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

later: night rain (b)

[blodsvorr]

So this is where you go, huh.

[Surprise, Akechi! Behind you is Qrow, leaning on one forearm against the doorframe, looking in on the scene. You've been found out.]

[grakraka]

[Oh goddamn it. Akechi spins around, making a face at him, somewhat sulking.]

I thought you were deeply unconscious.

[blodsvorr]

[Qrow is grinning.]

Did you? Huh.

It's almost like I learned how to do a good fake drunk snore somewhere in the last twenty years.

[He pushes off the door frame and steps in, hands back in his pockets now. Qrow glances around the cafe, taking in details. It looks contemporary enough. Stylistically, maybe a little more Vale than other places, but it's a hard call. Certainly, it would be a good place to hide for a kid who's always got too much happening.]

[grakraka]

[Well, he supposes that really is on him for underestimating Qrow—or overestimating his own abilities. Probably both.]

Even when you're impressive, you're annoying.

[He scans his bracer again to make sure the door locks them in. He doesn't need certain visitors.]

[blodsvorr]

Aw, you think I'm impressive.

[Qrow pulls up a seat beside Akechi. He decides to grab something random to look at—a book—and he pops it open in his hand.]

The real funny thing is, you have to know this place is only a big deal because you worked so hard to hide it from me.

[Thus showing his hand. Hilariously. Qrow loves it.]

[grakraka]

[The book appears to be novel about a thief named Arsene.]

I wasn't hiding it from you. I was hiding it from everyone.

[DON'T THINK YOU'RE SPECIAL JUST BECAUSE HE HIDES THINGS!!!

That still proves his point. He's just huffy over being caught.]

I know that but I can't have Ryuji and Akira see it. It would just be... awkward.

[blodsvorr]

[This is making it even more entertaining.]

So instead of enlisting me in helping you keep the secret, you decided to go it alone. Smart move, ace.

[Qrow baps him on the head with the novel.]

[grakraka]

Ow.

[Like usual, it didn't hurt. He is just a brat. But Akechi sighs, because that would have been smarter.]

I know. It isn't even a big deal. [He. Thinks.] Well, I don't know, they might think it's strange. But it is at least... embarrassing.

[blodsvorr]

What's so embarrassing about it?

[Qrow has enough information that he can make inferences about it. But he thinks it will be best for Akechi if Akechi is able to talk about it for himself.]

[grakraka]

[It's tempting not to tell him but he knows he's caught now. But rather than say it outright, he'll just explain.]

Downstairs is a cafe as you can see. I enjoyed it quite a lot. It was in the back alleys, so few customers really came around, and frankly it was a little out of the way from central Tokyo anyway.

[That should be enough for Qrow to figure out why he would go out of his way to have coffee here. But then he idly toys with his hair to explain the rest. The reason it would be awkward if they knew how much this place meant to him.]

Upstairs is a room. Well, it can barely be called that given that it really wasn't meant to house someone. But apparently it looked even worse when he moved in. I wouldn't know since I only saw it a few times.

[blodsvorr]

[It's something in the tone. There are other people, of course, although this is the logical inference, but the tone, the way Akechi's voice gets. That's how you talk about the person who saved your life.]

Sounds like a real nice place. How was the coffee?

[grakraka]

[Although surprised Qrow didn't comment on it, he relaxes a little.]

It was wonderful. The boss really knew coffee to a truly impressive degree. I've never had better coffee anywhere else.

[blodsvorr]

[That was the point of letting it go: getting Akechi to relax. At the comment, though, Qrow curiously goes to pour himself a cup of coffee. Will Akechi warn him?]

[grakraka]

[You know what? No. Qrow may have just done a nice thing but he also pretended to be drunk-asleep. Let his tastebuds die of shock.]

[blodsvorr]

[Bad luck means that he sprays strawberry-tasting coffee all over Akechi.]

What the fu—[oh shit a kid]—uuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhdge was that?

[grakraka]

No!!!

[His protest is too late and in vain. Akechi reaches over the counter for napkins.]

Everything here tastes like strawberries.

[blodsvorr]

[Akechi knew. Yet he did nothing. Qrow no longer feels bad about spitting illusory coffee on him.]

Thanks for the warning.

[grakraka]

You deserved it.

[He pouts as he wipes at his own hubris.]

[blodsvorr]

For what?

[grakraka]

Sneaking up on me.

[blodsvorr]

Alright, then you deserve that [he gestures at the mess] for sneaking out. [so there!]

[grakraka]

[Although he huffs, that's fair enough, he agrees.]

Do you like it here? Strawberry coffee aside. The outside isn't quite right but we can glance around if you want to see the area a little. Upstairs I've already taken all of the books I could find.

[Raiding your crush's room that was recreated out of your mind to steal his books is fine.]

[blodsvorr]

[Qrow gives him a bit of a look at the question, but he lets it slide. Instead, he leans back, looking around again.]

Yeah. Yeah, it's pretty nice. Good atmosphere. I can see why you decided to slip off to it all the time.

[grakraka]

[Even if the coffee now tastes terrible and makes him sad, he pours some anyway.]

Sae actually told me about it. She was hounding the boss here for information about the cases we were working on. The way she talked about it, I had a feeling it would make a nice place to relax. Some nights, I would stay right up until closing. He usually had the TV down low, too, so even if something about the elections or something I knew about came on, it was easy to tune out.

[blodsvorr]

Did the boss have information?

[It would be an interesting connection if he did. Qrow is curious. And he likes giving Akechi the chance to talk about his past. It doesn't seem to sting him the same way as it might others. Qrow thinks there's a certain calming effect, for Akechi, of being able to lay out the truth of things and not get any judgement from Qrow.]