EVENT #7: SEVEN DEADLY MYSTERIES

[hanamane]

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"Dark matter and dark energy got their names independently. The darkness of dark matter is literal- it doesn't interact with light other than gravitationally. The darkness of dark energy is figurative- it describes our ignorance, because the only thing we know about it is how it works."

"Red giants burn up pretty quickly, so it's possible the real Antares stopped existing a long time ago. We can see it, but it's dead. Now that I think about it...

... it kinda sounds like a ghost, huh?"










Welcome to our third Disturbance event! To recap for new players, Disturbances are surreal and dangerous dreamscapes that draw directly on the struggles, fears and emotions of a single character, similar to the TV world dungeons in Persona 4 or the Heartscapes in Blue Reflection Second Light. They're unique among Outlying Locations in that they vanish once resolved and incubate extremely powerful enemies at their core who must be defeated to save the person at its heart – in this instance, it's none other than Amane Yugi, aka Dreamer Hanako!



Using the descriptions in the log below, you may freely toplevel and have characters explore and investigate as you please! The descriptions given in this log are to give direction and progression to the events but please feel free to play around within the bounds of what's established as much as you like. Characters wishing to investigate and uncover additional hints and lore nuggets at the heart of the dungeon should indicate they are investigating in the comment header of their toplevel.



To clear the event and prevent a negative outcome on the plot that will effect both the Dream Sphere and Yumemigaoka, characters must clear both the Mid-Tier and Boss Combat Encounters by the OOC deadline of March 30th.

ARRIVAL

The shift from the city outskirts to the Disturbance is a gradual transition, compared to its previous counterparts; the railroad tracks stretch ahead, as they usually do, submerged into the waters surrounding the area. But one by one, anomalies start to pop up-- a flooded, dilapidated car here, a drifting camellia blossom there, the sky shifting from it's usual dreamy hues to a rich, midnight blue-black, splattered with stars. Even the ever present Moon in the Dream Sphere seems to shift and change, hanging low and heavy in the sky with an eerie, golden glow. Soon enough, Dreamers will find themselves wandering into what can only be described as the aftermath of a tsunami, the sad skeletons of old shops, waterlogged vehicles and floating bits of broken stone and wood among the debris. From the looks of things, there's nothing grandiose or imposing amongst all this wreckage-- only sad, lonely, shells of things that used to be, reflected by the moonlight upon the murky, dark water.

But then, past a rusting train car, it appears, like a closed-off island in this sea of destruction-- the brick façade and reaching towers of a sprawling, old-fashioned academy, largely untouched by whatever had laid waste to everything else before it. Water trickles from beneath the looming, intricate iron gate guarding it's entrance, woven through with blooming red clematis vines, offering a glimpse of the school and the vast grounds before it. Even from here, it's clear the building is abandoned; the countless windows are dark as the grave, with nary a soul nor Figment to be seen moving within them. The surrounding areas are equally as empty, the damp pathways and shadowy gardens silent and still in the damp, misty air. The vibe absolutely screams haunted liminal space, the sort of stuff teenagers with too much bravado would dare their friends to explore in the dead of night in a ritual test of courage.

But then, a breeze ripples through the gate, rustling the climbing flowers and carrying another sound within it-- the hushed sound of thousands of whispers, in as many different voices, rasping and hissing until they start to converge into a single phrase

haveyouheardhaveyouheardhaveyouheard

HAVE Y̶̏ͅO̸̳͕̯͆Ŭ̷̼͆ H̶̯̹̟̠̮͎̝̮̥͔̿̋͐̔̀͂̄͐̕͝Ȩ̸̧̤̺̮̗̥̮̞̄͒͆̓͛̍͗̉̋̽Ą̴̛̮̭͈͖̳͈̃͋̐̌̅̈͛̋͝R̸̘̣̬̘̞͙͚͍̻͋̿D̶̢̛̀̅͒̓̊̉͠ͅ

And then, as suddenly as it came, it stops, leaving only a thick undercurrent of tension and disgust. The gate, rigid and impassive as it was moments before, now gives way with the gentlest of touches, swinging open with a groaning creak.

Ready for a trial of courage of your own, Dreamers?


♫ 𝑩𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒎𝒖 𝑾𝒂𝒛𝒖 ( 𝑺𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 + 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒃 ) – 𝑱𝒊𝒃𝒂𝒌𝒖 𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒏 𝑯𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒌𝒐 𝒌𝒖𝒏 𝑶𝑺𝑻





!

COURTYARD

As the Dreamers enter through the clematis gates, they'll find themselves within a large, quiet courtyard, the landscape and benches scattered about illuminated by the honeyed glow of the moon. The pavement on the paths is dark and rich with the earthy scent of petrichor, and the entire area in general-- from the wood on the seats to the metal railing upon the steps leading into the school-- is damp, as if a rain shower had passed through the morning before. It's not the most comfortable place to sit and relax (unless you want a soggy bottom), but there's a sense of solace here, albeit one tinged through with melancholy and solitude instead.

Despite the whispers from before, the courtyard itself is devoid of any creature or construct, the only life amidst the yawning stretch of land being the bright array of flowers blooming within the planters along the walkway and the shrubs bordering the lawn. There's all sorts of blossoms on display-- cape primrose, thistles, yarrow, and snapdragons-- although upon closer inspection, something about them seems a bit off. Their petals seem too stiff, and their leaves shine with almost a plastic sheen...

