[Heart Game - Ed, Maya, Roxy]

[carptricks]

[It's dark. You're trying to move forward, but it feels like your limbs are weighed down by chains and shackles. Still, you push. You push and you pull and those chains are pulled taut and strained until suddenly--]

[Something snaps]

[You tumble forward, wind blowing past your face, until you lose awareness of anything around you. . .]

((another run ran concurrent to this one here))

Comments

[soulping]

[He's afforded a moment to catch his breath, and although the icy bandage stops the flow of blood, it soon causes his ankle to become numb]

[There's rustling in the jungle around him. There are other vines here, after all]

[fuhrinkaed]

[He stands up, bloodied but determined.]

...fair warning. I've dealt with a lot worse than this, facing a lot worse than this.

Roots exist to transport water, and there's plenty in there. If any of you get in my way from here on out, I'm going to destroy you from the inside out.

[He's favoring the leg that isn't numb, of course.]

This is your only warning. Back off.

[soulping]

[they are vines. vines do not listen to reason]

[one is lashing out to snatch at his arm, thorns bared, if he doesn't start moving again]

[fuhrinkaed]

[He's moving again, and that vine is also getting a wind blade thrown at it as he does move.]

[Ghh.]

[stupid vines.]

[soulping]

[the wind blade knocks the vine back as it simultaneously shreds it into little green curls]

[the aurora continues to dance ahead of him. he's closer now]

[fuhrinkaed]

[Then we trudge onward.]

[It's fine. It's fine. I'm fine.]

[soulping]

[You're f̱͈̻̗̟̙͚ͭͯͨ̈́̐̓̚i̖̫̜͇͍̿̍ͭn̤͓̠̫ͣ͌͋̓̓ͪͨe͍͕͗]

[The light beckons, and you follow]

[You find yourself in a clearing with a frozen pond in the center, and standing in the center of the pond is. . .]

[The figure you saw on the black ship]

[Its form continues to shift and change each time you blink, again going from woman with long hair, to black shadow with red eyes, to an adventurer dressed in khaki. Each form seems to meld with the one previous to it, like a bad glitch in a computer game. It's difficult to comprehend, because no shape remains for more than a second. The only thing you can make out is that sharp, chilling grin, white teeth flashing in the dimness of the jungle]

[The figure speaks]

W͈͎̆h̳͍͛a̟ͨ̂̃t̻̠̬̝̹̜ͅ ̞̟͎̥̅d͊̀o̝͙͓͇͔ ̤̿y̥̰̼̟̣͊͆̀̎o̜͒̎u̞̳͔̤͙ͪͩ̿ͦͮͭ̇ ̓̽f̹͒͂ͣ̆e͔̠̮̞̙̭͒̌͛ͣ͗̾̌a̠̪̗̍r̦̳̟͚̺̙̗̿͐?

[fuhrinkaed]

[What do I fear?]

[He lets a small 'heh' loose, looking at the figure with determination.]

I fear a lot of things. Some things most people can't follow, or don't think about, or don't even want to let themselves consider... and then the things that normal people are scared of. And then there's me.

If you're asking me what I'm scared of, it's a long list. You're going to have to narrow it down a little.

[soulping]

Nͧ̃a̭̻̣̤͉̽ͮͯ̓ͯͦ̾r͇̫͇͖͛̌̽ͩͭ͛̉ͅr̼͌̾ͯ̂̃ͮ̚ȯ̦̗̤̮̱͍̫̍̃͂̑͐̂w͓̳̗̙͉̤̲.̓ͯ̒̇ͫ ̼̝̤͐ͩ̋.͙̟͊ ͈̈́̆ͧ.̺͍̗͚ͥ̌͊̈́̾̚. . .

[the grin turns sharp, and the figure's shape shifts one more time before it settles]

[on]







[Lila]

[fuhrinkaed]

[...]

Oh.

[Somehow, I'm not surprised.]

Hi, sis. What brings you into Kaito's subconscious?

[soulping]

[Considering everything is colored with Kaito's perspective, and the only thing he knows about Lila is what he saw in Ed's memory, it probably isn't very surprising that the only thing the figure has in common with Ed's sister is her appearance]

["Lila" flicks her wrist, and a sword swooshes into existence in her hand. There is no verbal response this time, just another high-pitched laugh, before the figure lunged at Ed, sword tip aimed at his shoulder]

[en garde]

[fuhrinkaed]

[In the time it's taken her to get the sword into her hand, he's raised his own hand.]

[He jerks himself away from the stab as he builds a Burst in his hand, launching it at her as soon as it's ready, rather than letting it build into something bigger.]

[soulping]

[The sword brushes past Ed's shoulder without a scratch. The burst connections in a spectacular explosion, kicking up snow and flora and ice everywhere, which all momentarily obscure "Lila's" form]

[. . . but when the dust settles, the figure is still standing there on the pond completely unharmed]

[fuhrinkaed]

[New plan. We peek with magic sight, to see if she's connected to anything.]

