middleofsomewhere | What their Eyes See: Start

What their Eyes See: Start

"Good Morning Voidtreckers, today is day five of the month of Llama." 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.

Preperation and Arrival

As usual they have a couple of hours before arrival to ready themselves for the mission ahead. As promised the dressing carriage is open for them to find suitable clothing. Trench coats, a lot of leather, a lot of black with neon colours thrown in here and there. There is a lot of choice in a variety of sizes so everyone is bound to find something to fit. Hopefully something they like, though some passengers may be more comfortable with the fashion choices than others.

A couple of hours after the announcement of the mission the voice speaks again. "Shortly arriving in system #93426194992. Arriving in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." The train shakes as it leaves the void, colours fading to be replaced to a grey thick smog outside the windows.

The train bumps slightly as it hits rails, snaking its way towards the city before entering a tunnel. A few moments and they come to a stop, the doors open onto a platform. Stepping out into the station the first thing to hit them is noise, it sounds like there are ten different advertisements blaring, someone or something is playing loud music. There's a lot of flashing signs, screens with advertisements, bright lights that change colour for no real apparant reason. Heavy on the senses as they make their way to the gates.

They will find that their SCAs allow them through the barriers and into the wider train station, which is somehow even louder. It is busy as well, people hurrying from place to place. There are signs declaring this to be Tier Three, Home of Manufacturing. as well as signs pointing the way to lifts, to take them to other tiers.

Tier One

Mapping

For those travelling up to tier one the first thing they will notice when they leave the lift is, it is a lot quieter up here. Peaceful even, there are people around, all looking official and busy. None will pay the Voidtreckers any mind unless they are acting particularly suspicious.

The air feels better here, probably because the whole tier is encased with a dome that they will be able to see as they enter, coming from a lift near the edge of the tier. The buildings are all harsh dark metal, almost uniform in design. The streets are clean and there has been an attempt at greenery with some shrubs and simple plants.

The buildings all need to be accessed using their SCA's. Their SCA maps show them where the buildings are but give no information about them, nor do they have maps of inside. Once the voidtreckers enter they will find that their maps fill in as they explore.

There are plenty of different buildings, offices, labs and meeting rooms. There are also a lot of security staff and anyone acting too suspiciously will be approached and questioned. Hopefully they have a plan, blend in or sneak around.

Flickers

Sometimes though that is a little harder, they might enter a room to find themselves on their old street, in a world they have visited before on the train or somewhere else that is decidedly not here. These illusions get more common as time goes on and people will begin seeing the illusions of others or find the two scenes merging together.

Voidtreckers who are immune to illusions will not see these strange visions and those who are particularly strong willed will be able to fight them off. Once people know they are illusions they can focus through them to see reality even if it is overlaid with what their minds want to see. It will take a lot of concentration to stay focused and get an accurate map.

Tier Two

A Mystery

The lift here brings them out into a glass covered corridor. Outside the glass the air is thick with smog but the filtration systems means that the air seems fine inside, especially with their SCA's helping out. Outside the tunnels they will be able to see the lights of hovercars zipping around and the silhouettes of buildings. Office blocks and large houses make up this sector. Large billboards blare out advertisements at all hours, neon lights shining through the smog.

The atmosphere of the sector is one of fear, people hurry about their business, keeping an wary eye on their surroundings. The newcomers won't get too much scrutiny but people are likely to be very wary if approached or questioned.

But they will talk once they guage them to not be a threat. Murders. Six people dead, from inside their own houses. Locked doors, security systems, all for nothing. Is it a serial killer? But the reports suggested an animal attack? From what animals?

Getting access to the houses will take some negotiating or breaking and entering. The bodies themselves have been cleared by law enforcement, caution tape still up to keep out any nosy public.

The rooms the bodies were found in were all rooms that used holograms as decoration and the voidtreckers will realise when they enter them that these holograms seem a lot more realistic than some of the others they might have seen in their stay in the sector so far.

Creatures

As they talk to people, or overhear gossip they will hear more about animal attacks. Someone swears they saw a lion prowling the streets. A hovercar crashed and the driver swore they had been attacked by an eagle. Neither of those creatures live in the city. Neither of those creatures exist on this world anymore.

But the Voidtreckers will quickly learn there is something to these rumours, especially as dark falls, the feeling they are being hunted. A paw tread, a tail disappearing around a corner. As days go on they may get attacked by a bear, a tiger or perhaps a creature from their own world, one that should not exist here at all...

