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]

[The moment the body appears around the corner, Natsuno shuts down. The head's triumphant yell, Clarke's scream, all are noticed without a trace of emotion. This is just another undead enemy, another task he needs to perform so his friends survive.

Natsuno falls back to allow Rita her casting space. Then several things happen at once:

Some heads start screaming after catching fire.

Dozens of other heads scream instructions: right here, come on, help me!

And the rumbling sound becomes deafening as more bodies pour into the corridor: from around corners, from between the heads, even bursting from the ground.

He grabs Rita and Clarke, one wrist in each hand.]

Run!

[skaikru]

( and just like that, one awful flashback from the serena eterna turns into two flashbacks combined, and all three of them are suddenly plunged into a small scale hell.

clarke doesn't outright freeze at the reveal of the rest of the hoard, but she does find it hard to look away from the mass of blind bodies scrambling over themselves to chase them down like a rabid swarm of bees; they bump and jostle each other, careen into the walls, but somehow never fail to continually move forward even if they cannot see their quarry. she manages to will herself to take an immediate, stumbling step backwards just for the ground right in front of her feet to erupt in a spray of dry dirt and pebbles. it snatches shriveled, gangrenous looking fingers towards her knee in the same breath natsuno snatches her wrist and drags them into a flat out run, and that's enough to at least break the morbid spell transfixing her.

time to sprint, like they had back in the desert. only there's no rover to run towards, no end in sight, just a rapid backtracking through a path they've already trodden — or whatever it's morphed and rearranged itself into during the time they've turned their back on it. at least if they get far away enough from the heads they won't have to contend with the way their disembodied screaming echoes off the walls. )

I can't believe this is happening again! ( clarke repeats in a huff as they run. no breath to be spared to point out the similarities, and no need among those who also lived it. she's scared to death, but beneath fear the constant undercurrent of anger swells. this is personal, right? it feels personal. ) Oh, fuck off Echo!

( really the only thing missing in the design was making the heads resemble that of their dead loved ones. )

[myagic]

[Rita's already taking a terrified step back from the headless horrors, nearly ready to shriek over the one exploding from the ground to reach for Clarke, so there's no arguments from her when Natsuno grabs them and it becomes a run for their lives, back the way they'd come, though they're soon taking corners that Rita doesn't recall being there originally. As if the maze on its own wasn't annoying enough--the thundering of numerous pursuing feet and the thuds of bodies running into walls stays close behind. For being headless, they're way too good at chasing here!]

This sucks!

[She would complain more in agreement with Clarke, but she kind of needs her breath for running. Okay, she spare another complaint, actually-]

Where the hell are we even going?

[There's an archway ahead, signalling some kind of separation between generic stone corridor and something else. The first something else: a series of hurdles.]

[neverleave]

Like we can choose the direction now!

[Fuck off, Echo. If he makes it out of the maze first, Natsuno vows to make the next mission as useless as possible.

The heads on the walls keep crying for their bodies, to no avail. A terrible suspicion arises, and Natsuno turns his head as much as he can to yell at the chasing bodies.]

You really want OUR heads? There's just three of us and dozens of you!

[Maybe they can get the bodies to turn on each other, lower their numbers? He doesn't bother to see it if worked, focused on the incoming hurdles instead.]

Maybe we can use these to block their way -

[He vaults the first hurdle.]

[skaikru]

( in a different moment — later, way later, and assuming they make it through this relatively intact (or at least reunite at the exit in the end) — clarke is going to side eye natsuno so hard for trying to verbally appeal to creatures that don't have ears with which to listen. but in the moment all she can think of is the horrible mental image that splashes across her eyes like gruesome italian renaissance paintings. are the bodies seeking heads to affix to their own bodies, or to the wall? would they become trophies, would they still revive if torn limb from limb, would they — oh great, and now there's hurdles to contend with?

stubbornness and a few years with religious morning jogs does not equate to natural born athleticism. and then there's the extra 45 pounds added by her overstuffed backpack, and the trade in of sneakers for steel tipped boots, and —

a sudden sense of resolve as they approach and she wrenches her hand out of natsuno's. they have a little bit of a headstart on the hoard but this terrain challenge seems designed to slow them down, and she will not be responsible for dragging down the other two if she were to trip. natsuno vaults the first easily enough, and clarke clambers gracelessly in his wake — honestly a miracle of gravity defying adrenaline that she manages to land on her feet and keep running. and who knows, maybe these are complex enough to stop their pursuers, but — )

If that doesn't work, Rita can you make a tripwire out of vines?

