epidemiology | EVENT ★ I ASKED FOR WATER (SHE GAVE ME GASOLINE)

EVENT ★ I ASKED FOR WATER (SHE GAVE ME GASOLINE)

THE STORY SO FAR . . .

There's been a lot going on in Perdition's Rest.

After Rey's encounter with the apparent leader of the Deemers, Jonathan Black, she and Keith alerted the rest of Team Audentes to their findings: the Deemers are not religious fundamentalists at all, but Qorral infected with parasites. According to this ALASTAIR file, the parasites are known as the Taraxa, and there is no cure for their host's condition.

However, this transcript with ALASTAIR agent Lloyd, a Taraxa himself, suggests that there may be hope, however small, to return the infected Qorral to sapience. It's not a guarantee, and it may fail, but it is an option.

Meanwhile, a mysterious someone burned down the saloon, to which the missing Miz Poppy was the proprietor. Clues found at the site seem to suggest that Miz Poppy herself, not the deceased Jonathan Black, is the actual leader of the Taraxa on this planet -- the Mother. But where exactly is she? And what ties does she have to the newly revealed Zymandis organization, ALASTAIR's enemy?

Through all of this, the looming destruction of the planet continues: the Qorral's fracking method is still a threat, resulting in earthquakes and an unstable planet. This is a problem that still needs to be solved, whether through diplomacy or other methods -- particularly because it seems as though Zymandis, through the Deemers, wants to breach the planet's core and destroy this very timeline.

It looks like you'll have a lot to do.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

Snow continues to fall, there's a chill in the air, and halfway through everything, an earthquake rocks the planet. But you have a job to do and your options are many. What will you do?

PERDITION'S REST.
The town of Perdition's Rest must be protected from Deemers and bandits alike; the Deemers now going after the town for their own reasons and the bandits taking advantage of the scattered ALASTAIR agents.

Sheriff Holladay and her deputies are around, doing the best they can to keep up defenses. The mayor is in his office, along with his aide. If you suspect any of them, or any of the other named NPCs of being the Taraxa Mother or otherwise infected, now is the time to investigate.

FRACKING FIELDS.
The fracking fields are still suffering from the earthquake earlier in the mission, with sinkholes and giant sandworms dangerously littering the area. Qorral miners are preparing another round of fracking, sending a rolling earthquake that shakes the entire planet.

The mining still needs to be stopped. If you try to reason with the Qorral, remember that argecite is required for their survival, so you'd better have a solution on-hand. If you try to destroy the equipment, well. . . you might save this planet. But what about the other argecite-rich planets in this galaxy? Of course, you could always try to stop the Qorral's mining some other way.

THE DEEMERS.
The Taraxa-infected Deemers must be taken care of. But the first step to that is trying to find them. Their main camp is located up in the mountains and seems to be the obvious choice, but after revealing themselves to ALASTAIR, the chances of finding them in the obvious place may be slim.

Other possible Deemer hideouts may be one of the many abandoned bandit camps scattered throughout the desert: the forest, along the river that cuts through the canyon, in the shadow of mountains, or even in abandoned mine tunnels.

Maybe trying to get answers from the Deemers is your speed. What is Zymandis? Where is Miz Poppy? Who is the Mother? Or something else . . .

Or perhaps you'd like to capture some Deemers to bring them back to Oska, or try to extract the Taraxa from their skulls yourself. Or maybe you think it would be kinder to just kill them all.

If Miz Poppy truly is the Mother, she has got to be around the camps somewhere. Kill her, capture her, talk her down, ask her questions. . . there are a lot of options. But you have to find her, first.

If looking for Miz Poppy, please give us a number from 1-5 and we will RNG if you locate her.

OTHER?
If there is something else on which you'd like your character to focus, let us know!

THE RULES.

