Project Paradox event log

[indigo_league]

Who: Everyone!
Where: EveryWHERE!
When: September 15-21
Summary: Wormholes have been appearing all over Kanto and Johto as a consequence of Silph Co's latest public meltdown mishap! Characters find themselves face to face with AUs of their own homeworlds. ((OOC details here-- Use this log for your wormhole toplevels!))

Comments

[exeggutorhead]

[Okay GOOD it's very good that Henry hasn't actually seen anyone else hopefully they can keep it that way.]

In the microwave, huh? I thought I fell down a manhole in the street until I noticed where I was.

[Ah yes, all the yelling. Envy turns in the general direction of it all, hands on his hips and grimacing.]

No idea what all that's about, there shouldn't be this many people down here. Never heard it this lively before.

[no_ufo_ending]

[ Henry looks over Envy's head, his brows creased. He grips the board more tightly. ]

Do you think they need help? It doesn't sound like a party...

[exeggutorhead]

It sounds like a mess.

[This level of blown cover would be an unfathomable disaster...if that was still his problem!]

I do kind of want to know what's happening...but getting in the middle of it? No way. We'd both just be targets.

[Henry to the homunculi, Envy to whoever's fighting them. Although wait...he should probably clear something up.]

...oh, right. Welcome to my world. Kind of. This never happened.

[no_ufo_ending]

[ Henry's lips press together as a particularly loud scream echoes through the grey streets. He's listening and trying to keep his Instincts settled down. He might not need them and sometimes they just make things worse. ]

[ What Envy says next causes his thoughtbubble to burst. He whips around and looks at Envy with wide eyes. ]

This is your world? In the pit? Envy?

[exeggutorhead]

Not the whole thing! There's a normal city up aboveground, this is just...

[He looks around, shrugging with his arms bent out to the side.]

A part of it I hung out in a lot? Like a homunculus...base, I guess? It's supposed to be secret.

[A small explosion happens in the distance. The dozens of marching boots get louder. This doesn't SOUND like it's very secret.]

[no_ufo_ending]

[ Henry has known Envy for many many years and throughout those years, he's picked up bits and pieces of his past--things he's been told and things he's gathered from context clues. ]

[ But now, he thinks, he is about to receive some brand new wisdom. ]

I don't have my gun...Envy, this sucks.

[exeggutorhead]

[Henry will get a (careful) clap on the shoulder in commiseration, sighing.]

Yeah...I don't really like it down here either. I know the ways upstairs, but they're both over in all that mess.

A gun wouldn't do you much good, one of us'll hop right back up from that like nothing. Just...stick with me, I'll try to stay in sight. I don't know if there's two of me down here. If you lose track of me at all...

[He stops to think.]

Oh! Just call me Aquaman until we're out. If I look like I don't know what the hell you're talking about, it's not me.

[no_ufo_ending]

[ Henry frowns because the moment he'd found that submachine gun, he'd felt so much safer in the Otherworld. But if Envy says they're bulletproof, well... ]

[ Is he going to see more homunculuses? Homunculi? So far, Envy, Lust, and Wrath are the only ones he's known. His worries are momentarily interrupted by an age old in-joke and he actually fights a loud, incredulous SNORT.]

Right--right, Aquaman! Aquaman.

[exeggutorhead]

Ha! Yeah, exactly. If I'm not me I'll give you a look like... [he takes a second to put on an annoyed and baffled expression, to demonstrate, letting it drop into a snicker.]

Once we figure out what's going on, if anyone's got guns I can sneak over and try to steal one for you. Some of it sounds like soldiers marching, they might have something.

Just. If you do need to use it on a homunculus and they actually die? It won't be for long, just a few seconds, so get out of there while you've got the chance.

[Hhhhgh, Henry may be an experienced monster fighter, but Gluttony is a few steep levels above a possessed wheelchair or even those big meaty things Heather had...and they're about to wade into some kind of unknown chaos. He catches sight of a wrought iron fence, one of the fancy ones with the spikes on top. A thought occurs to him. He makes a quick turn towards said fence.]

Actually...there's something that might work better, just in case.

