Conclusion

[voidtreckermods]

Thank you.

For those inside the system the voices of the Great-Seasons ring out around them once the red mass has vanished and the blue plinth it was smothering is freed once more. They don't have all that much time to reflect on that before they find themselves waking up once more in their bodies around the tree trunks.

Or at least, around the tube that is the Great-Season they entered through. All illusions have vanished now, all that is left are pipes and metal.

The Great-Seasons allow them passage out from the centre, no sentries or pipes attack them this time. Everything seems to have been put to rights, the walls in the Autumn sector have stopped moving, there is no strange weather effects in the Summer Sector, no engineering problems in Winter and all the camaloid creatures in Spring are calm. Any Helpmates they come across are doing their jobs and no longer malfunctioning.

After a small amount of time, enough to check that all is well, their SCA's light up. All Passengers are to return to the Voidtrecker Express.

Considering the vast distances involved it is probably best that they use the evacuation function to return to the Luggage carriage.

Once all Voidtreckers have returned the train returns to the Void once more.

Comments

cw: many many scars, abuse implications

[bakegarasu]

He hesitates before letting out a long breath. "All right. Just... try not to freak out at my scars." He pulls his shirt off, and... well. There's a reason he warned Ryo.

There's heavy scarring all around his left shoulder. His left arm is smoother and largely free of injuries, bar the new ones, while his right arm, now more clearly visible, carries a number of small burn marks that look like they're probably from cigarettes or cigars.

A large amount of scars litter his back and torso. Most of the older scars are bullet wounds, but there's some slashes as well. They largely all look like they're from fights, bar a few very old ones that look intentionally cut.

soak it in

[its_dad_sanzo]

As with the end of the last mission, Koumyou has showered and then almost immediately headed for the spa car.

And here he is now. Unlike Otoha, he does change into a pair of swim trunks. If nothing else, it gives him a waistband to stick the rolled up sutra into, letting it sit at his hip. Everything else has vanished into the arms band high up on one bicep.

The priest steps down into the pool opposite Otoha, and sinks in with a relieved shudder.

Re: soak it in

[bakegarasu]

He snorts at the sight of someone he's used to seeing in priest robes wearing swim trunks. It's kind of ridiculous. The other's appearance doesn't bother him, though his own isn't exactly a pretty sight considering all the scarring.

"Had a rough time with the fights?" He didn't, but his body basically cheats.

[its_dad_sanzo]

Koumyou actually sinks in so far that the long ends of his bangs float on the water. He squints in Otoha's direction, eyes mostly shut.

"Mmm? No. Why would I have?"

He's not even wounded, this time. After the mission on Nion he'd been covered in a patchwork of bruising and more than a few bullet grazes, but this time? Pretty much nothing.

"Did you?"

[bakegarasu]

"Eh, just the noises you made getting in. Most of my worst injuries were inside that system... thing. So I'm fine. And Ryo got someone to drag me back to him and insisted on healing the rest."

Even with how faintly annoyed he sounds, there's still a tiny bit of a smile. "Red team didn't have too much trouble fighting through to the system in the first place, but that's kind of what we're supposed to be good at, right?"

[its_dad_sanzo]

"Mhh?" Koumyou considers that for a moment, and shudders again under the water as he considers how cold it is outside it. "I'm just always cold."

Hot water's a relief, right after a mission or not!

"Ah, you were at the big tree battle too? I admit I was a bit too focused on what I was doing to really see who else was inside..."

Past a certain radius, he'd not paid much mind to the rest of the fighting.

[bakegarasu]

"... Huh." Well, with that little body fat, it's not a surprise. "Yeah, it's fine. I was mostly watching out for Emporio and... some other kid he was with. Silver hair." He shrugs and sinks a bit lower into the water.

"Are missions always that weird?"

[its_dad_sanzo]

"Well, that was only my second one!" Koumyou says with a somewhat tired version of his usual cheer, "But the last one didn't involve any out-of-body battles, at least."

He wasn't a fan of that aspect of this mission, not at all.

"Did you notice, those forms didn't even bleed?"

Horrible.

[bakegarasu]

"No, I didn't. But there's a reason I prefer wearing my black trenchcoat. ... Maybe I should have stayed shifted into my armor the whole time. It's a little disturbing-looking, though."

It's cool as hell, but also somewhat terrifying.

