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Post by strawberrycupid on Sept 14, 2019 21:29:39 GMT -5
(priv. part one of the funk plot that'll run concurrently with the AL plot) (PI staff, please keep it to your staff cats for joining Funk here)
One. Two. One. Two.
The old metronome on top of a decrepit piano refused to stop, it only knew how to swing back and forth and keep time for silent music and whispered steps. He used to find himself staring at it. Laying on an ornate chair as he dozed days away; whisper sweet nothings to her. Or he'd jump on the keys; making the poor piano croak and scream in painful notes and they'd both laugh til they couldn't. The most forbidden fruit was the sweetest, he said that at one point to a she-cat he couldn't remember the face of anymore. Even constantly chasing those he couldn't get, he never expected to get to taste any. Least till he came here, least till he met her. No one could handle him like she could, maybe that was what he found attractive. He didn't know, and he never would. She always had some comeback, always hit a little harder than intended, always trying to get under his skin and get him mad enough to yell at her, and always tried to hide concern that was so clear in her eyes. Even for him, the one she hated more than anyone else. And her, the one he loved the most.
But now he could only see that limp figure in the metronome, gently swaying from a rope at the top of the estate. He couldn't find himself able to go in there anymore, and with every passing tick, hatred pooled in him more. Hatred for himself, for those unborn kits, for the league. For her for giving him a heart and snatching it away from him with her death, just to spite him. It was just like her, too. The ticks ringing against his ears were his only way to know time had passed.
But he was stuck, laying on the floor of his lair and trying to make any sense of the last few days. The body of Eshek; Foreign Affairs proxy and his wife, had been discovered. There was no denying she did it to herself, as much as he wanted to. A smile cracked on his face as he remembered some stupid idea he told Hayate. He was gonna fake kill her and have everyone be forced to find out who killed her. His stomach turned at the thought, making him laugh wheezily. She sure made him weaker. He knew. Knew his abilities as a Nemesis weren't up to the ones from the past, now not entirely sure why they gave him this position.
He was sure Elyon or Corax had heard him pacing around when night fell. That was all he let himself do. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction in crying or screaming or trashing things for her. The things she would have done. The only thing he was giving her was a crash, wood hit wood as screws and gears flew out. The metronome stopped ticking, the pendulum crushed under his foot as he left the lair.
It seemed the moon was always full, light seeming to constantly pour on him these last few nights. Perhaps time had truly stopped. There was no one else out this time of night, they must have settled into their nests. It only brought him more unrest, and he just let his paws lead him wherever they wanted. Coming back to reality and finding himself right in front of the Crypt made his fur prick. It was only a few short weeks he was here with her, messing around and asking her dumb questions. Looking down at his paw, the fur still hadn't fully grown back from when... something cleaved it off. There was no one to stop him now, his second spite to enter it without hesitation.
It was eerily quiet. The lack of prisoners didn't help. Another small jab at his confidence, his ability as a Nemesis. Paws tracing along the stones, he remembered how easily they would break underneath him and tread a little more carefully. He didn't need to slip off down the stairs when no one was looking, instead letting himself descend them unconsciously. She was right, he could never stop. 0 to 100. It was the only way to live. And now the only thing stopping him was the arched doorway towering over him at the bottom of the stairs, leading into the basement.
Oh boy. Funk was... In a funk. She knew the feeling of loving someone and realizing that they would never love her back the same. But Funk actually loved and they loved him back... Probably. It was hard to tell. But now Eshek was gone and he had a league to lead. The Crypt was her place of work after all, she was the last to lock up the place, but with Funk in there she had to do something. She had a girl to pursue who didn't know she existed! Innocentia fluffed up her cheek fur and groomed her tail for a moment before putting on her biggest most brightest smile she could muster and waltzed into the room, making sure the golden bell around her ribbon rang as she entered.
"Oh Funk E'tan, you're in here," She said in mock surprise and then cooed, "Aw look at you Funk E'tan, all emotionally exhausted," She tsked walking over to him, her paw gingerly fixing up his fur, but her voice lowered an octave... As much of an octave as she could lower it, "What are you doing down here like this Funk E'tan?"
