VoidTrecker Express Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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middleofsomewhere2021-03-11 06:00 am
voidtreckermods) wrote in middleofsomewhere2021-03-11 06:00 am
Entry tags:
- !mission eleven,
- alice liddell (am) [ou],
- cassie cage [ou],
- devero [ou],
- entrapta [ou],
- inigo [ou],
- jiang cheng [ou],
- kairi [ou],
- kitty pryde [ou],
- koumyou sanzo [ou],
- madoka kaname [ou],
- masumi sera [ou],
- najaran [ou],
- piccolo [ou],
- reno [ou],
- romeo [crau],
- sonya blade [ou],
- taiki [ou],
- thanatos [ou],
- tidus [ou],
- trunks brief (future) [ou],
- vegeta iv [crau],
- yondu udonta [ou],
- yugi mutou [ou],
- ~x~adam parrish [ou],
- ~x~ai haibara [ou],
- ~x~alleyana tabris [ou],
- ~x~amery vallet [ou],
- ~x~bucky barnes [crau],
- ~x~casper leblanc jr [crau],
- ~x~conan edogawa [ou],
- ~x~danny phantom [ou],
- ~x~demyx [ou],
- ~x~dyme graydon [ou],
- ~x~ea-nasir [au],
- ~x~ken amada [au],
- ~x~ken ichijouji [ou],
- ~x~kyoko sakura [au],
- ~x~merwen [ou],
- ~x~prompto argentum [ou],
- ~x~ran mouri [ou],
- ~x~raven [ou],
- ~x~roland crane [ou],
- ~x~senku ishigami [ou],
- ~x~takato matsuda [ou],
- ~x~wei wuxian [crau],
- ~x~willow amarina [ou],
- ~x~yoite [ou],
- ~x~yosuke otoha [ou]
The Will to Fight: Start
"Good Morning Passengers, today is day six of the month of Kazoo." The voice echoes through the train as passengers wake up in their beds. Not long afterwards their SCA’s glow with the colour of the void and a holographic image will appear.
Preparation
They have an hour or two to prepare. Enough time to read their briefs, make decisions, meet in their teams and gather anything they may need. The dressing carriage is open with tents and other basic camping equipment.
"Shortly arriving in system #86525656412355. Drop order is Orange and Blue followed by Red and Purple. Orange and Blue to doors, arriving in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."
The train lurches as it exits through the void, before descending smoothly to the world below.
Blue and Orange
Arrival
If anyone peeks through the windows as the train lands they will see a glimpse of cracked and crumbling walls, a city on its last legs. As they exit the train, however, any passengers who aren't immune to magics influencing the mind will find themselves looking at grand, sturdy walls, flags with a blue field and golden tower fluttering from the ramparts.
They aren't too far from a gate, depending on where on the train they exited, and the gates are opened and unmanned. Inside, people are going about their business, selling their wares, while children run around playing among dogs and chickens.
The newcomers don't get too much attention, even though their hoodies and combat trousers seem very out of place in this city.
The Towers
The towers stand in each corner of the city. They are solid stone, no windows all the way up. The ground floor is the largest, grand doors leading into a functional yet beautiful foyer, and from there into smaller chambers. Wide, curving stairs lead up into the tower proper.
As they climb the towers they will come to the different levels which are all trapped, to dissuade intruders and train their disciples. They will be able to descend the towers and exit and enter again as many times as they like as they work their way up to the top.
The City
It will soon become apparent that persuading these people to fight isn't going to happen. The war has already been won, the demons were defeated. The world is safe once more. Welcome, travellers, to the Shining City.
Their SCA's show them the locations of the entrances to the catacombs. There are a handful, scattered around the city, clearly designed for quick evacuation should the city defences ever be breached.
Persuading people that the city needs to be evacuated might take a good while.
The Catacombs
The catacombs are cold and dark, lamps having gone unlit for months. Those that are sensitive or can sense magic in any way will be able to tell that at least here the wards hold: no demons will be able to enter.
The tunnels are narrow, able to fit two people side by side at their widest points, but more often than not they must move single file to avoid collapsed walls or leaning pillars. Or, sometimes, piles of bones spilled from the tombs set into the walls. Side tunnels extend out into the darkness, signposts or symbols marking old, unused storerooms, bunkers for temporary shelter, or private tombs and crypts.
