IC Wonderful Minds

[Enderfive]

Isaac

Yep, there was five of them at the pillars, I was sure of it now. They were deceivingly far, I'd figured they'd be closer from the way they looked, but I was getting close now. They'd probably hear me if I called out.

Instead of that I decided to walk quietly and make my first observations without them noticing. There was two boys and three girls. One of the guys and one of the girls looked about the same age as I was, then there were two little twin girls and one guy slightly older than me. He looked fancy. I made a note in my head to be wary of him. He looked rich, therefore it was likely he'd think himself better than everyone else.

The girls all looked pretty shy, although one of the twins was perhaps a bit more social than the other. The other boy... I wasn't really sure about him, it didn't look like he had anything noteworthy about him on the first look.

It was time I announced myself. "Hey there!" I called out, not too friendly, but not too confrontational either.

((Ansoro2112 Toiletprincess S_swimmer Mia avis night fluffy (fury)))

 

[S_swimmer]

I look over my shoulder and see a man. Turning around, glad to have a reason to end conversation with the little girl, I call out with a slight tinge of hostility, "Hey! Who are you?"

(( Isaac ))

 

[Toiletprincess]

The girl looked up, spotting another boy in the distance. "Are you serious?" she muttered as her hands began to feel clammy and her breathing quickened. She slowly backed up, subtley allowing her to slip behind a nearby pillar and sit with her back against it's marbled surface. "More people," she whispered to herself, wiping her sweaty palms on her shorts, "exactly what I ordered."

 

[CaffeinatedKitty]

"How am I supposed to prove that?"
I'm not sure what to think of this guy. He seems kind of lonely but definitely dangerous...
"I don't think I caught your name, either."
...
((Timdood3))

 

[Timdood3]

"You prove it with not only your words, but your tone. And your body." AJ paused, looking Sage up and down. "Your stance betrays you. It gives you an air of anxiety and lack of confidence. The way you said you words was forced. A lot of pausing, fidgeting and swallowing. It hurts you thinking about it. Believe me, that's normal. But you haven't come to terms with it, and there are things you're not telling me.

"But that's fine. I wouldn't expect you to share your life story with a guy you just met. I only told mine because I've never had a chance to just talk to anyone. Everyone I've met has had intentions to either fight me or set me up to fight someone else." AJ lowered his gaze and his voice, "I guess I've forgotten what it's like to not be fighting..."

He perked up, quickly dismissing the topic as a whole. "But that's enough about the past, from either of us really. Let's talk about the present, and the future. First off, to answer your question: I'm AJ. Short for Andrew Jihara. And now a question of my own: Where are we?"

CaffeinatedKitty

 

[CaffeinatedKitty]

"And your body."
I flinch, stiffening as he looks me over. But then he continues, and I realize he doesn't mean what I thought at first. I didn't think I was that obvious...
It's a little unnerving how easy it was for him to hit home just by analyzing my body language, but I guess he had to learn how to keep himself safe.
"I don't know where we are." I answer truthfully, "Beyond the fact that this at least seems to be a dream."
...
((Timdood3))

 

[Timdood3]

AJ nods in agreement. "Aye. This place is definitely a dream....But I've never dreamed for more than maybe twenty minutes. I've been here for several hours. I've also never had a dream where I met another sentient human." AJ turned and jerked his head. "Come on, let's walk. we'll get nothing done by standing around. How long have you been here? And do you think there's a way out?"

((CaffeinatedKitty These posts are kinda of short, want to take this to a pm/irc?))

 

[CaffeinatedKitty]

Sage and AJ

"I'm not quite sure how long I've been here. Probably just a couple of hours." I trail after him, a little surprised at how calm he is about all this- he did say he fought to survive, after all- but ultimately decide that I have no room to talk on that front. I have been taking this pretty amicably, after all. "There should be some way out, I just don't know what it is. Neither did Isaac- he's another guy I met here. He was walking this way last I saw him."

"Isaac, huh? Maybe we'll meet up with him eventually." Despite his cool tone, AJ's mind was racing. How do I get out of here? What's happening to my physical body? How did I get here in the first place?! All AJ really wanted was answers. "In any case, tell me more about him."

"He was kind of... Standoffish. He didn't really seem to appreciate the fact that I- someone he'd never seen before- was right there in front of him, in his dream." I think for a few moments. "He said he was trying to make sense of this--and that before he ended up here, he was hit by a car." Now I'm wondering, how did AJ end up here? "That's making me think it's a real possibility that whoever ends up here is injured in some way."

"Standoffish, eh? Tch. Sounds like my type of guy. That is- The type of guy that gets punched slightly faster than usual. As for that last thing...I don't recall being on of the ones that ended up *ahem* off of the rooftops...Do you remember anything?"