( plans. plans and secondary plans make everything better, and every crisis a little less overwhelming, let's make contingencies while running for our lives guys. )

[myagic]

Yeah, ours are spoken for, here!

[In contrast to Clarke, Rita isn't going to bother lingering on the logistics of whether or not headless bodies can hear, seeing as they shouldn't even be moving at all. She doubts they'll listen either way, but it doesn't stop her from yelling an agreement with Natsuno over her own shoulder.

And then she faces forward again and sees the hurdle, and like Clarke, she clambers more than jumps, losing some inertia in the process. And then proceeds to groan, because that sure looks like more hurdles ahead of them.]

Ugh, do we look like knights in training?

[Blocking the bodies, though--she half-turns to glance behind them.]

Of course I can. Whether it'll stop that many--I can only cast a couple more times.

[neverleave]

[He knows exactly why Clarke lets go of his hand, and he doesn't react, at least not immediately. While she and Rita clamber over the first hurdle, Natsuno is already sprinting towards the second one, but he doesn't jump over it. Instead, he grabs it to drag it back.

He notes, with some alarm, that the hurdle is heavier than it should be. His senses are sharp as ever and he's been matching his speed to Clarke and Rita, so he didn't realize some of his abilities are dampened.]

Whatever you do, do it fast. [He braces the hurdle against the first one, fashioning a slightly sturdier barricade. Still, Natsuno knows just two wouldn't hold back an entire horde.] That cat meteor spell would've been useful right now.

[skaikru]

( it's getting to the point of running for their lives where all the oxygen clarke's sucking in through her mouth needs to be pumped to her leg muscles, leaving very little left over to speak with. adrenaline has been a constant, a pop gently simmering on the back burner from before they'd even stepped into the maze — now bubbling over. she can feel as well as hear the hammering of her heart echoing between her ears, in time with the pounding feet of the headless hoard reverberating through the ground. her field of vision narrows and sharpens a little, resetting herself the second her feet hit the floor and continuing forward.

she sees natsuno go to wrench at the second line of hurdles. sees him struggle enough to clock it as abnormal, and hisses — ) Leave it ( — while running straight through the gab he'd created.

he mentions a different spell for rita to try, and from the name alone it sounds more effective than simply trying to domino effect the zombies. but gosh, meteors, zombies, dusty sand kicked up in the wake as they ran for their lives... it's not just the rover that's missing from this mess. )

I miss Jade — ( clarke wheezes as she catches herself on the third hurtle, just one moment of self indulgent longing for an actual adult before doubling back on herself; bracing her palms and hoisting herself over the top of the wooden beam again. )

[myagic]

It would've, but--not an option.

[She can think of lots of spells that would've made quick work of the horde. It stings to know she should be able to do so much more, yet the practical part of her mind also quickly moves along--don't linger on the options they don't have, focus instead on what they do-

Except Natsuno's strength also looks like it's not as it should be, and that's alarming too, creating a spike of worry in her chest. Clarke insists they leave the hurdle, and Rita grabs for Natsuno's hand to pull him along in Clarke's wake, only to be hit with what feels like a metaphorical slap in the face. Like, same, of course she misses that damn old softy who keeps having the gall to worm his way into their lives before leaving, but her immediate reaction is one of indignant offense-]

H--hey, I'm just as good a mage, you...you know!

[Okay, so her complaining is also hampered by the need for oxygen, especially with yet another hurdle, and Rita has little choice but to shut her mouth for a chance as she struggles over this one, nearly stumbling on the landing.]

T...tell me there's no more of these...

[She hazards a glance backwards to see whether the hurdles are slowing down the horde--barely, if at all, and the ones that go down are simply trampled underfoot by their fellows and used as stepping-stones.]

[neverleave]

Well, Jade's not here.

