revivalproject | You're in My World Now

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You're in My World Now

WHO: Donnie et tu?
WHERE: Temb...a?
WHAT: Just when you thought you knew a place...
WHEN: During the earlier part of the storm
WARNINGS: Blood, things trying to eat people, grabby plants and all the potential danger that comes with the aforementioned

i. a little parlor trick
Ohhhh he had not meant to come here.

His curiosity about the strange vines had been his undoing, and before he knew it, Donnie had found himself being dragged through one of the creepy tears in whatever dimensional fabric there was.

It's concerning enough to see his breath freeze in front of him when he's hardly dressed for such a chill, but then he's almost choking as he finds out the hard way that this place hasn't the freshest of air. Thankfully the latter is one thing he does find himself prepared for as he pulls his breathing mask into place, one problem solved, but oh so much more to deal with. It's hard to focus when you're right on the verge of panicking.

His surroundings are familiar enough for him to figure out what's going on, or at least to construct some rough theories. An alternate space within Temba? But what did that have to do with a storm? For surely there was one, or at least he could only assume for the more obvious points, but those were all prior to...whatever this is.

...it is so cold here. Mind-numbingly so, and it makes him feel sluggish. The opening- right, he should probably try to find that and get out of here. Which way was it though..?

The flutter of wings grabs his attention if belatedly, and he cries out as several of the batlike creatures descend upon him. He smacks one with his hand, turning to run as adrenaline helps to get him moving again, but in his panic he forgets all about looking for the exit. He's got other priorities at the moment, especially as he catches a glimpse of something else moving in the dingy light. That's...not a human, is it...

ii. friends on the other side
Maybe you'd seen him duck in here some time earlier, maybe you just happen upon him by chance. A ruined building but it's got enough walls that Donnie feels fairly secure, and even then, barely.

He's practically wedged himself into a corner, hands locked around the length of his tech-bō, knees pulled in with his arms around them as though to make himself as small as possible. It's also an ill attempt at trying to stay warm as his hoodie isn't really doing it for him. Being cold-blooded sucks sometimes.

It might be easy to miss him, as still as he is, but in the quiet it's not hard to make out his breathing, quick and slightly amplified for the breathing mask he wears, sometimes just that, other times whispered words trying to psyche himself up, trying to keep himself awake.

Maybe you come upon the kid when he's threatening to doze off.

Or maybe you make enough noise that he jerks himself into alertness, an almost wild look in his eyes as he swings the pointed end of his staff in your direction with a gasp.

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And searching for a new hiding spot, here's a someone making enough noise (accidentally) to barely miss not getting hit on the face with a pointy weapon. Probably most of what keeps her from getting hit harder is her reflexes from years of athletics. Ow, but she'll live. When she speaks, it's not too loudly: “Sorry. Just a boring, regular human here.” Lucky for both of them. And if she'd had a weapon on her, and could use it, she would have had the same reaction he did, so really - smart on his part.

It takes him way too long (by his standards) to process what's just happened but he eventually lowers the titanium bō with a ragged sigh.

"I'll take boring, regular humans any day," Donnie says, looking past her with the sudden reminder that there's still non-human things out there. He shakes his head, trying to brush off the lethargy that's been clinging to him with the cold. "Did you get dragged in too...?"

“Yeah, lucky me. Do we win a prize for being dragged here? Because so far it sucks.” She says, with what to her is pretty blunt. “Have you been here a while?” In this hiding spot, she means. In other words: Are they gonna have to leave soon or is it a pretty solid spot?

"Pretty sure there's no prizes for that..." He's still on the fence about whether this is a good development or not, but he decides it's better than being alone. Misery loves company or something something...

"Uh..." Donnie blinks, then shakes his head as he rubs at his arms again. "I don't know. I lost track of the time and I'm not sure if I dozed off before you got here..." He's just thankful that a human had come upon him then rather than whatever those weird faceless things are.

That it does. Plus, maybe they can have a little more luck against any creepy things that might show up between two of them.

"Honestly, time's starting to feel a little fake to me too." Which she's kind of not sure if that's a great thing or not. "No chance this place has a secret stash of other weapons to use?"

