event: portal seven | the void

[mayfield_mods]

The final portal doesn't seem to be a portal at all. It's a glitch hole.

Located on the lawn of the library is a hole much like the ones that have plagued every new location for the past week. As with them, it hurts your eyes to look at too long, but even if you should muscle past the pain and stare straight into it, you can make out nothing on the other side. Nothing, save for a shifting, twitching, swirling void.

Unlike the portals, which were vertically placed like doorways, the hole at the Library is strewn across the lawn: if you want to enter it, you're going to have to jump. Of course, there's no guarantee it will even lead anywhere. Touching the hole or sticking your arm in doesn't have any effect: you'll pull your arm out unharmed. As far as jumping in completely goes, those who jump in disappear from sight. As long as you're on the Mayfield side, there's no way to tell what lies beyond the hole.

There's only one way to find out.

[ooc: Feel free to roleplay up to the point your characters jump in, assuming they do. A single group subthread will be created in a few hours revealing what happens on the other side.]

Comments

WITHIN THE VOID: HOUR ONE

[mayfield_mods]

[As soon as everyone is ready, the bubble of safety begins to move forward at a moderately quick pace- you'll need to jog somewhat to keep up. The bubble is mainly secure, but every once in a while you'll need to step over a glitch hole that's made its way within. The edges of the bubble aren't totally secure- they waver and shake unsteadily, as if the void is pushing in, trying to break through.

Don't stand too close. As the minutes pass and you continue to walk, hands reach out from the edges of the bubble, some slow, some lunging like snakes. The arms are bare, their skin colors varying- white, brown, black, blue, and some colors you've never seen before. They shoot out from the edges of the bubble, their owners unseen, trying to grab you, to pull you in...

You'll want to stay focused. The buzzing of the void is starting to sound like words, and something tells you you don't want to listen.]

[enpatsushakugannouchite]

[ SHana keeps back with Kyon and Yuki, sweeping the Nietono no Shana out towards any hands that try to snatch her friends away. ]

[tenderoblivion]

[Yuki seems supremely unaware of the danger surrounding them as she drifts forward at a leisurely pace. ...Somehow, despite how slow her feet seem to be moving, she keeps up with the others.]

[slave_of_suzumiya]

Ack, shit! Since when were we on the final level of Super Smash Bros!?

[calmingmelody]

[Loosha is flopping along pretty quickly for her size, thanks to Yuki. Protective instincts kicking in, she decides to sidle along one side of the bubble, trying to shield the others and prevent them from getting closer. She's still keeping her distance as best she can, but she figures any arms shooting out will just bump off her. There's still a risk, but those things couldn't possibly pull in a giant like her, right?

Of course, glitch holes in the ground will throw a bit of a wrench in that plan, but she's trying her best.]

TEAM VICTORY

[werejew]

[Continued from here.]

Oh my God, don't be such a fucking pussy; just say the fucking words! [She has not noticed any of the changes.]

[hintcoinplz]

[Luke hasn't noticed the changes either. Very perceptive, these three.]

You're both being ridiculous! Can't you see you're acting like child-

[Before Luke can finish, a hand lunges forward and snags Luke by the collar of his shirt before yanking him backwards.]

-renaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!

[strike_you_out]

[While swerving around a glitch hole in the floor of the bubble, Slugger is startled to find a hand suddenly lashing at him from the void. He promptly jumps out of reach, bumping into whomever happens to be nearby.]

[encored]

[whoops hi again, today is a day of bumping endlessly into each other apparently. not that it's very difficult here...]

I could certainly do with less cramped quarters.

[busy_fists]

[Well, looks like Mom's earlier call to move toward the center of the bubble was a good one. Dad and Mom are standing roughly in the middle of the assembled crowd, chugging along cautiously while keeping an eye out for any stray grabbyhands.

And while they may not look like the most prepared combatants here, they're certainly parrying the arms that do manage to make it to them with alarming efficiency, considering they're carrying a birthday cake and a gin martini respectively.]

[pinkscarflady]

[Yep, she's a clever lady. And blotto parry helps a lot.]

Hmm, we ask for entertainment and get jazzhands. A little bit weak if you ask me.

Re: WITHIN THE VOID: HOUR ONE

[cueball]

[It's surprisingly easy to avoid reaching hands and holes in the ground when you can predict some minutes of the future ahead of time. A pity that, no matter how much he attempted to concentrate, he couldn't foresee what the end of this path would bring. Still, he'll remain focused and continue to move.

...Well, not move per se. The bubble's speed is fairly quick and Scratch doesn't feel like running to keep up. So instead he'll be moving with the Green Sun and teleporting to keep up, making sure his destination is always within the bubble when he does so.

