middleofsomewhere | Ongoing: All Teams

Ongoing: All Teams

The first few days are taken up with solving the problems in the various sectors, all the while getting closer to their goal. The Great-Winter, Great-Summer, Great-Spring and Great Autumn.

On Day 9 of the month of Jelly they will see on their map a clear indicator of where to go. As they draw near it will be obvious what they are looking for.

The Overseers

In the centre of each of the sectors there is a large metal tube, hundreds of pipes lead from it, spanning up to the ceiling above and down below, creating a field of pipes and tubes to clamber over and crawl under to reach the central tube. On the tube itself there is a panel, wrapping around it in a circle. The SCA's of the Voidtrecker show an exclamation mark, if they click on them they will see the message.

Reach the panel, enter the inner systems and give your aid.

As Voidtreckers step towards the tubes it will seem as if the world shifts around them. Instead of metal and wire they will see trees. The Great-Spring is a tree in blossom, pink leaves spreading up across the canopy. Great-Summer has strong green leaves, Great_Autumns leaves are brown and falling and Great-Winter has no leaves at all.

The panel is still there, the only part of the scene that doesn't look organic. As the Voidtreckers move towards their goal the tree begins to move, branches fighting against those trying to get through the roots. The aim seems to be to push intruders away, going as far as flinging them back with higher branches.

The branches aren't the only security measures in place. As they push forwards they will find creatures coming at them from the trees.

Strangely the creatures look like creatures from their own worlds, any creature they would expect to see in a tree. Regardless of species they attack with claws and with lazers from their eyes. They don't move far from the branches, but try and stop invaders from getting close to the trunk.

For those that get through they will find that as they draw close to the 'trunk' the attacks stop, as if they have reached an eye of a storm.

Going Further

The panel is a simple glowing screen, there are no instructions but their SCA's will beep softly and if they press their SCA to the panel they will find everything vanishes, the trees, branches and weird animals.

Or perhaps it is they themselves that vanish as they find themselves in a large white room, everyone is together here. No matter what sector they had travelled through and which overseer they entered through.

There are four tubes filled with liquid, pink, green, orange and white towering over them.

"Our systems have been compromised." The four voices ring out. "Heal what has been harmed, destroy what should not be here. Find the source and purge it from our world."

The overseers and the room vanish and the voidtreckers find themselves in a forest, a forest that is slowly being choaked by red sickly vines.

The Voidtreckers themselves will find themselves looking different, almost like the hard-light holograms of the Helpmates though they certainly feel like themselves. They are carrying a sturdy stick but nothing else and depending how imaginative they are will quickly find they can alter their appearance to fit their wishes.

Heal and Destroy

The voidtreckers will find themselves drawn towards the vines, if they touch them they will be able to soothe, a glowing blue light from their hands that runs down the vine before it fades away, freeing the trees that it held in its chokehold.

There are many pathways, many vines and it will be a long task to clear it all. It is not long also before the first threats find them. Threats that look like mongeese, small creatures that will lunge at them, teeth bared and claws out.

Luckily the Voidtreckers will quickly learn the ability to soothe is not the only power gifted to them.

On the Outside

For anyone who does not enter through the panel it will seem like their fellow Voidtreckers have entered a deep trance. The area they are sat around the tree is calm, no threats enter there. But outside that area there are still threats, the branches attack, the animals attack and sometimes Helpmates try to evict those they see from the area, claiming it 'restricted.'

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"This mission already stopped making sense as soon as we got the description and arrived."

Look, maybe it's not the most helpful answer, but it's just the truth. What part of this was supposed to make sense? The weird biosphere, the glitching Helpmates, then the tree, and now.. this. Whatever it is.

But Alice will at least grant that this is the weirdest part of the mission so far, so she glances over at the younger girl, staring at her for a moment as if to determine something.

"Are you doing alright though?" For some reason Alice manages to make even concern sound casual, like she's just discussing the weather. It's a talent.

That was true enough. Not one thing about this mission has made sense so far so they might as well be talking to tubes of liquid and holding sticks in a white room after fighting a tree.

"I do be being alright. We just did be having stupid weather and the Helpmates did be attacking us."

Alice opens her mouth, about to say that she was refering more to the whole adjusting to this current weird situation part, rather than anything that happened before it.

But then she seems to think better of it, and kills the words in her throat before they ever have a chance to leave.

"Well, I know those Helpmates are not even a slight match for you." Especially since they didn't seem particularly strong to begin with. The robots during the last mission were much more of a threat, and the girl seemed to be handling those fine too.

"Of course they did no be being." She grinned, showing teeth. "They did no be having any way to no be being shooted."

She tilted her head, "Do you be doing okay?"

Alice normally did, she was competent.

Shooted? Wow, who gave this girl a gun? Not that Alice is going to make some stink about it, considering any weapon is fine as long as kids can defend themselves with it, but she imagined others on the train would be causing a fuss about it. (Or maybe they just haven't noticed it yet.)

"Oh, of course," Alice says, shrugging lightly. Indeed, if there's anything that's going to make Alice not okay, it often doesn't involve battle. Dealing with her own mind is a much harder task. "I'm merely trying to figure out what's currently going on with us."

You know, why they're looking so weird all of a sudden after heading for that tree.

"Yes. It do be being stupid." She frowned as she looked around. "I do no be understanding where we do be being or what do be happening."

She had been hoping Alice might. But it seemed she was just as stumped.

"Me neither. Not as far as that tree, or those tubes, or any of this is considered." Especially since it all seems to be oddly related to.. technology, maybe? Considering what this entire place has seemed like since the start of the mission. And while Alice can understand some other things, technology is far beyond a Victorian era kind of girl.

