madeline in the lab

[3:47 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Yeonaixho led Madeline through the maze of interior, underground tunnels, through tunnels and down stairwells she had never been through before, til he stopped at a heavy metal door. He typed something brief into a keypad, and the door slid open with a mechanical woosh.

The laboratory's motion-activated lights crackled on as Yeonaixho led Madeline in, revealing the mess that was this secret, mechanical-lock protected chamber. Bathed in hostile fluorescence, it was a sight to behold. One wall was entirely taken up by filing cabinets, some drawers open to reveal piles of paperwork spilling out of their metallic confinements. On another wall, a large freezer, currently closed but covered with an array of paper notes- some the evenly-spaced raised dots of Yeonaixho's brailler, others scrawled in inky, rushed handwriting. Nearly all the space in the laboratory was taken up by storage- crates of human bone, cardboard boxes of files. A few tables by the freezer were covered in various organ containment coolers, most having been opened and emptied with no sight of their original contents.

In the very center of the laboratory, though, was the most striking sight of all. Beneath the brightest light in the room was a rolling autopsy table, and on that table was a body. A body of a woman who's face was rather familiar to Madeline.

Jymaiyri lay supine and still, clothed in a simple white funerary gown that hid the gaping tear in her chest. Dead eyes stared up at the ceiling, the light above her, her lips slightly parted in eternal surprise. Unlike the visages of her that Madeline had seen, she did not look decayed or rotting. She was dead, definitely, but had been remarkably preserved. She looked like life had escaped her only minutes ago.

"Don't touch anything." Yeonaixho chided as he brought Madeline through the laboratory. @Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline

[4:19 PM]Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline:

Madeline tried to remember the way they got to this place, but she quickly lost track. She had no hope of remembering the code he had hastily put in, either.

As they stepped inside, Madeline wrapped her arm uneasily around herself. This place had an awful aura to it- much too.. Everything..

The organs and bones were.. Odd, certainly.. But nothing she couldn't rationalize...

Madeline stopped following at Yeonaixho's heel when she finally jaw Jymairyi. She couldn't help but stare- stare at her lifeless face, the place where her mortal wound should have been, the remarkable amount of preservation Yeonaixho had performed on her.. She had died before Madeline had even arrived here- but here was her body, looking fresh.

"Wh-what is this place.." Madeline whimpered, the meager amount of food in her stomach was not sitting well at the moment. This was disturbing. @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[4:28 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"This is our laboratory." Yeonaixho answered simply as he continued into the room, gesturing vaguely at Jymaiyri's body. "Well, I suppose it's just mine, now, really, but in spirit it's still hers. She spends a lot more time down here than I do." @Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline

[4:30 PM]Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline:

".. H-how long has her corpse been down here..?" Madeline couldn't take her eyes off of it. @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[4:32 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"Ahhhh...." Yeonaixho paused in thought, though he could've been feigning it. "About twenty years, yes. Twenty years." @Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline

[6:02 PM]Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline:

"Wh-why.. Why do you keep her here.." @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[6:14 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Yeonaixho paused. He stilled, and took a moment to recompose himself.

"Well, I've got to have her body if I plan to bring her back." @Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline

[7:41 PM]Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline:

".. Y-you can't do this.. It's- it's too far.. it's not right.." @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[11:25 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"And what is so wrong about it?" Yeonaixho immediately countered. His brow furrowed, almost in anger. "What makes the border between life and death so infallible, so untouchable? Was it morally wrong of me to save you from the brink of death every time I've done it? There is no sin I perform here that is not the same as simple healing. If you condemn one, you condemn all." @Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline

[5:19 AM]Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline:

"I-i wasn't dead for twenty years when you were healing me.." Madeline said quietly. ".. A-and you're hurting all these guests to do it.. Some of them aren't great people I know but-.. S-some of them are just.. Regular people who don't deserve it.." @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[8:16 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"The ends justify the means." Yeonaixho replied sternly. He put a hand over Jymaiyri's dead shoulder. "In cases where she is involved, the ends will always justify the means." @Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline

[8:18 AM]Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline:

Man. He was seriously devoted to this woman. Enough to entirely cloud his reasoning.