Her yellow eyes flooded with concern, it was almost surprising. She was an incredibly violent cat, yet one of the few league cats that wasn't afraid to show emotion.
Post by strawberrycupid on Sept 18, 2019 17:09:34 GMT -5
Hearing his full title sent a bizarre chill down his spine. Out of everyone, he should have been the least surprised Innocentia found him here. This was her turf, well inside his, but the point still stood. But he didn't and it took him a moment to get over his dumbfoundedness. Longer than usual, he clicked his tongue at himself.
"Ah, Innocentia. Long day of-" Starting, he almost sounded like his usual self. He was too in tune with how it didn't sound right, and how he had no good punchline for her, and just paused with a sigh, "Ugh. Forget it. I got nothing." Any pretense he tried to hold up was useless in front of his proxies, they were too sharp. Or he was way too obvious. It didn't matter, "I guess I'm here...to distract myself. No reason here specifically, just kinda came on autopilot. I can only watch paint chips fall off the walls so much before I wanna like, die, yknow." He couldn't say it. Things like this happened to everyone, but this was the first it happened to him. So the pain was fresh, far more than it should for the Nemesis. Finding himself suddenly skittish, he crossed that threshold with a lopsided smile.
~~~
Something moved somewhere above them, cracks in stones all Punishment cats were familiar with. In the heart of darkness, one stayed, holding the curtain closed with a single string. Fibers came unraveled, but it waited. Until the rest of the audience came.
Post by Honeystorm on Sept 25, 2019 11:24:53 GMT -5
Senescence understood Funk's pain. Well, somewhat. She understood the feeling of seeing someone you cared so deeply for that you weren't sure how you'd live without them, dead, in front of you. Of course, their lives had stark differences, and no one knew of the Proxy's past, but that was for her to know, and them to never find out.
It wasn't surprising, perhaps, that she would hang in Innocentia's shadow, simply watching. The two were close, and they interacted with each other often. This was simply another day of such a thing. "I'm not exactly sure how watching walls crumble is all too much different." Entirely opposite to her companion, her voice could not have been more bland and unsympathetic. Her half-blind gaze trailed their surroundings, bored and disinterested.
Post by strawberrycupid on Sept 25, 2019 22:55:56 GMT -5
"It's different in that it's...not paint."
~~
He was hardly surprised at Senescence's presence. Where Innocentia went, he was sure Senescence would follow. It was nice, they were a nice pair. As nice of a pair as two proxies in the league could be. "Yeah, what Innocentia said." and then he paused, realizing the voice was far too deep to be the miniature she-cat's, "Wait a seco-"
~~
Their audience was a little smaller than he expected. But when most of the main pieces were here, why bother waiting for pawns? It was showtime. There was little rumbling. The string snapped. All at once, a gigantic stone slab fell behind them. The earth shook and quaked, their ears would ring in pain, yet not a speck of dust tainted any of their pelts. For as easily as their silver chains to life could be snapped, that wasn't what they wanted. They wanted, no, needed one. Just one. Multiple eyes landed on the dark red cat, a bizarre mix of familiarity and fear ran through them. That one wasn't quite right, not like the other two. They knew, but also didn't. It was a faraway memory, but it was clear she was more similar to them than to her compatriots. She was no good, neither was the one they guarded so fiercely. But the tom. They were sure they could break him.
There was no way out of the basement. They could not leave. It's rude to walk out in the middle of a performance after all. Too focused on the mess behind them, they would surely spin around as the coffin lids slid off. Most of them were old, and split in half with even that faint contact. Slowly, they took form. They were as black as the night sky outside, and leaked out of the coffins like ooze. They made no attempt to hide themselves, this was their stage. To describe a creature like this was impossible. It had far too many eyes that resembled markings all along it's body. Teeth, claws and spines were indistinguishable between each other, there was no telling where it's mouth was. It didn't walk, it just floated. Anything you could interpret as a leg or a tail would turn and pull itself back into the main body.
