MISSION 002

[etrayamods]

WHO: Everyone!
WHEN: May 3rd-28th
WHERE: Within the Labyrinth
WHAT: The second Mission
NOTES\WARNINGS: Potential death, violence, injury. Please add additional warnings as needed within threads.

⏵ into the labyrinth ⏴ Aurora's announced time for the mission was correct: four days after, as she had promised, the door to the Labyrinth opens, connected to Etraya's atmospheric bubble by its entrance point. Characters are directed to come to the entrance on May 3rd, and warned that they may want to bring medical supplies, weaponry, and any important artifacts along with them. She warns that large vehicles will not fit within the limited space available, and smaller ones may be difficult to remove, thus advises those to stay behind. Aurora also offers to watch over any companion animals and keep them safe while competitors complete the Labyrinth. They are given a short amount of time outside of the entrance to speak with one another, to plan and organize themselves, before they are ushered into it in groups of two to four. Once passed the entrance, they'll find that they are unable to turn around and exit out of it: a barrier keeps them from going back into the city proper, and as soon as they are far enough forward, the walls around them shift, closing them in, moving in complex patterns meant to separate them and bring them together. Characters with extraordinary abilities may find some of them inaccessible: super strength may be downgraded to closer to ordinary strength, magic may prove to be less predictable than it should be, and regardless of how strong, fast, or clever characters are: passing over the Labyrinth walls or destroying them proves to be impossible. While one may be able to run through the pathways at superhuman speeds, the pathways compensate for it by running them in circles, refusing to allow them to make any progress on their own. ⏵ pathways collide ⏴ Junctures of the Labyrinth often present competitors with choices, some that may have consequences: a left turn down a darker path may prove to be harmless, whereas the well-lit path may be full of traps intent on slowing them down: a trip wire that activates a swinging massive axe, or arrows that shoot straight out of the wall as soon as one gets close enough. Other junctures may present characters with choices that have consequences: they can choose the shortest pathway, but at great personal risk to themselves or their partner (ie, you can go this way, but your arm isn’t going with you) or they can choose the lengthy pathway full of traps and trials they’ll have to surpass to get to the end. ⏵ balancing act ⏴ The pathway opens up into a massive space, but it's not one with an easy path out: instead, competitors will find an obstacle course that will not let them continue forward until they complete it. Many of the tasks involve things that one cannot do on their own: they must walk across multiple wooden boards balanced precariously on a tall beam, but to ensure it's balanced, there must be one person on both sides of the boards and make sure that they're walking on the board in just the right space to ensure their weight doesn't cause it to sink too far on the opposite side. If a smaller child is on one end, they may want to stand significantly further away from the beam than the larger person on the other half. ⏵ help! i'm bleeding! ⏴ A large garden area spawns off of a pathway. The peaceful chirping of birds can be heard among blooming cherry blossom trees, and it all seems utterly peaceful and calm. An area one might wish to take a breather in, enjoy the sunshine reflecting from above, and get a good nap in. Or would, except a companion bot whose abdomen is covered in ketchup appears to be struggling across the ground, crying out for help. They state they are bleeding profusely and require immediate medical attention, otherwise, they will die. The companion bot also carries a bag of medical supplies and MREs, which player characters are welcome to utilize. The pathway out of this open space will not open until after the companion bot no longer states they are dying. Whether it's because they're "dead", or because those who came across them offered "medical attention" and patched them up until they've stated they're good and no longer need assistance - well, both will technically suffice. ⏵ choice is an illusion ⏴ After walking down an additional pathway, characters will find themselves trapped within a glass box. In front of them is a pedestal with two buttons: one red, and one green, as well as a tablet above it displaying the image of another group of characters. The tablet states hindering them will help you. You may either choose to make the second group's time through the maze more difficult, or hinder your progress by pressing the green button and helping the other group forward. Characters are given two minutes to decide which path to take; the timer, on the tablet, counts down regardless of any attempt to break or hack it. Pressing the green button will drop several squishmallows into the glass box. Inside one of them is a key that unlocks the roof of the glass box. Pressing the red button, while it promises to hinder the other group, actually. . . causes a toxic yellow gas to flood the glass box. The gas will burn the lungs of those who breathe it in, but it also begins slowly melting the glass box. This gas will make breathing difficult for the next 