Good thing Madeline was nothing at all like that.

".. Sh-she's not happy, Yeonaixho.. I-i know she's not..." Madeline said, barely audible as she turned her head away. Something about seeing Yeonaixho touch her shoulder was very unsettling. @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[8:23 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"You don't know that, Madeline. Jymaiyri would've wanted this. She would've wanted this more than I do now. It was her idea to pursue necromancy in the first place." @Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline

[8:24 AM]Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline:

".. Th-then why is her ghost so mad..? I know it was real- and I know it was her now.. She looked exactly like that, and I had never seen her before.." @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[8:27 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"What you saw was a hallucination of a false perception of a woman you have never met. It was not a ghost and she was not mad at you." Yeonaixho sighed. It was clear his temper was growing shorter. @Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline

[8:36 AM]Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline:

Madeline glanced back toward the door they came from, taking a small step back toward it.

"Does.. 'The Godvoice' mean anything to you..? O-or did I just make that up too..?" @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[8:38 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Yeonaixho stilled. His brow furrowed. He stood up from Jymaiyri's corpse and rose to his full height.

"Who told you that title? Was it Zeydein?" @Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline

[8:42 AM]Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline:

"The ghost. The ghost did." Madeline took another step away. "I had never heard it before. She said.. a-a lot of things I don't understand.." @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[8:45 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"She's not a ghost!" Yeonaixho shouted. He took in a shaky breath. "Madeline, it would be in your best interest to stop lying to me. Even if it was a ghost, it's not Jymaiyri." @Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline

[8:48 AM]Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline:

Madeline flinched and retreated further back.

"I-i'm not lying- everyone always thinks I'm lying- b-but.. How do you explain me knowing this stuff? The godvoice, what she looked like, a whole c-conversation I overheard.. What happened that caused that? I-i can't just be- making it all up. I know I'm not.. I know.." @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[8:52 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"There isn't a ghost on this island." Yeonaixho reaffirmed instead of offering any justification. "There never was, and there never will be." @Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline

[8:53 AM]Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline:

(Gaslight, gatekeep, godboss)

[8:54 AM]Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline:

"Th-then there's a spirit or a soul or.. Something like that. That at least has her memories in it.. Y-you can't keep saying that this is all just normal- i-it can't be.." @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[8:55 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"Whatever you've seen, it's not Jymaiyri." @Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline

[8:57 AM]Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline:

"... Then what is happening..? A-at least offer a counterpoint o-or.. something..." Madeline said. "Petrai.. she.. she believes me.. M-maybe you'd be more willing to listen to her instead of me." @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[8:59 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Yeonaixho sighed. "We're getting off track. I didn't bring you here to talk about ghosts." @Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline

[9:03 AM]Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline:

"Wh-why do you refuse to even acknowledge this..? I know it's- it's not why we came but.." Madeline sighed and moved her hand up to her face. ".. Wh-whatever.. Let's just.. g-get the parasite.." @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:04 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Yeonaixho seemed at least somewhat relieved to be changing topics, and moved to one of the storage shelves. He dug around for a bit, and didn't say anything more to Madeline. @Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline

[9:07 AM]Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline:

Madeline didn't say anything else either, still standing back toward the door out. @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:08 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

A few moments later, Yeonaixho found what he was looking for. He went over to Madeline and offered to her a small jar. In that jar was a worm. Yup. Worm time. @Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline

[9:12 AM]Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline:

Madeline turned her attention to the jar. The worm inside was black, with beady little eyes and spines. It was about three inches long, and very wide for something that had been living in her heart before. It seemed like there would be no possible way for that thing to fit in there without ruining the structure.

She didn't move to grab the jar, instead just staring at it.