[Which is just Natsuno's way of saying I miss him too and we don't have TIME to miss him at the same time. Not a week goes by without thinking back to the Eterna and wishing Jade was here with them. Now that he knows what it's like to have an adult you can trust, really trust, he can't help but hate its absence. Especially now, when a meteor storm or even blithely inappropriate commentary would help a lot.

He leaves the hurdle and lets himself get dragged by Rita. She may or may not have stumbled upon landing because he pushed her in an attempt to make her go faster before he climbs over easily. No superhuman prowess, but at least he's still as athletic as humanely possible.]

With this many of them, they'll crush through anything that's not solid rock. Either we find something like lava or a pit they can fall into, or we find a way to go up.

[skaikru]

( aw rita, babe. she hadn't meant it like that — but, tragically, there is no time to really clarify or assuage with the hoard busting through the first hurtle like something straight out of a zombie movie. that'll have to wait until later, if they manage to make it out of here as an intact group.

another for the tragedy column: clarke clears the third hurtle, dashes to the fourth but manages to catch her ankle when heaving herself over and lands badly on the other side. picking herself up despite the way her right elbow and hip are currently smarting, she does a quick count of... at least another three ahead of them. fuck.

but beyond that, a little stone archway. the path narrows to absolute pitch darkness beyond it, rocky outcroppings pushing forward in a claustrophobics worst nightmare. and a little rickety ladder lays horizontally to the left of the opening, offering the means up to a ledge that runs along the top of the shadowy crevasse so long as someone is stationed at the bottom to anchor it. options, they suddenly have options — staged as they may be, with no other choice but the stay in the direct warpath of the head stealing dead. )

Look! Ahead — ( she shouts over the clattering swell of zombies stumbling over that first hurtle, and points aggressively. she spares one more look over her shoulder at natsuno and rita a full few paces behind her, then bolts (full on gives up going over the last two hurtles, just army crawling under them) to get to that ladder and get it propped up. )

[myagic]

That jerk.

[It's partially grief and partially irritated exhaustion that she sums up Jade's absense that way. Rita misses Jade just as much as they do, but missing him isn't going to save them or make hurdle-vaulting easier. Speaking of hurdle-vaulting, any offense towards Clarke is swiftly forgotten, and under the circumstances, Rita doesn't complain to Natsuno for any pushing he may or may not be doing.]

Hey--watch it!

[No, her focus is on Clarke when it alarmingly looks like the other girl is going down, but then--she picks herself back up, and Rita would be breathing a sigh of relief if she wasn't still running. Out of breath or not, she'll doggedly keep running, though Natsuno might understandably end up shoving her over those last two hurdles to keep her from slowing down. As it is, Clarke's shout registers a moment late thanks to the oxygen deprivation, and as she clambers over a hurdle, Rita peers ahead. Huh--well, that's something other than hurdles, so at this point she'll take it.

Clarke has the ladder up, and as soon as Rita barrels into it, she starts climbing. Can't go wasting any time, though she does glance back to the other two.]

--Make sure you're right behind!

[neverleave]

[Natsuno is going back and forth over the last hurdles, to shove Rita over or drag Clarke into a standing position when she crawls under them. It's fine, he's fine, still high enough on blood.

As Rita starts climbing, Natsuno turns to Clarke.]

You next. I'll hold it. [Looking up at Rita:] When you reach the top, cast whatever you can!

[She clearly couldn't do it while running, but maybe taking a breath at the top would be enough.]

[skaikru]

( part of her wants to argue — you go, i'm fine or just get up there, i'll be right behind you — but her lungs ache from the mad dash for survival and the stitch in her side has expanded like a vice around her entire chest. it's always been a little hard to argue with natsuno, too, in moments of crisis.

clarke does wait until the ladder stops rattling from rita's ascent before releasing her braced stance and swapping with natsuno. she climbs as quickly as humanly possible, running off adrenaline spiked instinct and barely even seeing the rungs in front of her face before grasping them. she climbs like there's no fear that the ladder might wobble and fall sideways, because she knows who's at the base. she knows he wouldn't allow that to happen.