24 hours, but will not kill those who inhale it. Healing factors will not offset the gas. ⏵ who deserves the knife? ⏴ A group of two characters will walk through one corridor and find themselves strapped to two chairs, the backs of which are leaning against each other. In front of the both of them are drills, slowly approaching their chests. They cannot go sideways but can push forward and backward. They can push backward and get themselves further away from the threat of injury - forcing the person behind them to suffer but allowing themselves to escape - or they can push into the drill and free the person they're with. Alternatively, they can choose not to push either way, potentially sacrificing them both. Three options, but they are left with minimal time to decide as the drill continues to press closer. If they choose to go out together, they'll find that as the drills press against their chest - they simply stop. Minimal blood will be spilled, and they will have all the time they need to figure out how to squirm out of their bindings. ⏵ the Siren waits for thee ⏴ A seemingly harmless pathway turns into much more trouble than it's worth. A few steps through a corridor, and suddenly competitors will find the floor falling out from under them, revealing a body of water and - no solid ground on either side of it. There are the walls, but they lack any good climbing holds. Within the water are numerous Sirens - beautiful androgynous creatures that sing soft songs meant to entice others into following them deep into the water. While they may look beautiful, their mouths are full of razor-sharp teeth, and their intentions certainly aren't innocent. However, the Sirens can only touch competitors once they have initiated touch first. They will do their best to encourage this: holding out their hands, crying out for help, pretending to drown, or trying to coax them into coming in close enough for a kiss. As long as they remain on the path, they're harmless. But the moment they reach out for the Sirens... getting away from them will not be easy. Their tails are powerful, built for moving swiftly throughout the water and dragging others along with them. They bite hard and will dig their teeth deep into flesh to discourage struggling. If one gets captured by them? They're lunch. Or worse yet: if they get bitten but manage to escape, they may find themselves becoming a bit.. scaley around the neck, eyes shifting color to a too-soft green, and an almost impossible-to-resist urge to take a bite out of their friends. This effect will continue until May 28th regardless of when the character reaches the end of the Labyrinth. After May 28th, they will find that their scales slowly begin to shed, their eyes begin to turn back to their normal shade, and any other new features slowly turn back to how they were before they were infected. ⏵ don't forget your ball of twine ⏴ The Labyrinth is large, and there are many challenges around each corner. There may be space for breaks in between monsters, challenges, riddles, places to sit and recuperate between battles and mind games. It's not all chaos and challenges meant to test one's strength of will. ⏵ NOTES ⏴ May's mission is completing a massive Labyrinth. All characters must enter the Labyrinth; whether or not they participate once they're inside is up to them, but no one will be permitted to stay behind in the city. The duo who completes the Labyrinth first will be allowed to assist in choosing the next mission. Sign-ups for this are here. We will contact the chosen characters on May 13th. This mission will cover the time between May 3rd and May 28th. After May 28th, any characters who have not yet exited the Labyrinth will be gathered by the companion bots and brought back into the city. The companion bots will be aiming for nonviolent intervention. If more is needed, please let us know here. The first to exit will be returning to the city on May 15th. There will be powercapping during this mission, but the extent of which is fully up to players. We want the Labyrinth to be challenging but don't want to hinder gameplay too much. If you have any questions relating to this or want assistance coming up with ways to powercap your character, please feel free to ask us here. We will be largely leaving this up to player discretion. Food is scarce within the Labyrinth, but not impossible to find. There are chests (or maybe they're mimics?) strewn throughout with various useful items. One might have a sword, another might have a fresh chicken nugget Happy Meal from McDonalds. Or an entire birthday cake, candles included. Large vehicles will not fit in the Labyrinth and must be left behind in the city. Numerous challenges are throughout the Labyrinth. You are welcome to make your own, but we will also provide several you may utilize! Please feel free to throw down wildcards, or your own challenges into your prompts! The limitation is that characters must remain themselves throughout the challenges. There are no mirror replicas, nothing within the Labyrinth will affect their personalities or core values. It’s meant to challenge, not change them. Deaths that occur within the Labyrinth will last 24 hours. Please report these on our Death Tracker. All new locations will appear after player characters have returned to the city. Feel free to note the differences from the May 3rd map, versus what characters will be returning to on May 15th.