Participation is not mandatory. However, we will only be using responses to the CYOA thread to tabulate the result of the mission.
All submitted character actions will have a hand in the result, from dealing with the Deemers to protecting the town to doing nothing at all. Actions that are not submitted will not count toward the end result.
Each character may only "officially" have 1-2 CYOA responses; you may of course participate in as many threads as you like, but only 1-2 choices may be submitted per character. So carefully choose what you want to count!
We suggest working in groups! If working in a group, you may designate one person to submit a CYOA response; each character does not need to submit an individual comment.
Keep word counts around 100-150 words. Anything much shorter will likely not be detailed enough, and anything longer will be difficult for us to work with.
If you "fail" a choice (if we tell you that your character's choice is unsuccessful), you may try one alternative method.
You do not need a thread to submit a CYOA response! Ideally, you will submit your CYOA response first, we will respond with the results, and then you can thread it out using our guidelines.
For examples of what we're looking for, please see these comments from the end of Chantes.
Above all, remember our motto: do what's most fun for you!

OOC NOTES

We suggest using the plotting post to plan groups before tagging! Following this log, there will be a final log for this mission, after which characters will return to Oska on 21 December. Please also remember we have a mandatory HMD on 23 November.

Please direct all questions pertaining to the mission to the dossier page to keep questions and responses in one place for easy player reference. General game questions should be directed to the FAQ.

Don't forget the Bounty Board! One this mission is over, you may no longer turn in its bounties. You can also request bounty missions or submit player plots at any time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Haise hears someone moving hastily, and he's greeted with a scent that reminds him of rain along with the human element that accompanies most of his associates. The skies are nearly cloudless, so it's easy to guess that it's someone there even if he can't see them, and they're someone with whom he's not yet familiar.

The fact that he's not a Qorral will surely identify him as a fellow member of ALASTAIR, but he pauses where he stands rather than approach where the scent is coming from. He does look in that direction, however, disinclined to pretend he doesn't know someone is there]

Sorry if I startled you.

[ It seems her poor attempt at stealth had failed, though she's fortunate to have found friendly company. (The young man looks nothing like the colonists, which only leaves Audentes... Or other wild alternatives and conspiracy theories which Aqua is not unhinged enough to construe.)

Dropping her concealment spell, she steps out to greet him properly, though her posture indicates she's still wary of their surroundings. ]

It's nothing to apologize for. I just wasn't expecting company... [ (Other than thieves and murderers and etc.) ]

My name is Aqua. May I ask yours? [ And a few more questions to ask after that, but she'll not forget her manners... ]

[From Haise's perspective, she seems to appear out of thin air. He supposes that must be some kind of ability that she possesses, and can imagine that it would have all sorts of potential applications. It's fortunate for him that they're members of the same team.

While he can approximate her location, it'd be hard to keep up with someone who couldn't be seen]

Haise Sasaki. Call me Haise, if you like.

[He answers easily, by now far accustomed to most of his associates using the western order when introducing themselves. Well, those who provide two names]

I was just scouting around here...I think some of the others do too, so you might cross paths with them.

Haise. [ She nods. ] It's a pleasure. [ ......Overlooking the fact they're in the middle of hostile territory, easy ('easy') prey for ambush. —Then again, all the more reason to appreciate an ally. Besides, it seems they more or less share the same itinerary, and he offers a good warning. ]

Oh? I'll keep that in mind, thank you. [ So she doesn't accidentally knock out a fellow recruit... ] ...I'm also doing some searching of my own.

[ She taps her magitek, pulling up the virtual display of the Bounty Board to confirm the information posted there. ] I suppose you're either looking for Redeemers, or fragments...?

[ There's no other reason she's aware of for anyone to be in these parts, and besides she's too protag to beat around the bush; no hidden agenda or competition here.) ]

Yes, whichever I might happen to come across... It seems both are fairly scattered.

[Both the ALASTAIR records and the Deemers seem fairly spread-out. At least the fragments don't happen to get up and walk away in the manner the extremists are capable of, which simplifies that job somewhat.

In his experience, fragments were generally underground, but that doesn't mean it would always be the case, and there are still areas he hasn't yet explored]

Which were you focused on?

[It seems only polite to ask in return, and if they're working on the same tasks, it would only make sense to combine efforts]

The fragments. Though, I've haven't had much luck with either.

[ Aqua's perfectly willing to trade information (if not simply join forces), and magnifies the map on her HUD so they can both see a layout of the desert world. ]

So far I've only explored these regions. [ —She gestures to a few scattered areas of the geography; perhaps more than one would expect for someone legging, though of course she hasn't been on foot the entire time. ]

—I have a feeling there might be something around here.

