APRIL EVENT LOG

[monstertruckers]

code

The grassland gives way to rougher terrain, green fading to cracked red earth with scraggly sharp-edged plants dotting the landscape. With no trees, the sky overhead feels massive, and almost oppressive with how the sun and moon shine down. It’s entirely at odds with the biting wind that often whips across the flatlands. The ground occasionally breaks open into crevasses or rolls along in arid hills, but it remains stark thorn brush for as far as the eye can see… Save for one strange, ominous tower on the horizon.

01:TOWER OF TRANSFORMATION

The tower looks like a giant fang, trying to bite the sky. A strange pressure emits from it and rests on the skin. Drifters can get closer to the tower, but the terrain is covered with puncturing spikes and sharp thorn brush. It will take a TOUGH vehicle to get close without getting cut. Anyone who bleeds within sight of the tower discovers their cuts are transformed; a monster’s form waits under their skin, and transforms them one injury at a time.

It takes several days to get close to the tower via Convoy, with how the road snakes and winds towards it. Drifters won’t be able to reach it without offroad vehicles until April 15th. Getting close to the tower reveals that it is formed out of a strange metal much like the Husks… And that numerous creatures have been melded into the tower’s surface. A strange red ichor seeps out from these forms. Coming into contact with it heals wounds and can revert one transformation.

Drifters can take some of the fluid with them, if they have means to carry it… But only one extra dose; any more makes the fluid unstable and neutralizes the effect entirely.

01-A: TWISTED MONSTERS

The land here is still littered with Husks, ready to break open to fight… But these monsters are more twisted than usual, and seem to be composed of multiple organisms. Prowling cat-centaur esque brutes called panthera protectors, ungainly catoblepas, reptile energy draining bloodhound dogs, and flying lion-bird anzu are all ready to attack with tooth and claw, to make Drifters all the more like them.

Given the influence of the tower, Drifters can feel their forms twisting, the more wounds they take, and the more the moon begins to form into something almost whole. By April 15th the wounds and moon are almost impossible to resist without either vials or message mementos. And those wounds are determined to drag a change out of Drifters. (Of note, Drifters who took on Harpy or Naga traits last month will find those changes can come back to them unnervingly easily, and blend with other creature changes to become a true chimera.)

These changes grow worse until the moon glow and shards reach their absolute peak on April 20th. At this point Twisted Land occurs.

02: ROAD ATTACK

A week into the thorn brush, chaos starts at sunset. The first warning is a metallic howl echoing down from the hills, followed by a rumble that could almost be thunder… If not for the fact that the sunset stained sky is completely clear. A swarm of metal sweeps over the hills, heading straight at the Convoy.

Running at the lead are more of those canine robots. The Convoy database again identifies them as ‘chromehounds’ and these are clearly in better repair; their fangs and claws are all razor sharp, and they are swiftly closing the distance. Close behind the hounds is a scattered assortment of scrap metal vehicles. The creatures driving aren’t quite human but also aren’t quite monsters; instead they are mechanical forms with just a few remnants of flesh on them. Robot riders and raiders, determined to harry the Convoy.

The goal of the raiders is to crash their vehicles into the Convoy, to slow or halt them. Drifters will need to either fight at a distance… Or hope that their monster side is tough enough for close and bloody combat!

02-A: ATTACK AND AFTERMATH

The attack patterns of the raiders depends on who they are targeting and how transformed the Drifters are. More monstrous Drifters earn full fury, and the vehicles blare with static and a patchy message: “…Purge… Corruption… By steel.” The raiders are determined to kill monsters, even at the cost of their own lives.

By contrast, less transformed Drifters may be overlooked, or only looked at suspicion. But if examined long enough, the raiders will eventually conclude less changed Drifters as still corrupt and attack them, especially if they are associated with the more monstrous!

Afterwards, mechanical salvage can be found to bolster the Convoy vehicles. The machines display a moon stabbed by a sword. It is the same as the symbols on the trap cars from February. Several raiders also carry odd talismans that resemble a rosary formed of tiny computer screens. Many of the screens are broken, but a few carry flickering text: “Your charge: To hunt the Warped. To purify the broken land, purge all sickness that twists us. Only then can Nirvana be opened, and the world reborn without corruption.”

03: OASIS

Just off the road are scattered oases, shining like blue gems in a red wasteland. The waters run surprisingly deep, with monstrous statues submerged in the depths. These statues resemble all 13 types of monsters, some of them even coloring the water depths into shades of green, purple, and red.

