epidemiology | EVENT ★ LABYRINTH

EVENT ★ LABYRINTH

ASTERION PRISON

Following Anakin's successful breakout, there are no new inmates added to the cells in Asterion Prison. There are no stops and, though speed is difficult to track in space, it seems as though the ship is now moving more purposely toward its final destination: the trial, the correctional officers say, is coming soon.

THE ESCAPE

The morning of Audentes’s last day on the prison barge began like any other day aboard so far. Throughout the day there were restless murmurs, though; plans were tentatively talked over and laid out in quiet, conspirator groups. A few more eyes than usual watched the progress of the correctional officers through the hallways. As evening drew in and prisoners prepared to return to their cells to sleep, things quietly began to set in motion.

Ninurrta, Urahara, and Lance compiled what they’d learned today and on days previous of correctional officer schedules, and Nami and Fugo were pulled aside and told where and when to be ready. Seasoned thieves that they are, it was almost no trouble to make the keycards of a few officers disappear. The officers would have much larger problems to deal with before they ever noticed the absence. And those problems started right about… now.

It’s hard to say exactly who started it, but the safe bet is on a staged performance by Asher and Stiles. As prisoners were shuffling into their cells, tempers suddenly flared, voices suddenly raised, and fists began to fly. It was contagious, especially with Undyne and Giorno’s well-timed encouragements and a few hard shoves at the right inmate’s backs. To the officers’ great exasperation and irritation, the third riot since this rowdy new batch of prisoners was added flared to life.

This one didn’t stop at the prisoners, though. Twisted Fate gifted the recreation room with an especially smokey explosion and the fire safety sprinklers reacted instantly, showering down to soak Audentes, fellow prisoners, and correctional officers alike. The officers quickly found it was a little more water than usual -- far too much water than it should be, actually. That was Sai’s subtle assistance, adding transformed water to that already raining down. Those officers not involved in trying to break up the growing confusion pushed into the recreation area to go and put out that new more-than-metaphorical fire, and that was Daenerys and Fiona’s cue to start giving orders. Any Audentes members in the area were rounded up, told to leave now, and no sooner than the last of them was out than Mettaton took center stage. Specifically, the center stage was taken with a searing blast of electricity. It wasn’t quite enough to kill prisoners, but the robotic guards never really stood a chance. They, and all the rest of the robotic crew on their shared circuit, were shorted out and down for the count.

The keycards, not forgotten, were passed on to those subtle enough to make use of them. Noctis, Loki, and Widowmaker in particular were entrusted with opening the cells of what inmates had been locked away, and then unlocking the cellblock doors. Audentes would not be turning in for the night as scheduled, and any other prisoners were welcome to come along for their ride.

That, however, was when things went a little off the rails. Separated and cornered, Emma flared up and managed what even Mettaton’s electricity hadn’t: an enormous power outage. Ship-wide, in fact. Darkness fell. Keycards were rendered instantly useless in the face of stony, inert doors, and artificial gravity went out with it all. But Audentes is nothing if not up to a little challenge.

The doors could still open, it was quickly discovered, with a little brute force. Koltira, Ramir, and Hayame kept up the speed of the now-floating (and no less lively for it) riot, prying open any doors encountered, freeing still-trapped prisoners as they were found. And what was planned as just one team suddenly became two: working on Sieglinde’s careful navigational direction, Peridot, Peter, and Damian were sent toward the locked-down main power grid for a hard reboot of the system, while Prompto, Keith, and Odinson headed toward the navigation room.

The timing was perfect. Gravity slammed back on as light flooded the prison once more, just as the second group reached the navigation room. Odinson stood guard as Prompto broke them into the room, and Keith slid into the pilot’s chair to take control of the entire ship…

...which is when things really got started.

THE LABYRINTH

Audentes gains control over the prison ship quickly and perilously, freeing fellow inmates to help them keep the correctional officers busy. The intent is to pilot the ship and land it somewhere -- but even that vague plan never really comes to fruition. Something goes wrong, and the ship plummets out of the sky, burning through the atmosphere. Alarms blare and the ship shakes and red warning lights blink in every corner. All you can really do is hold on.