The other oddity is the modest statue in the center of it all, cast in a white, luminescent rock that shines a bit too much to be marble. It appears to be an astronaut, one foot proudly propped upon a stone pedestal and helmet under their arm, but... oddly, the head seems to be missing entirely, rotted away by some odd black gunk which has already dripped down to it's chest. Within the decayed hole, a number of vibrantly red camellia seem to have taken root, spilling over and decorating the ground surrounding it in floral carnage. Totally normal and absolute not cursed outdoor decorations! Yup!!

Wretched landscaping vibes aside, this serves as the designated safe zone for any Dreamers who wish to rest, recoup... or just find themselves unceremoniously tossed out into when the building has had enough of them. But more on that in a bit!



!

FIRST FLOOR



Once the Dreamers make their way through the entrance of the academy, however, things start to get a little... odd. Just from a glance, it's definitely unlike any school interior anyone else has ever seen-- the hallways are unusually wide, the doorways are stretched all the way to the lofty ceilings, and the colors, even in this moonlit glow, look as if someone pulled their contrast and saturation to the maximum. The floors, checkered and strewn with blood red camellia blossoms, are the same sort of damp as the courtyard grounds, slightly slick with water and small puddles accumulating near the walls and the windows. It feels more like a leaky carnival funhouse than a place of learning, and it's almost a headache to take in all at once.

But then, without warning, those whispers from outside start up again, louder and more distinct as they drift ever closer.

"Hey, did you know...?" "Have you heard...?"

"About the Seven Mysteries of this place?"

And suddenly, out of the corner of your eye, you see them: dark, defined figures, like shadow puppets given solid form, their monochromatic colors standing out in harsh contrast to the bright and loud colors of their surroundings. They seem to range from early tweens to nearly college age, in terms of size and shape, milling about these expansive halls and clustered together in pairs and groups, ever whispering to one another. The good news is, these odd shadowy constructs don't seem to pay the Dreamers any mind-- they pass through the corridors, in and out of the classrooms, too engrossed in their gossip to care about anything else. Although, in a way, this is also somewhat of a double-edged sword; any attempts to get direct answers from the figures will be outright ignored, the dark figures merely walking through them as if they were made of air.

It's impossible not to eavesdrop, though, with so many hushed voices reverberating through the air, and given how the corridors seem to stretch and twist without end, paying attention to what they're saying is probably your best ticket to navigating this place. But beware: some of their gossip may wind up being about you, and whether it's true or not, it's best not to argue against it-- the more you fight against their words, the louder the whispers will be, and even if you did kiss that frog in the fourth grade, do you really want your fellow Dreamers to hear about it??


⧖ HAZARD ALERT: "Have you heard...? In the library... at a certain time of night, there's a door that appears that leads you to a room full of secret books. But beware of the ones with the red jackets... for they could spell your doom..."

It's easy enough to find the library in this place, despite the regular classrooms constantly moving locations-- the doors are the only ones wrought through with canna lilies, climbing riotously up to the ceilings above. Despite the floral overgrowth, though, it opens with little trouble, leading to a surprisingly normal sized room filled with numerous bookshelves and desks. Without the Shadow Students milling about, the place is silent, and almost peaceful... although there's also a burrowing sense of loneliness hanging heavily in the air as well.

Trying to get anything out of the books here is a fruitless task; like all dream writing, the words gnarl and garble together, wriggling out of comprehension, but there's a feeling it's mostly just dry, school-assigned novels and nothing more. But as the shadows shift along the wall, a singular book stands out, it's white spine gleaming in the moonlight. Those observant enough to grab hold of the volume will find it's the lever for a hidden doorway, making way to a sprawling room lit with flickering oil lamps and filled with towering shelves packed with all sorts of books, bound in a variety of colors-- save for red, curiously. Despite the dust and cobwebs around the area, along with the odd black sludge from the courtyard dripping down some of the walls, the canna lilies from the outside door are in full bloom here, thriving in the dim, dirty light. While some of the titles offer some resistance in being pulled from the bookcases, they slide out with some careful easing, and they prove to be simpler to read than their counterparts in the main library. Not due to the writing-- that's still as frustratingly elusive as it's always been-- but there's plenty of pictures and vibes to go off of, with the content varying greatly. Some of it is giddy, childlike tales of exploration to unknown places and planets, others are melodramatic rehashes of spooky legends, and some... are oddly familiar. Things like previous Excursions and discoveries, wild adventures within the Dream Sphere...

... and Dreamers. There's books about your fellow Dreamers in here.

Some of these books are only a couple of pages full, while some are thick with illegible writing, and though the initial impression of feelings may vary-- annoyance, amusement, admiration, aggravation-- there's a running emotion through the volumes longer you hold them. Fondness. It's a soft, wiggly feeling, like the consistency of a poached egg, delicate and ready to run if given the slightest of pressure. But peek into these books for too long-- or, worse, get nosy and start trying to find the ones belonging to Dreamers you know-- and suddenly, the novel within your hands becomes clammy and cold. The color bleeds away from the cover, almost quite literally, as a vivid crimson stain spreads from the center until it encapsulates the whole book. What did those Shadow Students say about red jackets again...?