The turtle kid shakes his head. "Not that I've seen..." To be fair, he hadn't been looking. "This one's mine."

High-grade titanium isn't the most comfortable thing to be holding when you're freezing and cold-blooded but there's no way he's letting go of his baby. Not to mention it's the only weapon still effective when all the power's out.

Something came hurtling toward him from the other side, a sigh by his ear then a screech from one of the bats as it was struck and knocked to the ground. In the chaotic flurry of the bats that followed, several scattering in a panicked surprise, then falling down on the alien object with their claws out, a muffled voice called, "Keep running!" The bats that had been distracted suddenly burst into flame, sending them whirling with dying calls and in trails of spark and ash in desperation into the sky.

From a crumbling doorway, Tony encouraged again, "Come on!," eyes already on that larger body moving through the dark, its posture alert and its head expanding awfully before it unleashed its own cold cry toward the flare of heat. Tony wound up and threw another grenade toward it, not watching for the bomb to land and instead holding a hand out for Donnie to pull him through into the dark halls where they might be able to retreat into a warren.

Donnie had no time to think any further than to follow the shouted directions, glancing back with a gasp as fire bloomed in the hazy atmosphere. He'd appreciate it more if he wasn't panicking.

It finally clicked in his mind why the voice was so familiar once he saw Tony there, relief helping spur him a little faster. He watched him throw something but didn't dare look back to see what the target was this time, not with that sound. He scrambled through the doorway with Tony's help, free hand grasping him desperately, not wanting to be left alone around here.

The demogorgon batted the grenade away with the flick of a clawed hand as it spun toward the sounds, sending it into the rot of the undergrowth where it burst into a bonfire. If the creature cared at all about the destruction, it didn't show it, instead galloping toward the voices to come crashing through the doorway where they had echoed. It took stone and plaster with it, bringing in a cascade of rubble is it lifted the bloom of its head to taste the air.

With a grip around Donnie's hand like a vise, Tony hauled had hauled him into the crumbling structure and dragged him stumbling only a few steps before the thundering approach outside had him throwing himself around the next corner and against the wall. He hauled Donnie with him to pull against his chest, free hand coming up intending to press over his mouth to warn him against making any noise, only to collide with a shockingly loud clatter against the mask there just as the creature burst into the building. A jolt of panic for the noise went through Tony, but he kept the hand there anyway, reluctant to move now that the creature was inside, only tipping his head close with a quick, "Sh." He couldn't hear the beast anymore, only the crackle of the growing fire that had started to flicker outside the pit of the nearest window.

It felt like an annoying amount of needless mental gymnastics just to keep up with the situation, which boiled down to 'keep running, don't look back.' Tony at least seemed to have a better idea for what was going on and knew how to navigate the ruined building. Donnie'd feel bad about being such a dead weight if he had the chance.

Suddenly he was jerked around a corner, and while being grabbed and pulled was generally not something he tolerated very well, the turtle allowed, it glad for the presence of a warm body, for someone that was managing to think clearly in spite of things. The sudden rattle against his mask and the sound seeming even louder than his thudding heartbeat and his breath making him go rigid, but he nodded once, hoping his breathing wasn't nearly as loud as the mask made it sound to him.

Every sound felt horrifically loud to Tony, who was trying to listen for the monster over the thudding of his own heart, and he so carefully slowly dragged the scarf that was wrapped around his head down to drape over Donnie's head, as much to muffle the sound of the breath caught in his mask as it was to help them melt further into the darkness. It had been difficult to tell how blind these things actually were, when they reacted so strongly to every other sense. The fire slowly eating away at the dead vines and debris outside must have been enough to cover them, though, making an unsteady wall collapse and making the air acrid with smoke; Tony couldn't hear the creature hunting them anymore. He risked slowly peeking around the corner, keeping Donnie hugged close, and couldn't see any movement in the flicker of the flames.

He still kept his voice to a breathy whisper, taking much of the irritable energy out of his question ask he asked, "What are you doing here?"