"Sister. A meddling sister. Has joined us. Tonight." That same voice rang through the basement, the whole building seeming to shake at it's presence. Even the earth appeared to fear it.
Post by Honeystorm on Sept 26, 2019 9:16:02 GMT -5
If she hadn't been watching the Nemesis, hadn't heard the voice without Funk's mouth moving, and his apparent thought that Innocentia were the one to speak, she wouldn't have believed it herself. And she probably wouldn't have regardless, if not for what came next. She heard the crash behind her, felt the dust billowing around her, yet somehow each and every speck of it missed her. Her ears pinned back on reflex against the sharp ringing that bombarded sensitive ears as she moved away from the stone slab mere inches from crushing her tail and down towards the basement as scraping sounds tickled the edges of the fading ring she heard.
Logic dictated, however, that one didn't go closer to a collapsed entrance, especially when it could be unstable, and Senescence found herself moving down the steps, instinctively picking Innocentia up and setting her on her back before stepping into the basement in a rare show of apparent protectiveness that was more unconscious action than not.
The sight that met her eyes was, unexplainable. Well, perhaps she was hallucinating, except for the fact that she could see the coffin lids fall to the ground, feel the sensations in the ground and hear them as they cracked, more dust traveling unpleasantly up her nose. She had to be going crazy. But she'd learned to trust her senses, and when she could feel the presence before her, combined with each and every other sense, she felt forced to accept the reality that there truly was more to life than she had previously assumed.
And then the amalgamation spoke. Instinctively, the Proxy felt it was directed towards her, not only because she was one of only two she-cats currently present. However, the creature's presence didn't terrify her as it perhaps should have. Maybe because the being didn't feel different to cats she'd already familiarized herself with. Or maybe she really was just that insane.
All the same, she was the quickest to speak up in response, tilting her head to the side, mismatched eyes flashing a copper shade not unlike the color of blood as she did so. "I have a lot of siblings. What sort of sob story did you spin for Glowstar that she adopted you? You definitely look the sort of scrap she'd be interested in, so maybe you didn't have to say anything at all." Her voice practically dripped with sarcasm as her words echoed around the chamber, comparatively hollow against the resonating words of what she could only suppose was the alleged Crypt demon, but the scarred feline didn't seem to pay that any mind. Perhaps it wasn't wise to egg it on, whatever it was, yet she didn't care to police her words.
Post by strawberrycupid on Sept 26, 2019 15:50:23 GMT -5
Funk E'tan stepped back, only a little to where he sort of stood between the demon and his two far more competent proxies. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the...thing in front of them. So it was real, far more than he ever expected. He was sure it was one of those placebo effect things, like cats would convince themselves they were going crazy so they actually did. But this, turning and spinning in front of him, was far too real. The heat against his face, the dust scattered around him, it was a little too much. Though that was the way the tom liked it, and he couldn't help but wonder if it was as slimy as it appeared. Too many of those eyes stared at him, he couldn't match all their gazes. Nor could he read them, there was no intent, they just stared. It unnerved him just a little. Senescence's response made him finally break his gaze to look at her. He couldn't hide it as well, he had far too many questions. He knew nothing, and technically didn't need to know. But being called sister by a demonic amalgamation had some cause for concern. "Well, least you got the good looking genes."
~~
The ground beneath them quaked, stones rattling as they laughed. It spoke in one voice and laughed in several. As if a whole audience was instructed to laugh exactly the same and at the same time. There were
high pitches low pitches chortles guffaws howling cackling
completely resonate and in tune around them, made even more unnatural as they all stopped at once. All eyes stared at them, holding the position when a disgusting squelch rung their ears. One of it's eyes had popped out of it's socket and fell out, and soon larger chunks began to follow. Black oozed out but pooled in a perfect circle around it as glistening chunks and jagged spines joined it, splattering the ooze that simply ceased before hitting anything. As it disintegrated away, the last eye looked straight through Funk before joining it's brethren.