The flutter of a thousand small wings stir up the air all around you, and... OH. Those sure are a bunch of creepy eyeball butterfly Torments looming up behind you, huh...? While tiny and individually easy to pick off (or even step on), these creatures have banded together to form a construct mirroring whichever Dreamer decided to pry more than they needed to, mimicking a good deal of their attacks and strategies. It's easy to become overwhelmed by their numbers on your own, but with the helping hand of a fellow Dreamer to coordinate attacks or take the butterfly swarm by surprise, it can be defeated with some solid teamwork. Escaping from where you came is also an option should things get too hairy, but the library will shut itself off from re-entry once you decide to leave.


⧖ HAZARD ALERT #2: "Did you know...? There's a whole other floor below this one, deep beneath the school. Pay attention to the light of the moon, and you'll be able to find it. But once you fall in, you may never come out again..."

No matter where you look-- in the maze-like hallways, or the odd, shifting classrooms filled with stacks of old radios, TVs, and desks (all functional, but curiously covered with mysterious seals)-- there seems to be no sign of how to proceed further. There's no staircases to be seen, and the one elevator that does seem to be around is faulty and is full of useless buttons (but more on that in a little while!). It seems things have already reached a dead end before they've really started...

... or have they?

Those keeping an ear on the whispers or possessing a keen eye will notice it-- the reflection of the moon on one of the puddles on the floor, glinting a warm amber before flickering out into inky darkness. Dreamers may feel compelled to move towards it... or heck, they might just accidentally stroll through it without paying it any mind, for that matter. But one moment, their foot is on wet tile, and the next, they're abruptly tugged down into the void, the frantic pressure of too much water pressing in all around them. For a terrifying moment, it may feel as if they're drowning, heart hammering against their chest and desperate for air--

... and then, just as suddenly, they're plopped into... some sort of place. It defies convention-- there are doors, of all numerous shapes, sizes, and styles, floating within the starry black void, illuminated on their own but no source of light connecting them. There doesn't seem to be a set path or direction in this Endless Door Hell, just portals upon portals upon... portals. The only logical thing to do is to choose a door and start exploring, hoping one of them will lead to an exit of some sort, but of course, things can't be that simple, can it? Some may open to what appear to be well-known locations in the Dream Sphere (although they flicker out into nothing soon after), others may unlock into memories or flashbacks... and yet others might unleash a hoard of very sludgy, very multi-legged, and very angry Torments upon you the moment you get it open! It's all a matter of luck (and maybe an observant eye) over what you may get, although eventually, after a good deal of wandering, you'll hear the sounds of school bell echoing from behind a red door, decorated with yellow camellias. Looks like you found your way upstairs...

!

SECOND FLOOR



The first thing the Dreamers will notice, upon setting foot in the second floor of this academy, is how normal it seems, in comparison to the floor before. The colors are more muted, the corridors are a normal width, and the doorways are sized just how you'd expect them to be in a school building like this. While the first floor had the appearance of a candy-colored disaster, this one, in contrast, felt more aligned to how a school should actually be-- neatly kept and maintained, with the wooden doors polished to a high shine, and not a dust mite to be seen.

That veneer of normalcy is broken, however, once you actually look down; the water from outside of the building seems to have made it's way onto this level, as illogical as it might seem, sloshing and pooling it's way around the Dreamer's ankles as they explore around this floor. There's all sorts of random little debris floating along the ground-- pens, pebbles, pieces of paper, bottles of pills, wilted flower petals-- which makes the trek a little more annoying compared to the previous level, but not impossible. The other oddity is the scent lingering through the air; one of mild mold and decay, like mildew, musty and stale in the night. It's not necessarily unbearable, but it's not pleasant, either, especially to those with more sensitive noses.

The Shadow Students, however, have not disappeared-- in fact, they seem to have only increased, although whether that's because the halls have become narrower or something else is anyone's guess, really. They continue with their whispers and rumors as usual, moving effortlessly through the standing water as they travel from classroom to classroom. Unlike before, though, they're slightly more corporeal, occasionally jostling or tripping up Dreamers in their travels, but still ultimately ignoring them all the same. Like the rest of the strangeness on this second floor, it's not really an obstacle, but it adds another layer of pesky inconvenience to navigating this place... and isn't that just a metaphor for teenagerhood?


⧖ HAZARD ALERT: "Did you hear...? There's something sinister lurking around the nurse's office at night. They say... a 2nd year student went in... and never returned. Poor thing..."

Like the library from before, the nurse's office is hard to miss-- the doorway is twisted through with chamomile and calendula flowers, though the former seems to be wilting more than the latter is, dropping small white petals into the water sloshing below. Unlike the other room, however, the door offers some resistance to being opened, sticking stubbornly in it's track until some good old elbow grease finally gets it to slide through (or someone decides to kick it down-- we're not going to judge!!). What hits first is the smell: bitter and sterile, run through with the chemically artificial reek of industrial soap and disinfectant. It's more the scent of a hospital than a modest nurse's office, and from the looks of things-- the expansive size of the room to the numerous machines and IVs hooked up to the beds (beds which were much more complex than just the usual tiny cots)-- it seems you Dreamers seemed to have stumbled into just that.

