I Didn't Sign Up For This! (IO)

Mission:

How did I get here? Where am I? Who Am I? Nothing made sense in Tsubaki's situation. She was chained to the wall in a damp, mossy, and cold dungeon. The humidity with the dense confusion cause Tsubaki's head to spin and make her feel nauseous. She wasn't sure what to do and felt helpless and alone. 

However, she would find that she wasn't alone. Loghain, an old partner of hers, was also chained beside her. She remembered him right away without remembering anything about herself. She could've sworn she would've noticed him as soon as she woke up. "Where are we?" She asked before a loud buzz would shock her attention. 


"Welcome!" A loud piercing voice came from nowhere, causing Tsubaki to frantically look around her. "You are in the Dungeon of Despair, where your mind is in a place you need to escape from. It won't be easy with all the traps set up everywhere; obstacles to keep you from escaping. Good luck!" As the voice ending their introduction, the chains keeping Log and Tsu to the walls and doors would disappear, leading to a poorly lit path. 

WC: 190

The wolf would slowly open his eyes, finding the light dimmer than expected. He went to move, but quickly found himself bound to the wall by chains... He didn't recall how he had gotten here, and considering his current situation it was very possible that he had some sort of unexpected transformation. Panic started to settle in, his eyes wide thinking about what he must have done to be here. It was only then that the faintest whiff of flowers would fill his nose. It was familiar... 

The wolf would look around, hoping to see just where the scent was coming from when his eyes adjusted to notice Tsubaki Senju chained to the wall beside him. She looked as lost and confused as he was, maybe even more so. She would utter a question asking where they were at. Loghain went to answer, but before he could speak a word a booming voice would address them. The Dungeon of Despair? The wolf had no idea where that was, but it was made very clear that they were not safe here. Loghain went to pull on the chains to break them, only to have them vanish as he did so, causing him to drop to his knees. He would look over to Tsu, making certain that she was okay. She hadn't struggled, so the lady did not fall over, instead standing firmly in her position. She was looking in the only direction available to go, which had been down a poorly lit path. 

"It is nice to see you again, Tsu. I only wish that it were under better circumstances." He would say aloud, hoping that this wasn't going to be the last time that he would see the Senju. Loghain would move first, keeping track of the scent of Tsu behind him. He had no intention of allowing the pair to end up getting cut off from one another. 

The path travelled would lead to a large room, various statues of warriors dotting the otherwise bland area. It was a room roughly 5 meters wide by 10 meters long. The center of the room held a large pillar with a singular eye, gazing about the room slowly. It was scanning the area as though it were looking for something or someone. A rat would scamper from underneath their feet and dart out into the room finding its way directly into the direction that the eye was looking. It would suddenly lock on, moving much faster once it had found a target. A beam of light would fire from the eye, striking the unsuspecting rat and turning it to stone in an instant. 

"Best to not let that thing spot you... otherwise you will become another decoration." Loghain would mention, just in case Tsu had somehow not seen what just happened. "It seems to be slowly scanning the area. We can try to sneak past it, unless you have some way to keep us out of sight."


wc: 496

“Where the hell am I” , Zeref would say in a low mumbled tone, still in a slight daze from whatever knocked him out. The last thing he could remember before passing out was walking around the village, before he had stopped to take a piss In a dark alley. On any normal day he would of just waited till he got home or went into some store but he had drunk way to much water and juice while he was out wandering around town. As he looked around the room to gather his barings he could see that he was chained to the wall of some short of old and dirty dungeon , with one day on the opposite side of him. 

“Once again seems like I found my way into some weird stuff”, Zeref said in a jokingly manner. As he started to struggle and see if he could break out of the chains , he heard a voice start talking. "You are in the Dungeon of Despair, where your mind is in a place you need to escape from. It won't be easy with all the traps set up everywhere; obstacles to keep you from escaping. Good luck!", the voice had said over the speaker and once it was done talking the chains vanished and the door opened.

“Well let’s see what’s behind door number one shall we” , he said to himself as he stood up and made his way through the door and down the long dark and narrow pathway. As he exited  the narrow corridor he would enter a room roughly 5 meters wide by 10 meters long. The center of the room held a large pillar with a singular eye, gazing about the room slowly, with one other door on the right side of the room. 

At first he didn’t notice the two other people standing in the door way at first but after a good look he noticed that it was his teammate Loghain and a women. He wanted to call out to them but without knowing what to do about that eye , he thought it be best to wait and see what there first move would be. 

WC:367

Zeref, another fellow shinobi of Hoshi, also had appeared at the dungeon. As they were freed from the chains, Tsu's mind returned to her usual state. She was able to recognize her name again as Loghain address her. "Y-yeah. Not particularly my type of hangover." There was still no memory of how she could've gotten to this strange "Dungeon of Despair".

Zeref and Loghain investigated the now empty door frame to see what was there as Tsubaki investigated the dungeon they were in. It seemed ancient like it had been uncared for years. There were no traces of footprints, not even the three that were currently in the cell still. It was almost like they were not even there. 

