Ongoing: All Teams

[voidtreckermods]

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.'

Comments

[hisblueskies]

"... Romeo, do you think it's safe? Now that it's changed like that, I mean."

It may be their objective, but something about this keeps tugging at him as wrong.

"You have more mission experience than me, as well. Has anything like this happened before?"

[myblueskies]

"I don't know! I never seen a metal thing turn into a tree before..."

It hadn't happened before, he shook his head. "Strange things sometimes happen but I think is the strangest place we've ever been!"

He looked at his SCA. "But the message says we got to reach the panel."

[hisblueskies]

"... The other way around might be worse for the wildlife, though."

The alpacas would be so confused! It's an errant thought, but perhaps his mind simply desires a distraction.

"We'd better go, then - Romeo, look out!"

That- did a branch just move? And fast!

[myblueskies]

"Wh... oof."

Romeo turned, just to get hit in the chest with a branch and sent flying. He tumbled down into the roots.

"I'm okay! Be careful Alfredo!"

[hisblueskies]

Alfredo threw himself to the ground, to better crawl after his friend and not get hit in turn.

That also made it harder to use his manadrive, but no matter.

"You'd better be careful, too! ... Let's get to the tree, for now, and find out where to go from there."

Would there be instructions, or just more danger?

[myblueskies]

"Yes!" He nodded and looked across. "Do you think we can stay under the roots?"

Alfredo was bigger than Romeo, but not by that much. They were both still smaller than any of the adults.

[hisblueskies]

"If it's a real space, then we should be able to hide," he reasoned.

Surely this tree's defenses had limits, whether the tree itself was 'there' or not!

"And in that case, I think we'll both fit! Lead on, Romeo."

[myblueskies]

"Um... I think it is..." Would it not be?

He glances at Alfredo, he's much cleverer than Romeo so he might know... right?

"I mean... I went down there and I fit..."

[hisblueskies]

Alfredo would answer, but all of a sudden there's a squirrel in his face!

An oddly-glowy-eyed squirrel-

"Ah!"

Alfredo pushes himself into a roll, sideways - moving himself away from Romeo but also a laser blast!

[myblueskies]

"LINE" A line sprung up between Alfredo and the squirrel, blocking the laser blast. Romeo ran towards Alfredo, throwing another line out at the squirrel in an attack.

"Are you alright?"

[hisblueskies]

Alfredo got to his knees, brushing some strange grass-looking stains off of the manadrive on his left elbow.

"I'm all right," he confirmed.

"But we'd better keep moving! Shell!"

It wasn't quite his last one, but he aimed it at the squirrel, hoping to startle it if not contain it.

[myblueskies]

"Well done!" He grinned, Alfredo had gotten very good at that, he was good at magic and it was very useful.

"This way!" He spotted a gap in the roots, they could duck down here and be out of range of squirrels for a moment.

Should we have them go from prompt-section to section?

[hisblueskies]

Alfredo pulled his arm back down from the throw, devoting himself to following his friend.

It was time to get to the next stage of this mission! Hopefully.

if you want

[myblueskies]

Soon they got through to the center and Romeo looked up at the tree quietly. "So I guess we just put our SCAs on that bit..."

That's what everyone else seemed to be doing...

okay!

[hisblueskies]

Alfredo lifted up his SCA - maybe there would be another prompt, like on the last mission? - when it beeped.

"I guess so. ... Together?"

Alfredo wanted just that little added feeling of safety together brought.

And maybe, Romeo did too?

Re: okay!

[myblueskies]

"Yes!" He nodded with a smile. "Together!"

He held out his hand to take Alfredo's.

"After three, okay?"

[hisblueskies]

Alfredo took a deep breath and Romeo's hand, setting his shoulders, and tried to hold his fist up to the sky in his mind.

"One, two-"

[myblueskies]

Romeo nodded at him and then towards the panel, determined. "... Three!"

He reached out and pressed his SCA to the panel, never letting go of Alfredo's hand.

Hope Squad always with the handholds. ;a; I love it.

[hisblueskies]

There was a flash of light, Alfredo thought - but no; it was only the room they'd arrived in that was light.

"What on Earth is this place?" Alfredo said after a moment, breath caught in his voice.

[myblueskies]

"I don't know." Romeo looked around. "Oh!" He pointed to the tubes of liquid and was very quiet as they spoke. Heal what was hurt... Destroy what shouldn't be there.

They were in a forest. Romeo kept tight hold of Alfredo's hand. "Wow!"

[hisblueskies]

Alfredo followed Romeo's hand, hard as it would have been to ignore the massive tubes anyway, and took a moment to adjust when the view changed to a massive amount of trees.

Neither of them were going to be letting go of each other for a while, but that was more than all right.

"... I think I see what we need to destroy?" he guessed, gesturing with his free hand at the red vines on the trees.

"But, how?" Strategy was one thing, but they sure needed a moment or two to gather their wits for this one!

[myblueskies]

"I think so!" He nodded. "We only got sticks though... I could try and cut them with borderlines..."

It was going to be a bit tricky though! There were a lot of vines.

[hisblueskies]

"Well, let's try that first, then."

See what works - and if these vines had some strange invulnerability, now would be a good time to learn that!

[myblueskies]

"Okay!"

He stepped back, drew up his arm. "LINE!"

And a burst of water sprayed out, hitting the vines and the trees..

"Um..."

[hisblueskies]

Alfredo stares at that water spray for what feels like a minute - but hopefully is much less than that!

"How did that happen- wait, I hear something!"

Animals from behind? Alfredo turns partway, mentally reaches for the manadrive that isn't there... and summons water instead.

"Romeo! Look!"