But you're not alone; instead of the Shadow Students occupying the space, there seem to be a hefty amount of Shadow Nurses drifting around instead, their hushed whispers an undertone to the hiss and beeps of the machines as they check on the charts and monitors for the empty beds. Except... upon closer inspection, the beds aren't quite empty, are they-- each space is occupied, in one way or another, with some sort of toy or random item. A threadbare red teddy bear with it's chewed up purple twin lying next to it on one, a couple of Teki-Terra action figures on another... and then others with picture books and novels, a somewhat gnawed on Switch controller and some video games, a music player with a somewhat warped, tinny version of a certain idol's song playing through it's headphones... all with odd, black sludgy handprints on the mattress and the bed stand nearby it.

There's no precise trigger for when it happens; perhaps you've been investigating one of the charts or random items for a bit too long, or perhaps you bumped into one of the beds or bits of floating debris on the ground by accident... heck, you might have even just walked into the room. But suddenly, a voice cuts through the whispery haze, harsh and distorted compared to the overall quiet in the room.

"What are you doing out of bed?" "You can't be roaming around like this--"

And then... OH. Those Shadow Nurses are sure looking in your direction now, aren't they? Even without facial features, there's an unnerving sensation of multiple eyes boring upon you, as one by one the figure swivel their attention your way. Before you know it, they're converging to descend upon you, arms reaching and hands grasping as they try to pin and corral their unlucky target towards one of the beds.

"You need to rest" "So young, poor thing"
"It'll be over before you know it" "It won't hurt, don't worry"
"p̴o̷o̷r̸ ̴t̷h̵i̷n̷g̷"
"You have to think about your health" "There's nothing to be scared of"
"p̷̛̻o̷͖͌o̴̭͌r̸͇̋ ̶̠̾t̴͚̔h̴͉͝i̴̛̝n̶̟͂ǵ̵̳, p̶̘͒̋̅̏̈́̍͘͝o̵̦̫͙̒͐͑͑͌́͊̔̒ŏ̶̡͖̼͚̝͚̥̺̖̤̄́̅͜r̴͙̜̤̃̈̾̅ ̷̛͈̘̠̮͉̝̺͕͊ẗ̴̨̲̠̜́͂͆̃̄̈́̓̅̂͘ẖ̵̝́ȉ̶̧͈̙̟̖̼̊̃̇̈́̉͜ͅṋ̸̘̥̲̺̟̰̟͓̟̿̓̊͜g--"

Being shadow constructs, they're easy enough to disperse with a well placed attack, but with their numbers and malleable forms, it's fairly easy to get smothered or suffocated by them if you're not quick enough to strike, so keep on your toes! They seem to only be able to focus on a single Dreamer at a time, so leaping in to save your fellow mahou-in-arms (or provide a good distraction) is a solid strategy in defeating them!

Or... you can also just try your luck and high tail it out of there, but with the sticky door, that might be more trouble than it's worth-- especially with no other leads on how to get to the next floor. However, there is something else in the room...


⧖ HAZARD ALERT #2: "There's a wonderland on the other side of the looking glass. There are mirrors there that reflect... the hearts of all those who wander inside. Someone with a beautiful or brave heart will be just fine. But if their heart contains even the smallest bit...of ugliness or fear..."

Maybe you spot it after you defeat the Shadow Nurses, or perhaps when you're escaping from them... or maybe you just got incredibly lucky and dodged their notice somehow while you've been here in this cursed office-- but propped above one of the sinks in the room is a mirror. That alone shouldn't be much of note, but wilting around the frame is a number of red spider lilies, and if there's been a running theme in this Disturbance, it's that flowers probably mean something around here. Not that it's immediately apparent at first glance, of course; it just seems like a normal (albeit very floral) mirror, dingy around the edges and reflecting the room around it. But then, there's a shift within-- a smirk, from your very own reflection, eyes tinting yellow and glimmering with malevolent mischief. Swiftly, without warning, it lunges forward, breaking free from the confines of the mirror to grab at whoever's in front of it and drag them in, pulling them through the glass as if it were merely water.

Contrary to popular belief, there isn't a wonderland on the other side of the looking glass-- in fact, there's a whole lot of nothing, just a round room illuminated by a single, unseen spotlight and surrounded by mirrors in all shapes and sizes, stretching to the vanishing ceiling up above. In the middle of it all stands a full-length mirror in an ornately wrought frame, bearing down upon them as their reflection smiles impishly back. But unlike the looking glass in Mio's Disturbance, this reflection isn't interested in playing a game of follow-the-leader, an unsettlingly familiar giggle echoing in the air as it fades from view.

"There's nothing to be afraid of...

