middleofsomewhere | Finale: All teams

Inside the System

The forest seems endless as the Voidtreckers move through it, soothing the red vines that constrict the trees as they go. But eventually they will start to come together, as though they are being funnelled towards a centre.

The trees end, the forest opening out into a large clearing. Vines carpet the floor and climb up the trees, curving to create a dome of red mesh that blocks out the sky. As everyone gathers in the clearing, vines weave past them to cover the entrances, closing them in. The red light does little to light up the gloomy dome, but as their eyes adjust they will see a huge gnarled and broken tree in the centre. It pulses with the same sickly red glow.

From the gloom creatures emerge, more of the mongoose. These ones are larger, teeth and claws are sharp as they circle the clearing, hissing and snarling.

The tree begins to move, its branches and roots are huge and they swing towards the gathering Voidtreckers with a speed that seems unlikely for their size, roots rise up to try and tangle around limbs.

The vines creating the dome can be soothed, but there are so many of them it will be a lengthy job and the mongooses patrol the edges, attacking anyone who is trying to clear the roots. Often they will give chase to anyone who tries to run, trying to hound them into the path of the tree roots or into the range of the attacking branches.

All the while more vines are growing from the tree, pulsing red strands that spread towards the walls of the dome and beyond.

Outside the System

For those that did not enter the system it has been a long vigil over their unconscious teammates. The sectors still have problems but these seem to lessen: there are fewer emergency alerts in Winter, the walls stop moving in Autumn, all seems calm in Spring and the weather calms in Summer.

But as Day Eleven of the month of Jelly begins there seems to be a shift: the sky darkens, going from the usual clear blue that is has been for days to a dark, burnt red.

The Helpmates have mostly calmed the last few days, but now there are more of them and they will attack on sight. The only place they will not enter is the inner sanctuaries of the Great-Seasons, where the bodies of those who have entered the system still lie.

A few times the ground ominously rumbles and for anyone still in the Spring sector there are certainly a few frightened alpaca-type creatures to calm.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Taiki was right at the edge of the dome, moving around it, trying to avoid mongeese.

Trying to avoid mongeese and the fight not so far away. It's very hard to ignore, he's very aware of the violence, the shouts, the battle. But he's trying to soothe the vines making up the dome that had them trapped. This is a way he can be helpful.

Whenever snarling mongeese get too close he goes still, trying to avoid their attention, though if they attack he uses the swirling wind power he had in this strange place to create a shield around him and hoping they would go away before it dropped... That wasn't always the case.

Alfredo found himself on the edge as well, and given the amount of people approaching the tree already, perhaps that was for the best.

Running to catch up with one of the more familiar faces in here, he splashed a lingering mongoose with water, wishing he'd had something more offense-keyed to bring to the fore.

"Are you all right, Taiki?"

That shield looked useful, to be sure, but it was far from the only factor in play.

"Alfredo." He looked at the boy, he was awfully young to be in such a place but then again, many of the children were here, and many of them were just as competent as the adults.

"I am... Are you?"

"I am."

As confusing as this place is - as disturbing the implications of it for the rest of this world - he's holding his ground, and his mind.

He splashed another mongoose before coming to crouch protectively by Taiki's shield.

"We have to heal these vines, though. There's so many..."

"There are." He nodded and glanced at the boy, making sure he was fully behind the shield. He did not want him to be hurt.

"But they don't seem to be returning once they are healed."

So eventually they would get through them.

"That means the source for them is... finite, right?"

Double-checking his logic here, though he also looked rather calculating: could he use a blast of water to 'soothe' the wires-?

Wait, wires?

"Did those vines just change shape? Or are they supposed to be wires?"

Taiki blinked, "They did look..." They were vines again now...

But over there, they were flickering, looking like wires more than vines. "Watch out."

A mongoose was heading towards them again, but as it rushed towards them it flickered itself, looking less like a mongoose, becoming an unformed shape.

"On it - keep up that shield!"

Even with the flickering as a distraction, Alfredo aimed another spout of water at the creature.

Their attacks hadn't been changed, fortunately; he faintly wondered why there was a distinction, but shrugged it off for the sake of getting back to work.

"Take this!"

Lea had been busy fighting off the mongeese... that were starting to look a lot less like mongeese as the fighting went on. Though that didn't make them any less of a threat.

And it was there along the edge that he saw Taiki, who was understandably focusing on soothing the vines/wires. Unfortunately, the not-mongeese took exception to that. Taiki was doing a decent job holding off a couple of them with a swirl of wind, but didn't seem to notice the two that were coming at him from behind. Fortunately, Lea did.

He jumped in between Taiki and the new thread, summoning two large disc of fire. But instead of throwing them, he held them up like shields. "No you don't!", he said. The two not-mongeese attempted to pounce on him and were knocked back by the fiery discs with squeaks of pain.

He glanced over his shoulder to Taiki. "You alright there?"

Thea had been floating since her weapons skills are more suited to it plus she is better off. But she spots the mongeese and decides to lend Lea a hand So cue a signal and some well placed shots at the creatures.

Taiki visibly flinched as Lea fought off the mongeese and flinched harder as arrows thudded into them.

They might not be real mongeese, they might not even be real living animals but... The violence was still terrible and their squeels rang in his ears.

He kept his composure, looking over at the two of them sadly. "Thank you..."

Lea shot Thea a grateful smile as the not-mongeese went down. "Thanks for the assist," he said.

The smile he gave Taiki was more sympathetic. He knew this was probably rough for him, but unfortunately, there was no real way around it. At least there wasn't any blood- from either them or the things they were fighting- this time around. "You focus on taking care of those vine-wire things," he said. "We'll watch your back, OK?"

Finale: All teams

Inside

Re: Inside

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Rule #1: Always protect your supports.

Re: Rule #1: Always protect your supports.

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