voidtreckermods: (train)
VoidTrecker Express Mods ([personal profile] voidtreckermods) wrote in [community profile] middleofsomewhere2021-05-09 06:48 am

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.
lanxichen: (Faceline)

[personal profile] lanxichen 2021-06-04 11:43 am (UTC)(link)
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. ]
fennu: (021)

[personal profile] fennu 2021-06-04 12:18 pm (UTC)(link)
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.
lanxichen: (Frown)

[personal profile] lanxichen 2021-06-04 04:02 pm (UTC)(link)
[ 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. ]
fennu: (084)

[personal profile] fennu 2021-06-04 04:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[ 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.
lanxichen: (Faceline)

[personal profile] lanxichen 2021-06-06 06:26 pm (UTC)(link)
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.
fennu: (112)

[personal profile] fennu 2021-06-06 06:42 pm (UTC)(link)
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.
lanxichen: (Soft look)

[personal profile] lanxichen 2021-06-28 02:09 pm (UTC)(link)
[ 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.
fennu: (pic#14234627)

[personal profile] fennu 2021-06-28 09:06 pm (UTC)(link)
[ That makes Jiang Cheng scoff, but at least it's a touch more gentle now. ]

You make it sound all very simple, Lan Xichen.
lanxichen: (Sad look)

[personal profile] lanxichen 2021-07-02 01:24 pm (UTC)(link)
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. ]
fennu: (c431)

[personal profile] fennu 2021-07-02 03:51 pm (UTC)(link)
[ 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.
lanxichen: (Surprised)

[personal profile] lanxichen 2021-07-02 06:08 pm (UTC)(link)
[ ...aah? ]

... of course.

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

Are you hurting?
fennu: (Default)

[personal profile] fennu 2021-07-02 06:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Tsk, I'm not the one hurt, really, am I?

[ It comes out a little scolding, like he's talking to a-Ling over another Sect Leader. ]

Zidian...
lanxichen: (Faceline)

[personal profile] lanxichen 2021-07-02 06:58 pm (UTC)(link)
... ah...

[ ... and he offers the other arm because he was really not thinking about that. And it wouldn't make sense to offer that arm for support. Don't ask him why he decided Jiang Wanyin would ask for support. ]

It will mend.
fennu: (004)

[personal profile] fennu 2021-07-02 07:04 pm (UTC)(link)
It shouldn't have happened in the first place. It was stupid of you to let it near you.

[ He knows how Zidian feels when it hurts. It's different from the warmth of warm electricity on his skin, the familiarity of home above all else. Reaching out, he takes the proper arm and pushes up the sleeve to look, wincing a little. ]

Let me take care of it.
lanxichen: (Soft look)

[personal profile] lanxichen 2021-07-02 07:10 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Xichen's eyes widen, soften, and he nods, accepting it, though for a moment his throat is too tight to speak. Then he breathes in deeply.

(This hurt, but compared to how much his heart and soul hurt all the time, it is barely registering...)
]

I needed to get closer to you, and if I fought you, it would have all become more difficult. It was... more expedient to let it happen. I am who I am... and durable is among the things that I am.

[ Xichen does not in any way suggest that it was Wanyin who shouldn't have lashed out. Because he doesn't think that way at all. ]
fennu: (046)

[personal profile] fennu 2021-07-02 07:16 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Healing has never been Jiang Cheng's particular forte, but he knows enough to deal with this at least. He knows enough to keep himself alive in the midst of a terrible, awkward situation in a temple, so he can do.

His fingers hesitate, not daring to touch, guilt and shame twisting his face into something he's not entirely sure he's ready to manage. ]


You think just because you're Zewu-jun you can get in front of Zidian? You know how dangerous it is, how painful it. You must have been taught about it in your world.

[ He scoffs. ]

You should have just let me get beaten.
lanxichen: (Consider)

[personal profile] lanxichen 2021-07-02 07:27 pm (UTC)(link)
...and I have some idea of how painful and dangerous getting beaten is. It is not a cultivator's life to avoid pain or danger, either, is it? It is ours, yours and mine and all of ours, to put ourselves before others who are in threat of pain. You were in danger, why would I choose other than what I did?

[ Xichen's words are quiet, but also not really... accepting argument. ]

Besides...

You were not yourself as you are. That was the most dangerous of it all, far more so than Zidian. It is what I needed to address.
fennu: (047)

[personal profile] fennu 2021-07-02 07:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Because it was the better option. Because I -

[ 'I'm not worth it' is the obvious, easy answer to that, and Jiang Cheng has to almost literally bite his tongue before he gets himself into a far, far deeper hole than he's already in.

Slowly, he begins to try and heal as best he can. ]


Either way, don't do it again. Ever.
lanxichen: (Consider)

[personal profile] lanxichen 2021-07-02 08:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Xichen lets a soft breath out, and a bit of color returns to his lips. He can handle the hurt, honestly, but that doesn't mean that the healing doesn't help. Nor that it's not appreciated.

Though he watches Wanyin for a moment.
]

You know that I cannot promise that. Not with how the places the train takes us to are.
fennu: (016)

[personal profile] fennu 2021-07-02 09:01 pm (UTC)(link)
[ There are some things he can't take back, obviously, but... Seeing the marks on Xichen's skin makes him hideously uncomfortable.

It makes him think of his youth, of his mother, and his lips purse. ]


I'm not asking you to promise. I'm telling you.
lanxichen: (Soft look)

[personal profile] lanxichen 2021-07-03 04:34 am (UTC)(link)
[ Xichen's eyebrows go up towards his ribbon...

... and, just for a moment, his lips twitch a very little bit up.
]

... of course.
fennu: (c2772)

[personal profile] fennu 2021-07-03 06:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[ And, of course, Jiang Cheng immediately scowls, face twisting. ]

I'm serious.
lanxichen: (Faceline)

[personal profile] lanxichen 2021-07-03 08:24 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Hush now, this is the closest Xichen has come to a smile in close to a year, appreciate it... fleeting as it is. ]

Of course. So am I.
fennu: (cql20058)

[personal profile] fennu 2021-07-03 08:31 pm (UTC)(link)
You -

[ He cuts himself off, rolling his eyes before he lets his fingers run over the burn mark again. ]

Please. Be more careful, especially around me when I am... Like that. I know I need to be better, but -

[ It's hard to put it all into words, and his stomach feels twisted up in knots. ]