They chose a different form, one the three might be more familiar with. They took everything down, letting it drown in the ooze pool before it began to shape. It was a simple form, a cliched one, but one that worked. Something twisted before white like bone began to arise. It was much more tactile, riddled with lines like tree bark and shining with a clear viscous surface. It was definitely a skull, but it was of an animal none had seen, Their jaw was long like a dog's but filled with sharp teeth like a shark, with even more teeth growing behind each tooth throughout their jaw. Their eye sockets weren't as clear as other animals, they were shallow like they barely hid the eye at all. They had deer antlers that fanned out and twisted around each other in a jumbled mess. Held up a little taller than the cats in the room, similar to a diamond on a silk pedestal. The top of the skull tilted back and forth, each time splitting in a different manner as it spoke.
"Try no. Ugh. I'd take off my ownth head if I was caught living with ya'll. We half siblings yo. But, like, we don't wanna waste time with a poser like you. Our cool cat is the Nemesis, Funk E'tan." Some of the individual voices that laughed came back, others were indistinguishable, each rising out before speaking all at once at the end. Whiplash would hit them like trucks, or thunder machines or whatever they called them, they didn't remember.
Post by Honeystorm on Sept 27, 2019 23:35:41 GMT -5
"No, that would be Lucisitic. Not that it's much of a competition with this mess of a thing." Not to mention the fact she was pretty sure her and her littermate weren't related to a Crypt Demon, but maybe Glowstar had given birth to an eldritch abomination, she'd have to ask. Or Rake had met some she-cat before his untimely demise, which would really be a twist. Of course, that didn't matter now. She could sort out this thing's insinuation of demonic blood or similar later with the aforementioned 'better looking' littermate of hers once they left the stuffy resting place. Presuming it didn't become permanent for them, as it had been for the twolegs who had been laid here.
But, future existential crisis aside, her head tilted back at Funk, brows raised. "So, what did you do to piss it off?"
Post by strawberrycupid on Sept 28, 2019 16:46:50 GMT -5
Even with Funk saying that, he had no idea how far this demonic family tree's roots were spread. His own existential crisis, everything he had worried about these last few days, was put on hold as the skull talked. It was a bizarre mix of various voices and he couldn't tell if this thing was actually a legion or just a single demon who watched too many 70's TV shows. Of course, when the conversation turned to him, he was further baffled. "Hey, I did nothing. I only fell in here once, and that was on accident." Funk E'tan was a creature driven by curiosity and chaos, and both picked him up and had him jump up on the satin like stand. A part of him felt shame at this, shame he needed to feel some semblance of control to feel somewhat equal to his demonic proxy. It was completely solid under his feet, but it also continued to move, boiling up cashmere like bubbles underneath him. Placing a paw to the skull, it suddenly disappeared beneath him.
"Yes, we remember. We lost our host thanks to your mistake." The thing underneath him shook, but not enough to throw him off. Instead, it let those bubbles out before they fell back to the stand, like he was inside a demonic lava lamp.
"Mistake? What do you mean mistake?" Sharply, he stood on the edge, staring at this thing lopsided. Any attempts to swat at it or dig his claws in caused it to buck away from him.
"It's your fault she died." It spoke so plainly, so matter of factly, that Funk couldn't find a response to it. Instead, he just stared, and everything came back to him. It was an accident, AN ACCIDENT! How could he have prevented that. He could tell her a thousand times to not climb up on the estate but she never would have listened. But still, he could have prevented it? He could have done something, should have done something. Grief wracked his system, he held it back though. A desperate attempt to be competent. Just something, anything to subdue this gnawing feeling in his heart.
But they knew, they knew everything. So when the bengal tried to leave, they prevented it. He wasn't trapped in the ooze, just blocked off like he was suddenly an exhibit animal. Stuck in his own little fish tank as the others could only watch him helplessly. A disc appeared at the top and the skull poofed into existence again.