[ Perhaps buried 'treasure', or perhaps lurking Deemers... Either way, she has noted more signs of activity in these parts—intermittent sets of footsteps, along with remnants of campgrounds and objects that've been abandoned both recently and in the distant past. ]

Edited 2016-12-09 01:03 (UTC)

[The map is a helpful point of reference, and Haise looks over the regions she indicates carefully. Some of them are areas that he's covered, himself, but others he hadn't yet explored. It saves him time already, and he gestures at some other points on the map, specifically the fracking fields and Boneyard Junction]

I've been over these areas and found fragments there, but they've since seen upheaval.

[And significant enough damage that he doesn't imagine they'd have a very easy time finding anything that remains there now. There's also the fact that their associates have been over these areas too]

This area's not one I've gone over...so it does seem worth exploring.

[A stretch of desert neither of them has covered seems like a better prospect than ground they've already tread at this juncture]

[ She gives a brief nod. ]

Agreed. There's plenty of daylight still so imagine we'll be able to cover some ground.

[ They aren't so far from camp either and she can offer him a ride home (lmao) if needed... At any rate, he's piqued her curiosity, especially hearing he's actually found previous fragments in the past. ]

The fragments... Were they difficult to extricate?

[ She imagines they must be half-buried, and though she hasn't had time to unearth the places she's scouted 100%, she's still spent ample time and magic on the endeavor. (Magnet spells of course, and even that ridiculous Command Style to sense for objects underground...)

No need to slow down the search as they discuss, of course, and she continues to walk in pace with him, eyes methodically scanning the environment. ]

[Haise shakes his head just once, listening carefully to their surroundings as they proceed. No bandits were liable to get the drop on them, especially considering Aqua's quick response time and ability to conceal herself, but caution is never out of place]

They weren't difficult, no...the toughest part was simply finding them.

[Which is far from the most difficult thing in the world. It helps that they know that the items tend to be buried or at least jutting out of the ground, and they haven't been terribly hard to spot up to this point. Holodisc shards would glint in the light as well, which would be an advantage they couldn't enjoy underground or at night]

They're similar shards of colored glass...or if you broke a CD to pieces.

[Not quite the same as that, but the closest approximation that comes to his mind]

[ It's not too hard to visualize the description and she nods once in affirmation. (It's what she would've guessed anyhow, and luckily the very signs she'd been searching for thus far.) ...Almost feels like a magpie's job, picking up anything that reflects light off the desert sand, and though she's only been able to find discarded bit of metal and such, she isn't discouraged so easily.

They walk together for a while longer, filling in the long stretches with polite conversation. Only interrupted by sharp silences when either of them detect a possible enemy presence—or mostly Haise, really, whose physical senses seem to reach farther than Aqua's. (At some areas they diverge as well to seek out separate locations, relying on their magitek to communicate all the while.)

...Having scoured her half of the designated area, Aqua uses the map once more to track her way back to her partner. ]

There wasn't anything on my side. How about yours?

[Haise counts himself lucky that they have such reliable technology to make use of, even though he doesn't entirely understand how it works. The fact that it does is good enough for him while he and Aqua scour the desert for missing fragments of ALASTAIR data, and he's just about to call her when their paths converge once again]

Actually, I did spot one...although I'm unsure how to extract it without breaking it.

[Granted, Haise might be able to repair it with a spell now, but he's still reluctant to test that out. He punctuates his statement by pointing to a nearby cluster of boulders, out of which one fragment seems to be jutting, like some tiny imitation of Excalibur]

I might be able to fix it, but we'd need all the pieces if we tried that.

[Not even mentioning how perplexed he is by the fact that it's embedded in rock to begin with here]

[ The news comes as a welcome surprise, and a smile lights up her face when she hears it. ]

Oh? [ —Though it quickly becomes a perplexed, ] Oh...

[ She walks closer to the piece in question, leaning in to inspect the odd fusion of rock and... whatever material it is holodiscs are made of. (Space Plastic...??) ] I wonder how it got here...

[ A geomancer of some sort? There's certainly no natural cause for this phenomenon, and she knocks on the boulder once to make sure it's solid. (Very strange...) ]

Should we try to split the rock instead?

[ An absolutely absurd question to be asking, but she does so with a perfectly straight face. ]

[Try to split the rock...