The oasis waters can’t fix or restore physical transformations. But it can cure any heat exhaustion with just a few sips, and restore lost strength. Red water can heal wounds, green restores magic fatigue, and purple can stabilize mental exhaustion and strain.

The statues also create a strange resonance on Drifters’ Sigil marks, particularly when Drifters submerge in the water. The statue resonance can’t completely revert transformations but they CAN spread out the transformation between two Drifters and lessen the potency.

04: MONSTER SHIFT, CHIMERA

Peculiar flowers bloom along some of the thorn brush. Drifters who bleed from the thorns will find that their cuts turn into Traits belonging to either Chimera or Unicorns. Chimeras typically appear from red flowered plants, and become increasingly tougher as they gain more traits. The following is also available:
+Tower focus: if growing extra eyes or heads, vision becomes disorienting. Focusing on the tower will help sharpen vision and provide clarity.
+Thermal flight on new wings, as the hot air coming off the ground helps them soar.
+Territorial hunter vs other fully shifted monsters/enemies.
+Blood taste/frenzy: becomes more savage as blood is shed, whether that is their own or others. If it is their own or an enemy, more aggressive; if it is an ally, more protective.
+An increasingly carnivorous and voracious appetite. Plus a craving for raw meat, and a drive to go hunt it personally; the fresher, the better.
+Tough hide. As 3 or more Chimera traits become active, the skin becomes increasingly tougher and harder for cuts and new transformations to occur.
+A sudden roar that cuts into words, easy for conversations to turn into a shouting match.

04: MONSTER SHIFT, UNICORN

As with Chimera, getting cut and bled by flower bearing thorns will impart unicorn traits on Drifters. This typically comes from thorn plants with white flowers. Unicorns have a knack for stabilizing the more violent changes… And perhaps even stopping transformations from bleeding. The following is also available:
+Horn Resonance, a ringing in the horn or forehead the closer one gets to the tower. Can result in either disorientation, or a boost in healing.
+Shift Healing: At the cost of taking on another unicorn/current monster trait, may heal another Drifter of one active trait. This can only be used once per character.
+An increasingly vegetarian diet, including the flowers off various thorn bushes.
+Increased pain or disorientation in the forehead as horn grows in. May also experience pain in feet (hooves) or back (wings or tail) though healing magic can alleviate pain.
+A compulsion to heal the injured or protect those who can. Similarly, a compulsion to protect the virtuous and aid them.
+Fight or Flight response: more likely to bolt at the sign of trouble with increased speed. If fleeing is not possible (or others are in danger) ready to fight to the death in desperate frenzy.
+Urge to run and be outdoors, gains an almost euphoric sensation when running at full speed.

05: TWISTED LAND

Finally the Convoy draws close to the tower and the moon glows balefully overhead, signaling an imminent Moon Warp. Shards of the tower fall away, exposing something encased in the surface. A chimera monster is pierced and pinned to the tower by swords. Elemental blood streams down, glowing in reaction to the Drifters, and causing the blades to glow in turn.

If Drifters make contact with the swords, they explode in a hail of shards, causing more wounds and damaging the tower. The shed blood twists the landscape. Deserts, forests, and swamps all shift together. With them come the hazards of those environments; quicksand, falling trees or strangling vines, terrible draining heat, all blending and switching without pattern. Such twisting weakens the tower. Further fragments break off and turn into monsters, aggressive and ready to fight. The Convoy braces against the twisting, but warning screens say that the shields are low on power. The shields occasionally waver, letting in the Moon Warp and monsters.

With the damage Drifters inflict in their battles, the environment twisting, and the sword shards, the tower crumbles away. It emits a burst of energy that disperses the land twisting, and ends the bloodshed transformations.

06: SALVE

In the aftermath of the warp, the tower has cracked and broken. A column of wavering light takes its place, reaching thin tendrils up towards the moon.

The red ichor leaks out of the tower in rivers, and any Husk it comes in contact with breaks open without transforming into a monster, instead releasing another glowing shard that travels upwards. Drifters can still harness this ichor to undo one change, though the limits still apply. Submerging in the ichor does not undo more than one change… Though it will stain Drifters with red.

The ichor can also heal wounds, and repair those quite thoroughly, acting as a good salve to mend Drifters from past battles.