The glass all around turns murky and dark, and then something in the atmosphere of the small room... changes. It's like reality stretches thin, like a rubber band being pulled too taut, and then abruptly retracts, altering everything around it with a snap. What happens next depends on the Dreamer-- if they're the rare sort that are pure of heart and conscience, with no worries or concerns plaguing their mind, then the only thing different in the room will be a door where the mirror frame used to be. But if they're not... that's when things start to get a little hairy. Depending on what fear or worries the Dreamer harbors most in their heart, the Torments that manifest in the room will change to reflect that, whether it's oddly benign to catastrophically deadly-- be it swarms of fluffy rabbits, hellishly hot fires... or just people relentlessly bullying you over your chunky legs. (yes, really.) It's either face your fear head on and fight your inner darkness in order to escape, or be paralyzed and taken over by your demons... unless someone else comes to your rescue. After all, burdens are lighter when they're shared, and what might be terrifying for some might not be so bad for others.

... of course, breaking the main mirror is always an option, but that's just going to kick you out to the second floor hallway, and do you really want to deal with the Shadow Nurses again?

!

STAIRWELL



Whether you were fortunate enough to stroll through the door in the mirror room without a sweat, or had to fight tooth and nail through your fears in order for it to manifest, what lies on the other side of the doorway is something a bit... new. Instead of the endless corridors of the first two floors, Dreamers instead find themselves on a landing of some sort, facing a set of stairs ascending to the next level. The stairway itself glistens pale and luminescent in the moonlight, white camellias woven around the bannisters and scattered about the steps as they stretch upwards. Strangely, it's drier here compared to the rest of second floor, the water merely a shallow pool along the floor and dribbling languidly down the staircase. It seems like a no-brainer to push forward-- after all, there doesn't seem to be any other way to get to the next floor, what with the continuing trend of shifting classrooms and twisty halls, and this time you at least have a set of stairs to use instead of a weird pocket dimension, right? But wasn't there a rumor floating around about this place, too...?

⧖ HAZARD ALERT: "...Have you heard? There is a rule regarding that staircase that you must never break... You must never set foot on the 5th step. If you do... you'll be taken to the other side...."

Ah yes... with a warning like that, it seems simple enough to avoid this trap. As long as the Dreamers are quick and skip the fifth step heading up the stairs, they can bypass whatever horror is waiting for them down below. The staircase is a bit of a trek, and somewhat slippery thanks to the water running down it (watch your footing!) but soon enough, the third floor landing is in sight, ready to lead the rescue team further in to the Disturbance...

... but then... the rumor never quite specified if it was the fifth step up or fifth step down, did it?

As soon as your foot hits that step, it's as if everything drops away, sending you plummeting down, down, down into an ever narrowing chute. It's a long, perilous plunge, but thankfully something soft, squishy and (unfortunately) a bit soggy finally breaks your fall, helping you bounce with minimal damage onto solid ground. It's hard to say what this place is, exactly-- it's towering and narrow, almost like an elevator shaft, but it's hard to imagine any sort of machinery working in here. The walls are lined, from bottom to top, with all sorts of faucets, with the thick vines and stems of numerous flowers, in various stages of decay, weaving about them. The scent of rotting flowers almost overpowers the smell of stagnant water swirling about their feet, murky and dark as it laps against the chaotic mess of toys bobbing about. Battered stuffed animals, broken trains, chipped rocket ships, half-inflated balls-- it looks as if a child's playroom got turned upside down and deposited in this place, but considering some of it stopped you from breaking any Dreamer bones, maybe it's not a bad thing...

It may be seconds, or minutes, or maybe even hours before another Dreamer is plopped alongside you-- that is, if you hadn't already fallen in with someone in the first place. But the moment there's more than one person in this room, a sound screeches through the air-- one that sounds like a thousand rusty faucets turning on at once. And then all of a sudden, it's nothing but water, water, dark and gunky and uncomfortably sludgy water, cascading down upon you two with no means of stopping any time soon. With how narrow the space is, it doesn't take long for things to start filling up, the flood climbing higher and higher and threatening to overwhelm Dreamers if they don't start working together to climb to higher ground soon. With the faucets and the vines on the walls, it's possible to help each other scale the walls to escape-- or even put some creative Dreamer abilities to the test to launch yourself higher up the shaft. Near the top, there's a moon shaped door, signifying an emergency exit, though it'll take some clever planning to get both Dreamers out in one piece. Staying in the water and letting it carry you to the top is also an option, if you tread long enough-- but it comes with an unsettling sensation of something slick and slimy pulling at your arms, your legs, a lilting, distorted voice burbling up from down below to coo:

"Give up... stop fighting... it's useless in the end anyway..."

... yeah, you might just... want to avoid being in there too long if you can help it. Yikes.

!

THIRD FLOOR



Whether you manage to scamper through the emergency exit in the flooded room, or were just clever enough to avoid both the top and botton fifth steps and made it to the end of the stairs (which... good for you for side-stepping that absolute nightmare fuel of a puzzle), you'll find yourself stepping into an unfamiliar hallway... and an absolute hell of rot and decay. The scent of earthy, putrid mold and dying white camellia flowers hang heavy in the air of this dimly lit floor, the wood frames on windowsills and doors slickly dark with fungus and water damage. While the previous floor felt more like a normal school, this one is like a post-apocalyptic, claustrophobic disaster, the corridors squeezing in on the Dreamers in a narrow, constricting fit and the water rising up to drag along their shins and calves. There's a murky, dark, and somewhat disgusting quality to the flooding on the ground, akin to the waters in that cursed shaft, and it pulls at Dreamers in much of the same way, deliberately slowing them down and tiring them out the longer they traverse the halls. In the glow of the moon, it almost looks like there's an eye peering up from the depths, or a pair of lips, twisted in a grotesque grin... but surely that's just a trick of the light, right?

