Onward: Orange

[voidtreckermods]

On the second night those still on the train may be woken by rough seas, the train lurching and rolling in the waves.

If they manage to sleep through the choppy waters they might instead be woken by the voice over the ICPs. "Orange team to doors. Orange team to doors."

Those that head the instruction and exit out of the luggage carriage or dressing room doors will be met with a strange sight.

The sea is glowing. Or at least part of the sea. Underneath them, from where Bui lies there is a light that shines upwards through the dark water, rippling over the water, breaking into specks of light in the waves.

It seems it is time for another investigation.

Night Dive

The water is even colder at night, the water eerie as they make the dive down to the city. The whole city is lit up, light reflecting off shells and coral.

The light seems to be coming from the far palace. Outside the palace there is a sigil, in the shape of a shell, glowing brightly. It had not been there before, nothing to suggest there had been anything special about that patch of ground. Yet it glows now.

Crabs

The city of Bui, until now, has been peaceful, eerily empty even. But as they investigate they will find a different problem. Some of the giant crabs have found their way to the city. Not overwhelming numbers, but enough to be a problem, especially as their aim seems to be attacking the sleeping citizens.

On the Train

For those who remain on the train dawn brings it's own problems. Dawn breaks into darkness, the sun barely penetrating. Shadows are deep and the temperature cooler. It is not too dark to see, more like an endless twilight.

The seas remain rough and choppy, like a storm is brewing.

Comments

Sigil Investigation

[voidtreckermods]

Glowing in the pattern of a shell outside of the Far Palace, this seems to be where the light is coming from.

(OOC: For this part please all reply in one single thread. Each round will be marked by an NPC tag and then each character may tag once before the next round begins. If you are late joining or miss a round don’t worry! Just tag into the most recent round and either assume your character was always there or got caught up with crabs!)

[blue_ice]

Kaiba wakes immediately when the turbulence starts. As soon as the announcement is off, he's racing to the dressing car and suiting up once more. He's gotten better at diving with practice, but the chill of the water is tough to fight against.

He shines his SCA as they descend, but it's not so necessary this time. The whole city is glowing eerily, and the bright light ahead is...oddly shaped.

"I didn't seen this last time. Did any of you?"

Night Dive/ Crabs

[najaran]

In as bad shape as she was, as tired as she was, Najaran could no sleep through that alert and the lurching of the train dropping her to the floor. She had been in the water, then in medical, then in the water, then in medical... she didn't remember much else....

This time she secured all of her cards under the main part of her suit. She couldn't summon them under water. They wouldn't be able to breathe. She had one of those helmets and she could barely breathe. Didn't matter, those people down there needed help.

As she closed up her suit she thought again and stopped. She fished out one card and looked at it. She was under strict orders never to use the card. But... it might be needed. She slipped that one card up her sleeve and finished dressing again. She was not looking forward to going back dow there, but if there was any chance at all she could help... she was going to try.

The dive was worse than it had been either of the previous days. She still was not wearing her train issued recall device, so still lacked its protections. But once she settled to the depths she had at least adapted... some.... from the last two days of exposure. She was in bad shape, but not immediately looking for a nap. Since everyone seemed to think hauling her back to the train was the answer, she was going to try and haul one of the locals closer to the surface, to see if it was maybe an area spell keeping them all asleep and making her so drained and tired.

But before she could find someone, she found a crab. Angry at her lack of weapons... she dove at it and tried an old standard. Her face hit the inside of her helmet and her helmet then hit the crab, knocking it out. Well... that wasn't what she had intended, but she'd take it. Better that than she admit that she forgot the helmet was there and tried to....

"Crab stew could be yummy....." She grabbed the grab she had knocked out and started heading for the surface....

Re: Night Dive/ Crabs

[unfavorableinstigation]

If she had been asked, Nita would have said trying to recover the locals outright was at least worth trying.

Granted, she'd also have said Najaran had come to that conclusion for the wrong reasons, and that if she'd really wanted to test it she'd have brought her SCA to put on one of the locals... but no matter.

Najaran would find a whale swiftly descending upon herself and the crab.