A scarf was a poor shield but it did the trick of easing Donnie's breathing, if just a tiny bit. He didn't realize he was clinging until Tony moved to check on whether things were clear or not.

He took the man's breaking his silence as a positive thing, and it was probably for the best that he didn't sound annoyed. Still, it took a moment for the turtle to reply.

"I- I got pulled in... Where is here anyway?"

Edited 2023-10-17 23:18 (UTC)

Tony took the beat while Donnie gathered himself to pull the scarf more deliberately over his head so it draped around his shoulders, and Tony held it there over his ears for somewhere to put his anxious energy like that might be enough to warm Donnie through. The explanation he got was not very convincing. Donnie's mask didn't look like an accident. Tony's skeptical frown was short-lived, though, for him to answer, "Some kind of Mirror Universe, except nobody is sexy. You're not going to find anything worthwhile over here, it's just those things--we've got to get you back--" That was too bold, too fast. Tony knew he should have been more on guard, and not trusting that they had been left entirely alone. He heard it first, but only with enough time to cut himself off with a sharp gasp, then the shotgun-wound flare of the creature's head was around the corner, all teeth and spit, and roaring.

At least Tony's prattle was consistent, and Donnie certainly wasn't going to object to getting back, not that he remembered where he'd gotten pulled through in the first place. But if Tony was here then maybe he knew the way to get there.

Except it wasn't going to be as simple as that, because any further thought of escape was thoroughly rattled by the creature from earlier now oh so much closer that Donnie could see much more of how horrible it was than he would have preferred. His fingers tightened around Tony's forearm, heartbeat and quickened breaths starting anew.

"Sweet Seymour what is that???"

That was the kind of phrase that Tony thought he'd only ever heard the Thing utter, which was almost ridiculous enough for him to laugh if he wasn't busy pushing Donnie out ahead of him so he could put himself between the kid and the flailed out claws of the creature, catching them across his back. Seymour wasn't a bad name for it. Tony didn't really have the time to hiss in pain, either, as the thing had caught onto the wall to drag itself around, the wide, open pit of its mouth first this time, perfectly presented for Tony to shove his fist straight into. This shocked them both enough that Tony almost had time to retract his arm, almost, the Seymour's head folding closed around his hand, teeth like needles catching into his skin and holding him for a terrifying, painful, terribly endless second. Just until they were quickly flying away again for the Seymour to burp a balloon of fire as the grenade Tony had released finally burst. The Seymour teetered where it stood, like it might be so beyond understanding the damage that had been done that it simply didn't accept it, and Tony took this processing time as his chance to yelp, "Go, go!" and send them running into the dark again.

One would have to forgive Donnie for not taking the immediate opportunity to bolt as he saw the thing's head enclose around Tony's fist, which the man had deliberately thrust into it. By the time it occurred to him that maybe he should help fight back or something, there were flames, and then he was being ushered back through the ruins.

He had no idea where he was meant to go but he still ran. It may have looked like some kind of plant from the top but the rest of it was no business he wanted a part of. Well okay, he could do without the teethy flower-maw too.

This was the first time that Tony had thought all that hard about the detailed biology of the creatures stalking through this wasteland, and largely he was concerned with the very immediate possibility that they were both ugly and venomous. Running with his heart in his throat would not be doing him any favours if that was the case, though a potential rapid death running through his veins and a certain immediate end if he stopped was a pretty easy choice. He only slowed down for a moment, sweeping down to scoop up what looked like a dislodged dart of rebar and throwing a glance over his shoulder as he did to spot the Seymour shaking off the grenade melting through its throat to start galloping toward them again. Tony didn't slow a second time, only twisted his body to javelin the metal he had picked up down the next hallway that they crossed, hoping it crashed through something that made enough noise that it redirected the beast's attention.

Why was it still chasing them?! A grenade should have incinerated its head!! Donnie had to glance back, anxious about whatever Tony was doing, glad to see he was still behind him.

He nearly tripped over rubble strewn across the floor, halting abruptly as the wall opened up before them and back out into the streets. Was that a good thing, were they better off being back outside? Possibly, when that thing was inside, right?

