| At the risk of chaos... | ||
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| Summary: Sometimes you just have to go back to where it all began.   |
Stepping through the fog comes the soft footsteps of Nancy Dark, now looking much like she had the day she was first cast out of Twisted. While her recent issues with her age had been solved, her body still struggles to reclaim the years she'd lost due to her malfunctioning powers. In the silence her steps echo like hard heeled shoes on linoleum as she marches through the void to the one place she dared not let go despite her fears of ever coming back again. The glowing fog now disguising the darkness gives the impression of midafternoon as she finally arrives at the floating mass that was once known as ZekuKari. Large swaths of land are missing where she'd pulled pieces of her constructed city onto Twisted. Pausing briefly she looks back over the hole that was once the beach she'd taken to Twisted and infinite nothing beyond. The young looking girl lets out a heavy sigh before walking away to travel down the main street, smiling at memories she'd shared with the inhabitants she'd brought here and lived with until they'd passed on. At least she didn't have to deal with the ghosts of her past as she'd literally taken the cemetery she'd filled along to Twisted as well. However that didn't stop her from pausing where the gates would have been to look at the last house she'd brought into this place. With another heavy sigh she remembers Airashisa at her obsession with cherries that took the place of the memories Nancy had knowingly robbed her of. It takes her a moment to realize the strength of her hand shaking as she absently started to reach out towards the door, but quickly she grasps her hand with the other and rubs it as if to make the shaking stop. The silence is broken with words intended to chastise herself but the jarring sound causes her to jump. "Get ahold of yourself." Blushing, the girl looks around as if to spy someone watching her - here in the one place where life should no longer exist. Something Crux had said in her brief time with the man had brought her back to this moment... What pearls of wisdom did the Advent have for her? The kind that couldn't be less specific if they tried, doubtless designed to make him look wiser than he really is upon later reflection.
he'd said with a pause just dramatic enough to deserve a line break or two,
Not bad, right? Also not his. He'd read it on a fortune cookie once. Not that he'd ever admit it. She didn't know what it could mean but she had to be sure. Nervously she pushes the thoughts out of her mind as she looks again at the broken landscape around her. Her eyes narrow for only a moment. Nothing had changed in the last minute.... right?
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/131972173215563778/983252696448532520/Cranecila.png There's really not much left of any denziens of ZekuKari. Then again, were there any in the first place? It's hard to know what was really going on here, unless maybe you were Kariana or Zekura, but neither of them is showing up to talk to Nancy. Instead, with the soft jingle of a bell, a beautiful girl in a frilly white dress appears. From where you ask? It's...not entirely clear, but perhaps she came from the mall area? She at least is standing in that direction as a seabreeze pulls at her long flowing hair and hem of her dress. She tilts her head, standing about twenty feet away from Nancy, her face one of dumbfoundment, as if she either can't believe what she's seeing, or she has a head as empty as a beggar's wallet.
There's many things that no one has ever seen Nancy do. Normally she's very quiet and reserved, so if the newcomer had ever known of Nancy Dark before, she'd be quite shocked when the young-looking girl suddenly jumps back in surprise letting out a loud yelp in the process. Then again, it might still be shocking. With her eyes currently two large saucers of shock, Nancy uncharacteristically stammers trying to force her mind to accept what she's now seeing. "Wh-what?! How did-?! Who-?! Y-You can't-!!" The girl holds up a finger as she attempts to calm herself. Closing her eyes a moment she lets out a slow, measured breath before she opens her eyes and tries again. "I don't remember you. How did you get here? No one should be here."
Crancilica takes a step back, even though she's a good distance away from Nancy already. What is she doing here? Is she okay? She puts a hand up near her throat, touching the bell, her eyes cinching some as it rings softly. Why did that hurt? She puts a hand on her stomach next, and smoothes her dress all the way down to her knees, grimaces lightly, then lets her arms be in deadfall, like someone cut a puppet's strings. She opens her mouth and a weird trilling sound along with a jitterying music of a chello, guitar, and violin come out. She blinks once, frowns, closes her mouth. Her expression now? Visible confusion. She turns and looks around at the world she's in. Is this...?