/... If I agree to carry this up to the train for you, mind explaining what your plan was?/

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin was nearby and saw Nita headbutt the crab. For a moment he was busy wrestling a crab of his own, stabbing it with the goblin sword he had acquired in his first mission.

He answered with a laugh, as she was starting for surface, "You might be right. Some of our better cooks might be interested in crab recipes. Should I bring this one along, too?"

[so_dark_a_road]

Night dive

Curufin has barely had time to fall asleep in his bunk when the train begins to lurch as the platform under it rolls on top of turbulent seas. He vaults out of bed and grabs his jacket, but suddenly the train's voice comes from the ICP: "Orange Team to the doors, Orange team to the doors!" He runs all the way back to the dressing car, tears through the open door and steps onto the platform. He halts in surprise, and there is the light pouring up from the ocean.

"What?" he exclaims. He runs back into the dressing car to get into his orange diving suit and at least one other Orange teammate, and then he plunges into the water.


Crabs

Down in the city, where he had found darkness before and had to use his SCA to illuminate the buildings and structures, now he finds that the city is lit. He starts to search the nearest buildings to see if there are still sleeping people. . . who knows, maybe the light will wake them up? He finds the sleeping people all right. And he finds the crabs, crawling over the people and trying to eat them.

He kicks his feet powerfully to get there in a hurry, and he pulls his goblin sword out of his waterproof bag. "Get off those people!" he yells, though it's doubtful the crabs can understand him, even if they can hear him. The crabs aren't vast, but they're unpleasantly large. They swivel their eyestalks at him but don't stop nibbling at the people.

Crabs

[unfavorableinstigation]

The crabs may be uncomfortably large for a human... but to a whale, they're still puny.

Nita's not happy about having such a rough night, though, and the rough waters aren't helping with that.

/Distract it so I can pick it off!/ she calls, not liking the echoes she's getting back from even that snippet of Speech!whalesong.

[callmegladio]

That Night:
Gladio had been asleep... until the train lurched to the side and threw him out of the bed. He landed hard on his shoulder and cursed soundly as he slowly eased himself back onto his feet. The train kept moving though and beyond that there was something new. A voice calling for the Orange Team.

Gladio growled and pulled himself up and dragged himself out of the room.

* Barefoot and bare chested, clad in only his pj bottoms, he ran from his cabin to the closest door to see the waters glowing...

* He would then go and find Noct to make sure he was alright, running down the corridors to knock rapidly on his door.

On the Train:

Gladio had returned back to his cabin to get a shirt and his hoodie on. The temp had dropped, the light was dim. He didn't like this at all.

The train was in never-ending movement and, normally not one to be effected, he was starting to get a bit seasick. It was driving him insane.

He stood by one of the open doors, a cup in his hands, staring out at the darkness with a worried frown.

On the Train

[iamnotgod]

Webmind, never being asleep to begin with, was naturally hanging about the train even in these untoward circumstances.

"I would suggest lying down, but this issue is one affecting the entire train," he commented apologetically, an emoticon on his screen to match.

After a poignant pause, looking out on the turbulent sea, he added, "I wish I could support them, too."

That Night

[sonoflucis]

Noct is shaken awake, immediately jumping to his feet. Moments later, the knock on his door has him swinging it open. "Hey, what's going on?" He was half-awake, but he knew something was wrong.

On the Train

[sizedoesntmatter]

Yugi was admittedly more than a little nervous about was going on and had found himself standing and looking down at the water. he was hoping those that did go down were okay.

He soon looked over at the other "I guess you are waiting for those who went down to come back?"

That night

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin also had been awakened by the train's lurching and then summoned by the train calling for Orange Team to come to the doors. He had slept in his clothes, so he didn't need to get dressed, only to throw his jacket on, grab his satchel, and and run towards the dressing coach, whose door was already open to the dark night and the platform on which the train stood.

The normally dark waters were glowing, not out to the horizon, but over one part of its surface. The part under which the city of Bui stood, a hundred meters down.

He said to Gladio, "That is really peculiar, that light."

