Fissures of Time: Ongoing

[voidtreckermods]

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FISSURES OF TIME: ONGOING

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... POI 10-12

FOR SOME, THE MISSION HAS BEEN MORE MENTALLY EXHAUSTING THAN PHYSICALLY. Distortions sprout around the domain without rhyme or reason, and the camps must be moved every new day to meet them, as well as stopping a distortion from deciding to form under them from their presence.

While there's bare-bones vegetation, at least they have their own resources to help one another, as well as what can be retrieved from the Ministry base during return trips to take misplaced civilians to safety. It's straight-forward so far...

...but that wouldn't be standard for the Voidtreckers, and some in their ranks don't want straight-forward. Starting during the early hours of Poi 10, there will be occasional rumblings throughout the land. They last for a few seconds and then stop, seemingly for hours; but then they return, and as the days go on, so do the tremors increase.

It seems the distortions too have become affected...

THE UNQUIET CITY. (CW: People unable to die/rising from the dead, body horror)

A city of rubble and ruin stretches far out around them, where once there were hills and vegetation. Much of the rubble is still smoking as fires smoulder. The fighting isn't over, heard before it's seen.

It must be connected to the same skirmishes seen in other distortions, and so most of you are prepared to meet warriors on foot and mount. But what awaits isn't only the horror of bloodshed. No: the reason that the fighting still continues even as the city lies in ruin is because fighters fall and rise again, as if death were nothing but a short rest.

Puncture marks litter skin and armour, holes from weaponry and blessed-magic visible in torsos, even the spaces of where portions of one's skull and brain should be.

Yet they cannot stop fighting. They cannot fall to the ground, rest. Whatever drove them to fight this war still inspires them to continue, screaming as much in pain as in some sort of twisted ecstasy. Perhaps they are too shocked to do anything else. A city locked in eternal war, distorted in time, doomed to repeat itself.

It's hard to set the equalisers here. Not much is stable and fights are likely to break out wherever there are people. The people of this city have their factions, but they will not hesitate to band together to fight intruders.

EYE OF THE STORM. They might feel this distortion before they enter it. A spine-chilling thrill, the feeling one might get at the edge of a storm.

—For a storm it is. The moment they enter it their vision will be obstructed, winds howl around them and rain lashes down furiously making a swamp of the ground below them. It's freezing cold and as they walk they will feel something in the storm. Almost as if there are icy hands, reaching out to grab at them, to pull them further into the worst of the weather.

It's hard to know where to place the equalisers, hard to see where the edges of this distortion are. Easier, not by much, to move further in, to find the epicentre and try and take it down from there.

It's a treacherous journey, but the centre truly is calm, water frozen like crystals. Yet temperatures are dangerously low, so it's in everyone's best interests to set the equalisers quick and get out.

MEAN AND GREEN. As the rumbling continues, there comes a strange and worrying distortion. Worrying, as this distortion can be seen from the outside. A hazy blur that seems to move across the countryside, along the left side of the camp you're stationed at. It gets dangerously close at times, and when it does...

Green tendrils of plant life burst out, entangling people to pull them into the distortion. Or chains of flowers spread from the distortion out across the countryside. Beautiful and colourful in the otherwise sparse environment, but those flowers work as anchors, spreading the distortion, expanding it.

To get rid of it they will need to enter, and inside is a thick jungle of vines and bright colourful flowers awaiting them. The foliage is thick and the air musky and sweet. It's easy to get separated, and getting lost is only a matter of getting turned around. The leaves are sticky and vines move seemingly on their own, curling around unsuspecting limbs, trying to trap people in this colourful paradise forever.

And up in the sky above, a woman's laughter can be heard, the heat of the sun bearing down that becomes uncomfortable quick. But don't look up - you may find a large yellow eye - yellow iris, yellow pupil, golden yellow everything - peering back at you, and find yourself being pulled in by the very ground itself by a powerful force.

NO SANCTUARY. Protecting the camps hasn't been difficult, despite it being a Purple task. Other than rowdy refugees breaking out into fights, little else has appeared to disturb them.

'Eiiiiliiifii.... Siiiiliiifiii...
Merios? Herios?
Don't hide... don't hide...

Everything will be so perfect soon...'

People are woken abruptly in the early hours of Poi 11. If by some special sense, or by a grab at their throat, by a body falling on top of where they sleep, someone else stopping the refugee who was about to take a knife to them.

