Xibalba

[Aiden]

Serana

Ugh. Serana did not abandon the world of breath and blood and turn herself into a harbinger of death just to deal with the dramas of the living all over again. She reached out to her servant's unliving form, and pushed her will into it.

"Be silent, wretched thing. I was listening to You, not you."

[Kotomine_Rin]

You

For a moment, he looked at her with confusion, much like a broken child. "Eh? Who is you?You are you but I am me, I am, I-"

He stumbled and gasped for air, and his eyes darted around. Where was he? What was going on? Where were everyone else? He clutched his head in confusion and pain.

"Aah...aaaa..."

The next thing you could hear was the crunching of bone. And then there was nothing. No sound, no worrying, no disturbances. Peacefully quiet, as all things should be. His hand just stayed inside his crushed skull, while black tendrils wriggled their way out of the wound and the broken eye sockets. The hand that was you that was him that was not the you who interrupted You, the you who she knew as the you who served her.

He could never be anyone other than who he was. Sorry, but his vessel would have to suck it up.

"Sorry about that. This body of mine can be prickly." He chuckled while his face began to crawl back into its original shape, and the leaked brain matter wriggled its way back into his skull. "Honestly... I don't want anything at all. I'm already as happy as a man can be."

He hugged her without saying another word, without a warning or anything.

[Aiden]

Serana

She waited, patiently, for her servant to resolve its internal conflict. It was quite irritating to see how a being as powerful as this one could have so little control over itself. When it announced its success she nodded in approval. "See that you keep this in mind-"

And then it was suddenly touching her. Her face froze in a moment of shock.

"W-W-What are you doing?!"

[Kotomine_Rin]

Ezekiel

But he didn't let go. He didn't want to let go. And he'd never let anything go again.

He let go of her, she could see he did so with a big devilish grin.

"Sooooo, boss, shall we begin to make formal introductions?"

[Aiden]

Serana

The only thing that stopped Serana from violently punishing her pernicious servant was the infinite patience of the dead.

Really. That was why. Only reason.

She brushed herself off and straightened her elegant outfit the very moment it let go of her. "If you promise to be well behaved and maintain propriety while we are among the public."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

"Don't worry~ We'll be as well behaved as a Pomeranian pup." He grinned heartily and gave her a thumbs up. Its not like he was the kind of crazy person who would just act out for the heck of it.

He ignored the word that escaped his lips. Or perhaps he didn't even realize he said it in the first place.

Black smoke poured from his body and swirled around his form. For a second, all you could see was his grin, until the void swirled around his limbs and form to the point it drowned him out. And it grew, with tendrils that crawled like muscles quickly, its flesh and skin expanded and hardened to form scales that shimmered like dark metal, and its eyes bulged and rolled until they grew the size of great orbs.

Until his form changed into something else.

Spoiler for Hiden:

It bowed its head.  With a massive body and a maw that could swallow an elephant whole, and the smell of burt wood and smoke over saltwater and algae, such was the guise he chose to take this time. A draken needed a lord, just like a king needed a sword. Or was it a knight.... Either way, his desire was that alone. At least, for now. "H O p  O n  m Y  L i E g E e . . ." Its voice was like the crackling of a dying star, a rasp of metal against flesh.

But there was a modicum of pride to it.

[Aiden]

Serana

"... can you not just act sane for a single day?" Serana asked this with an unnecessary put-upon sigh, shaking her head at the dramatic display and the disturbing use of pronouns shown to her here. And yet, she climbed onto its back all the same. This would not be the strangest mount she had made use of in her time.

"Try not to make too large of a scene on the way there."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Ezekiel

There was a tense pause for a moment. Only then, the beast chortled, as if in mockery. Was there some kind of joke only he was seeing? No, it.