"Relax. I'll give you the opportunity to make a choice, cause I can't trust you to keep anything I force onto you. Guess that explains your abilities as Nemesis. Sure, some would be more appropriate for Nemesis than the mad doctor, but you're the only one we can have. So you'll do. I could go over all your failings, but I'll make it brief. You know them all after all. A cat with absolutely no talent, you fight for everything you have. You've earned every success and failure you've had. The only way you know how to deal with emotion is to bury them, or stab yourself until your too numb to care. Loose yourself in nights of passions just to feel alive and in control, when you have absolutely none. You're never genuine with anyone so no one is genuine with you. You only know pain, for yourself and others, and you were okay with it till coming here. Even in the midst of it, you found something different, something special. And, of course, you (yoshi noised) it up again." Every word was an arrow, they knew. And screams or begs from behind the glass were ignored.
Post by Honeystorm on Sept 28, 2019 21:29:55 GMT -5
Senescence snorted at the demon's comments. Even she knew Eshek well enough to know that the more Funk suggested she be careful, the less she would be. It was a pity to lose her, she supposed, but any cat with a bit of sense understood the dangers of the roof. Even she, the Proxy who seemed determined to cause her own death, was still alive after countless times on the highest points of the estate. "Tell me you don't believe this, Funk. Like some crypt creature has any understanding of anything beyond the cracks in these walls. Especially when it can't even seem to leave this prison."
Post by strawberrycupid on Sept 30, 2019 0:25:14 GMT -5
(Me writing the demon at first: ooh real scary let's use horror tropes that make my skin crawl. Me writing it now: heh heh lava lamps... i mean, the real scary thing was the loss of our childhood innocence, let's do that ) "What?! No, of course not." He scoffed, but he really had no idea how he heard her and if she would hear him, but the resonance betrayed the weakness in that, "Gee, who do you think I am?" Funk laughed behind the glass, a pitiful defense as his paws being lifted by the rising blobs before he pulled away from them. But the more he did, the more he struggled, the more came up. Soon, they fell back down and didn't rise. Scrambling up some as an avalanche filled the small space he somehow inhabited. The gave way underneath him, sucking him in as he tried to free himself. It didn't make sense. She was right, how did this thing know so much? He's barely been here for half a year and it's like this thing had read the entire script of his life.
It was right.
The moment that thought crossed his mind, he let out a sigh. Staring down at his paws, then over his shoulder at his proxies. Giving them a weak smile, he stopped resisting and was soon swallowed by chaos.
~~
The abyss reminded him of when he got his lives, the dark forest that surrounded him and the glimmers of light just above him. His mind traveled back, far far back. He was destined to fail from the start, or was it just a subconscious desire to grasp something? Anything that could be his own? He didn't know, he never thought that far back. But where was he supposed to go from here? Unable to even say he'd be okay with the cat he would have become if Eshek had stayed alive, he seemed stuck. Buried underneath all those emotions he had. His grave would run deep. There was nothing here. Until his mind was engulfed, swallowed by the demon. It wasn't strong enough to show him everything ever, but it let him see all the memories. Of those it had tortured and killed, of dragging others to the brink of death and giving them the taste of salvation, only to throw them off. Their words echoed inside him, along with every crack of bone. Even twoleg moments flashed across his eyes. It was agony, as if he had lived each of those lives lost here. He screamed, the only thing he could do.
And then it stopped. He was left with a proposition.
"For all the knowledge you chase after, all the power you fight for, and all the success you'd die for, offer up three things. A new plaything for us, a memory of the past and two of your lives. You have until you step outside the estate's line. Choose wisely."
Where Funk was was completely buried in them, it appeared more like a gumball machine they remembered going to as a child. Suddenly they heaved and shook, the contents threatening to spill out. A hatch opened in front, and the Nemesis came tumbling out, completely unharmed. When any of them would look up, the demon apparatus was already gone.
