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

[rancori]

And I didn't exactly make a habit of climbing stairs! That's still a hell of a lot of floors, y'know?

[Buuuut. Fine. Maybe the damn box is up there and they can be done with this, temptation and all.

She sighs and runs a hand down her face.]

Okay. Okay. So whatever we've gotta do here is what? On the twentieth floor? Then let's stop standing around and let's go, let's go!

[She might regret this.]

[napstar]

[ Oh. He thought 20 floors sounded reasonable. Well! Hopefully it's less than that for Maria's sake. Her cries of "let's go" coincide with the voice. They need you. Minato nods to both of them and heads up the stairs.

Once through the doorway the unnatural darkness envelops them. A moment later it subsides, revealing wide open hallways in the same green glow that coated them outside. The entrance where they came from is gone. They have to find the next flight of stairs to go up. ]

Stay close to me.

[rancori]

Trust me, kid, I'm not wandering around here.

[She follows him, making damn sure not to stray too far away even as she eyes the walls around them suspiciously.

Ugh. Seriously, what kind of place is he even from?]

So. How many times have you been up this tower?

[napstar]

[ There's very occasionally a groan or echo of a cry through the halls, the usual ambience to Minato. He never counted how many times they've traversed it. At least twice a month? Though quite a bit more recently. ]

Something like 30 or 50.

[ He peers around a corner. Coast is clear but he can see from here that it's a dead end, so better keep heading straight. ]

[rancori]

[Maria raises her eyebrows. She's very determinedly ignoring all the noise--because that means actually wondering what the hell this kid was doing in a place like this--but that amount brings her up short.]

What the hell? You didn't find what you were looking for the first few times?!

[She crosses her arms, frowning.] This place is seriously creepy, y'know?

[napstar]

We were looking for the top. [ Surely she can imagine that might take more than a few trips? And it is creepy, but he's pretty sure it's meant to be. Whatever forces created it didn't exactly have "live laugh love" hanging on its wall.

They come across some more dead ends and have to backtrack, but nothing dangerous so far. Minato has only gotten more nervous, as either the key or his own imagination or both continue to assault him. You must hurry and They're failing without you and They need their leader echoing through his mind. He might run ahead if he were alone, but he looks Maria over and reminds himself that Maria isn't equipped for this trip. ]

[rancori]

[She narrows her eyes at him.] The elevator couldn't take you to the top?

[Well, that just sucks. And here she thought they sounded useful.

...It'd probably be a good way to avoid all these damn halls and dead ends, too.]

[napstar]

[ You wouldn't let them fall in your place, would you? The accusation irritates him, which comes out as a frown and brisk stride while he talks. ]

We were building it ourselves so it could only go as high as we had been be--

[ A grave mistake it was to concentrate on speed over caution. He crosses an intersection without checking, sparking a blob wearing a mask to suddenly cry out in some unnatural gutteral noise before scrambling towards him. Fuck! Minato grabs for the gun hidden under his uniform jacket but the creature strikes him before he can get it out. ]

[rancori]

What the fuck?

[All thoughts of whatever answer he'd been in the middle of giving her fly right out of her brain. No, no time for that.

Maria's never had to deal with this sort of thing before, but she rushes forward before the creature can strike Minato again, putting herself before the two of them, her own, actual knife in hand.]

Does stabbing them work?!

warning: suicide

[napstar]

[ Oh, she has a knife. That's convenient! Well this isn't her problem but she can help if she wants. ]

Yes.

[ Another cry from further down the hall. A second and third are rushing towards them. Why are they all over here? Are they protecting the way forward? Well since Maria volunteered for the one that hit him he'll take care of these one. He pulls out the Evoker and quickly fires it at his own head. Orpheus forms out of the exit wound.

Orpheus raises his lyre and smashes one of the ones running towards them. Minato aligns the gun to fire again and -- Orpheus sweeps with the lyre, smacking that one into a wall. Oh. Usually Orpheus gets one attack out and disappears. It looks like he's sticking around now? Weird.

Meanwhile the first one is going to take a swipe at Maria! ]

[rancori]

What the hell did you--

[Wait. Wait.

What did he just do?

