purrrnicious | Heart Game: Run #3

[When you enter this floor, there are only three doors. The air is unnaturally calm and stale. Every door is closed, but when you approach, you can’t see inside at all. Unlike the cells on the other floors, they’re solid metal.]

[ she's just going to drag herself to the end. she'll ignore all the doors for now. ]

[There doors are all there is up here, there is no other exit.]

[ so then she just turns around and checks out the third door. ]

[Eeyyyyy it's another memory. Maybe if you hit enough of these, one of them won't be bad? Maybe? (cw for a lil asphyxiation torture)

This memory starts with Catra entering Hordak's ~inner sanctum~ -- one huge research lab with a big throne sitting up a dias at the back. She comes in and calls for Lord Hordak, not seeing him immediately -- instead, his creepy little flying imp creature is clinging to a pipe staring at her. He calls out to her, telling her to state her purpose, and she approaches to tell him she thought they should touch base and work on planning their next moves against the rebellion. She doesn't really know what she's doing, she's just trying really hard -- she wants to impress Hordak, wants him to value her.

So maybe unsurprisingly, it doesn't really go the way she'd hoped. He cuts her off, asking if wasting their advantage while the Whispering Woods regrew or letting herself get captured was part of her plan. He pulls a lever, activating a device that generates some sort of field. She doesn't recognize what it is.

Hordak: Etheria's atmosphere has proved to be a complicating variable in my experiments.

Catra: I–– [She starts coughing.]

Hordak: I just removed that variable. Tell me, Force Captain. How is your breathing?

Catra can't actually answer –– she's been gasping for air, whatever the device did rendered it completely unbreathable, and she's starting to panic as she can't properly breathe, her vision starting to blur. Hordak heads back to the lever after watching her struggle for a moment and deactivates the field, allowing her to gasp in a desperate and badly needed breath.

Hordak: Pathetic, just like everything on this backwards planet. Do you know what the definition of failure is, Force Captain? Failure is when something ceases to serve a purpose. When that happens, it becomes worthless to me. Thus far, your performance has been lacking. [He again rests his hand on the lever, a threat.]

Catra: I. . . I haven't failed yet. No one knows how to take the princesses down better than me. Trust me and let me do that.

There's a tense moment where Hordak is just staring at her, measuring, while she tries to look resolutely back –– but she can't help but keep flicking her gaze nervously to the lever Hordak still rests his hand on. Finally, he releases it.

Hordak: You say you can defeat the rebellion. Prove it. You are dismissed.

You experience the memory as if it were your own, including the sensation that you can't breathe, the panic that you might die here, and the realization that you're still not safe and this person will probably kill you if you don't perform.]

[ this is not a good combination for someone who is already on their last legs. as soon as the memory finishes she drops to her knees and grabs her chest, breathing as heavily as humanly possible - though that’s pretty difficult at the moment. tears prick the ends of her eyes as she inevitably is thrown into a coughing fit. didn’t see that coming, fuck. ]

[ this guy, fuck him too. ]

[ she doesn’t move for a few minutes, but eventually she’s back on her feet and leaning on the wall of cells to walk, moving toward the second. ]

[ what’s next. ]

[Another memory, these three seem to be part of an arc, though this one's A Lot.

[The memory starts in the prison. Catra stands before Shadow Weaver in her cell, a tray of food in her hands. Hidden in the tray is a small four-point badge, something Shadow Weaver had earlier asked her for. She’s still not sure why she brought it. She’s not sure yet she’s going to leave it, either.

“So, have you come up with anything to save your skin?” she asks, and the answer is, “You know I haven’t.”

Catra approaches and drops the tray in front of the older woman, letting its really unappetizing contents splatter all over the floor.

“Why do you insist on delivering my meals yourself? Surely you have more important things to do,” the sorceress asks from where she’s seated on the floor.

Catra crosses to the wall and leans up against it casually with a faint smile, her arms crossed, and replies, “I guess I just like seeing you in shackles.”

