middleofsomewhere | Final: Blue and Purple

Final: Blue and Purple

Blue: A Call to Arms

On the sixth night (G10) since arriving in the Gry coves the fighting is the heaviest than it has been all week. What’s more anyone who tries to sleep that day or night will find their dreams are the clearest yet. Darkness, downward tunnels, fear yes but a clear calling. A draw. A call for help. A cry to arms.

The caverns are a flurry of activity but by the morning (G11) the elders address the cove. It is clear. The Burrower wishes them to descend. Furthermore if the aliens have been having dreams as well then it is clear that they are invited.

Not all can go of course, the caverns still need defending. But any who wish to may. The morning is spent preparing for the descent, or rather making sure that there are still defenders of the caverns and that everything is in order for them to descend.

Purple: A Plan for Aid

The fighting is still thick and fast but the morning of the seventh day (G11) brings another flurry of activity. The teenagers who had been growing restless all week can be found gathering in groups.

If approached by anyone who isn’t a Terran adult they will let them in on the secret. The Gry were going down to the dweller. The Gry dream forums have been full of Gry teens talking about this, worried their god is in danger. Worried they are in danger and going down there will mean certain death.

So of course the Terran want to help and their adults have not been listening. They have found one of the entrances that they believe will go down into the dwellers domain. They plan to strike out by noon and won’t say no to any one who wants to go with them.

It’s a steep entrance, going almost vertically down into the darkness below. They are pretty certain it leads to the dweller.

Meanwhile the monsters are still attacking the city with increasing numbers and almost every Terran is engaged in some level of fighting.

The Descent (Please specify team colour.)

The tunnels down from both the Gry coves and the Terran tunnels are steep. Even the Gry and Terran themselves struggle with the descent and voidtreckers will definitely need to use climbing equipment. It takes most of the day and into the evening to climb down. The air is dry and thin the further down they get but their SCA keeps them going.

The Terran and Gry have no such technology but they are better acclimatised. It’s a long climb down through the darkness.

Meanwhile... (Please specify team colour.)

For those that don’t descend there is still plenty to do. Monsters are still attacking, though as night falls they dwindle, as they begin to rush down to the cavern below. Still there are pockets of monsters around that need dealing with.

Parts of both tunnel systems are in need of repair. Down in the Terran tunnels the areas that had been collapsed still need a lot of work, though all the citizens have been rescued. The Gry systems are less structurally damaged but they are a mess and the clean up operation will take a while.

Deep Dweller

Finally the dark downward descent leads into a huge cavern. In the centre of the cavern there is a large, grey creature easily filling the space. It looks almost like a grub, if a huge one. It is hard to ascertain if it has eyes or a mouth even but it moves, slowly up and down as if it is breathing.

The elder Gry make respectful gestures towards it, the younger ones follow suit, a little more hesitantly. The Terran teenagers mostly seem some mixture of horrified and amazed.

There are four large entrances to the cavern, the two that the two groups came down and two other large ones from elsewhere. There are also numerous small ones, high and low in the walls. The two groups arrive at roughly the same time and it is not long before they have company…

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Purple: A Plan for Aid
Conan had been mostly just trying to stay out of the way during the fighting against the monsters, while balancing keeping a careful eye on Ran and making somewhat of an attempt at following her request that he stay out of trouble. And if the occasional monster had been distracted by a soccerball to the head? He couldn't be expected to stay entirely out of the mess.

But in between, he had been paying attention and listening. The adults might have missed the teenager's discussions, but Conan hadn't.

Locked to Ran
Conan wasn't completely convinced that the descent would be any safer, but Ran wanted to try. And so of course he came along.

As they walked along towards the entrance to the descent, Conan begins to slow his steps as he suddenly has the feeling that they were being followed. When the attack comes, he is several steps behind Ran. He quickly ducks, rolling away from the monster's reach as he unslings his skateboard and slams his hand down on the start button.

The Descent
The climbing equipment was definitely not made for someone Conan's size. If he'd been alone, he might have risked it anyway. But with Ran here, he ends up helping her jury rig a harness that allowed her to carry him down.

Descending had seemed like a safer possibility at the time -- and with Conan to think of, Ran had taken it. The fighting had been fierce in the city, and it hadn't been a place she'd felt she could keep him safer, away from the fray. (Not to mention that she could tell that her own fighting was hampered by the monsters. Though she'd found a way to manage, fear was still very real and present.) There were also the Terrans to think of; she hadn't especially liked the idea of them venturing down here alone.

She's a few paces ahead, bringing up the rear of the party -- and unaware that he's fallen behind -- when she hears the skateboard start. Her eyes whisk in that direction, body twisting . . . only to see a monster's claws arc downward towards Conan's small form.

She doesn't think. Can't let herself think -- just be. Act -- or she'll remember just what it is she's facing. With a shout she charges back towards the creature, a kick slamming into its head, sending it reeling, crashing into a rock wall.

It won't stop the thing. She knows that at this point. But maybe it'll at least buy them some time and she can get him out of there.

"Go!" she shouts to him. It's twitching, only stunned.

Ran's move had given him just enough time to finish getting on the skateboard. He hesitates a moment. He didn't like the idea of leaving her alone to fight that thing. But it was down for now, Ran was past her fear, and he knew she wouldn't leave if he was still in danger.

So instead he nods and speeds away from the creature.

But not too far. He stops as soon as he is out of range. "Hurry!" he calls back.

"Go!" she snaps back, not looking away from the creature. The thing is moving again; he has to get away, and she has to make sure it doesn't follow -- both for his sake and for the group ahead of them.

Never mind that her heart is beating far, far too loud in her ears.

"I'm out of reach from here," he calls back.

