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

[grakraka]

[It surprises him a little how easily she accepts it, and even tries to tell him it's okay. He hesitates and debates between asking more of her thoughts or shifting the subject. It isn't something he's comfortable with. He'd prefer to lie about it.

But he is also trying to learn. There are people here who believe he can change, people he has promised to work hard for.]

You... truly feel that way? I don't miss it at all. A handful of people I would rather see here than me, yes, but... I don't care. And I feel that is, perhaps, a bad thing to say?

[gambolshroud]

I try to keep in mind that everyone's circumstances are different.

[Perhaps that's what makes it easier to consider his perspective, even without knowing his story.]

Even in my world... I can imagine there are parts of it that people wouldn't want to go back to, especially if they didn't have loved ones waiting for them.

[It all depends on what's important to you.]

I can understand the appeal of a fresh start.

[grakraka]

[A fresh start. He hadn't really thought of it that way but it hits him, suddenly, that it kind of is in a half-assed sort of way. All of his problems vanished but not the things he did to try to fix them. All of that remains with him and even if it hadn't, Kaede met him in a simulation of their stupid problems. He would have never really escaped it. When Qrow felt hurt and turned to leave, all of Akechi's stupid issues broke through. At any given point, they're just a tsunami held back by a thin, crumbling walls. And then there's Akira and Ryuji, here and knowing just enough that he couldn't ever pretend anyway.

But then, he probably doesn't deserve a fresh start anyway. Akechi runs his hand through his hair before pausing.]

May I ask... more about your world? If you would rather not talk about it, that's all right. I would understand. Since you're here, I assume you were going to visit. [Wait.] M-My apologies, I'm not inviting myself. I just... wanted to know more about it, I suppose.

[Not that Qrow doesn't talk about it but there are gaps that he realises he might have a better chance of hearing from someone else. But even he's not going to push someone to talk about something painful like that unless she really wanted to.]

[gambolshroud]

Oh— of course.

[She's momentarily startled by the question itself, but it's not so out of place. Plenty of them are curious about the others' worlds, she's sure, and given that he's spent some time with Qrow, he's probably heard some, but may still have questions.]

I was mostly going to visit because I couldn't sleep, but I don't mind telling you what you want to know. You've already heard some about Remnant from Qrow, right?

[She can only assume. This is easier than confronting her own homesickness, anyway.]

What would you like to know?

[grakraka]

[He nods.]

Qrow has told me some, yes. I try not to ask for too many details from him since it... seems especially difficult for him.

[Like he has no idea how well Blake is handling things but she doesn't have a flask in one hand at all times, so that seems to be better off?]

I'd love to hear about that school, ah, Beacon? He seems fond of it. I don't know if you attended it. I don't even know how you know Qrow, actually.

[As much as he hates to admit it, he doesn't know many things. He tries not to show it but it's obvious.]

[gambolshroud]

[She nods her understanding.]

It's been difficult for all of us, in different ways.

[It's something they unfortunately have in common. Blake, too, is having a hard time— but she's coping better than Qrow, she's pretty sure.]

Right, Becaon. It's where Yang and I go to— went to school. Qrow graduated from there too, long before our time. He's Yang's uncle— and Ruby's. She was our team leader... Yang's sister.

[Her face falls slightly, though her voice remains calm and even. Even months later, she's having trouble accepting that Ruby is just... gone, like all the rest of them.]

[grakraka]

[It startles him and it shows. Not the information itself. It isn't like she said anything truly revolutionary here—and that's the thing. That's what amazes him.]

I... didn't know that.

[Blake just told him more in a couple of sentences than Qrow has been willing to. And he understands, he does. He doesn't blame him. But it's a complicated feeling that has him frowning for a moment before nodding.]

I'm sorry for your loss. Would you be comfortable telling me about the school? We don't have anything like that. It sounds fun, actually.

[gambolshroud]

[If there's one thing that Blake has learned about Qrow in the reasonably short time she's known him, it's that he's universally tight-lipped. To Akechi, she nods once— maybe if she's a little more forthcoming about some of what she's lost, it will get easier to deal with it on her own.]

Thanks.

[Not that being sorry does any of them any good, but... they've all lost people. It's something they all have in common.]

It can be. With our team, it always was, but it's dangerous, too. It's not all sparring and simulations. That's what people train with before coming to Beacon. We fight real monsters out in the field.

[grakraka]

[It's interesting when he thinks about how his culture is well-represented overall. But he doesn't know much about other ones on Earth. He can't imagine what might be lost in other worlds.]