".. Wh-what should I do with it..? I-it can't actually b-be alive after all this time.. with no food or water.." Madeline said. The worm was sitting very still in the jar. And it looked very dry. Not in great condition. @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:13 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"Whatever you want to do with it, you can." Yeonaixho shrugged. "It's your worm." @Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline

[9:15 AM]Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline:

".. I-it can't- get in me again, right..? It's way too big.." Madeline said, slowly reaching out toward the jar. @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:16 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"I'm not sure. I'd be cautious, just in case." Yeonaixho said simply. @Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline

[9:21 AM]Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline:

Madeline carefully took the jar and looked closer at the worm. She felt a little bad for it. It had just been doing what it was born to do- then it got removed and put in this jar for over a decade.. Starving and thirsty and alone. Well, maybe it couldn't feel lonely. But it could probably feel the other two things.

She didn't think she could kill it right now.

"Th-thank you, Yeonaixho.." @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:22 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"Of course." Yeonaixho replied flatly. "Now, if you don't mind, I've got to go deal with Peregrine. Let's get out of here." @Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline

[9:23 AM]Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline:

".. What's happening with Peregrine..?" Madeline asked, not moving her eyes off of the creature in her hand. @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:24 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"He's getting moved to the dungeons." @Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline

[9:27 AM]Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline:

"Oh. Well, it's.. Yeah, about time for that.." Madeline mumbled. There were like two guests that Madeline really thought belonged down in the dungeons, and soon, they'd both be there. Good. "I'm glad he's finally getting some consequences." @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:28 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"Mhm." Yeonaixho hummed in agreement. He moved towards the door. "Are you ready to leave?" @Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline

[9:29 AM]Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline:

"Yes." Madeline said and followed him to the door. @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:30 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Once Yeonaixho and Madeline were back out in the hall, Yeonaixho closed the mechanical door behind them and led Madeline back to the surface... @Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline

[9:31 AM]Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline:

Madeline followed him back out, paying even less attention to their direction as she studied the worm over. @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

isi in the lab

[8:11 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Isi entered into a laboratory- a brightly lit, disorganized laboratory. The first and most present thing she would notice was now much the entire place smelled like death. Rot. Decay. Meat. Bodies. It hung in the air over that antiseptic, disinfect sting of the lab-smell.

Then, she might notice the room's contents. She only had brief seconds to look over it all- cabinets and shelves of documents on one wall, freezers covered in notes on the others. Boxes of bones. Organ containment crates.

In the very center of the room, there was an autopsy table and on that table was the body of a woman. She looked freshly dead, dressed in a simple white funeral gown. The flourescent light of the lab interior washed out her tan skin, making her look even less lively. Her short, cropped hair, her delicate features, her face morphed permanently into deathly shock, Isi only had minutes to take this all in.

The door hissed closed behind her. @sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁

[8:24 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:

The first thing that hit Isi was the smell. It was damn-near overwhelming, decay, blood, rot, fear. Next was...well, everything else. This was the least church-like thing she'd ever seen. She knew she didn't have time, and quite honestly being trapped in an autopsy room was probably the worst situation this could have lead to.

And the body. Isi didn't bother contain a little noise of shock.

CORPSE TABLE.

DEAD WOMAN.

CORPSE WOMAN.

Where...who did all the bones come from? Were the organ crates full? There was so much death here.

She walked over to the woman, placing herself behind the table, so at least she could face the door and have something between herself and Yeonaixho when it surely opened again. Isi looked at the woman's terrified face, which mirrored her own.

Perhaps without the boxes and boxes of human remains, this could have been played off as something less sinister.

She was out of time.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[8:28 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Only moments after Isi had entered the room, the door hissed open again and Yeonaixho came through. In the harsh laboratory light, his disheveled, frantic state was clear.

"You really, really aren't supposed to be here..." He said again. @sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁

[8:35 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:

Isi inhaled shakily.

"Why is all this here? Is she next?" Isi's tone was frantic and a bit demanding. looked at the table in front of her, and then at the boxes. There was another question that could quickly follow her last one that she left unspoken.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[8:37 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"This isn't what it looks like, I promise-" Yeonaixho moved warily towards the woman's body. @sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁

[8:40 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:

"Then what is it?" Isi backed up when he got closer.

