infinite_reflection | The Hell Just Happened?

That... Wasn't possible, was it? How was that possible?! The little girl in the mirror's finger tips weren't in the mirror anymore. “...How can that be you? Let's get out of here.” Miho bent down and lightly tugged at Seiya.

"How? How do we get out, exactly?" Greg seemed more concerned with that than the several mirrored Seiyas! That was only because he hadn't seen them, though, and a peek into the elevator fixed that. "Oh, what the hell?!" Great, now the girl was getting out! "Run! Let's run, okay? No use sticking around here!"

In fact, Gregory was already on his way. He'd spun around and started a brisk walk, one that would quickly upgrade into a run as soon as the two of them caught up or they took too damned long. He'd wait and see!

Unable to move anywhere but towards the elevator, she stepped inside the doors slowly shutting. The little girl fully stepped out, cackling.

"It's useless you know. You brought them here and now they'll die. You didn't want the responsibility anyway, right?"

Seiya bowed her head, a black smoke filtering out from the elevator. Black creatures slinked towards Miho and Gregory, snarling.

“..U-uuh, um, heh.. Sen..Senpaiii..” Seiya had entered the elevator, which left Gregory and Miho outside in the icy corridor! She took a startled step backward, eyes wide at the smoke seeping toward them. What were those creatures?! They didn't sound or look friendly at all. “G..g-san, what're we supposed to do?”

That attempt to flee was quickly cut short with the sudden appearance of... He didn't know what to call them! It started as ominous smoke, but creatures took shape before long and then he'd backed up until he was in front of Miho. Hey, at least he was being chivalrous? That meant he'd die first! Maybe. "I, uh... I've got n-no idea." The fear was clear in his voice, mostly because the poor boy was certain that him and the two ladies were dead.

His mind was racing, searching for an answer, but there seemed to be none. Why hadn't they brought weapons?! That sounded very smart in retrospect!

Seiya stared at the smaller version of herself. The little girl's eyes glowed yellow as she taunted her older counterpart.

"Poor us. We pretend to be so outgoing and carefree. We care a lot, don't we. Waaaah daddy! Daddy notice us wwwwaaaaah!"

"STOP IT!" Seiya glared harshly at herself, gritting her teeth. "Just stop it!"

The creatures outside slid closer, baring their slimey teeth as they sized up Miho and Gregory. Little Seiya's reflection appeared in the ice as she grinned. "She's not going to come out, you know. She's in the elevator, going home. Idiots."

“S-senpaiii..!” Miho had an odd foreboding feeling that the only way home was the elevator. Seiya wouldn't just leave them, would she?! Of course not! Regardless of her own feelings, though, her and Gregory were in trouble. Another step back was taken, and then she glanced around the narrow and icy corridor. Ice, ice, ice... It was all ice – but it was all sharp ice!

Without thinking, the bespectacled girl tried to pry a shard of ice from the wall. The result was her hissing harshly as the jagged wall sliced into the delicate palm of her hand. “M-mouu, jeez!” She kicked it instead. “We've got to do something, G-san!” They really should have brought weapons, huh? After another kick and a grunt from Miho, a shard of ice fell away. She picked it up and threw it at one of the 'shadows'!

“S-seiya-chan, we need you..!”

Miho's pleading was unfortunately met with silence from her partner outside of the elevator, and he had a decidedly grim expression on his face to make things worse. Both eyes were focused on the small mob of shadowy figures in front of them and he'd lifted his arms somewhat defensively... Y'know, like that'd ever help. Gregory felt awfully unprotected in just his clothing! "I, uh... I think we're dead, here." How encouraging; the first words he'd spoken in a bit.

"I'm gonna die a virgin. That's, uh, that's a real shame." Priorities!

Seiya growled, clenching her fist. Her shadow self began to dance from mirror to mirror, until finally she couldn't take it anymore.

Lifting her fist high, she released, slamming it into the glass. Shards flew as blood poured from her knuckles, a light flashing.

I am thou, and thou art I....

A woman with pale skin and glorious flowing clothes burst forward, prying the elevator doors open. Seiya fell to her knees, watching through blurred vision as the creature dove through the shadows, slicing them in half.

I am Hlin, Goddess of Consolation.

Hlin screeched, circling around Greg and Miho to fly back at the little Seiya, slicing her until she turned into nothing but smoke.

Seiya shook as Hlin departed as well, before falling flat on the ground, unconscious.

Miho was bordering on pure panic over here – that is, until the doors for the elevator were wrenched open. With wide eyes she watched 'Hlin' tear through the shadows. “S..” The child version of Seiya was reduced to nothing but smoke as well, and Miho's brows furrowed. “Senpai! H-hey!” She ignored her own bleeding hand and moved forward now that the coast was clear (back into the elevator). “G-san, come here! Let's.. Maybe if we hit the lobby button.. We need to get Seiya-chan out of here.”