Every now and then he'll stop, but for the most part you'll see him sparking green the entire time as his body flickers and statics much like a broken television might.

ooc: his flickering generally looks like this]

[corrodes]

[The Handmaid isn't as powerful here as she's used to, but she's powerful enough that this is no challenge. Keeping the dimensions of the bubble in her mind's eye she darts and shifts through the air when necessary. Any clawing arm that gets too close even then is blasted with blue and green energy.

She keeps Scratch's location in mind as she moves--if he needs her to do something, she'll have to be nearby.]

[heartisabattleground]

[Sora's keeping up with the bubble but as he does their are hands grabbing at people. He's leaping out of the way, extending the reach of his keyblade with a coating of light. Slashing away the long snake like hands coming at people.]

Keep moving! We have to go fast!

SDM Part 2

[not_so_great_wall]

[ It is by sheer speed of reflexes that Meiling manages to glide over a hole rather than step into it. She had not expected, when moving forward, to have to look DOWN at the same time. ] Aah—!

...that was close. We need to be more careful.

[wizardoftheweek]

-For Patchouli, she'd been floating ever since they started moving, so this was basic grazing for her.-

How unsettling...

[ex_seventh238]

[Yet despite the arms' varying speed of reach, some won't even get to become fully visible before being impaled back out with rapier-like swords. Holding practically always three clenched in each hand at all times, Ciel is firing those away like bullet with scathing accuracy. ...Did one just graze you by? Ah, nothing personal. It might've been a close shave and you could've gotten potentially injured if you turned towards the wrong way just now, but the thing is you didn't, so the Key went across to find purchase to one of the offending hands by the edge that was starting to wriggle its way in.

As for Ciel, she's not batting an eyelash to look at the people in her surroundings, focused on systematically repelling any hand that threatens to get too close with seemingly minimal concern to the anyone inside. ...What, she's being efficient, and as long as you're careful too, you won't get hit. Fair enough?]

[splitthebaby]

[Merem, unfortunately, still is barely participating. Oh, he's worthy of being a small shield and he's slapping away anything that is coming at him but he isn't unleashing any cool, powerful attacks just yet. Yeah, he's being a little bit of a downer on purpose.]

[buildstherobots]

[Dist keeps a brisk enough pace to keep towards the front of the bubble, dodging the occasional hand and, admittedly, trying to shoot one or two of them. He can't help but tune in to the voices, though -- it could me important.

Or, of course, it could be hellish and make his ears bleed, but Dist isn't the best decision-maker.]

Re: WITHIN THE VOID: HOUR ONE

[ceasetoexist]

[No. He doesn't want to listen. Pokey deliberates trying to cover his ears to block out the noise as he walks but decides against it with how stupid that'd look. Naw, he'll just keep moving forward, trying not to listen as he keeps his eyes at front and legs moving and he just won't listen.

No. It becomes too much and even though he knows it's stupid? Briefly, for a moment Pokey stops. And listens. He has to. Has to try and make some sense of the chaotic rambling.]

[strike_you_out]

[Sorry, Pokey, but you aren't getting left behind today. After a few seconds, he will receive a sharp tug on the front of his shirt. Slugger is in front of him looking none too pleased.]

Hurry up.

Re: WITHIN THE VOID: HOUR ONE

[voiceofauthority]

[Jenny's never been much of a team player in general, but she gets the concept of the void. It's a bit like the Bleed she assumes in many ways. Still, she's not going to tell these people what to do.

After glancing around the bubble and testing to see that her abilities still work she waits. When the bubble finally starts to move she moves with it. At first, several of the hands grab her shirt and start to pull her outward. There's no way in hell she's letting these damn things drag her into the bleed-like soup of the Void. Glaring daggers she send a hefty jolt through them, drawing energy from the electrical current of the void itself. One good thing about being in a video game is that there's never a lack of electricity when you need it.]

The hell?

[She's starting to hear the jumble of words through the buzzing and for a moment she strains to make it out through the rest of the white noise. It's not like these bastards could really say anything that would get to her.]

[noluckduck]

[Jog? Clover, for one, wishes she could sprint right out. This void is unbearable, overwhelming and not something she can punch out of the way.

She is keeping up fine, but she is only human - mostly - and the pressure is bound to make her slip up sooner or later.]

[kettchmeifyoucan]

[Wes isn't keen to risk the blaster in this environment: No telling how it might ricochet. Fortunately, a blastsword is like a blaster you hit things with, and it seems to be working decently enough against grabby, grabby hand]

Hangin' in there kid?

[genkibot]

[Tachikoma is still having a blast. Maybe the digital video and audio sensors aren't picking up what is so unsettling for others, or the AI itself just processes things differently, but it is merrily trudging along the edge of the crowd, looking around, and talking with any one.

It hops over holes with little trouble, and when hands come out, it actually waves hello to them.]

Are they trying to shake hands? I can do that, if that's what they want!