realmofstories | Chapter 06: Act III

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Chapter 06: Act III

Frankenhyde: ACT III—

With such an unpleasant ending to the last act, the mood in Londeva has changed further. The weariness and silence felt in the evenings continues and the bright splashes of color from before have taken on a more garish contrast, no longer seeming quite as cheery as they had before. Still, life and the story must go on, so the quill is once again put to paper in order to deliver the events of the scenes to the Aspects once more.

Some time after we last saw Hyde and the illustrious Dr. Jekyll, Hyde approaches the doctor to demand some sort of recompense for being the doctor's experiment; after all, Hyde pointed out, they can't get good data on an "unhinged man" if Hyde's limited in what he can actually do. Though Hyde threatens him, Jekyll is able to keep calm and compromise with his test subject on the matter of pay. He once again warns Hyde to avoid drawing too much attention to himself. Hyde assures him that he knows what he's doing.

A few days later, Mister Utterson is called to Jekyll's house to discuss some personal matters. The old friends take a few moments to clear the air between them, to allow Utterson a moment to vent to his old friend, before the settle down to the business Jekyll called his solicitor for in the first place: adjusting his will to leave everything to one Mister Hyde. Utterson is appalled at the very idea, but Jekyll eventually confesses that he and Victor Frankenstein were working on creating life and that Hyde is a vital part of these experiments. It only makes sense to leave all of his money and property to a known criminal who would probably kill you as soon as look at you.

Perfect sense.

That night, as the young Danvers is out walking, Hyde decides it would be a wonderful idea to kill an innocent man in cold blood. A few hours later, Stixen finds Hyde in an alleyway covered in Danvers's blood. Tired of trying to play nice with the "normal" humans, Hyde points out that the two of them will never be accepted for what they are, so he and Stixen should just kill them all. Stixen admits it's a solution, but is not entirely convinced. The two part ways.

As Hyde returns home to Jekyll, Jekyll has had enough. He realizes what happened last night when he sees Hyde covered in blood, and that is a line too far. Jekyll demands Hyde stop. Hyde decides that he doesn't want to stop, but instead take over Jekyll's life. The two fight, and Jekyll is locked in his cellar, leaving Hyde free to do whatever it is he wants.

The next day, Stixen is wandering around and thinking about what Hyde suggested. He runs into the young Agatha de Lacy, who is trying to get her cat down from a tree and is very clearly annoyed. Stixen, still wanting to help people, climbs up the tree in an impressive display of acrobatics and rescues the girl's cat. Agatha is impressed and the two start to form a very tentative friendship before parting ways. Unfortunately for them both, Hyde was watching.

As Stixen was saving kittens from trees, Utterson rushes to Jekyll's house to report Danvers's murder and ask him to come look over the body. He's distraught to find the poor man having a panic attack in his cellar and hurriedly gets him out of there. Jekyll hates what science has become since his younger days, though Utterson does point out that it was always a little unsettling, and things are about to get a lot worse. Upon inspecting the body, Jekyll realizes that this was the man Hyde had killed.

That night, disgusted at what he had seen earlier that day, Hyde tracks down the de Lacy house and sets it on fire. Agatha flees the scene; Hyde gives chase. Eventually, the poor girl is torn limb from limb by the now monstrous Edward Hyde. When the girl's body is discovered, a mob forms outside of Victor's lab, demanding that Stixen face justice. Victor knows that the girl's death was not Stixen's fault, and so the two try to calm the people down to no avail. Eventually, they resort to looking around the lab for something to use to force them to calm down, allowing Victor to escape and get help.

Victor eventually finds Jekyll and begs him for help. Jekyll, of course, agrees, but he first insists that Victor join him at his home and all but forces Victor to follow. As they get closer to Jekyll's home, Victor realizes that it is not Jekyll at all but Hyde and tries to get away. He fails and, realizing that there is no hope for him, is gentle and almost calm about it all. Hyde, in one more act of brutal violence, stabs Victor through the heart.

Unlike before, when everyone awakens they will not feel refreshed and ready to tackle the day. Instead, there's a feeling of lethargy and unpleasantness, as if they experienced a restless night with unpleasant dreams. That feeling of past and possible potential dread will be hard to shake given that the city still seems as dreary as before. Still, life goes on as the citizens of Londeva continue to go about their daily routines. If anything, the city seems livelier than it was before, almost as if people are trying their best to make it a better brighter place in defiance of recent events.

