shifted_logs | Clockwork Maze

Clockwork Maze

Characters: Satoshi, Daisuke, Donna, Oliver, Benny, Riku, Isaac, Box, Ai, Cally and those who venture in to deliver friendship speeches/whacks to the head!
Location: Near the Plane's mansion in a completely empty area--UNTIL something suddenly appears!
Time: After the watch has completed its collection of hearts and has found a permanent host.
Summary: The rogue watch artwork pushes forward with its attempt to take over its host once and for all, and to make sure it can do this in peace, it creates this lovely maze and calls all its previous ~~seven evil exes~~ hosts to come protect it.
Warnings: Violence, hero speeches, expressions of friendship so sweet you may want to have a toothbrush handy, etc.

Outside the grand Plane mansion a maze of sorts suddenly springs into being, with walls that look like they've been ripped not out of someone's garden but out of thousands upon thousands of clocks and cobbled into something gorgeous and quintessentially steampunk. Brass, gold, and silver gears in various sizes click, turn, and whirr together, always ticking, always counting as watch hands of all kinds slowly move in time. The deeper one goes in, drawing ever closer to the center, the faster and chaotic the clock hands move. But those clockwork walls might not be as innocent as they appear... Traps await those who foolishly venture in, like the clockwork insects flitting and crawling about.

Somewhere from within, a deep tone chimes slowly as if tolling the hour. And in the very center of it all stands a simple woman, seemingly waiting while deep inside her, a battle rages to suppress her very being.

[ooc: Guardians, go ahead and tag in! (Log details are here.) Feel free to use log-style prose or action tag-style brackets, whichever you'd prefer to use!]

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[The sound of grinding gears pierces through his head like a lance, and the smirk returns again; though it's less of something confident and cocky- instead, it's more dark, possessed with some sort of unshared knowledge.

His focus slips off the limping one for now; it'll take a few moments to get back over to the middle of the fray. The one that just shoved him back a foot or so has become his focus. He doesn't punch. Instead, Nathan's hands curl into claws as he aims for what would otherwise be considered the jugular in humans.

There's vulnerability on the necks of everything. Even things encased in metal have places where fingers can grip, can pull at plating and bend it away, rendering the defense useless.

And that's what Nathan's trying to do. The single minded focus one might attribute to something rabid, seeking to destroy things senselessly, drives him to try to expose any wiring, any gears, any points he could drive his hands into and rip things out.

It just depends on if he can get to it.]

[The intact robot isn't liking that whole prying finger thing, so it goes to body slam him against one of the corridor walls. The impact against the walls - whether Nathan maneuvered away or if the robot succeeded in slamming him against the wall - cause a few small gears to rain down from the wall]

[and stop with your logic, Brax, it's just confusing her more]

Then why don't you do that? Or if you're just concerned with getting me out of here, why don't you force me back to the Collection with you?

No, you need to trick me into being on your side for something. You always do, you always talk me into things I know are a bad idea. And who gets hurt almost every single time, hm?

You say that as if you don't have a mild addiction to reckless self-endangerment. As if you weren't getting into trouble long before I came along. Really, I'm a mere facilitator, assisting you in doing what you truly want. A resource for your research. A connection for your adventures. A home for your family.

I want you to come back with me by choice because I want you back, Professor Bernice Summerfield. I want my best friend. Not the result of whatever monster-of-the-week has played games this time around.

[Nathan is too focused to dodge, and as a result, he's smashed into a wall. Perhaps other people might've had broken bones, Nathan is still conscious and relatively unharmed.

Except he's kicking into overdrive from adrenalin and what damage he is taking taking. His eyes light up - quite literally - becoming nothing more than red, luminous orbs in the sockets. The light from them colors his face like blood.

He bares his teeth, and lunges for the clockwork robot again; though now he moves to rip an arm clear from the socket. Maybe he can't rip the plating off just yet, but he can rip it limb from limb.

If anyone cares to notice, a slight wind has kicked up, and the ambient temperature in the room has risen a few degrees.]