"L a D Y ,  I    c A n   a S s S u R E  y O u ,   I  am   p E r F E c T l Y   s A n E.   W e l L   b E H A v E d    I    s H a l L    B E  , m Y    c U t E    q U e e E n. . ."  Its guttural, distorted voices, of the many organisms that crawled in that draconian shell, lulled like a song, and then they slammed the ground in glee with a tail-like whip and took flight, soaring out of the tower with a ravenous grin. Whatever laid in hat sick, fragmented mind, only he could tell. If there was anything to tell.

This would be fun.

[Aiden]

Serana

And then, Serana motioned for You to sit down tamely. "Now, change back so you may fit through the door and fly out of here without breaking things. Unless you have another trick in mind...?"

[Kotomine_Rin]

Ezekiel

"Urgh. Really? Come on lady..." Shockingly the beast's voice turned out to be completely normal after all. And now, if anything, it sounded disappointed. Just as he was about to break out of the roof like a chicken breaks out of an egg no less. His disappointment was immeasurable and his day was ruined.

"Fine, whatever. You asked for it."

Shadows bubbled over the draconic body, and burst like a popping balloon in a thick cloud of smoke. Instead, two arms now grabbed on her like a princess bride as he flew off in his humanoid form, carrying her away unabashedly. And make no mistake, that was the first and last complaint he'd hear.

The door was unharmed, and would be for the rest of the flight. Can't say the same about her pride and dignity, being scurried away like some bride.

[Umbra of Chaos]

Joseph

3:15

Wow... This place was pretty interesting too. The shadow girl was really amazing, but this district was so strange it almost felt imaginary! At random, he walked up one of the haphazard streets and stopped one of the people walking along it. "Hello. I'm new. Do you mind telling me about the buildings around here? There seem to be a lot of empty ones and unfinished construction besides that tower."

(continued from The Slums)

[Kotomine_Rin]

Xibalba's streets

3:15

The streets were orderly, precise in their geometry, but paradoxically they swerved and turned through the district in such a way it was honestly a miracle the boy found.... anything. And the same could be said about the people. The streets were far from overtly lively, but they weren't deserted. How someone wouldn't find themselves lost was beyond anyone.

Like him.

But despite the activity, or maybe because of it, the one Joseph addressed didn't so much as turn around. Instead, he kept going, to where, no one would know. He was a young man sporting a smart attire, albeit a bit casual, and upon a closer look he seemed to be wearing headphones, so he obviously couldn't hear Joseph.

[Umbra of Chaos]

Joseph

He blinked for a second before glancing at the headphones. One of the alchemist's hands reached out to grab the boy by the arm but it was kept in check by his other one. Well, he certainly didn't know where he was going in the first place. So Joseph shrugged his shoulders and with a lively bounce to his step just started to follow the kid around.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Xibalba's streets

And so Alice followed the Rabbit round and round, through the game board of this wonderland. Was it a feeling of deja vu that'd strike Joseph first, or was it that he was a mere tourist so all streets looked the same? They walked a bit, until something most strange happened.

They reached yet the same intersection where they met. Or did they? It looked so familiar, but it certainly didn't feel like they had been taking a turn anywhere. nd just like that, the young boy turned around and faced Joseph. His expression was troubled, but in a cold way the boy kept to himself.

He took a step forward and walked past Joseph, and with that he came the other way around, the way he came to begin with. Or so it seemed anyways.

[Umbra of Chaos]

Joseph

There were all kinds of sights around, even if it did all look the same. But it was starting to get confusing. It was time to leave some breadcrumbs! Getting lost was hardly the point of this whole thing. As long as he was seeing something new then it was fine, but Joseph was more than tired of endless circles. So his shadow spat out a vial of dark liquid and some discarded flesh, and as he followed the boy back around he poured the contents of the potion all over the flesh.

He let out a satisfied sound. It was almost like leaving a trail of breadcrumbs. Squirming out from between his fingers, fleshy creatures that looked as if someone had tried to mash centipedes and rats together spilled forth. Chains of twitchy legs, elongated bodies, and far too much teeth slipped out and around. They looked a bit out of place but at least he'd know where he'd been!