SEPTEMBER EVENT: SKULLY'S ANGELS

[sailmods]

[around 10:30PM, after Friday has returned from bringing all the other guests back to the ship, she parks the tender just off the shore, idling. she sticks her head out of the door.]

Good luck! Just come get me if you need anything! [beat] But, only if it’s something I can do without stepping outside! [beat] Have fun!

[she then pops back inside. they’re on their own, for now.

the salamander villagers have returned to their homes for the night, it seems… all but one, a smaller one, bedecked in leather armor and carrying a spear. they watch the group as they leave the beach, eyes fixed… and then, slowly but distinctly, they toss their head in the direction of inland, and turn away from them to begin a sort of watch.

perhaps that was salamander for good luck. you’ll need it.]

Comments

[stormpirate]

[their way out is unobstructed, though the fog follows at their feet. it is odorless and tasteless, but swirls with an almost menace. it's thick as soup; it parts as they pass through it, but isn't budged by Skulduggery's wind magic.

it doesn't seem to be doing anything to them. physically. mentally...

Ava and Jenny fail their sanity checks. Jenny's hands and arms begin twitching violently, making her drop the gorilla paw. Ava is suddenly overwhelmed by a need to run as fast as she possibly can in the opposite direction of the group.]

Shit, shit - we need to get back to the beach!

[decohere]

[she knows which way they need to go, they're so close to finishing this and getting to go back. and she can go back to hiding in her room for another few weeks.

she pauses, boots digging into the ground and not allowing her to follow. there's glitch of movement where she stands as she struggles to gain grip of her sanity and fails. nobody even knows she's still with them, she convinces herself. nobody even cares. they got what they came for with no help from her and they don't actually need her to return with them.

so she can... make her escape now. they won't notice. they can't catch her. she's so close to being free.

her distorted laugh probably gives her away before taking off in the opposite direction with only the faintest impression of her existence blurring through the dark.]

[makesomedeals]

[ He zips up the bag shouldering it and following everyone out. The fog is ominous, but it doesn't seem to be doing anything? No one is coughing or dropping dead and his sensors don't register it. Maybe it's just for appearances.

Or, vibes, as the Captain would say.

Things aren't going too poorly all things considered. And then Ava laughs? And.... runs????]

Ava?

[ What is happening? He can barely see her and has no idea where she's going and... He groans. This is the part where he turns and follows the group and completes the mission. They got what they came for. That's good enough.

He starts to follow the rest again for about three steps before he pauses and looks where she went.]

Shit.

[ Ripping the bag off his shoulder he tosses it to whoever is closest and then gives chase. ]

[decohere]

[she's not immediately aware anyone is coming after her, though the small scrap of sanity she has left she hopes nobody is. that they stay on target, complete the mission. that they'll be too caught up in success they'll overlook her missing and she can... run. keep running.

she's not even sure what she's running toward, just away through the jungle. the footfalls of her boots are louder than she usually prefers for stealth, crunching through leaves and fallen sticks, as she phases right through bushes and trees in her path.

her lungs burn with exertion as she pushes faster, and her legs won't allow her to slow down despite how little sense she can make out of what she's doing, less and less sense.

until suddenly she's able to break through the confusion, collapsing all at once on her hands and knees.

she breathes out uneasily. fuck. she has no idea where she is, how far out she made it. Ava glances around her, and in the dark Max's red eyes stand out like a beacon.]

M- [small gasp for air] Max?

[makesomedeals]

[ Max is not designed for running, not just because of his air of superiority over any physical exertion, he's simply not put together in a way that makes him very fast. Admittedly the suit isn't helping. But he's trying, tearing after her and stumbling to not to trip over the bushes and rocks Ava is able to phase through. His shoes are getting scuffed and the bottom of his pants are torn from all the underbrush.

He's not going to be able to catch up to her, he's just not quick enough with so many obstacles in the way, yet he keeps doggedly following.

Until suddenly his whole system overloads. He doesn't even get a chance to acknowledge any of the error messages being thrown up before he freezes making a strange whiring noise followed by a click like a copier turning on.

At first he goes slack, standing there with his arms at his side and still in the half foot forward walking position he was in, but then he straightens up, hands clasped in front of him, eyes straight ahead.]

Yes?

[ His voice could almost be described as chirping. ]

[decohere]

[the dingy white of her suit is stained at the knees with green as she pushes back to her feet, legs wobbling uncertainty. she half expects them to betray her again, take off, but she stands there a moment until it seems safe. becoming fully visible again.

she feels a bit sick, of herself, how she's done nothing but ruin this mission and the dread of having to face Skulduggery again. but she doesn't actually desire to be left behind.

so she crosses through the jungle back toward Max, afraid that the eerily blank stillness he greets her with is that he's mad at her. and she has no real explanation as she opens her mouth.

there's no time for that.]

Sorry. I... we should. Get back.