But there were more things outside, prompting him to look around. That thing was making a lot of noise, what if other things heard it? Shakily he reached into his bag, remembering his tech-bō. None of the gadgetry would work but it was still something in its uncompacted form.

Donnie did not have long to decide what he was doing before Tony was crashing into him. Entirely unprepared for Donnie to stop dead while being pursued by a teeth-monster, he didn't anticipate having to put on the brakes, and only grabbed Donnie by the back of the jacket to try to redirect the momentum, undecided if it should keep them running like Tony thought was the logical plan, or trust Donnie to spin them around and...do whatever he was doing. "What are you doing?!" The irritation was much more audible this time, now that Tony couldn't help but shout in his panic.

"Making sure if it's clear or not!" Donnie hissed back, trying to regain a grasp on his wits and whatever semblance of calm they might pretend to offer. Running in a panic wouldn't get them anywhere. The metal of his tech-bō was even colder to the touch but he still tightened his grip around it. If there was anything else around here, he wanted to be prepared!

But he was moving again, outside, not quite at a run, still scanning the streets. Ugh it was so cold.

"Where do we go?" he asked, at least doing better at stringing words together for sentences, but it was better to keep moving, the best way to keep the cold from really sinking into him.

Tony didn't know, and he wasn't about to admit how much he didn't know and make Donnie even more anxious, or maybe that was just his own fear drilling into his chest, sure the thing behind them was going to come crashing out of that building and have the freedom of the open road to charge them, or another one was waiting around the next corner. He muttered, "This way, this way," like he knew what he was doing at all, keeping Donnie ahead of him with one hand on his back, and glancing around at the hollow wall where they had left the creature behind. "In here," he encouraged at the next open doorway, where they could slip into the dark and trap any noise they were making, and maybe buy them a little time to orient themselves.

It was a better act then Donnie hoped to put up, and he was eager to trust that Tony had an idea of where to go so he went forward without too much urging. He was more concerned that he'd freeze in place if they stood there too long.

Having walls around them felt much safer than standing out in the open, or at least the thought of having something more defensible. Donnie ducked into the building at Tony's direction, stepping to the side to keep from blocking the man's own entry as he looked back out into the street in case anything had spotted them fleeing.

With a pat to Donnie's shoulder to keep their backs covered, Tony stepped through on careful toes to try to get a sense of what they had just run into before anything had the chance to surprise them. The vines had taken over here, too, spread like wires across the floor and climbing up the walls, keeping some of the bricks held together where the plaster had crumbled away. What he didn't see was any movement, even when he risked plucking up a pebble from the cracked floor and tossing it into the darkness beyond the next arch. He could hear it land and clatter away, without any response of beating wings.

His alertness was going to last as long as his adrenaline was, so as Tony checked things out inside, Donnie kept an eye out on the streets.

The noise from within had him swing a look back inside, mask fogging with the sigh as nothing else followed. He slunk over to where Tony was, tugging the scarf off to offer him. He'd need it more than him of the air was still choked with whatever foreign substances there might be fluttering around.

"...think we're clear for now," he said after the silence had once again settled around them.

There was no guaranteeing how long their peace would last, that thing was still close and hunting, and Tony could smell the fire he had lit from here. He cast a suspicious glance toward the door while still giving a brief nod of acceptance, and moved carefully further into the room and away from where their voices might carry out into the open street. With the scarf back, his voice was muffled further as he wrapped it back around his head, carefully with one hand as the other shoulder protested when he tried to raise it.

"I don't think they can see very well," he reported. "As long as we stay quiet, we should be fine. I told you, nothing sexy. Haven't even seen a cool beard on a single one of them." Maybe Donnie only got kung fu movies in the sewer and didn't even know what Star Trek was, and Tony should move on. He cleared his throat and continued, "Whatever kind of EMP shield they've got up back on the other side, it doesn't seem to extend here--the power grid is out, but I can get stuff working." To demonstrate, he shifted his sweater up to display his tool belt, hung with more grenades but also a flashlight and a drill, which would have been useless weight before he came through the strange crack in the wall.

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