Tier Three

A Crisis

Leaving the station brings them into crowded streets, air thick with smog, Up above them is the floor of the plate above, set with bright lights to offset the lack of natural light getting through. Billboards and screens blare advertisements, traders yell their wares. Life is fast and swirls around them as they step out into the streets.

Here also there is an air of worry. The talk is all of Spectura, kids unconcious after playing video games, hospital overflowing. Spectura's fault, there are calls for accountability, claims of sabotage. No person gives the same story and it becomes clear that most people don't know what has happened but almost everyone knows someone who has been affected. Fear, blame, tensions are high.

But life must go on, the factories never stop, people can't not work and with so many people unconscious people have to pick up the slack. The whole sector feels at breaking point.

If they try and buy Spectura systems they will not be stopped though they will need to sign a waiver, to take on all responsibility for what might happen to them if they go into the system.

Spectura

There are a whole range of games to look through, though the two most popular ones where the majority of players can be found are an open-world farming MMO called AgriTopia VI Ultimate, with bright landscapes and calming diegetic music, and Aegis Force, a tournament team shooter with short battle scenarios and smaller maps.

Those entering the system will fall unconscious in the real world and as they enter the problem will be pretty obvious straight away. Red vines, covering everything, tangling trees, creeping up buildings, coming straight for them to attack.

Anyone who gets overwhelmed by them will be stuck, unable to move or progress. It is possible to fight them off and for those voidtreckers who have faced the vines before they will find their soothing powers will work here as well.

People are tangled throughout many different games and once they are freed will need some help to find the next save point or exit. They need to help plant the final hundred potatoes, or team up to take down the level boss or solve the next puzzle, keep the vines away and free as many people as they can.

Tier Four

A Way In

As they leave the lifts they will find this tier is dark, dim lighting barely penetrating the smog. Homes are makeshift and all on top of each other. The streets are crowded, loud and people don't stop to chat. It is incredibly claustrophobic, with large support columns, exposed wires and large pipes running alongside and over the 'roads'.

Here there are plenty of stores selling anything and everything, certainly not above board. Credits are sometimes accepted but more often store keepers will prefer to trade in barters, food is popular. Anything that isn't nutri slime or the even worse unbranded basic version.

Bars and other seedy establishments are open all hours, neon signs beckoning. It is here that they will find the entry points to the fighting rings.

People don't talk about it openly but you look big enough, mean enough or dramatic enough then it will be slipped into conversation. Have you heard? Winners get a dream come true.

The fights are a mix of one on one and group fights. All terms are negotiated before hand with an overseer and fights are to the yield. The crowd wants a show and so dramatics are encouraged.

What was that?

The rumours about people going berserk are spoken in whispers. No one really knows what has gone on. A few fights have gotten out of control, a couple of fighters broke down after fights, at least one has quit for good. Most spoken about is The Crimson Fist. The best fighter in the ring who two days prior just left. Left the city with no protective gear, no word to anyone. No one knows what happened to them.

As the voidtreckers get further into their fights they will begin to realise something strange is going on. That opponent you are facing? They now look like your worst enemy, or perhaps your best friend, your lover. Sometimes you're no longer in the city but in a place of fond memories or your worst nightmares. Fights can very quickly go south when your opponent believes you their greatest foe.

Advancing the ranks now seems like it might be more difficult than first it appeared.

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[ There's an nervousness, an impatience about Tidus; a kind of restless step that's more settled towards annoyance when it comes to waiting for the mission to get going, a tap of a foot while he sits around, lounging, bored.

But there's none of that. He's going through the clothes made accessible, but if he's actually checking out anything he's swishing through on the rack is another thing altogether. The system number, the system number. His mind is far from the mission, and on something else entirely. ]

Think we need anything else? Are we forgetting something? [ Do they have everything they can? Everything to be prepared. He pauses on some article of clothing, a jacket, as if he might take it out, but then continues his browsing. ] We can't come back for anything once we're there.

[ So are they all covered? Was there anything in the message, anything on the train worth taking... ]

[ This mission's briefing isn't so detailed given how the tiers functioned and were arranged on Kamakan. Strategy would have to be more specific to the assignment this time around, and that was just fine. Roland loses himself in his own plot during his walk towards dressing, and offers a simple shoulder tap as a greeting upon meeting Tidus's back to the door. The same mood accompanies him, a contrast of energy between the two occupants. Whereas Tidus seemed impatient to leave, which isn't anything particularly new for Roland to pick-up on at least, Roland was eager for different reasons. Not for the murders in particular, which were unfortunate no matter what, but for other things he doesn't dare say out loud.