The Shadow Students still remain in the hallways, drifting through the decomposing carcass of the school like nothing, flitting past the rusted shut classroom doors and peeling paint as they continue their rounds of whispers. But maybe it's the tighter hallways, or maybe it's because you're getting closer to the heart of things, but the dark figures seem to be getting more aggressive, deliberately knocking into Dreamers or pushing them into the grimy water and pointing their vicious rumors and mockery their way. Sticks and stones may break your bones, but these words actually hurt, in the physical sense, stinging and biting like a swarm of angry bugs. Ignoring them has gotten you this far, but maybe it's about time you started to fight back-- although the narrow space and standing water is probably going to be one hell of a mobility disadvantage.

If you've been keeping an ear on the rumors (at least, the ones that weren't try to eat you alive), you may catch onto a familiar name in the babble:

"In the 3rd stall from the end of the bathroom on the third floor of the building...you'll find Hanako-san. To summon them, you knock three times...And thenー"

Was this a clue to find Amane...? After all, it does make sense-- he's a ghost-themed Dreamer after all, named after a popular urban legend, so it would be fitting to check in the bathrooms... even if a place like this having any sort of restrooms seems a bit odd. (It's Dream Logic, don't question it!!)

As with the other locations, the bathroom is easy enough to find, especially here in the midst of the decay of the third floor. The door, small and modest as it is, is covered with rotting yellow lilies and headless white camellias, the latter floating along the dark waters like tiny pale boats. With all the rust and the deteriorating wood, it's a struggle to get the entrance opened, but some well-aimed Dreamer powers will get the job done (or just a good, solid kick... seriously, we're not judging in the slightest), leading to... a surprisingly normal looking restroom! The floods and the accompanying decomposition somehow haven't seemed to have touched this place, with only the gunk from outside pooling slightly on the floor from where the Dreamers have entered.

There's an overwhelming sense of loneliness, hopelessness, and sorrow radiating from the small room, as the moonlight tints everything in a reddish gold glow from the stained glass windows. A small sob cuts through the air, hiccupping and breathless, the voice haunting and painfully familiar in the otherwise silent bathroom. The weeping continues the further one walks in, the doors to the first two stalls swinging open and empty as they pass. But the third...

Knock once, and the crying comes to an abrupt stop, waves of shame and anxiety radiating from behind the closed door. Knock again, and the shame gets replaced by something much stronger, much more intense, the malevolent energy pulsing and crackling around the edges of the stall.

go away i dont want you here leave me ALONE

Knock one more time, and the dark, bitter feelings surge and boil over, pressure mounting

goawaygoawaygoAWAY G̸̖͈̰͎̮̽͑͝ ̷̝̫̗̭̑̽̚E̶̝̭̜̠̒́͛̔̕ ̶͓̝̺̾̎̇͊͜Ț̸̡̰̹̠͒̀͑ ̴̝͙̫̎͜ ̸̰͔̰͍̌̓ͅO̸̜̓́̂̆͗ ̴̠̣͚̬͚͊U̵͎̇ ̴̙̔̑̄͂̿Ț̴͍̥̖̿̇̋͝

But then, the door swings open with a quiet, anticlimactic click, squeaking on it's hinges, and... huh. There's nothing there, save for a lone toilet, but... why is everything suddenly getting so dark...?

!

ELEVATOR

If there is one thing that remains consistent between the levels of the school, no matter how deep into this Disturbance a Dreamer travels, it's the elevator.

... yes, the elevator. Old fashioned in style, forged of tarnished bronze and gleaming in the light of the moon, it always lingers just out of sight whenever the Dreamers enter a new floor. The interior, while a bit dusty and smelling of oil, is dry as a bone compared to the rest of the building, instead carpeted with red, white, and purple camellias. The other curiosity, aside from the flowers, are the mechanics of the elevator itself-- there are numerous buttons, lined up and down the control panel, more than there are possible floors to this place, and the display panel above the gate only reflects that.

It begs to question, then, why anyone would subject themselves to the various dangers and traps lying in wait when a simpler option of exploring exists-- but taking a chance on one of the buttons makes the answer painfully clear. Despite finding the elevator cab stalling and ready for riders on whichever floor you might be, it refuses to move to anything but the ground level, no matter which individual buttons are pushed. Manhandling the control panel or trying to physically get the carriage to budge via Dreamer abilities will earn folks a swift boot back to the courtyard, undoing any sort of progress they may have made investigating the Disturbance-- and surely you don't want to go through all of that again, do you?

But the elevator isn't just there to aggravate people or be a tease-- those who have been keeping a keen ear on the rumors, paying close attention to the tiniest details and turns of phrase, may have picked up on it. The seemingly innocuous but oddly specific numbers mentioned in these stories...

2nd...

5th...

3rd...

