Lunar Interlude 2

[balancemod]

Let's try to keep the paperwork to a minimum, shall we? NAVIGATION 1. NEW RECLAIMERS A. WELCOME WELCOME! FAH WHO RAHMUS For the nine of you who will be arriving today, the story is the same: though you may not remember it, there was a moment where you were living out your life, at home or wherever you were ... and then there was the moment the Hunger came. And amid the television static that is your memory of that moment, a hand reached out to you, beckoning your escape as the tendrils of darkness destroyed everything that ever existed about your world. "Would you hurry this up, please? Your world no longer stands a chance. Come with me, we are the last bastions of hope for all universes everywhere. And we're going to need you." And then, unceremoniously, you are dragged through the universal wringer and plopped down on the soft, though not quite cushioned, grass of the Moon Base Quad. There are other people out in the grassy fields — they may even be people you recognize. They may just be strangers, other Reclaimers, who recognize what you're about to endure. The things they say may be interspersed with static — as if the words themselves aren't reaching your ears correctly. And you have a few minutes to chat before you're calmly led away by Bureau administration, to do something about that pesky static problem. B. THE VOIDFISH The nine of you are quickly divided into two groups, and brought to the easternmost geodesic dome, to an elevator in a well maintained, but sparsely landscaped field. There's nothing particularly ominous feeling about the space — in fact, the two guards who greet you at the elevator entrance seem pleased with your arrival. You are, after all, one of the few chosen by the Director, the few who will reclaim what the Hunger has destroyed. And in a few moments, you're about to find that out for yourself. After a tightly packed elevator ride, your group is ushered out to a rather grand looking hall, banners of the Bureau of Balance adorn both sides of smooth metal walls. And inside the Voidfish's chamber stands a tank — impossibly tall, and soaked in a black ink that obscures whatever the tank may be holding. You may notice the sound of someone speaking. It's a bard, on his second round of introducing Reclaimers to the Voidfish, and this time, he has chosen to demonstrate the functions of the outrageously vertical tank not by playing violin music, but by reciting a piece of classical, and highly valued poetry. When he finishes, he pulls at a drawer just at the metallic base of the tank. He solemnly enters a few scrolls into its basin as the tank begins to light up, like lightning behind dark clouds. And suddenly, you forget what that invaluable example of universal literature sounded like. "Yeah, man, like... don't think too hard about it, it's like that every time. I'm guessing you're here to be inoculated? Just a heads up, you might want to, like, seriously, hold your nose while you drink it down. It tastes wicked gross, man. Anyway, I'm supposed to tell you that you have a choice. If you drink the black stuff, you'll be able to hear through the, uh... Huh, how do I describe it? Through the [TSHCSCHTSHCHSC] sound. You guys like, hear that? Anyway, it's all about knowledge or something. I don't know, I'm just here to, like, feed the thing. We call it the [TSCHHSCHSCH], by the way. So, like. You get a choice. You can drink it and understand stuff, or not drink it and then hear that crackling noise all day every day. If I were you, I'd drink it. But, hey man, I'm not like, your dad or anything." The bard takes five cups and draws liquid from a spigot connected directly to the basin of the large tank. Stormy, muddy looking ichor is drawn into them, one by one. He offers each of you a sip. Drink it (he wasn't kidding about what it tasted like), and you're inoculated to the wisdom of the Voidfish. You try to remember the poetry this bard recited a few moments ago and the rhymes, the meter, the significance, all come back to you. And if you think back to your arrival, some of the things you may have heard other people in the Quad say, that simply sounded like static, are suddenly clear. Bureau of Balance. Grand Relic. Reclaimers. Yet you still can't remember the Hunger or what it had done to your world. And as you look back to the tank in front of you, the water has become clear. There's a jellyfish, as tall as a building, floating within. You look into the body of the creature and you can almost make out a beautiful, tiny universe floating within it. 2. THE TEST OF INITIATION With your new knowledge on the Bureau of Balance and your purpose here in tow, you are led without hesitation to the Arena, where the final phase of your initiation into the Bureau will be held. You are partnered up, whether it is with someone you drank the ichor of the Voidfish with, or perhaps even a veteran Reclaimer, who either stopped by to help, or simply out of curiosity. One Grand Relic has already been reclaimed, you're told. They were a pair of bright red mittens, held by the mayor of a small village who may have meant well, but under the draw of the mittens' incredible space-bending powers, was corrupted into using them, and to nearly killing