+ Your imagination can't hurt you! +

[vitaelamorte]

Who: YOU!
Where: The Mindscape
When: starting November 11th
Rating: may be up to R for character deaths
Summary: Navigate challenges to learn valuable lessons about nonviolence, cooperation, and self-sacrifice! Release your inner animal! Read more about the event here, and on the bulletin board.
The Story:




"If you know yourself, you have nothing to fear."
"Working together is the only way."
"Deaths are a necessary part of life, but not all deaths are necessary."
"The needs of the many outweigh the life of just one."

Comments

[mourning_ghost]

Yeah. [Nageki doesn't know what to make of Naoki's markings. That's something to ask about later, he supposes.] Can you break the glass?

[He'd really like it if the glass was gone.]

[noreason]

Heh. Of course I can.

[With his strength, it should nothing. But when he tries, punching it with enough force to knock even the biggest demon off its feet, it did nothing.

He stares at the glass. He could try one of his powers, but he couldn't guarantee it wouldn't hit Nageki in the process.]

...Okay, maybe not.

[This is alarming.]

[mourning_ghost]

[It doesn't look as though he's leaving that way. The only other thing that stands out to him is the floor.]

Maybe those numbers are supposed to be some sort of password?

[noreason]

[Now Naoki looks around and grimaces. This is exactly like some of the "puzzles" he had to deal with at home. Invisible elevators and pitfalls and floors that tried to kill you. He's not particularly pleased with how this is going.

He rubs the back of his neck just above his horn.]

If they are, how are we supposed to figure it out? Jumping around at random can't be a good idea.

[mourning_ghost]

I don't see anything here. [He looks up. Maybe there's a reason the glass stretches so high.]

[noreason]

[Naoki glances up, too.]

You want me to try getting around on the tiles? The numbers might not mean anything.

[mourning_ghost]

Yeah. I'll see if there's an exit up there. [Nageki flies up to do just that.]

[noreason]

[Naoki watches him fly upward for a couple seconds, then turns to go check out the tiles. He can't reach them by reaching out and has to jump. After taking a breath to psych himself up, he hops out to one of the tiles. It stays solid under his weight, which is a relief.

What isn't quite as reassuring is that the number under his feet turns red and the tile begins to turn transparent. With some alarm, Naoki jumps back to the main platform, turning to watch the tile disappear, only to reappear a few seconds later.]

...Okay. So the numbers matter.

[mourning_ghost]

[There aren't any exits up there - none that Nageki can find anyway. But he does find more tiles above that he hadn't seen from below. A couple of them - a five and an eleven - blink when Naoki steps on the tile below only to go back to normal when he leaps off.

Nageki flies back down.]

There are more tiles up there. They reacted to what you did.

[noreason]

[Naoki frowns, trying to figure out what that might mean.]

Reacted how? Did they disappear too?

[mourning_ghost]

No. They blinked red.

[noreason]

The one I was on turned red when I landed on it before it disappeared.

[He hadn't paid attention to the number, unfortunately.]

What do you think that means? They have to be connected somehow.

[mourning_ghost]

Yeah. There were some other tiles that didn't blink. I'll go see what they were.

[The remaining numbers are six, eighteen, twenty-one, twenty-seven, thirty-six and thirty-nine, which he reports back when he lands again.]

[noreason]

Um. [That is a lot of numbers.] Does that mean anything to you?

[He edges to the side of the platform to look at the numbers closest by, seeing if they match what Nageki listed.]

[mourning_ghost]

[Nageki shrugs. He flies back up to get a look at the numbers again and see if he can figure something out.]

The numbers on the tiles that blinked changed. There's a ten and a fifteen now.

[And the number Naoki stepped on, previously a zero, is now a five. The other tiles Naoki can step on are thirty-three, one, and nine.]

[noreason]

[Naoki looks at the tiles in front of him. If the numbers are changing, they may not have time to sit and deliberate. He's confident that he can jump back to the platform if he needs to, so he'll take a chance.]

Let me try this.

[He steps onto the nine and then the one. That equals ten. He's not sure what to do about the fifteen though.]

[mourning_ghost]

[As Naoki steps on the nine, it blinks green but stops when Naoki steps on the one. The one turns red and starts to disappear. Nageki notices the change in the tiles he's watching up above and calls down in alarm.]

Watch out!

[noreason]

[As if the tile turning transparent wasn't enough of a warning, Nageki's call certainly is and Naoki, who is luckily rather athletic, jumps back to the main platform.]

Okay so...the 9 was right, at least. Should I try it again?

[mourning_ghost]

Mm. A couple tiles turned green. [He wants to see what happens.]

I'm going to have to follow your lead on the sequence of the numbers

[noreason]

Alright. Nine it is.

[He jumps over onto it, waiting to see if it turns red]

How's that?

[mourning_ghost]

[Before Nageki can answer, two numbers - 18 and 14 - float down from Nageki to Naoki, further away from the starting platform. Nageki lands.]

It seems like that worked.

[noreason]

[Two choices, huh....

He'd ask for Nageki's advice, but isn't sure he has time. For all he knows, there's a time limit on these tiles and he can only stand on them for so long.]

Man, I hope this is right...

[He hops over to the tile marked 18 and waits again.]

[mourning_ghost]

[Success! It turns green and two more numbers make an appearance. 27 and 36 this time. Nageki flies up to get another look.]

Maybe... twenty-seven?

[noreason]

Got it!

[Pleased that they're making some progress here, he gets himself on over to the 27.]