Oddly enough, there were two buttons on the elevator now. 'Lobby' and 'Basement 1'.

Greg didn't notice the doors open, actually, and was just about to prepare for his imminent demise when something suddenly whipped out from behind him! It was large and rather shiny but more importantly destroying everything in front of them. The boy's eyes got a little wide while he watched, arms dropping from their defensive position to allow him to further stare at the thing cleaving everything in two in front of him. That was... If he was being honest, that is... That was awesome. "Huh..."

By the time he'd stopped being lost in thought Miho was gone, and Gregory turned around just in time to get her shouting at him. Oh, shit! Was that Seiya in a heap, there? "Right! Uh, sorry, coming..!" He rushed back into the elevator, then spun around to face the buttons and take note of the new one. "Which do I hit, Miho-san? Wait, uh, you probably don't know. I'll just, uhmmm..." With a shrug, his thumb smacked into the button marked 'L'. The doors slid shut with a ding!

Oddly enough the elevator started climbing, and Greg rubbed his palms together nervously before glancing back at Miho and Seiya. "Is she okay? I mean, uh... She's not..." He didn't want to say that word, and it thankfully did look like the girl was breathing. "Mmh." Greg just nodded, then glanced back to the button panel. He was quickly distracted by the floor of all things, though, which had started to almost ripple like someone had dropped a pebble into a pool of water. "Uhhmmm... Miho-san? What..."

There wasn't time to finish, because after a moment the motion of the floor got a little more intense! It started to shimmer and took on a glassy exterior, much like a mirror... Greg was sensing a theme, here. Unfortunately for him and his two elevator-mates, whatever invisible solid foundation was holding them up gave out and they fell right through the now smooth and glassy floor. "Ahh, sshhiit..!"

(( LONG POST IS LONG ))

Seiya was in fact breathing, and as they made their transition between the parallel worlds, she began coming to. Eyes opening halfway, her gaze darted between her comrades.

There they were, in the same elevator as before the whole ordeal. The doors swung open, revealing the lobby. People bustled in and out, going about their business as if nothing had happened.

"You guys... okay?"

When Miho opened her eyes again, she was on her knees. On her knees and in the plain ol' lobby elevator instead of some weird other world one! She glanced around a bit, as if she couldn't believe her eyes, and then looked down to Seiya. “Senpai! Senpai, you're okay!” Minus the bleeding fist. Actually, the bespectacled girl was bleeding, too! Hand wounds, woohoo!

She breathed a sigh of relief... And then sniffled. “M-mm, I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm glad you're awake. Are you alright, G-chan?” Sniffle, sniff. Oh boy, was she crying a little? Hard to tell, because her face was behind her hands.

((SOCIAL LINK RANK UP!!! FOOL ARCANA WOO? :|))

Greg's eyes opened and he immediately leaned backward and against one of the mirrored walls. Potentially a bad idea, but then this one wasn't sucking him in, so... He exhaled a sigh of relief and then regarded the other two, having returned to his line-faced and otherwise undisturbed attitude. "Uh, I'm good. The only one not bleeding, anyway. Got a first aid kit in your apartment, Miho-san?" His finger hovered over the button for the thirty-sixth floor, not that the boy was very much in the mood for another elevator ride. It beat climbing that many floors, though.

They might've expected worry behind the somewhat cold exterior, but in all honesty he was more concerned with whatever had come out of the elevator and laid waste to everything. Maybe this was like a game. If it was, he wanted one of those.

Glancing down at her hand, she noticed the shards of glass embedded in her flesh. Oh. Seiya's eyes clenched shut as she tried to imagine herself anywhere but on the elevator. "'m gonna throw up." She buckled into herself, shaking. "Oh God please..."

((RANK APPU))

“H-hookay, okay, aha, ahh, no puking in the elevatorrr…” She didn’t really feel like cleaning puke up, and they were both bleeding.. Miho stood up with a bit of a sway. That had certainly been an adventure – not to mention really scary. “Yes! Right! First a-aid kit, let’s, let’s go. Can you walk, senpai? G-san, help mee..”

And with that, if Gregory would help her, Miho attempted to lift her senpai on up and waited for them to slowly ascend to the thirty sixth floor (once Greg hit the button, of course). Fortunately this time no crazy hoodoo happened, and it was a relatively peaceful ride. Once they arrived she was really rather hasty to walk Seiya out of the damned thing and then down the hall.

He pushed that '36' button and then leaned down to help Miho lift their friend up. The slow climb up was a little awkward in Greg's personal opinion, mostly because he had to support a bleeding friend with another bleeding friend and he wasn't entirely sure what they'd tell Miho's mother if she was home. Yeah, he'd just hope that she wasn't! And if she was... Distract her with his apparent good looks, or something. "Seems, uh... Nothing's happening. So that's good..." Indeed, there was a pleasant *ding* and then the doors slid open to reveal the 36th floor.

