rakuen | silly people do silly things [closed]

Entry tags:

silly people do silly things [closed]

Characters: Jade Harley (AU) and Dirk Strider with bonus appearance from Jake English AND Stellaluna.
Format: Action
This log is: Closed
Location: Conquest --> The open tower.
Summary: Jade and Dirk drag the dead!Dirk from Conquest to the open tower. They somehow picked up Jake and Stellaluna, who both wanted adventure time and shenanigans and fun. Things happen (???)
Warnings: THERE IS A DEAD PERSON.

[ This crazy idea had better work, she thought. Bodies were heavier than she had imagined, and Jade was not exactly a weightlifter. Even though she'd been in Rakuen for a little over two months, she was definitely by no means back to normal.

Still, she wasn't about to let that stop her. Holding on to the dead Dirk's legs securely, she nodded at the alive one. ]

Let's go fast! Do you think anyone saw us?

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[ Dirk had figured Jake would want in on an adventure like this, so he'd texted him before leaving Fortitude with Jade. Now here they are, Dirk helping heft his own corpse by the armpits, sneaking away from Conquest. ]

Doesn't matter. If they didn't we need to make sure they don't, and if they did we need to split as of five minutes ago.

[You bet your bottom boonbuck he'd want in on this. He saw the text and moments later he was sprinting out of the dorm to meet them by Conquest. Adventure? Oh hell flipping yes.

Of course he put the brakes on in surprise once he saw what he and his ...grandmother were carrying away from the school. Oh, he'd wondered what had become of this.]

Ahoy there! What've we got on the menu today? Body smuggling? Hello, Jade!

[Nestled on Jade's shoulder was Pip, clinging tightly to her shirt. Exploring Conquest was much easier while sitting on top of someone, she decided. She wasn't sure why there were two of the yellow-feathered human, or why one was unconscious, but it seemed to be some kind of game that she shouldn't draw attention to.

Conquest was really big, wow.]

[ She looked at Pip reassuringly before nodding to Jake. ]

Hi Jake! And we're not smuggling, since it technically belongs to Dirk... [ Shrug! Of the shoulder that Pip isn't on, of course. Jade wants to be especially careful with her alive (human....?) cargo. ] We're taking it to the tower! I think it might do something.

And I'm not so sure it will, but I figure the poor guy's been getting bored just hanging out in the freezer. Might as well give 'im something to do, right?

Jake, I'm heavy. Help us carry me.

[ The talking bat, the corpse smuggling... Dirk is taking this all in stride. As his surname would indicate. ]

I've gotcha. [And he moves to help heft up Dirk's body where its slacking most.]

So what happens at the towers precisely? I know that they're important and all and also monster appear out of them?

[Oh this was their friend. Might as well be friendly. 0u0]

Hi Jake!

["Tower", "freezer", "smuggling"... Pip didn't actually understand most of what had been said so far. But this?

She spoke a little more quietly.]

Why are we going looking for a monster?

The monster's gone, don't worry.

[ She spoke reassuringly. ]

We beat it up. We did a really good job, too.

Still leaves us with five more, but none in this tower.

[ Then, to Jake, ] I'm still piecing this shit together, but I think I've got something. A star appeared in the sky when the tower was opened, and according to the fairy tale bedtime story someone over at Conquest heard from the mayor we need to "collect" six stars to get the game to let us out of here.

[ The tower looms. Not far now... ]

[Oh, he hadn't noticed Stella yet at all. He blinks, looking genuinely surprised, and then he grins.]

Well, hello to you too! I didn't see you there, what's your name?

[And then to Dirk.]

Ah, its as good as guess as any, I wager.

Oh, I'm glad this one is gone.

[Jade is nice and warm, and Pip unhooks herself limb by limb to snuggle closer to Jade's neck.]

I'm Pip. I'm exploring Conquest too.

[ Awwww. Jade giggles. She is quickly developing a fondness for the bat. But apparently they walk with alacrity because oh look, here's the tower. ]

Are you guys ready to go in? I'm not really sure what will happen...

[ Here they are. Dirk looks up at it. ]

We're not gonna find out if we stand around talking. Let's do this.

[ Hope Jade and Jake are ready, because he's moving. ]

[Don't worry, he's got this. Hup! He steps after Dirk, to no slow him down.]

Tally ho!

[Aaaaaaaa there was a big stone thing. It's so tall! Hmm, going by what had been said earlier...]

Is this a 'tower'?

