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epidemiology2017-08-05 12:02 am
futurologists) wrote in epidemiology2017-08-05 12:02 am
Entry tags:
- ! event log,
- bruce wayne (dc comics),
- connor walsh (htgawm),
- davesprite (homestuck),
- fiona (borderlands),
- h.c. andersen (fate/),
- jason todd (dc comics),
- jin kung (mortal kombat),
- keith (voltron),
- lucina (fire emblem: awakening),
- lucy/nyuu (elfen lied),
- mettaton (undertale),
- oliver hampton (htgawm),
- rhys (borderlands),
- scott mccall (teen wolf),
- widowmaker (overwatch),
- wylan van eck (grishaverse)
EVENT ★ LABYRINTH III: THE ESCAPE
LABYRINTH III  The lizards, rats, and other monstrous creatures seem to be absent from this area of the maze, replaced instead by rhinoceros-sized beetles. The beetles each have a single horn protruding from the head, and their hard carapaces make them difficult to kill -- a better method might be to simply climb somewhere high and wait for the beetle to get bored. But unlike the other monsters encountered in the maze, the beetles seem to have something else on their mind beyond wanton violence: they can sometimes be found rolling massive balls of dung throughout the corridors of the labyrinth. (This might explain why the plants are so lush closer to the center.) There is little time to explore this section of the labyrinth before there's a flicker of light all around and more ALASTAIR recruits suddenly appear, most dressed in a freshly pressed uniform and carrying extra food and supplies. They have been told that the cloaking surrounding Asterion Labyrinth is so strong and complex that Oska was only able to send in a handful of recruits at once for a relief effort. In order to leave, they'll have to locate the escape mechanism that lies deep within the labyrinth; the remaining Asterion Prison correctional officers know its general location, but not precisely what it entails. All they know is that it will require technological cunning to operate and that it's heavily guarded. After five days, the portal room is found. THE PORTAL ROOM  The center of the labyrinth is a large, circular room with a raised platform in the middle. On this platform rests a circle of computer consoles surrounding another platform, on which sits an empty circular frame 2.5m (8') in diameter. This is the dormant portal, and it is now Audentes's task to turn it on and find their way back to Oska. Because the portal is not made for interdimensional travel, it must be overclocked, which will cause it to burn out and explode once it is used. In order to override the safety protocols in place to prevent such dangerous tampering, the control panels must be unlocked -- and unfortunately, the locks are all complicated puzzles, ranging from the numerical to sliding pieces into place to complete a pattern. There are many of these puzzled scattered around the portal room, and once they are all unlocked, it's a simple matter of flipping the power override switches. Ignore the dangerous humming sound and the way the frame suddenly fills with violent purple energy. That's probably normal. The new recruits have the correct coordinates to locate Oska, which has temporarily lowered its cloaking shield to allow Audentes to return. So there is a bit of a time crunch. Adding more to the difficulty of the situation is the presence of a monster lumbering around the circular portal room. Six meters (20') high, the beast is best described as a minotaur, but perhaps not in the traditional sense: while it resembles a bipedal bull, it is an amalgamation of flesh and machine with its body covered in pistons and glowing lights. One of its hands is an enormous axe and it belches fire and acid. Despite its head resembling an herbivore, the piles of desiccated bones scattered throughout the portal room tell a different story. Upon seeing the group, the minotaur charges. Mavahari, the Zymandis recruit, rushes to meet it with her sword drawn. Inmates and correctional officers do their best to fight it as well, but something becomes quickly apparent: it cannot be harmed by projectile weapons. The machinery of the beast keeps it protected from most attacks, though electricity will stun it and acid will corrode its metal. But in order to injure the minotaur, it must be stabbed between the metal plates where its vulnerable flesh remains. During the battle, the minotaur fights viciously and without regard for its own safety. The first casualty comes early: the minotaur swings its axe toward Mavahari, who is pushed out of the way by George. The axe connects with him solidly, sending him flying into the wall with a shuddering impact. George lies there still, but there's no time to mourn. The beast continues its rampage. Once the minotaur is defeated, you'll have to quickly decide what to do with the correctional officers and inmates who have followed Audentes through the Asterion Labyrinth. The overclocked portal won't hold forever, and the longer Oska leaves its cloak down, the better chance they have of being found by their enemies. OOC NOTES This log will last for six IC days: five days for exploration and one day at the center of the maze. We have also recently altered the calendar this month, so make sure you review it! IMPORTANT: Participation in the solution poll is mandatory for August AC. Failure to participate will result in an automatic strike. The only exception is for those who are exempt from August AC. The poll will close on 11 August 23:59 UTC. If you have any questions about the labyrinth 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. |
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No. I don't think I'd like to hear what you have to say about that. [Scott knows that they'll be at odds. Mettaton had been callous enough to talk over the magitek as if George would have no idea. But Scott doesn't point that out. That, too, could be another sign of George's supposed "genius."]