The refugees have become uncontrollable, raving about wanting 'their Gods back'. The ground rumbles as the woman's voice from the hazy jungle - ethereal, so divine - speaks from below. Grass rises and the sky above burns with a brightness like an approaching sun.

Setting an equaliser will calm the refugees, but only those in the camps. Starting from lunchtime, more warriors and civilians will be found appearing from the distance and from thin air, seemingly knowing where to find the Voidtreckers' camps - and after some very specific people.

Those with divinity, control over weather, nature, and death will be especially targeted, along with anyone who received blessings from the Gods.

OOC NOTES

OOC post. Ask questions here. Let us know about shenanigans here. NPC requests here, set up a thread here. Rewards go here.

TL;DR: Starting on Poi 10, there will be odd tremors around the domain, and more aggressive time distortions. From Poi 11 refugees will lose control of themselves and start attacking Voidtreckers, in and out of the camp.

It will happen abruptly to begin with, but some keen to reading energy will find that it is shifting; like something is breaking in from somewhere else (similar to the time distortions).

Extra equalisers can be picked up from the Ministry base and they will be there to help, but there are also more distortions happening around the domain, so they'll be dealing with those. The Ministry will advise that any non-combatants should stick to the base, and even use the scouting drones to help from afar, if they really need to help.

Undead warriors can be found outside of time distortions, and not all of the people outside of distortions will be 'permanent' people. Equalisers can be kept going for a few hours to keep these people away, but will also need go into recharge/cooling mode.

Don't worry if you're still busy with the Starting log! Or if you've been meaning to tag, jump in here!

Comments

[longforgottenpromise]

Camp Life

Using machines to erase people out of existence because they shouldn't exist at all might lie in a moral grey area but those areas were a quagmire for a kirin. It didn't feel right, to end life even if that life was just an echo of the past, or the future. Time distortions or not...

This mission does not sit easy with him now he fully understands it. Still it is never his way to judge. He is a kirin but he knows that others do not see the world the way he does.

He hasn't gone into any of the distortions. Instead focused on the camps and helping those who they did manage to save. He can be found making food or distributing blankets or even maintaining a fire.

"Do you need any help?"

He is determined to be useful.

Mean and Grean

Of course avoiding distortions means little when the distortions break free. He is currently trying to move as much equipment away from tendrils of vines that have encroached on the camp.

"Be careful, they are dragging people in." He warns anyone nearby who gets too close.

He's trying to move as much as he can, but he has no idea how much further into camp these vines will reach.

No Sanctuary.

He is woken by a weight on him and when he opens his eyes it is to the angry eyes of one of the people he had helped the day before. Angry eyes and a knife at his throat.

The camp smells of blood, it washes over him and Taiki freezes. He can do nothing but lie still, staring at that knife as the noise of fighting reaches his ears.

He does not fight. He cannot fight. It is against his very nature. He could no more raise a hand against this refugee than an earth mammal could sprout wings and fly. "I don't know what you want. But you don't need to threaten me. If you need help... I can..."

He falls silent as the knife pressed against his throat, a bead of blood welling up.

No Sanctuary

[crouching_sin]

The tip of a blade emerges from the torso of the attacker, who looks down at it in surprise. His grip slackens as Naoya pulls the man away from Taiki, retracting the demon dagger and shoving the attacker to the ground.

"Are you unhurt?" His voice is calm - he's glad he remembered to charge his COMP before sleeping last night.

[longforgottenpromise]

For a moment there was just him and his attacker, the tip of the dagger at his throat and their eyes locked together. The smell of blood overwhelmed his senses but he tried to fight past him, to find words again. He wished to resolve this, to talk him down and find out what was behind this attack.

It's a moment that seems to last for many heart beats, but that is perhaps because Taiki's heart is racing so fast.

Then it speeds up. Everything happens far too fast. The smell of blood intensifies as a blade plunges through his attackers torse.

"No!" He gasps, a strangled cry as he watched in horror as the refugee was pulled away from him, his eyes not leaving him until he hit the ground.

Then his eyes moved, dragging up to his rescuer. Naoya. He doesn't answer the question, his eyes practically rolling back in his head as waves of dizziness wash over him.