At points the tunnels widen out into large chambers, rooms or galleries that have been used as cemeteries for centuries. At other points the tunnels have collapsed or become almost impassable. People will need to wriggle through the gaps or find ways to stabilise the tunnels in order to pass through.
Purple and Red
Arrival
"Red and Purple to doors." The train flies back into the air after dropping Orange and Blue at the city gates. It doesn't go very far; it's less than a minute later that they're landing again. The doors open and they can step out into the destroyed countryside.
They don't get much time to get their bearings as the train flies off again, because coming over a nearby hill is a band of demons, a gate crackling behind them. The band is mostly footsoldiers, with several of the larger breed interspersed.
It's hard to say which side is more taken by surprise, but the Voidtreckers will only have moments to ready themselves before the demons rush in.
Defending the City
It's a wide area to cover, surrounding the city, and there is plenty of work to be done. Bands of demons roam around, most headed towards the city. They run, claws digging into the ground, leaving a trail of destruction behind them. Sometimes they will have a larger demon or even two with them, armed with toxic whips that they use with dangerous accuracy.
Other times there will be smaller demons, carrying ornate daggers, whispering foul spells to drain and bind their enemies. These demons become more regular as the days progress as it becomes obvious that taking the city will not be as easy as they first thought.
Closing the Demon Gates
The gates nearer the city are smaller, and easy enough to find, but the SCA's of the red team pinpoint more and more gates as they open in the areas further out. Triangular markings on their SCA maps indicate distance and direction.
The gates must be closed from the other side, so the first thing is to enter them. Entering the gates feels strange, uncomfortable, as if something were tugging and clawing at their very being, trying to pull them out of their own skin.
That feeling lasts for a moment, albeit one that feels stretched, and then they are in the demon realm: a monochrome world devoid of life, where every step taken tires the body, where even existing is exhausting.
The gates are guarded, so adjusting will need to be done in combat. Smaller gates have fewer guards than the larger, but all will fight savagely to protect the keystone.
The keystones are smooth black obelisks about a foot high, usually stood on a plinth or set above the gate location as a centrepiece. Each can be destroyed by blunt force or any other ability able to shatter stone, and once it is they will have a short amount of time to leave before the gate closes. Their SCA will helpfully start a timer indicating this.
Preparation
They have an hour or two to prepare. Enough time to read their briefs, make decisions, meet in their teams and gather anything they may need. The dressing carriage is open with tents and other basic camping equipment.
"Shortly arriving in system #86525656412355. Drop order is Orange and Blue followed by Red and Purple. Orange and Blue to doors, arriving in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."
The train lurches as it exits through the void, before descending smoothly to the world below.
Blue and Orange
Arrival
If anyone peeks through the windows as the train lands they will see a glimpse of cracked and crumbling walls, a city on its last legs. As they exit the train, however, any passengers who aren't immune to magics influencing the mind will find themselves looking at grand, sturdy walls, flags with a blue field and golden tower fluttering from the ramparts.
They aren't too far from a gate, depending on where on the train they exited, and the gates are opened and unmanned. Inside, people are going about their business, selling their wares, while children run around playing among dogs and chickens.
The newcomers don't get too much attention, even though their hoodies and combat trousers seem very out of place in this city.
The Towers
The towers stand in each corner of the city. They are solid stone, no windows all the way up. The ground floor is the largest, grand doors leading into a functional yet beautiful foyer, and from there into smaller chambers. Wide, curving stairs lead up into the tower proper.
As they climb the towers they will come to the different levels which are all trapped, to dissuade intruders and train their disciples. They will be able to descend the towers and exit and enter again as many times as they like as they work their way up to the top.
The City
It will soon become apparent that persuading these people to fight isn't going to happen. The war has already been won, the demons were defeated. The world is safe once more. Welcome, travellers, to the Shining City.
Their SCA's show them the locations of the entrances to the catacombs. There are a handful, scattered around the city, clearly designed for quick evacuation should the city defences ever be breached.
Persuading people that the city needs to be evacuated might take a good while.
The Catacombs
The catacombs are cold and dark, lamps having gone unlit for months. Those that are sensitive or can sense magic in any way will be able to tell that at least here the wards hold: no demons will be able to enter.