This is a tower. There are six of them around town, and they're all really big like this. I don't think I've ever seen a tiny tower. I used to live in a big tower. It was nice.

[ She smiles, huffing a little bit at the increased pace. Dead Dirk is officially past the front door! Jade motions with her head towards the stairs. ]

Dirk, I think we should take you up there! There's a room with a bunch of Weapons, and some handprints...maybe if we put his hands into the slot things?

...huh. [ Now that he thinks about it, what could those handprint slots be for? If there's six towers...

He keeps going, but looks around. There's a strange humming sound in the air. It wasn't there last time he looked around in here. ] Did I come down with a case of tinnitus all of a sudden?

[Jake didn't really know anything about these towers besides what he'd been recently told so he just sort of nods and looks around as they shuffle him in.]

Tinni-whatis? All I hear is a hum, Strider.

[Pip shook her head and rubbed her ears against Jade. The sound was annoying, but couldn't be from her ears because it was quieter when they were covered.

She unhooked her thumbs from Jade's shirt to sit as straight as she could and look around for the source.]

[ Jade frowned as the humming started and they exited the stairway onto the second landing. This was the same hum she'd heard before, when they opened the tower. When the monster came out. ]

I think we can put him down here. Something's happening...

[ She's still holding onto his feet, though. Showing no intention of putting him down. ]

[ It doesn't matter whether they hold the corpse or not - within moments of them clearing the stairs, one of the heaps of discarded weapons begins to shake in earnest, obviously the source of the now distinct humming. From it rises a spear, glowing too brightly to allow the group to make out details.

Before they can react, it spins and shoots into the corpse's chest in a flare of white light.

The humming stops. ]

[ Dirk had no intention of letting go of the corpse, either. When the spear goes shooting into the other him, he only tightens his grip on its arms, if anything.

He keeps his expression blank, but is breathing more shallowly. Nervously, almost. He doesn't say anything, just looking around at the other three. ]

[Jake is pretty damn distracted by the white light that it takes him longer to react to what the fuck just happened. When he does though he cries out in alarm and leaps away from the body.]

JESUS JACKKNIFING CHRIST!!

[Pip ducked and squeaked when the long stick flew at them and vanished into sleeping Dirk. When Jake screamed, though, she lost her balance and fell backwards, ending up hanging from Jade's shirt by her feet.]

[ She shrieked too, but noticed Pip falling before she could do anything else. Jade dropped the dead (?) Dirk's feet in order to carefully put her hands under Pip, making sure she didn't fall. ]

Is everyone okay? What's going on?

[ And just in case, she's going to step away from that pile of weapons... ]

[ the weapons are all still and silent once more. The light has faded, and the corpse appears unchanged as their eyes readjust.

And then the shadows appear. They swarm out of the cracks in the flagstones, wrapping around the body's limbs, neck, face, enveloping it in ribbons of void. The floor beneath it drains of light and colour, and it starts to sink. Some tendrils of darkness lash around through the air, brushing against the group and recoiling as though burned.

It only takes seconds for the body to be swallowed. The darkness whips back inwards, pushing the body down. For a moment, just as the shadow closes, the corpse's chest rises and falls.

It's gone. The floor is empty. ]

[ The shadows rip Dirk's other self out of his grasp and, without even thinking about it, he grabs a sword from a nearby pile. But before he can try to slice at the darkness, before he can even see if that's possible, the body is gone.

The body -- not the "corpse", not anymore. It sure did look like, just for a second...

Dirk stands there, eyes fixed on the spot there his other self had vanished. It takes him a moment to find his words. ]

Jesus fucking Mary on a pile of rotten dicks.

[Once the shadows had lept up to snatch away the body, Jake snapped out of his shock and rushed back over. He pulled at Dirk's body as hard has he could but the shadows were too strong and he ended up falling on his ass.]

Ditto. What-- What the sulfur-shitting blazes just happened?

[Pip felt Jade's hand support her, and pulled herself upright by her thumbs. She looked over Jade's shoulder just in time to see the shadows pull sleeping Dirk through the floor.]

The monster ate Dirk. [Going to move now. Under Jade's shirt.]

It's okay. I don't think it's going to eat anyone else!

[ Jade is pale, but this isn't going to stop her. She remembers that the top floor is filled with mirrors, so she digs into a pile of Weapons and arms herself with the nearest gun. Then, she runs to the stairs. ]

Let's go check the top floor! I want to know what's going on, and what those things were.