everyone who lived under him. You may have noticed, at some point while glancing out into space while walking here, to the planet below, a massive evergreen fir that stretches past the planet's atmosphere, very nearly piercing the Moon Base itself. It appears to be decorated for the holidays. That tree is the direct result of those mittens, the actions of a man who could not resist the temptation to use them. Resisting that very same temptation is your task here. And with that order in mind, as you and your partner stand in the middle of the Arena, the walls dissolve, and the simulation begins. You're standing in the middle of a forest. Ahead of you, situated on a pedestal, is an item. It could be any ordinary item: a pair of gloves, a teapot, a simple decorative bowl. Whatever it is, it's yours for the taking. Take that simple item in your hands, however, and the building blocks of the trees around you suddenly collapse like shattered glass, and reform into new scenery — it may even be a place from home that you recognize. A voice in your head beckons you. Perhaps there's a mistake you made, or something that went wrong for you back home that you wish you had the power to undo. Perhaps there's someone you wish you could help, or even save. The item that's in your hands has the power to help you achieve this, if only you'd ever use it. Resist the temptation. Take the item, and drop it into a nearby deposit box to be destroyed. Your partner is here to help you — because once you destroy it, you will be doing the same for them. 3. NEWBIES AND VETERANS, AROUND THE MOONBASE Three or four days into the month, now that the newbies are settled in, something strange happens: The next time you return to your flat from whatever errand or exploring you were doing, when attempting to use your Bracer to open the door results in extremely obnoxious beeping that persists for an entire thirty seconds, and a message on the screen next to the door. ERROR: HOME ASSIGNMENT MECHANISM MALFUNCTION. GO TAKE A WALK. Welp. Looks like you're locked out for a bit while techs fix that. Here's a few places that might be worth checking out. A. PIECES FROM HOME Should you find your way to the Dojo, there's a door that still has that shiny, brand spanking new door look and new door smell to it off in one of the less traversed corners of the building. A sign next to the door demands that you empty your pockets before entering. A scanner for your Bracer will unlock it, assuming it's unoccupied, leading you to a plain white room with no furniture or objects at all in sight. As the door shuts behind you, a pleasant female voice echoes from all corners of the room, greeting you by name. If this is your first time in the room, the voice has a simple question for you: "What memory do you value, or think of, most?" Once you've provided your answer, the walls crumble, much like they did during the Test of Initiation simulation, reforming into something that is, again, pleasantly, or even unpleasantly, familiar. It's a space from home. Perhaps it's your room. Perhaps it's your favorite restaurant (though, the place is curiously empty, and the food you find, for some reason, tastes like strawberries). Perhaps it's a park you always enjoyed visiting, or a corner of the city you lived in. Whatever it is, you, and whoever you may have brought along with you, seem to be the only ones there. And perhaps the details aren't quite right — like maybe someone built a model of your home to explore, but a few pieces were missing from the box. But it's close enough. B. SPEND YOUR DOUGH. SOLVE A MYSTERY Whether you're a newcomer or a veteran returning from your first Field Mission, you've been provided with some spending money. You can use it to buy yourself one weapon and piece of armor from one of the blacksmiths in town. Regardless of who you choose to help you out with that, it'll take about a week to complete your order, so time your purchase carefully. There's also premade weapons and a whole bunch of other bullshit for sale at FANTASY COSTCO. Shelves and pallets of an endless array of nonmagical items, pretty much anything you can imagine, can be bought here, but there's one particular, innocuous item that seems to have Garfield the Deals Warlock in a tizzy. The more those vinyl covers that can be used to decorate your Bracers are purchased, the more the name seems to spread, ghosts of whispers around the entire Moon Base, of a person who may very well be a ghost herself. Who is Miss Zarves? Who was Miss Zarves? A powerful witch with the power to scramble your memories, insists one cantankerous woman who pours you a drink at Madame Frione's Tea Kettle. A heavyset, flushed with drink sort of man sitting next to you disagrees — Miss Zarves is a practical joke Garfield likes to trot out every couple of months to mess around with anybody gullible enough to believe him. Whatever the case, it seems that the name alone gives everyone a curious case of déjà vu. Someone has to have information on her — and this is the Reclaimers' opportunity to hone their information gathering skills. C. A (PERHAPS MANDATORY) DAY AT STOP DYING 101 Whether you're in class voluntarily, or whether you were dragged there on account of dying the past Field