But there is one thing she is slowly starting to realise.

Alice's form seems to shift, until she's wearing a dress rather than her train uniform.

"But it does seem we are able to help shape this reality with our minds." And that is something she's very familiar with.

"We can be being?" Alice did that so easily, how had she done that? How could she make her mind just change her clothes.

"Did you just be thinking about the dress?"

She's not sure she even wants to change her clothes, but controlling things with her mind, that seemed like something she wanted to do.

Alice nods.

"I just thought of myself the way I wanted to be." It's maybe not the most elaborate explanation, but it's hard to put it in words beyond just that. It just comes so naturally to Alice, who has shifted between her regular shabby London appearance and her much more powerful appearance in Wonderland countless times.

She hums. "Though it doesn't seem capable of doing anything here. I can't take out the Vorpal Blade, no matter how much I'm thinking of it." So maybe it's given them some appearance-changing powers, but taken their regular ones away.

"The way you do be wanting to be being..." She nodded and then tilted her head. "Do you be meaning your big weapons? You can no be getting them?"

Her weapons had gone too, but hers were not like Alice's that stayed inside her somehow.

But she tried to think of how she wanted to look, it was difficult to even picture something in her head...

"Yes. I just have.."

She holds out the stick - one similar to the one the other girl has.

"Just this." Which doesn't seem as impressive in the face of her usual weapons, huh. But this place must be playing by some other rules if she somehow can't use her usual powers.

And just as Alice thinks it's time to find out what those are, she stares over at the other girl. Unchanging, yet looking like she's thinking.

".. Is something wrong?"

Just a stick.

Not useless but a giant hobbyhorse would certainly be better at squishing mongeese right now.

She sighed. "Maybe only some people did be getting changing magic."

Alice shakes her head.

"Nonsense."

Look, the weapon talk? It can wait for a moment. Those mongeese better hold off for a second too, because she needs a moment here. A moment to kneel down to be on a more even level with the other girl, though it doesn't seem to be patronizing - because Alice isn't talking to her like the other is just a child. No, instead she's frowning a bit. Like this is more a Pep Talk.

"You can do this too. Anyone can. You just have to use your imagination." Surely that's something the girl has done before, right? Alice did it all the time when she was that age.

She blinked as Alice knelt down in front of her. "Be using my imagination? I did be trying to be thinking about it... But..."

This was stupid, she scowled.

The scowl isn't the surprising part of the girl's reaction. Alice has endured many scowls from children before, after all.

No, it's what she's saying before that. Almost as if the girl has trouble using her imagination - something Alice has never encountered before in young people.

"Then think about this. What would you want to be, if you could be anything? Is there any part of yourself that you wish would be different, or better?"

If she could be anything? Anything at all? She blinked. "I would be being big." She said straight away. "And I would be being strong. Like a Warrior. I would be being so strong I could be using a huge sword and chopping all my enemies."

Surely that would be the choice of anyone!

"I understand that."

Alice's tone doesn't sound patronizing in the slightest. No, instead it sounds like she genuinely understands. Like it's a very specific - even if childish - fantasy that she's had as well. That she could live out before.

"So think of yourself that way. Imagine what you'd look like if you were bigger and stronger. Believe that you can be that, if not just here in this space."

Alice understands. She had hoped she would. She understands why she would want to be big. Just think of herself that way? If she were bigger and stronger? Believe she could be?

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes. Thought really hard. If she were bigger? If she was strong enough to use a huge sword.

She opened her eyes, tried to make herself grow, at least to Alice's height. That would be a good start.

It may be an interesting sight for the girl.

Because at first she's clearly watching Alice from the usual angle, but if she's thinking hard enough about it, she'll find herself slowly getting on a more and more even level with Alice - all the way until she's able to look the older girl in the eyes.

"See?" Alice says, smiling. "I knew you could do it."

Any child can imagine things if they just try hard enough, after all. Most of the time it comes natural, Alice thinks.

"Now you're as tall as me!"

Her eyebrows raised as she got taller and taller until she was just the same as Alice. She beamed when she realised what she had done. She had managed to grow.

"I do be being. Now there will no be being any monsters that I can no be beating."

Alice was strong after all.

Oh, gosh. The girl may not exactly be the stereotypical image of a cute child, especially considering some of the things Alice has figured out about her by now, but there's nothing about this moment that could be called anything other than precious. Alice sure thinks so, anyway.

She enjoys it so much that she can't quite wipe the smile off her face. She won't even tell the other that being tall doesn't necessarily mean that you're automatically stronger. Why ruin such a sweet fantasy?

"Well, it does seem that we've got some company already," Alice says, as she glances off at the trees in the distance, starting to spot a pair of mongeese that are suddenly starting to head in their direction. "Perhaps it's time to put that to the test."

Ah so they did. She wrinkled her nose at the mongoose, which looked very much smaller from all the way up here. Then she walked over, stick in hand, time to show this mongoose who's boss.

Her stick came down to wack at the mongoose, sending it back flying into the nearest tree.

"This will no be being any problem for us now."

"Indeed."

Alice smiles as she says it. Maybe this isn't the sort of thing she should take delight in, since it's letting a child indulge in violence. But then again, technically it's just the girl defending herself from those creatures, isn't it? It's just Alice teaching her how to take a different look at the world. How to see yourself as someone strong and big enough to overcome things.

Surely that much can't hurt.

She moves her own stick as well when more of the creatures approach them.

"So let's get to work."

"Yes, let's be getting this done."

Nothing could stop them now and so the rest of this mission was going to be easy!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ongoing: All Teams

going further

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

we can probably wrap it here!!

sure!