On the Train (prompts in bold)

[iamnotgod]

Webmind had tested the SCA's capacities regarding water, but keeping matters on the train itself neat and tidy had proved challenge enough for a time.

And then it had become even more of a challenge, which drove him to (A) do his best to secure loose items on the train and (B) the Stores car.

Addressing both the ICP there and the engine wall nearby, he said (and typed): Are you functioning well? Is there some way you could help us, either those still up here or those diving below? Please respond, if you can.

If asked, he would confess to being worried.

Stores Car

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin had been down down below in the city a few times now, and in between dives he climbed back aboard the train and raided the kitchen for meals and coffee and a few minutes of social interaction wherever he could find it.

He came forward from the Dressing Coach to the kitchen, and then he ducked into the Stores Carriage to grab some snacks. And there was Webmind.

"How are you doing, Webby?" he asked.

A

[gundamofthedesert]

Quatre had stayed behind, separating from the purple team for the purpose of looking after the kitten that Trowa had just gotten. It was really too small to be left alone for so long right now. All had seemed peaceful... until the train had started to rock because of the rough water.

So making sure that the kitten was secure, he went out to try and help whatever he could. Which looked like things falling around the train. Of course, he wasn't the only one, going over to Webmind.

"What can I help with?"

[mtsilver_conquor]

TRAIN
Anytime Eva's on the train, she can be found looking out at the stormy sea, naked worry in her eyes as she scans and rescans the horizon, one hand holding onto the edge of the doorway, the other at her throat, half curled around a non-existent pendent. "Let the storms pass, let the Titan drive them away with a flap of her wings..."

It's a simple prayer, but one said in earnest. "Please-"


CRABS
A - Local pokemon trainer hates crabs
"This would be easier if I had Helmutt," the pokemon trainer mutters as a powerful finned kick takes her out of the way of the crabs, Lele darting in to take her place. "Lele: Psycho Shock!!"

If you're watching - or fighting the crabs with Eva- you see the porygon2's eyes light up and the effect is almost comical. Bright pink against neon green. But, that's not all you see as psychic energy literally manifests into several bright pink petals, that then slice through the water and slam into the crab. The effect is brutal, though mostly hidden behind the now murky water.

Eva turns to you. "Do you think that dealt with it?"


B- Escape the crabs!
"MOVE!"

That's the only warning you get before Eva barrels into you and yanks you out of the way of a particularly large and nasty crab's pinchers. "Ugh! Come on, let's get some distance between it and us- Maybe one of the air-bubbles this place has?"

Either way, she's tugging you along with her.


EXPLORING (or oh look, her porygon2... talks?)
When she's not fighting crabs, Eva's very much poking around the underwater city, Lele trailing her as the porygon2 records everything onto its memory banks. Now and again, Eva does find something pretty enough she's tempted to take it, but she never does.

Anyone who comes across her during this time will become aware her porygon2 has the voice of a bland robotic female.

What do? Confront her about it, or listen in on whatever conversation she's having(?) with it?

[blue_ice]

The sea has been stirred up tonight, and Kaiba definitely doesn't like it. He's pretty much defenseless, so he's had to rely on stronger teammates for help. He whines, but he's been behaving himself.

He's reluctantly staying close to Eva and the Porygon, and in the quiet as he unearths various meaningless carvings...that voice absolutely catches his attention. He swims back up to them.

"...what did you say?"

B.

[deductiongeek]

Conan was a very experienced adventurer with a seemingly endless list of skills and expertise.

Conan was also three feet tall and none of his gadgets worked underwater. This left him extremely ill suited to fighting crabs underwater. It was probably a good thing that Eva grabbed him. And that he was small enough to drag along easily.

"I saw an air bubble not far from here. Down the hallway and to the right."

Escape the crabs

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin swivels his head around as soon as he hears the order. He suddenly feels himself yanked by the arm in a most emphatic way, and when he looks behind him, there is that big, ugly crab waving its pinchers angrily at him. And right beside him is Eva, in her most no-nonsense mood.

