The stairs only brought her closer to the enemy, closer to the damage, and the teen clenched her fists tightly inside the hollow non-Rue. She'd get through this dream, she'd seen the way that one intermediate had seized on the cot. That wouldn't be her.
She was going to wake up and be with Before, and they'd go and be hunters together. Ofelia was not going to lose here.
enemies 6
Battle!
Weapon HP: 60 Sword: Roll 2 d20 (subtract 12) for your damage!
5-6 enemies: they have 15 HP each! They auto attack (hit or miss) for 6 damage!
If your weapon breaks, you must go back down and grab one of the other ones. This gives you three chances.
Her weapon was stronger and so was her will. Ofelia wasn't going to let herself be taken down like this, not as the creatures lunged, and the redhead posed herself in a familiar stance that she used for every single battle. Her body bore the scars from fighting and living while awake and she would not add anything new to it while she slept.
A strong strike sent one of the monsters instantly shattering into pieces and another close behind. It was amazing how she had plowed through them in such a go and she wondered if such strength would remain in her body when it came time to leave this dream.
The voice wasn't saying anything else though as more creatures surrounded her and so Ofelia went on to prepare another strike. They weren't aiming for her, only her weapon, and she wasn't going to let them take it down without destroying them all first.
weapon hp 54 damage 25 enemies 5 ( 1 at 5 hp ) overall boss hp 65
Another pair launched themselves at the teen and she struck back, almost panicking as they went at the weapon. The weaker of the two had been destroyed and that did her no favors - they all needed to be gone before she could carry onward.
She prepared herself to go again and try to take more down in the process. If this was a dream that meant everything had to go according to her will, right? In this dream she wasn't going to lose and Ofelia prepped herself to take down all that came her way.
weapon hp 48 damage 14 enemies 4 ( 1 at 10 hp ) overall boss hp 51
Of course that also meant Ofelia could completely fail at life and she barely swiped at the approaching monsters. There was no charge to be had here so she couldn't perform an amazing move and destroy everything.
The only thing she could do was pray that her weapon held out until the end.
weapon hp 42 damage 3 enemies 4 ( 1 at 7 hp ) overall boss hp 48
Rown
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Rown rolled 2 20-sided dice:
3, 7Total: 10 (2-40)
Rown
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 7:47 am
Her weapon was practically shattering inside her grasp. Why...why was she failing so badly?
On her cot Ofelia visibly shook, her body spazzing ever so faintly.
weapon hp 36 damage - enemies 4 ( 1 at 7 hp ) overall boss hp 48
Rown rolled 2 20-sided dice:
6, 8Total: 14 (2-40)
Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 7:49 am
Even though her weapon connected nothing was happening, the shadows still kept coming, and the teen was starting to panic. Was this proof that she wasn't strong enough after all, that she was slated to die just like all the rest of the people she'd been watching?
The weapon in her hand cracked and on her cot Ofelia shook yet again.
weapon hp 30 damage 2 enemies 4 ( 1 at 5 hp ) overall boss hp 46
She wasn't going to give up, she wasn't going to cry, but Ofelia felt like calling out for someone. She was a Sun, certainly, but a sun alone and one that was slowly being consumed by the shadows.
Ofelia didn't want to be unable to wake up. She didn't want this.
Clover, where were you?
weapon hp 24 damage 9 enemies 3 ( 1 at 9 hp ) overall boss hp 39
And suddenly one of the monsters completely vanished beneath the strike of a blade. It was gone with a shriek and another stumbled back in much a same state, only to keep rushing at her again. Where had that strength come from? Was it because Ofelia had called for Clover?
Yes, maybe. She wanted to see him, wanted to wake up and see him again. She wanted to tell him she'd made it out and if she let the worries of losing get to her she'd never see him again. Raising weapons up high again despite the cracks that lined their frames, Ofelia prepped for another round.
weapon hp 18 damage 22 enemies 2 ( 1 at 2 hp ) overall boss hp 17
She was down to the last enemy and it seemed to know it as well. The weapon she held was on its final legs, cracks littering every inch of it and parts of it crumbling out of her grasp, but Ofelia held it strong and ready.
Only one more enemy stood between her and finding Before. She wasn't going to let anyone or anything stop her from finding him and taking him into her arms.
weapon hp 12 damage 12 enemies 1 overall boss hp 5
The last monster vanished without a trace as soon as the blades of the breaking weapon struck it. The entire area seemed to be clearing up and growing lighter and yet Ofelia found herself the only one still there. It made her heart pound unhappily and her cheeks rushed themselves into a state of red as she opened her mouth to call out for the man she wanted to see the most.
This was but a dream though, he certainly wouldn't answer her, and she raised her hands to her cheeks to prevent any crying from happening. She wasn't going to cry, she couldn't cry, and so Ofelia started moving forward. He had to be there at the end of her dream, right?