The ship crashes into a planet.

It's completely trashed; no longer capable of flight. Pieces have torn off in the descent and even more pieces have melted together in the still-burning fires as the wreckage lies between impossibly tall walls. The holes in the hull reveals where personal items -- including weapons -- were being held, so it's probably a good idea to reclaim what's yours before someone else does.

There are injuries and casualties all around, including correctional officers and inmates; luckily, no fatalities have struck Audentes, and George is still alive as well, though he's broken an arm in the crash.

After scavenging the wreckage for supplies and survivors, the next step is figuring out where the hell this is. A surviving correctional officer has the answer: this is the Asterion Labyrinth, the place where all prisoners must undergo their trial.

It seems it's more of a trial by ordeal than anything else, as further exploration makes it clear that all survivors of the crash -- criminals, ALASTAIR, and correctional officers -- are now prisoners inside a maze.

OOC NOTES

Welcome to Asterion Labyrinth! There is a plotting write-up here, which includes search requests for the first ring of the maze.

If you have any questions about the prison that aren't answered here, please direct them to the Leramzen dossier.

Questions about the game in general should be directed to the FAQ and you may submit mission ideas or player plots at any time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Damian says nothing, finishes the section he is working on, pulls the razor back, and then gives a little tt.]

Hair does not belong on your face, Father. It belongs on your head. [Just look at Ra's, he had facial hair and look what happened to him? Clearly there's a connection. Also it's WEIRD. You're not a lumberjack, Dad.]

[ amused through bruce is, his visage settles for something more restrained. ]

You realize you take after me.

Of course I do, but what does that have to do with this? [Obviously he's like you, Father. He's going to be Batman.]

It means this will be you one day. Hair too.

[ in case he was being too subtle. ]

[Damian looks like he's just been personally slighted, which he has.]

It will not. [Without even thinking about it, he lifts his razor free hand to his cheek as if to check that the smooth skin hasn't been tainted by the abomination of stubble.]

Edited 2017-08-06 04:31 (UTC)

[ for all his arguments to the contrary, at times like this, damian is exactly the child he says he isn't.

so bruce, a good dad™, winds him up as far as he'll go. ]

Am I to assume that you don't take after me?

Edited 2017-08-06 04:36 (UTC)

[Damian open his mouth to reply and then stops, unsure of what to say to that.]

No I...of course I do, that's not what I meant. I only mean that...[Had he insulted him? Does he think he doesn't want to be like him now? He fumbles over his words, trying to figure out how to say "I want to be just like you but not with a beard because beards are stupid."]

[ bruce

laughs. ]

[Damian looks up and. Oh. He was teasing him. Wow.]

You...[He huffs, cheeks dusted pink.] I am never going to have a beard. Now allow me to finish, I am only a third of the way done. [What's worse than Dad with a beard? Dad with two thirds of a beard.]

My apologies.

[ is it genuine? is it more teasing?

electing to cut damian a break ( he is still holding a knife ), bruce sits straight once more. ]

It's going to be weird seeing myself.

[Are you done, Father? Good, they can continue then. He moves forward and begins again, his focus narrowing just as before.]

Did you get used to it so quickly?

I don't remember a time before. I've seen the pictures, of course. They were one of the first things Alfred showed me in hopes of jogging…something. But for me, this is how look.

More neatly kept, obviously, [ he jests. bruce listens to the scrape of the blade sliding over his skin. despite what should be — and is — a delicate subject, bruce speaks as simply, and as carelessly, as one might discuss a change in clothes. lovely weather today. i have no memory of my life. pass the rolls, please. ]

I like it. It's different.

[Wait.]

You've had that thing since before coming here? [He was somehow under the impression that he'd grown it out while here. Dad likes it though. Maybe he shouldn't be so mean about it even if it is hideous.]

There are few looks that wouldn't suit you. [That's the best he can do.]

[ a side glance. ] Careful. [ don't forget who is the parent here.

tilting his gaze up to the sky, bruce divests himself of the subtle warning. ]

You're the first person to take issue with it. I've had no complaints.

[ there was loki here. but it's loki. he doesn't count. ]

Most have to do a double take to recognize me. Saves me a few awkward conversations.

