The Halloween dinosaur was an unexpected development, to be sure.

Layla pressed a hand over her mouth, muffling a surprised yelp. Alizée acted a little faster, chains circling around the monster's neck, and pulling tight. Did it breathe? Well, it wouldn't for long. Alizée purposefully didn't use her abilities to leech its physical essence, unwilling to be the one to "trip the alarms”.

Alizée ghosted to the side as the beast charged, yanking hard and trying to disturb its line of direction. This would also help tighten the chains, and cut off more air supply. If, that was, it needed to breathe.

Alizée's red eyes darted to Layla, ”Stay outta the way!” She hissed as quietly as she could.

Aislin had unzipped her backpack, pulling out her trusty Tec-9, the last memory she had of Luna. She aimed it towards the creature, eyes darting briefly to Britney and Sloane. She liked neither of them, but both were heading this operation.

“What’s the fucking plan, here?!” She said in a stage whisper.

Recollections: Primal Sinister

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Quill St. Sebastien's Office -> On the Way to Raven's Rest
_{Mentions: MFF, Mr. Foster (@Tesserach) Interactions: Quill (@PatientBean)}

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"All right Ms. Adel. I will accept the case.”

Quill

A quiet air of relief hung around the black-clad woman. Lorenza could sense Quill's hesitation, but a deposit seemed to have washed those hesitancies away. Regardless of Quill's reasoning, Lorenza felt the sweet satisfaction of having a new case successfully opened. She was hopeful this would, eventually, put her face to face with the problem plaguing her family.

“I'll see about speaking to Mr. Ingram first and report back to you on what I find. Once that is done we can plan next steps together. I will note that this could get...interesting. If things go sideways well...it would be best if you were able to handle yourself. I trust you can, but I need to make the warning regardless.”

Quill

There was a subtle shift beneath the black parasol - a nod. ”I appreciate your concern. I will be able to take care of myself if and when it comes down to it.”

“Was there anything else I should note before I get started?"

Quill

A slight pause, before Lorenza gave a small nod from under the parasol again. ”Yes. Though I doubt it will change your feelings on taking up my case, it should be mentioned that the persons you will be looking into for me… Well, they're vampires.

“As for what is causing them to encroach…” A light, melodious giggle. ”I haven't the faintest clue.”

Lorenza stood, approaching Quill's desk. There was a delicate snap of firm paper, and Lorenza moved her hand back, revealing a business card placed on the wood. ”My contact details.”

Interestingly enough, along with a phone number and an address, the business card, in embossed gold, claimed Lorenza was a ‘consultant.’

Lorenza's heels clicked along the floor as she made for the door. A hand on the handle, the parasol spun as she turned back briefly. The sound of a smile had returned to her voice.

”I look forward to hearing from you, Miss Sebastien. Good luck.”

And with that, Lorenza stepped outside, shutting the door softly behind her.

If Quill were to do a basic search of ‘Lorenza Adel’, she would find a website sporting consulting services for disenchanted individuals dealing with… well, it was a long list, mainly including mental health conditions such as anxiety, and an overburden of pain, both physical and mental. Glowing testimonials lined the footer of the website, assuring Lorenza's techniques were a cure-all.

A deeper dive, one that went well beyond a standard Google search, would reveal that her family simply came into existence ten years ago. There was a car purchase under her name, along with detailing that was technically illegal - 100% black-tinted windows. However, thankfully enough, there wasn't a record of Lorenza having any issue with the police.

***

On the street outside of Quill's office, a black car waited. Upon seeing her, the engine revved up. As Lorenza made her approach, however, a notification broke out from her phone. Having her wifi hotspot on, and her phone's profile connected to the one at her Southside manor, it was easy enough to keep in touch with MFF’s broadcastings. Pulling it out from her pocket, Lorenza's brows furrowed delicately at the notification.

EMERGENCY ALERT - Raven's Rest

This is an emergency services notice of a hazardous chemical spill near Raven's Rest...brought to you by MFF Industries…

A delicate, condescending smirk played on her lips, hidden under the parasol. Ah, Mr. Foster. Or, as her family better knew the man as, the Devil of Southside. She still remembered the day she got her hands on one of MFF's lucky charms, and discovered the Orange Lux workings behind it. Clever, but subtle. What else had the company hid?

Placing her cousins in poinginet places over the years, her father had deduced that MFF was yet another company full of selfish corporate interest.

So, seeing the notification, it immediately piqued Lorenza's curiosity. What had MFF come across, where they had let everyone know “out of the goodness of their heart” to stay indoors and away…?

She had to see for herself. Perhaps she could uncover more, as she waited for Quill to complete her task.

As Lorenza sat in the backseat of the car, the driver, a thrall of hers and trusted in the family, looked at her through the rearview.

“Everything alright, Miss Adel?”

Lorenza folded her parasol and tucked it away in the relative darkness of the car, red rose highlighting her painted eyes and soft lips as she looked up, and smiled.

”Everything is fine, Deven. However, there is something I must see at Raven's Rest. Time is of the essence, please be as quick as possible.”

With a nod, the thrall screeched out of the parking stall and took off, headed out of the city.