It might be hard to gauge Nancy's expression as she watches this new person seemingly trying and failing to respond. It's a mix of curiosity, disbelief, and fear. Contrary to her current disposition, she's normally fairly hard to shock. But this... This is almost a nightmare come to life. It's not the poor newcomer's fault. Nancy tries weakly to explain, "I didn't bring you here.... Did I?" Despite how long it's been since she stood here there was one horrible thing she never forgot about the people she pulled into this world. "Can you understand me? Do you remember how you got here?" And then the question she's been dreading giving voice to. "...do you know who you are?" Of course an appropriate amount of time is given between each question.
Crincilica turns her attention back to Nancy rather than her surroundings as she's asked more questions. She scrunches her eyebrows together. Does she know the answers herself? Somewhat. Some of those are existential. She inclines her head forward, as if she's trying telepathy or something? But really she's just making sure she doesn't speak in instrument again, "I understand you." Her voice is light, and has a slight musical flow to it, accenting on the improper syllables, almost as if this isn't her first language. She looks down at the ground in front of her, and hesitantly lifts one of her white shoed feet up, as if to take a step forward, but she lets it hang there in the air, staring at it a moment. She remains in this pose as she looks up at Nancy, "This is a destiny. I was pulled here, from here. Who am I...a trial run? A forgotten toy? A contaminated shell. The question of knowing oneself, this is difficult to word to a stranger."
It takes Nancy a moment or two before she can even begin to formulate a response to that. On the bright side, given her life span she's nothing if not patient. "Perhaps we got off on the wrong..." She looks down at Crincilica's dangling leg and winces slightly, "...foot." Polite cough. "My name is Nancy. Do you have a name?" Luckily she stops herself just shy of explaining what a name is. She does touch her chest softly as she says her name though, just in case the idea of names isn't entirely clear.
Crincilica maintains her one legged stand and deadarms, but she does give the subtlest of nods, "Crincilica." Her mouth forms more words, but no sound comes out, as if she were saying something? Reading lip skills are a tad useless here if Nancy has any because it's not in a mortal tongue anyway. Well, okay, Nancy might know some immortal tongues. Ahem, anyway. "Are you the owner here?" Being asked questions is fine and all, but she's discombobulated after appearing here, having been where she was before, which was here, but not here. At least for her.
For the record, Nancy can barely read, let alone read lips in other languages. All she can do is watch as Crincilica mouths out silence for a moment. At least she has a name. That's a wonderful starting point! At least that's what she thinks to herself before the newcomer's question crashes down on her like a ton of bricks. The girl visibly crumples ever so slightly as the weight of the question makes itself known a tad more physically than the usual metaphorically. "That's... complicated." Cryptic, but accurate. Her eyes dart around nervously as she tries to explain in the least explanative way she can manage. "I... used... to..... live here?" It's technically accurate. "This place was my home, but not by choice." She turns and gestures towards the broken landscape around them, "These things are all places I brought here." Nancy turns back and hesitantly adds, "I used to bring people here too. To keep me company." Again, technically accurate! Suddenly the scope of her statement hits her and she quickly specifies, "B-but I was allowed to move on to a different world, and I've not ever brought anyone else here." Good, that should cover things well enough. Satisfied with this version of events, Nancy crosses her arms. Her head tilts slightly to the side as she then asks, "So how did you get here...?"
Crincilica gives the subtlest of nods at Nancy's answer and explanations. She casts her gaze around, as if trying to survey the landscape for answers, but she thinks she knows most of them. Though everything here is mildly distressing. "Do you go by other names, Nancy?" It seems to her, this creature would be Zekura, but outright proclamation would result in more delays in her destiny, or at least more hardships.
To be fair Nancy didn't expect an easy answer to her question. The world seldom works that way after all. Thus, after a moment of thought she provides the best answer she can put together. "Nancy Dark. Former member of Twisted's Council. I was called 'the Architect' by Senor Diablo." With another pause a smile crosses the girl's thin lips remembering a fond memory of a conversation she once shared, "And I'm the Founder of Neo-Edo." She says this with a great deal of pride. "Not everyone gets to be a Founder, you know. It's very important. It's like being a Mayor, but for life." At least, she thinks that's how Luna put it. Given a moment's afterthought she adds with a slight blush, "Oh, and my brother thinks my name is Alice when he speaks of me but doesn't remember me." At least she already understands how confusing that statement is and offers a weak apology, "...it's a long story."