Clover, Clover...? Ofelia wanted you to know she was coming and she would see you soon.
The instant he defeats the shadows, and the voice acknowledges his victory, the ground gives way with an ominous crack. And again, Before plummets, lands with a dull thud that stings more than hurts. He gets to his feet, dusting himself off while surveying the ground. The pulsing eventually matches his heartbeat, and when the voice whispers into the shell of his ear, Before spins round.
And finds himself.
Or, rather, a version of himself. "Heeeeeey, my hair is not that oily!" he whines, points an accusatory finger at the clone's slicked back 'do. This is all a dream, Before reminds himself, which makes it easier to accept having his double standing in front of him. It isn't really the first time either, now that he thinks about it.
But the weapon that materializes in his copy's hand, runes glowing menacingly, dagger-points sharper than he's ever seen them, that's new. Before looks down to his arms, expects his own partner to appear and complete the scene of self versus shadow, mirrored and separated only by the other's choice of inaction.
Vanna is a no show.
Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 7:51 am
The ground split beneath Ofelia as soon as the last of the shadows appeared, as soon as she decided to continue forward. He had to be at the end of her dreams, there was no way Ofelia was going to be alone in all of this, and her determination to step go onward stopped as the ground beneath her broke. It shattered like someone had cracked a mirror, or perhaps like she had stepped on ice far too thin to support weight, and down she fell.
Landing on her feet she looked around, no worse for the wear, but the broken weapon in her hand was gone. She was all alone, unable to defend herself, and Ofelia bit her lower lip as the Voice she had been hearing echoed once more above and around her. The ground was cracked and dusty, not beautiful like the areas above, and a glance overhead let Ofelia know there was no getting back up there and continuing on. A frustrated sigh escaped her lips and she kicked at the ground as the Voice went on again.
"Jus' shut up! Yer annoyin' me!" She yelled and kicked the ground again, only to stop when a chuckle came from behind. "What - ?"
"No, you shut up." Ofelia turned to face....herself. It wasn't a mirror image, it was truely here. Scars, hair, patches. A body torn apart by living and dying. In her hands there was Rue, glowing and pulsing so strongly. "You're the problem, you're annoying." Ofelia's faced pale, her true face, while the not!Ofelia merely cackled. "So you think you can fight, let's see how you die."
With that the other-self lunged forward.
Huni Pi
just to let you know where I'm at > ___ > <3
Rown
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Rown
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Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 9:15 am
Blood ran down her arm - was she really bleeding inside a dream - as Ofelia attempted to fend off another attack from her other-self. It was strange to be fighting with her own being, a body she knew from head to do, yet here she was trying to stay alive like it was some complete stranger after her. Like she wasn't even there and knew how to fight back.
A strong strike had Ofelia staggering backward and falling onto her knees. She coughed up blood - was this real? It felt so real, she could taste the bitterness of iron blood on her tongue. But the otherself wasn't done as a blade came down quite close to the side of her face. It was going to be kill or be killed and it looked as though Ofelia had the losing hand.
No weapon, no way to fight back.
"Let's review about your life before I kill you, shall we?" Otherself started talking, her voice so strong without an accent. "For starters, you're a massive liar."
"That's not - "
"Oh really then? So you were telling the truth to everyone when you said you didn't remember your brother's name? That you didn't have photos of your family?" A strong strike caught Ofelia on the side of her face, three long marks spreading and leaking red against paling tan skin. "You lied to Melvin about that, and now he'll never trust you again." Ofelia staggered to her feet. "You have that photo, tucked into your deck of cards. You know his name, you call it out in your sleep."
"No, Ah - "
"Lucas."
"Stop it!" Ofelia placed her hands on either side of her head, trying to get the noise out. In the physical plane her body jerked hard on the cot, one of her arms falling over the edge and hitting the floor hard. "Jus' stop!" Ofelia couldn't respond, wouldn't respond, with a physical attack.
"No one on this island could come to care for you, only yourself. You raised yourself alone all these years so why are you reaching out for people? You're growing weak thinking that someone out there might actually love you." Rue was brought straight into Ofelia's stomach and she gagged as the blades came out through her back. She was dying in her dream, unable to fight back against what she was hearing.
"Everyone you think you care about, aren't you just forcing your feelings onto them? Aren't you just making up relationships with them in hopes to fill the void you've had all your life?" The blades were pulled up, not out, and Ofelia felt like she could sense them against her ribs. She wasn't dead yet, she could still see and hear. This...this was a horrible fate. "You have no friends here, everything is make pretend. No one would care if you lived or died, they only act like they would because it's what's expected of them as members of Deus. If you were to fall on the battlefield your body would be left behind."
Ofelia knew that was true.
