( mini-plot post: open to all )

[jawdacity]

Who: jawdacity & all of cerealia!
When: towards the end of the event (so this won't conflict with any event threads you may already have going). 2-3pm.
Where: Abandoned village + surrounding jungle
What: THERE ARE EXPLOSIONS. And mushrooms.
Rating/Warning: Possible NSFW for gore?

Details about this mini-plot HERE

"World of Loudening Screams" (Watch on YouTube)

(theme song of this post, courtesy of moribound.)



[ it's another muggy, meandering day in the jungle; nothing seems to be out of the ordinary. ]

IN THE VILLAGE

[ if your character is near the center of the village, they'll bear witness to the curious sight of a herd of shuffling mushroom beasts. in terms of threat level, to the experienced hunter they may have ranked low on the scale: slow, lacking an external fang or claw, they seem to be interested only in their endless march forward.

but, if your character is close enough, they may catch sight of a red-haired young man, a manifesto of anger written across his face. one breathless moment, the calm before the storm, and then he hurls a metallic pair of gloves at the closest beast, the gloves trailing arcs of flame.

what may strike your character first is the searing heat, the thrum of the earth below their feet. the whole village is demolished in a moment, the dying cries of the beasts rising above the din. the explosion lasts much longer than it should, the line of mushrooms going up one after another.

if you're too close, you might be torn in two. you might lose a limb, or two, or three. you might go deaf, you might lose your sight. you might lose all your eyelashes, your clothes. maybe the bag of mushrooms you'd collected for dinner is now little more than ash.

keep running. the smoke trails into the air. someone is screaming. the smell of charred meat follows you even after you disappear into the jungle. ]

IN THE SURROUNDING JUNGLE

[ if your character is close enough to the village, they'll feel the blasts, one after the other. the jungle is on fire, quickly spreading. maybe you'll hear the screaming, too; maybe your lungs will fill with smoke. maybe you'll run into one of the last mushroom beasts, fleeing from the explosion only to trigger a lesser one in the depths of the jungle.

it came from the village, didn't it? maybe someone you love was swept up in the explosion.

if you manage to escape the stampede of terrified jungle beasts (some of which may stop to crunch you up as a quick meal as they dash away from the blast), maybe you can venture closer to see what's happened.

or maybe you should get as far away as possible. ]

Comments

[zerotohiro]

[The idea of moving him is a little better and he glances at the hand on his shoulder with wide eyes before he swallows, nodding slowly as the grip on Tadashi's arm lessens. He seemingly tunes in to the fact that the fire (though not nearly as wild as the initial explosion) was still spreading and that others around them were working to evacuate people and extinguish the flames.

And Minato has a good point. Without both of them, what would happen to Baymax back at their campsite? He's already a little worried about the cat back at their apartment. The fact that Minato's very calm about this also doesn't escape him, but it's something he can ask later.]

He's kinda tall. [No, Hiro, you're just kind of short. It's a feeble excuse, but he's already trying to pull the burnt body up into a seated position to make this easier. On the bright side, at least they know where the body is this time, even if it'll disappear in a few hours.] We can head back to where I left Baymax and I can figure out something from there.

[moribound]

Got it. [Minato nods once before bending down and to lift the burnt body, intending to drape it over his shoulders- while he does seem to stumble slightly with the body when he gets up, switching to Siegfried does provide him with the necessary strength to carry the body.

With the elder Hamada successfully hoisted he'll turn to look back at Hiro just to see how he's faring.]

How far is Baymax away from here? We might have to fight off some monsters too...can you handle it?

[zerotohiro]

[Part of him realizes that it's kind of impressive that Minato can carry Tadashi by himself. The other part is just grateful because he knows he can't move him alone. He's fully convinced that even if he couldn't handle the monsters in normal situations he'd be able to based purely on the adrenaline coursing through his veins at the moment. He nods, gesturing with his head to get Minato to follow him. He's keeping an eye on the pair of them as they walk which leads to him walking nearly sideways to do so.]