Mission, today's session of Fatalistic Fauna, and Danger Sense to channel your inner barbarian is going on a little field trip to the Arena. Because this is your first test to see if you can put all that information that's been given to you in the first few lectures to good use. You and a partner are placed in the middle of the Arena, in a simulation of an expansive, empty field, up against the first monster you were introduced to in class: A Bulette, a fearsome beast that can burrow, lunge, deal severe piercing damage, and jump an absolutely incredible distance. And you and your Reclaimer partner are absolutely no match for it. Your only option here is to escape. Can you? If you are dealt simulated fatal damage, then the Arena will dissolve back to normal, and you'll be given extra homework and reading material for the day. Sorry, them's the breaks. D. OPEN THE DOOR, GET ON THE FLOOR, EVERYBODY DO THE DINOSAUR There's a signup available for those looking to take Dance lessons at the Academy. There seem to be enough slots available for 50 or so people, and the form's name simply reads: "DANCE, NOW. WITH MS. CHARLOTTE." It's a pretty large time commitment- a crash course in dancing is a rather intensive affair. You'll be spending 4 days a week for 2 weeks, 2-3 hours per day, learning all the basics of the waltz, the tango, and the quickstep. Don't even think about trying the cha-cha slide here, it's simply not pasodoable. At the studio, you can borrow a pair of ballet slippers and join in with Ms. Charlotte, which, for anyone coming to the class for the first time should be rightly horrified. The newest member of the Bureau of Balance is a spider. A delegate from New New Aspen, Ms. Charlotte comes equipped with a bracer of her own, has taken in the Voidfish juice, and relocated here, to teach at the Academy. She moonlights as a ballroom dance instructor and a coach, and boy... she's pretty demanding with her approach, but incredibly thorough. You don't want to let Ms. Charlotte down. The sessions she teaches will get you to learn the basics. Natural aptitude, of course, goes a long way, but she's very 8-hands on with her approach at correcting posture and steps. Not without compassion, however, if you manage to get blisters on your feet, Ms. Charlotte's web bandages will set and help heal those sore, tired feet. The next 2 weeks of this boot camp are going to be brutal. E. THE MOON IS YOUR SPACE OYSTER (WILDCARD) There are plenty of other locations around the Moon Base that you can explore at your own discretion. Feel free to refer to the Settings page for more ideas on what shenanigans you can get into. Additionally, we'll be fielding Bender rolls again this month! With the exception of the three items that have been removed from his recipe database, if a food item was destroyed in a failed roll previously, you may roll to try to fix it. Bear in mind, of course, that you may make it worse. Successful food rolls will stay in place at this time. 4. THE DIRECTOR ACTS; A GRAND RELIC DESTROYED Erika has obtained and delivered the Space Mittens to Madame Director herself. She struggles to remain calm and composed at the moment, but the amount of immense pride and relief at recovering the Grand Relic slips through an otherwise sturdy exterior of coolness and level-headed features. She congratulates the entirety of the Bureau of Balance for their hard work, and relates to Erika that she couldn't be happier that she had made this world one step closer to being safe. A message will appear across all bracers, everywhere, with the following: Reclaimers, welcome home and congratulations on a successful first mission. Although there were certain drawbacks and difficult decisions that had to be made, I believe, without a doubt, that you all have irrefutably surpassed all expectations. Congratulations on a job well done. However, next time, please do be more careful out there. For those of you who wish to watch, my office will remain open until 1600 hours today. The relic will be destroyed, and if you would like to attend to see how it's done, please stop by. There will be light refreshments and coffee served, of course. If unable to attend, you can watch the ceremony later on your bracers. Don't forget to click Like and Subscribe. At the appointed hour, a ceremony will occur. She calls forth Davenport to wheel out the structure that's been created and designed with the sole purpose of destroying these things. She dare not takes the relic herself, no, refusing to touch the item at all. It's a medium sized metallic sphere, and once opened and closed, can never be opened again. Pulling back the curtain to an observatory, the Reclaimers can watch as Davenport sports a nifty pair of goggles, and wheels the orb onto a raised platform. He waits for the Director's signal, which is performed by an agreeable stamp of her oaken staff against the floor, and a nod. Davenport hits the KILL SWITCH, and the light show from behind the glass is amazing and terrifying all at the same time. You watch as the Space Mittens are obliterated from existence. An eruption of cheering breaks out. This concludes the first successful mission, and a deeply needed win, for the Bureau of Balance. blurb code by photosynthesis