After setting the dungeon investigation aside, she would too look outside into the hall where a pillar stood in the center. It had just spotted a small rat trying to make its way through. The eye would then send out a blinding beam towards the unfortunate victim and instantly turning it to stone. "Best to not let that thing spot you... otherwise, you will become another decoration." Loghain stated in response. "Yeah, not really interesting in being on someone's lawn for the rest of my life," Tsubaki smirked to herself a bit as she watched the pillar's eye continue on its path slowly. They would be able to slip by the pillar without it seeing them, as Loghain pointed out but the of them would have to be very quick. On the other side of the pillar was another empty door frame that seemed to lead into another room. They would just have to make it the 10 meters it would take to get there. 

Tsubaki waited for the eye to make its path around the room till it was facing away from them. Tsubaki would go through during that time, making sure to keep pace with the pillar's rotational movement as it continued. Thankfully for her shinobi training, she was able to get to the other side without getting spotted by the eye. She wouldn't continue into the other room until all the rest of her friends joined her on the other side if they hadn't already. 

WC: 367
TWC: 557

Zeref had also suddenly appeared, catching the wolf off guard. He didn't detect any traces of him, and then he was suddenly here. Was this a part of it all? Or was this place just interfering with his nose? He couldn't be certain either way, so he would give his teammate the benefit of doubt and mentally wave away his suspicions. 

The solidified rat served as a warning of what would happen should any of them fail at this task. Tsu was quick to move, staying out of the sight of that terrible eye. Loghain would allow Zeref to go next, making sure to keep a close eye on things. If it looked like Zeref might not make it the wolf would act fast, making sure that his Senju teammate would not turn to stone here. The wolf was immensely fast, and should the other two get across safely there was little doubt in his mind that he would be able to keep pace with them and avoid the pillars gaze. 

Once they had all been safely to the other side the doorway would close tight behind them, as if some mastermind was watching them and had flipped a switch to seal off going back. Torches would begin to light up along the walls, dimly lighting the hallway in the path they were expected to go. It was rather bleak, but the wolf would go first hoping to use his keen senses to detect any threats. 

Well his sense of smell didn't help much here, but his acute hearing had. He stepped on some sort of pressure plate which caused some sort of mechanism to whir into action. His pace was much faster than even an average shinobi's had been, so he was only slightly beyond its range as a bolt would launch out from the wall, slicing right behind him and managing to cut the back of his shirt. This was only the first of many though, as the whole hallway in front of them started firing a rapid barrage of crossbow bolts covering nearly every inch of the 30 meters of hallway they had left to traverse before the next room. All of the bolts were firing from the right side, entering back into the wall on the left. It must have been some sort of reloading contraption to prevent the clever delver from just waiting until all of the bolts were used up. 

"Any ideas here? I have one, but I wouldn't call it a good one." 

wc: 420

Now that everyone was aware of each other , Zeref watched as Tsu didn’t waste anytime moving across the room while the eye was turned away. He thought it be best to do the same unless he wanted to end up like that rat did , but he couldn’t help but wanted to see something else turn to stone.  So as the eye started to turn and face the pathway they were supposed to cross Zeref had quickly made a shadow clone to jump in the eyes path , just so he could watch it turn to stone befor being turned into nothingness again.

Wasting no time , the clone quickly ran in front of the eye and was immediately turned into stone just like th rat was. “Awww that’s so cool, if only there was a way to bring that eye back, but in a more contained form.... oh well” , Zeref would say out loud, it was hard for him to contain the thrill he got from watching it but at the same time he knew it was time to move on and figure out why they were all there in the first place.

Now that he was done being amused he quickly made his way across the pathway once the eye face the opposite direction, and then watched as he loghain followed behind him. Once they were all on the other side loghain would then take the lead and Zeref would follow not to far behind , luckily for Zeref he was far behind enough that when a bolt flew from the wall it only hit loghain and not himself as well. Moments later the entire hallway in front of them started firing a rapid barrage of crossbow bolts covering nearly every inch of the 30 meters of hallway they had left to traverse before the next room. 

As loghain would ask if they had any ideas , Zeref could only think of one thing. “Well I got a couple earth jutsu that I could try out , to see if I could block the holes, unless u have a better idea”, he would say all while keeping an eye on the what was in front of them. He had hoped with the three of them there had to be something they could do to get to the other side without being filled with holes from this cool trap.

WC:402

The fun wasn't over after the traumatic pillar with dry eye problems. The new room had a contraption of arrows that would shoot out of the wall once someone stepped on the pressure point. There didn't seem any other way across. There was no going back either as the doorway had closed and disappeared, just like the cell they started out in. "You've gotta be kidding me." Tsubaki sighed exhaustedly. Zeref made a good suggestion that he could use an earth-style jutsu to plug up the wall. "It's worth a shot." Tsubaki weaved Ox -Serpent-Boar to summon an earth wall against the arrow points. There was an awkward moment of silence. No wall appeared. "Of course this dungeon wouldn't allow us to use techniques." Tsubaki placed her hands on her temples and paced around the room. "So we are stuck in this musky ass dungeon being watched but some creepy voyeur that we can't even see." She pointed to the ceiling as she addressed the mysterious voice. 