"No one would stand up to defend you if you turned into a monster. They'd strike you down and not care. No one would willingly offer to die in your place, they'd just stand by and watch your head be severed clean from your neck."
Ofelia knew that was true.
"Everything you are is a lie. Everything you have is a lie. There's no one out there waiting for you, nothing. Jordan, he's got Rep now and his attentions will always be there. Rep? He hates you and thinks you're crazy; let's also not forget how he's tried to kill you several times." Otherself pulled the blades higher, scratching them against bone. "Harrison pities you, Lex took pity on you. Sherry and Solia are likely afraid of you after what you did to them. Jake hates you with every ounce of his being. Melvin probably considers you nothing more than a meat shield that he can use to make himself feel better every time she talks to you."
The list of names kept rolling, kept rolling.
"And then there's your feelings towards Before. Towards a certain man." Otherself pulled Rue free and leveled her with Ofelia's eyes. The teen was on her knees again, barely supporting herself with her hands. "He doesn't love you. Someone like you, a liar, is incapable of being loved. He humors you because you're pathetic, thought crazy."
Otherself pulled the blades back, ready to drive them into Ofelia's skull.
"You're better off dead here, in your sleep. No one would miss you if you never woke up."
Huni Pi
dun dun dun the plot thickens!
Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 9:35 am
The blades came down fast and sharp, ready to drive into Ofelia's head and kill her in her sleep, when the teen raised her hand up. Instead of into her skull they drove into her palm, prompting her to close her fist and grab them tightly. Otherself tried to pull free but she couldn't and so she released the blade, an unhappy hiss escaping from her lips.
"You - "
"Don't....don't talk 'bout Before. Don't....talk 'bout Clover like that." The teen coughed up a mouthful of blood as she tried to push to her feet, staggering beneath her own weight. "Mah....mah feelin's fer him....are...none'a yer business."
"But I am you, I -"
"No, yer...not me. Yer....never gonna be me." Ofelia was finally back upright, swaying from side to side as she tried to regain her balance. The wounds on her body seemed to be healing, fixing themselves piece by piece. "Yer jus'....mah doubts, which aren't me. There's...so much more ta me...than what yer sayin'."
"You're lying to yourself."
"Ah know Ah am, but that's...how Ah survive. The one thing...Ah won't lie 'bout though...is mah feelin's fer him. That's...the one thing Ah won't let'cha try an' use 'gainst me." Perhaps it was weird to think that she could handle being told what other people thought about her. It didn't matter to Ofelia though, she knew where she stood, and so the redhead pulled Rue out from in her hand and placed her on her knuckles. "Now yer gonna give me back what's rightfully mine, or Ah'm gonna take it from ya by force."
"Then what will you do?" Otherself's voice seemed so small and soft inside a body that looked beyond frail and weak. She held out Rue's other half to Ofelia, who took it and placed it on her hands. "What happens now?"
"Now? Ah wake up, and ferget 'bout'cha. Stay here in the dark, stew away. Yer always gonna be wit' me, sure, but Ah...Ah'm gonna find him."
"You'll never tell him how you feel, will you?" Otherself was cracking, fading. An arm fell off and shattered against the ground like a glass dropped to the floor.
"No...Ah probably won't. But at least....at least Ah know where Ah stand wit' mahself now." Ofelia took one last look at Otherself before she adjusted Rue on her hands. "So....rest easy, okay?" The last wounds healed on her body as all the remained of Otherself was a head on the floor, crumbling to dust.
"I hope you burn in Hell."
With those parting words, Ofelia woke up.
Huni Pi
Rown
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Rown
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Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 9:39 am
Ofelia sat up on the cot swiftly, startling the tech who had come over to check her signs. Her knuckles hurt, probably from where she'd slapped them against the ground during a seizure, and she looked around the room with a bleary expression.
"Hey, you're awake. Didn't think - " A tech came over and started to talk to Ofelia but she pushed him aside as she got up, her legs giving out beneath her from the sudden movement. A frown graced her lips as she got back up, dusting herself off, and soon she found whom she was looking for. "He's still asleep. Probably won't wake up."
"Shut up." Ofelia's tone was cold and she glared at the tech, who shrugged and walked off. "Clover, Ah'm here waitin'. Wake up, an' let's talk, okay?" Gingerly Ofelia reached down and took one of Before's hands, uncertain if she should do this.
Otherself was probably right, that her feelings were ridiculously one-sided and she needed to stop, but that didn't mean she couldn't show concern...as a friend, right? She could say everything she did for him was because they were friends and that was what friends did, right? "Wake up, an' come back ta me."
The last words were a whisper as she knelt down at the side of his cot, still holding his hand. Her eyes closed as she waited, patiently, knowing he would come around. If she had found her way back to him surely he could find his way back to her.
