12483/A New You: How Sausage is Made

A New You: How Sausage is Made
Date of Scene:	18 August 2022
Location:	Warehouses
Synopsis:	Clarice and Pete journey into Lydia's mindscape to find it horribly corrupted by Viscera's influence. As dire as the situation might be, all hope is not lost.
Cast of Characters:	Clarice Ferguson, Lydia Dietrich

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Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I've got her," the tanned, young man standing beside Clarice declares as they appear in the mouth of an alleyway in New York, much to he surprise of any passers by. "One more jump," Pete encourages. "That way."
    As he points, Clarice offers a nod of confirmation, and a broad lipped smile of approval and encouragement. She knew Pete could do this - even if the cause for their efforts was raather grim. "Okay. Just remember - don't put yourself at risk. If you need me ot jump your clear, just squeeze my hand and we'll go."
    "You've told me how many time already?"
    It's hard to see Clarice rolling her strange, electric grin eyes - but Pete doesn't need to see it to know, and he grins at his older sister before his expression grows more serious. A moment later, and the pair have vanished - reappearing in the Tenderloin district. "Alright, this is perfect. Just give me a few minutes to work..."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    It's hard to pinpoint exactly where in the Tenderloin district Lydia is, due to the sheer amount of noise that comes from the minds of all the neighboring warehouses, but Pete is able to get close enough to establish a mental connection to her. If nothing else, Rien should be able to track her from here once they're ready to confront her.

    The initial tentative probe finds that she has fairly solid walls in place. Stronger than she'd normally be able to put up, being fortified by Viscera. Trying to push through them is like trying to stab your fingers all the way through a steak. Doable, but highly unpleasant.

    Once through, they find themselves in the labyrinthine mind of Lydia. The mindscape takes shape as endless aisles of bookshelves, each book a memory or a thought. Normally this would present itself as a fairly cozy place to be, and indeed, Pete has probably already been here a couple of times. However, this scene is marred by Viscera's corruption. Webs of flesh cling to books and shelves alike, and little knots of tumors collect where the flesh is thick.

    Off in the distance mad growling can be heard, a guttural voice ranting under its breath, and beneath that, nearly inaudible, is the sound of sobbing.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    It wasn't like this - it shouldn't be like this. Whether Clarice is just //assuming// that, or the knowledge it coming from Pete is a little unclear. The pair wander side-by-side, and for a moment, Clarice has to consider how bad it would be if they were to get separted.
    Then it occurs to her - that perhaps they can't be separated? She wouldn't be here if not for Pete, anyways.
    As they wandeer betwen the shelves, Clarice feels the urge to start cutting away strands of flesh - at the tumors - but the moment she reaches for one Pete takes her hand, and shakes his head cautiously.
    The pair continue to walk through the shelves, slowly and cautiously, with Clarice naturally heading towards the sound of the sobs. Was that... the sound of their sister? The part that was still Lydia?

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    As the pair gets closer to the sounds of muttered ranting, the fleshy growths grow thicker and thicker, covering floor, ceiling and shelves alike. Walking on the pulsing, glistening flesh is like walking squishy, uneven mud that has a thin layer of rubber on top. Truly unpleasant.

    It takes a while for them to reach the heart of the mindscape. Another one of Lydia's defenses is the mazelike aisles where one might have to go through several switchbacks in order to make any forward progress. But, eventually, they make it to the center.

    The heart comprises of a rather large chamber. Any features that might have been here have been completely overgrown with flesh and muscle. Eyes and mouths dot the walls as bare limbs from human and animals alike grow in between.

    Pacing in the center is what Pete would recognize as Lydia's Beast, what she calls The Predator. It's easily eight feet tall and humanoid, hunchbacked with its long limbs tipped with angry looking claws. It has three heads, a wolf, a raven, and a bat, and it's these that the mad ramblings are coming from. Half of it has clearly been corrupted, the limbs twisted in ways they shouldn't, fleshy growths growing out of the skin, and the wolf head is filled with eyes, noses and mouths that shouldn't be there. Its belly is hugely distended, as if it had a great feast that it never could digest, from which the quiet sobbing can be heard.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "...it ate her." It's meant to be a whisper - or maybe Clarice hadn't meant to 'speak' at all - but it seems to echo loudly to her.
    Not that anything //should// 'echo' in a chamber comprised of so much flesh. She clenches her hand - as all she wants to do is tear into the creature to get her sister back. To //fight// - after all, fighting is what she knows. It's what she trained for all her life.
    Pete places a restraining hand on her shoulder. As much as they both want to help - do they really know what intervening here would do? Could they cause Lydia more harm?
    "We can't just leave her like this," Clarice insists, taking a step forward.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Suddenly, the Predator stops and narrows its eyes, listening as Viscera communicates with it. Not with words, however. An oppressive paranoia washes over everything, the feeling of being watched tries to claw its way into your minds. Perhaps this Viscera's way of warning The Predator to your presence.

