[log] Event: Metamorphosis, Part Three

[snowblindmods]

Characters: everyone
Location: all around town; note location in subject line
Date: Night 415 onward; note time in subject line
Summary: They break out and they wake up.
Warnings: extreme body horror, unreality, eldritch horror, absolutely definitely 100% include warnings in subject lines/before your comment if the subject line isn't long enough

Comments

[sleight_of_fate]

"I don't remember any rooms. Just here, and the Bunker. I was asleep for a while, but we never went anywhere, as far as Rhys said." Could the town be messing with all of them? Likely, but Rhys is still very aware that if Angel is an anomaly, some kind of new anomaly, he has to be careful.

Especially when she starts getting excited. Rhys forces his heart to settle, forces himself to be calm, casual, conversational, and holds up the tablet for her to see. He's not doing anything questionable.

"Your wings are amazing, Angel. I just want some pictures?" Hope and pray that it's the right con, because it also happens to be true. As he looks at her again, he realizes that she's not wearing his barrette, and there's a small pang of hurt. Did she get rid of it? Was it melted in whatever that purple slag is?

He thumbs the screen briefly, letting her see exactly what he's doing. Not calling for help, nope. Not broadcasting. If this goes bad, it won't matter anyway. He's just going to have to run and pray, in that order.

[phaseshifter]

Nope nope nope nope. Rakkshit. There's no way that's all this is. What does Rhys think she is? Some kind of idiot??

...But. Whatever he's actually doing might be worth the risk. Maybe. If she can--

"If you let me see the photo afterwards, sure."

She has a general idea of how she looks, but hasn't found a mirror yet. And the reactions she's had have been pretty varied so far, so... Yeah. Curiosity is winning out over anxiety. Shocking.

[sleight_of_fate]

The poker slowly gets shifted, still in reach but not in active attack position, as he turns the screen to show her the pictures he's taken. They're both lovely and terrifying at the same time, lit by the eerie glow of the purple droplets.

"Are you bleeding? What's all this purple?"

Calm. he can do calm. he's faced down all sorts of things before, from ghosts to monsters to muggers with knives. Things that have either had a nice chat with him, thrown him down the second floor stairs, or somewhere in between. This isn't so much different, right? Talk first, then fight if the talking doesn't work. His heart is still pounding in his chest and his mouth tastes like cotton, but he's got her interest. They're almost on the same page, right? Almost.

"This is the first couple. And...a little video." He holds out the screen so that she can see it in HIS hands, rather than offering it to her.

[phaseshifter]

It takes her longer than it should to answer Rhys, because she's staring at the screen. Angel doesn't see anything lovely at all - all she sees is a monster, even worse than she'd imagined.

Well. Okay.

"It's slag. Runoff from the eridium refinement process. Weakens things. Can make you really sick if you're exposed for too long, or if ingested. Don't touch it."

And as if on cue the flow of it from her eye sockets speeds up, with thick drops turning into a steady trickle. Angel doesn't pay that any mind, though, as she's still transfixed by the tablet - Rhys may not be offering the tablet to her, but she reaches out towards it anyway.

If he doesn't move his hand, she's probably going to touch it. And it's going to hurt.

[sleight_of_fate]

Slag runoff. Rhys doesn't even know how to process that, but one thing he does know how to process is when the static in his head turns to a white noise scream and he feels the telltale tickle of blood dripping from his nose. He doesn't have a free hand to wipe it, so he keeps the tablet up...

While slowly backing away. Hitting her with the poker isn't his first choice, not while they're still talking, but everything in his head is screaming now, both the static and his demon.

"I think they did something to you, Angel." His voice is gentle, calm, even though he's ready to break and run. And he's definitely not letting her touch him. "I don't know what, but you...I think we need help for you."

[phaseshifter]

"Oh, wow, geez, did they? I never noticed. Heck. Crap."

She almost sounds normal for a moment, despite the spooky reverb. It's probably a mixture of the sarcasm and the barely-concealed bitterness.

"If you think I need help, why are you backing off?" She doesn't wait for an answer - an awful little thought is too busy worming its way into her brain. If this Rhys is some kind of impostor, planted so no one would notice that the real one was locked in the white room, then... What about the person he was supposed to be travelling with?

"Where's Rhys? My Rhys?"

[sleight_of_fate]

Sorry, Angel. Rhys makes a sour face, realizing that he overstepped, and gives a quick, short shrug. He's thinking on adrenaline right now, geared up to book it as fast as he can, even though his brain is still caught somewhere in shock and worry.

His Predator is screaming at him through the static, there's blood dripping off his chin, and yet he's still here. Mostly. He takes another step back at the shift in Angel's tone, tries to keep his voice calm.

"He's here, and he's fine. We split up to search the place, see if any supplies were left. I saw him less than ten minutes ago." And snogged the hell out of him, but Angel probably doesn't want to know that.

He looks at her somewhat wryly, and says, "And I'm backing off because I don't think eridium radiation is healthy for me. It's like a heavy metal, right? I don't have any of my powers, and you said it was bad." Calm and reasonable. She was the one that said he shouldn't touch it, right?

[phaseshifter]

"Eridium doesn't emit radiation. It can safely be handled by humans in its solid form, as long as they don't do anything stupid like try to freaking eat it, and the liquid slag will only cause tempora-- Stop that! Stop treating me like I'm some kind of monster!!"

He's still backing away. Angel's suspicions are half-forgotten, pushed away by how upsetting that is - Rhys is one of the more physically-affectionate people she knows, and having him recoil from her like that is particularly hurtful.

So she reaches out for his arm. Just to stop him. She isn't trying to hurt anyone. Unfortunately, intent doesn't really count for shit in this particular case. How badly Rhys gets hurt depends on how quick he is - if she just brushes him then violet lines blossom from the point of contact, branching a few inches outwards in swirls made of teeny-tiny saltlike crystals. If she gets a firm grip, though, the crystals bloom into something significantly more noticable.

[sleight_of_fate]

Rhys is quick on his feet, but he also has one blind eye- literally- and is not entirely sure what to expect or what he should be doing. Angel's rage-filled scream, however, motivates him just as much as her swipe at him and the pain that instantly blossoms in his arm and shoulder.

Fuck. He hates doing this to Angel, but he's going to die if he stays. The blood from his nose is coming off his chin in fat drops now and he's pushed as far as he can.

"M'sorry, sweetheart."

He spins with the dodge, trying to avoid contact and failing, but gets his feet under him with shocking quickness and bolts down the hall, frantically scanning for a door to barricade himself behind.