"Because it really just looks like you killed a ton of people." She raised her voice a bit, to cover up the shaking.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[8:41 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"I didn't kill anyone, I bought-" He shook his head. "This is a necromancy operation. I'm doing necromancy." @sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁

[8:47 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:

"it..it doesn't smell like you brought-" she grimaced. "Why? Is it for her then?"

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[8:49 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"Yes. It's- too much to explain here, but you have to trust me, this isn't what it looks like." He moved over to the side of the body, putting one possessive hand over its shoulder. @sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁

[8:59 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:

"I don't have to trust you actually, can you at least explain how you got the-remains? Why you need this many?"

She was clearly very suspicious. At least she wasn't really hostile. When Yeonaixho moved, she moved away. She was getting a little closer to the door.

She was curious about who the body was, but at this point the possibility of many deaths outweighed that curiosity.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:05 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"That's not important- stay here!" Yeonaixho lunged forward to Isi, trying to restrain her, but only ended up falling to the floor. @sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁

[9:11 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:

"yes it-" Isi jumped backwards. He must have slipped on something while trying to grab her, she got lucky. She took some steps back, trying to see any way to open the door. She would rather try and escape than try and attack, but she would attack if she had to.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:12 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

There was a large button right by the door- that, probably, was the way to open it.

Isi had to act fast, Yeonaixho was getting up... @sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁

[9:13 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:

Act fast she did, hitting it without hesitation.

"Stay the fuck away from me."

Please let the door open.

[9:13 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:14 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

The door opened with a dramatic hissss, revealing to Isi the dark corridor she had entered through.

"Wait- NO!" Yeonaixho shouted. @sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁

[9:19 AM]sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁:

She ran out of the room, but not out of the corridor, once he shouted. She felt like she was a good enough distance away that he couldn't lunge at her at once again. She was prone to run at any given moment, and listening for anyone coming down the stairs behind her.

"You have a real funny way of showing that 'this isn't what it looks like,' you know that?"

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:23 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Yeonaixho didn't answer, but once again moved towards Isi, to try and restrain her. He failed, and stumbled into the hall after her. @sketti | Eben 🕶 + Isi 🍁

lab confronatation

[8:29 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Petrai led the group deeper and deeper into the dark, mangled pit of the labyrinth, til they arrived at a long hallway, with an imposing mechanical door at the end. Petrai, clearly having been here before, went straight for the keypad. She tested out a few failed combinations before arriving at the one that wooshed open the door.

Beyond the door was a laboratory. Automatic, fluorescent lights crackled on as the group made their way into the room. Overall, the place was a mess- tables were covered in material and equipment, filing cabinets were left halfway open. The entire place reeked of not only disinfectant, but the overlying stench of rot.

A few walls of the room were lined with filing cabinets and shelves. The open shelves were filled mostly with boxes- some containing piles of paper, some containing bones, some who's contents couldn't be seen. On the other side of the laboratory was a massive, industrial sized fridge, with Braille and handwritten documents having been pinned up with magnets all over it. Tables littered the area, covered in discarded organ shipment containers.

At the very center of the room, almost reverently, was the corpse of a woman laid out on an autopsy table. She was dressed in a white funeral gown, and looked like she had died only moments ago, though that couldn't be right. A few would recognize her as the ghost that haunted the island.

Petrai was first to enter the laboratory, and already got to work looking through the cabinets. "Look for the crystals. Don't touch the corpse." She instructed.

@expedition gang

[8:39 AM]Aj | Ryunoske+Titania:

When the gang finally made it here, Ryu looked around. She wasn't too worried about running into anything (dead or alive), so she started to snoop without hesitation. She spared the corpse a glance, frowning. 'You're not in the box anymore,' Ryu thought before continuing with her look through. @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[8:41 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Ryu found a bunch of old documents, ones that she couldn't really read since they were all in Braille. There were a few in print, that talked about sourcing bodies and where morgues were located. No sign of the crystals, though. @Aj | Ryunoske+Titania

[8:46 AM]Aj | Ryunoske+Titania:

Ryu hummed as she looked over everything. Well, what the hell. She pocketed the documents, folding them into her jacket before looking at the gang. "Nothing too important by the tables. You guys mind turning this place inside out?" She asked the rest of the group. @expedition gang

[9:05 AM]em | enya + mallon:

As soon as they all step into the lab Enya flings a hand over her mouth at both the smell and sight, muffling her gasp. It’s enough to make her stomach churn. She’s avoiding the autopsy table as much as she physically can before Petrai even brings it up.