Gregory took one side while Miho took the other, and they helped poor Seiya walk down the hallway and to the apartment's door. "I'll, uh... Find your keys, Miho-san, I can hold her up."

Seiya wobbled, stomach doing cartwheels. She leaned on Greg as Miho apparently fished for her keys. She let out a shaky sigh, trying to stand on her own. Yeah nope. Holding tight to her new friend, she tried not to bleed all over him.

"Unnngh what the heeelll just..."

“H-happened? Eheh.. Ah..” She finished the sentence for her, fishing about in her pockets for her keys. Her messy bun hairstyle had only gotten messier during their foray into that strange otherworld, and now it was all standing up at odd angles and all over the place. “I wonder that, too.. Um. Once we’re inside, you guys can sit on the couch – don’t bleed on it! Mom will kill me. I’ll get the first aid kit for us.” The door was promptly unlocked then, and then Miho ushered them both inside before any of her neighbors started peeking out of their own apartments.

Fortunately her mother was not home. She couldn’t think of any excuses to explain their state! “Okay! I’ll get the first aid kit. G-chan,” Whoops, that slipped again. “Sit senpai down, and then make some tea for us? In the kitchen, everything’s out already..” Shoes off, and then she zipped into her apartment and down the hall to find the first aid kit.

It would be several minutes until she returned, with an oversized kit, a pair of tweasers, and a smile on her face. “We’re going to have to pick that glass out of your hand… Sorry, Seiya-chan.”

Gregory remained quiet and apparently resolute! At least he wasn't freaking out, so that could be comforting to some small degree. He gave Miho a nod with her instructions and walked Seiya over to the couch as soon as they were inside. The jacket on him was shrugged off and then he draped it across the girl on the couch's lap... Greg placed her hands there and then made a slight face. "You can bleed on that. I'll, uh... Wash it, later." Or throw it out. Probably the latter, yeah.

"Stay here, all right? Just, uh... Lean back and relax, y'know. I'm gonna make that tea." With those words he retreated into the kitchen. Greg looked a little lost in his thoughts, and it was probably obvious what he was thinking about. By the time Miho came back, he was still working on that tea!

Taking a seat, Seiya started crying again. It was expected after all that had just transpired. Resting her hands obediently on Greg's jacket, she watched him walk away as Miho returned. They were the three unlikely musketeers now. Holding her bleeding hand towards her best friend, she finally got a good look at it.

"Oh God that's deep."

“”O-oh, oh God, that really is deep.” Miho bit her lip in worry, gnawing and chewing on it absently. “I can do it, though. I’ve taken first aid classes. Cleaning it.. Cleaning it might sting, I’m sorry. G-san! Can you bring some warm water out with the tea, as well, pretty please?” With a look of determination she went to her knees in front of Seiya, opening the first aid kit. “Ready?” Without waiting, she gingerly grasped a shard of glass with the tweezers and went to tug it lightly out.

Gregory had just come out with the tray of tea when she made her request, and he set it gently down on the coffee table there. "Yeah, uh, I'll get it." He cringed briefly at the state of Seiya's hands and then scurried back into the kitchen. The boy let the sink run until the water was hot and then filled a glass... He wasn't entirely sure what container Miho wanted it in, but this would have to do! By the time he came back out she was tugging one of the shards out, though, and the face the poor boy made could not have been encouraging for poor Seiya. "Urrghh..!"

He set the glass down next to the tray with the teapot and several cups on it, then took a seat about as far as he could get from the injured girl. Gregory had no desire to get up close and personal with her injuries! School was going to be a nightmare if she couldn't write, and it looked pretty bad, so...

Crying out in pain, Seiya cringed. Her body jerked and the painful shock surging up her spine caused her to howl again. "J-Jeeze..." The glass being removed produced more blood, and she began to shake in fear.

"I-I'm sorry about your jacket!" she choked out between sobs.

Miho was good at this whole first aid thing, but... Holy crap she felt terrible for hurting Seiya like this! She continued her work through quiet mumbles of 'sorry, sorry, sorry', her opposite hand gingerly rubbing against her senpai's leg in what she hoped was a comforting manner. Gregory's jacket was getting really bloody, considering they were both bleeding – the glasses wearing girl wasn't quite so bad off, though.

“Almost got most of it out.” She gulped. “There's.. just a few little shards. This is reeeally going to hurt, I'm so sorry. Brace yourself, k-kay?” And with that, Miho had to dig the tweezers right on in to remove the last shards. “G-san, towels, please. In the b-bathroom, get a cloth or something.”

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