[makesomedeals]

[Max sees her, processes who she is: Ava Starr. Human. Female. Association: Friend. and watches her slowly get up and head back out of the forest.

But he doesn't respond, nor move.

Should - indicates a choice and he's not permitted to have those right now. ]

[decohere]

[she glances back over her shoulder, sees Max hasn't moved at all...

she's reminded of his time at the camp. shut down and unresponsive. maybe it's the damage to his suit. maybe something has come over him the way it had her.

either way she's doubling back, grabbing for his hand]

Max. Come on. They're going to leave us. And then we'll have to live with the lizard people.

[makesomedeals]

[He should have a scalding hot take about living with the lizards. But he doesn't. ]

Certainly.

[Which part of that he's agreeing to is anyone's guess. But at least he does move and start walking so.. thats something. ]

Which way?

[At this point it's pretty obvious he does not sound right at all, his voice still has that soft musical quality but it's far more monotone. Like he's ready to narrate where the emergency exits are on a plane. ]

[light_mischief]

[Skulduggery hears Ava's laugh through the shouting and swearing, but by the time he's looking for her, he can't see her in the dark. Shit. Shit shit shit shit. This is all his fault. He never should have brought so many people in. It should have just been him.

Max tears off after Ava, having caught sight of her when Skulduggery couldn't, and he has to trust that they'll be okay. They're running away from the danger, he tries to tell himself. It'll be fine.

He takes off with the rest of the group back the way they came, hating the decision every step of the way.]

[stormpirate]

[Jenny's seizing ends. Ava's urge to flee dies as soon as it had come.

the curse takes another swipe at them as they reach the midpoint between the pyramid and the beach.

Darcy, Skulduggery, Max, and Jenny fail their sanity checks. Darcy bursts into uncontrollable weeping. Skulduggery begins screaming. Max becomes catatonic (can stand but has no will or interest; may be led or forced to simple actions but takes no independent action). Jenny begins laughing uncontrollably.]

[light_mischief]

[The weirdest part is how he doesn't even feel particularly panicked. It's just as though all of the screaming that'd been strangled out of him by the Faceless Ones is suddenly coming out all at once, without any of the terror to accompany it. Just a deep, staticky sort of dread.

The worst part is how natural it still feels. Like he never actually stopped at all, and he's just been pretending to hold it in this whole time.

At least it isn't keeping him from running.]

[fonomena]

Skulduggery! Skulduggery, can you still hear me?! [Jade's raising his voice to attempt elevating it over the screaming as he sprints up to the man, but it's legitimately a difficult thing. A benefit of a lack of lungs, it seems, is that some impression of absolutely agonized despair seems to now be pouring endlessly from him without any need of breath to draw. Which is, very very alarming. The concern on Jade's face grows clearer as he draws beside him, a hand half-outstretched; is the latter even coherent at this point...? Is he managing to stay the course, all the same?] This miasma--are you injured? In pain?

[It surely sounds like it...!]

[light_mischief]

[It should be embarrassing, but he's a little too busy being gripped by what doesn't exactly feel like terror, his mind already deep-fried enough to recognize the strange otherness of the near wailing dragging from his throat. It's especially awful because he doesn't need to breathe, so it's very much just... a continuous howl. This is, as far as curses go, fucking awful.

There's no way to make words happen; he just pats the pocket visible in Jade's light, the one he'd shoved his own ill-gotten gains from, then gives a thumbs up that is just. Very, very disconnected from the screaming skull routine.]

[fonomena]

[Oh......oh that is very disconnected. Utterly bizarre. Jade's not actually sure he's ever seen anything quite this unsettling in his life before, which is saying something! But, going by the absolutely contrasting body language...it seems, that Skulduggery's--alright?? Still has the items, still...coherent enough to sort of respond, at least.

Alright, okay, he can. Work with this. Jade can only begin to imagine how utterly horrible this must be for Skulduggery about now, if he's still as lucid as he seems to indicate. Even he can't quite smooth the concern that continues pinching his own features, but at least it's only a second or two's staring delay before Jade's nodding shortly, brows furrowing.]

Then--that's good. I don't know what's going on...it's as if we're being struck by randomized ailments. We should-- [A glance back, in Darcy abd Izzy's direction, before Jade's reluctantly slowing his own pace slightly and motioning for Skulduggery to do the same.] Darcy has been struck as well--she's having a hard time moving! Izzy is trying to help her, but they may be catching up--I don't know where Maximilien and Ava are now. I think I still heard Jenny nearby...

[Or at least, the laughter was audible for a moment or two, before Skulduggery's nonstop screaming started......

Is Jade also trying to cope with this utterly unnerving turn of events by leaning full swing into military habit and firing off into a rapid soldier's sort of report about now, too? Maybe! Don't worry about it! He's not...sure what else to do, here, until Izzy and Darcy can catch up...!!!]

