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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Caleb isn't the only one who's swept by these illusions. But Ansem, at least, has more-or-less stabilized; it 'helps' that there's only so many he recognizes in the first place. Only so many have an effect on him beyond bewilderment and that nagging sense of familiarity, of something he should remember- but when the scene changes and he's abruptly watching a fire burn...

There is nothing to stop him from noticing the man on his knees before it, as well.

"Caleb...?" Yes, it is- and apparently, lost to the magic. "Caleb!"

Ansem is swift to move over, kneeling besides the man and reaching for his shoulder.

There's no response. Wherever he is mentally, it's not here. In his head he's back there, only this time he can hear them in his mind, begging and screaming and asking him why, why, why, why he would do this? It's paralyzing, his breath shallow and his shaking only increasing. He doesn't know. He doesn't know, he should have known better than to trust that man, he should have tried to find another way, he should have at least made it quick -

He tries to sob, but he doesn't even have tears left. All that comes out is a choked gasp of air. Ansem won't be able to hear the screams, but the smells from the home and the sound of the fire are just as clear.

This is more than being lost to the magic- this is being lost to his own mind. Ansem grips those shoulders tightly, shaking him just a bit. "Caleb- it's me, Ansem. Whatever you're seeing, it isn't real-!"

He has to bring him out someway - but how? Ansem tightens his jaw, mind racing. Magic to counter magic-

Without realizing it, his hands are already glittering with a spell being cast more out of reflex than true intent.

Esuna

It's less the spell itself and more the feeling of magic drifting over him that snaps him out of it. His breath is still harsh but it's at least breathing. He looks up at Ansem and then back at the fire, blinking slowly as tears cloud his vision.

"I... I did this." The voices aren't there anymore, but the sounds and smells and sight are still there. His voice is rough and quiet, his head bowed as tears hit the dirt. "This is my fault."

Ansem is not familiar with Caleb's history; he hasn't asked. Certainly not something as private as this. He is, however, familiar with guilt. It is plainly written in every inch of the other man. And so while perhaps he has caused some atrocity...

"Be that as it may," he murmurs, neither confirming, denying, nor assuaging that guilt - nor forcing Caleb to look at him, merely speaking in an even, steadying tone, "what you see here is an illusion. Would you let it keep you, my friend?"

He stands up, his body posture still slumped in shame. This is his fault. Even if he changed things, he'd still have this indelible stain on his soul.

Another few breaths. He can do this. It's not the real thing. It's an illusion, nothing more. "No. We need to keep moving. It's... we have to complete our mission."

There is still a hand on his shoulder. Steadying him, keeping him grounded until Ansem is further convinced that he is back. After those few breaths, he makes an 'mmm' sound, and squeezes once more before letting go.

"I will not press. I will only say that you are not the only one who has done...regrettable things."

That is sure a tone in his voice. He may not understand your pain, not exactly, Caleb, but he bears his own burden, it seems.

“... At least we have conscience enough to regret them.” He drags his thoughts away from the fire and tries to remember where they were going - ah. Through the fire. He’s not sure if he can -

“Ah, let’s... find an alternate route, shall we?” He needs to get away from this.

"And to attempt atonement." A gentle reminder that there is more to do than just regretting- but, again, he does not know Caleb's past. And as he said, he will not press - only imply there is still a path forwards. "Let us go," he agrees, turning and walking- not directly away from the flames, but a glance down at his map, and, "-I don't believe this path has been mapped properly, if you'd care to join me?"

The next few rooms seem harmless enough- at least until they arrive in a darker room, lit only by computer screens. Ansem frowns, briefly, at the sight of them.

He nods and follows Ansem, keeping a mental map of where they're moving through. The rooms may seem unremarkable for Ansem, but Caleb keeps wanting to stop and examine everything. He keeps his curiosity in check, though - at least until they arrive at a room that Ansem seems to know.

Caleb turns to his companion, head tilted slightly. "Are you familiar with these things?"

"...not as much as I feel I should be. It's some sort of computer system, certainly, but- the style is different than the others." Which leads him to believe it is an illusion of a memory. And since, from what he has gathered of Caleb's world, there are no such things - that leaves only one source.

He approaches slowly, wary for some sort of trap.

"Not as much as you feel like you should be... memory loss?" It's not unheard of - he has over a decade of largely fuzzy memories. He creeps forward, taking a breath before holding out a hand and muttering something.

There's a pulse of magic, rippling out around them, but... nothing. Not even a pushback of an effect being too strong. "Well, it's not arcane in nature." It was worth a try.