Crancilica nods, some of her hair spilling over her shoulders. That's a detailed story, and although Zekura was able to spin grand tales when he tricked her impersonating another entity, the ruse didn't often go into such detail. She brings her foot down slowly, as it touches the ground the bell around her neck jingles, she grimaces, flickers out of existence a moment, only to flicker back in, closer to Nancy this time, roughly nine feet. Her arms finally move after this ?teleportation? and she places them over her stomach, which is making all sorts of gurgly noises. Nancy may have noticed, if she pays any attention to body language, that Crancilica doesn't tend to bend, or shift her weight, or any other normal subtle movements humanoids would use when standing about.
Watching with a certain level of amusement, Nancy smiles a little when Crancilia shifts closer to her as she briefly wonders if that's how it looks to others when she moves around like that. Obviously with more fog involved though. Given some of the strange beings she's met and interreacted with both during and after her time sealed away in this place, Nancy is a bit oblivious to anything being unusual to the way her new acquaintance moves. It's just another quirk of life to her, after all. She does notice the sound of the woman's stomach though, given that the deafening silence seems to make every sound louder than it should be. "Are you hungry? I believe there's still a restaurant up the road where we can get you a bite to eat and a comfortable table to sit at while you do." She smiles warmly with the sudden realization that for once she doesn't have to put on an act. "Have you ever had a hamburger? They're delicious if you can eat meat. I can get us both one!"
"I haven't eaten in many chords." Crancilica exhales and then smoothes down the front of her dress to her knees, the exact same as when she first appeared. Her arms then deadfall at her sides. She looks at Nancy, her eyes probing her face, then dancing down her form, letting the silence stretch on which with normal people would be an uncomfortable amount of time. If Nancy doesn't say anything more though, she'll add, "I don't know what a hamburger is. Are there people here to cook?" Maybe this is Zekura, and when they get to this restaurant, she'll end up doing all the chefing, or some other small torture. She hasn't made fun of her stomach yet, which Zekura normally would have drawn more attention too and teased about. "I have trouble walking though, I tend to skip to my destiny. I thought I would disappear when I tried to move towards you, but I stayed here." The smallest, lightest hint of a smile comes to the edges of her lips. Perhaps this Nancy isn't Zekura. That would be a pleasant surprise and a nice alteration to her infinite loop.
Luckily if there's one thing Nancy is really good at, it's being patient. Once again she smiles at the admission of ignorance towards hamburgers and is ready to explain away when Crancilica mentions having trouble walking. Bending at the waist in a slight bow, Nancy holds a hand out in a welcoming gesture. "If you'll indulge me, I can probably help with that!" A fog rises up from somehow from the very air itself, blanketing everything including Nancy until she literally vanishes into the mist. As quickly as it came it fades, only now Nancy is standing beside Crancilica, her hand still extended as if in an offer to take. The unfelt wind that seems to surround the girl is even more active than it normally is, her hair and clothes whipping around wildly. "If there's one thing I'm really good at, it's moving things around!" If Crancilica takes her hand Nancy will either move the two of them into the restaurant in question or move the landscape so that they're standing inside of it. It's hard to tell with her powers exactly how that works and being in an endless void, it's not like there's a landmark one can judge from. She wouldn't normally do something quite so bold but she did spend an eternity here moving things around according to her own whims. Of course if the girl in the white dress doesn't take her hand, Nancy will do no such thing. Although she might pull the restaurant over to appear in the gap in the landscape the cemetery used to sit in with the usual show of fog appearing and disappearing. But who's to say how Crancilica may decide? No one else is pulling her strings after all...
Crancilica does take Nancy's hand, though her fingers don't wrap or grip at all, she just lays the palm down on it and will let Nancy do the actual holding. After the transport, movement, teleport, however it works, she looks about the restaurant, the bell around her making a soft jingle. Empty as expected. But this Nancy person seems to be sure of their ability to eat here. So, she'll just see what happens. She has questions, but many of them may give away she suspects Nancy isn't who she says she is. This would either let Zekura know she is on to him, which isn't a good idea as he gets very upset when his roleplays are exposed, or make Nancy trust her less, since she is isn't trusting her. So silence for now. Maybe there'll be more exposed with how these hamburgers are produced.
