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

"Maybe whoever made it wanted a theme?"

But that doesn't sound quite right; Alfredo taps the ground beneath his feet-

Looks up-

"I think we both do?"

Somehow, though, he doesn't want to look like a Helpmate.

"... But if we're here to help fix what's wrong, maybe that's how it's able to recognize us?"

Madoka looks down at her hands when he mentions they both do, realising that he's right. Her hands look like that weird hologram-like-stuff the Helpmates are made out of.. Does that mean they're all technological too now? Part of the system..?

Honestly, she.. isn't so sure how to feel about that. Does that mean it changed their bodies? It's a bit of a fridge horror thing, isn't it. (Then again, if Madoka knew their bodies were actually still on the outside, that'd be just as much of a fridge horror thing.)

"It's strange.. I.. I don't think I like it," she says, with a shake of her head and a slight shiver. "Let's find out what's wrong and fix it quickly so we can go back to normal, okay..?" Madoka doesn't want to stay like this for too long. Or any longer than absolutely necessary.

"Agreed."

Alfredo doesn't like this much, either - but it's not as if they can ask someone still outside for hints or the like, right...?

He makes to step forward, still holding Madoka's hand-

Only to jerk his head around, hearing something move.

"Did those animals follow us in?!"

Apparently the animals did.

Or, well, some animals did. Because these certainly aren't the ones that were attacking them on the outside of the tree - the birds and other creatures that jumped down from the tree. No, these creatures look much more like mongeese, skittering over in their direction.

And thankfully not firing lasers from their eyes (.. yet?), but they don't exactly look friendly either.

Madoka instinctively reaches for her bow, only to realise it's no longer there. Which means she quickly glances over at Alfredo.

"W-We have to run!" What else are they supposed to do? Especially when they don't have the manadrives anymore, or even a weapon. All they have are these sticks!

"Wait, let me-"

Alfredo, in much the same manner he would with his manadrive, throws the stick - half in frustration that they're not armed anymore, half in the hope the stick can distract the mongeese.

... Water follows the stick, and Alfredo stares at his own hand in bafflement.

"... What?"

Though running is perhaps a better idea, now!

".. What?"

It's as if they're in sync over here. Alfredo throws the stick, and both of them just stare at the water that follows it for a good moment or two. Almost as if they're frozen in place by surprise at what they're seeing.

But it's true that they don't have a moment to question it. Not yet. Not with the creatures still approaching them. And since Madoka happens to snap out of it first between the two of them, she quickly tugs on Alfredo's hand before starting to run in the opposite direction of the creatures, taking him along with her as she goes.

Though as they're running, she does say: "H.. How did you do that?!"

"I don't know!"

At least Alfredo is being honest; simply waving his free hand as they run does nothing.

"Maybe it only works when those creatures appear?"

Or he's not trying hard enough to summon it again - but why would he want to get Madoka wet?

"And- where should we go next?"

Those mongeese can't be far behind, and those red vines everywhere don't look any more appealing!

"I.. I don't know.." Madoka honestly admits as she's still running. Really, there was not much of a plan behind this whole running thing other than.. well, just running. Because she doesn't want to get Alfredo and herself in danger by staying near those creatures when they don't have a way to fight them.

Except maybe they do.

"Maybe we can deal with those creatures if we can figure out how that happened. I mean.. Alfredo, you usually never have magical powers, right? And we don't have the mana drives right now, so you can't accidentally have used those.."

Alfredo keeps pace, and Madoka's hand, looking back and forth between their hands.

"What if you tried using it? If it's just me..."

".. Me?"

She sounds rather surprised at that suggestion. Not that she's going to reject it outright when she knows Alfredo wouldn't just say something without a good reason, but still...

"I-I can't do anything magical either, though! How would I suddenly know how to fire water at them like that..?" And what if they stop running, and she tries it, only to fail? She could put both of them in danger, and there's no way Madoka would forgive herself for that.

"It wasn't a knowing, it just sort of... happened."

But he'd wanted to do something to those mongeese; perhaps that made the difference.

"Maybe we could test it on these vines?"

Which they're close enough to try and touch, now - if they're not poisonous! That thought is just occurring to him, and the worry colors his face.

Alfredo is a good, cautious boy for thinking that thought.

Unfortunately it comes just a moment or so too late for Madoka. Her hands are already on the vine when the thought enters his head, so it's already too late for him to call out and tell her to take her hands off it, just in case.

"Water.. Water, water.." She's whispering the word over and over to herself as her hands wrap around the vines, but no water appears, just like Madoka expected.

But something else does happen. The vines instead slowly start to disappear right under Madoka's hands, as if they were never there in the first place.

And Alfredo just stares, utterly taken by surprise.

"Did... did we get different specialties? Or are the vines not like those animals somehow?"

It could very well be both, but Alfredo follows her down to touch the vines himself, just to test it.

"I.. I don't know, I don't think I even did anything.. They just disappeared."

And the water she was asking for didn't even appear, so that can't have been it either!

All of this is so confusing, but Madoka just stares, glancing over as Alfredo puts his hands onto the vines too - only for the same thing to happen. It's like the branches just fade away the moment they lay their hands on them.

"S-see..! Did you feel anything?"

Alfredo shakes his head.

"... No? But it wasn't like when the water appeared, either."

What strangeness could possibly happen next??

Madoka stares at Alfredo's face for a moment.

Then her gaze falls down to his hands, as if she may notice something about them that would tell her what's going on here.

"Um, okay.." She sounds like she's thinking even as she speaks, trying to rapidly put some things together. Madoka isn't too great at it, but.. then again, she's basically the veteran here! She's done these missions so many times, she should be the one guiding this. "Those vines don't seem good.. So maybe trying to make more disappear like that would be a good idea. I could do that.." Since they apparently disappear when she just touches them. "I-If you could figure out how to do the water thing again, that'd be great! Because I'm sure those animals will attack again, and I don't know how else to hold them off while I'm dealing with the vines.."

Alfredo waits patiently - if still rather on-edge in anticipation of more mongeese - nodding once Madoka finishes talking.

"I'll do my best. I won't let those animals stop us!"

And he has every faith in Madoka's own abilities.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ongoing: All Teams

fambly,,, ;a;

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

Fair to start to fade out here? Though I've got the room if you do~