Ah, so around my age, you're expected to be a competent fighter ready for field-training, basically? So... it would be younger children practicing in simulations or against each other, supervised... Were you supervised? Or were teams sort of given control? I assume the former but... I hear the team selection is quite, ah, wild.

[gambolshroud]

I take it Qrow told you about Initiation?

[She smiles for a brief moment, though only faintly. Each year's Initiation was different, as she understands it, but Ozpin had been headmaster during his time, as well. She can guess what it might have been like.]

It's some of both. We have classes where we study under other Huntsmen and Huntresses, both physically and academically, and first years have chaperones out in the field. After that, you're expected to be able to manage yourselves as a team. Our team... wound up on our own more than our professors liked, actually.

[They might have broken a lot of rules.]

[grakraka]

[He can't help smiling.]

Ah, so you have the heart of a troublemaker.

[She seems so quiet and calm all the time that it surprises him a little.]

[gambolshroud]

I'd blame it on my teammates, but I've been known to go against the grain.

[Her smile hitches a bit higher on one side— it's always the quiet ones.]

You can be a rebellious spirit without shouting it from the rooftops.

[grakraka]

Oh yes. I quite agree.

[His own rebellions weren't loud and were, in some ways, counterproductive but they were his nonetheless.]

If I'm not mistaken, Beacon and your world's cultures in general encourage a questioning, independent mind?

[gambolshroud]

That's definitely true for Beacon. Elsewhere... it depends on where you go. If you're going to be a Hunter or a Huntress, however, an independent mind is necessary.

[You have to be willing to do what others will tell you is the impossible. For her team in particular, open-mindedness has been an absolute must, especially lately.]

What else has Qrow told you about Remnant?

[grakraka]

Much of what I've heard deals with Huntsman culture, I suppose? He's told me about his preferred types of missions and what others tend to exist, about the Grimm and their... properties... [He guesses that's the best way to put it considering they are just very weird.] ...how some Huntsmen will belong to one city or village and others roam.

[In other words, he's shared things related to him without quite getting too deep into anything painful.

But he does remember another thing.]

Ah! He told me about emblems. Those... seals you all have apparently? He showed me his. He thought it would be nice if I made one someday, which was why he had to explain them to me.

[gambolshroud]

Did he?

[That strikes her as interesting, for some reason, and she smiles faintly, offering another nod in reply.]

They can be an interesting way of showing how you identify yourself... something that's unique to you. Do you think you might make one?

[grakraka]

Ah, I would like to, yes. I... [He hesitates as he tries to figure out the best way to put it.] ...Well, I have trouble with identity specifically, I suppose, so he thought it would be a good project to get me thinking about it.

[He. Thinks it still came out weird but oh well.]

Oh but I wanted to see examples sometime, so ah, I'd love to see yours at some point if that's allowed? I'm not sure if with how personal they sound, if showing them to someone means anything.

[gambolshroud]

[That, at least, is a request easily granted, and she shifts her weight as she prepares to pull her coat open with one hand.]

They're personal, but not that personal— a lot of people wear them out in the open. Here—

[She turns to give him a side-view, her coat pulled back so that he can see the tops of her thigh-high boots, with her emblem in white on the outside of her thigh.]

That's mine. [At least partly inspired by the same Belladonna plant he'd connected her name to when they first met.] Yang wears hers openly, too— a flaming heart.

[grakraka]

[Akechi smiles when he sees it.]

I see. It could be a flame or a flower? Ah, forgive me if guessing is bad but I like it.

[gambolshroud]

Guessing is fine.

[She smiles again, however faintly— she won't begrudge him his interest.]

A 'shadow' of the belladonna plant. [He was close, and there's definitely a flame-like quality to it, as well.] My mother's looks more like the flower itself.

[grakraka]

Ah, that's very clever.

[He already liked the idea of making an emblem someday but hearing even this much more about them makes the prospect a little more exciting.]

I'm starting to understand how they can represent different parts of your lives in a single symbol. What an interesting tradition.

[gambolshroud]

I'd be interested to know how it started, myself. It's something I think a lot of us back home take for granted, but people have been using emblems to represent themselves for as long as anyone can remember.

[She's glad to have been able to offer him even a little bit of insight.]

Have you been thinking about what yours might be?

[grakraka]

[He wonders if Qrow knows? He can ask him sometime. It seems like a nice tradition, even if a very surprising one to him.]

I have. I'm not sure what I would like for mine, though. I have things that I could say represent me in different ways but deciding on one cohesive symbol is difficult.

[gambolshroud]

[Qrow does know all kinds of things that nobody else seems to... such is life in the Ozquisition.

She nods her understanding, her reserved smile returning.]

There's no hurry. It's the sort of thing that you should give a lot of thought to.