“We both know that’s not the only reason. What do you want from me, Catra?”

Catra almost immediately drops her act, looking somber, unsure. She asks ‘Why’ before faltering, gathers a breath and sighs, then tries again, “Why did you treat me the way you did? Why was I never good enough for you? Really. I want to know.”

Shadow Weaver narrows her eyes briefly before looking aside.

“Because you remind me of myself. You always have. Nothing was ever easy for me, either. I wasn’t born to power like Adora and others. I had to earn my power, fight for it. Why should it be any different for you?”

“I was a child when you took me in! What could I possibly have done to deserve the way you treated me?! You are old, and bitter, and weak!” Catra shakes her head, wraps her arms around herself defensively and drops to the floor to kneel before Shadow Weaver, very clearly upset.

“Ah, but you are like me. And just like me you’re losing your position with Hordak. I can see that even from my cell,” the sorceress responds smoothly, unaffected by the outburst.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Catra answers quickly, but it’s too quick, and that makes it obvious that it’s a lie.

“You’re being pushed out,” Shadow Weaver states firmly, and it’s clear who’s in control of the conversation at this point (despite the older woman being imprisoned, in shackles, a reduced version of someone who once wielded great power — it’s sure not Catra driving here.)

“I am not! It’s just Entrapta understands all that tech stuff,” she mutters –– then gives a sharp intake of breath, glancing up at Shadow Weaver. She’s made a mistake, revealing even that much, and the sorceress’s eyes narrow. “Come here,” she directs, holding out a hand.

There’s a moment of hesitation, then Catra shuffles closer — slides one leg across the floor before shifting her weight to it and sliding the other, staying in her cat-like crouch. Her expression is anxious, alarmed, and she tenses up as Shadow Weaver reaches for her despite choosing to put herself in reach in the first place. But instead of an anticipated blow, the older woman reaches to caress her, running her fingers through one of the little tufts of hair by her ear, tender and affectionate in a way she’s literally never been towards Catra (Adora, on the other hand. . .)

“She’s earned his trust. How did you let this happen, don’t you see? I want you to go further than I did. But you need to be smarter than me, stronger than me.”

“Then help me! Come up with something so you can stay!” Catra cries, and in response, Shadow Weaver shifts to cup her cheek instead. Catra leans into it, closing her eyes.

“I will try. But I’m tired now. Come back later, please,” Shadow Weaver answers. Catra stands, everything about her screams vulnerability, and she leaves the cell without another word but with a small, hopeful smile as she brushes back the same little tuft of hair that Shadow Weaver had stroked. She leaves the badge.

There’s a fuzzy moment — a little time is passing, before the memory picks up again with Catra just outside the cell she’d left earlier. She says she knows it hasn’t been long, but she’s anxious for them to work together, come up with something, and as she lets herself in Shadow Weaver doesn’t respond, sitting with her back to the exit. Catra reaches out to grasp her and her hand passes right through –– it’s a projection. The cell is now empty.

It takes a moment for her to work through it, to come to grips with what’s happened here, until she says aloud, “You were just using me all along.” But that seems to finally click things into place, and she tears up, slashing through the projection with a snarl of anger and destroying it. She drops to the ground, where there’s a magic diagram created from faintly glowing sands (the shattered remains of the badge are nearby, apparently having held the magical substance. She swipes it aside angrily and starts crying.

This one’s one hell of a roller coast ride of emotion. From the start, where she wears a front so familiar it’s clear she’s been doing it for years, to the shaky way she keeps it together as she voices an old hurt at the start — and then actually interacting with the witch. She’s afraid the woman will hurt her but so desperate for her affection that she goes anyway — and when she’s spoken to gently, caressed like maybe this person might actually care for her (love her?) it’s everything she’s ever wanted, really, and she feels unbelievably happy and hopeful to finally get everything she’s jealously watched go to another for years.