Sis.

You know... I never got to tell you, but I really didn't want to kill you.

I think... you knew. But it's true.

[soulping]

[The figure is made of the same type of magic as everything else in the heart. What sort of connections is he looking for, exactly?]

[In the meantime, "Lila" lunges again, this time aiming a stab right at his thigh]

[fuhrinkaed]

[Flight spell's coming online, and with it he pushes himself up and out of reach, fast.]

[Specifically, he's looking to see if she's being powered or sourced remotely--like from that suspicious frozen lake or something.]

[soulping]

[The figure skids to a halt, then arches her sword up to slice at Ed while he is in the air]

[There doesn't seem to be a power source, either. The figure is an independent construct in and of itself. A part of Kaito's subconscious]

[fuhrinkaed]

[Rather than jerk himself up and away, he does the opposite and shove the ice underneath "Lila" down.]

[Foe that is seemingly invincible shows itself, the classic counterattack is 'render the foe unable to act.']

[soulping]

[That plan works, and the figure's feet sink into the ice. The tip of the sword merely catches Ed's shoulder, slicing a shallow cut into his skin through his shirt. It burns white-hot just as the stab through his gut did. That sure is a lot of pain for a tiny little scrape. Along with that scrape comes a feeling]

[You can't do this alone]

[The figure lets out a shrill noise before it backflips away from Ed and into a nearby tree. It crouches against the trunk, using it as a springboard so it can launch itself through the air riiiight at him like an arrow]

[And it sure is using the sword as its arrow tip]

[fuhrinkaed]

[Cant do this alone?]

Of course I already know that. [Advanced flight tactics 101: turning the spell off and faceplanting to avoid being stabbed. Ow.]

We need everyone working together to do anything, right?! But right now, I'm alone--that's what you're thinking too, isn't it? [Standing... Up...]

You couldn't be more wrong. Because this is Kaito's heart, and we're friends. So of course he's here too... And not just him. Everyone in his heart, and everyone in mine too that would rather I didn't die.

So get the heck out of my way, because as long as anyone's relying on me not to lose, I won't ever stay down! [His hands fumble for the clock hands. They're stabby, right? Right. Then he can clean them after.]

[soulping]

[You're fine]

[You're. . . f͍̻̰͗̓͋ͩi͚̘̰̺̮n̓̾̽ͩ̄ͅe͎̜̞ͫ̃ͯͣ̈́͑]]

[You're fine you're fine you're fine yoU'RE F I N E]

[It's getting awfully hard to think straight, it's getting awfully hard to move, what with all of that blood loss. Even that impressive stamina is starting to reach its limits. Your head feels light, the entire area is beginning to swim, and you're noticing that the snow where you've been fighting is sporting some impressive red blotches courtesy of yourself]

[You fumble for the clock hands-- they're a little bloody already, actually-- but "Lila" seems to hone in on your increasingly draining energy]

["Lila" grins, the area around its face glitching, blinking in and out of focus. A second sword swooshes into its other hand]

[And it charges again, this time arcing both swords in a scissor-cutting motion riiiiiight for Ed's neck]

[TRY. NOT TO GET BEHEADED BRO]

[fuhrinkaed]

[If he had sword fighting skills, he'd know what he was doing a lot better. Without them, the best he can think of is pulling the ice around him into a thick icy collar.]

[As he does he takes blades--er, hands--in hand, aims at the middle of the three Lilas he can kinda see charging him, and stab. Even if he's going down he's gotta try something.]

[soulping]

[the figure's blades embed themselves into that ice collar; smart thinking there, bro. but its body glitches, bending in an impossible angle to avoid being stabbed by those clock hands]

[and then it kicks Ed right in the stomach, where his stab wound is, knocking him to the ground on his back]

[fuhrinkaed]

[I FELL RIGHT ON MY KEYS.]

[Or I would if I had keys.]

[His grip on the tower hands tightens, and he draws a ragged breath. Hurt. That freaking huuurts.]

[But it's not like he can stop just because it hurts or it's a bad day or whatever. GONNA TRY AND FORCE HIS WAY TO A KNEE.]

I... Made... A promise.

I'm... going... to keep it.

1/2

[soulping]

[as he struggles, the figure approaches calmly. the grin is absolutely sinister]

G̻̫̹̅ͮͤȍ̙͇͖̍̓̆o̗̼̼ͤ̽̋̓ḓ̤̦̼̗͇̪̈́̌̿̉͑̀b̲͔ͥ͂ͣͅy̺ͣ̈́e͖̦͈̥̹̻͉ͪͭͣͧ̉̆.

[it lifts a sword high in the air, the blade glinting as it catches the light. and then brings it down to slice through Ed's shoulders--]