As for searching, seeing Ryu take the tables and Petrai take the cabinets, she swallows back the dread simmering up and heads for the fridge. @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:09 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Probably the worst spot to look, honestly. The fridge is full of meat. Severed body parts of all kind fill the shelves in neatly organized, Braille- labeled bins. There were limbs, organs, hunks of unidentifiable something, even a few eyes. Overall, gross. And there's no sign of the crystals. @em | enya + mallon (tw: gore)

[9:10 AM]Mads|Roque🩸+Hannah🦈+Madeline:

(Whose eyes 🤨 )

[9:22 AM]Sauce | Roy 🌩:

Roy cringes at both the smell and the random corpse on the table. He pushes down his nerves and heads over to the boxes.

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:26 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

The boxes fall into one of two categories- being full of dried-out, cleaned bones, or being full of more paperwork. The bones all look human, and the papers are mostly scrawled notes about failed experiments. @Sauce | Roy 🌩

[9:28 AM]em | enya + mallon:

Oh, fucking hell. Enya doesn’t need to look long to get the full picture, and she slams the door shut as hard as she can as she staggers backwards. Her breathing comes in short, horrified gasps, and she just barely keeps herself from falling over with a hand pressed against the wall as she doubles over. It’s a miracle she doesn’t empty her stomach all over the floor. “Oh my god…” @expedition gang

[9:30 AM]Sauce | Roy 🌩:

Roy stares at the bones for a bit longer than he’d like, finding himself more and more horrified by the minute. Where did he get these??

He shuts his eyes tight and turns away, opening them and picking up what looks like the most recent experiment notes.

[9:30 AM]Sauce | Roy 🌩:

@innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:31 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

The most recent experiment notes, that Roy can read, are all dated around 2003, and mostly focus around regrowing brain matter with healing magic. Yay? @Sauce | Roy 🌩

[9:34 AM]Aj | Ryunoske+Titania:

Hearing Enya and the fridge door slam shut, Ryu jogged over to the other woman. "Enya? What's wrong? Did you find something?" He asked her and gently put her hand on Enya's back to support her from falling. @em | enya + mallon

[9:36 AM]Sauce | Roy 🌩:

With that image in his brain and the smell of the place really starting to get to him, Roy sets down the notes and tries to find something less disturbing to look at.

[9:37 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

The least disturbing thing in the lab is probably the walls sorry Roy.

[9:47 AM]em | enya + mallon:

Enya leans into the support unconsciously, hands now clamped tightly over her mouth as she squeezes her eyes shut. It’s hard to process Ryu’s questions, even more so to think about responding, but the color utterly drained from her face and the occasional flash of white-hot flames at her feet should be enough of an answer—something bad. @Aj | Ryunoske+Titania

[9:57 AM]Aj | Ryunoske+Titania:

Ryu looked down at the sparks of white and lead Enya towards a wall. She set Enya down onto the floor and leaned her against the wall, gently rubbing her back in comfort. "It's going to be okay. Catch your breath. I'll go check it out," Ryu reassured her. @em | enya + mallon

[10:19 AM]em | enya + mallon:

Enya doesn’t fight it, sinking down against the wall with her knees pulled to her chest crossing her arms on top of them, then letting her head drop as she fights to calm herself. She’s clearly putting in a lot of effort, both to keep the flames from sparking and to try and control her panic, so all Ryu gets in response is a small shake of her head. @Aj | Ryunoske+Titania

[10:38 AM]Aj | Ryunoske+Titania:

Ryu continued to rub Enya's back for a little longer, before finally pulling away. She understood not everyone was going to be used to things like this, so she just needed to give Enya some space. Stepping over to the fridge, Ryu opened it and began to examine the contents. @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[10:42 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

The contents of the fridge hadn't changed since Enya looked inside. Same concerning array of body-less body parts. @Aj | Ryunoske+Titania

[10:47 AM]Aj | Ryunoske+Titania:

"Ohhh. I see," Ryu commented to herself as she saw the contents inside. Yeah, she supposed not everyone was used to dealing with random body parts on a regular basis. Ryu made a mental note to come back for some of this later. "I bet there's at least ten grand worth of stuff in here..." She said more to herself than anyone else, before closing the fridge once more.

"Alright, well. No sign of the power crystals. Hey, hag, I thought you said they would be here," Ryu said as she walked beside Petrai. @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[11:06 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

“Don’t call me that.” Petrai retorted. “They’ve got to be here, somewhere.”

Like the others, Petrai was at work sorting through the various storage containers and file cabinets that seemed to litter the laboratory, though unlike the other members of her group, she actually knew where things were. At a rapid pace, she opened one cabinet after the other, inspecting the contents before slamming it right back shut. It was with this mechanical precision she went through the laboratory entirely, in cubic-foot sections.

But the crystals were nowhere to be found. Petrai knew what they looked like, she knew what she was looking for, and yet… nothing. Cabinet after cabinet, case after case, she found nothing. Just old files and older mementos, surgical tools and the occasional, revolting dismembered body part. But no crystals, no powers stolen and then hidden away. The others didn’t seem to be having any luck, either.

Doubt creeped cold in the corners of Petrai’s mind. Yeonaixho had the crystals. He had to have the crystals- that was the only explanation. Otherwise, they’d have been here. How was she going to break the news to her team, that she’d led them all here for nothing? When she’d endangered their lives on a hoax?

Suddenly, all those worries seemed small. Because, out of the corner of her allsight, the peripheral vision in which she was aware of everything, Petrai saw something. She saw Yeonaixho approaching the laboratory.

“Well... seems like I need to fix the locks on this place.” Yeonaixho paused at the entrance to the laboratory, the mouth of the cave. On either side he was flanked by a dead-eyed corpse, their bodies even stiller in the harsh light. Behind them- others followed, their numbers obscured by the shadow of the tunnel. Yeonaixho’s was the only body that moved- it swayed slightly in his apparent nerves- but what was he nervous of?

Slowly, he entered the room, his body-guard bodies mirroring his every subconscious step. He placed a hand over Jymaiyri’s corpse, delicately traced her jaw. To the assembled contestants, he suggested, “It would do you all well to leave.”

@expedition gang

[11:10 AM]Sauce | Roy 🌩:

Oh fucking hell. Roy sparked a bit, preparing for a fight.

“Tch- give everyone their powers back and we’ll leave.”

@expedition gang

[1:14 PM]em | enya + mallon:

Enya doesn’t even notice anything seeming off, still huddled with her head on her knees—until she hears Yeonaixho’s voice echo in the lab. Her head shoots up and she lunges to her feet, back pressed up against the wall behind her as blue flames burst out over her arms and shoulders. She’s trying her hardest, but there’s incredibly clear fear and surprise written across her entire face. She doesn’t say anything, staring with eyes wide. @expedition gang

[8:13 PM]Aj | Ryunoske+Titania:

With quick but percised footsteps, Ryu rushed up to the older man. She didn't even say anything. Her fist swung first, going straight for Yeonaixho's neck and forcing him back from the body on the table. Roy already said what needed to be said, Ryu just wanted to punch the stupid old man once. @expedition gang

[8:19 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Yeonaixho grunted as Ryunoske’s fist made contact with his neck, and he stumbled backwards. but quickly regained his composure. In seconds, the bruise that would’ve formed rapidly healed, his flesh repairing instantly. His ego, evidently did not heal so quickly. Yeonaixho’s brow furrowed, and he did not say anything but jutted his hand forward. With the motion came that of his corpses, first apprehending Ryunoske and then the others.