[And Nathan succeeds in ripping the arm out of its socket. The limping robot makes its way over and tries to trip Nathan up and drag him down to the ground]

[Benny doesn't notice the wind. She looks at Brax for a few minutes, as if she's trying to find the right words to say, before she notices Nathan and the robots again]

He's destroying those clockwork soldiers. That's not supposed to happen.

[she looks back at Brax again]

Can't you make him stop that? They're very rare, I think [she stops, tilting her head down and rubbing her forehead] - and they're all too loud. My head, it's killing me.

[He smiles at her, then looks at Nathan. That is certainly of some concern.]

Nathan. [His voice is lingering on the edge of hypnotism, not quite there. But he hopes the hint of it will resonate with the echo in Nathan's mind and call him back.] Nathan, it's going to stop fighting now. Won't it, Bernice? And I'm not wearing the jacket for this sort of weather.

[It doesn't kick in right away, as Nathan avoids getting tripped and dragged down. It still doesn't really register until he's swung the arm like a club a few times at the head of the limping one.

But it does get to him then, and he stops to sort of glare over at Irving.

His voice is a bit more growly than normal.]

What the fuck do you want, Irving? I'm trying to fucking fight.

[He still grips the arm like a weapon. If his eyes were something more than red balls of light, it could be noted that he's glancing between Irving and the robots. If they so much as move...

The wind lingers, as does the heat.]

[one of those swings causes the head to topple off of the limping one. The armless one was about to attack, but -]

What? Oh, yes, yes, of course.

[and the robots both stop what they're doing, the armless one staring at Nathan and waiting for its arm back]

[Benny regards Brax with some skepticism still, but she's also looking confused]

If you're not wearing the right jacket, maybe you should go home. [there's not much conviction in her words though, and she still seems uncertain. She looks at the broken robots and then back at Brax] Do you think they can be repaired?

I'm sure they can be repaired. You and I can take them to someone in the technical department.

[Still calm as he addresses Nathan,] They're not fighting any longer, Nathan. Why don't you come over and we can discuss our plans for the concert?

[Nathan doesn't hand the arm over. He just flat out drops it, then walks over to Brax and Benny as if he were in a mild daze. The wind dies down, and the heat begins to settle back to where it should be.]

Hi.

[And his eyes fade back to normal.]

[the robot picks up his arm and reattaches it before going over to help out his robot bro]

[Benny is still looking slightly dazed and uncertain, when she looks to Nathan]

Oh, yes, hello.

[to Brax, still confused because she's still trying to piece together what should be happening here.]

Wait, concert?

Yes, Nathan invited us to one. I'm sure I have the tickets. [He draws out from his pocket a pair of tickets] Our first concert in another universe.

[And Nathan runs with it, as if he hadn't just been beating up robots.]

It's in Australia. Though, uh, fucking shame you guys might not get to hear like... all of us. Pickles is in rehab. So, uh, we might be playing with Drum Machine.

[Yep.]

Poor bastard. [because the idea of rehab blows] Couldn't you just postpone your concert until he's out?

[she rubs her eyes and looks down the corridor before she looks at Brax and grabs one of the tickets out of his hand. She examines it closely and does not look up at Brax]

I never said I would go with you.

[With a straight face] Perhaps you're forgetting.

[As he is certain he has Benny now, he starts absently picking up the pieces of the clockwork soldiers. He is totally repairing those if he can.]

[Nathan just shakes his head.]

We can't. If we postpone the concert, it messes up the whole schedule, and ugh, you know, I don't want to fucking deal with that.

Don't you have managers or handlers or someone whose job it is to deal with it for you? I thought half the allure of becoming great big famous musicians was escaping responsibilities.

Mr Ofdensen seems a somewhat formidable individual, however.

Yeah, I have Charles, but, uh, he already set up the gig and got Drum Machine in with us and shit, so.

I see. Somewhat formidable individuals do tend to be a bother about things.

Oh, it is good to have you back. [hair ruffle for Benny.]

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Clockwork Maze

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