As the familiar site of the awfully named 'Tavern of Evil' materializes around them, Nancy releases her grip on Crancilica's hand and cheerfully darts around the counter towards the kitchen area. The 'Tavern' is about what you'd expect. Tables and chairs along the outter walls, each one facing a tiny window (because places that sell alcohol have to have tiny windows, says Municipal Code MU-CK101, Paragraph 12). Otherwise, especially with the long counter taking up the rear wall it would look like any other 'toaster'-style mass manufactured restaurant. Above the counter is a menu board mounted to the outside of an upper-cabinet who's doors face where the server would be working. A small window behind that on the rear wall looks into the kitchen area where Nancy can be seen seemingly cooking, except for the fact there's no smells or sounds coming from the rear room. "So full disclosure, I can't cook!" Sounds of plates being sat down can be heard. "But I used to be really good at pretending I could!" More sounds of things being opened and moved around. "Really I was just pulling the ingredients from another world and assembling everything." A scraping sound? Maybe condiments being applied? "One of my oldest friends showed me how it was supposed to be done, so I just copied that for everyone I brought here." The door to the kitchen is pushed open and the former Councilwoman puts two plates of food on the counter as she looks around to see if Crancilica found a place she wanted to sit (or stand! No one is judging). She then moves to sit somewhere nearby, bringing the food along with her. She puts the promised plate of food before her and points at the meat and salad thing between two buns. "This is a hamburger. It's delicious." She then points to the chunky tan stick things that have been stacked on the plate beside it. "These are french fries. They're made from a vegetable called a potato that are cooked in hot oil and they are amazing with ketchup!" She then points at a little bowl of crimson paste. "Ketchup is also made from vegetables. Tomatoes specifically. There's slices of it between the buns with the hamburger patty." Nancy smiles happily as she goes back to her own plate. "These are very popular in a world called America. A lot of people I've met are from there." She picks up her sandwich-like 'hamburger' and takes a bite. "It's good! I swear!" She says around the food in her mouth. After swallowing she adds, "And it tastes nothing like ham."
Crancilica listens to Nancy explain her cooking process. No, this isn't Zekura. Perhaps another princess that he abducted and toyed with or experimented on though. She must have come after her. How long has it been since she was back here? Was she ever gone? Sometimes the time for her step can last years. Maybe that last one was longer. She has no way of knowing. But, this eases her insides somewhat, or at least let's her mind relax now that she's assured herself. The girl spies the nearest table and her arms take to life from their deadend state, reaching way over to the extent of their length. She then bends over in a separate movement, until she can reach an edge of the table. She's almost bent at a 90 degree angle at this point. She pulls herself over, feet sliding across the floor but never losing surface contact. She'll reverse her movements until she's standing with lifeless arms again for Nancy to return with the stolen food. "I've never had any of these things." Taking Nancy eating the hamburger first is the proper way to start, her arms will live again and she'll take a very small bite, though she holds the hamburger right in front of her mouth rather than lowering it.
Nancy watches with mild amusement as Crancilica nibbles on the meal she acquired for her. There's nothing mocking behind her intent, but between the unusualness of the woman's movements and the lack of anything else to observe, she just can't help it. Plus, she'll muse later, it was just nice to be able to enjoy a positive nostalgic moment in a place she'd begun to associate with so many negative feelings. This had been a prison, but she'd made the most of it. Still, something about this person being here wasn't right and once Nancy had eaten most of her food she dared to ask the question again, "Please forgive me for asking again, but how did you come to be here, Crancilica?"After a brief pause she adds a further question, "Is this the first time you've ever come into this world?" To further illustrate 'this' world she gestures around in a circle with a french fry as she asks the second question, tapping it downwards on her plate as she finishes her sentence.
Crancilica has likewise finished her hamburger. She's now sampling some of the fries, dipping it in the thick red sauce, that reminds her a bit of blood. Sadly, she isn't sure if that would stop her from eating if she was hungry. How disappointing to think that about herself. As Nancy breaks the silence spreading as the two dine in a world barren of life, her eyes slide over to look at her. Did she not explain it properly before? Maybe not. Maybe her communication skills have fallen into such disuse, she can't relay information the way a normal person would. Nothing like another try though to shake off the dandelion dust. Crancilica says, "Destiny. Every step I take brings me to it." Perhaps she thought it was a metaphor before. At the second half of the question she replies, "This is the domain of the wicked sorcerer Zekura. Part of me was born here, through his machinations." There, now she'll see if Nancy is Zekura in disguise or not, for unless he's changed, he would retaliate at having this illusory play shattered."
