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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[ Xichen frowns slightly, but his voice continues to be soft and steady while firm and certain. ]

And what man are you, for her to do so?

[ He doesn't point out that he knows Wanyin's mother at least somewhat. Two or three years of a difference in age might not mean much, but it did mean that he was already on his way to taking on the responsibilities of a sect leader, and knew the leaders of the great sects, before disaster struck.

This is not the time for, well, logic. ]

A disappointment.

[ There's no doubt in his words as he says it, his expression tightening. Zidian is still cracking around his fingers, wanting to lash out as much as Jiang Cheng himself does, and his attention turns back to the image he had been fighting. It doesn't look like his mother any longer - and all that does is make his heart hurt.

She would truly hate him after all.

Bowing his head a little, he tries to find words. ]

She was never happy with my progress. I was never as good as others, and my mother hated that. My father never put me first, regarded me highest, and she hated that too. And all I wanted was...

[ Was to make her proud. Both of them proud. ]

Ah, Wanyin.

Your mother would talk of you as much as of maiden Jiang, when with others, too. And she would be merciless with anyone even breathing wrong about you. She would be protective and watchful, and if she wanted you to do better, if she compared you with others and scolded, it was because she knew you could do better. Cleverer. More decisive. More thorough.

You were just growing, and she wanted to see you come into your own faster.

If she could see the man you have become, I don't think she would be disappointed.

And though you may feel otherwise, others have not been disappointed in you, either. Not your disciples. Not your nephew. Not me.

[ There is absolute certainty in his words, the sweet, soft hardness of a smooth jade. Almost as he used to sound before he broke. ]

[ He shakes his head, almost immediately. ]

You're wrong. You have no idea what she really thought.

[ I don't think she would be disappointed.

How couldn't she be? Everything about Jiang Cheng was nothing like what his mother wanted for him. He was never the man to best Wei Wuxian. He was never the one strong enough, good enough, powerful enough. There's no way Madam Yu would look upon him with any kind of fondness.

His head lifts, though, slowly, his eyes widening as Xichen speaks. ]

... You're not disappointed in me?

Perhaps not what she thought, but I do know how she acted. She would stand up for you as the most precious person to her. Not a disappointment. Not an afterthought.

[ Xichen shakes his head slightly, eyes not turning away. ]

I am not. Never have been.

I wasn't her most precious person. You're foolish to believe that, not when she loved...

[ The whole world had known his mother had loved his father deeply and he had been less caring in return. Not indifferent, or cruel, but his affections had always been obvious. They'd never been lain at the feet of himself and his mother.

Stepping closer, eyes wide, he shakes his head. ]

That doesn't make sense! There's no reason to...

... ah, Wanyin. [ Gently. ] Think on it for a moment. Does your love for your sister make your nephew any less precious? The heart does not weigh and measure and choose so.

[ And when it comes to what was between Jiang Wanyin's parents... Well, Xichen is the last person to have a great idea on how loving parents should be, but he has seen Jiang Fengmian try to give his best to choose a gift for his lady. Despite the rumors and accusations, he has not seen any signs of Jiang Fengmian mourning still over a lost soulmate, but only over always failing to live up to the lady who shared his life...

But again, what does Xichen know? He had neither seen his parents in the same place, nor heard them mention one another. What does he know? What could he know?

He doesn't step or flinch away at the denial, instead raising an eyebrow. ]

No reason? Not even that I know both the weight of being young and finding yourself carrying the weight of a sect? Of needing to rebuild - and knowing you had lost more, and so suddenly, and yet you stood there, a pillar for your sister and your shixiong for as long as you could? Of seeing you rebuild, and giving rebirth to one of the great sects, restoring it from the ashes?

You have done more than anyone in our generation, Jiang Wanyin. Built more, and things that will last - most of it standing alone and weathering storms and fires. What would I be disappointed in?

That you are human? That you make mistakes? [ Xichen's turn to shake his head. ] You have chosen right more often than you have chosen wrong. As none of us can see the future, what more can be asked of us?

[ Jiang Cheng's first instinct is, without hesitation, the urge to shake his head - so he does, eyes almost painfully wide. It doesn't make sense for a man who measures himself against others and has done for practically his entire life, feeling burdened by things that are far beyond his reach, beyond anything that he can wrap his mind around.

Lan Xichen makes it sound so easy, so simple, a checklist of things that are just what he had to do. There was no merit to them when there was no other option, surely. ]

I didn't lose any more than anyone else. Everyone suffered in the Campaign, Lan Xichen! And a-Jie and Wei Wuxian lost the same as I did. [ And no one had criticised them, no one had scolded them, other than Wei Wuxian's typical rudeness. He was the one who was talked about, talked over, shouted at, cornered in conferences and political talks, feeling out of his depth with no one to help or guide him.

He was the one who had never been good enough. ]

Anyone could have rebuilt Lotus Pier, couldn't they? If Yanli had gone back people would have followed her. Jin Zixuan would have helped her. Why...

[ His eyes flicker over Lan Xichen's face, drinking him in, almost drowning in the words he's saying as if they're some kind of terrifying gift. ]

I was never allowed to make a mistake. What right do I have to claim them now?