"Someone said that there's a platform every two weeks... that means it's coming up soon, right?" He's somewhat lost track of the days, given how long they were there.

[its_dad_sanzo]

"Bleeding is how we know we're alive," Koumyou says, with the cadence of something he's said a lot.

So not bleeding, when injured?

Fucking creepy, that's what that was.

"Aah... I suppose so, yes. That does seem to be the pattern."

[bakegarasu]

"I mean... I'm not. Not in the same way." Sure, he has a heartbeat and bleeds and all that, but his soul isn't in his body and he's potentially going to live for hundreds of years.

"Maybe you'll try not to nearly run into them this time?" He grins slightly, shifting a bit to lean back against the edge of the pool.

[its_dad_sanzo]

"Well, that depends entirely on how good the mail I'm expecting to get is, this time."

Get between him and his packages at your own peril, newcomers.

[bakegarasu]

"... I don't think I really have any points. But there's not really much I want."

Although... there's a thought... hm. "I never really had much stuff anyway. Always had a really plain room. Reiji once said it looked like I was trying to be a monk."

Yeah, no.

[its_dad_sanzo]

"Something of a natural ascetic, are you?" Koumyou's amused, of course. "At least you didn't shave your head."

[bakegarasu]

"What, you want me to look even worse than I normally do?" Sure, he's got muscles, but he's not that handsome.

[its_dad_sanzo]

"I didn't say you should!" Koumyou lifts one bony hand from the water, holding the end of his long braid in illustration. "I always thought that was a bit excessive, personally."

[bakegarasu]

"Something something vanity, or whatever. Which won't save you when it gets cold in the winter and your bald head freezes." He's never had long hair, but his hair has also never really responded to much of a hairstyle other than 'shaggy'.

[its_dad_sanzo]

"I've always found it quite funny that a clean-shaven head is supposed to be a sign that one eschews vanity," Koumyou lets his hand slip back into the water with his braid. "But it takes more effort to keep than just having short hair..."

Koumyou Sanzo | Saiyuki | OTA

[its_dad_sanzo]

🌙 EVACUATION

When everyone gets the ping to head back, Koumyou makes sure everyone near him knows how the evacuation function works on their SCA, and then uses his.

Along with most of the train.

In the one luggage car.

At the same time.

Did you know that Koumyou is mostly all sharp bones under his robes? Do you know how pointy his elbows are?

You might now!

"...Oops."

🌙 SPA

As with the end of the last mission, Koumyou has showered and then almost immediately headed for the spa car. He can be found chin-deep in the heated pool. The ends of his long bangs float on the water's surface around his face, and his eyes are closed against the steam.

But if anyone joins him, the priest cracks one eye open just enough to see who it is.

🌙 WILDCARD

(Hit me.)

[bakegarasu]

"It really does. ... Unless you're old, I guess." Huh. Maybe they just didn't want to feel awkward about their hair. "I think a lot of traditions were probably 'we decided this and too stubborn to change it'."

[firewalled]

"Huh? Woah... hey, I'm not mad. You don't have anything to apologize for."

He looks embarrassed. "Sorry... it's instinct to want to act tough, right? When you're sick, you think 'cause you're a dude, you have to deal with it on your own." He sniffles. "I didn't want you to think I was hurt."

[bakegarasu]

"Oh I know how that goes." Fortunately, despite getting injured a lot, he's relatively healthy otherwise. "... I kind of went overboard. ... Caring about people is... new." Other than Reiji, but Reiji's an exception.

[firewalled]

That is, indeed, normal for a help mate, but no less distressing for Rich to see. It's probably why he's not really willing to let it go with one question.

"So how long does it usually take? And what happened to cause such a major malfunction of a new system?"

[firewalled]

"That makes sense... I do wonder how they got humans in to clean up a computer virus, though..."

If it was just him, he could wave it off as SQUIP bullshit, but not everyone here has the experience with tech that he does.

"One last sweep sounds good!" If there's damage, there might be a Helpmate repairing it, and then Rich can finally ask some questions.

[voidtreckernpcs]

"This biosphere is the first of its kind, particularly due to its nature as a joint project. I can file a request with the home system for you to see if the projected completion date has undergone any significant change."

Note that it does not state what the current one is, just that there is one.

"Status and source of 'major malfunction': unknown."

The Helpmate does not sound any more stern than before, let alone, say, frustrated.