"I hit my head about half an hour before. It didn't really seem serious, but head injuries are tricky." I shrug. 'And my binder... I'm not supposed to be wearing that while I'm sleeping...' Sighing, I continue, "Well, it was just a theory. Maybe there's someone else that knows more?"

"Maybe. Who knows? Maybe I just got hit so hard that I blacked out immediately. It's not like I could recall a specific fight..." AJ stopped in his tracks with a sudden jolt. "Oh no...I can't remember any specific fights...." AJ loses his composure completely and panics. "SHIT SHIT SHIT THIS IS NOT GOOD. I'm losing my mind. I AM LOSING MY FUCKING MIND." AJ gripped Sage by the shoulders, his wild eyes staring into Sage's. "I should be able to recall almost any fight. I can't remember any."
He wasn't doing it consciously, but AJ was shaking Sage wildly back and forth. "I CAN’T REMEMBER ANY." He fell to the ground breathing heavily. He curled up in the fetal position wide-eyed and panicked, but in a few minutes had recovered to a point where he could be spoken to again.

I have no idea how to react as AJ starts freaking out. Dizzy as he lets go of me, I shake my head to reorient myself and look down at him. "Are you okay..?" Obviously not, but I feel it's kind of an obligatory question. Crouching beside him, I rest a hand on his shoulder. "Um... Would you have any idea why..?"

Through ragged breaths, AJ manages only a few words: "What if I'm dead." A gasp for air. "We're all here because we're dead." A ragged breath. "Isaac died on impact." A ragged breath. "You bled out." A sob. "And I did fall off the building..." AJ suddenly recovered his steel will, refreshed with new determination. He had to find out what this place was and how to get out of it. Whether he was dead or not, he was going to continue living.

I sit back on the balls of my feet, halfheartedly pointing out, "That's pretty much what I was saying..." The thought freaks me out, to be honest. Though it may have crossed my mind before, I really don't want to die, especially not at this point in my life. I'm almost ready to take the final steps... "Either way. Let's hope that that theory's wrong, and we'll make it out of here." I stand up and hold out a hand to help him up, forcing a half-smile to cover up my worries. "Come on. Maybe the others will be able to prove it wrong."
...
((Timdood3))

 

[Ansoro2112]

Pierre looked up at what it seemed to be a guy with glasses saying hello at them. He noticed how Alex, who was standing next to him, took some steps back. He quickly turned around and grabbed her hand. "Alex, look at me. I'm a very shy person as well. Whenever there's a lot of people in a room, I tend to back away. But this is a different place as you can tell. We'll be fine. You will be fine." Pierre paused and looked her directly into her olive-green eyes. "Know that you can trust me. Even though we just met, I'd still like you to see me as a good friend." He smiled at her.

Pierre then turned around to see the newcomer. "Greetings."

(( Toiletprincess Enderfive @EveryoneElse ))

 

[Toiletprincess]

Alex flinched as Pierre grabbed her hand, rooting her to the spot. "I-I.." she stuttered as she begun to tremble violently, lowering her voice, "T-there are too many people.." She twisted her arm, trying to get it out of his grasp. "Tha-ank you b-but I'll be fi-ine.." She replied, looking at the rest of the group nervously. Her breath was shallow as she stepped back, "I'll j-just be ov-ver here.." she muttered, moving a few paces from the cluster and rubbing her clammy hands against her shorts.
((Ansoro2112))

 

[Enderfive]

Isaac

The boys both answered me quickly, but the girls all shied away. I sent them a critical look. The older girl was pretty cute, actually. I wasn't sure if I wanted to intimidate her, but it was too late now anyway. Turning my eyes back on the boys, I focused on having a conversation with them instead.

"I'm Isaac," I introduced myself as I reached the group. Rich kid had a snobby way of talking too. He was almost definitely trouble, but I tried not to let my thoughts show. "You wouldn't happen to know what's going on here, would you?"

((Ansoro2112 S_swimmer))

 

[Toiletprincess]

The older girl was pretty cute, actually

(( OH ho ho Ho ho ho HOHOH HO HO))
Alex sat heavily on the soft grass, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them. She chewed on her lip, watching the conversation from the couple of steps away she had. She still wasn't comfortable at this distance, but it'd have to do. The last time she tried to get away from socialisation it'd just dragged her into, well, into more socialisation. She ran a hand through her curly red hair and adjusted her glasses, deciding to lay back and prop herself up on her elbows. I wonder if I can magic a book into existance... Maybe I can try later.

((Enderfive S_swimmer Ansoro2112 @eVERYONE ELSE ))

 

[Fiestaguy]

"Well, probably won't discover that by fucking about here. We'd better see, I guess."