[ninetoes]

[Somehow managing to keep his wits about him, Izzy'd taken Max's bag and looped back to pick up the stupid fucking paw that Jenny fumbled as they'd made their escape. Self preservation comes first, but leaving loot behind is a sin.

A second wave of fuckery descends and he seems unaffected here, as well. Good. Someone has to keep their shit together, but he's coming up from behind now on account of going back for everyone's shit.]

You lot, fall in!

[fonomena]

[The good news is that they haven't all instantaneously died by a sevenfold curse yet, but--that surely isn't saying much, now is it? The tenuous cohesiveness of the group sure is falling apart at an unnaturally rapid rate even for their own dysfunction--between Ava laughing and fleeing in the opposite direction, Max chasing after her, and Jenny convulsing but seemingly powering through...and the miasma that continues to cling to the vicinity about them all assuredly must be to blame.

Jenny's not wrong either, though--they need to get to the beach, and the tender waiting upon it, hinging upon the hope that surely this fog won't follow them out across the sea. As Max is already going after Ava--they'll have to leave him to it, try to strike through the forest in the meantime as fast as possible. Seems Izzy has the bag full of artifacts now, at least--

And then the screaming starts.

If Jade's nerves were any less steady he'd be jumping out of his skin, to say the least; it's a positively mortifying sound coming out of Skulduggery's skeletal jaws up ahead, even as he still seems to keep moving. And...now Darcy seems to be wavering too? Saying something indistinct and teary. --Is that even more laughter, now, coming from Jenny's direction?

Izzy speaks up at an actually normal volume from behind, and Jade's turning to him with a slight falter in his own steps; his own constant composure remains steady, but a grimace is definitely crossing his features about now.]

Easier said than done, it seems! [By...whatever this thing is?? Some kind of powerful curse ailment for a fact, but this much variance all at once--would a panacea bottle even work here? (And to whom would it even be given--?)] More of us have been hit. Check on Darcy! [She's a bit nearer, and in the meantime Jade's moving to lengthen his stride and catch up with Skulduggery up ahead--]

[ninetoes]

Roger-

[And they peel off. Smallest tag in the world lmao but i like the visual of it so here we are. ACTION MOVIE TIME]

[fonomena]

[THE VISUALS ARE WHAT MATTER MOST HERE MAN time to lean into that action movie goodness!! Maybe we reconvene here to continue Running Like Hell (To The Best Of Our Abilities) once our bizarrely distraught friends in vicinity are collected and/or status-checked for--]

[ninetoes]

[QUITE RIGHT]

[saltwaterlungs]

[ Ava runs off laughing somewhere and Max disappears and it's all going to shit. She hates that she's writing them off but she is- the pair of them already caused trouble earlier in the mission, of course they'd be causing trouble now, and there's people she cares about more that need her now. So she sticks close to Skulduggery and Izzy and does her best to not do something stupid like trip on a root.

But the effect of the island's curse weighs on her, crushing her. She was willing to die for Phil, why hadn't she gone back for Ava and Max? Didn't they need her too? ]

I'm sorry-

[ The tears start and blur her vision. She grips onto the nearest sleeve, trying to will her legs to keep moving as the guilt pours out of her. ]

[ninetoes]

[Izzy's a convenient sleeve to grab given the billow of it. He matches Darcy's pace in an instant, easy given their identical gait.]

Just keep running! We've done it now, what's there to be sorry about?!

[saltwaterlungs]

[ She can't even form the words to explain herself. It's the gut-wrenching howl of someone in the grips of despair. Full snot-monster. Ghibli tears. Hiccuping choked sobs, and if she had any nails to speak of she might risk tearing his shirt. But his presence here is a lifeline like hers was to him earlier, and she keeps going. ]

[ninetoes]

[Oh shit.. No, no no don't cry he doesn't know how to fucking deal with people crying and he can't be a dick to Darcy after everything that's happened. Grow up, get it together! it's right on the tip of his tongue. That's what someone would have said to him, crying on a mission. Hell, that has been said to him.

But he isn't- he can't repeat the sins of his former captains. Won't do it.

Growth? In this character? Gross.

Instead, Izzy does the only non incendiary thing he can think of which is to press the monkey paw into Darcy's hands and throw his arm around her back. If she slows, he'll guide-pull to keep pace.]

Darcy, listen to me. Take this! Guard it, I need you, here.

[saltwaterlungs]

[ Izzy pulls away and she very nearly collapses, very nearly, but his arm is replaced around her back just as quickly and now she has a job to do. Thank God, thank whoever, her grip on the gorilla's hand is firm and unyielding. She could of course put it in her pocket with the knife and gemstone but that's a thought for when she's not gripped in the throes of guilt-despair coleslaw. There's going to be so much to process when they're out of here. Conversations they might actually need to have. But she hiccups and nods, her face screwed up like she's trying to will the tears back up into her eyes. ]