[ Xichen breathes out softly, then raises his unhurt arm to place the hand over Wanyin's shoulder, gently. His expression is still... drawn and pale, but it's kind and certain both. ]

No, not everyone could have. Perhaps maiden Jiang, yes, but she did not have to, because you accomplished it.

[ ... as to the question... ]

Because whoever else might be disappointed in you because of them... however much you may be disappointed in yourself because of them, what I said holds true. I am not disappointed.

[ Ha... hahahaha ha ha... ha... For a moment, he glimpses da ge's expression from that day, now long, long weeks past when they talked in the garden car.

But then it gets drowned out by his guilt again, and he focuses on Wanyin, and the truths the younger sect leader needs to hear. ]

I wouldn't have ever asked a-Jie to do it. It wouldn't have been fair to her, to... To ask her to...

[ Yanli was hurting so much already and Jiang Cheng knows that he had to shoulder the burden. It is what he was supposed to do; he was the sect heir, after all. He'd thought he would have Wei Wuxian and Yanli at his side the whole time, but...

Fate was very cruel to him.

Lifting his head he looks at Xichen almost awkwardly, feeling desperate. His hand shakes as he grips at his hand gently, almost realising that there's a wound there that doesn't make sense. ]

You're not. I... Of all people, you...

[ Xichen swallows again at the touch which makes him want to gasp and groan in the aftermath of Zidian, but he is needed, so he pushes the pain down. Familiar, that. ]

It is this kind of kindness, taking up the burdens of those you care about, carrying them and succeeding... the humility to think others would succeed as well where you did - they would not.

But these things...

I know I have no kinship with which to claim such a thing, yet I will say it all the same. I am proud of you, Jiang Wanyin.

[ I am proud of you - when was the last time he heard those sorts of words?

He can't remember a time where his father said it, where his mother said it. Perhaps a-Jie, perhaps Wei Wuxian, but he had never trusted their words, words meant to soothe and take care of him rather than be honest and real. The idea of someone as great, strong and genuinely as Lan Xichen being proud of him, of the First Jade, one of the strongest cultivators, offering him pride...

It makes him shake, just a little, dropping down to his knees, grip falling away. ]

You... I don't think anyone has ever... Lan Xichen...

[ Xichen rests a hand on top of Wanyin's head, a blessing that he feels so ill-qualified to give but yet wants to, anyway, and looks around to the managers of the fight, to finally not them that it is all right.

Then he bends down to wrap an arm around Wanyin's shoulders. ]

Then I should have told you sooner.

Come, let us leave this place for now.

[ The touch to his head anchors him and, for a moment, he feels as though he can breathe again. Blinking, he looks up at Xichen, not sure what else to do.

The arm is a comfort. The touch is guiding. Finally, Jiang Cheng nods. ]

... Fine. Let's go.

Good.

[ ... they are getting out of there fast, and Xichen is taking him somewhere quiet and out of the way. ]

May I take your pulse?

[ Illusions shouldn't be harmful and probably haven't caused damage, but... who knows. ]

Whatever. You can do whatever you want.

[ He doesn't have the energy to fight back against Xichen, not really, and lets himself be moved. ]

I don't care.

[ Xichen lowers his eyes for a moment, barely avoiding a proper frown, and focuses on the taking of said pulse.

Then he asks, quietly, ] I do not believe this is true. If such an illusion came after your nephew, you will want to know how to help him.

[ What happened happened. They have a lot to learn to save the people in this world. It is how missions go. ]

[ All Jiang Cheng can do is stare at his wrist, a touch on edge and feeling something sharp burning inside of him.

Bringing up his nephew is cruel, but what else should he expect from Xichen? There's a kindness under it, burning under the surface, and he knows that the other man is trying to take care of him. What else should he be expecting?

Shaking his head, he takes a long, slow, deep breath. ]

A-Ling isn't down here. I wouldn't allow it.

Of course not. Yet, as on the missions before, the different assignments have ended up connected - are you sure he will not run into something akin to it?

[ Xichen gently wraps his hands around Wanyin's, transferring a little more spiritual energy. ]

None of us can afford to not care.

Do you think I won't protect him?

[ He almost pulls his hand away, but he doesn't quite have the strength, shivering a little. ]

I'd give my life for him. You know that.

[ Xichen's expression softens. ]

I do know that. And you will protect him. Not by wasting your life, but by making sure each part of what is happening is known, so we know where exactly the danger lies.

[ That makes Jiang Cheng scoff, but at least it's a touch more gentle now. ]

You make it sound all very simple, Lan Xichen.

Sometimes it is fairly simple. Not necessarily easy, however.

[ Yes, he knows, and he also said sometimes. Complicating things beyond reason is not his way, anyway. ]

[ He's about to roll his eyes, to make another comment, but he's suddenly hit with a realisation, something that makes his eyes widen and his throat go a little awkwardly tight. ]

Lan Xichen - Zewu-jun, you -

[ He holds out his hand. ]

Give me your arm.

[ ...aah? ]

... of course.

[ He offers his arm without hesitation, though with a hint of confusion. But only a hint. ]

Are you hurting?

What their Eyes See: Start

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