Though if his rummaging around the accessories trunk on the onset isn't any clear indication, he isn't sure what is. There are some caps and hats that lay on top of the other. This is where he fixates his attentions. ]

Well, I'm sure you're good on the snacks. You did keep that well-stocked, right? Heh. [ Har-har. He picks this particular piece out, but immediately discards it. Tacky. ] Wish I could help you out a little bit more. But I'm gonna have to touchdown on Kamakan before this gives me anything useful.

[ Not to worry though. Roland still has the bigger picture in mind; won't get so lost in the story that he forgets they're all after the mystery writer. He summons the small, bio atmospheric scanner out of his hammerspace with a slow, graceful flick of the wrist, throws it once in the air for Tidus to catch if he wants. If not, it'll fall dutifully back into his grip. ] This jogging your memory, or what?

[ Radio. Message. Who even gave him the idea to get this, right? Anyway, hat #2 -]

[ Har-har indeed. Tidus doesn't even bother to throw Roland a look, but there's a scoff that's verbal enough, Tidus's snacks about as well-played as Roland's occupation as an old man.

Everything he lays his hands on seems to have a mess of layers or high collars, pulling out one and then squinting where it's supposed to open on. Looking over however when Roland gives some indication of an item, watching the scanner, but not going for it. He knew what it was supposed to do, but between the two of them, it was better in Roland's hands. ]

Well, you have that, Senku and Gen have the radio... [ There's a grumble in his voice, thoughts distracted, unable to settle. Thinking out loud, curiously: ] I wonder what got her attention about this place...?

[ They were there to look into murders, some weird fight club and video games. Though, Blue's mission did sound fairly familiar... ]

An anomaly, most likely. Apart from being a regular around Erda, she was sent over to check on weird readings if I recall.

[ But he's mostly grasping at straws. The item is pocketed back into its spacious holding and he glances at Tidus's fashion choices from time to time, mostly offering in silence some of his particular pieces. A jacket more to Tidus's tastes, knowing he prefers to be more loose and free, or maybe a cape where he can still wear what he likes underneath. Though between the two of them, the thought process isn't so much on the prep work, but on what's to come. ]

...That, or her sole purpose of coming to Kamakan is to talk to us. [ He leaves that space for Tidus to process as he pleases. Neither necessarily bode well, but he'll save his questions for the inquisition. It's more important that they touch base with someone from that side of the void sphere.

The second hat he picks out is fashionable, but not quite it yet. It's put back down as he rummages in earnest. In lieu of the hat, he picks out a pair of thick rimmed glasses with fake lenses instead. He mutters something about 'wishing it had tech inside', but it doesn't deter him from pocketing it for his ensemble anyway. ]

[ The first of the jackets is only helping Tidus decide that the fashions of this city is one where nobody likes a straight zip - which isn't really a big problem, but its material ers on something more dad-like than what he's looking for. Lucky for Roland, he won't share that thought, when the next of what he shares out actually gets Tidus's attention for longer than the last, if with a crease on his brow that shows his indecision.

There's a but to this half-shirt, and that's a wish it was a little more colourful, exciting but he'll keep a hold of it as they continue on, both with Tidus and his fashion deciding, and Roland in his speculation. ]

No, it's gotta be the same reason we're going there... I guess I always thought there was more going on in the void, you know? [ More missions, more weird things that needed attention. But she had noticed something was wrong before they did - before the train did. And now they were headed to the same destination. ]

Or this anomaly - it's really strange. [ Is it? Or does it just feel this way? Because he knows that it's gotten Anan's attention.

He breathes, knowing he's overthinking things. Says, to try and get his thoughts to settle: ] Only one way to find out!

Hm. At this point, we don't know exactly how much Anan actually knows about the void. She's got more resources than we do, which is a start. [ Ah, he's reaching at the bottom of the trunk, there - ] What I'm more concerned over is that she notified us about this particular reading on this particular world...

[ He finally picks out a hat that frames his face nicely. The tip is tugged forward to test the fit, and when he's satisfied, keeps it on. Today, Roland deceptively looks more Earth-like than he's ever looked before. ] ...which means it's specifically relevant to our situation. Only one way to find out, indeed.

[ When he's satisfied with his effects, he walks a few paces past Tidus to look at accessories. Though he is less invested in these; nothing quite catching his eye. ] Say, which team are you off to this time around anyway? I know you're capable, but Red's a little...worrisome. [ Sketchy. A secret fight club with a reward at the top of the bloody pyramid? Jeez. ] Try not to catch attention down there, if you're watching from the ringside. Blue's got the VR games, which is a pretty safe bet with all the practice you get on the train.