[crouching_sin]

He looks at Taiki and then at the attacker, snatching the man's dagger and throwing it to the ground. He wipes the blood off of the demonic blade and sheathes it, going over to Taiki.

The poor kid... he seems so gentle. "Just breathe. You're safe here now. I won't let them harm you." Someone so innocent... he doesn't deserve to be in the middle of chaos like this.

[longforgottenpromise]

He just stares in horror as Naoya moved, his eyes still fixated on the man, on the blood, the weapon, Naoya wiping blood off the weapon.

He's seen blood before, far too much of it. He's seen death before, more than a kirin ever should. He's caused death before but he's not thinking about that because he's already clinging on to calmness by a thread.

Naoya is speaking, telling him to breathe. He does, taking a deep breath and instantly regretting it as he is overpowered by the smell of blood.

He reached out, even if Naoya had just killed he is still someone he knows, someone safe. It takes a lot to move at all, his hand where it touches Naoya is burning hot.

[nobodys_puppet]

No sanctuary

She had seen someone going after Taiki and then we weapon against him... there was no stopping to think, no hesitation. She charged at the attacker, a bright light surrounding her Keyblade like an aura. She slashed several tomes, knocking the foe away from Taiki and then she continued to pummel her target until the refugee fell. She stopped then, not finishing for a kill or anything. Just making sure Taiki was no longer in danger. Then she turned back to Taiki and cast Curaga, lifting her KEyblade over her head as she shouted the name of the spell bathing Taiki in way more than healing magic than was really needed. She then moved the Keyblade to one gloved hand, offering the other one to him.

And he would have gotten her emotions through all that of course, panic when she saw him in danger, fierce protectiveness, fury, fear but... all of that drained away when the foe was down, and once Taiki was healed, relief.

No pride though. Nothing positive except being glad he was okay.

[longforgottenpromise]

"Xion!" She rushed in from the side and he yelled her name, trying to stop her. It was too late of course, she attacked and knocked the man away, beating him down as Taiki watched on in horror.

She would feel that, the abject horror of what was happening flooding through the bond to her. She attacks and he feels sick with terror. The smell of blood is stronger and he lies stock still, dizziness running over him and tears pouring from his eyes even as she casts her healing spell on him.

He doesn't speak. He can't speak. Not right now. Not when he can't trust what will come from his mouth.

[nobodys_puppet]

Horror. Terror. She was used to those. She didn't realize they were from him - because she still wasn't clear on that part of the concept, so she put both her hands on her Keyblade, standing close, defending, tense, waiting for the attack she was sure was coming.

[longforgottenpromise]

Were there more assailants? He can feel her watchfulness and he doesn't want to cause any trouble so he lies there silent, trying to stop the tears from escaping.

He makes himself small, lying there in horror. He doesn't want her to fight again, but this is Xion... He can barely help her understand things in the best times never mind right now.

Mean and Green

[blitzcheer]

"Another one?!"

Guess who's shown up at camp - rushing over to where Taiki is, and then dancing back on his feet as a vine, closer to a tree root, slaps the air to reach him. He kicks the ground instinctively in its direction, but that's not enough to do the job.

"S'anyone gone to deal with the distortion?"

Re: Mean and Green

[longforgottenpromise]

"Tidus!" He's glad to see him, as he dodges out of the way of another vine. "I think so... There were some people before... Some people got dragged in though..."

And probably were not in a position to deal with it.

"Do... Do you have one of the equalisers?"

He might have not really left the camp this mission but he's paying attention, he knows how to neutralise these threats.

[blitzcheer]

Oh, the equalisers-! "Yeah! But are they gonna work if the problem's coming from inside the other place?"

But if Taiki's willing to give it a shot, then Tidus is. He might have an idea of how to work those thingy-majiggies by now!

[longforgottenpromise]

"Maybe... I don't know..."

He frowned. "Do... Do you think we need to go in there?"

He peers into the greenness. It seemed to be spreading, so whatever they were going to do they had to do it fast.

camp life

[flatteries]

Honestly, Inigo is tempted to stay away from Taiki for the mission. And he knows that it's not the best idea, since his mental health is already going entirely down the drain. He knows that he's only hanging in there because he's working off sheer determination and a two-day goddess blessing. He's running entirely on fumes, and having the company of one of his best friends might help.