Comments

jessica jones . mcu . ota

[ebrius]

01 INTO THE LABYRINTH

[ There's a giant maze in front of her and these people actually expect her to go inside that thing. She's half tempted to just turn around and leave, go find something to drink and sit this one out.

But, something tugs at her, makes her stay. She still hasn't decided if she's going to go inside but she's at least still there, standing at the edges of the group. Jessica hasn't brought anything with her, thinking her fists would be just fine as a weapon. There is a flask in her pocket because of course.

In the end, she goes into the freaking thing because she has nothing better to do. She knows she needs to find better hobbies than just tossing herself into some shitty situation that might be dangerous.

But, her life is bad decisions so why not? ]

02 BALANCING ACT

[ Jess isn't sure how long she's been walking when she steps into a clearing. At first, she thinks that maybe she's finished this stupid thing but that would be too easy, wouldn't it?

No, when she steps into the space, she spots an obstacle course and her shoulders slouch. It's massive and it looks like you can't get to the other side without at least touching some part of this thing. ]

Are you kidding me?

[ She steps closer to the first obstacle, a series of ropes that don't look very secure. Reaching up, she gives it a tug and it slips. ]

Great.

[ She hates this place. ]

03 MONSTERS MONSTERS EVERYWHERE

[ She's taken some time to rest, to drink, to try and get out of her own head and to try and figure out how she wants to tackle the rest of this shit. She manages to drink enough to calm herself down which is why, when she finds herself face to face with some giant...thing, she doesn't freak out. ]

Oh, come on.

[ Why had she come into this place? Why had she even tried? She should have just gone back to the hospital and stayed there and waited. But no, now she was faced with something huge and that was stomping towards her. Jessica backs up quickly, hands out of her pockets and ready to try and fight if she has to. ]

04 CHOICE

[ She wishes she was drunk. She really, really wishes she was drunk because as soon as the glass box drops down, caging her and someone else, she's just done with this place. It's not the worst thing she's ever had to go through but that doesn't mean she wants to keep at it.

Maybe she could just make herself a home in this maze and never leave it. Drink herself to death and be remembered fondly.

Growling, she looks around and finds herself staring at the buttons. ]

The hell does this mean?

[ She doesn't know if she wants to think about it too closely. ]

05 THE KNIFE

[ One minute, she's walking down a pathway and, in the next second, she's strapped to a chair, tied up and unable to move. Her strength is muted here, something she's found out already but that doesn't stop her from trying to acccess it.

But, no dice. She's freaking stuck, tied to a chair with someone else tied up behind her. All Jessica can do is laugh. ]

You don't have a knife, do you?

[ Could they be that lucky? ]

06 WILDCARD

[ For anything else that's not above! Find my plotting here if you wanna do a thing. ]

3

[morethan084]

Joric!

[Daisy shouts again as she makes her way through the maze. She knows it's a losing battle, having lost him in the labyrinth two hours ago. She hears movement up ahead and hurries towards it only to find Jessica face to face with some kind of creature she's never seen before.

Wasting no time she takes out her gun and fires a shot at it.]

[ebrius]

[ That is definitely not her name but it's a name and it means it's coming from something that isn't this...thing. She whirls around, spots Daisy and steps aside quickly because she's pulling a weapon.

The gunshots seem to stagger the creature for a minute but then it just gets angry and starts stomping and pulling it's way towards them. There are claws that extend from it's too long arms and teeth that drip with spit and heat.

It growls loudly and Jessica winces before she moves closer to Daisy. ]

Didn't know you carried.

[morethan084]

You didn’t ask.

[Daisy says, only glancing at her to make sure she’s not hurt before her eyes go back to the creature.]

Don’t think it’s going to do much against whatever this thing is.

[Unaware of Jessica’s own powers, Daisy steps in front of her in a protective stance as she raises her freehand. She can feel her powers, although they’re weaker than normal. The moment it tries to make another swipe she uses her power to send it flying backwards into a wall.]

[ebrius]

[ The size of the creature means when he hits the wall, it cracks, bringing down some debris but it also pisses it off. It gets back onto his feet or (or whatever counts as feet) and starts moving quicker towards the two of them.