Comments

[napstar]

[ Shrugs. How should he know? The Director seems terribly scared of these Grand Relic things and claims one created that tree that extends into outer space but... It looks like an ordinary knife.

He approaches it to have a closer look, keeping his hands in his pockets. No matter which way he leans all he sees is a regular knife. If the simulation hadn't put it on a pedestal in the middle of the woods he wouldn't have given it a second thought.

They both have to do this, one after the other, and need to help each other through it. So... ]

Who goes first?

[rancori]

[Well, she probably shouldn't have expected a more eloquent answer. Not like she has any idea either.

So Maria shrugs in return, then does take a step closer. She probably shouldn't leave a kid to deal with it first.]

I'll grab it, whatever.

[She reaches out with one hand to pick it up, then... Stops once it's actually in her hand.

Is that... She blinks. Her old little patch of the slums? Seriously?

As rundown and dirty as ever, but the sun's shining in the street around her and she could swear, she could just swear, if she turns around she'll see Ceren making a nuisance of herself, maybe bothering one of the other girls or Morgana. Maybe even...

...No.

It could be like this again, a voice seems to whisper. You could stop him before it all even starts.]

--What the fuck? Are you hearing this?!

[napstar]

[ He didn't know what he expected but it wasn't a sudden change of scenery. It's not what he could consider to be a nice looking place. He's about to go looking around when she shouts. She's hearing things? He strains to hear anything for a moment, but there's no sounds from around them or voices in his head talking to him right now. ]

No. You hear something?

[rancori]

Yeah?! You seriously don't?! It's right--

[She cuts herself off, looking down at her hand. Then she laughs, the sound just on the edge of shaky.]

Figures you wouldn't hear it if it's my test, huh?

[You're the one who can stop him. Just use it. He doesn't need to ever take over. No one else needs to die.

She shudders.]

...I gotta get rid of this, right? Cause what it's promising me doesn't sound half bad, y'know?

[napstar]

[ A light frown. He doesn't know what she's hearing but if it's anything like the shadows' calling, then... Suddenly the Director's fears seem familiar. ]

There's a deposit box somewhere. [ Looking up and down the street, he doesn't see anything that would qualify as any kind of box. Is it indoors? ]

[rancori]

[She breathes in, then lets it all out in a loud sigh. A deposit box. To get rid of what's promising her everything back.

Okay, sure, that works. Sure.

Maria turns her head from side to side. She wouldn't put anything even close to a safety deposit box anywhere on this street. In the brothel maybe? Who knows how these people think.

Does it matter? Look at how it is now, the same as before. Forget the box. Find Jacopo's house. Get rid of him before he gets rid of all of you.]

Oh, will you shut the fuck up!

[It's tempting. She wants, so badly, to do exactly as that voice says. Help keep the damn place from dying. But.

She runs her free hand down her face, then mutters,] Not you, kid.

This isn't a safe place for a box. Or should I just look where the Director can fuck with me the most?

[napstar]

[ Minato hasn't said much so he's confused when he's told to shut up. Oh right, she's hearing voices.

He doesn't know how this simulation stuff works, but if it's influenced by the magic relics it would probably be put in a place where the relic can make a more convincing argument. ]

Probably that.

[rancori]

[Right now, she's almost grateful for the short responses. Sure makes her feel a lot less stupid about arguing with some stupid voice.

Shit, if he's right though... It's definitely gotta be the brothel, it wasn't even standing anymore by the time she... Well. Died. Or whatever.

It looks like daytime here, so it shouldn't be a problem if the kid's supposed to follow her in there--especially when she doesn't even know if anyone who lived there is even supposed to be alive in whatever this is--but...

But just giving it up...]

You're supposed to keep me from giving in to temptation and all that shit, right? So what're you gonna do about that?

[napstar]

Oh, um...

[ He doesn't know how to counter the shadows' calls. He's never heard them himself. Maybe some encouraging words? ]

Don't listen to it?

[rancori]

[Oh.]

Yeah, good job, kid, you totally convinced me.

[She doesn't even remotely try to sound sincere, but eh. He looks like he meant it, at least.]

If you wanna try again before I go somewhere else though, I'm all ears. Cause right now I kinda wanna do what it's telling me to.

[It takes effort to keep her voice steady now, but hell. What's she got to lose anyway? Might as well speak frankly here.]

