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There was no stopping it, the true nature of their 'ward' was coming out in spades, the self preservation at its peak. Yuina could only listen, how quick so many others were to pass judgement, even other voices that she caught and began to recognize. Was that
freya morningstar? Was that
Aurelie Lefevre? Did it make her as ugly as the ward said they were to feel like she thought better of them? Maybe she herself truly was no different...[break][break]
The votes carried, there was an overwhelming majority, Yuina knew that the handful of them who tried to spare some sense of humanity and mercy now meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. Their choices meant nothing, their voices meant nothing, her threat meant nothing... She was
nothing... Yuina could only hope that the other wards wouldn't suffer too terribly for how little her voice mattered. It was clear she wouldn't make a difference here.[break][break]
Navy and his cellmate were unceremoniously beaten, his voice was the loudest, but only just. The wardens and the megalopolans were only trying to prove that sacrifice meant nothing here... And for all of the collective that chose to belay their inevitable punishment, they were proven right. For now... There was zero chance that their lot would come out of this unscathed by comparison. It was only a matter of time, and they still had no idea how long they were going to be held here.[break][break]
Exerting and overstating the control that it had over their circumstances, the bird took charge and took them all by the neck up to their 'reward'. It was stifling, being strung along by the noose that held fast around her throat, but it made no difference at the moment. Yuina was gradually being sucked back into broken silence, her only saving grace still was holding fast to
John Sullivan's hand... If she had to let go, she wasn't sure what she would do...[break][break]
[break]
The journey went by in both a flash and an eternity, there was no structural reasoning as to what this place truly was now, impossible to discern where they were, how far they had traveled, if they had even traveled at all... They were thrust in through the final set of doors, stumbling and struggling, now standing within the "Chamber of Desires".[break]
If nothing else, the Megalopolans and the warden remained true to their word, as part of their 'reward' they were relieved of their masks. It was almost daunting, how easily they fell from their faces, attached still by the chain around their necks... A constant reminder of their more permanent circumstances.[break][break]
It was an impossible, insatiable curiosity, Yuina couldn't abstain from glancing around now at the revealed faces of those they were trapped with. So it was
freya morningstar, and
Aurelie Lefevre... And she recalled
Hyakkaryōran Tsubaki.
luka chêne was a kind face that she remembered as well, but there were no others that she recognized... At least in the context of allies or friends. No
DESIREE BLOOMS, no
Genevieve Cromwell, no
Andrea Vaneau... no
Josh Devlin, or
Naomi Sato...
howard slayte must be elsewhere, for the megalopolans to have stolen the gigaton ball...[break][break]
Instead though, there were other faces that she recognized...
Xenon Antheil, she had only encountered the terrorist once but they'd spent who knows how long trapped in the reverse world together...
Zev Harcourt, the man who tried to burn her alive,
Elisabeth Fiorelli who tried to drown her in the ocean...[break]
She only blinked away from the distressing realizations of who was there amongst them when Doug squeezed her hand, her shuttering breaths catching. She had no words to share... What was there to say in this moment? It was both a blessing and a curse that he was there, that they were both there... At least she had the chance to find the smallest bit of warmth in his eyes before they might never have this chance again...[break][break]
The Megalopolan regarded them all, encumbered too by a toxic chain, and the magenta gleam in his eyes was very telling of just how much influence the chain was giving... Were they going to be reduced to the same control? The same covetous belief? Surely the mask, the toxic chain, none of it was true or real... It couldn't be...[break][break]
[break]
Thrust into the visions and influence of the mask, Yuina was immediately encompassed by an impossibly overwhelming swell of emotions as she found herself standing amongst a family setting, a domestic life... She felt safe, she felt stable, she felt like she belonged, she felt whole... That chasmic depth that forever held its place inside of her, constantly reminding her of how empty the life of a shadow was, how little she filled out the shell that she was forced to carry and present to those around her... It was like it had been filled entirely, or like it was never there at all... Like she was never lost, never torn into two halves... She was one, single whole person. And she was herself and no one else.[break][break]
The constant fear and pressure of being watched, knowing that threats were out there vying for her... Wait, why had she felt like that? There was nothing that she needed to be afraid of? There were no dangers, no looming threats, she didn't even feel like she was exhausted from lack of sleep or intensive training... Training for what? It's not like she was a part of some organization meant to serve and protect... Protect from what? Nothing was wrong here, and she certainly had no other responsibilities outside of herself and...[break][break]
Her family...[break][break]
Flashes of the toxic chain adorning those around her, a middle aged woman, a middle aged man, three teens or maybe older that all bore a resemblance to her... This... This was her family, these were the people she was meant to care about, the people that she needed and wanted in her life. But... There was something... someone missing? No, that couldn't be right, everything was exactly as it always should be, she could never want for anything here, it was so perfect...
[break]
[break]
The mask was drawn away, and every millimeter of distance that Yuina felt as she was pulled away from that place tore that chasm open again, deeper, wider, more darkness, more shadows... She was being torn apart all over again, that emptiness bearing down on her, the pain of having that overwhelming vision unabashedly ripped away from her was suffocating, she couldn't scream to protest even if she wanted to.[break][break]
Empty... It was the only feeling that Yuina held in her distant, far away gaze. In spite of it all, she still clutched Doug's hand, almost like a vice, he was the only tangible thing that her broken thoughts could cling to.[break]
The next promised part of their 'reward' did in fact come in the form of one single room for all of them, and the very notion was enough to bring tears to Yuina's otherwise empty and glazed eyes. How debased they were, how degraded... But there was no promise of the opportunity again...[break][break]
She stood as close to Doug as she could manage, one hand clutching his and her other arm held fast across herself. The burn of the water was the only thing that registered any more, melding with the burning tears that marred her eyes. Despite the searing water, she shook and trembled, much like going through a symptom of withdrawals. Her body ached, her shadows seethed at her, feeling that abyss growing darker, larger, deeper still...[break][break]
If she could have helped it, she wanted to be angry, she wanted to be furious at the mask for forcing her to feel what she had been so desperate for all this time... But she couldn't be angry... Not when she was pining for those feelings now in earnest...
John Sullivan[break][break]
[break][break]
BMouOz9M
NOTES
- Voting did not go great... Rip Dummy Ward, Yuina realizes that mercy and humanity mean less and less with every passing second[break]
- Forced to go to the chamber of desires, glances at the couple of faces she recognizes both good and bad[break]
- The Mask shows Yuina that she and her past life want the same feelings, but her past life wins out on how those feelings can be obtained. Alexandria's desires are stronger, she wants her family and the life she should have had all along, it's a life that all of Yuina is lost to[break]
- The Mask is taken away, and it HURTS. So does the almost scalding water from communal shower time[break]