Your past is always close behind

[letsplayamod]

[The last thing you recall is likely your own death. Whether it was fast or slow, it's over now. And you're... where are you?

One moment, you were among the living. The next - you may be one of the unfortunate ones who actually died. In which case, you've found yourself flowing in the lazy rivers of the river Styx, unfathomably deep underground. Just for a moment, mind you. It's not long before your consciousness is yanked from the waters by some scary monsters, shoved into a healed body, and pushed through a portal.

Or, maybe you were caught red-handed and sentenced to your doom. But, instead of a proper death, you were whisked down into the Veins of Tartarus. And there's really only one place that could lead to.

Welcome to Tartarus.

Here, you are stranded. Lone platforms of unearthly stone float amidst a sea of stars and galaxies. None of it is familiar, some of the constellations are even in shapes of Typhon or a few gods you haven't met. Even stranger, occasionally, you might hear a voice that could be your own. Voicing a fear. A disgust. A regret.

Looks like this is a prison after all. But it's also... calm here. Maybe you can breathe, for now.]

[In Tartarus, the 'dead' have been revived, healed of injuries, and imprisoned. You don't need to eat or drink here. You still have all of your abilities and god powers, as well.]

Comments

cw near drowning mention

[rockymountaindie]

[ He's in the water, for a moment. He's almost died in the water before, you know. It was- well, it's not important now. Because he's dead again.

He has just enough time to think, think, think, this is nicer—before something snatches him up. Always just a mouse a cat has by the tail.

Alex gasps back to life for the second time. "Life", as you will. He stumbles through a portal to his knees, trembling. His hands tap all over his body, looking for holes. He felt it. He felt it go right through him, again and again, before it was instant, but this...


Regardless. This is different. This is new.

This is...not Death as he knows it.

Alex kneels there for a time. He thinks he hears something.

You can't go back. You can't help her. You...

He kneels there. For a time. For what feels like a long time. ]

[phototraces]

[Control was never an option.

Someone is in front of Alex. Someone who definitely can see him but is just slumped against a wall. Wendy.

She's been awake for a few moments but she doesn't move. She... doesn't deserve a chance to say sorry...

But she speaks.]

...Alex.

[rockymountaindie]

[ Alex's eyes jerk up. He's not alone?

...Oh. He's not alone.

Despite his disorientation, he scrambles forward. He's- ]

Wendy? Shit. Shit, shit- you- what happened? It got you too? Wendy—

[ ...He's concerned. Of course, he's concerned. He doesn't know. ]

[phototraces]

[Her eyes don't raise to meet hers. And she puts out a hand in a 'don't come closer' gesture.]

I was the one who set up that oil slick, Alex--fuck. Don't--you don't have to worry about me.

[There's... there's pain in her voice. Raw, agitation.]

[rockymountaindie]

[ He goes still, freezing in place. ]

You...

You what?

[ Everything happened so fast, but not fast enough for him to have no time to think. It was Death, come to get him. That was one thought. But the other was that someone had taken Typhon's words and ran. And that person, it was... ]

Wendy?

[phototraces]

...Alex. The third person, the girl, who was a survivor... I lied. It was Julie. My sister was on that stupid roller coaster. I... thought... I could save them all. Save her.

[And she didn't. And they acted like they always did. Hate. Misunderstanding. Fear. Well. Whatever. She's dead, isn't she? Dead is dead.]

I--thought if I could just... fuck!

[rockymountaindie]

Your...

[ Alex is an only child. Wendy was right about that.

But he grew up watching the close siblings, Tod and George. They were barely a year apart. Tod had been adopted at a very young age. And they loved each other. Despite everything, despite the teasing and pushing, boys will be boys—they loved each other. They loved each other, and Tod... After he got off the plane—

Alex sits there, staring mutely. He feels empty. So fucking, fucking empty. ]

Wendy, what the hell.

[ Because— ]

Why didn't you tell me?

[phototraces]

Because... I... can't trust like you. Not fully.

[She's glaring down at the ground. Her teeth grind. Her shoulders bunch.]

Because what if I had? Told you that because Death after me again that it meant my sister was probably dead and I didn't even know it? I didn't tell anyone.

[rockymountaindie]

Then I...

I would've—

[ He remembers panicking and rushing to save Clear. Pushing himself through the forest because he couldn't, couldn't let her die. The pain of not knowing if she was okay or not. ]

...At least you wouldn't have to be alone with it.

[ She said she thought they beat it. But then, she felt something... Has this been weighing on her since the moment she said that panicked yes? ]

It was different here, Wen. They- they weren't- looking at us like that.

[phototraces]

[His experience was similar but... she recognized some of their reactions even before that trial. The pity. The 'oh they didn't mean it, they were emotional's, the judging every time someone didn't behave perfectly.

After Flight 180 everyone suspected Alex. After the Devil's Flight everyone disregarded her.]

...I wanted to trust them, A. I really did. I just... it's hard.

[No one said Alex Browning was a hysterical brat who wanted attention.]

