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

[neverleave]

[Like Tim, Natsuno's been separated from too many people and he's sick of playing this stupid game. He's covered with a mix of dirt, monster goo and blood from long-healed injuries, and he's this close to set camp and refuse to move until something kills him or the "mission" ends.

He runs into Tim when he turns a corner, and doesn't even get to open his mouth before the other teen snaps a cuff around his wrist.]

Seriously?

[He scowls, giving the handcuffs an angry tug. Dammit, his super strength would've been useful right now.]

So you wanna see if they'll saw our hands off, or what?

[mostdangerousbird]

Seriously. It's a good option.

[ He's in uniform, and his gauntlets keep the handcuff from digging into his wrist when it's pulled. Still, he moves his arm to compensate for the tug, to keep the other one from digging into the guy's own wrist. ]

I promise I can have us out in under 1.3 seconds. I'm not going to let anyone's wrist get sawn off. Just please, hear me out on this. If this is about teamwork like Aurora said, then why is the Labyrinth separating us?

[neverleave]

[He can't break the cuffs on his own, and fighting this guy would probably be more trouble than it's worth. The getup screams superhero and consodering how quick he was with the handcuffs, there's little Natsuno can do with no superhuman stamina.

He stops struggling and listens, though he's clearly unhappy about it.]

Probably to make us team up with more people. Force more bonding. I wouldn't leave my friends behind if I had a choice.

[mostdangerousbird]

[ He thinks about this before giving his head the tiniest shake. ]

It doesn't quite fit. Why does she care who we team up with, as long as we demonstrate that we play nice with others? Why doesn't she let us prove for ourselves that we want to help everyone through the maze?

[ Tim stops asking rapid-fire questions and sighs. ]

I'm sorry. I know you don't have the answers. I'm just frustrated, and everyone I try to team up with vanishes. I haven't refound anyone, and I don't want to lose anyone else.

[neverleave]

[The guy has a point, but maybe Echo favors the quantity of cooperation over quality? Who even knows with mysterious beings with a god complex.]

Same here. Never managed to regroup. [He tsks in annoyance.] So you want to see how much it'll take to separate us if we're tied together? Fine. But you better get the keys when the giant chainsaw shows up.

[mostdangerousbird]

[ Robin squints over at his new friend. ]

Is there a giant chainsaw?

[ He can't tell if the guy is kidding or not, and he's not sure if matters. The idea is out there in the universe, even if there wasn't a giant chainsaw. ]

I have multiple keys, so if there's any tools we're good.

[ Not to mention a lockpick in his glove. The Labyrinth would have to strip him to keep him in the hand cuffs. ]

[neverleave]

I had to run from a giant rolling boulder a few days ago, so I assume a giant chainsaw is just a matter of time.

[Is he joking? Either he's got a very deadpan humor, or he's so dead inside he's no longer surprised by anything, no matter how ridiculous.]

No choice but to count on you, right? [He shrugs.] The direction I came from is no good, unless the walls shifted again.

[mostdangerousbird]

[ A giant boulder, great. Tim pinches the bridge of his nose through the mask and sighs. ]

I knew this maze was going to be exasperating. If it helps, you're currently handcuffed to an expert on mutant snowmen, giant rat traps, and condiment guns.

[ He jerks his head towards the arch he'd come through. ]

There's a clockwork obstacle course that way, complete with arrows and flamethrowers. I wouldn't recommend it.

[neverleave]

[All those things sound horrible and Natsuno doesn't want to run into any of them. The only thing worse than death is a stupid death.]

Yeah, an obstacle course's even worse with handc -

[Something groans from deep within the ground and walls. The opening in the arc disappears, blocked by dark stone as the labyrinth moves its paths again. When it stops, the arc is open to a new corridor, all white.

Behind Natsuno, something screeches and a giant rat pokes its head around the corner. Its eyes burn an ominous red, the black fur looks like there are things living inside it, and those teeth look like you can get rabies just by looking at them.]

[mostdangerousbird]

[ The rat is comically large, so huge it crosses over into metahuman territory, but Tim is not inclined to stick around to see if it's friendly. Maybe his reaction is speciesist. He'll welcome any debates about the rights of overgrown rodents at a later date.

Right now? His cuffed hand is grabbing Natsuno's similarly cuffed and pulling him along into a run, sparing him the bite of the metal on his wrist when Tim takes off. ]

Did you bring anything for giant rats?! I've got five batarangs - shuriken - but I don't know if they're going to go through that mat of fur.

[neverleave]

[Well, Natsuno certainly isn't going to call him out on this blatant speciesism. He simply runs, keeping up with Tim. One perk of being a vampire is that you have great stamina.]

I have something. Not sure how effective, but I'll try -

[He holds out his free hand and a sword materializes. Natsuno doesn't like using it - a mysterious boon from his last interdimensional kidnapping, that gave him awful nightmares the first time it showed up. But right now it's the best he has.

He swings the sword clumsily at the rat's direction. It's obvious he doesn't know how to use one. But he's not trying to swordfight - what he wants is the blast of light magic that comes with each swing.]

[mostdangerousbird]

[ Swords are good. There are expectations when someone draws a sword from nothing. Hopes that are spectacularly dashed when Natsuno takes a sloppy swing. Robin wants to tear the sword away from him -

He doesn't because the guy channels some sort of energy attack down it, and Tim's not dumb enough to get in the way of that. He jumps back to clear more space for sword and spellwork. ]

Is everyone in here a mage?

[neverleave]

Not a mage. [Any supernatural or magic power he has is an accident, and it's just his luck it didn't outright kill him. Calling himself a mage feels disrespectful to the actual mages he knows, who studied hard for their magic.] This thing got attached to me on accident.

[If it wasn't for the energy attack, he would've never even tried to fight a monster with it, especially not when chained to someone. He takes another swing, and the rat collapses with a screech. Natsuno isn't sure if it's dead or just stunned, but he dismisses the sword either way.]