"Wicked... sorcerer...?" The words fall out of Nancy's mouth as her brain tries to process what that could mean. A moment later her brain catches up to the rest of the statement. "....born here?!" Okay, she can't mean HERE here, right? "Wait, I... I don't understand. This place was a prison that the Council made for me. There was nothing here before they put me here." She sits back and gestures with her hands absently as if conjuring things in the air before them. "This. All of this. This city? These buildings. I pulled that here to keep myself from going mad. I... I learned how to use my powers because of how long I was trapped here. W-when I got out, I was on Twisted. I made a city there called Neo-Edo. I was the Founder. I... I wasn't gone that long. How could there be a wizard and how could you have been made here?" As she speaks a fog begins to slowly fill the room. Since her focus is locked to Crancilica, Nancy doesn't even notice. Even outside the windows the city is becoming harder and harder to see just because of how dense the fog rolling in has become. "I'm sorry, that... That doesn't make sense. Are you saying I'm this wizard? I didn't bring you here. I didn't make you. Everyone that was here is dead. They died of old age." Suddenly her gaze is broken as the girl winces from her own words. "...most of them." Before her eyes can begin to water, Nancy shakes her head slightly and continues. "The point is this world is dead and empty. If there was something else here... If I wasn't alone all that time..." Now she can't help herself as tears begin to fall down her cheeks. "I.. was.. so alone..." Raising her palms to her eyes, she tries to wipe away the tears but they just keep coming. "How could you say that you were born here? Who could have made you? Who?!" It's so far away that it could easily be mistaken for wind, but in a place with no other sounds, the sudden faint hum of a siren is almost too bizarre to ignore. It's also worth noting that for fog, something about it seems wrong. It's warm. Hot even. This isn't fog, it's steam! Why is the world filling with steam?
Crancilica let's Nancy process her statements. She didn't meant to set off a mind altering cascade epiphany. Nay this might be trauma. Perhaps she is a victim of Zekura and doesn't know it. That would explain her presence here. She's unsure if she should say more, since it might sway the trees past their breaking point. Her eyes move, the rest of her body motionless, taking in the steam. And the sound of a siren. An alarm? Has Zekura left a trigger in place should his name be mentioned? She would like not to encounter that entity ever gain. "Not all of me was born here, but what I am now was. If this is a prison for you, it was for me as well. But not by a Council, but Zekura, who it seems you aren't. Perchance I and he were in place before you came? Though he had others he toyed with, mayhaps he grew weary of this world." What can one give in comfort to someone whose mind is obviously breaking? She has nothing of herself to give anymore. Except her presence. Maybe distracting as well? "Something is amiss." Her stomach churns causing a light rumble. "Not my stomach, but the surroundings, to clarify."
Childishly wiping her eyes with her palms, Nancy misses a lot of Crancilica's 'comforting'. Her mind is still reeling from the idea that she might not have been alone for the millennias that she was sealed away here. Not that it was actually as long of a time as that might seem thanks to time not working quite right in her presence, but it was far longer for her than a single lifetime for sure. At least from this side. Maybe a part of her *had* shattered all those years away from the world. She did condemn so many souls to die here with her. So many lies. So many lives. She never truly accepted the weight of her actions but somehow being back here, pondering the idea of being wrong about this world for so long.. the weight of her deeds is beginning to tug on her heart and the more it hurts her, the more the tears flow. As such when Crancilica mentions something being off, Nancy almost doesn't register her words. In her ears they sound foreign, but somehow a part of her hears them and the tears pause for just a moment. With a slight sniffle Nancy glances around, her eyes red from tears. Having grown so used to summoning fog around herself she almost doesn't notice, but when she does the girl jerks back a half step as if frightened of a bug. "Wh-? What is...?" Her mind struggles to form the correct words, "I didn't do this." The words fall from her lips more matter-of-fact than a denial or defense. Without thinking her abilities activate and the steam whips around them like a hurricane as her cold fog and the hot steam mingle. The wind only lasts a moment and then the two are standing outside in the street once again. It takes a moment for the vortex of vapor to dissipate and in that time Nancy's eyes dart back and forth suspiciously. Just as suddenly the hurricane winds whip around once more, this time depositing the two of them on the edge of where ZekuKari beach should have been. Not that Crancilica is likely to have the frame of reference, but the steam seems to be coming from the spot that would have marked the end of the pier. Just past the end of it, actually. It leaks out of the air as if pushing its way out of an invisible cracked window. Still not thinking, Nancy starts to walk towards the spot, her face a mask of awe. This would be less of an issue if the beach and the pier hadn't both been sent to Twisted - meaning the girl is about to walk straight off the edge of a cliff without so much as a moment's hesitation...