I pulled him out of the village earlier to try and see if I could work something out and generate power from the sun while Tadashi was grabbing food. [Which...is good, he realizes, because otherwise Baymax would probably have melted, too.] He's not too far from here. If I can figure out a way to power him up for a little bit maybe there's something I can do for Tadashi.

[moribound]

... [He could be excused for falling silent since carrying someone heavier than he is takes a lot of effort and it's straining his slight frame, but Hiro's insistence that he can still do something is something Minato's reluctant to address, being as close as he is to the charred and still body.

Delusions are a dangerous thing, but far worse than that is the lack of a delusion or a reason to stop one from throwing their life away. That Hiro's calling the dead person by his first name suggests that he's is a close family member especially given their resemblance, and-

He cuts off his thoughts there, hefting the body and preparing to walk.]

Let's go then before something sees us. ...I'm counting on you to watch our backs. [It should be enough to give Hiro a sense of purpose, at least to keep him out of trouble when he inevitably realizes the truth.]

[zerotohiro]

Trust me, I've got us covered. [And it's true. It's a smart move on Minato's part because it forces him to slip right into hero mode and protective mode, fists balled and ready to swing if something happens to try to attack them. What he thinks he can do with his fists is a mystery to pretty much everybody, but he's determined to get his way.

As he leads Minato further into the jungle he's keeping his eyes open, continually looking around to make sure they remain unbothered while stomping through foliage to get to a patch of greenery. He gestures for Minato to stop as he works on peeling back a bunch of giant leaves and revealing an armored, mostly depowered Baymax. The battery-life on the robot is almost completely zapped by now. Even if Hiro commanded him to try and heal Tadashi's burns there wouldn't be enough functionality to do so. But he didn't get a choice last time. He wants to at least try this time.]

Go ahead and set him down, Minato. I'll see if I can get Baymax working long enough. [He knows. Instinctually, he knows it's too late.] I need to dearmor him really quick.

[moribound]

Alright. [Setting Tadashi down gently is easy enough and Minato stretches after that to relax his muscles; what's harder is deciding if he should return to the village immediately or stay with Hiro for a while. There could still be people who can be saved, but at the same time he doesn't know Hiro well enough to say if the boy will endanger himself when he finally realizes what's happened.

> Leave
> Stay
> Select something else]

Will you be alright on your own? [It's a solemn assessment and question he makes after looking around them and seeing the greenery surrounding everything; if at anything Hiro was much safer here than where he was before, and he can't let his own lingering feelings get in the way of saving others- that much he realizes too in wishing that he had been able to do something beyond carrying a corpse.]

[zerotohiro]

[At first he doesn't say anything as he busies himself with removing Baymax's armor. It also comes from a lack of an answer. Will he be alright on his own? It's questionable, yes, but this isn't the first time. This isn't the first time he's been left behind to figure out how to solve these problems and it's not anybody else's job to...what, babysit him? He's not sure really. With Tadashi on the ground and with Baymax's armor quickly creating a pile he finally speaks up.]

...we'll be fine. ["We'll." A dead body, a dead robot, and a fourteen year old without a huge range of survival skills. Sure. Fine. But he sounds confident enough in his tone when he continues.] I'll think of something, I just need to figure it out. There has to be something I can do this time. [He finally looks back at Minato then, a tentative smile in place.] But I appreciate it.

[It's not fair to ask Minato to stay. Not when other people probably need help, too. That's what he should be doing. He should be going back and helping in the village but...he's allowed to be selfish this time, he thinks.]

[moribound]

[And Minato still recalls what Hiro told him last time, that he was part of a team much like the one he had once. It's the only reason why he's comfortable in letting Hiro stay by himself as he takes a deep breath and steels himself for a return trip to the village, with little time to lose.

He didn't need more lives on his conscience. That's what Minato knows, but he can't help but give Hiro a light pat on his shoulders while smiling knowingly. I know how it feels like to lose a loved one...this is more than anyone can ask of you today, Hamada-san.]

I understand. Take care. [A nod later and he's turned away without looking back, breaking out in a steady run soon after.

If Hiro can't fight this day, then he'll just have to make up for it.]