And then, well. The betrayal. You know how that goes. She probably should have known better, right? What a stupid, useless girl — of course no one would ever love her, least of all the witch, but that’s fine because she doesn’t need it, anyway. She doesn’t need anyone, she’ll take on the world teeth bared and claws out, and she’ll win in the end and show everyone who ever doubted her just how much she’s worth.]

...

[ if she had any regret about what she had done to shadow weaver ( which she didn’t ) now there are absolutely zero. in fact she feels even better about it. she hates this woman even more now for having done all this. her anger starts to simmer again, and like she’d told the witch it’s a shame she can’t kill her more than once. ]

[ she punches the cell pathetically and moves on to the first and last cell. ]

[Do you remember Kohime telling you she was afraid of getting a memory that she'd died? Looks like she took it, and never said anything.

[This one opens in Hordak's creepy inner sanctem with all its concrete and pipes and machinery, most of which Kohime can't identify. She makes her way in, a little anxious, not sure why she's been summoned here -- but her mood in general is different, too. She's stressed and she's afraid, and her boss sure is part of it.]

Catra: You. . . wanted to speak with me? Lord Hordak?

[Hordak addresses her without facing her, working on some sort of tube with a tool that resembles a screwdriver.]

Hordak: Yes, Force Captain. I wish to –– "touch base", as you put it; see how my orders are being carried out.

Catra: Everything is running smoothly.

[It's a lie, and she doesn't sell it convincingly. Hordak drops the piping he's working on and turns partly to face her, now.]

Hordak: Does this mean Shadow Weaver has been transferred to Beast Island, per my orders?

Catra: ...Yes! I sent her yesterday, just like you ordered. Believe me, we're never going to see her again.

[That's the lie, and it's immediately revealed by a recording of Kohime's own voice, admitting to someone that she "lost" Shadow Weaver and had to find her before Hordak found out -- it echoes in the room, coming from Hordak's creepy little imp spy that swoops down over their heads and lands on Hordak's shoulder with a disturbing little giggle. Apparently, she'd told someone that she'd lost track of Shadow Weaver, and Hordak had sent the imp to spy on her which was overheard. Kohime in the memory is shocked at this turn, and then terrified.]

Hordak: You lied to me.

Catra: ––Wait!

[Hordak takes a couple steps forward to reach and pull a lever, one that Kohime recognizes in this memory, she already knows what's about to happen. It activates some machinery in the room that alters the atmosphere, having no noticeable affect on Hordak (then again, he's a pretty alien-looking creature, something between a bat, vampire, and parially robotic) but there's an immediate impact on Kohime. She starts taking panicked, gasping breaths, not properly able to breathe with the device active.

It's at this point that Hordak approaches, unaffected as she struggles to breathe and collapses to her knees.]

Hordak: I know your lax security allowed Shadow Weaver to escape. I know you've been covering it up, lying about her whereabouts. But worst of all, I gave you the chance to come clean, to prove your worth to me –– to the Horde. This was a test, and you failed.

[The last thing she remembers is staring up at Hordak, tears in her eyes, pained and scared but somehow also angry and frustrated because it was always, always this way. Not good enough, worthless, thrown out like trash, first Shadow Weaver, then Adora, now Hordak.

The memory ends when her vision fades.

But it's not just the panic and inability to breathe you feel in the memory. When it ends, you still can't breathe -- it's like trying to suck air through a straw, and it's not getting any better.]

[ koko... ]

[ she’ll have to address that part later, because it feels like she’s dying over here. d.va claws at her chest as though that’s somehow going to help get her lungs working again as she tries and fails to breath. tears are now running down her cheeks as her knees buckle and she drops to the ground, gasping. ]

[ please please please,
she can’t die here. ]

[ not now,
not yet. ]

[ she has to find... the core... ]

[ but she’ll probably be passing out, if anything, because bad decisions were made earlier. ]

[There have been a lot of bad decisions here today.

Your vision fades out –– maybe you're wondering, do you survive this?

It's only some time later that you come to again. You don't know how much time has passed, but you appear to be in the lift. The air is just fine now (or, at least, "fine" for the Fright Zone) which is hopefully a relief. You also might be surprised to find your wounds have received some basic first aid, just rudimentary bandages.