Crancilica hesitates a moment as Nancy starts to cry. Perhaps her words of comfort had the opposite affect, and the distractions aren't working either. That's fine, mayhaps Nancy needs to process emotions in her own way, and tears are part of freeing her mind from its traumatic confines. She used to cry herself. Her arm moves up in a straight forward motion, almost not bending at the elbow, to wipe away Nancy's tear, but then she walks away towards the cliff edge. Questions of why the world is changing around her aside, letting a pretty specimen of a girl like Nancy fall to her death isn't something Crancilica would accept if she could do something about it. Coincidentally, or perhaps destinally, her arm is already reaching, so she attempts to grip onto Nancy's shoulder to halt the progress. Her grip strength isn't much to speak of, so even if she does get ahold of her, if Nancy pulls away she'll likely get free of it. So she adds some words to her actions, "There's a cliff here."
There's an audible 'urk' as the air escapes Nancy's lungs from being startled by Crancilica's grasp. She stops and looks down at the empty void beneath her, remembering again that she sent the beach to Twisted and it's now a part of Mabase. She glances back up to the source of the steam, already beginning to slow, then looks down once more. Her mind is busy racing to consider her next actions. She has to get to that origin point somehow. But how...? Nancy shakes her head once to clear her thoughts as she distractedly mutters, "Th-thank you. I-I just..." Just what? The invisible wind that always blows at her clothing rushes again as fog appears suddenly in front of them, billowing out into a sidewalk made of moisture. Nancy dashes across it, her footsteps scattering the fog and revealing a metal scaffolding being pulled into existence in a straight line to the portal. Her weight making it creek with each step as it doesn't yet have supports to hold it in place in this reality aside from the fog which is still pulling it into being.
Crancilica isn't going to hold onto Nancy when she bolts away like that, so she'll let go. Her entire arm remains outstretched though, as if it's trouble to bring it back down to her side right away. This is an unexpected result of things that have been happening. Perhaps Nancy is mentally unstable. That would explain some things. It's problematic that she's able to seemingly control the world around her. But, there's nothing she can do about someone's mental illness. Or is there? She'll have to think on that. Either way, she'll watch Nancy leave. Flee? Run? She's not dropping off a cliff so it's an improvement over the prior state. "Be careful." She adds, then lowers her arm to her side again.
The scaffolding creeks louder as Nancy reaches the source of the steam. For a moment she forgets that it needs support at all and when it lurches slightly she very nearly tumbles off the end as it appears beneath her. So much for being careful. The young looking girl turns, her eyes narrowing at the construction she's brought in this world and extending her arms and fingertips outward, metal wires extend from the scaffolding race to grab onto any surface they can and hold it steady. For once that unfelt wind stops completely and Nancy wobbles once more, dropping onto her knees. She pants slightly as beads of sweat trickle down her face and into her eyes. Weakly she reaches up to brush it away, but pauses to stare at the sweat in confusion. "...what is...?" Has the girl ever perspired before? Not since she was first brought here at least. It takes her a moment to even realize she's strained herself to such a point, but she pushes past it. "Crancilica... I'm sorry." She looks up and tries to smile. "I should have listened to you. Both times." With a strain she pushes herself back to her feet, looking towards the portal as the last of the steam escapes it. Once again there is nothing to imply it was ever there. The girl wipes her eyes and reaches out to the spot anyways. There is an audible squeak as her damp fingers sweep across the glass... ...wait. Glass?
Crancilica smiles lightly. "You seem to be under distress, but also working with a purpose." Though the source of it is a mystery, at least to herself. She considers taking a step, but worries her destiny might lay elsewhere now, and leaving Nancy at the moment doesn't seem nice. And she thinks of herself at least considerate. Maybe caring. It depends on where she is and who she's with. She has no idea how Nancy is doing what she's doing, but it is pretty to watch things manifest like this.
Nancy stumbles over her own words as her hand presses against a solid object. "I just... but.. I uh..." She paws at the invisible thing before her a moment before making a fist and knocking against it just to verify she's not crazy. The sound of her knuckles echoes back from what would seem to be thick glass. She traces her hands along its edge, coming to... Nothing? She can touch it but there's no edge. Her hand just falls away when she tries to grab it. The girl places her palm and her weight directly into it to hang off the side of the scaffolding, her other arm reaching around behind it to again find nothing? "It... It's one-way?" She pushes herself back to her feet proper and smacks the unseen... thing. "How is that possible?!"