But all is definitely not well in Londeva. With all the residents being busier and livelier, that means the blots and Erasers are more active as well. And as the Act goes on, the city itself seems to become more active with entire blocks disappearing and transforming seemingly at random. Additionally, cracks begin to appear in the city, ground, and sky as well as if the story itself is having trouble holding itself together. Hopefully everything will work out in the end, but it looks like getting there may be a bit of a challenge.

Still, the Storyteller has faith that the Aspects will be able to see things through, even if some of their behavior during this story gives room for pause.

§ instructions.

The third Act is underway! This is the designated log for all Main Scenes. Others are free to create their own toplevels for the Sub Quests, which are detailed below. Each Main Scene has their own unique toplevel and those cast into the roles are to thread their scene under each. All scene instructions are provided in the toplevels.

As stated in the flavor text above, all sorts of craziness is happening this act. There’s some additional information in the game notes, but things to keep in mind and possibly play with are as follows:

there’s a pervasive feeling that something bad is going to happen
cracks will begin to appear in the city and sky as the act progresses
the amount of Erasers and rogue blots in the city will increase as the act progresses
the city’s layout will appear and disappear, and change throughout the act (see the book repair subquest for more information)
Aspects could be susceptible to behavioral changes (see the pick a side subquest for more information)
During scenes where Victor's body is involved, the body will appear as his plant creation from before. Will it be dead, alive, friendly or hostile is up the players.

Costumes are also provided for this Act, although there's something...odd about the choices this time around:

Finally, just to be clear, characters who are in Main Scenes are not immediately dropped into their location and will have to go through specially marked doors and then return. Characters will also be aware of their roles and partner prior to entering the scene, so it's possible for them to meet and coordinate beforehand or meet within the scene for the first time. Threading all of that isn't necessary, but it's to help give a better idea that characters can take a break between scenes or wait a bit to help with other things like the Sub Quests.

Feel free to refer to the Game Notes for more detailed info as well as ask questions or clarifications.

§ sub quests.

Everyone is free to participate in the Sub Quests. There are no specific top levels, so you're free to incorporate them however you wish in your own top level.

¶ I. Pick a side, any side. Early on, everyone will start feeling not quite themselves throughout most of the act. It can range from mild to severe and last for varying lengths of time, but the effects will always be temporary. Characters will either take on a "Hyde" personality or a "Stixen" (Frankenstein's Monster) personality.

"Hyde" side. Will have erratic, immoral, and violent tendencies. Those who have non-human Essences can become more monstrous and transform at will, even capable of hiding their transformed self while still able to use some of those powers.
"Stixen" side. Will be the opposite with a more curious, polite, and generous disposition. Those who have non-human Essences will more often be stuck in their transformation; alternatively they will only transform when enraged and become more violent in this time.

Should any of the two meet each other, they will be immediately hostile with "Hyde" personalities taunting and trying to coax the "Stixens" to be more like them. It is possible for a "Stixen" to switch to a "Hyde." It is also possible for anyone not affected to try and snap the other out of it, or at least convince those who are under "Hyde" influence to focus their violence on other problems instead of each other. A solid hit to the head will work wonders.

¶ II. Creepy Crawlers. There is an abundance of abominations roaming through the city—failed creations that will attack anyone on sight. The robotic reindeer are still around and will try to aid in clearing them out, but some will actually be consumed and mutate instead.

There's another reason to destroy the abominations: any not killed will be captured by an Eraser and loaded into one of the many airships to fly towards a darkened space in the sky. For what reason is unclear, but it's best not to wait and find out. Stopping the Erasers and destroying the airships will be paramount.

¶ III. Emergency Book Repair. The very book itself is starting to tear apart and it worsens after the final battle scene. Buildings starting to crumble, Blots disintegrating, even the very ground ripping open. If this keeps up the story will be destroyed. Fortunately, the Aspects aren't left helpless. Ribbons made of white light and runic symbols appear here and there as if trying to help "stitch" things together. Using their Essences, Aspects can find these "ribbons" and gather them to spread over other places. Use of Essence abilities will also help with patching things up, as if the use of them is reaffirming the story’s existence itself. Buildings will start to be repaired, cracks in the earth sealed over, and possibly blots restored, though some of the construction work may be a little patchy. That building wasn’t always partially made of straw or gingerbread, but it might be now!