MICRO ENCOUNTERS:

PLEASE NOTE! These are small bits of set dressing for players to include in threads if they wish, rather than full fledged prompts or events. You may handwave your exploration of these areas, or thread them out.

Twisted Creatures: Local fauna (flying rabbits, jackalopes, gorgons wandering in from the grasslands, etc) gets caught in the thorn bushes and begins bleeding, and turning into a monster. The process is slow and painful, giving Drifters enough time to get away from the scrub brush and the monster if they wish; or enough time to try and dispatch the creature.

Thorn brush: Clumps of thorn brush line the road. A time or two they even grow over the road and need to be hacked through, in order for the Convoy to proceed. The brush is almost like razor wire, with how sharp the thorns are, and how ready they are to slice up skin.

Watering Hole: Rarely, one can find a small oasis in the bleached land. Unfortunately, many of the twisted creatures want a drink from this place as well; it’s a task to grab water and avoid getting on their bad side.

NAVIGATION

Comments

Donnie // RotTMNT

[purplexing]

I. On the Move

It's probably difficult to miss one of the latest additions to the Convoy. The Turtle Tank is a massive thing, not quite a tank despite the name, featuring enormous wheels and a heavy armor build.

When Donnie had built his precious baby, the worst terrain he figured it would ever have to traverse was through New York City traffic. The tires haven't been tested for thorns, and while under normal circumstances he'd scoff at such a threat, he'd be lying if he said he hadn't been at least a little concerned. After all, what with so many of his upgrades apparently missing or non-functional, who was to say for sure that those tires would hold up like he'd expect them to, especially in this weird, nonsensical place?


Their destination is unsettling, if indeed the lone tower threatening to pierce the sky in the distance is where they're set to go. He doesn't at all like the sensation he gets from just looking at the thing, some disturbing wrongness that makes him anxiously scrub at his arms. Even worse is sitting alone as he drives, a detail that bothers him almost more than that wretched tower. At least he knows one of his brothers is around somewhere outside.

"I think I should be able to help clear some of the way for you smaller vehicles. Just follow my path," he says over the comms. Crushed thorns should be relatively easier to pass over than a full underbrush.


II. Road Rage - Side A

"What the-"

If everything around here hasn't already seemed like something out of a movie, the foreboding caravan approaching them sure ticks off a few boxes. He cranes his head out the window, yelping as he just as quickly pulls it back as a bullet goes pinging off the side of the tank.

"Oh come on, really?!"

He moves a hand from the wheel, freezing as he remembers his systems aren't all working, and there aren't any functional weapons even if he did manage to set it. His hands tighten on the steering wheel as he sucks in a breath. He almost chokes on it as something rams into the side of his vehicle, although judging from the parts sloughing off of the offender's ride, they certainly took the brunt of it.

"HOW DARE YOU!" he growls, no less pleased about the attempt. Just outside of the driver's side window, brilliant glowing lines of magenta trace in the air, forming shapes- parts, one might realize if they're not too preoccupied with their own raider problems- that slowly build from the inside out, a.... why yes, that is a giant cannon of sorts. As the exterior parts complete, the nozzle brightens before firing a laser-blast, thoroughly exploding the raider's vehicle, sending its occupants and its pieces flying.


II. Road Rage - Side B

As effective as mystic-tech laser cannons can be, it does make it a little hard to not accidentally shoot another Drifter by accident. That's also not something Donnie figures he should keep up for too long, and it only works if the target's in front of him.

He jams his bō into the steering wheel to keep it from drifting while he leans out of the window again, this time conjuring up a sci-fi-looking rifle to discourage any of their attackers from other Drifters. He takes a few shots at some of the chromehounds that look to be closing in, ducking as shots ring out in retaliation.

While he doesn't need to reload, he also isn't able to see what's on the other side of the vehicle, only distantly hearing the discordant rumble of an engine not so well-tuned as his Turtle Tank. It's not nearly enough of a warning before the entire thing goes jolting sideways, still hardly enough to upset the tank but it does pitch one turtle out of the window.

"-!" His weapon vanishes in a flurry of pixelated motes of light, and while his instinct is to build up his battle shell he doesn't manage to get it completed in time before he hits the ground, fragments breaking off in the same pixelated fashion upon impact. The burning pain doesn't help his dazed state as Donnie tries to push himself up, his vision still swimming as he catches a bleary glimpse of those metallic hounds as they close in.


