purrrnicious | Heart Game: Run #3

[ she's going to head to cell #1. ]

Hello?

[There’s writing on the walls. One says “please don’t”, over and over, in childish handwriting. The opposite says “I’m sorry” in repetition. The far wall has little scratches, like fingernails, and blood splatter, and there’s a pool of it on the floor.

As you watch, something bubbles to the surface of the blood (as if it’s a deep pond) and bobs there at the surface.]

...

[ all signs point to don't touch, but she's going to stoop down and touch anyway... with her tail. ]

[Ha ha sucker you still get pulled into the memory.

cw: shitty adult caretaker, threatening a child, physical restraint (of a sort)

Two little girls, maybe 6 or 7 years old, are playing something like tag in what looks like a factory industrial complex. Adora is gap-toothed and clumsy, Catra easily stays ahead of her by swinging up to cables and pipes, teasing her about being slow. They stop by an open door, the sorceress’ room, and after agreeing they’re definitely not allowed in there, they go on in.

Adora checks out odd computers and machinery while Catra goes up to a massive glowing red stone in the centre of the room that shocks her when she touches it. Both girls hide when they hear the sorceress returning. She’s hunched over and moaning, stopping by a cauldron to take her mask off. Her face is a grey, scarred and twisted mess and her eyes are yellow and bloodshot. It makes Adora gasp, alerting the sorceress to their presence and she shrieks, causing both girls to run.

At least until the shadows come alive, wrapping around Catra and paralyzing her with small crackles of red energy (same colour as the stone in the centre of the room).

The sorceress says, “Catra, you stay. What do you think you’re doing here?”

“We were just playing!” Is her answer.

“Insolent child, I’ve come to expect such disgraceful behaviour from you. But I will not allow you to drag Adora down as well!”

At this point, Adora tries to cut in. “Shadow Weaver! It wasn’t her fault, it was my idea too!”

The sorceress just continues on as if Adora hadn’t spoken, looming over Catra now. “You have never been anything more than a nuisance to me. I’ve kept you around this long because Adora was fond of you, but if you ever do anything to jeopardize her future, I will dispose of you myself. Do you understand?”

“Please, stop! She didn’t mean to!” Adora is still trying — and maybe finally it works? The sorceress releases Catra from her magic, letting her collapse on the floor with a gasp while she goes over to Adora now.

“Adora, you must do a better job of keeping her under control. Do not let something like this happen again.” Her tone is markedly different than it was with Catra -- tolerant, indulging, almost gentle. She fondly brushes a loose strand of hair behind Adora's ear.

The confrontation over, Adora quietly helps Catra up and walks her out of the room.

It's a child's perspective, but children always understand far more than adults give them credit for. When you return to yourself, the blood is gone, and the back wall now has writing on it: "worthless", "insolent", "lazy", "creature", etc.]

[ RUDE. ]

[ jerks back and stumbles into the back wall, almost knocking the wind out of herself. ] Fuck. [ feels her blood start coming to a boil. ]

...she's got to be in one of these. Intensity took her here, he had to, where else would he go. [ she gets up and goes to the next cell. ]

[This cell, strangely, seems to extend very far back — so far that the light can no longer reach it, and you can’t see from here what lies at the end. You can hear raised voices, however: a woman's and a child's, or maybe two, it's hard to tell.

Enter?]

Shadow Weaver!?

[ heading inside. ]

[You enter. As you walk, you go further and further into darkness, nothing coming into view. Then, suddenly–– someone grabs you by the upper arm, someone larger than you, with bruising force. They jerk you around and drag you back the way you came, uncaring if you're able to keep your feet or not, before throwing you roughly to the ground.

You find yourself in a regular cell, on your hands and knees. It's empty, and nothing appears amiss. You are free to leave.]

HEY! [ she is going to kick and scream the entire time and then oof. ]

[ she looks up and shakes a fist at the darkness. ] Yeah, well, FUCK YOU TOO.

[ huff, gets up and dusts herself off, mumbling as she heads to cell 3. ]

[Still no Shadow Weaver!

Instead, a mulish looking Catra is huddled in the corner, glaring sullenly at the wall. She looks like she’s nine or ten years old. She’s in a standard uniform and appears a little roughed up, her cheek blossoming into a bruise and her knees scraped. Her tail lashes back and forth and her ears are pinned back. ]

[ she'll find her,
and when she does... ]

..!

Catra? [ blinks, staring at her. ] Catra! [ she takes a knee just inside the cell and reaches out to her. ]

[She hunches up a little tighter and scowls, tucking her tail in close.]

Go away.

Do you want me to take a look at that?

[ motions to her wounds. ]

I... I don't want to leave without... without you...

[She folds her ears back, knees pulled tight to her chest.]

I'm not falling for it, so just give up already.

So you'd rather stay here?

[ she stands up, turning away from the cell. ]

[No answer.]

...alright. I won't bother you anymore.

[ she turns back and heads to the lift. hits 3. ]

[This floor looks similar to the main floor, mostly normal. You might find that the shadows in corners are a little deeper, a little thicker, and that if you look at them for too long you get a creeping sense of unease, like you’re on edge for a sudden attack, but otherwise it’s fine.

Three cells are occupied (for simplicity, we’re refer to them as 1, 2 and 3).]

[ she's getting a touch... frustrated. ]

Shadow Weaver! Are you in here?!

[ stalks over to 1. ]

[No.

This cell’s light flickers now and then, but when it does, you could swear the shadows linger a little longer than they should, hanging off the corners and dripping down the walls. If you watch for long enough, you start to feel a creeping panic, the hairs on the back of your neck raising. You feel agitated and anxious, and with that comes frustration — the next flicker of the light and you swear, you swear you see something rearing at you, some inky black shadow creature, one glowing red eye set in what would pass for its head. It lunges for your throat with a jagged claw, it bears down on you, and you react, you step back half a step and raise your arms and the instinct is to shield your face and you know it’ll hurt and you know it’s too slow and—

. . . The light flicks on and stays on. The cell looks perfectly normal.]

[ as soon as she drops her arms she glares into the cell. ]

I know you're here, somewhere, and I'm coming for you.
I'm going to make you pay... [ she starts chuckling and it becomes a bit unhinged as she starts towards cell #2. ]

I'm getting closer.
I can feel it.

[ or maybe that's the blood loss. ]

[D.Va pls.

This cell contains nothing but a massive, glowing red crystal. It’s strangely ominous, makes your hair stand on end. There’s a steady low hum of power that permeates the room. Lodged in the crystal is something small and rectangle-shaped.]

[ SHE'S ON TO YOU, SQUARES. ]

[ she'll skip this for now just because she'd like to see if shadow weaver is in cell 3. ]

[This cell is littered with battered, broken bots and discarded batons. A screen above flickers with static. You can see the telltale signs of a fight with scorch marks and gouges in the walls, and if you watch long enough, the screen flickers to a scoreboard, ranking performances from best to worst: Adora, Catra, Lonnie, Rogelio, Kyle.

You might be able to find something interesting among all the debris, but it’s hard to tell from here.

Still no Shadow Weaver.]

[ she is going to see if there's anything she can salvage. ]

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