¶ IV. Wildcard. Make up your own prompt!

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[She doesn't want to hurt him, but right now there's really no choice, is there? She levels her blade at him, and goes to kick his blades away from him if she can.]

Have you calmed down now? Or do I have to go further?

[Sitting on his back, he stares up at the blade from the tip to the wielder standing above him. The strange bloodlust haze seems to momentarily clear as a look of respect is reflected in his eyes instead and he looks a little more like his usual self. He really never would have expected the weird, perky girl from before would be capable of something like this...

He's intrigued...and maybe something else, though he doesn't really notice or realize it yet.

But just as he's reaching up to grab the blade of the sword intending to pull it away and taunt her, he feels a sharp pain in his head. At that particular moment, he had forgotten that intense desire to kill her blindly and instead just wanted to continue the fight. But now that strange impulse is back and this time he's more aware of it—and aware of how strange it feels.

So there's a slight hiss and cringe before his hand immediately retracts away from the sword, the tip cutting his palm as he reaches to touch his head instead.

What is...this weird oppressive feeling?]

[The actions are making her on edge, so while she doesn't press the blade far, it still inches closer, as her stance takes on a more defensive posture.]

I don't want to have to hurt you if I don't have to. [Not like he's done to her already.] Please don't make me make that choice. Are you done doing... whatever it is this was?

[He takes a deep breath as that weird feeling comes and goes in waves. What makes it difficult is because Rokurou is a daemon, he already has a naturally violent side. Fighting, killing, that's pretty normal for him so that alone isn't strange. The difference is he's usually in control and maintains reason, and right now that is what's being stripped away, with his malevolence feeding into it.

So for a moment he just stares at her and his eyes narrow as if he's about to revert and succumb to the bloodlust again. But at the last moment he grits his teeth and grabs her sword to pull it towards himself and drive it deep into his shoulder. A pained yell escapes him, but with it is the flash of clarity he needed.]

Haa... Hold on... Think I'm... Getting there...

Wh— hey! What are you doing?!

[All of a sudden he's stabbing himself?! What the heck, Rokurou?! Serah is clearly panicking, but pulling a sword from someone like that or letting it go is also a bad idea. So for now, she'll wait for him to pull it from himself, but...]

Are you crazy?!

[Hurry up so she can heal you, you dummy!!!]

[Just a wry laugh.]

Probably.

[More like definitely depending on who's asking. But he just winces and grits his teeth as he feels the throbbing pain, not even caring about the amount of blood that's spilling from both his had and the wound at his shoulder. It's only when he no longer feels his malevolence churning up like a storm does he finally pull out the sword and relax his grip. In reality it only takes a few seconds, but it probably seems long.]

Sorry about that... Was the best way to keep my head straight.

[That dark, ominous feeling is gone, and despite the wounds Rokurou seems to be taking it fairly well. Perks of being a daemon.]

[Once he pulls the sword from himself, Serah tosses it to the side, where Mog poofs back to his normal moogle form to fuss over Serah and make threatening gestures at Rokurou— after all, he hurt Serah and that's unforgivable!

The sudden movement makes her a little woozy, so while she was going to kneel and help him anyway, she's doing so from adrenaline and the fact that, you know, one of her wings is gone. They're not always visible, but she can feel it. She uses his good shoulder to steady herself once she falters to her knees, but she presses her other hand to his wounded shoulder and begins to heal him.]

It was a stupid way to do that. Wasn't there another way you could have done that?

[He's a little surprised when she's suddenly dropping down to her knees and needs to somewhat lean against him to support herself before she starts using healing magic. It's been a while since he's been treated with it, but the sensation is the same.]

Probably, but it was the only thing i could think of at the time. [When he could still properly still think.

But despite his answer he sounds a little a distracted, and that would be because he's noticing her own pale and worn complexion. Immediately remembering what he did before, his eyes flick to past her shoulders and... Her wings aren't visible, but he can still imagine the one missing. So with a slight narrowed gaze he tries to move back, his good hand reaching for her wrist to try and stop her.]

And, I appreciate the thought, but you're in worse condition than me.

Edited 2021-01-22 15:23 (UTC)

[Despite feeling like death warmed up (pretty literally,) she has enough fight left in her to break her wrist out of his grip and go back to healing him. Don't fight it, Rokurou, let her do her thing here.]