He didn't want to leave her too far behind. And also, odds were that if he went too far alone he would just encounter another one. Which would worry her even more.

There were no good choices here.

He might not think there are any good choices, but there's only one as far as Ran is concerned. "Go!" she snaps again, now bordering on angry, though not daring to take her eyes off the creature as it stirs and tries to recover its bearings. "You promised to listen to me!"

And she can't fight as well with him there, worrying that this thing will go around her, go after him. He needs to go, needs to be safe.

If he stayed and argued, it would only be a distraction from the monster. That was unacceptable. But leaving was also unacceptable.

That left him one option that would potentially make her angrier later, but would not distract her right now.

"Okay," he calls back. "But you have to promise to stay safe!" There is the sound of footsteps moving away.

Mentally there's both relief and a pang as she hears his footsteps recede. He'll be away and safe, but . . . now there's also no one here, and she's alone.

With this creature. Inhuman, that long, gray body, those claws, the eyes like glittering gems . . .

A shiver ripples through her frame even as she tries to shove it back. In a moment she'll have to fight it again, wound it enough to buy Conan plenty of time to get away, then hopefully enough for herself as well. She can't lose focus. She can't.

In spite of her resolve, her nerves still race, fizzing with electric current, sending a tremor through her chest. She can hold fear at bay when Conan is there; his safety becomes priority enough to overcome. Alone . . . she's not sure, and that's a dangerous place to be when facing down a monster.

She doesn't have time to consider it further as the monster gives a last shake of its head and charges her with a screech. She twists out of the way, aims another kick at its head, but it's off; it glances where it should have impacted. With a cry that almost sounds like glee, it advances, fast, and it's about all she can do to keep out of the way of its claws, blocking with hands and feet as quickly as she can manage. A claw slashes past her cheek, drawing blood. She snaps one off with a kick, but it costs; its other set slashes across her ribs.

Conan had silently snuck back, but it had taken him time. Too much time.

It was difficult to see in the darkness, even with the night vision on his glasses activated. But Ran was hurt.

He knew she wanted him to stay away, but he needed to do something. He quickly releases a ball from his belt and kicks it straight at the creatures head, hoping that it would reach its target before it could hurt her again. And immediately afterwards, he follows up by shining his light at the creature.

The ball makes solid impact with the monster's head as Ran reels back from the slash, slamming into the skull with nearly equal force to one of Ran's kicks. Half up on its hind legs, the monster loses its balance, crashing back against a boulder -- only to be hit with the light from Conan's SCA. It isn't enough to kill it, but it's apparently enough to be uncomfortable; with a screech, it scrabbles backward, edging away from the light.

"Conan-kun!" Ran's pulling herself back upright, pushing off from a boulder of her own. Her shirt is slashed, streaked with red. Fumbling for her own SCA in turn: "I told you to go!"

"And you're hurt!" He scrambles down from the pile of rubble where he had been hiding and grabs her hand.

"Come on! We need to get out of here before it recovers!"

"We need to drive it back." She doesn't let him pull her, remaining where she is, hand again going for the SCA. She's forgotten about the flashlight function; she could have been using it . . .

"Keep shining your light in that direction; I'll get mine on--"

Hopefully between both lights, they can drive it off, make it decide that they aren't worth the effort.

If not, she's getting him out of there even if she has to throw him.

He holds his light, aiming it towards the place where the creature was barely visible in the shadows.

"And you're hurt," he points out. "Wouldn't it be better to get help?"

He knew his own skills, and knew that he'd be useless if it came down to fighting again.

Edited 2020-07-28 02:23 (UTC)

"We can't lead it back to the others," she says shortly. "I'm okay; I just-- there!"

Having fumbled with the controls of the SCA, light blossoms from the face. Immediately she turns it on the creature, combining Conan's light with her own. There's a snarl . . . but apparently the monster decides that it's more light than can be contended with. Backing up, it darts away, whisking back down the tunnel.

Ran releases a quiet, shaky breath, not daring yet to lower the light, her opposite hand pulling free of Conan to check her ribs. The connection was likely long enough, though, for him to catch the shiver.

He keeps his attention on the shadows around them, keeping his light ready in case it came back.

"You're hurt," he says, far more upset than he was letting on. "Ran-neechan, are you really okay to keep fighting like this?"

"I'm okay." The words are automatic, but having checked the wound, she follows it up: "It's shallow. It's okay. I'm okay."

Maybe the last two sentences are as much for herself as for him. She can't hold back, can't give into the fear that's lurking in every shadow for her right now. She has him to worry about -- has to get them both out of this mission and back on the train.

Her fingers move up to her cheek, wincing as she feels the cut there. That doesn't seem to be deep either, thankfully, though she smears the blood without realizing it. "H-Hopefully it's gone? And I was hoping by following the others that there wouldn't be as much fighting."

"We should join up with the others as soon as it is safe," he insists. Ran couldn't fight another one of those by herself again. Not when she was already injured.

He fishes through his backpack and pulls out some bandages. He'd learned his lesson from past missions, and made it a priority now to always pack first aid supplies.

"I think it's as safe as it's going to be." Her eyes flick periodically to where the creature had been -- quick glances as though she expects it to suddenly be there again. She doesn't turn out the light on the SCA just in case, as though it can be kept at bay.

His movement catches her attention. "Ah, really, it's not bad--"

Probably still something that should be cleaned and covered over for the time being, but usually it's her that's supposed to be the fussing, not him. She doesn't settle easily into the role. She reaches for the bandages, aiming to do it herself.

Edited 2020-08-09 17:14 (UTC)

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Final: Blue and Purple

Conan Edogawa | Team Purple | OTA

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