Why is it so hard for you to believe that he could have just cared about her? There has to be a reason why you have that perspective. [Citing George's supposed incompetence is hardly a reason, and even so, it has to come from a specific place.]
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Instead, Mettaton finally meets Scott's eyes.]
I'm not saying that wasn't a part of it. I admit, I was too disappointed in his decisions to see how obviously smitten he was with her, but... Well, let's face it. He was. He was very, [sigh,] very smitten with her.
All I was wondering was if this is what he was planning on. There's no greater show of love than setting someone free, is there?
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I don't think he planned on dying for her sake. That's not—it isn't the sort of thing that just happens to be in the cards. That isn't how it works.
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So he's not a genius, then. Just a love-struck fool.
[Scott's right about one thing: Mettaton's very good at twisting words around.]
I can't tell if it was more of a shame now or before.
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Do you always treat the dead this way, or is George just special?
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...Haha... Besides. "Talking ill of the dead" never applied to ghosts.
That squeaking from his hinges resumes again as Mettaton blindly makes to wipe away a burned, blackened spot on his arm. Maybe the minotaur didn't kill him, but it left its marks.]
I've spent a lot time thinking he was going to be a threat to us, not to himself. I'm allowed to be taken aback.
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[That was a large reason for Scott's beef before. No, he hadn't known George, but he had spoken long enough to Mavahari to know that she wasn't a bad person. Her thought processes were a little more direct than most people's, but he understood what she was saying. More than that, he knew the truth of it.]
Do you think I'm a threat for thinking she's okay?
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[For one of the few times since they've spoken, Mettaton's eye focuses. He's staring directly at Scott, expressionless.]
Not until you asked me that.
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Whatever steely gaze he was holding crumples in an instant and Mettaton's back to blankly staring into nothing again. His comment was supposed to be a joke. He was going to try to make a point, but it's too much to ask for people to follow his internal script, isn't it? Scott just had to not be threatened.
It's Frisk all over again, but at least Frisk had the good grace to never open their mouth.
This is pointless. Mettaton isn't a misanthrope. He loves people. He loves their passions and their dreams. He loves to see people smiling at their own thoughts. He loves making their days better. But he doesn't believe in risking those people so another one can potentially get away with ruining everything.
Maybe that makes him heartless. Maybe, like he's known for a while now, he's irrevocably a bad person.
But at least he's not Scott.]
Darling. I just spent several weeks in a blind terror that one man and his idiot crush could work their way back to Zymandis and undo everything we've ever tried to accomplish. That they could undo not just our efforts, but our homes. Everything, every empty space in the cosmos. The concept of our lives and experiences. Everyone you've ever known, or never gotten to know.
All because a known screw-up was trailing behind a murderer devoted to the cause of destroying everything.
I'm not worried about you. You're a naive child, but you're smart enough to know absolute destruction isn't worth the chance that a new, somehow better timeline might emerge. No one on our team is stupid enough for that, not unless that woman managed to put blinders on them too.
George was blinded. And he's dead now.
[Another shrug.]
End of conversation. It was nice talking to you.
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Then again, what's new about that?]
Before you go, I want you to know one thing. [And if Mettaton makes a move to make a dramatic exit, Scott will be quick to follow him.] I checked on George because I could see why he'd want to leave, why he'd want to see if the other side was better. I've been the lovesick fool before, and it's important to remind them that there's more to it. That there's more people who care. Instead of deciding the worst, I reminded him that we're still here. It probably helped that I knew her, too. I hadn't made her mad.
There are people on that other side fighting, and they don't know that they've been tricked or duped. Some of them won't care. Some of them will want us dead anyway. But the best way to change that organization is by making them see reason. [Because the other alternative is killing them, and by seeing them as nothing but evil. He loves people just as much as Mettaton does, but his way of going about that is, at times, radically different. Or ... maybe always radically different.]
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Why is it so hard to believe that Mettaton was only trying to do the right thing? That was he being logical and trying to take action against potential, unforgivable destruction? That, for once, he was outwardly taking things seriously instead of sitting in the background playing cheerleader? That he was trying? That he was perfectly willing to ruin that shiny little 0 on his forehead for the sake of every other naive soul on this team who was too busy fawning over a cute couple?! That, sometimes, playing the understanding, always loving and forgiving friend only leaves you with broken promises, a broken face, and a hole in your pride bigger than their constantly running mouths?!
Well. Aside from the fact that he's wrong. Objectively. By now, there's not really any defense for violent paranoia when everyone else on the team had decided George was harmless and Mavahari was sweet, so stop it, Mettaton.
...sigh.]
What is this really about? What do you gain from proving me wrong?
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We're gonna butt heads on this again.