The moment the buttons to these floors are pressed in succession to each other-- 2, 5, 3-- the doors automatically rattle shut, locking into place before the carriage starts to ascend. The vintage display panel slowly ticks off the floors as the elevator travels up, and up, and up, the gates rattling as it's pulled along ever higher. There's something curious about the choice of numbers here, though, and to those either skilled in goroawase, or just... really good at pager texting in the 90's, it starts to become clear it's a code for something else.

2 5 3

tsu ka sa

tsukasa

Before the significance of that can completely sink in, however, the cabin shudders to a stop, the arrow on the display pointing to a faded crescent moon. The doors clatter open, bringing the clammy, brisk breeze of the night into the stuffy carriage, and in the distance, on the top of one of the roof spires, you see him.

But he's not alone...

code

Comments

[liedol]

Mm. That's right.

[ There's no point in pretending otherwise now. The whole point of keeping it a secret had been to allow Amane and Hanako to continue being separate for as long as Amane wanted it. But the barrier has already been breached, if it was even still up by now. What good will lying about this do?

Which is a shame, really. It's the one thing Ai really knows how to do. ]

Or, well... that's how it was with Amane-kun even before he was a Dreamer. I've known him since the day he was born, after all.

[determinationtofist]

Ai-san...

[ This is probably the most personal information that Hibiki has ever seen Ai divulge, even if it is under... well, not-ideal circumstances. ]

Family, huh?

[ Family... they care about each other, are there for them when it matters most, right? That's how it's supposed to be... ]

In... in that case, um... I don't think I'd know what to say if I found him, but... I'm sure that you'll be able to help him!

[liedol]

[ Hibiki's a good kid, isn't she? And it's not like Ai doesn't understand where she's coming from. After all, even before she's Amane's doting auntie, she's Dreamer Ai-Doll. Saying the things people want and need to hear is what she does best as an idol and as a person. If there's anyone who could talk some sense into Amane, short of bringing his mom here, it'd surely be Ai.

But that's just it, isn't it? Talking is all she can do. If Amane really is getting so sick that he had to come here to run away from it then how is she supposed to help?

But she can't tell Hibiki that. She barely even wants to admit it to herself. So instead, she rubs her hands over her face, trying to set her expression back into something neutral and surprises herself by managing a proper smile for the younger girl. Not one of her best, but it's passable. ]

Let's hope you're right. I guess right now, the big roadblock is just going to be finding him full stop. Looks like there's not too many clues here, though...

[determinationtofist]

[ Alas, even if she did say it, it’s not like Hibiki would have had an answer. It’s not something anyone can just answer, for that matter.

All one can do, at least in Hibiki’s eyes, is say “even so” and just keep on trying. She’s nothing if not stubborn, after all.

So she just does what she can, returning an awkward smile to Ai as she starts to look around herself. ]

Mm… aah, I wish I was better at investigating and stuff… I heard the shadow girls talking about mirrors and stuff on my way here, but they also kept talking about things I did when I was a kid? That was weird…

[ …and maybe lighten the atmosphere a little, or at least, as much as it can when there are still creepy shadow nurses muttering about. ]

[liedol]

[ At that, her expression turns more complicated - wry, fond and a little more frustrated but somehow a bit more real, too. It's a bit less forced, at least. ]

It really is just like Amane-kun to make all this as hard as possible... and here I was thinking Ango-kun was our problem child.

[ If she's joking like that then... she's probably okay. ]

Should we head out together and see what we can find, then? I don't think Amane-kun's going to turn up in here, at least.

[determinationtofist]

[ Similarly, Ai's comment gets a genuine snicker out of Hibiki, a laugh that she fails to keep down completely. ]

Snk...! Maybe that's why they get along...

[ If by "get along" you mean "frequently seen bickering", then yes, the problem children do in fact get along. ]

Mm, okay! Still, it's weird... they talked about this place so much, is it really just a red... um, red... fish thing?

[ "Red Herring" is the term Hibiki's forgotten. With that said, Hibiki is unfortunately untrusting of her own intuition, so her attention moves over and past the floral mirror on the wall. ]

[liedol]

If he's trying to stay here, it would make sense for us to get lead in the wrong direction...

[ Typically, following along with what would 'make sense' in the Dream Sphere is a fool's errand but in a dream like this, so tightly structured and singularly unified under one person's visions...

In a lot of ways, it's Ai's worst nemesis. She's no good at picking out people's feelings in the clear light of day. Forget all this symbolism. But if it's Amane, she at least has to try. ]

... I wonder... Hibiki-chan, did you see any more flowers on your way here?

[determinationtofist]

Hm? Flowers? Oh well, a whole lot if you count all the stuff floating around on the way here, but otherwise not really... ah! Except until I got here! Cuz the door was covered in them, right?

[ The "stuff floating around" may not even really count now that Hibiki thinks about it. It's a whole lot of junk and petals, but no full flowers. ]

There was also the library door on the first floor... do you think they mean something?

[liedol]

I'm not sure yet. [ Said as she's trailing her eyes around the office, her expression perhaps just a little too focused. If any of the Dreamers here should be able to pick out something about Amane from all this noise it should be her, right? ] But I don't think they mean nothing.

[ Her eyes pass over it once or twice but just as she's making one last sweep -

There. ]

... The sink?

[ Cautiously, she starts to approach. ]

[determinationtofist]

Hm?

