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]

[Amy may be too distracted to notice the other teen in the pool, but Natsuno knows what's going on. Maybe the sirens would've gotten him too, if one hadn't made the mistake of crying like Tohru. The tears of his former best friend and first love only made him furious, a feeling so sharp and ugly it cut through the illusion like a serrated knife. Movie traps, trolley problems, fairy tale monsters - he could endure them all, but using Tohru was a step too far.

It's the anger that leads him through the water ignoring the sirens, and it's the anger that sends him to Amy when he sees her approach the beautiful monster. Screw Echo and screw their "tests," he just doesn't want to see anyone fall for these disgusting tricks.]

Hey. [When she doesn't react, he grabs her shoulder to stop her from getting closer to the siren.] Hey. It's just messing with you.

[ontologically]

[He doesn't belong. The fact that she's not alone with Victoria - that there's an interloper trying to get between them, fills her with a primal anger.]

What the fuck do you know? [She snaps, eyes not turning to him. She struggles against him, trying to pull herself out, to reach her sister.]

Victoria. [It's all a lie. An illusion. Wearing her face as a weapon. She knows that, but Amy's always been good at kidding herself.

The siren calls out. A soft voice. Like it barely has the ability to say anything else.]

Amyyyy...

[neverleave]

[What does he know? Nothing, really. Not even this girl's name, let alone her circumstances. All Natsuno knows is that these creatures are vile, and that he can't stand by when he seems them trying to decieve more people. Sometimes things are simple.]

I know that's not Victoria!

[Whoever this person is to her, she's not here, like the siren next to him isn't Tohru. The cries of Amy and sweet promises of absolution mix with the cry of a young man. Natsuno, please... I don't want to die.

Without his vampire strength, Natsuno is just a lanky teen stuck forever at 15. But he's angry, scrappy and ready to fight dirty, and maybe it'll be enough.

Tugging her arm or shoulder won't do. Natsuno wraps both arms around Amy from behind and tries to kick her feet from under her, just in case. There's land ahead of them, and hopefully if he drags her away the sirens' spell will weaken.]

[ontologically]

[The siren beckons towards her, holding out her arms.

Don't touch me!

Idiot.

Don't!

Forgiving and loving, at the end of her rope. Like a promise that it'll all be okay, no matter what she's done. It's the coward's way out and she's aware of that on some level. Cowardly, weak, pathetic. Accepting forgiveness she didn't earn from someone or something she doesn't even know. This isn't her sister, it's just... an imitation. An idea. The same idea that kept her going through all of her trials.

That's why, when he shouts that it's not Victoria, it feels sour. It makes her angry beyond belief. Like Tattletale sneering down at her while revealing just how little she belonged. Just how much the only person who could ever really say they loved her never really knew her at all.

She snarls out her response.]

Don't you dare say her name. [She grabs hold of his bare skin, whatever she can reach, and she does whatever damage she can. Rupturing nerves, stretching and tearing the ligaments of his arms. It takes a few moments to take effect as she focuses on doing damage, blocking out the rest of the world as she thinks of more and more punishment. But it hurts. From how keyed in she is to his nervous system, she knows that much.

Then the Siren calls out again. Amy.

Oh god. Her eyes widen in horror at what she just did, and she lets go.]

[neverleave]

I won't if you st -

[Pain explodes through his body. First through his arms, as something snaps deep inside and his grip on Amy goes slack. Then his leg buckle when she tears the knee ligaments. Natsuno opens his mouth to speak, maybe to ask what the hell she's doing or demand that she stop, but soon everything is on fire and all he can do is scream. He can't even tell where the pain is coming from, with half of his nerves dead and the other half burning in agony. Amy might notice something in his blood is trying to fight back, almost like it's got life of its own, but even shiki blood is no match for her power.

He can no longer stand on his own, and when she lets go he collapses like a marionette that had its strings cut off. Panic takes over as he slips under the water. He has to get up before he drowns, but his body won't listen to him. Everything hurts - and it doesn't heal, why won't it heal.]

[ontologically]

[She stares down at this boy, writhing on the ground. She remembers all the times she'd fantasized about doing the same to Gallant, whenever he tried to be helpful, tried to include her as a concession to Victoria.

I'm so fucked up.

It's only a few moments of delay before she lowers herself to his level, lays a hand on his wrist, and reintegrates herself into his nervous system. Then the horror disappears. Replaced only with single minded focus. Undo the damage. Repair the nerves. Repair the bone. Replace the skin. Solidify the blood.

The first thing she does is take away the pain. Then, she gets to work on the rest. She doesn't realize he's going to drown until she feels the water coming down his wind pipe and she realizes she has to lift him up - evaporate the water to clear his airway.

It's as she's doing this - still mending the damage - that she quietly murmurs.] Sorry.

[It's not really enough, but she figures she should mention it.

It doesn't help that she's distracted by his bizarre anatomy. Whatever he is, he's not quite human.]

[neverleave]

[When the pain stops, his first reaction is overwhelming, intense relief. Once the strange, almost living quality of his blood recovers, it tries to repair the damage on its own as well. But when the relief is enough for human thought to resurface through animal instinct, Natsuno's second reaction is alarm. The pain is gone, but he's in the water with the girl still touching him, messing with him, and then there's water in his throat and it feels like dying all over again -

She pulls him out. The water in his wind pipe is gone, but he coughs anyway.]

...the hell -

[Another cough. Natsuno tries to stand and grabs Amy with his other hand to steady himself.]

Dry land. Now.

[ontologically]

[She wants to argue - say that he's not ready - that she's not finished. That he needs to shut up and stop moving before he interrupts her concentration.

But it's a bit late. And maybe he has the right to be a bit impatient considering she just nearly drowned him and - well, she's the reason he's like this to begin with. With a frustrated huff, she pulls him up.]

The damage isn't fixed but - you won't feel it. [She can still fix it as soon as it's done. Amy looks towards Victoria only briefly. Brief enough to feel the sting of her siren's call.

She's weak. She's always been weak - pathetic. Disgusting. A coward.

She owes him thanks, she realizes. And an apology. She'll start by taking him out of here.]

[neverleave]

Then... fix it outside. Away from - those things.

[The one pretending to be Tohru is still crying - if anything, it grows more desperate as potential prey walks away, but Natsuno is solely focused on Amy. If she can cause it, and then take the pain away, she should damn well be able to fix whatever happens after they get out of the water.

He hates that he needs to rely on her. It's been a while since he's been this terrified. But he has no choice but lean on her and hope she doesn't mess him up further.]

[ontologically]

I will. [She can do this - fix it. This won't be another Victoria situation. And she knows he's right - they need to leave this place before these creatures grow angry or get in one of their heads again. Not to mention the visceral way that Amy hates this place.

Victoria calls out her name - it's like a lifeless moan. Wanting. Yearning. Pleading. It's fake. The real Victoria wouldn't want anything to do with her.

She resists the urge to mumble out another apology - feeling dumber by the minute. They reach another door. Amy doesn't look back at her monster - once again she abandons her.]

Just - through here I think.