((OOC: Will match pose format pref))

Road Rage - Side B

[bufudine]

It really isn't difficult to miss the turtle tank; aside from its unique appearance amongst all the new vehicles, its sheer hulking size makes for an imposing metal monster. Even though his own vehicle is quite tough itself, Serph doesn't see a good reason not to follow in the wake of the turtle tank with his very orange Toyota HiLux and let it crush the thorny underbrush for him.

So once the raiders attack, he's already nearby. While his vehicle is durable, it really isn't made for fending off attack like this. The one in the tank seemed to have things in hand for themselves, so Serph focuses on the raiders and chromehounds swarming in what appears to be the tank and the tank's occupant's blind spots, especially since his obviously inhuman transformation seems to draw the raiders' ire as he fights on foot.

But when he sees one turtle fall out, Serph is immediately loping over to skewer a chromehound in the small gap between its joints with an arm blade, tearing out important components and hampering its movement before it can use its crushing jaws on the turtle. Hm. Different to the other one he's seen around.

His voice is guttural when he speaks. "I will defend you. Can you stand?"

[purplexing]

Donnie can't help but stare up at his savior apparent, still trying to pull himself together and away from that all too convenient precipice of panic. Panic won't be helping anyone here.

"Y-yeah," he answers, even though he's not completely certain of that, but he tries anyway, because staying on the ground isn't going to make himself any less of a liability. His soft shell stings from his landing, the remnants of thorny branches from his vehicle's passing not making it much more comfortable as they impart a few scratches on his hands and mostly bare feet. That stubbornly rational part of his mind argues that such things should not hurt nearly so much!

The thought skitters away as he sees more chromehounds coming at them, and he reaches behind him out of reflex before remembering his bō's in the Turtle Tank. His hand freezes as it brushes something feathery- no, don't think about it now, don't think about it at least you still have legs-

[bufudine]

Serph is used to fighting in a small, coordinated team. None of his old comrades are here and he has had to adjust to that. With so many enemies, Serph kicks away the skewered chromehound and lets out a hissing breath, pillars of ice temporarily walling off the rest of the hounds from approach.

He remembers seeing shots being fired, some kind of energy(?) rifle that reminds him distantly of SecUnit's gun arms. So, a ranged fighter maybe?

Despite the guttural snarl to his voice, Serph's tone is otherwise calm. "Do you have your ranged weapon with you?"

Did it get knocked away?

Some of the chromehounds begin to scurry so they can go around the icy wall, while others pull back so they can ram it in an attempt to shatter the ice.

[purplexing]

Ice? Magic of some kind?

"Ah-" Donnie blinks, wrenching himself out of his thoughts before that overthink can kick in.

Ranged isn't usually his preference but he can still manage, and at the moment it doesn't seem like he has much choice. Those same bright lines of magenta begin to trace in the air beside him even before he puts his hand out, and by then his clawed fingers (uggh not again) grasp the rifle. Some sort of hardlight construct?

He braces it and takes aim to fire at the hounds that try getting around the icy barrier, hoping to thin them out enough that any managing to get in closer can be handled by the other. It seems this person is no stranger to the melee approach at least.

Side B

[undyingcrow]

Akechi's motorcycle hardly compares in size and scope to the Turtle Tank. At first, it even seems as though Donatello has it covered with the sheer efficiency of that rifle of his..

But once Donnie falls, Akechi shifts his focus. His vehicle speeds toward the incoming Chromehounds, and he cries out, "Persona!"

Bright light envelopes the mutts, swelling and expanding and sweeping over them. It'll be draining, but it's his most efficient strategy.

Thankfully, Megidolaon only strikes at foes. Donnie and his tank should be fine, though when the light fades, Akechi's breathing heavier than before. Donnie may also notice the large, hooked horns that he's sporting through his helmet, to say nothing of the spines along his back.

"I can draw their attention, if need be. My vehicle should be fast enough to do the trick."

Plus, with Donnie down on the ground, that puts him at a disadvantage, to say nothing of the now driverless vehicle.

[purplexing]

Distantly, even while trying to collect himself, Donnie can't help but think 'oh, so that's what he meant by explosions.'

He winces as he pushes himself up, his shell still throbbing unpleasantly, and it feels like it syncs with the stinging on his hands and feet as the come into contact with what broken bits of thorns had been scattered from his Tank's path. The turtle starts to nod, though it takes some effort to pull his eyes away from Akechi's pointy additions. Moving would be good, he should get back to his tank-

Donnie grimaces as his gaze falls back upon his hands again, claws having formed from his fingertips. Unfortunately not something he hasn't seen before, but he'd hoped the snake thing was overwith. Don't panic don't don't panic get it together Donatello!