[napstar]

What's it telling you to do?

[rancori]

Kill my best friend so he can't take over the city and get everyone killed again.

[She might be purposefully wording it as badly as she can. Maybe.]

I already tried that once, but it was kind of late by then.

[And the asshole's bodyguard broke her arm anyway. She's still a little sore about that.]

[napstar]

[ Oh. She can't pull that off anyway, technically, since it's just the two of them in this simulation. ]

Your friend isn't here.

[rancori]

[She was, honestly, kind of hoping for a reaction by putting it that way. But it's exactly that lack of reaction that has her straightening up and listening to his answer.

Not here, huh? Sure feels like he is.]

...Yeah. Yeah, you're right. He died before all this shit right now.

[napstar]

[ He's had a somewhat similar situation in his own group of friends so it's not surprising to hear, which is probably the more alarming part. At least, if he said anything about it.

But he won't! Instead he gives her a stark nod. ]

You need to get rid of that thing.

[rancori]

[Reflexively, she tightens hr grip on it, then slowly, forcibly, loosens her grip.

Ugh. He's right. He's right and she fucking hates it.

Through gritted teeth,] Then come on. If they wanna fuck with me, then the box is gonna be where I used to live.

[A pause.]

...Though you can stay outside if you want. I guess.

[napstar]

I'll be with you. [ It's a promise. He's not letting her do it alone. It's a familiar role to him, supporting others while they deal with their own problems and come up with their own solutions. He'll follow her wherever she goes. ]

[rancori]

[It's weird, is what it is. How long has it been since she's heard something like that? Or even said something like that?

Ugh, this place is making her think too damn much.]

Keep up, then.

[Briskly, she walks across to the street, to a building tucked away between two others, and yanks open the door.]

Let me just tell you, you're lucky there's no one actually here.

[napstar]

[ He follows her inside. He's never been inside a brothel before, though the love hotel comes close. This place is brightly decorated and he notes the several hallways. There's a lot of doors, huh? That's a little concerning. For some reason he never thought of these places having so much space... Are they going to go through all of these? ]

[rancori]

[Luckily for him, the more time passes, and the more she convinces herself she won't be looking for Jacopo's sorry corpse, the surer she is that she knows exactly which part of the brothel they have to go to.

It's eerie though, having the place be so quiet, but still look intact. Maria almost feels as if the floors and walls should be bloodstained again, like when she and the only other survivors had finally managed to look around what was left after the attack.

A chill goes down her spine.]

So I have no idea what this box is supposed to look like, but I think I know somewhere we can get rid of something. You still with me?

[She veers toward a curtain as she tosses the words back at him, toward the hall that separated the living area from the rest of the place.]

[napstar]

[ He's poking his head around a corner when she traipses off behind the curtain. He's quick to follow after her. ]

Where are we going?

[rancori]

Right here. Trapdoor.

[It's not much more of a walk until she's pushing at a rug with the toe of her shoe, then crouching down to push it aside and pull up a door hidden among the floorboards.

It's something she's clearly done plenty of times, barely even having to stop to look for the latch.]

I figure if I throw it in here, close the door, and walk away, it probably counts, right?

[She hopes.

No, she doesn't even know what she hopes.

Maria takes a deep breath, staring down at the small room under the floorboards. Funny how she still doesn't want to do this.

But the kid was right. Jacopo's not here. He's dead and she can't actually go back and kill him sooner.

He's dead. Dead as Gratien and Ceren and Morgana--dead as Maria's pretty sure she is--and he was dragging the whole damn city down with him when the people here poked their noses in to whatever the hell happened at the end there.

He's dead and it's too damn late for everyone she knew.]

What do you think?

[napstar]

Worth a shot.

[ He keeps an eye on her. If she struggles too much with throwing the knife away he's ready to intercept. And if it doesn't work they just have to climb down and get it again. Simple enough. ]

[rancori]

[This has to be the place. It has to be.

If they wanted to mess with her, what better place than where she realized it'd all gone wrong, after all?

She just. She just has to make herself let go of the knife. Just let it fall and close the door.

Simple.]

Everybody's really dead, right? No coming back? Just us left?

[She sounds pathetic even to her own ears, but...

This time. She'll let herself sound pathetic this time.]

[napstar]

[ He doesn't know the answer to that, but he thinks he knows what she needs to hear. ]

Yes. They're dead.