[To that, Damian is silent, concentrating on his work again for a solid minute.]

I suppose it would. [And therein lies the problem.]

...I don't think you've ever had one before. [It doesn't look like you, is what he doesn't say.]

No. [ he chuckles. ] It'd look strange with a suit. Fits right in with jeans and a button-down, though. That's my uniform these days.

[He said suit and now Damian is picturing a bearded Batman and making another very strange face.]

Uniform for what? [He understands it's a joke but the way it's phrased makes him suspect it's a joke he doesn't entirely understand.]

[ bruce grows serious. ]

I'm working at the youth center in the Narrows. That entire area of the city was devastated by the Joker's attack. A lot of kids with nowhere to go or family that hasn't been located yet.

I started there about a week after I woke up. I wanted to do something. Somewhere I could help face-to-face. I've been there since. [ he smiles. ] I have a wall of drawings the kids have made me.

[Somehow the answer is both fitting and unsettling. That he would be drawn to helping the people of Gotham is no surprise. That he chose to work with the orphans and children who suffered from the attack is even less surprising, though it leaves Damian feeling strangely hollow.

He is silent as he considers the last patch of beard, contemplating the best angle to work from.

Wondering why Father had sought out the company of strangers when his own son was apparently away at school. (Alfred told him Damian needed time, he remembers. He doesn't know where he was. He knows he wasn't at school. It wasn't Father's fault.

It still makes his stomach turn.]

...Pennyworth and Grayson have spoken highly of my artistic abilities. I'm sure I could contribute to your collage. [He's the most subtle.]

[ the most subtle. impressively so. bruce cannot tell what prompted the assertion, nor can he imagine any ulterior motive behind it. his widening smile is not at all the result of knowledge he cannot possibly possess.

bruce knows damian is an exquisite artist. alfred showed him the portrait he finished. and he knows too that he will cherish anything damian made for him, be it a doodle on a napkin or a landscape on canvas. ]

In that case, when we get out of here, I'll be expecting one.

[Damian's answering smile attempts smugness but falls short of it, landing somewhere between appeasement and childish delight. He ducks his head, rosy cheeks visible even if his eyes are not.]

Do you have any requests?

[ bruce makes a considering moue. ]

Surprise me. Something you love.

Very well. [He moves back in and with one last careful swipe he finishes removing the beard. Damian sits back to admire his handiwork and then gives a satisfied nod.]

There.

We're done?

[ bruce passes a hand over his cheeks and jaw. it's strange to feel his skin so smooth. it's strange even after he brings his hand down. not bad, only…different.

it is an amazingly close shave. ] Next time, I need a shave, I'm coming to you.

[ bruce holds his hand out for the blade. that's going back to its owner and away from little boy's hands. damian has enough weapons already. razor tucked into his pocket, bruce looks to damian. ]

How do I look?

[While Damian admires his work it's impossible not to notice the differences between Father's face and the face of the man he'd known before coming here. They aren't the same.

His face isn't the same.

There are scars and fine lines missing, and he looks...younger. Impossibly young given than Damian knows he's older than the man back home. Perhaps if he were anyone else a rational explanation would elude him, but he is Damian Wayne, formerly Damian al Ghul and he has seen such miracles before.

Batman and the Joker killed each other is what he had said. They'd died. He'd dismissed it of course for obvious reasons but...but what if he shouldn't have.

What if his father had truly died and been revived in the Lazarus pit. It would explain everything. (Who was the one to do it though? Had he himself taken his father's body to the pit? Had Grayson? Grayson had attempted it once before with the body that had turned out to be an incomplete clone and Damian wouldn't put it past him to do it again. Or maybe it was Drake, finally snapping after taking one loss too many. He supposes it doesn't matter now.)

Damian catches his father's eyes and sees no hint of green, but it does not dissuade his thoughts.]

Like a brand new person. [Damian smiles and hands the blade back, deciding that at least for right now, it doesn't matter.]

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controlling - 2017-08-11 00:26 (UTC) - Expand

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littlestguano - 2017-08-12 02:41 (UTC) - Expand

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