The Demon Plot: DEATH OF GRINDING MADNESS [July Player Event]

[pillz]

Who: Ensemble production, all individuals who opted in to the plot
When: July 9-21
Where: Two inhabited planets around the Ingress
What: The demon plot kicks off, in which malevolent shadow beings, copies of existing characters, begin to materialize and harass the PCs across the worlds. Plotting post is here, and a network post will go up within the next 2 days from several PCs advising on how to end the plot.
Warnings: Violence, psychological themes, possibly past trauma, etc.

Death of Grinding Madness
The Demon Plot
(mild spoilers for The Raven Cycle)

On July 9, a demon begins to make its way through the Ingress, summoned through by a shitty teenager.

July 9-12
Harrying

It's innocuous in the beginning. A movement in the corner of your eye, a shadow through a curtain-- merely a tree. But then the shadow figures begin to emerge into full being. Black-eyed wraiths that look like enemies, friends with whom you've had past conflict, or even you yourself. At first, it's merely harrying, minor harassment. Threatening gestures, broken gestures, jump scares.

Pursue them, and they disappear-- you might even catch a glimpse of how. They melt down into black slime, racing away across floors, through sewer grates, up walls, impossible to follow. By now, the worst of the climate freeze is over, but residual ice does pose a needles extra obstacle.

July 12-15
The Violence Escalates

In the days that follow, the situation only gets worse.

Sporadic harassment turns into outright attacks. The targeting is unmistakable. The shadow beings who can speak tell cruel tales of animosity, spite, even hatred. They are as deadly with their hands or strange powers as their doppelgangers are, and worse, they're functionally indestructible. Rip off one's head and it merely reforms out of sticky black ink. Limbs regenerate just as easily. The being might dispell for a few hours, but no doubt— it'll be back, if not to hurt you then someone you know.

The Savrii begin to notice. It's hard not to. While there is hardly an epidemic of panic, the disruptions are hard to miss-- broken windows, screams, random violence. Soon, the authorities begin to open safehouse facilities at which characters can seek shelter.

July 15-18
The Golem

On July 17, something horrific begins to happen— several shadow beings merge to form a massive golem in Kauto R1. It is a grotesque, horrifying spectacle, of limbs and eyes and pulsating flesh. It reaches almost sixty feet in height. Combined together, this shadow creature is considerably less intelligent than the individual beings were. However, it is also immensely strong and regenerates just like the smaller ones did.

Within the mall, hundreds of daytime shoppers are trapped within. Luckily, they have food and climate control. Perhaps you're one of them-- or perhaps you're trying to get in to provide medical care.

In the meantime, the attacks from the individual shadow beings don't stop. Despite the intelligence exhibited by some, all of them seem mindlessly bent on tormenting their targets until they are killed.

July 18-21
The Sacrifice

On the 9th day, a network post goes up (link pending, will be OOCly forward-dated to July 10th latest) revealing how to remove the invincibility of the attackers.

And by the 21st, the remaining beings utterly vanish without explanation— unless you happen to bear witness to the events that take place at St. Monmouth.

Comments

[yablueit]

[ Some part of Lance recognizes that something is seriously wrong here, but Lance has more than enough self doubt to outweigh it. ]

I'm n—

[ He feels the heat of shame prickling down his back, hunching his shoulders up, not even able to argue with him. This is what he knows under all his bluster and bragging anyway, so why shouldn't Shiro finally lose his patience with him over it. ]

[shiro2hero]

[And it just laughs. Bingo. It nailed it. Got it in one.]

[Throws its head back and laughs that grating, scratchy sounding laugh it has. And when it looks back at him again, the Cheshire smile looks far more predatory than before.]

Holy shit. It's true! You really are that insecure! Look at you! You can't even make a comeback here, can you?

[Now it sounds giddy. Prowling forward with that same expression.]

No wonder there's all those fucking nightmares about you.

[yablueit]

[ The scratchy, raw laughter that sounds nothing like Shiro sends a chill down Lance's spine that pierces through the shame. Something's not right, Shiro's not okay. Maybe he's sick again or worse. But that doesn't stop the nagging doubt that maybe he did do something. ]

Nightmares...?

[ Lance backs up quicker now that Shiro's coming toward him. He doesn't let himself get pinned down, though, moving around to keep living room furniture between them and keep the kitchen and door to the backyard behind him. ]

Shiro, I— If I did something wrong, you—you can just tell me, okay?

[shiro2hero]

Oh, right. You don't know, huh? But hey, maybe after today, you'll get some of your own! You can be insomniac friends. Maybe even look into some goddamn therapy.

[This wasn't planned, though. Moving through furniture like an obstacle course. When did this kid get good at navigating? Shouldn't he just be crashing into things?]

[Still, it keeps moving forward. Tilting its head too far to one side to be natural. It hit a nerve. It has to keep going.]

Where to even start? Like how you don't listen? Or how you chase tail like it's going out of style?