Tsu leaned against the wall during her fit of frustration. Suddenly she felt her weight sink into a section of the wall like she had pressed in some kind of hollow brick. Tsubaki looked back and investigated the area. She was able to take off that section of the wall. Inside seemed like a rope pulley. Tsubaki attempted to pull on it but it didn't even budge. "Hey, one of you strong men help me out with this."

If Zeref tried the pulley, he would also be unsuccessful. Only Loghain would be successful if he attempted to pull on the pulley. Once pulled, the rope would lift a slab of stone that covered the holes on the wall. It was extremely heavy still, causing considerable strain on the person who pulls it. There was still a problem.  "If we cross the hall while you lift, we still wouldn't be able to bring Loghain over." It was frustrating to find a clue but then it did not solve the puzzle in the end. Tsubaki was starting to run out of hope.

WC: 347
TWC: 904

Zeref had a good idea, but for some reason their techniques didn't seem to work in here. Her frustration on the matter was made readily apparent, which Loghain could understand. None of them signed up for this, and a ninja's techniques were so intrinsic to who they were that being without them probably made them feel naked. The wolf hadn't really cared either way, since he was less of a formal shinobi then the other two were. If anything that just meant that there was less risk of a transformation, which was a safer situation for all parties involved. 

She leaned on a wall and found a hidden area that had a pulley. Tsu requested assistance pulling it, in which case Loghain would immediately offer to help. Labor didn't bother him much, so he would pull surprised that there was as much resistance as this. It wasn't often that he found himself feeling like he lacked the strength needed for a task. Straining his whole body, he would get the rope down, lifting a slab of rock in front of the openings. Tsu would address the issue presented. Loghain would not be able to get across once the others had. 

"Just go. I'll keep this held in position until you are clear." He would practically growl at them, his voice strained by the exertion of holding this slab in place. If there was any sort of rebuttal he would just shout, "GO! I can't hold this forever!" 

wc:247

It seemed like his idea of trying an earth style jutsu was agreed amongst the group and before he could even try his own tsu had moved first. Unfortunately for the group her attempt was unsuccessful and they were forced to come up with a new idea of getting across the trap that the dungeon had. “Well seems like we’re back to square zero”, he said as he placed his hands in his pocket. He didn’t really have to many other ideas beside trying to speed blitz the trap and hope he doesn’t get hit. 

After listening to tsu frustrated ask for help , he watched as loghain went ahead and blocked the pathway with his body to insure everyone safety. “Well good thinking there”, Zeref said as he quickly made his way past the trap so that his teammate wouldn’t have to endure the pain for to much longer. Once he was across he would look back to make sure that Loghain wouldn’t take to much damage and make it across as well. He wouldn’t let anyone die trying to save him, he would hate having someone else blood on his hand , especially one of a comrade. Once everyone was across he would lean up against the wall, waiting for one of them to take the lead.

WC:219

Loghain would take on the job quite well of lifting the giant stone slab to cover the dart holes. As soon as all the holes were covered, Tsubaki and Zeref would cross the hall. She couldn't help but look back at Loghain as she crossed, feeling guilty for his sacrifice but also knowing that he chose this. Even though he was the only person to lift the slab, he made the choice to have them cross. Tsubaki wished for another option or just to wake from this horrible nightmare. 

"Well Well!" The voice came screeching overhead. "You heartless bastard, playing this dickish game," Tsubaki spat at the voice around them. "People often have to make sacrifices to save their friends. At the cost of their own life. Most of the time they only get a split chance to make these choices at the rush of the moment. Well, not this time. Loghain has a chance to get out of here thanks to his heroic sacrifice. Everyone give a round of applause to Loghain!" Unemboided clapping and cheering suddenly came from the voice like it were the set of some kind of sick gameshow. As that happened, the pulley would release for Loghain if he was still holding it, and then bars would separate Tsubaki and Zeref from Loghian on the other side of the hall. Too levers would appear before the Wolf, one painted green and the other red. "All you have to do is pull the green lever, and you'll be set free." In a show of good faith, a wall opened to show a glowing path of daylight covered in bars. "Of course, Tsubaki and Zeref would still face the rest of the dungeon. And with only those two left and the traps getting harder and harder, I don't know if they'll make it. Alternatively, pulling the red lever would let Tsubaki and Zeref free safely." The wall opened again to show a similar path to Loghain on the other side. "However, pulling that lever will open the floor beneath you, and you will most certainly die, You have 5 minutes to make your choice, otherwise you all will die. Good luck!" The sinister voice would disappear.

The situation was uncomfortable for Tsubaki. The choice was either to have Loghain go free and Tsubaki and Zeref having a chance at getting through the rest of the dungeon or Loghain dying for the other's freedom. "Don't be foolish. You get out of the dungeon. Zeref and I can complete the rest of the dungeon. We have a chance of all getting out of here." Tsubaki wasn't even sure if she believed her own words coming out of her mouth. "Pull the green lever! Everyone knows Green is good." In the end, Loghain had full control of the situation. 

WC: 469
TWC: 1373