The tunnels are narrow, able to fit two people side by side at their widest points, but more often than not they must move single file to avoid collapsed walls or leaning pillars. Or, sometimes, piles of bones spilled from the tombs set into the walls. Side tunnels extend out into the darkness, signposts or symbols marking old, unused storerooms, bunkers for temporary shelter, or private tombs and crypts.
At points the tunnels widen out into large chambers, rooms or galleries that have been used as cemeteries for centuries. At other points the tunnels have collapsed or become almost impassable. People will need to wriggle through the gaps or find ways to stabilise the tunnels in order to pass through.
Purple and Red
Arrival
"Red and Purple to doors." The train flies back into the air after dropping Orange and Blue at the city gates. It doesn't go very far; it's less than a minute later that they're landing again. The doors open and they can step out into the destroyed countryside.
They don't get much time to get their bearings as the train flies off again, because coming over a nearby hill is a band of demons, a gate crackling behind them. The band is mostly footsoldiers, with several of the larger breed interspersed.
It's hard to say which side is more taken by surprise, but the Voidtreckers will only have moments to ready themselves before the demons rush in.
Defending the City
It's a wide area to cover, surrounding the city, and there is plenty of work to be done. Bands of demons roam around, most headed towards the city. They run, claws digging into the ground, leaving a trail of destruction behind them. Sometimes they will have a larger demon or even two with them, armed with toxic whips that they use with dangerous accuracy.
Other times there will be smaller demons, carrying ornate daggers, whispering foul spells to drain and bind their enemies. These demons become more regular as the days progress as it becomes obvious that taking the city will not be as easy as they first thought.
Closing the Demon Gates
The gates nearer the city are smaller, and easy enough to find, but the SCA's of the red team pinpoint more and more gates as they open in the areas further out. Triangular markings on their SCA maps indicate distance and direction.
The gates must be closed from the other side, so the first thing is to enter them. Entering the gates feels strange, uncomfortable, as if something were tugging and clawing at their very being, trying to pull them out of their own skin.
That feeling lasts for a moment, albeit one that feels stretched, and then they are in the demon realm: a monochrome world devoid of life, where every step taken tires the body, where even existing is exhausting.
The gates are guarded, so adjusting will need to be done in combat. Smaller gates have fewer guards than the larger, but all will fight savagely to protect the keystone.
The keystones are smooth black obelisks about a foot high, usually stood on a plinth or set above the gate location as a centrepiece. Each can be destroyed by blunt force or any other ability able to shatter stone, and once it is they will have a short amount of time to leave before the gate closes. Their SCA will helpfully start a timer indicating this.
no subject
"A little...but I used to dream about being the kind of magical girl that helps solve all kinds of problems, you know? Rescuing cats, helping people cross the street? I still wish I could do those things. But we're well trained for demons, I'd think."
She hears a hiss in the distance and readies a rifle. It's far away enough that they still have plenty of time.
"Do you need a refresh? Rosetta's here if you do."
The hedgehog pops out from under Mami's hat and squeaks a greeting.
no subject
Mami's dreams... Those are the kinds of things magical girls are 'supposed' to do, right? In the manga. Kyoko doesn't really know if she'd be any good at being that kind of magical girl. Probably not. But she doesn't want to tell Mami that, doesn't want to see the look on her face if she did.
So instead, she says, "Well, look at it this way. We're still protecting people like this. I don't mind being our kind of magical girl if I have that kind of power."
no subject
"It scared me when I first learned what the contract turned me into. I thought I was strange, that everyone would hate me. But they only care about who I am, not what I am. That's comforting. And I'm glad I can still help, with a team this time!"
Another bright smile at Kyoko.
no subject
There's a familiar feeling welling in her chest, the kind that makes her want to pray. But not out of desperation, this time. Out of... being grateful. She knows that Mami being here has nothing to do with her -- That Mami could have ended up here, anyway, even if Kyoko hadn't been able to save her. But she still feels... thankful... for having been able to save her, all the same. Thankful that Mami can have this.
Kyoko can feel heat rising to her cheeks, but she is determined not to react to it.
"If anyone ever does give you a hard time about it, tell me. 'Cause I'll have a thing or two to say."
no subject
"You'll stand up to anyone just like that, hm? Some of our fellow passengers are pretty tough...but most are kind. I'm not worried anymore. And there are so few healers they'd do well not to get on my bad side."