I'll be fine, I've had worse.

[Nothing worse than dead, but he doesn't need to know that.]

You need the help more than I do, I can help myself after I've healed you. If you argue, you'll just find you'll be butting heads with me until I get my way.

[Fighting with Meanie Miss Farron is a bad idea. :)]

[Normally he's rather complacent and would just let it be, especially seeing how determined she is. But not this time.]

I sliced off your damn wing, Serah! Don't try to pass it off as nothing, you passed out from the pain.

[He doesn't know how her wings work, but it was clearly attached to her body like another limb. And she kept moving after she regained consciousness... Even if she had done some healing before, with the toll its taken her whatever energy she has left shouldn't be wasted on him.

...Definitely not him.]

Look, you're barely staying up as it is. If you want to treat me fine, just don't use anymore of your powers.

I'll be fine. [Yes, clearly fine since she's using him to prop herself up.] If I didn't think I could do this, I wouldn't be trying.

[Because guess what she's still doing? Yep. What now, Rokurou, she's stubborn and she'll keep doing so until she's satisfied.]

And unless you have something for me to bandage that up with, then this is the way you won't bleed out, so either get me some bandages to work with or shut up and let me heal you.

[It IS almost healed to her liking anyway, but she'll just heal it completely out of spite too if she has to.]

[What happened to that sweet, angel like personality?? No seriously, he would never have guessed she had this kind of side to her. Granted he barely knows her to begin with, but this is definitely against his initial first impressions.

But after recovering from the initial surprise, his mind races for ideas because dammit she does have a point. At the same time, he's not wholly convinced she can handle this given how much she has to lean against him. He even has his hands on her side and shoulder now to help support her. So he can't just let this go without protest.]

You could just use my shirt, it would be good enough until we get somewhere else.

[Hell he'd take it off right now if he didn't think she might collapse.

He can even feel his wound healing so he's going to be just as stubborn and once again try to push her back. Not too roughly since he's still trying to support her, but enough to try and break her concentration.]

Serah, it's enough! Stop already!

[Don't worry, he's not the first to wonder that. :)

When he pushes her back to try to break her concentration, that just gets her more stubborn and she pushes back against him to finish her healing because how dare he try to get her to stop??]

No, it's not enough!

[That may just be spite fueling the need to at least heal him a little more...

...a little more...

...

...you know, a papercut is fine. That's not bleeding out from a sword wound so she'll take it. Satisfied, and not running off of pure spite to heal him up, Serah slumps against him with a groan. No regrets, but she really wishes there was a way to heal herself at the same time.]

Hey—!

[This girl...! He must still be feeling the effects of that whole personality switch thing. How else would that explain the intense frustration he's feeling right now? And when she does slump against him he can only hold her while shouting in aggravation.]

This is why I told you to stop, dammit!

[It's weird to feel this agitated over someone. That's not to say he never has, but it's been a while since he ever had to.

Of course he can't just sit around like this. Concerned over her own injuries, he readjust his hold on her so that he can stand up while carrying her in his arms while being careful to not touch the injured wing.]

I'm fine. [Clearly.] I just need to rest a little and I'll be able to heal myself. Why are you so... so...

[Worried. Angry. Like this?]

You don't need to worry over me, okay?

[When he lifts her, there's a grimace of pain, but why is he coddling her!!! (That's why, just shut up and let him, gosh Serah.)]

[Just giving her a look.]

Oh, like I told you to not worry about me?

[He won't deny that he is concerned, though. He may be a daemon, but he's not heartless. But some of his earlier aggravation dims a bit as he sees her in pain. He knows he shouldn't be jostling her around like this, but he can't just stay here, either. Who knows if more abominations will show up, and there's nothing here he can use to treat her with. The apartments are also too far, so he'll just have to try and find somewhere else he can take and tend to her.]

Just be quiet and save your strength.

[And he's already walking.]

[Wow????? She had said shut up to him while she was healing him but?????? RUDE. RUDEKUROU.

Serah grumbles and shifts, trying to be a little more comfortable, though it's probably, without telling him that's what she's doing, looking like she's trying to get away from him. Once she's comfortable (or he tells her to stop moving, whichever comes first) she'll settle and try to watch for anyone coming at him to attack.

It's the least she can do while he grumbles at her.]

If I hadn't healed you, you wouldn't be able to do this, you know.