"Mm." A pause. "I have spent a long period of time in a place without time. Enough that much of what should be clear - isn't. While Even has helped me reclaim some of it, most is still shrouded from the darkness." The same darkness he mentioned as a force? More metaphorical? It isn't clear.

But after a moment, he seats himself at the terminal. "Well," he says wryly, "the illusions are at least solid. I wonder what magic is behind them?"

"... I see." He can understand that, to a degree. He walks over and puts a hand to one of the glowing panels on the wall, frowning. "It feels like one of the ICP screens..." He looks at the main panel Ansem is in front of. "Are you able to access anything on it?"

"There appears to be some sort of password required...but nothing comes to mind as to what it could be."

Only that he should know it, which is frustrating. He's growing rather tired of that sensation.

"...we shouldn't linger here. This adds nothing to our mission." And yet, he's not getting to his feet.

"... But you are trying to remember." Also, this room is fascinating. "... What are these called, ah... screens? But they don't look like the ones on the train..."

"I am. In them is more detail in my own burdens - it would not do to forget those, as much as some may argue otherwise." How else will he atone? "And I believe these are computer screens, yes. Give me a moment..."

There's a brief conversation through his device, where he then tries the code- and the screens immediately light up with data. His eyes widen in surprise.

"It worked!"

Edited 2021-05-11 19:29 (UTC)

He waits patiently as he speaks to someone on the other end of the device - he really should call Beauregard - and nods as he types.

"What information is on it?" He has even less context for it than Ansem, and maybe explaining it will help the man?

Fingers move across the keyboard with uneasy familiarity as Ansem tries to understand what he's looking at. "It appears to be- some sort of simulati-"

He's cut off by the sudden appearance of a a beam of light off to the side, and he looks at it in surprise before his eyes widen further. And those fingers on the keyboard?

Are now shaking imperceptibly.

He knows this.

He's not entirely sure where Ansem is going with this, but the beam of light makes him jump, flame appearing in his hand before he calms down a little bit. He turns to ask Ansem about it, but... oh.

He extinguishes the fire and puts a careful hand on the other man's shoulder.

"... Did you remember something?"

He knows this, but not enough of this, he remembers sitting here with a hooded figure- Ansem- and talking about the fate of a boy, the boy he hurt, he-

"...yes, I..."

-he glances back towards Caleb, then turns in his chair to face the computers again. This time, his fingers fly, and the screens scroll in response. The man is almost frantic, now, pouring over the data, trying to remember more - but it's as if he's reading the reports of a stranger. Nonetheless, it's with a sinking feeling in his gut that he's realizing that it doesn't matter if he remembers or not.

"...I ruined lives, with this."

The fact remains; it is what it is.

He looks over at the information, but none of it makes sense and it's private, so he glances away.

Once Ansem pauses, he takes a deep breath. "... The fire you saw... I set it. While my parents were inside. And I killed many other people without questioning whether it was right to do so, orders or no orders. You are not the only one who has ruined lives."

Caleb's words are faint, but eventually sink in. For what seems like minutes, hours, there is silence- then a soft, bitter laugh as Ansem finally rises to his feet.

"This one...was a mere boy. Roxas- yes, that was his name. I seem to have considered him...less than a person. A Nobody."

And now...now a deep breath.

"Guilt does not spare us from judgement." A beat. "But neither does it spare us from the task of atonement. Perhaps we shall find it, one day."

And until that day comes...even if it never does...they must still try.

Caleb laughs a little, somewhat brokenly, before gently putting his hands on Ansem's shoulders and turning the man to face him.

"... I find history repeating itself, so I will tell you something I have told a very good... f-friend." It's more complicated than that, but now's not the time for that discussion. "You were not born with venom in your veins. Maybe you and I are both damned, but we can choose to do something and leave it better than it was before."

He lets his hands fall and takes a deep breath. "We are... we have our pasts. They are etched into our being, no matter what we do. But the future is not yet set. We can right wrongs. We can help people. We will likely never be able to fully atone or what we did... but we can spare others from pain."

Ansem doesn't resist, though he does furrow his brow as he looks at Caleb. There's not much height difference between them; they're both tall, so there's no looking down at all - metaphorical or physical.

At the words, though, he tilts his head, a soft smile coming over to his face. There certainly seems to be some sort of impact, for the regret in his voice has eased. "You have a kind heart, Caleb, and a wise mind. A pity we didn't know each other before."

A beat, as if something's occurred to him.

"I should introduce you to Even. You two would get along, I feel."

What their Eyes See: Start

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