Kirumi Tojo's Palace | The Ultimate Maid's Failures

[kandata]

By now everyone may be used to find themselves in bizarre locations, between going into palaces and visiting Nekyia. It might not come as a surprise that it has happened again.

What might come as a surprise, though...is how empty this place is.

All around you there's nothing more than a large, gray, featureless expanse. In the distance there seem to be bars, curving upwards to gather so, so high above you, possibly hundreds of miles above, so high it’s hard to distinguish.

It’s a cage. So unfathomably large. You could escape, were you to get to the edges of the cage, but...it would take forever. No matter how you look at it, you're trapped. The atmosphere is so...hopeless. Devoid of anything even remotely positive.

Not that you want to hang around for long, do you? After all, this is someone's palace. Not a place to stick around at. What to do, though?

It’s all so...empty. Silent. Featureless. A flat expanse of hard gray tiles.

Gather together, everyone. Gather and choose a direction. North, East, West, South. All directions look completely identical, but could it affect your time in this place, somehow? Probably not. But all treks start with the first step. Perhaps, if you get moving, you'll progress?

Comments

[moonshaded]

[This is just getting ridiculous.

Still, as the machine chugs, snaps, and explodes, there's maybe a second of fear that passes through her veneer of exasperation. It's ridiculous, yes, but maybe this'll really do her in.

She once more comes out of facing the obstacle with a 13, which is respectable but not perfect. Surely enough to survive to pass the exploding blades and yet not enough to get her there without cuts and blood to show for it.

For the hell of it, with only one more section to go after this one, I'll leave her final ascension in the hands of the gods (for Nick to roll).]

[kandata]

[That's Danganronpa for you! It has such a tinge of ridiculousness all over it, haha.

Well, Monokuma decides to get paws-on now. Since Kainé failed twice in a row, she managed to ascend, to the final leg. Monokuma cuts Kainé's thread, and instead of letting go...his grin seems to broaden, intent in making Kainé suffer before he lets her drop twelve stories to the bottom of the pit]

Go away!

[Swinging the thread with impressive strength, he seeks to slam Kainé against the walls of the pit, ping-ponging her back and forth]

[prozaic]

No, I think not. [Guess who's got two thick arms and is coming in with a staff? It's Shalem, giving a great big swing right at Monokuma's paws to get him to let go of the thread (15).]

[moonshaded]

[She was definitely recreating the hit video game Pong down there (4), so once she catches her breath and finds a way to clear the short rest of the climb now that her thread's cut, she'll be very thankful.]

[prozaic]

[When she's close enough, he'll hold his hand out to help her up. Consider it repayment for helping him out earlier.]

[kandata]

[Monokuma sees Shalem and Kainé, cooperating to get Kainé up. This is Monokuma's last chance, he can see it, and with a growl, rubbing his paws where Shalem hit him with the staff...]

Megidolaon!

[He's desperate. He's throwing all he can against all these people. Even though his foes are so close and therefore Monokuma risks getting hurt too, he's attacking with the most powerful attack he has!

Watch out, Kainé, Shalem!]

[prozaic]

[Shalem is up here, and Kaine is still attempting to climb up to where he is-- so he makes an executive decision.

He doesn't pull her up immediately, tanking that Megidolaon by himself (14). That hurts and he is not happy about that, but he tightens his grip on her hand and only helps her up when he's sure the spell is gone.]

[moonshaded]

[There's a moment where her hand almost slips away before it reaches his, startled into hesitation by the ripple of something she's seen before, something she's never been able to reach. A hand that slips away from hers before she can find it reaching out -

Which is exactly when the Megidolaon hits and he takes the full force of it, and she feels, in real-time, that hand slipping away from her again. As soon as the way is clear, she finishes the climb, paying little heed to her own injuries as she gets there.]

You dumbass, [she says, a little hot with what might be guilt or worry or anger.] I could've... [What, handled it herself?] ... Thanks.

[How bad is he looking?]

[prozaic]

[He's probably feeling like hot garbage (6). He'll need to throw these clothes away later, but he still manages to stand-- with the help of his staff-- and cast a Media on himself. Not that it can stand up to a spell as heavy as Megidolaon.]

I'll be fine with some rest.

[moonshaded]

I don't know if that's coming any time soon.

[Soujuurou talked about paradise at the top of the threads. They definitely aren't there yet. Kainé looks around tensely, apparently taking stock of who's made it up so far.]

Why'd you do it? [Taking the full force of the attack when he could have done anything else... ugh. She probably does understand why, but there's something defensive about it regardless.]