— even at the potential detriment to himself. so the second she's scrambling onto high ground, clarke's turning around and laying flat on her stomach, throwing all her bodyweight into keeping the top of the ladder anchored to the lip of the ledge. it doesn't offer the same amount of stability as bracing the thing from the base, but it's the best she can offer natsuno. )

Come on!

[myagic]

[Over her own ragged breathing and the thundering footsteps, she hears Natsuno. Worry sticks like a thorn in her gut at Natsuno staying behind--it would for either of them, because whoever's holding that ladder last is in the most danger--but she doesn't argue. Instead, as soon as she pulls herself onto the wall, she scrambles upright and starts to cast. Her job now is to make sure they all make it, and she'll be damned if she rests before then.

Fireball remains her most effective available spell against the horde, so she unleashes a trio of them at the frontrunners, explosions rocking the area and sending debris and bodies flying--but there's so many, the ones behind are hardly slowed, and that's where-]

--Eruption!

[-Rita performs a spell combo: using the base Fireball formula that she just activated like a slingshot for an additional earth component, only a second or two after the fireballs plow through the pursuers, a fissure opens in the ground at their feet and starts spurting hot lava. It's not a large fissure--a few feet at most--but the spewing molten rock burns any nearby monsters all the same.

There's just too many, though. She can't stop them all.]

Hurry! Come on-!

[She only has one, maybe two more spells left in her, so she yells for Natsuno while hovering over Clarke, starting the incantation for another spell--but as some of the bodies leap for Natsuno and the ladder, her spell isn't finished-]

[neverleave]

[Rita's spells explode behind him, sending more vibrations through the ground, but Natsuno doesn't turn back or even flinch. He keeps his hands braced on the ladder and his eyes on Clarke, and starts climbing before she's even done screaming for him.

He's scrambling as fast as he can, but the pack is heavy and he can hear the bodies leap behind him. Rita starts chanting another spell, but Natsuno can feel hands clutching his ankle in an attempt to drag him down. He's kicking furiously, but more hands join, tugging at his pants and even the pack. The only thing keeping him on the ladder is that the bodies are also fighting each other, giving him brief reprieves to keep climbing.]

Get off -

[The angry growl is punctuated with another kick and a flash of light, radiating from his eyes. The veins under the skin glow like lava and the bodies let go as if they just got a nasty burn. He scrambles the rest of the way, one severed hand still clinging to his ankle.]

[skaikru]

( rita pulls explosions out of thin air and fires them at the hoard like natsuno's life depends on it, and natsuno climbs like gaining the high ground is the difference between dying and surviving because — well, it is. it does. and clarke can do nothing to help aside from act as a counter weight, the top handles of the ladder threatening to splinter her palms as the first few zombies to reach natsuno try to pull him down.

little bits of rock and blood fly around in the background as rita's projectiles find their marks, though. natsuno makes it up, clarke either extending a hand to help drag him up or continuing to lay flat and allow him to climb over her before shoving the ladder away from the ledge and watching it fall. for a split second it feels like they can handle this. like they could win.

but the bodies — some whole, some scorched, some missing pieces but not bleeding — continue forward. there's still no definitive way to explain how they know which way to go or what they seek, because flailing outstretched hands don't even rise up to try and catch the falling ladder. but they still throw themselves bodily at the base of this little cliff. and they throw and they throw, and they fall beneath the boots of their companions trying to climb over them; swelling up like a wave of animated corpses, even those at the base of the pyramid trying to stand up and pursue.

it is ugly. it's unnerving. but their ineptitude buys a few seconds to look around atop this ledge and try to gauge their next escape route. )

[myagic]

[Rita's heart leaps into her throat for a moment when the zombies take hold of Natsuno, but those sun powers come in clutch, and she abandons her own incanctation to crouch down and help tug him up onto the ledge, out of reach of those grabbing hands. Then he's up and it feels like she's breathing again, heaving a sigh of relief.

It's relief that doesn't last long. While she would've been in favour of moving on to collapse and rest away from the zombies, the crowd beneath the ledge swells as they trample their fellows underfoot and use them as stepping-stones, and Rita groans in annoyance.]

There's no end to this!

[She does look around to assess their options as well, and it looks like they have two: backtracking along the ledge would bring them to rope netting for another climb, while pressing ahead would take them to a balance beam across a pit.]