She's left frozen for a moment, staring at him in shock--did he just fucking turn that weapon on himself?!--but it's movement again in front of her that has her snapping out of it.

She kicks out at the creature with one leg, then hurls herself forward to sink her knife into it.

She's hardly an expert with a knife right now, but she can do this much.]

[napstar]

[ The monster cries and writhes with the knife inside of it. They won't make it! You're wasting precious time! Orpheus smashes the third one again and it splits apart, the pieces falling to the ground before it turns gaseous and fades. Minato thinks he could make a run for it and starts heading down the hall to the second shadow.

Maria's shadow isn't very happy with being stabbed and tries to scratch at her. ]

[rancori]

[Great! Great, he just goes for another one on his own!

He better know what the hell he's doing.

Maria hisses, flinching away just in time to have the shadowy claws graze her.

Is this even real? Shit,s he can't even think about that.]

For fuck's sake.

[She grunts and drives her knife right back into it, watching as it slowly begins to still.]

That's more like it!

[napstar]

[ Orpheus plucks some strings on his lyre -- well, more like he strums it as if he's a rock star with a guitar. The shadow Minato is heading towards cries out uncomfortably as Minato draws his sword. The shadow gets a hit in but doesn't even leave a mark as Minato slashes it and it fades away.

He's about to keep running down the hall when Maria's expletive catches his attention. He wants to keep going. They need you. His team needs him. You won't leave them behind again. But he can't leave Maria behind. But your team! But... he can't leave Maria behind.

Why not?!

... Right. Temptation. The key. Minato holds his head for a moment before shaking the voice out. By the time this stupidity has been dealt with the shadow that was on her is gone. Wow. Some leader he is. He stares at the ground. ]

Thanks.

[rancori]

[She groans.]

Don't mention it.

[Her tone isn't particularly sincere, but. Whatever. She straightens up again, but she doesn't tuck away the knife just yet.]

Is that it? Is it over now, did one of 'em have a box or something?

[Wishful thinking? Probably.

But there is a lot going on and what even was he doing?!]

[napstar]

[ No, it wouldn't be that simple. Minato doesn't bother looking, just shakes his head again. ]

It still wants me on the roof. We have to find the stairs up. [ Orpheus fades out of existence as he talks. ]

[rancori]

[Another groan.]

Okay, more stairs. Just fucking peachy.

[S p e a k i n g o f...]

So. Can you use that time we're looking for them to tell me who your little friend there was?

[napstar]

[ Oh. Yeah. Um. ]

Orpheus. [ A name's a good place to start right? ]

[rancori]

Oooookay. [She crosses her arms as she walks.]

And who's Orpheus?

[napstar]

[ Gestures to where Orpheus was before he faded. He's the friend Maria asked about! She's going to ask more though. ]

... He lives in my head.

[ God, where are those stairs? ]

[rancori]

[Uh. Yeah, she thinks she might really need those stairs now, too, she thinks as she cranes her neck to get a better look around them.]

Come again? He...

[What the fuck.]

Your head?!

[napstar]

Yeah... Like an imaginary friend. But sometimes he's real. [ That actually describes a few people he knows. Elizabeth, Igor, Pharos and by extension Ryoji. Hoo boy, he's already sounding crazy. He's keeping those people to himself. ]

[rancori]

[What... has she gotten herself into...

She waits until she's taken another few steps before speaking again.]

Kid. I'm sorry. [She's not.] But I gotta tell you, that sounds fucking nuts.

[napstar]

[ Siiiigh. ]

Yeah. I know. [ Her place was downtrodden but still normal. His was strange from the moment they walked in. He continues down the eerie hall and around a corner, not even commenting on her obvious distrust of him, and sees the stairs. Finally! Much like the first flight, these rise up into an unnatural darkness.

They're dying.

He turns to Maria. ]

Ready?

[rancori]

[She sighs as well. Whatever.

Maria can think about whatever the hell that means later. For now, she's supposed to help him find the damn box and keep him from falling into temptation, right?

Not so imaginary friends can probably wait for after that.

Probably.]

Yeah. Yeah, I'm ready, let's go before one of those things shows up again.

[Between the creepy stairs and the monsters, she'll gladly take the stairs, after all.]