[....Serah please.]

[He's alert when he starts to feel her move, and initially he tightens his grip. But after a wary glance down he loosens it slightly so she can get a little more comfortable. Even if she tried to push away he can't feel too much strength against him.

That remark does get a roll of his eyes, though.]

If you hadn't healed me, I wouldn't need to be doing this at all.

I told you, I'm a daemon. I've been stabbed through countless times, thrown and smashed around, and I still hop back up and fight no problem. Carrying you with just a small stab like that would have been easy.

And if you would have died this time?

[YEAH IT COULD HAPPEN, gosh Rokurou. Don't be a brat!!!]

Then you'd feel bad. "Oh Serah I was wrong, I needed your healing, it was terrible!" [...was that a bad Rokurou impersonation? It sure was.] "I didn't want to die, but I did! Woe is me!" [Complete with the back of her hand on her forehead as dramatically as possible.]

Then you'd wish for it again.

[What. Was that supposed to be an impersonation of him?? If he weren't in a weird place with the whole personality affect he would have laughed, honestly. Even now some of the tension eases a bit because it is amusing, and when he responds there's less bite and irritation in his voice compared to before.]

I don't really care if I die or not. That's just part of my life as a swordsman. Besides I've already been killed once and we come back to life here, so a second or third won't matter too much to me.

[He looks down at her.]

And you know the same could still be said to you. With your injuries and blood loss, you could have killed yourself if you overdid it. Not to mention not running away when you had the chance.

[SURE WAS, wasn't it a good one? She's very proud of it, and it shows.

However, that expression darkens when he talks about how people just... come back to life here and he's already been killed once.]

You shouldn't say that. About dying, I mean.

[...Considering her previous demeanor, she's serious about this one. Why, she's not saying, but it's something to be serious over, to her.]

I could have run away, but I would have felt bad about not helping.

[The blots, or him? She doesn't specify, but... it's not really in her nature to turn a blind eye to someone in need.]

I'll be fine. You don't need to worry about me.

[There's a slight glance when he senses a strange shift in her tone. It wouldn't be too surprising if she was put off by his somewhat flippant attitude about dying—he does take it a lot more casually than most people would. But it seems a little different...in a way he can't really pinpoint.

Well, not that he has much time to dwell it now. He's finally found what looks like a clinic or apothecary and it at least doesn't look like it'll collapse in the next five minutes. Long enough to get proper supplies and treat her at least.]

How about we agree that we don't have to worry about each other but we're going to do it anyway? Though in your case, I wouldn't say I'm worried. I may be a daemon, but I'm not heartless enough to leave someone critically injured and not try to do what I can to help. Especially since I was the cause of it.

[:) Roku'll find out. Eventually. Maybe. Someday.

She sees where he's taking her— it's nice that he cares now and he's not focused on "hunting" her, in a sense. Well, it's his turn to help her. Too bad it took him stabbing himself in the shoulder for it to get this far.]

Glad you care to do so. [It's not malicious, it's thankful. He could have just. Left her out there. Serah's glad he didn't.] I probably would have healed up on my own eventually, I don't really know how that works here. But yeah, I guess we can just agree to do that.

...it should grow back, right?

[...Care...he's a heartless daemon, dammit, he doesn't do that caring thing!!!

Yeah that's a lie and he just gives a small laugh at that. But then the smile fades as he stops in front of what looks like a possible patient exam room to look over her back.]

...I hope so. [And it's a sincere sentiment, and for a brief moment there's an actual look of regret in his eyes before he goes into the room and finds a cot to sit her down.] For now I'll just try and clean and treat it. Not sure if we should bandage it in case it does grow back, though.

[It's...weird to feel the way he is right now. Normally he wouldn't feel bad for whatever injury he caused to another person during a fight. Even lives he took and sacrificed to further his own means he didn't spend much thought over. Some casualties he might apologize for, but that's it. But none of what he did was normal and Serah had been an innocent victim to his strange rampage. Perhaps it's because he had been not of his own mind that he feels weird and somewhat conflicted. It's questionable if he's fully himself now.]

I'm sure I'll be fine. I've had worse.

[Which... is not untrue. Being crystallized and then dead is sort of worse.]

But thanks. I'm sure things will be normal again, and I'll just have to dunk you into the creek as revenge when I can fly again.

[Because by God will she do that. She can just fly him over the creek and DROP.]

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