    Then images assaults The Predator, of which you get flashes. A city made of flesh and bone, its denizens twisted creations. A throne of chiton and sinew. Animals fused together in horrible ways. It's sickening.

    "No, no, no, no, no!" growls The Predator, its hands clutching at it's heads. "No more! Enough! /I am in control!/" This declaration sounds desperate, as if it's trying to reassure itself that it really is in control.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Clarice!"
    Was it a warning? A desperate plea to get Clarice to //think// about what she is doing? It doesn't seem to matter, though - the magenta-hued mutant darts forward, one of her silvery javelins appearing in her hands. Rather than throwing it, though, she seems to have something else in mind - this is more precision work. She has to cut Lydia free.
    The javelin takes on an unusually sharp edge as she gets closer - lifting it to slice at the swollen belly of the predator.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Clarice's sudden charge distracts The Predator long enough for Viscera's influence to take control. "Meddlesome mutants," it growls, its voice not its own. It raises a hand and a wall of flesh and parts rises from the floor to block Clarice from getting to Lydia. "You cannot stop me. Your world is made of meat, which is mine to control." Fleshy tentacles tipped with bony spikes whip out from the wall to try to wrap themselves around Clarice. "Become one with us!"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Clarice, we have to go!" Pete calls - as the young man concentrates on shielding her (and himself) from the influence of Viscera. This appears as armor in shimmering rainbow hues that ebb, flow, and shift - colors concentrating and swirling at points of impact to provide the best protection.
    It's utterly fabulous.
    Clarice, however, seems loathe to retreat. "We can't just leave her!" she cries in stubborn determination - cutting and slashing with her javelin-turned-knife. "We have to free her! So she can fight! Lydia - LYDIA! You have to fight!"
    The moment she gets an opening - if she can get an opening - she flings it to try to slice across the beast's belly. "We need you, Lydia!"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Clarice cuts at the walls and tentacles, only for them to grow back twice as thick and twice as many. If this was out in the real world, she'd have a chance, but in here she's up against the might of an Old God. The tentacles do their best to pierce through Pete's shields, but they hold, keeping Clarice from being ensnared by Viscera's influence. But those shields will only last so long.

    However, at Clarice's shout, the sobbing stops. "Clarice?" comes Lydia's weak voice. "Clarice! You have to get out of here before it infects you too! Find me! Pierce my heart! It'll stop me but won't kill me! Please, don't wait too long! I don't know how much longer I can last!"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Lydia! You have to fight! We're not giving up on you! You have to fight!" Clarice calls desperately. She's a well-trained, precision fighter, and each blow lands with a practiced precision - and still she makes no progress. When she feels sometging clamp onto her shoulder, she whirls towards it, blade rising...
    Only to pull up short to discover it's Pete,
    "We're leaving," he says simply, as th psychic begins th work of pulling them both out.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Leaving this mindscape is easier than entering it was. As much as it wants to bring you into the fold, it also wants you to leave, to keep from interfering with its task of fully corrupting Lydia. Tentacles whip and snap at your feet as you flee, but as you get closer to the edge, there's less corruption for the tentacles to come out of until finally, you're safe enough to exit.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    From an outside perspective - it's doubtlessly strange. The two individuals standing beside a dark building, holding hands, both still and quiet one moment - and gasping a moment later. Clarice is livid as she breaks contact with Pete, to pace up and down a piece of sidewalk.
    "We can't just leave her like that!"
    "We won't."
    "We could have helped her!"
    "I'm not sure we could have. We don't help her by getting infected or killed."
    Clarice grits her teeth, glaring at Pete for a moment, before her expression softens, and she moves towards her brother to hug him. "I'll send you home. I should- I need to find Lydia's friends and tell them what we learned. I- you did good. We'll fix this."