The lift options read as follows:

Main Floor
Floor 2 - Childhood
Floor 3 - Cadet
Floor 4 - Force Captain

Floor 6 - Audience Chamber

Oh, and there's a Kohime (she's in a BARiTONES uniform) sitting cross-legged across from you and staring.]

Edited 2020-02-23 17:32 (UTC)

[ give her a minute to get her bearings, a lot has happened today. she rubs at her eyes and sits up, letting them adjust to the figure sitting across from her. she’s about to say “catra?” when she notices the clothes, so she immediately just launched herself at her... or tries to. she most definitely face plants first and has to scramble back up before she can properly pounce on kohime. ]

Koko!

[ she’s not crying shut the hell up. ]

[It's less "catching D.Va" and more "being bowled over by D.Va" that happens here, but.]

Whoa, chill, you're definitely in no shape to be jumping around like that.

...no, maybe not, but I’ve been looking all over for you, Kohime. [ she circles her arms around her waist and squeezes her as tight as she can manage, which isn’t actually all that tight at all. ]

[ after a minute she sits up and produces the two rings she had taken from the locker; removing one from the chain and holding her hand out for kohime’s. ] Now to put this back where it belongs.

[When she recognizes what D.Va is trying to give her, she shakes her head, closing D.Va's fingers back around it.]

You shouldn't have taken this. Giving it to me won't do anything. You. . . you should give it to the Core, that's probably the only way to fix it.

[ blinks. ]

You mean you’re not the core?

[ drops her hand and looks at the rings, putting the back with the other things she had taken. well guess who feels bad now. ]

Where can I find the core?

Nah. I'll take you, though.

[She stands and crosses to the panel, selecting the 6th floor. The lift will take them up to a long, plain grey concrete hallway with a door at the end. When it arrives, Kohime holds out a hand, and offer of help getting there because of D.Va's, you know, everything.]

...thanks Koko.

[ and that is very much appreciated, because of, well, yeah. she’s going to attempt to put herself together a bit better though, because she doesn’t want to make an even worse impression after clearly taking something she wasn’t supposed to take. ]

Sorry, by the way.
[ her gaze briefly drops to the rings and locket in her pocket. ]

[She pulls D.Va's arm across her shoulders, then, wrapping the other around her waist, and then starts them both down the hall.]

Oh, I don't really care. People have been getting into all sorts of trouble in here –– it's kind of a pain that they just let everyone run around like this.

But I don't think you would've liked the results, you know?

[ she leans into her, coiling her tail around her waist. ]

I see how that could be a real pain in the ass.

And what do you mean by results?

Hm. Let me see them, again?

...

[ she passes the rings and snaked coiled around the locket to kohime. ]

[She ignores the snake for now, and instead of taking the rings, she closes D.Va's hand on them again with her own on top, and squeezes. The effect might remind her a little bit of her unit's Buddy Bond power. She feels warmth and affection, tinged with a little bit of hope and a little bit of nervousness -- not her own feelings, but Kohime's towards her.]

I guess I just figured you didn't want to remove that. But I could be wrong.

[ she has a bit of a flashback to the thing she had read, about hss being scary, when she feels kohime’s nervousness, but thankfully all of the other feelings manage to overwhelm that. smiling, down at their hands, even as the feelings fade, she lets her tail drop from around her waist to swish. ]

I could have left them there, but they belong with us, like I said. They embody the promise I made, though I guess a ring doesn’t need to be present for the promise to still count. It’s just symbolic and all that. [ a bit of a chuckle as she leans in to give her a quick kiss. ]

[Her tail swishes. They arrive at the door, and she pauses before opening it.]

Hey. Don't wake her up, got it? She's a real pain, and you're in no shape to deal with her.

[Then she pushes the door open to the Audience Chamber, though the monster inside is currently asleep.]

Re: Floor 4

420blazeit - 2020-02-23 19:23 (UTC) - Expand