Haise turns the words over in his mind a few times over thoughtfully, wondering how it is they might achieve that. It's far from an absurd suggestion, especially bearing in mind their circumstances, what with being part of an interdimensional organization concerned with the preservation of the timeline.

Splitting a rock is, in the scheme of things, relatively tame]

If we could be precise about it, that seems like a good approach.

[At least they'd be able to get the holodisc fragment in its totality that way. Haise supposes that his kagune might be capable of such a thing, but he's unsure whether he wants to risk disturbing Aqua on simple possibility]

[ Removing the obstacle instead of removing the object... An inverse way of thinking of it. She's glad Haise seems to be onboard, and tilts her head in agreement. ]

Of course. We might try to keep the fragment stable while we deal with the rest.

[ That is, one of them could hold onto the disc while the other handles the rock, and as Aqua has no particular preference, she'll ask for his, first.

As he's probably noticed, ] I could try and use my magic, though if you have other options, I'd be glad to know them. [ She isn't aware of what specific powers or tools he may or may not have... Otherwise, it'll be something like a hammering swing from her Keyblade, guided by a half-spell. ]

[Haise questions whether his kagune would be useful for something like this. Under the circumstances, it'd be wrong to offer no potential solutions, but he supposes he does have the next best thing]

I can try my quinque. [He lifts the red, sword-like weapon just enough to call attention to it. Tapered as its blade is, it might look too slim to do any significant damage to stone, but-] The material it's made from can pierce tough materials. I'm not sure how to go about it, exactly, but...I think it would work.

[A kagune can punch through reinforced concrete, and that was the source material for a quinque. That and a specialized form of steel, but the blade itself was a controlled release of a kagune, so it would ideally work just as well. And with no traumatizing of teammates in the bargain]

[ (His consideration is appreciated! Though, she's seen enough Weird Things in her tour around Disneyland(s) that it probably wouldn't phase her... too much...) Aqua ponders the curious blade in his hands for a moment, before nodding. Not the most ostentatious weapon she's seen toted around here, though neither is it the plainest. ]

Sure, let's give it a try. I'll brace the shard, then.

[ She shifts position slightly, giving him clearance to do his work, one hand lightly pinching the holodisc to make sure it doesn't clatter to the ground once its been freed of its rock prison...

Glancing back to Haise, ] Whenever you're ready.

[Haise nods circling around the boulder and raising his blade. Hopefully he can actually break rock with a quinque, whatever stone is composed of in this stretch of the universe. For a few moments he's quite still, before he puffs out a tense breath and drives the red blade down into the rock several inches from the shard.

He waits briefly and then tries to tug the sword free, only to meet with resistance that makes him lurch backward]

...Guess I should've expected that.

[Said lightly enough before he tugs his weapon free with more force. It leaves a visible crack]

[ Regardless of the make of the blade, there's no doubt this recruit is quite strong to be able to produce the results he does. Though Aqua isn't the type for loud applause or whistling (at least... she tries to conduct herself 'properly' around people she's only just met), there's definitely friendly admiration in her eyes when she surveys his work. ]

That's a very good start. Shall I give it a try?

[ (They can... take turns??) After taking a moment to reorientate themselves, she does the same as Haise, honing her focus into a single point in her consciousness. A deep breath—

—And then a clean strike, the teeth of her Keyblade wedging precisely into the fissure Haise had initiated. There's another sharp sound as the boulder splits further under the pressure of both her swing and her magic. ]

...One more should do the trick. [ Third time's a charm... She'll tag team Haise back into his original place! ]

[Of all the things Haise might've anticipated today, tag-team breaking a boulder wasn't one of them. Still, it seems they're quite able at it, between his quinque and her weapon. It's a curious thing, shaped vaguely like an oversize skeleton key, and he wonders what sort of thoughts went into such a design.

Not that he's really one to talk, all things considered, but he can't help feeling curious]

What sort of weapon is that, if you don't mind my asking?

[He inquires, raising his quinque and striking the fissure that Aqua has made in the stone. A rumbling crack greets him as the stone splits clear through, bits of rock crumbling away.

Observing this, he looks up to her]

Did the fragment come loose?