[ And then, without waiting, she begins to run up the stairs. ]

[Sleeping people being eaten by shadows was scary (was this normal for towers?!), but Pip was not asleep and the monster hadn't eaten anyone else, so maybe it was safe now.

Jade started running, and Pip peeped out of her shirt. Nope, no monsters here. She started wriggling out, hanging on as best she could, but it was pretty bumpy from Jade's movement.

As Jade went higher and higher, Pip finished crawling out of her shirt...

...and fell off Jade's shoulder and down the stairs. She tried spreading her wings but they still wouldn't work right, only making her tumble through the air.]

[ The fall is a fatal one. It's useful, then, that a slim, darkness-shrouded hand shoots from the steps, snatching the small bat deftly out of the air before she can hit the stone, and places her on the top step.

it pauses, swaying slightly, then flashes a casual v for victory in Jake's direction and disappears back into the shadows. ]

[ Dirk follows Jade up the staircase, and then Pip falls. He reverses course to leap after her and catch her -- And that shadow already has.

He turns to resume his trek up the stairs, running a hand through his hair and staring at the bat. ]

So are these fuckin' La Blue Girl shadows on our side or not?

[Jake was lagging a bit behind so when Pip fell, Jake made a dash for the little bat just as Dirk did. He nearly has his own tumble when the shadows pop back up again to rescue her.

And ...okay. Jake mimics the gesture back and blinks, clearly confused.]

I-

[Oh god, that reference. Jake turns an impressive shade of scarlet, remembering that particular animation. He clears his throat.]

Good question. I'm thoroughly discombobulated. Pip, are you alright?

[After being set down on the top step, Pip stares after the shadow as it makes some gesture and vanishes. She sits up, starting to tremble from residual fear.]

I am.

I don't think monsters usually save people.

[She looks down the stairs and shakes harder - she fell down that! and stones are way harder than... than... those leafy things she lived in - but also notices Jake turning really green. Do humans turn green when they're scared?]

It's okay, Jake. I'll look after you! [Somehow.]

I don't think so, either! I wonder if it's friendly?

[ She thinks about this for a second, before she cups hands around her mouth and calls out. ]

Shadows, come back! We want to say thank you!

[ Friendly, hah. ] Poor things must be lonely. They just wanted a friend and we were nice enough to bring them one.

[ They don't reappear when Jade calls for them; Dirk glances from left to right as he reaches the third floor landing and sees nothing. Though he's holding it together on the outside, inwardly he's trembling like a leaf. It's almost like he can feel those tendrils of shadow around his body, dragging him down to... wherever, but he knows it's just his overactive imagination. Try as he might to shift his attention, his consciousness is still limited to just his dream body. ]

Somehow I doubt we're gonna find anything of import no matter how high we go. I got dragged down, like, into the ground.

[Pip lsjfsdgs. Jake gives her a grin that's tinged a little with confusion and embarrassment. Oh, did she see his face? He was not about to explain that to a bat.]

Friendly, perhaps for the living. Maybe it has no interest in those that aren't expired.

[He holds a little tighter to the mallet he picked up and sticks closer to Dirk. He gives the landing a once-over himself.]

No sense in going back once we've come this far, though.

[Pip crawled up the shirt on Jade's legs - Jake and Dirk had different ones; she wondered why - and clung to it a bit below Jade's knee. She would have tried to go further, but it'd be really hard until the tremors stopped. They were really in the way. >:(]

But... if it only wants the dead, why did it take sleeping Dirk?

Pip....

[ She sighs, putting the gun on the ground to pick Pip up and hold her instead. ]

He wasn't sleeping. He was dead. At least, until he came back alive.

So I'm not the only one who noticed that. Looks like your guess was right after all, Harley.

[ He continues through the third floor, heading for the staircase. If they're heading to the top, he's leading the way. ]

Wait- he came back? You're sure?

[He hadn't been paying all that much attention. He only cared about trying to pull him back out, not noticing if he was breathing or something.]

He didn't look dead to me. [It was much nicer up here than hanging on down there where she might get kicked. Or eaten.]

He was definitely not dead, at the end. [ She is going to keep a close eye on Pip! She doesn't want her to fall again. ]

Do you think it's a bad guy? Or a good one?

We can't begin to guess that without knowing what it took my body for. Or if the entity that tentacle monstered me away is the same being responsible for reanimating the corpse.

[ One hand goes to his chest unwittingly. What was with that spear... ]

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silly people do silly things [closed]

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