[ Look. The underbelly of any society is never pretty so the caution is warranted. Roland's fully stopped now, a hand on his hip as he talks. ]

Edited 2021-05-14 04:27 (UTC)

[ Tidus has picked out a shirt, trousers to go with it, disregarding care for fashion for just getting dressed, bundling them up to be taken to one of the dressing rooms. Saying as he heads that way, privacy a door that doesn't detract in conversation: ]

Well, I'm not going Red. Fighting for sport against some other guy? Not my scene. [ It's too close, too personal; he doesn't have the personality for it, the stuff in his soul. ] I might go Blue... but if you guys have those animals or whatever they are lurking around-

[ There's the sound of rustling, Tidus turning, his voice changing with how he moves around - ]

-- then I might come with you. Hitting stuff with a sword's what I do best out there!

[ For better or for worse. ]

[ There's really nothing else to take from the train's offering, apart from a funny looking magnifying glass that sits nicely on top of a crate. Alongside it are tools and gadgets in varying degrees of ridiculous to borderline useless. To look the part though, he pockets it and adjusts his tie afterwards. He hasn't worn a get-up like this in a while.

Glad is he to know Tidus was staying relatively far from the very bottom portion of Kamakan, he is more relieved to hear he's once again making the call to stay in Purple. Roland smiles, nodding to no one in particular given his companion is still changing. ]

Hey now. Give yourself some more credit. You jump pretty high too.

[ Ha!

Idle time makes for idle hands. He sees a pair of gloves and takes those too. They seemed nice. ]

In all seriousness, we could use you on the mission. The more eyes to catch that thing, the better. What do you think we need to bring, apart from the usual?

Har har, [ comes over from the other side of the door, volume not too muffled by the structure separating them. And by the time Roland's next question rolls around, that door opens before Tidus answers, pushed to behind his back as he comes out empty-handed, his actual clothes stored away in the band hidden from sight under the layers of black. ]

Me? [ He asks with a quirked brow, eyes settling on Roland and his get-up for a moment longer than necessary. ] We're just fighting, aren't we? Figuring what's up with these things that shouldn't be around? But you-

[ he gestures a hand at Roland as he goes to where some boots are, to pick out a better pair than the trainers he's wearing. As more comfortable as he'd expect them to be. But they clash, and he doesn't have a black pair for the occasion. ]

You look ready to jump into one of those weird-lighted movies. Lydi? That was the character's name of that one movie, wasn't it?

[ If there ever was the perfect opportunity for Roland to scoff, now would be it. He doesn't quite do it per se, his expression morphing into something a bit more playful than offended, but the similarity is not lost on him at all.

Roland surveys Tidus's get-up with an appraising eye, humming in neither approval nor disapproval. It's not bad, all things considered. And the real question here was Roland's style, wasn't it? ]

They're called noir films. Black and white. [ He tips his head forward, hat covering his eyes for effect. ] And please. Lydi's too green. She doesn't know what goes into a real murder investigation. Did you see how terribly she handled her own case? Leave this one to the pros. Heh.

[ Nickname intended! ]

[ Look at this good mood Roland has going on. Even with Tidus's earlier nerves about him, some that still linger with him now, he can't helped but be eased by how relaxed the other guy seems, excited even. It makes Tidus pause for a second, but he has those boots to get, but the humour in his voice is hard to miss. ]

Do the rest of us gotta be worried about you? You're way too into it. [ Ah, here we go. Tidus takes the boots, walking over to one of the chairs by the vanity mirrors. ] You don't think this is going to be like the movies, do you? 'Cause seeing how missions usually go for us...

[ It might not be so fun as Roland's mood suggests! ]

Don't worry. It's part of the job. Get into the role. Embody the mindset.

[ This isn't quite the subterfuge he's already had to pull off - redemption required of it since Evan eventually saw through the ruse - but it's something he feels is in his wheelhouse. Though with talk of how missions go eventually, he loses a bit of the smile and looks away for a moment, lost in brief thought.

He comes back to things when Tidus is done with one boot, bent over for the second. ]

There's a saying that truth is stranger than fiction. Ever heard of it? Anyway, if it does end up being like the movies, then I think that's a good thing. At least we'll get to predict how it ends. [ He makes a clenched fist. Tidus will know it as he sees it; Roland's determination. ] Heh. It'll be okay. [ I'll be okay. ]

[ Then again, there are movies without such happy endings. Roland doesn't voice this out. ]

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What their Eyes See: Start

prep, dressing car

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