((Clairebluh I don't have much to saaaaay.))

 

[Guest35486]

Syndra sighed and stood up.
"Do you want to go talk to the others then?" She looked to where the girl was. Syndra didn't want to possibly endanger the other girl with this rice ball over here, but it seemed like a large crowd had gathered. She couldn't even see the girl anymore.

((Fiestaguy ))

 

[Timdood3]

AJ took on an uncharacteristic optimism. "What are we waiting for then, let's go see them!" He couldn't stand still, he was practically bouncing up and down in a mix of anticipation and anxiety, waiting for Sage to take the lead.

CaffeinatedKitty

 

[Infected_alien8_]

He felt his way through the tunnel, his hands navigating the rock on both sides, the dust from the cave walls running through his fingers and shards of rock biting his skin.

He had given up on the idea that this was a dream. It was real. He’s been drugged. The guy at the bar the night before, he must have put something in his drink.

“Take an extra one, on the house,” he’d said. He had that look about him, as if he’d just put something in a man’s drink and freakin’ offered it them.

Now he had to get the hell out of where ever he was. God knows what had been done to him.

He moved through the darkness, completely blind, the endless sound of dripping water echoing around him. He was barefoot, and the hard ground beneath him clawed at his feet. His shirt had been slit open. His trousers were blood-soaked. His hand was missing a finger. It had dropped off a while ago.

Spoiler: Gory line (just adds effect)

It had hung there for a moment before slipping off onto the ground, into the slimy blood below. Splash.

He shook his head. His hands were fine. He was fine. No blood. What the hell was going on?

Suddenly, he came to a halt. He realized that the tunnel had slowly lightened up. He could now see something in the distance, something white. He squinted his eyes, trying to make out what it could be, but all he could see was a white glow. He made his way towards it, running through the twisting tunnel, ducking beneath the lowering ceiling and stumbling over stray rocks. Eventually, he arrived at the opening of another cave. Just as before, torches hovered above the ground and strange symbols were scrawled across the walls. At first he wondered if he’s gone the wrong way, if he’s somehow managed to turn back on himself.

But then he saw it.

As he walked into the opening, he saw to his right a gigantic, round, steel door. It hissed and hummed coldly, towering above, planted into the cave wall. It, too, had symbols scratched into its surface; red, glowing shapes and letters, splattered onto the thick iron skin. Its edges were rusted, and, on the top of the huge door, was a faded word.

“Sin.”

Markus stared for a moment, amazed at the mass of the thing and confused as to what it was doing in this cave. He looked around at the torches, every single one of them completely still, orange stars somewhere in the distance.

Drip.

Slowly, he made his way to the iron door. His breathe shallow, his eyes fixed on the faded word above.

Drip.

He held out his hand, hovered it inches in front of the cool steel and felt the icy breath that emitted from it.

The cave shook with a great violent might, the ground cracked and shattered, rocks fell from above, daggers shot down below. The roof collapsed and huge waves of water flooded in from all sides, gallons of icy cold smacking Markus over and pinning him down to the ground, squeezing him tight. The cave was now filled with the freezing liquid, for when Markus fought upwards he touched the roof, opening his mouth and letting out a silent scream.

All of a sudden, the huge monstrous door let out a fierce cry, and pushed against the thick, frosty water, its pipes howling and rusty edges clicking. It pushed and pushed, the water fighting back with a terrifying power. Stunned, Markus could only watch, screaming into the cold sea as it stiffened around him, crushing him. Another huge scream was thrown through, blasting Markus back, and the huge round door pushed once again. Markus kicked, fighting the water off, his breathe dying, his eyes fading. Another, final roar was pelted through the cave, shattering the wall to his left. The huge iron door slowly heaved open, a tiny strip of light released into the darkness. The water fought ferociously as it was dragged away, pumped out of the cave and through the tiny slit that had now grown into a gaping hole. Masses and masses poured out, and with an extraordinary cry, the huge door shattered into pieces, thrown through the opening that it had birthed. Only the faded word ‘Sin’ was left plastered to the cave roof.

Markus sat up. He coughed, spluttering water, hurling it out of his stomach.

Before him, lying above the icy river and the corpse of his savour was the sky.

“V-” he choked again.

“Voila. Freakin’ voila.”