[ Hibiki watches as Ai approaches the sink, the one with the flowery mirror. Now that her attention is on it, she feels silly for not noticing it earlier, but she approaches just behind Ai, keeping her danger sense sharp...

...yet despite keeping it sharp, it kicks in too late, that figurative alarm only going off in Hibiki's head when their reflections in the mirror turn sinister. ]

...! Ai-san!!

[ Hibiki reaches out to grab Ai at the same time as the hands lunge out of the mirror to grab them. ]

[liedol]

[ Ai sees it a second after Hibiki does - just barely quick enough to jolt back and ensure that only her arm gets snagged by the whatever the hell that is on the other side of the mirror. For a terrifying moment, her entire body lurches forward with the force of its pull but then she slams a foot into the sink, bracing herself as hard as she can to stop herself going any further. ]

Hibiki-chan-! [ It's a panicked response and a command all at once. ] Pull me back if you can!

[determinationtofist]

[ Ai doesn't even have to say it, Hibiki is already grabbing onto Ai in the brief window of time she provided by fighting back against the pull. Her hand grabs onto Ai's and holds fast, fighting against the force attempting to drag Ai inside.

To Hibiki's credit, she's a very strong girl, the floor tiles beneath her feet crack as she pulls Ai back just enough that she can grab Ai's arm with both hands and better brace herself for this tug-of-war, but... ]

"What are you doing out of bed?"

[ Again, Hibiki's danger sense flares up as the shadow nurses choose now of all times to turn their attention to them. ]

I-If I can overcome m-many...!

[ If she can start singing she can probably pull Ai out of the mirror's grasp, but there's too much happening. The hands are starting to try and pull at Hibiki too, the shadow nurses are slowly turning their attentions to them, and her hands are occupied with holding Ai. Her mind's disarray interferes with her song, and she fails to get it started right away. ]

A-Ai-san...!!

[ Her feet slowly start to slide across the floor towards the mirror as an arm reaches out of the mirror to grab and pull at Hibiki by her shoulder. Shit has rapidly hit the fan, now. ]

[liedol]

[ With their strength combined, Ai and Hibiki aren't exactly an easy pair to best but neither is this... whatever it is in the mirror. Even with Hibiki straining with all her might, Ai can feel them both inching towards the mirror. Some instinct based on nothing more than years of being subjected to dream logic tells her that if she goes in here, they'll both go in. She could insist Hibiki let go to save herself - which she already knows Hibiki would never do - but if Ai goes in, that leaves Hibiki all alone to deal with the shadow nurses.

Amane would make it this hard to save him, wouldn't he?

Ai grits her teeth. ]

Hibiki-chan- let go of one of my arms, just for a second!

[ She has a plan but there's no time to try and actually communicate it. ]

[determinationtofist]

E-Eh!? U-Um...!

[ Let go of one of Ai's arms... it's understandable that Hibiki's immediate reaction is apprehensive. Letting go of one arm means only one fighting against the pull of this mirror. They could both end up being pulled in that much faster.

...but if Ai has some kind of plan, then all Hibiki can do is trust her leader, right? After a brief moment of hesitation, Hibiki releases her grip on one of Ai's arms. ]

H-Hn...!

[ It's immediately harder to fight against the pull, but she's done her part as Ai wanted. ]

[liedol]

[ The two of them lurch forward with another stomach-churning jolt and for a terrifying moment, Ai thinks she's underestimated both of them and they're going to go straight in. But Hibiki, somehow, holds out long enough and those precious few seconds will have to be enough for Ai to do her part as well.

With a flurry of light, Ai calls her Sandglass to hand, angles it towards the mirror and as she calls over her shoulder to Hibiki - ]

Close your eyes!

[ - a flurry of stars come pouring out of the end and the mirror explodes into shards. ]

[determinationtofist]

[ Maybe all that working out that Hibiki does outside of the Dreamsphere really does have an effect in here. Hibiki is stubborn, and Hibiki is strong... put them together and, well, of course she's able to push past her limits. ]

Hn...!

[ Hibiki shuts her eyes tight, and with the shattering of the mirror, there's a loud shriek... and the hands briefly stiffen, ceasing their attempts at pulling Ai in... which might result in Hibiki accidentally yanking Ai back with a bit too much force, considering she was putting her all into pulling her back. ]

[liedol]

[ Glass sprays everywhere and the moment there's any slack, Ai and Hibiki both go tumbling back. She hits the floor - privately grateful she didn't end up crushing Hibiki in the process - hard enough to knock the wind out of her.

She doesn't give herself any time to try and regain her bearings, though. Even as the glass is raining down onto the floor, Ai's scrabbling to her feet, throwing a hand out for Hibiki to pull herself up as well. ]

Can you make it to the door?

[determinationtofist]

[ To be fair, Ai couldn't have crushed Hibiki even if she tried. They have similar builds, and Hibiki isn't that much taller than her... but she's a strong girl both in and out of the dreamsphere. To be quite frank, Ai would weigh almost nothing to her in real life, and she's practically weightless to Hibiki in the Dreamsphere. If anything, Hibiki actually acts as something of a cushion to break Ai's fall.

More importantly, though, Hibiki is quick to take Ai's hand and get back to her feet. ]

Y-Yes!