Senescence couldn't really do much but watch and wait until the Nemesis reappeared, and she eyed him slightly. She'd seen that look on his face, and he was quite the idiot, if she could say so herself. Believing some random crypt creature was probably pretty high on the 'don't do it dummy' list, and Funk seemed to have fallen right for it. "Oh, look who's back." The Proxy offered blandly, the demon gone before she could even blink. There one moment, and gone the next, it's presence disintegrated as though it weren't even there. Maybe if not for the witnesses, she'd have considered it a trick of her mind, but looking at the Nemesis, it was all too obviously real.
Post by strawberrycupid on Oct 5, 2019 16:23:39 GMT -5
"Well, it's real. I've proved that much. This was almost worth the mental scars I'm going to have for moons to come." Unable to help but joke and laugh a little cause of how blank Senescence's face was, he almost forgot everything that just happened. Fine, his curiosity led to him getting a weird deal and shuffled around in a lava lamp / gumball machine / slot machine demon combo. It was bizarre, and utterly fascinating for one always thirsty for knowledge like Funk. A thousand questions ran through his mind. What was that? Was the deal real? How could it even give him ultimate power and knowledge? There were specifications, there had to be. He had until he left, apparently. But did he have any reason to leave now? Sure, he wanted to, but the League was here and he couldn't abandon them for some reason. Little did he know a silver she-cat was on her way.
"Gee, even after all that though, we're still stuck down here." The Nemesis pushed them down for now, even the ones concerning those next to him, and walked around the pair to press a paw to the stone blocking the exit. Of course, like all good demon brought stones, it fell through the floor at his touch. Staggering back, the path was open again. He flattened his ears in anticipation, but nothing sounded, like it didn't even exist.
"Thanks for stating the obvious. I thought I was hallucinating." The Proxy deadpanned, her tail twitching slightly as the rock gave way. She'd known it was solid, and yet it disappeared at a touch. Maybe they were just all insane. Innocentia hadn't said anything, so maybe she'd call the both of them out for hearing things that weren't there. Who knew? Things were confusing, and that was a rare things for Senescence. She didn't believe in afterlives, or demons, or anything like that. So, the crypt creature made no sense at all, though she couldn't deny it's existence. She'd just put it off until later, when she couldn't, she supposed. Like everything else.
"I think you spoke too soon. Now, let's go, before Innocentia decides there's more fun contraptions down here and we really do get ourselves killed."
Post by strawberrycupid on Oct 6, 2019 19:39:14 GMT -5
"Nothing excites you, huh Sen? See a boulder fall into thin air in front of you and you're all like 'we better get out of here.'" Despite his gripes, Funk E'tan didn't want to stick around here anymore than she did. Though he couldn't help but wonder if the two even heard that deal he was offered. Would they comment on it, or say anything about tonight again? It was better to forget, but he knew the things you wanted to forget the most would stick in your mind the longest. Pressing a tenative paw to the steps leading upwards, nothing happened. No cracks, or shifts, or giving way underneath him. Scrunching up his nose, he looked over his shoulder one last time at the basement.
"Oh no, so scary. What have you done??" Senescence's voice, if possible, was even more dry and sarcastic than usual as she headed for the steps after Funk. "I'm of the opinion you're way to intimate with our resident crypt creature. Do you have any standards?" She raised a brow at him as she turned, walking backwards up the stairs so as to face him, a perilous task she managed surprisingly well. If anyone was to understand that she was in face unsettled by it all, it was Innocentia. The Proxy did always resort to sarcasm rather than actually face the things in front of her, and this was no particular exception.
Post by strawberrycupid on Oct 7, 2019 13:18:54 GMT -5
"He jostled me once, Sen. It's not like I'm coming down here for daily tea times with the thing." Cause Sen would know if he did. For as necessary as Internal Affairs was for a group of backstabbers and power hungry mongrels as the League, knowing a good chunk of said group knew his comings and goings unnerved him. There really was no such thing as privacy here... so why was he even here if he hated everything about the place? Well, he'd be gone before long and the proxy could go spy on someone else. "Besides, what about you? The damn thing called you sister and you didn't even hesitate at the suggestion." He didn't expect an actual answer from the proxy, just for it to be spit back at him to avoid the question.