Or your crap hero worship. I mean really. You couldn't have picked a bigger mess.

[yablueit]

[ Everything about the way "Shiro" is moving is wrong and unnatural, not to mention how he keeps talking like... like he's someone who only kind of knows him, not like he's someone Lance has lived and worked alongside for months. But it's really the freaky head tilt that does it. ]

Are you sick again? Is that what's going on?

[ Lance reaches into the side of his coat, making it look like he's curling an arm defensively around himself, when in reality, he's wrapping his fingers around his bayard. He can't listen to what whoever this is is saying. It's not Shiro, it can't possibly be Shiro... right? ]

[shiro2hero]

Sick? That's what you think this is?

[It spreads out its hands. A grand sort of gesture, like it's doing some kind of bizarre performance. Shaking its head like it can't believe the words coming out of Lance.]

I'm only saying what I've always wanted to! Those bullshit speeches get so old after a while! How much do you guys even believe it? That any of you stand a chance!

A bunch of kids, an alien, and some stuck up space elves.

[It shakes its head, then smiles. That expression carved across its face like a wound.] At least the alien knows how to fly. You barely manage that much.

[yablueit]

[ Lance can't help that those last words sting, and he tightens his fingers around his bayard, standing his ground now. ]

Shut up. You're not Shiro, a-and whatever you think you know, you're wrong.

[shiro2hero]

[That raking, nails-on-metal laugh again. It takes another step forward, teasingly. Mocking in every inch of its posture.]

Funny. You don't sound so sure.

Maybe? Deep down? It's because you know I'm right.

[yablueit]

[ Lance feints cowering backwards (made all the more convincing by the fact that he is, genuinely, kind of terrified right now), letting this fake Shiro loom over him. ]

...No. You're wrong.

[ He draws his bayard out from under his jacket in one fluid motion, his rifle materializing in his hands as he draws the butt of it up under Fake Shiro's chin as hard as he can. ]

[shiro2hero]

[Way, way too into victory, the shadow doesn't realize what's going on until Lance actually moves. And by then, it's too late.]

[There's an ugly, wet crack of something breaking. It staggers backward, gripping its face and snarling something utterly inhuman. Black ooze streams down its face. Down stolen clothing to puddle on the floor with steaming hisses.]

[The sunglasses fall, too. And when it looks up, nursing a shattered jaw, its eyes are as black as the gunk eating holes in the floorboards.]

You shouldn't have done that...

[It leaps at him, then, all pretense of humanity gone out the window.]

[yablueit]

[ Well, that's moderately alarming. The sight and sizzle of the the ooze startles him, but not long enough that he can't roll backwards away from the monster wearing his friend's form. He kicks his leg out as he goes, knocking one of the kitchen chairs between himself and Fake Shiro to buy him enough time to get to his feet.

He keeps his rifle trained on the shadow. He doesn't want to shoot him. Some instinctual part of his brain realizes that splattering an unidentified substance all over the kitchen with a close range rifle shot would be a really, really bad idea. But maybe splattering it all over the back yard? Might at least be less bad. ]

Not fooling anybody now, are you? Come on!

[ And he's making a break for the door to the backyard. ]

[shiro2hero]

[It doesn't even bother running. It hits the chair and trips, then scrambles forward on all fours. Joints moving weirdly, too spindly and warped for human limbs. The trail of ooze follows its rapidly healing jaw, which gapes wide -- like it's foregone all pretense of humanity.]

[It's just here to kill him. If possible.]

[Metal fingers grasp for Lance's heels. Crawling as fast as it can after him. If he won't give in, if his brain won't break, then it will have to do it physically. Have to crush him that way.]

DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN FIGHT HIM?

[yablueit]

[ Lance may be into the weird and alien, but the sight of joints twisting like that makes him slightly sick to his stomach. If anything, it makes him run faster, keeping just ahead of his grasping hand as he bursts out the door into the cold night air. ]

No, I don't. But you're not him.

[shiro2hero]

Why? Because your hero wouldn't say these things?

[It scuttles out the door after him. Surges to its feet as it steps outside, body still twisted. Still contorted. The broken jaw is gone, though its expression is still just as gaping, fingers curled like claws.]

Even if he's thinking them?

[It pauses, there, however. Waiting. To see if the words hit the mark or not.]

[yablueit]

[ Lance takes advantage of its pause to level his rifle at him. ]

More like cause he's not a big gross sack of black goo, but sure, that too.

[ And he takes the shot, expertly aimed for the Shadow's head. ]

[shiro2hero]

[It doesn't have a chance to retort. Or move. It's fast, it's some demonic abomination, but that's a rifle.]

[There's no dodging it.]

[The shadow basically explodes into a fine mist of black ooze. Splattering all over the yard, oozing through anything it contacts.]

[But it's gone.]

[yablueit]

Gross, [ He manages to say, before he lets out a shaky breath and drops to his knees in the snow, his hands shaking as he comes down from the adrenalin. ]