 

[CaffeinatedKitty]

I laugh. "That was a quick change." Starting past him, I gesture a little to the left. "Come on, we need to be going this way."
'...strange.' I think, 'but at least he's friendly.'
...
((Timdood3))

 

[Timdood3]

After Sage indicated the direction, AJ took of running. The funny thing is, his mind was going almost as fast as his legs. He couldn't get the "what ifs" out of his head. He couldn't stop thinking about the possibility of him (and the others) being dead. He was worried how long he'd have before he woke up and returned to the monotonous fight that was his old life...Or worse...If he never woke up. He considered the idea of this world being hell. It seemed nice now, but it was empty. It wouldn't take one long at all to go mad. Even worse, the whole world could change in an instant. One moment he could be running through these plains, and the next he'd be jumping off a cliff into a fiery pit of hate. He stumbled at the thought and fell, but he took it in stride and gracefully rolled through it.

Then his thoughts changed dramatically. He became paranoid of every little thing. In my years of fighting, never have I recovered so gracefully. Or quickly. What if this newfound speed and grace is a gift to prepare me for something more? What if all of this is really just a giant sandbox for some greater power that can change and control us at will for its own amusement? Perhaps not as dark as before, but just as terrifying.

In his frenzy of thoughts, it felt like no time had passed, though he couldn't could the number of pillars that had gone by. He surely didn't expect to see a large group of people so soon.

((CaffeinatedKitty I want you to make a post to catch up or something before we greet the others :3 ))

 

[Ansoro2112]

"It's a pleasure, Isaac. I'm Pri-" He stopped for a second. Thinking if he should really keep introducing himself as a Prince to everyone. He's just been used to introducing himself that way all the time, since his parents made him. After all, him being a Prince was the main reason why people judged him in the first place. "I mean, you can call me Pierre." -He continued. "And I don't know much about this place. I got here recently. All I know is that we're inside a dream, I believe."

(( Enderfive @EveryoneElse ))

 

[S_swimmer]

"What's going on here? It's not really that complicated. We're just in a dre-" Then reality comes crashing down on me. Slowly, I think, How long have we been here? And why am I not the only one here? After so long in the hospital, living in isolation, I've been talking freely to people, having a great time, and pushing off the pressing - and terrifying - matters that must be addressed. But now's not the time. I push them aside one more time. "A-a dream. Sorry. We're in a dream. No big deal, really."

(( Isaac Pierre ))

 

[Enderfive]

Isaac

Rich kid was hiding something, but there wasn't much chance I'd know what it was by pushing on it, besides, it wasn't so important either, probably. I focused on the other part of what they said instead.

"A dream, huh?" I paused briefly, then continued. "Yes, that's what we figured as well. Only, if this is a dream, I should be the only actual person in it. I think we can assume that you guys are actual people as well, and considering this and the fact that this dream seems unusually vivid, I don't think it's a normal dream."

I glanced in the direction of the three girls. "Are they simply shy or did I frighten them?"

((Ansoro2112 S_swimmer))

 

[CaffeinatedKitty]

Aaaand he takes off running.
I chase after him, not bothering to try a and match his speed but at least staying close. Considering what he said, I go on autopilot. Not like there's really anything for me to run into.
'It doesn't seem likely... But what if it was worse than I thought?' I honestly hate "what if"-s but I have to accept that it's a real possibility. 'I hope it isn't true...' But that's all I can do- hope. If this was a normal dream, I'd be awake by now, but seeing as I'm not...
AJ slows ahead of me, and I follow suit to match his new pace. Looks like the group ahead has maybe...five people?
I glance over at him, half-smiling.
"Looks like we found them."

 

[Timdood3]

AJ slows, and Sage drew up next to him, "Looks like we found them."

As soon as Sage spoke, AJ's mind cleared. All of the thoughts and possibilities suddenly vanished. All of the negative thoughts ceased to exist all at once, replaced by the dream of actual friends. True companions. He slowed to a walk to more steadily admire the sight of his prospective friends. When he drew close, it seemed they were discussing that fact that they were in a dream.

"This is most definitely a dream. But does anyone have any idea how or why we got here? And perhaps more importantly: How to get out?" He was so anxious for answers, AJ forgot to properly introduce himself.

 

[sessybessy]

I stepped down onto the soft green grass. Poppy looked at me. I really wanted to go over to these people but I didn't know them, I flinched to take a step but stopping myself before I could do any more damage. I wanted to tell Poppy about my real life but I was scared she would run away from me. I was always weird around other people even if I did know them. Poppy seemed very awkward today as if she didn't want to be around me. My heart sank as I thought about these things, I couldn't afford to run away like I did when I met b=Blue. I glanced around only to find a forest far in the distance, It had tall towering trees and vines hanging from them. I let Blue down so he could run about but instead he stood beside me the whole time.

(This is kinda short :C Miyako )

 

[Ansoro2112]

"Her name's Alex." Pierre said while looking at her. "She is quite shy. She doesn't feel too comfortable being around so many people. I'm trying to make her feel welcome. And these two girls are Kat and Kait. They're sisters."

(( Enderfive S_swimmer @EveryoneElse ))