[ A year ago she would've been under strict NDA (Master Eraqus had made clear to them not to divulge the secrets of the many worlds), but as such thing is hardly applicable anymore with ALASTAIR, she doesn't really give it as much thought as she once might have. She lays the blade flat in her hands, rolling her palms just slightly to allow him a better view. ]

It's called a 'keyblade'. It allows me to use certain spells.

[ (...And then the fact that it's supposed to seal the hearts of worlds, that a certain keyblade can unlock a path to the heart of all worlds... That, she'll keep under wraps at least...) ]

And yours? [ —But she's momentarily distracted from her own question when he finishes up the job, eyes widening as the sudden tension around the shard goes loose, allowing her to pluck it out easily. ]

It did. Not a single scratch. [ There's a victorious smile on her face as she holds it up for him to see. (A fanfare plays softly in the background, in some distant, parallel world.) ]

[A Keyblade... Haise can only wonder what it's like to have a weapon that conducts magic like that, but then, back home magic wasn't even a thing. He'd only come to learn spells in ALASTAIR, and he doesn't know whether he'll remember them whenever he eventually returns to Tokyo. It must be quite different, coming from a place that has such things naturally.

He opens his mouth to answer, only to close it again when Aqua holds up the unmarred shard. It's enough to prompt a smile from him, relieved that they've successfully managed to extract the object from solid stone. Maybe he'd have to tell ~~dad~~ Arima about that feat later]

Good work. [They've successfully acquired the loot] As for my weapon...

[He takes his turn holding up his quinque, balancing the blade on his palms just as Aqua had done so she can have a good look at it too]

It's created from certain materials in my world to combat particularly durable threats.

[Only the most simple, clean (...yep) explanation of a morally grey weapon, yes]

[ Ah yes, cutting careful corners, the both of them... But that's definitely more than good enough for the time being. Aqua nods along to the explanation, giving the boulder they'd just defeated a soft knock. ]

I see it's lived up to its task. ...Would you like to hang onto the fragment, or shall I?

[ What matters is that it's returned to ALASTAIR... Anyhow, there's still more than enough time to get back to camp before nightfall by glider, though it might more difficult to do so walking. ]

...I'll be flying back to the colony soon to attend to some matters. [ Gather more information, rest up, rendezvous with recruits she hasn't seen since Nalawi, etc. ] You're more than welcome to come with me, if you'd like.

I trust it's safe in your care.

[Haise has a tendency to pass shards to others for safekeeping, in part because of his history with serious injury. Barring giant sand-worms or stone golems he's not liable to get the fragment broken, and he can repair things now, but some habits are simply well-settled by this point.

Besides, ultimately it's going to the same place no matter who's carrying it]

...Flying though?

[He remembers Laedo offering people rides, but he's a sizable fluffy dragon. How does Aqua intend to fly somewhere?]

All right. [ She'll make sure it's safely delivered, come hell or high water... (Or just a lot of Deemers and bandits...)!!

—And, she keeps forgetting her maid mode of transportation isn't so common around these parts. She smiles, eyes flicking down to her magical implement. ]

Well, there's one more thing this can do.

[ She lobs it into the air expertly, and the angles and edges of the keyblade break apart, expand, and reshuffle themselves into an arrangement vaguely resembling an aircraft. ]

...If you don't mind heights, of course. [ And a distinct lack of safety belts...... ]

[Just don't dive into any dark realms alone, Aqua...

Despite himself, Haise starts when her weapon changes shape so dramatically, wide-eyed stare to suit. It takes him a good handful of moments to recover, clearing his throat softly and tugging at his tie as he belatedly registers that she'd spoken to him.

Will he ever get used to the wide gamut of things that are more real than he'd ever imagined?]

Ah, sorry... I've never seen something quite like that. [A statement of the obvious, he realizes] But heights aren't a problem for me.

[He had jumped out the window of a skyscraper just minutes before his recruitment, after all]

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keeper - 2017-01-17 22:55 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

EVENT ★ I ASKED FOR WATER (SHE GAVE ME GASOLINE)

I.

SORRY I'M FINALLY BACK

AT LEAST IT WASN'T 11 YEARS OR SO RIGHT...

LAUGHTRACK.WAV...

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well now i want keyblade glider rides...

you can def have keyblade glider rides!!!!

fires up the victory fanfare tunes

o9!!

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