But he can't. He's fighting too much, and he doesn't want to be around Taiki when he's fighting.

Thankfully it has been relatively easy to avoid the other with how hard Inigo has been working anyway. It minimalizes his time actually in camp, where he knows Taiki must be helping out.

It's only inevitable though that they run into each other at some point - and apparently this is it. Inigo mostly still has the same serious expression on his face when he runs into Taiki as he's been carrying with him all this time, but something about it turns a little awkward around the edges. (Shameful, actually.)

"I was just getting some food," he manages to force out.

Re: camp life

[longforgottenpromise]

Taiki likewise has missed his friends, but he doesn't want to cause extra trouble for them. He doesn't want them to worry about him getting sick around them, he doesn't want them to have to be cautious and careful for his sake.

So even though he misses Inigo, he doesn't seek the other out. Being so busy helps, he might not be out there in distortions but there is plenty of work to be doing around the camp.

He is very glad to see him, though his heart fills with worry when he sees that look on his face. He moves closer, to hug him, not caring if it makes him feel sick. Inigo is clearly having a rough time and Taiki has been a terrible friend.

"I made soup." He tells him without breaking the hug. "If you don't mind just vegetables..."

[flatteries]

"Ah.."

He's of half a mind to tell Taiki to please not hug him right now. Not even for Inigo's own sake - though his state of mind certainly is fragile enough that it feels like it could snap at just getting hugged a little bit too much here. It's just for Taiki's own sake, because Inigo is sure he must smell and feel absolutely awful to the other right now. He's stepped in a few too many times to do the hard killing work when he wanted to spare others from it, after all.

On the other hand, he's pretty sure he'll just make Taiki emotionally feel worse if he'd tell the other to back off. It's a lose-lose situation, isn't it.

"No, I.. I'll gladly have some soup," he says. Trying to pretend like this is normal. Like he isn't worrying about at least seventeen things at the same time right now. "Just show me where it is."

Maybe that will let Taiki let go without Inigo having to be blunt about it?

[longforgottenpromise]

He does smell terribly of blood but that has never stopped Taiki hugging someone when he really wanted to. He had missed Inigo and Inigo is his friend. He is worth getting sick for.

Also he would never want Inigo to think he doesn't want to be near him. Not when he knows how hard Ingio would take such a thing. Also when he knows how hard Inigo must be working during this mission.

But he does let go to lead the way to soup, staying close as he led Inigo through camp to the small tent where he was staying.

"Here... I can build up the fire. Please sit down."

again for the lack of sanctuary

[jingyeets]

Jingyi, for his part, has been raised for violence, within violence, and very aware of when not to use violence. It doesn't preclude the use, but instructs wisdom in it, but the problem that's arisen in camp is one that couldn't precisely be prevented. It wasn't an infiltration, it was a whisper, a shift, and then the movement of the refugees to do... what?

He's moving far before he answers that question, intent to disarm, to disable, not to kill. Using wind, and speed, and his sword; and it's his sword that comes down, slid at an exact angle, tapping the blade at Taiki's neck away in the moment where he wraps his arm around the assailant and pulls them up, off, away. He's strong enough for this, and then he's tossing his sword aside to wrestle with the person trying to stab him, the refugee shouting, angry, desperate.

Re: again for the lack of sanctuary

[longforgottenpromise]

For a terrible moment he was frozen, staring at his attacker who stared back at him, no mercy in his eyes. But then there was a sword, pushing the blade away and then there was Jingyi, wrestling the person, pulling him away.

Taiki scrambled up to a sitting postion, basically curling into himself as he stared fearfully across. Worry flooded him, worry for Jingyi, worry for the refugee, confusion about everything that was happening.

"Stop!"

He's not sure who he's talking to. But neither of them should be fighting. Why had the man attacked him?

[jingyeets]

Regardless of his intended person to speak with, neither of the men involved stop. Jingyi because he's seeking to incapacitate, the man because he's been flooded by compulsion.

Or if not, that's what Jingyi has told himself in order to be functional, because this comes too close to possession, and possession will send him screaming if he lets himself see and understand it as such. If it brushes too close.

Then he's straddling the refugee's back, the man's arms caught and pulled behind him, Jingyi braced so the wild bucking doesn't dislodge him. Knife now to the side, knocked further with a sweep of Jingyi's tail.

"Taiki, report."