[no_ufo_ending]

[ Henry puts his listening ears on and nods along as Envy explains. He does crack a small grin at Envy's Not Envy face, but he quickly puts it away in favor of learning how to not die very badly. ]

No double-tapping then...

[ Like all his fellow horror protagonist friends, Henry shoots first and stomps second. Memories of digging his heel into dog skulls cloud his thoughts but quickly dissipate in favor of watching Envy take notice of...an old fence? ??? ]

[exeggutorhead]

No double tapping!

[Envy gets to the fence and reaches to grab one of the bars and bend it down, snapping off a decent length bit of it. With the spike on the top, it should be a good enough one handed stabbing weapon.]

So, this is a big secret. You see these things?

[He reaches over his shoulder with his free hand and points at one of the red nodes there.]

We've all got them on us somewhere. If you can hit one with this and leave it in, it'll stop a homunculus from moving very well and really hurt. You'd have more time to get away then, too.

[Wisdom for the Receiver! Best friends get trusted with the secret weak spot. He heads back over to Henry to hand over the spike.]

[no_ufo_ending]

[ Henry listens intently as Envy rips the gate post apart like it was nothing. Envy is his normal self here and their Pokemon are nowhere to be found. This is a big deal. But still, in the back of his head, a line of hope keeps repeating that this is temporary. The strangeness always is! Or has been so far. ]

[ He takes the spike and hefts it in his hand. Then Henry nods.]

Thanks, Envy. I will only use this for good...I hope I don't have to end up using it.

[exeggutorhead]

[Envy is really hoping this isn't going to last long, and that Henry won't actually have a reason to get in a fight with one of the others.]

Yeah, hopefully everyone's going to be too busy with...whoever else is down here to notice us at all, and we won't get separated.

You could also try saying that you're with Dante and off limits--she was the one in charge of us. I just don't know if that'd actually work.

[...and skipping right on past that information drop we don't need to talk about that--]

If the soldiers are threatening you...I don't know, just go [he holds his hands up to eye level and waves them a little, pitching his voice to go with it and looking sort of off to the side instead of meeting Henry's eyes] ohhhh thank goodness some humans are here to save me from the scary monsters take me with you!

[It is definitely hitting him more than a little bit by now that in his own world, the two of them would not have been on the same side.]

[no_ufo_ending]

[ Dante...Henry will tuck that in his back pocket for later. Henry nods again, ready to take up the role of Human Who Just Wandered In Here. Offhandedly, Henry also hopes he doesn't have to see Envy kill someone because he doesn't need that right now. ]

I'm ready.

[exeggutorhead]

[Luckily for Henry, even if Envy doesn't know it? They're in saturday morning cartoon land right now, and so in spite of all the explosions, everyone's going to be fine! No murder!]

Right. Let's go find out what the fuck's going on down here.

[They aren't too far from everything, and Envy leads them towards the waterfall cave entrance first, stopping them when they're in a good spot to see but not be seen. Platoons of blue-uniformed soldiers march out of the cave with wet boots. Envy can spot a whole lot of glinting silver watches...damn, that's a lot of State Alchemists. He whistles quietly.]

That's a lot of soldiers. Fake Pride's going to be in so much trouble.

[Suck it, fake Pride! Envy's so glad this isn't his problem.]

You still want me to go steal a gun?

[no_ufo_ending]

[ Henry watches the soldiers with a nervous interest. He has no real context for their uniforms or their watches but there are a lot of them. ]

[ When Envy asks him if he still wants a gun, conflict stirs in his chest. He does really want a gun, but he doesn't want to put his friend in danger--forgetting for a moment just how powerful Envy is. Everything is just kind of a lot right now so he just grunts noncommittally.]

What on earth is down here that they would need to fight?

[exeggutorhead]

[Envy turns slooowly to look at Henry. 8T]

Well.

We're down here.

...homunculi, I mean. They're not here to fight you.

[no_ufo_ending]

[ Henry doesn't notice he's being given a look for about three full seconds. His eyes flick back to Envy and he discovers this. ??? ]

[ Oh. Ohhhhh riiiiiight. His undead housemates used to be kind of evil, huh? ]

[ He makes a face back--a grim, flat mouth. It's the White People Passing You In Public smile. ]