The only one left free was Petrai.

“Let them go, Yeonaixho. I’d urge you to think better of this.” She held her crossbow aloft, she aimed it at his throat.

“Petrai, really?” Yeonaixho pleaded. “I didn’t believe it, you know, when they said you’d left. Because it doesn’t make sense. Why, after all this time?”

“Let’s just leave it at me having enough of your bullshit.” Petrai’s expression didn’t fade. It didn’t falter. She kept neutral, like she always had.

He had never had to keep neutral. He had never sacrificed like she had.

“Oh- heavens, Petrai, shut up.” Yeonaixho ran his hands through his hair. “I thought you got all this ‘rebellious’ shit out of your system twenty five years ago, with that ‘Sadihak’ asshole.”

“I loved them and you knew it.”

“Like you’d ever love anyone. You’ve never even loved your kin- if you even have any left.” Yeonaixho spat. “Now, I think, you never even loved me.”

“And what if I didn’t?” Petrai challenged. She tried to hide her growing anger.

“Then you’re a fool, and a traitor, and I’d have no choice but to kill you.” Yeonaixho listed plainly. “Honestly, it’d be a mercy kill. I’d put you out of the misery that so clearly still plagues you.”

“You’d kill me so easily, after you gave up everything for me? Your sight, your mortality, just to see me dead by your hand?”

“If you’re standing in between Jymaiyri and I,” Yeonaixho said, “I’d do it in a heartbeat.”

That was when Petrai faltered.

She had been nineteen years old when Yeonaixho had given his sight for power. Nineteen years old, when the world had spun on its head and she was getting closer to death by the second and someone had to do something, so he’d given up his life for hers. Nineteen years old, when she’d decided her old life wasn’t worth it any more, so she dedicated herself to a new one. Nineteen yeard old, when she took on a debt she’d never be able to repay.

To a man who didn’t even care if she lived or died. Who would slay her, just on a whim. Just because she was in the way.

Over thirty years she had toiled for this, she knew this was likely the case. Yeonaixho loved passionately and he loved fully but rarely was that love reserved for her. She was not deserving of such affections, she knew. She was a devoted servant, a chaste warrior meant only to kill. That was her purpose in life, to be someone’s weapon. Someone's hand. Someone’s eye.

And yet, was a hand so easily discarded?

For not the first time in her life, Petrai felt fury at the man she had sworn herself to. She saw, in the corners of her allsight, the glimpses of a life that could’ve been. Passion of her own, freedom of her own. Simple joys so foreign to her. He had taken all that away, out of the cruelty of debt. She would never get any of it back. He’d given his sight for her, but he’d also taken so much. He’d taken her time, her life. All of it.

Petrai Alphanzeyouri- first of her name, daughter of none- held aloft her crossbow with one hand. Its aim did not sway from her target. Steady and unwavering, she knew where she wanted her bolt to land. It was not fear or self-pity that drove her, but rage. Rage she had harbored for far too long.

“Am I nothing to you?”

“You’ve served your purpose well, Petrai,” Yeonaixho admitted, “But we all fall out of use, eventually.”

She pulled the trigger.

[8:19 PM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Within seconds, the bolt buried itself in the tender flesh of Yeonaixho’s neck. It would’ve killed any mortal man, but of course, Yeonaixho was no mere mortal. Petrai knew this. She was only trying to buy herself some time.

Yeonaixhi braced himself on the door with one hand, and used the other to pull the bolt from his jugular. He tossed the blood-covered, slimy thing to the ground, and repaired his neck just in time to catch Petrai from scrambling out into the labyrinth. In moments, she was apprehended by a pair of corpses, and though she fought, she could not wretch herself free.

A bloody cough, and a deep breath later, Yeonaixho addressed his captive audience. “This charade has gone on long enough. It’s time we end it.”