It swings one long arm out, claws hard and sharp, taking a swipe at them from a distance. Jessica sees it coming and gives Daisy a shove before she tries to dive out of the way herself so neither one of them loses their damn heads. ]

2

[rootlessly]

[Mmmm, that is not great, no. Vash looks at the ropes uncertainly himself, before glancing over at the young woman similarly stuck behind the obstacle with him.]

Ahaha...they did say we'd need teamwork to get out of here. Maybe if one of us holds the rope steady, the other can get across?

[ebrius]

[ Ugh. He's not wrong and she's glad he didn't say something like teamwork makes the dream work. She might have had to deck him for that. ]

And once that person gets across, what about the person left here with the crap ropes?

[ Not like they could hold them and use them without exta support. ]

Or would they just get left behind?

[rootlessly]

I think the ropes can probably be held steady from the other end too?

[Even as he speaks, he's stepping across to the rope and reaching up to hold it in place. And he smiles at her brightly, with a soft little laugh.]

Only one way to find out, right?

[ebrius]

[ Too much smiling for her liking but...but, maybe he's right. She sighs and rubs a hand over her face. ]

Okay, you wanna go first and I'll hold the ropes on this side?

[ Because then, if shit went south, it would go south on her and not him. ]

I won't drop you unless you ask nicely.

choice

[whatchoice]

We help them or we help ourselves.

[ her lips purse, annoyance plain on her expression and slipping into her voice, accent peaking out as she reaches up to flick her long, red hair back from her face. ]

Or... we don't help either. And stay stuck in here.

[ so three choices really, even though they'd only been given two. ]

[ebrius]

Well, I don't know about you but I don't wanna be stuck in here.

[ She's been in worse places but she's always been able to get out of them. Being in a glass box forever?

No. ]

If we help them, what happens to us? Pretty sure I don't wanna know the answer.

[whatchoice]

I might be able to protect us from whatever happens, [ wanda muses, considering as she presses her hands to the glass.

red tendrils of her magic spill out under her fingers like a soft fog, nudging and bumping the glass as if looking for any weak spots.

she can't make the glass disappear, but she's not as practiced in the reality warping part of her power yet. the hex in westview was instinct born of grief, not conscious thought. ]

[ebrius]

I should be able to —

[ Break the glass. She rears back and punches it but the glass doesn't budge. The vibration goes all the way up to her shoulder and she curses. ]

The fuck is this place?

[ Because she was able to wreck cars and destroy the ground with her own strength. This isn't right. ]

01

[maximumlegend]

[ Once Jessica is inside the maze, she may relatively quickly run into an odd sight.

.. well, a semi-odd one, anyway, compared to the rest of what's in the labyrinth. It's clearly a teenage boy, though he's wearing an eyepatch over one eye, has a sword hanging off his belt, seems to have a golden neck tattoo reading 'Maximum Legend' and his ears are oddly enough long and.. pointy..?

There may not be much time to process that fact though. Because something about the boy looks a little startled, and he starts rapidly approaching her. ]

Hey! [ He already calls out to her before jogging the few last steps over towards her. ]

Hey, have you-- [ He exhales, clearly a little out of breath. Like he's been running all over the place. ] Have you seen two people anywhere around here? A male goblin and a female elf?

[ebrius]

Uh.

[ She hears the question but she's too busy looking him over and trying to figure out who he is. What he is. Had he come from inside this thing? Or was he one of those this place had dragged here to be messed around with.

She frowns, brow furrowing. ]

Maximum Legend? Really? On the neck?

[ She has to remark on that first. ]

[maximumlegend]

[ Apparently the lack of an answer to his question - or rather, getting a question in return - catches the guy off guard, since he doesn't answer right away. Instead he blinks at her for a moment, his hand kind of self-consciously moving up to his neck, rubbing against the golden lettering there. ]

.. yeah!

[ Please don't mind that tiny pause before he answered, okay. He's cool. He's confident. Totally not thrown off by having the first thing someone does to him being the questioning of his tattoo choices. ]

Of course! If I am Maximum Legend, then I should show it off to the world, right? This way everyone knows what they're dealing with right away!