"The Turtle Tank!" he shouts, nearly startling himself as he pulls his focus together. It's still been traveling forward, his bō wedged on the gas pedal. He could probably catch up to it with a conjured battle shell, but that'd mean leaving Akechi behind to deal with things, and he's not sure how long the guy can hold up when he'd said it wore on his stamina.

"Can you give me a ride? I'll keep these things off of us." To punctuate that point, lines of glowing magenta start forming around him, tracing out small missiles that go rocketing off towards another pack of chromehounds, and he's already reforming another rifle as more gunshots fire off from the raiders behind them.

[undyingcrow]

"Very well." He pats the back of his motorcycle's seat. Fortunately, there is enough space for a second rider, even with Akechi's wings taking up space. "You shoot, I'll drive. I should be able to catch up with it soon enough."

He'll wait until Donatello's ready before taking off, of course, but time is of the essence.

[purplexing]

At least it seems Donnie's no stranger to hitching a ride on the back of a motorcycle. It's just a new thing to be behind a stranger in general, but he doesn't hesitate too much as he slips into place.

"Let's go!" he says as he makes sure to brace himself as well as he's able, twisting to take a shot in the direction of the incoming raiders.

( I )

[airskate]

[ Shadow is pretty confident in his maneuverability and handling of his bike, especially after couple of months on the road. Still, there are some obstacles that are literally too high to overcome, and huge tangles of thorny underbrush are one of them.

He has no idea who is driving the giant tank. When he sees the turtle motif he has a brief moment to wonder if it might be Leo behind the wheel, but the voice over the radio doesn't match.

Interesting. ]

I'm right behind you. I'll provide support if you run into trouble.

[purplexing]

Sounds good. Who knows what other fun stuff's out here.

[He's laying the sarcasm heavy there, which is only just slightly different from his normal way of speaking, it seems.]

Sooo I'm kind of new here but um, is it really a great idea going towards the ominously lone tower?

[airskate]

Hm.

[ That's all the response Donnie gets at first. But Shadow does eventually elaborate. ]

Probably not.

[ It is, you know... a big ominous tower. ]

But that's where the Convoy's going. And if you don't follow the Convoy, you have to try to survive without its shield at night.

[purplexing]

[He figured as much, but Donnie still groans about it.]

...how bad does it get at night?

On the move

[wasteland_101]

"I can help clear the way as well. I'm not afraid to have this thing beat up," another voice pipped up from what looked like an old retired firetruck. "Its not quite as big as what you've got, but its tough enough. Plus I'm not worried about the paint. Or lack of it."

She laughed a little bit. She was eager to see what the truck could do. She didn't have the abilty to do this in the wasteland. All of the cars there were just ticking time bombs.

[purplexing]

"Well hey, I'm not going to argue against any assistance," Donnie smirked as he glanced over when the truck pulled into view.

"Okay but that's pretty cool. I mean, it's not a tank but how often do you see a firetruck being able to let loose?"

[wasteland_101]

"That depends on where you come from. None of the cars work where I come from," she said as she glanced over at the Turtle Tank. "They're ticking time bombs waiting on a stray shot to hit the engine block."

"Lets do this!" She shifted gears to give the engine a bit more power and began to make a path.

[purplexing]

He makes a face, even if she can't see it. "Gross, really? What kind of crappy place are you from?" Not all cars are built the same, Donnie knows, but one stray bullet shouldn't be enough to set things off unless it was a really lucky shot.

As the firetruck surges ahead, the turtle teen grins and revs his own engine to follow suit.

"YEaaaH!"

On The Move

[guidemyway]

A red Volkswagen Beetle follows along, occasionally drifting awkwardly to the right or left. The driver is not the most experienced at this.

But her voice is bright and chipper as it comes over the comms.

"Purple Possum, this is Firetruck. I read you loud and clear, over." She can't help it. She has to give everyone dumb call signs.

[purplexing]

He keeps catching a glimpse of the little car in the rearview (ooh, a classic!) and he can't help but get anxious.

And then he realizes who's in there, his brow twitching at the call sign.

"Oh no, absolutely not! No possums!" he almost hisses back. "-and don't follow too closely unless you want to end up under my tires!"