Jingyi's thinking tying this man up might be the best way, or wait, no, there's a talisman, one that works if it's just a person here, and wait, something else: one hand holds both the struggling man's wrists, and Jingyi forms a seal with his other, plunging them abruptly into silence as the sound is suffocated in the man's mouth beneath him.

Outside, within the camp, there are shouts, and screams, and callings, and none of it restive.

[longforgottenpromise]

Neither stops. He is ignored which he had expected. There comes a point in any situation where a kirin is ignored. Where the world as they wish it to be conflicts with reality and that is why kirin do not rule, why they only advise, why when it comes down to it their kings can order them to do what is necessary even if it breaks their hearts.

They scuffle and Taiki pressed himself up against the wall, still watching with horror. Jingyi spoke and it broke Taiki out of his horror for a moment. Report. He could do that. "He just attacked out of nowhere... I don't know what he wanted, why he..."

It was senseless, no reason for the violence at all. "He cut my neck, I... don't think it's deep."

He can still talk, honestly it barely stings. If he were a human it wouldn't even be a wound worth mentioning.

But he's not and he's fighting blood sickness with every breath.

( for inigo and taiki; poi 11 )

[blitzcheer]

'Taiki had to go back to the train. He's waiting for us.'

There's no question - and there would be a fight if there was - about the pair of them going. Only that they can't delay, and Tidus makes sure there's nothing that neither of them have to do before letting their SCAs deposit them into the luggage car. If they shower together or separately (to share time, no other reason), it's one of the few stops Tidus will make to prepare.

This is the last thing Taiki needs, is them skimping on cleaning, and he can't help but worry. A guy like him - was it worse than the smell of blood, someone attacking you? How did that make him feel? Not that getting attacked in the first place doesn't majorly suck.

Inigo doesn't need to ask for a hand, once they're making their way to Taiki's room. Tidus takes it first, held tight, and he knocks a few times, loud and quick. Wishing he didn't have to make Taiki drag himself out of bed, but-

"Taiki! It's us!"

It'll be the only way for them to get in. To see Taiki on the other side.

[flatteries]

Honestly, it's still a little hard for Inigo to leave everything behind. Even though he knows that this is the right thing to do in the end, even though he knows Taiki needs them, so they have to be there.. There's still a pit of guilt in his stomach at leaving all the fighting and cleaning up of the mess in the camps and the distortions to everyone else right now.

No matter how much this mission has basically drained Inigo's everything - especially two breakdowns and a near-death experience later.

But he's still come along without complaints. Showered without complaints. Made his way over to Taiki's room without complaints.

Though he is quiet. It's easy to blame that on the fact that Tidus already called out, so there's no need for him to do so either, but the quiet lingers a little beyond that. Inigo is just so mentally exhausted, only managing to still stand here rather than collapse into a heap due to the hand holding his own, and the sheer knowledge that Taiki needs them.

[longforgottenpromise]

Taiki had managed to get back, shower and sleep. He had been sensible, showered before he had went into his cabin, not taking his clothes into the cabin. Everything inside was as blood free as he could manage.

With the train so quiet and empty he had slept a long time and though he was still feeling feverish he felt a lot better than he had at the camp. He's mostly worried. About his friends, about everyone in the camp.

What had happened? Why had the refugees attacked? He has many questions but doesn't want to bother anyone when they must all be so busy figuring things out and helping fix the mess that had happened.

He's very glad to hear Tidus' voice and he moves quickly to the door, or as quickly as he could with shaking legs. The door opens with a press of a button and he is basically falling into his friends' arms, glad to see them and needing to hold them, to check they really were alright.

[blitzcheer]

"Taik--" The name isn't finished as the other young man collapses against him, close to both him and Inigo. His heads are ready around him though, a rising worry as he inhales. He's not touching any particular part of him, but heat radiates off Taiki in that tell-tale way. That way he mostly does after a mission.

"Hey hey, it's okay, we've got you-" Tidus turns his head to Inigo, glancing at Taiki in a meaningful way and then nodding towards the room. Will the silent bro communication work? Will he understand, help me get him inside?

"--Let's get you back into bed. We're coming in. Eaasy does it; we're going together."

With maybe some shuffling and awkwardness, but that's alright. It should take too much to into the room, Tidus holding Taiki around the shoulders and another hand holding an arm.