Crancilica just observes Nancy as she inspects the...well, the invisible object, then hangs herself over. Dangerously. But maybe Nancy wouldn't break like a human if she fell. She's not sure what would happen to herself actually. But, she'd probably die. Although one of her steps will invariably take her to that point anyway, so she stops thinking about her mortality. Still, Nancy seems vexed, so... "You were surprised at my being here as well. Perhaps if you tell me what you are wondering might be possible, I could attempt to brainstorm it with you."
The girl's mouth starts to work as Crancilica's words drift through her racing thoughts. It takes Nancy a moment to put things together in her mind enough to process them, but she can't deny the logic of the suggestion. "When the Council placed me here there was nothing." She gestures at the 'blank space' around them. "Just that white nothingness. Once I stopped being upset and focused on the emptiness, my mind kept coming back to the last day I spent with my father and brother at the beach." This time she motions towards the empty hole beneath the scaffolding. "When my 'powers' began to develop, I pulled sand from somewhere in the multiverse to this spot. It wasn't until later that I realized I didn't create the sand, I brought it from somewhere. Then I brought the pier and the shack, eventually the church and then the streets behind you. That's where Zeku-Kari came from. The name was on a sign I brought in here and when I started trying to bring people here, that was the name I called it. I built everything here." She turns towards the phantom glass once again. "But the rest of the time. More than anything, I would stand on the pier at this spot and stare hoping I'd be able to see my father again." Tears begin to flow from her eyes again but she does nothing to wipe them away, "I eventually realized he had to be dead because I could never bring him here." Once more she reaches out, pressing her hand against the glass. "...so in a place I created, you being here is weird enough, but the idea that just past where I was standing was..." She balls her hand into a fist and hits it. "...was THIS. This.... THING." *THWACK* "This impossible thing that shouldn't be here..." *THWACK* "It doesn't make sense!" *CRACK* Nancy stares at a crack on the invisible surface. Not a huge one, but a crack none the less. What does this mean?
The girl hmms at Nancy's words. It only makes some sense to her. After all she was brought her by Zekura originally, and then experiments took place, and eventually her destiny took her elsewhere. She thought for sure Zekura would track her down, but maybe the sorcerer got preoccupied with others. Or maybe she really did manage to escape. Still, none of this information helps Nancy. "An invisible barrier?" She ohs. "You made a crack." She tries to contain her excitement at it breaking and what might occur after, it'd be inconsiderate. "Maybe Zekura was part of this Council." It could explain a few things, though Zekura never seemed like someone who 'worked with others'.
In all the confusion this new development has brought, somehow that random statement cuts through Nancy's mind like a knife. She glances over her shoulder at Crancilica as she voices the realization, "I actually have no idea who was on the Council when I was brought here." Curious. "It never occurred to me to ask who was a member before they let me out. I'd just assumed-." Wherever her mind was going is lost as the sound of crunching glass can be heard. The crack is spreading like an egg trying to hatch. It splinters out, mostly in two directions, until it forms a visible crack about three feet long, which is roughly as far as Nancy was able to move her hand along. She stares at it like it holds the mysteries of the universe and asks as if to get permission. "...what should we do?"
Crancilica's stomach rumbles. She looks, with her eyes not her head, down at it, then back to Nancy. "I'll confess that since no matter where I go, I have to be there, I really enjoy things happening around me. There are always fascinating things to see. Sometimes I'm there to watch, I think, and sometimes I'm there to help." She leaves the part out where she's caused actual damage and sometimes deaths. It's never her intention. It's not like she decides where she goes. "You should certainly hit it again so we can find out what happens when it breaks. But it might kill us both. Or just you. Or maybe Zekura will appear and we'll be locked in cages and examined. I have no idea really. But, in the end, it's your decision. What does your heart say to do?"
As she speaks, Nancy turns back towards Crancilica, taking in her council (ironically, you might say) as she offers her opinions. What does her heart say to do? Nancy makes a fist again, spinning around to hit the glass one final time. Despite the dense sound her fist makes against it, the illusion shatters easily and thin piece of glass break away and tumble beneath her into the nothingness. There, against all logic, is a hole looking into a large spherical room with silver and white walls. Nancy looks back at Crancilica, not wanting to enter the portal alone, but already she can feel herself inching closer...