[guidemyway]

Woah. Woah. Woah. Okay. Maybe she should have seen this coming.

"Possums are a no go. Got it. Uh... How about Platypuses? Or Penguins? Everyone loves penguins, right?"

And her car sort of jerks faster and then slower as she tries to adjust her speed.

"I'm not following too close! I'm just- Still figuring this whole thing out."

[purplexing]

"What- no! Why are we even doing animals? There are soo many other words in the English vocabulary alone."

Donnie grimaces as he sees the car jerk forward in the rearview.

"Do you need driving lessons too? You need to ease up on the gas there. Gently! -no! I swear, if you ram my tank..!"

let's do the moon warp~

[faceguy]

Leo knows nothing good will come from getting the convoy too close to the tower, but get close they do. And, predictably, it's downhill from there.

The moon warp happens, because of course it does. Leo should have known they were due for one, and now here it is. As the landscape twists and changes around him, he tries to ignore the way he can see bits and pieces of his shell crumbling and falling to the ground.

He has work to do.

In the ensuing fight, he gets injured, and he bleeds more and more. He'd already had the horn coming in, but little does he know how deep the changes are going - until, as his blood spills on a white flower, he feels a sudden deep and desperate need to know where his brother, his friends, and the others from the convoy are; even deeper than his normal desire to protect.

The world around him has turned into a dense, lush jungle, a maze of trees and vines that are difficult to navigate. He starts to hack his way through, using his katana like it's a machete - looking for the others he lost sight of in the fray.

Looking for Donnie. He has to find him.

[purplexing]

Perhaps when he'd been given warning about the moon warp he should have been less fixated about gravity failing and focused more on the effects. Even then, Donnie doubts anything would have effectively prepared him for one once it actually hit.

No one's given him a very good answer as to why they were even headed towards the cursed thing, and now that they're in its shadow, his doubts have only multiplied.

He'd thought it was horrifying enough having Kraang tendrils sink into his skin and his shell. Never had he ever considered how terrible the opposite would be. Feathers had been one thing, but he feels it all too clearly, impossible appendages extruding from his back, stretching out in a canopy of matted, dark feathers.

It seems there's no time for anything. No time to process, no time to figure out how wings work or what he's even supposed to do, but freaking out doesn't seem like an option, shutting down won't help anyone.

The very landscape can't seem to make up its mind, the shifts between terrain and temperatures really pushing his limits. He wants to run, wants to curl up and hide, he wants to be home where things aren't completely insane. The appearance of monsters serves as a strange saving grace, an outlet that he can direct his frustration before he can reach a breaking point. His bō strikes are fierce, holding nothing back as he dispatches beast after beast. But it's tiring work, and there doesn't seem to be enough time to do much more, as much as he tries to look for his brother.

Panic hasn't completely abated, an inane urge to get to higher ground constantly at the back of his mind. Impossible when the ground itself isn't consistent, and suddenly he's caught in a tangle of greenery, wings flaring as he tries to maintain balance. Pain sears his legs as another creature's claws rake across them, and for a moment all he sees is white as he crashes down.

[faceguy]

His frantic push to find Donnie again leads him back towards the edge of the trees. The ground is shifting again, the jungle giving way to hard, packed earth and shrubs. The good news is that it gives Leo a wider field of vision - in time to see when a dark shape takes down someone who flashes purple for only a moment.

Or maybe that was just Leo's ninpo catching the spark of his brother's.

Whatever it is doesn't matter, because Leo's mind fills with a white hot panic. The fear lances through him, and before he knows what's happening his sword is in the air, and then Leo is landing within striking distance of the beast who's harming Donnie.

With a wordless cry, far from his usual puns and quips, he strikes through the creature, dark blood flying. Leo heaves and pants as he dispatches it, dragging it away from Donnie.

[purplexing]

A spark of blue, a flash of green, it's like all Donnie can process are colors and pain. The sensation hasn't stopped, seeming to spread through his lower legs and throbbing through to the ends of his toes. His brother's name is on the tip of his tongue, but relief is far from him, even though he sees Leo right there.

Donnie tries again, forcing himself to stand, only to falter again. His feet hurt even worse than before, like something straining against its own skin. Something...something looks off with Leo but he feels like he's working through a haze. He sees movement coming up behind his brother, his own movements seeming far too sluggish as he braces himself to get up again.

"-L-Leo..!"