[ Granted, he generally hopes for a.. slightly different reaction to it than the one he got from her, but still! ]

4

[anciently]

Well... [ Aerith, standing nearby, cocks her head to the side and reads the 'instructions' with a curious expression. ] If I had to guess, I'd say...pressing it will be bad for someone else, but might make it easier for us to get through.

[ Nasty stuff. She wrinkles her nose at the buttons before turning back to Jess. ]

Personally? I say we help the others. Whatever they throw at us, I'm confident you and I can handle it.

[ She'll even give her weapon - the rod she carries - a flourish, giggling. ]

Thoughts?

[ebrius]

[ Deep down, that'd be her choice too even if she wouldn't call herself sacrificial at all. She doesn't want to deal with whatever might come at her but she thinks she could deal with whatever it is better than some people. ]

You're confident.

[ Jessica is less so because she just doesn't trust this place, doesn't trust what might be tossed at them. ]

You think you can handle anything?

[anciently]

Anything? No way. [ Her smile is crooked, as if apologetic. ] But I'm just choosing to believe they don't have anything and everything to work with.

[ Semantics. Just: believe in the Aerith who believes in you, okay? ]

We'll find a way. Besides, you seem like a gal who's seen some things.

[ Some shit, specifically. ]

I bet you've got a good head on your shoulders.

01;

[waytodie]

[Somewhere along the way, Yelena lost the companions she'd started this stupid thing with. She's fine working alone, used to it and even prefers it in a lot of ways. But the sheer magnitude of this maze has left her a bit... handicapped on what she can do. All her skills feel... not quite useless, but close enough it digs under her skin to think about much.

Not a single decent foothold exists in the stones of the towering walls, and even if they did- well. She's not scared of heights, but she's reasonable enough to know there's no way, without better gear than what she managed to scrape together, she could go that high on her own anyway.]

Can't even scale the stupid wall.

[She mutters, mostly to herself, and she kicks said wall for good measure, just to makes sure it knew she was talking about it, probably.

It doesn't make her feel any better, unfortunately.]

[ebrius]

You can go ahead and try, though.

[ That's what Jessica says from behind her shoulder having come upon her after turning a corner and walking for awhile. She's one of the first people she's seen in a long time and it's almost a relief to actually have run into someone.

For awhile, she'd been thinking that she wasn't going to find anyone else and be stuck trawling through this thing on her own.

Not that she couldn't do it on her own. But, whatever. ]

Be entertaining to see you try. For me, at least.

[waytodie]

[She turns toward the sound of the voice.] Well, I am not here for your entertainment, dark and broody lady.

[Was Jess even brooding when she came around that corner? Doesn't mater. Yelena and nicknames are just a thing.]

🔪

[accelerate]

Nope.

[ Recognise that voice, Jones? It's Barry. Mr Optimism still sounds like he did on the streets, but there's an uncertain, frightened layer to his voice now.

This isn't the first time he's found himself strapped to a chair. This is, however, the first time he's found himself strapped to one with a drill pointing his way a little distance away. Hopefully it's a piece of equipment meant to support maintenance work?

He feels hollowed out; he feels like how he did when Wells stole his speed. But it's there, a glimmer of it, waiting to be found. He's like a pond that's been dried out. If he can capture it in his hands, he can phase out of here and get her untied within a flash. ]

Maybe your sharp tongue can be useful for once and get us out of here.

[ Is this Barry being mean????



Yes. ]

[ebrius]

[ You know what, Barry Allen? She's going to punch you in the throat when they're out of here.

Of all the people she could be tied up and stuck with, he would have been near the bottom of the list. She struggles against the bindings, trying to rock a bit mostly to try and piss him off.

If that was even possible. The bindings are pretty strong despite her knowing that she should be able to break through them. But, her strength is severely depleted here and it's pissing her off.

Everything is pissing her off. ]

Maybe I'll rip your tongue out when we get out of here and use it as a bookmark.

[accelerate]

You read? [ It's not said derogatorily despite the surprise in his voice. ] What kind of books?

[ Barry grins, knowing he's getting under her skin. Usually, he'd have someone (usually Iris) in his ear, heeding he be cautious and patient, but Iris isn't here, so Barry isn't patient. He remains still as she wriggles around behind him. Phasing through the bindings should work, but— Barry's biding his time, taking in their surroundings as he tries to piece together what team bonding activity this is. ]