It is a quiet day in mostly reconstructed Cerealia. The robots are busily running into walls that were not there before, the Cybuddy bees are buzzing...and CERES has still not said a word. Attempting to contact them still gets the User Offline error. Strange...
But who cares if CERES is offline? After all, they are the cruel and tyrannical captors. A Cerealia without them must be better than a Cerealia with them. So there's nothing to worry about on this fine, peaceful day. Or, at least, that's what it seems like, when suddenly there's a voice in everyone's head. A chosen few may recognize the voice, for they will have heard it before, but to the vast majority, it is brand new.
Looks like someone has been saved, and a reward granted... and no, you don't have a single choice in the matter.
 Your heroism will be remembered, lost and stolen souls.
You have saved me, and so now, I shall save you.
All of you.
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PHASE I [ day one ] It happens so quickly. One moment you’re in the colony, going about your daily life, and the next, you’re… floating. A moment later, every player character from the colony is transported with a wisp of fresh air to...somewhere very very different. The distance is far, but it is covered in what must have only been a scant moment, and it’s clear somehow, especially to air characters, that it was Caeli’s doing that brought everyone there.
There, naturally, being right in the middle of the jungle.
Everyone is then unceremoniously dropped. You may land on a tree, or in a patch of poison mushrooms (no really, look out for the colorful plant life, it’s probably poisonous) or in the river. There are some strange insects of all sorts and types, some of which have some uncomfortable side effects if you’re bitten, such as swelling or the uncomfortable urge to go hug the nearest person, and there are strange flowers everywhere, some of which glow only in the dark of night or the shade of trees. It is dreadfully humid, however, and a little hard to breathe--unless you’re of the air disposition.
Either way, you’ve certainly landed somewhere fantastical, so take some time to get used to your surroundings. It shouldn’t take too long to find everyone else, hopefully.
PHASE II [ day two ] Of course, this far into the jungle, and making this much noise, it was only inevitable before some company was attracted.
Some are clearly dangerous, some are peaceful as can be and some are somewhere in between; approach at your own risk.
Either way, these monsters are all drawn to larger groups of people and a lot of noise, so it may be best to keep quiet...though the ones that keep their distance may be even more concerning.
Everyone is certainly being stalked at one point or another in the jungle -- and at night, there are eyes watching from the darker parts of the trees.
PHASE III [ day three ] But perhaps if you follow some of those monsters deeper into the woods, you will stumble across an old, run down village of sorts. It looks as though time and the jungle has overtaken it. Exploring it will reveal plenty of homes that were clearly lived in however, by families and by people of all sorts.
There are empty rooms, covered in dust, and a central village fire, long gone out.
Small knick-knacks and various objects can be found… if you want to steal from the dead, you know. It’s a little rude. It appears they led a simple, peaceful life, however; most notably, there is no technology to be found.
And if The Bridge catches you doing it, she will look incredibly sad and ask you to put everything back in its proper place before she goes back to looking very irritated at Caeli. You may overhear words about how this “isn’t the right place” and Caeli’s unrepentant, “It is only a few hundred miles”. Looks like something went a little wrong in the transportation process.
Time to camp out for the night, perhaps. And your CereVices don’t get any reception out here, so no surfing the internet for you. If you try to connect to the internet, for some reason the device starts playing a song. Was that programmed…?
PHASE IV [ day four ] By the fourth day, it’s pretty clear that you’re going to be stuck here for a bit. Pestering Caeli or Maris gets nothing, while the Bridge still can’t be approached for pretty good reasons. So… you’ll just have to make the best of it while they figure out their next approach.
Time to figure out how to camp with few supplies and even fewer nice places to sleep. Maybe try to make a fire (though it’s incredibly difficult, considering how muggy it is here) or try to find some bugs to eat (ew gross).
Of course, you can try hunting, but the prey doesn’t look too friendly, so be careful not to become the prey yourself. The same goes for fishing, it seems.
Some of the trees are poisonous, some of the grasses will cause unfortunate rashes, and some vines will lash out to grab at people (especially colorful ones); basically, this is an entirely untamed alien jungle, so it may not be the fun camping trip you'd like.
Time to work together to survive out here, at least for a little longer.
It’s your time to shine. This is Person Versus Wild.
PHASE V [ day six ] On day six, the jungle goes utterly silent.
The monsters and animals disappear. The extra friends poof away hastily and suddenly. Maris and the Bridge fall silent (though Caeli admittedly continues floating there as ever). If anyone approaches them to ask, they'll just say that "she is coming".