"Hi, Eva!" he grins at her. "Obviously you're taking your big sister role seriously. Feeling protective about me, your adopted little brother? Okay, if you like, we can take a break. There are some tunnels with air bubbles not far from here."

He points in the direction of the tunnel mouths.

[wisdominshadows]

The crabs just do keep coming, don't they?

Zelda is not terribly worried about her own personal safety. It would be nice to have Deku nuts and a dagger, of course, but she'll survive without them.

What concerns her more, at the moment, is the populace. There are too many buildings here to protect individually, even for a team as large as Orange.Some of the entrances are easy to blockade, but others... well. They are going to have to get creative, aren't they?

It takes some experimenting, but soon Zelda has her system. The crabs are attracted to light; if she sets up a ball and lets it hover about, and soon it will attract a crowd. Once enough of them are gathered, it proves easy to incinerate them with a blast of Din's Fire or to manipulate the crystalline walls of Nayru's Love do that they shatter outwards.

It's not a perfect system, no. But at least it's working.

[so_dark_a_road]

Crabs, crabs, everywhere crabs! Old McDonald had a farm, ee-ay, ee-ay, oh! And on this farm he had some crabs, ee-ay, ee-ay, oh! With a pinch-pinch here and a pinch-pinch there, here a pinch, there a pinch, everywhere a pinch-pinch. . . !

Curufin isn't worried about his own safety either. He never is. Besides, he has his goblin sword and knife with him, and actually a few extras in his waterproof bag, just in case he loses one or needs extras to give to other people. But he's concerned about the comatose mer-people, who are in most of the buildings and can't fight back.

Zelda has a special weapon, that light-ball. It seems to fascinate the crabs, who swarm towards it without any notion that they're walking into a trap. She uses her magical powers to obliterate them once they've come to the light. Curufin grins as he watches her working. She's good!

And they have to watch out for Curufin, too, as he swings his sword or stabs with his dagger. "Got ya, you little bugger!"

Crabs

[singlefaith]

A. Getting up the right momentum in the water is the main problem.

On land, Ran is fast. She knows how to place kicks and punches for maximum impact, shattering bone, metal, and concrete when necessary.

Here, water drags at her, reducing the impact of every movement. She's already kicked off her flippers; while they're helpful swimming, they're not at all helpful now, dragging at her feet, rendering any kicks nearly useless.

Not acceptable. Pushing off a nearby rock, Ran shoots through the water, ramming into a crab bearing down on one of the sleeping Buians. She's hoping to slam it into another rock several feet away.

She has no backup plan when the crab somehow manages to twist and they miss. Their momentum carries them into open water, where there's no easy way to stop.

B. So many crabs . . . It's hard to choose where to be if she focuses on the larger picture.

She can't. She has to focus on whatever is immediately in front of her -- on whoever is immediately in front of her -- and just go as fast as she possibly can. As fast as she can possibly push herself.

Twist-yanking a crab leg until she feels it snap, her eyes flash to the space around her, trying to make sure her teammates are still safe. If anyone looks as though they're in trouble, that will take priority.

A

[unfavorableinstigation]

Ran receives a backup plan in the form of a whale, diving down with force upon the crab to send it back toward the rocks, or at the very least to stun it.

/Are you alright?/ she calls, worried for her fellow teammate.

B

[mtsilver_conquor]

Thankfully, it seems as if all the crabs in this area have been taken care off, be it by Ran herself, or Eva and Lele.

Mostly Lele. It's probably best not to look too closely at some of the crabs, even if they are partly buried under sand. Pokemon attacks aren't exactly neat and tidy at the best of time.

"You need to teach me how to do that," Eva says with no small amount of awe in her voice as she comes to a stop, half resting against the neon green porygon2 by her side. "Martial artist, right?"

B

[wizard_redfive]

Dairine has things under control in her corner. A crab advancing on her suddenly implodes into a cloud of little crab pieces. The younger teen grimaces briefly before she notices Ran's hand-to-hand fighting—a technique Dairine would usually save for schoolyard fights, but she's gotta admit, Ran makes it work.

"Nice moves," she comments during a brief lull in the swarm. "How're you holding up?"