It might have seemed different for you but... sometimes it felt exactly the same to me. The hysterical girl who had an anxiety attack before an almost condemned roller coaster crashed.

[rockymountaindie]

[ He tries to replay it back in his head. Their time here, how it might've been different for her. How Wendy was always more reticent to share her experiences. He can't recall any specifics. He was simply so caught up in being believed, in finding someone else who understood...

Alex had thought the two of them were exactly alike. But maybe that's not true. Maybe, he really is the most miserable idealistic, and Wendy...

His hand still hangs in the air. Space hangs heavy between them. ]

...There was still me.

[ He doesn't mean for that to sound so...is it bitter? Hurt? Some kind of mix. ]

I'd still believe you. I'd... I woulda tried anything to help you and your sister.

???

[letsplayamod]

[In the depths of that moment in a vast expanse of time, or maybe none at all, Alex could be mistake if he thought he'd heard something.]

--ursed Athena! Still, she prevents my victory!

[Except that doesn't sound like it's coming from Alex's head. It's distant, but he can hear it.

Everyone can.]

[rockymountaindie]

[ Alex is just trying to adjust to his new afterlife in peace HELLO????? ]

...Is that... Typhon?

[ BOY IS GONNA TRY AND LISTEN HARDER. ]

[letsplayamod]

[It is.]

How long must I wait at the call of that...

...Only need to bide my time. I will make this world mine and mine alone.

[rockymountaindie]

...He's workin' with someone.

He's workin' for someone.

[tripartites]

[ after a time—minutes? hours? it feels impossible to say. after alex and wendy have found one another and spoken, a few glowing golden butterflies wink into sight. they slowly flutter away in the same direction, as if trying to lead the two—or simply hold their attention for a few moments. ]

[rockymountaindie]

[ Alex blinks in surprise, testing whether they're like...like seeing stars? But no, they're still there. He rubs his eyes and, because even death cannot change him, he starts to investigate. ]

What...? Oh, is that...

[tripartites]

You finally made it. Welcome to Tartarus.

[ the voice comes from the opposite direction, as the butterflies change course and fly towards and then behind alex. more butterflies appear, forming a cloud, and when that cloud disperses...

there stands sayo, hands folded, inclining her head in greeting. behind her... is that a table set up? with games and refreshments? how can that be?

best not to question it, lest it vanish. right? ]

[rockymountaindie]

[ After everything Alex has seen, everything that he has been through and had to fight to convince others of—why the hell would he question this kind of thing? Especially when Sayo seems to have a rather unique set of magic.

The boy hasn't a drop of anti-magic toxin in him, honestly. ]

Say- uhh- B- Beatrice? Did you do this?

[ It's harder to tell than with Mutsumi and Morty. ]

[tripartites]

I did. [ a lie becomes truth when all parties agree, after all. ] ... Sayo is fine. It's all me, in the end. [ it's more complicated than that, but good enough for the moment. a pause, though, as she considers the obvious unspoken comparison: ]

Mutsumi-chan and Mortis... they're similar, but different.

[rockymountaindie]

[ His eyes pass over the table, but ultimately, he stops in front of Sayo instead. ]

Oh. The way you talked, it sounded like... [ But, he's nodding quietly, running through some things in his head. ] Ahh, whatever's good for you, that works for me.

[ He clearly doesn't Get It but like, he accepts it. ]

[tripartites]

Selling Beatrice as the evil witch was simpler, in some ways.

[ she takes a seat at the table, brushing a stray lock of hair out of her face as she stares up towards the void. ]

... This isn't a perfect explanation, exactly, but if it helps... think of the others as... roles, if you like. Where the part plays itself, and sometimes, the actors have opinions of their own. But it's still... me, Alex. Just with a different mask... becoming someone else.

[ she huffs out a laugh. ]

It was some of the first "magic" that I learned.

[rockymountaindie]

[ He follows her lead and takes a seat as well. ]

Parts to play... Mutsumi said somethin' like that too, but... [ It already feels different talking to them.

Morty feels so different from Mutsumi, but sitting here like this, he can see the same exhaustion in Sayo that the witch Beatrice carried. ]

It sounds like...what you had to do to survive.

[tripartites]

[ that gets a slow blink, and then... she glances aside, her lips curling into a small, wan smile. ]

Well, perhaps. [ a vague little laugh—something on the soft and gentle side, not quite the brash laughter of the witch. she pours herself a cup of tea, with the illusion set in place, and extends the hand with the pot in a silent offer to pour one for him as well. ]

... It isn't hard to realize what two new arrivals means, so... I won't be so boorish as to ask what happened. [ sure, she's curious, but. ]

[rockymountaindie]

[ She doesn't quite deflect, but she redirects, and... That's fair. It doesn't seem like he's upset her, at least.

As usual, Alex doesn't completely understand. As usual, that does nothing to stop his empathy.

He focuses on the tea instead of her face as she pours it. ]

...Yeah. Typhon, he... He had another threat up his sleeve and... [ His shoulders are slumped, eyes distant. ] Desperate people do desperate things.

[ He's miserable about it. But he isn't blaming Wendy. He won't. ]