He scooped up Jymaiyri’s body into his arms, carrying her bridal style, and started out the door. The corpses followed, bringing their prisoners with them...

@expedition gang

ryunoske and jymaiyri

[8:09 AM]Aj | Ryunoske+Titania:

Finding her way back here, Ryunoske's head was full of thoughts. She wondered what to report back to her father when she returned. Yeah, it was cult island and the only thing I got from surviving it were these body parts. Would these body parts sell for a good amount? She hoped they would. Ryu walked quietly, but with purpose. If anyone was around, Ryu didn't think she would hold back this time. @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[8:14 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

The laboratory wasn't empty. A singular woman milled about it, inspecting the mess that'd it'd become. Jymaiyri looked up as the door hissed open, making eye contact with Ryu.

"What do you want?" @Aj | Ryunoske+Titania

[8:45 AM]Aj | Ryunoske+Titania:

Well, this wasn't exactly the person she was expecting, but Ryu would take the ghost over most. She wasn't afraid nor worried Jymaiyri would attack her, mostly because Ryu herself had no intentions on harming her just yet. She walked inside the lab, going straight to the fridge from earlier. "I'm just here to pick some things up. Do you remember me now?" She asked, her back to the ghost of a woman. @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[9:26 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Jymaiyri's gaze trailed Ryu as she traveled to the fridge.

"Hmph. I remember you." Was her only reply to the question. "Take what you want. We won't be needing it anymore."

She seemed far more coherent than she'd been before. And far more living. @Aj | Ryunoske+Titania

[10:19 AM]Aj | Ryunoske+Titania:

"I wasn't going to ask, but thanks," Ryu replied as she looked around for a couple boxes. She dumped out a few of the contents of random boxes and started to fill them up with products she thought would be viable to sell and use. Some things seemed fresher than others, so she made sure to take those.

It was only after a couple of boxes were full and closed did Ryu finally speak again. "How are you feeling, Jymaiyri? That's your name, correct?" He asked her, his back still turned to the woman. @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[10:23 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Jymaiyri watched intently as Ryu filled up the boxes.

"Yes. Jymaiyri. That's my name." She nodded. "I feel better than I have in years. Decades, even." @Aj | Ryunoske+Titania

[10:25 AM]Aj | Ryunoske+Titania:

"That so?" His voice sounded distant, disinterested. He sealed up another box and glanced back into the fridge to see if there was anything else he could take. "What do you plan to do now? You and the blind man are going to go off and have your happily ever after?" @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[10:32 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"Something like that." Jymaiyri replied. Her voice was distant, cold. @Aj | Ryunoske+Titania

[10:46 AM]Aj | Ryunoske+Titania:

"I see," she commented. Securing the last box, Ryunoske finally turned around to face Jymaiyri. "Can I ask you something before you go?" @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[10:57 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"Go ahead." Jymaiyri shrugged. @Aj | Ryunoske+Titania

[11:08 AM]Aj | Ryunoske+Titania:

"When you were dead and haunting this place, did you ever wish your lover would die so you could be together in the after life?" Ryu asked her. @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[11:09 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"I wished he had died with me. That way, neither of us would ever had to yearn for the other." @Aj | Ryunoske+Titania

[11:14 AM]Aj | Ryunoske+Titania:

She hummed, picking up the boxes on her shoulder and under her arm. "I see," was all Ryu said in response. She started towards the door, but paused right before exiting. "Now that you're back, what do you yearn for now?" @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[11:29 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

"The same as I did before." Jymaiyri replied simply. "To never leave his side." @Aj | Ryunoske+Titania

[11:44 AM]Aj | Ryunoske+Titania:

Ryu stared at Jymaiyri for a moment, silence falling between them once more. He looked at the woman as if there was another answer to be found if he just looked hard enough. When he found nothing, Ryu turned back towards the door and promptly left. @innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄)

[11:45 AM]innsjo (glass🎸+ darcy🖋+ npcs❄):

Jymaiyri said nothing as he left, and quickly resumed what she'd been doing before. @Aj | Ryunoske+Titania