Crancilica enjoys that sound and the breaking and the glass pieces. It's beautiful. Strange. Somewhat dangerous perhaps. Maybe she has mental conditions of her own, like thinking death might be preferable to her constant switching realities state. That look from Nancy is obvious in its invitation. Well. She won't see the other side of it if she doesn't take a step anyway. Time to see what her existence has in store. Her foot raises up, through her knee barely bends. She looks down at it, shifting her toes in her shoe, then steps forward. As her foot touches the ground she immediately appears right next to Nancy. She smiles, very widely, and even her eyes cinch a little bit in expression as the bell at her neck jingles. "Marvelous." She'll reach out and try to take hold of Nancy's arm, though this is more of a 'pull me along with you' than a 'don't go' grab.
Admittedly seeing Crancilica 'step' over to her is a bit weird for Nancy, but after a second she realizes the way she moves herself is probably pretty weird too. The girl smiles in kindness and relief as she places a hand over the one placed on her arm, squeezing a moment before reaching out to pull herself into the broken 'window'. We'll spare the specifics of pulling out the remaining broken bits of 'glass' and going into too much detail about passing through and pulling Crancilica through the three foot opening, and skip to the part where they stand inside the white walled room, taking in the strangeness of the situation. At various lengths along the walls are other glass portals, although each seem to look into an identical copy of Zeku-Kari, save for the fact they all contain the beach and the pier. There is also a staircase that seems to go upwards into infinity, spiraling along the rounded walls. From some point in that 'above' descend a tangled mess of what seems like bone and wires which hang from that unseen celling until they connect to a large brain-like mass of metal and gears suspended in the center of the room. Since all of the room is clearly leading the eyes to that brain-like mass, Nancy approaches it. It floats about twelve feet tall, about four feet off the floor. "What is all this...?"
Crancilica hesitantly lets Nancy go when she approaches the brain mass. If only she were lighter she could just float or get herself dragged along. Not that it's a real solution because once her foot comes down or touches something. She mentally waves the thoughts away. There's intriguing things afoot. She takes a time looking at the copies, replicas, or perhaps frozen time pieces of Zeku-Kari. But, of course, is drawn back to the brain metal..gear thing. She's seen a lot of odd things, but this one is new. One might be afraid, but again, destiny and death are hand in hand, so if it's her time than it is. So curiosity and fascination take a stronger hold. "I'm unsure. Perhaps they're moments of Zeku-Kari. Or each one is another reality where we or you exist in, only their Nancy hasn't broken the glass." If only Zekura had given her something more akin to analyzation maybe she'd be more help. But speculation is fun too. "This brain could be your own, and we've found our way into your psyche. Should we poke it? I don't have a stick. They're such handy things at times like these."
Nancy visibly cringes at the mere suggestion. "If that's my brain, I don't want you poking at it with a stick! Even if we don't have one!" She turns and looks towards one of the 'unbroken' portals, taking a few steps towards it as she stares. "If these are other visions of Zeku-Kari, why are they empty?" She reaches out, tapping on the glass lightly with a fingertip. "Shouldn't I or someone be standing in each one?" There's a part of her mind that wants to break the glass and find out, but that's probably not the best idea. Slowly she turns back to the brain-thing in the center of the room and walks towards it again, taking in the spiraling staircase as well. Nancy looks upwards trying to see where the end might be. "...who would ever use stairs like that to get around?" She crosses her arms and lets out a small sigh, "Nothing here makes sense."
The blonde haired girl in a white dress hms. "Yes, unless they aren't there right now. You aren't always there, are you? For instance, you weren't there when Zekura was there, and I believe he was there for a long time. At least a year with me. I think. Maybe it only felt like a year." A shiver runs up her spine. She doesn't like thinking about him. Even saying his name puts her on edge. Maybe she'll stop. She looks to the stairs. "They're elegant in design. An upwards spiral to...further than I can see. Maybe they help give this room a framework to exist upon." She really wants to poke or throw something at that brain to see what happens. She doubts it's Nancy's. But... "If this is inside your mind, the stairs could represent your thoughts, turning inward, but limitless in its capacity to conceive of other...thoughts. Hm. No I don't like the sound of that, so nevermind." | |
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