Not that she'd withhold care, of course.
no subject
"Just like that," she confirms, and there's almost a sparkle to her just from the sheer confidence in that. "Doesn't matter how tough they are, I'll teach 'em a lesson they won't forget."
Mami can take care of herself, and Kyoko knows that better than anyone. But even so, there's no way she'd just stand by and let someone talk to her like that. Still... It sounds like it won't be a problem that comes up. But this applies to more than just the truth about Soul Gems.
no subject
"You're always so confident and strong. I trust you've been practicing since we parted?"
no subject
"I mean, haven't really had the chance, since I showed up on the platform after the last time I saw you." There's suddenly a nervous energy thrumming through her, and she crinkles the plastic of the cracker sheath, almost fidgeting. But it doesn't last long, because now she's tugging a cracker free. "I guess we haven't had that talk, huh? About what we last did before all this."
no subject
Mami remembers what she's learned from talking to the others, and she lets out a small sigh. This could be tough.
"After your family's deaths, things were never the same between us. We couldn't see eye to eye anymore, and so we parted ways. I was alone again for a while, until Kaname-san and Miki-san found their way into a labyrinth. I took them in as juniors...because I missed you, I suppose, but with everything I've seen since, I wouldn't do that again."
She looks slightly ashamed about this. "Akemi-san was tailing me, to make sure I didn't entice them into making a contract. But I realize now that she tried to warn me about the dessert witch. I ignored her, though, and charged into the labyrinth overconfident, because I finally believed I'd have a partner again. That's what killed me in the end."
Her last words are very quiet.
no subject
She died before Kyoko ever showed up to try to make things right between them.
The Mami right in front of her... isn't the Mami who she fought against. Who she confessed everything to. Who she killed Sayaka to save.
Kyoko is silent for a moment, her chewing having slowed, and stopped. The cracker tastes like salt and nothingness on her tongue.
After that moment, though, she finds it in her to remember how to breathe again. Makes herself find it.
"That first part... is the same for me. I left. Eventually, you found Madoka and Sayaka. Sayaka made a contract for some boy. And when I heard you had a new junior, I teamed up with Homura and came back. You stopped me from fighting with her." She doesn't know about a dessert witch in particular, but Mami -- wasn't dead. Mami was there.
"I was a pain in your neck for a little while. Showing up to pick fights. But when Sayaka started to have a bad time..." She hesitates. She lied to Madoka about this. It'd be easy, so easy, to lie to Mami about it. And even if she tells her the truth --
The truth... the truth. Mami died... before Sayaka became a witch, then. Does Mami even know? Is she willing to take the risk that she knows, only to be wrong? Can she really be the one... who tells her?
"I pulled my head out of my ass. Seeing Sayaka like that, I couldn't stand watching her make the same kinds of mistakes I did. I tried to talk to her, but she wouldn't hear it, so we ended up fighting again. But just like before, you came in and put a stop to it. And together, we managed to talk her through it."
Sorry.
no subject
Luckily she doesn't know enough to detect a lie.
"I'm glad," is her soft answer. "You did so well, despite everything working against us. And Miki-san was really lucky to have you when she needed you."
no subject
Would Kyoko herself not have died?
Dying because she fucked up, once again... That'd be one thing. She knows she's had that coming for a long time. But what if, by dragging her heels and fighting and spitting, she'd screwed Sayaka over? And almost Mami with her?
Is it arrogant to think that she could've made the difference? Probably. She must sound so full of herself, thinking like that. But it doesn't make the idea go away. It's her fault, anyway, that Sayaka died. She's the one who killed that witch. Who chose to kill her, instead of trying to figure out a way to turn her back, so she could save Mami. Never mind the what ifs and should haves, it's still her fault.
Kyoko realizes she's been quiet too long, has been staring off into the darkness with a strange, unhappy look on her face. And then she realizes she doesn't really know what to say.
She rubs the back of her neck. "I dunno about that." That comes easily, at least, and is close enough to her real feelings. Maybe she can try to shift the topic a little. "Just... I'm feeling kinda stupid, I guess, spending all this time assuming you and me came from the same timeline, or whatever you wanna call it. It's not gonna... change anything, right? We're still here, fighting together. That's what matters, right?"
It does. It does change things for Kyoko. But... Maybe, not in a bad way. It's almost like she's getting a do-over. A chance to not fuck it up this time. That has to count for something.