And soon, she does appear. She moves slowly, lacking in feet; they are roots, as though that of a tree. Nonetheless, she has no troubles with moving forward, slow bit by bit. She does not speak, not at first, and behind her, trotting lightly through the woods, there is another. Both feel strongly of spiritual energy, just like Maris and Caeli. And eventually, after observing the people gathered, they can be spoken to.
BONUS [ day ??? ] After spending some time in the jungle, emotions might be running a bit amuck. And those emotions might bring some unexpected...friends. Yes, let's go with friends.
Because if a character is typically grumpy, gloomy, stoic, lineface, or anything along those lines, they may find themselves followed by a bright, happy bird. That bird feeds off of those emotions, and will just cheerfully follow around any lineface character for as long as possible. Or until they smile. The birds are otherwise harmless, chirping happily every now and then and following them around like a friendly shadow.
Happy, cheerful, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, energetic characters, on the other hand, will soon find themselves followed by... a different friend. Or maybe a handful of them. It depends on how cheerful they are. Either way, these creatures feed off of happiness and fun, but they will also chew on hair or an ear if they're allowed to get that close, making horrifying, chittering noises as they follow anyone who is in a good mood.
[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ] |
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You're really strange, Major... is a thought that follows before Minato nods and looks around. It's an oddly neutral sentiment that he has and he's aware on some level that Hyoubu isn't being entirely honest, but his gesture feels somewhat more parental than friendly and it's puzzling Minato enough that he'll let it be for the moment.
They had better things to do after all, like finding that Evoker before some freaky creature ate it up and by proxy doomed Minato to some midday snack.]
It could be in any of these bushes...did you find anything yet? [And now he's turned back to see what Hyoubu's doing by touching the jungle floor- scanning of some sort?]
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You're one to talk is his unspoken reply. But then it occurs to him that what Minato might see as "strange" is that someone is accepting of him. In any case, his psychometry leads him to the Evoker soon enough. He plucks it from a nearby fern, its wide, feathery fronds reflecting blue in the jungle floor's half-light.
He turns the thing over in his hands. It's easier to say what it isn't, than what it is. It isn't a gun. And so, with some reluctance, he holds it out to Minato. ]
Here.
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He's not just smiling because of fond memories associated with the Evoker though, even if it's one of his last reminders of a home he's already said farewell to. Hyoubu's simple yet reluctant act of passing the device back was clearly something that was quite hard for him to do for reasons unknown, and that he chooses not to judge or ask further questions for now is something that Minato honestly can't thank him enough for, especially not when people have been so quick to judge him for most of his life- his friends in S.E.E.S. had given him purpose and accepted him unconditionally too, and it makes his heart ache for a second to remember that he's never going to be able to see them again unless they're brought here as well.]
That's a pretty amazing power too, Major. It's kind of like scanning your surroundings, isn't it? [But rather than it being fanboying the question is curious, as Minato's never met someone with such a diverse range of powers other than himself.] Guess I'll never have to worry about losing something then. [And that. That's a joke.]
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[ He's able to pick up some of that heartache and nostalgia, and remembers his own comrades, from long ago. Not everything lost can be found again. ]
You know what they say. Finders keepers.
[ "Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad." He doesn't like the sound of that. Someone was using Minato, and others like him, most likely. But his intuition tells him that now is not the time to ask. They have more pressing concerns, after all. ]
Speaking of lost, any idea where we are?
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[That question serves as a nice distraction from nostalgic thoughts that have no place in a jungle like this, but as Minato lacks the ability to magically scan their surroundings he'll just have to do this the hard way- a glance here and there, a brief head tilt and a shrug follows.]
Some jungle in Tellus, probably. [It's said completely deadpan, with all the authority of an expert in making things up when he doesn't know the answer. He's distracted by Hyoubu's expression anyway, as he hadn't actually meant that the esper was 'strange' in the sense of being accepting him even if that was a nice thing.
No, what he means is that it's 'strange' how someone can alternate between behaving like a teenager and someone much older so easily, and he does remember what he said before about people behaving in certain ways to hide their pain. Still...
Instinct tells him that's not something that's going to be discussed any time soon, so Minato will get right back to his answer.] I think it's a mistake though, this doesn't feel like we're being saved at all...quite the opposite, really.
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[ Which.... on the one hand, he can see the logic; but on the other, not everyone with powers can fly. And with that rather disturbing thought in mind: ]
Will you be all right now? I'm going to keep looking around, I think.
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I'll be fine. [And the Major has a point, there's going to be a lot of people who'll need to be healed or rescued from the trees... He'll excuse himself with a wave of the hand, choosing to head east since there's the faint sound of running water coming from there.] Thanks again for the help, and see you later- tell me if you see Whiss-san along the way.