ximilialog | MISSION: BAD COMPANY, PART 2

MISSION: BAD COMPANY, PART 2

● ● ● M I S S I O N 4 . 2

INTRO • THE DREAM DEFERRED • YOUR WAKE UP CALL • FYI

// INTRO. WELFORD BRANSON  

It is barely past twilight in Scorpion’s Bend, the twin suns having just set, taking their light with them — but the moons delay, and so darkness lingers over the town as Lan Xichen’s conversation with one Welford Branson comes to an abrupt end. At the same time, all around the town, the team will notice the town natives around them stilling — some freezing in the middle of a sentence, a man with a fork in the air, a woman mid-step on the street, some youngsters with their mouths open in laughter. All of them become statues in less than a heartbeat; still, eyes vacant, like everything that made them seem alive has been taken away.

And then — a reverberating sigh, echoing heavily in the ears of all the Orbers. What follows are words, spoken by a chorusing voice now familiar to most of the team —

“Well now you’ve done it.”

The orb’s echoing sound is filled with disappointment, even annoyance.

Some may see that amidst all the frozen townspeople, an old man runs, clawing at his thinning hair. Some of you may hear his words, muttered, desperate:

“I don't understand, I thought 'twas just a bad dream, everyone was fine, don't understand, what in the name of the Eight could've done somethin' like this —”

The disbelieving mumbles trail at his wake, making it clear he does not know what is going on at all — in fact, you may have a better idea as to what has happened than he does. But as you turn to follow him, open your mouth to yell at him to stop... everything around you shatters.

The lights in the buildings grow dim and break; the smell of food disappears; the horses in the stables simply fade away. You notice that if you were wearing or carrying something you bought while here, it too disappears, your clothes turning to those you had on upon arrival, all equipment shimmering away slowly.

But perhaps most importantly… the frozen statues of people crumble into ash right in front of you. It may fill the floors of the now-silent, dusty and worn-down houses, or it may blow away with the harsh desert wind — whichever it is, sans the team, the town of Scorpion’s Bend is now devoid of people.

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// PART I.THE DREAM DEFERRED  

The town that now surrounds the team is very different from the one it used to be — the houses are quiet, filled with sand and dust; doors broken, tables turned over, drawers open and mostly empty, aside from anything not valuable. The beds in Thornbush Inn are ragged, insects of various sizes skittering along the floors. The Saloon is dusty, furniture broken, and a lone piano stands in the corner, half its keys having crumbled away. The door to the Mayor’s office is ajar, a banging sound repeating as it hits the wall in time with the wind.

1.0 In the corners of the Sheriff’s office, the school and the church, the embera slither along, searching for food; owl-shrews hide from the Orbers on the streets, while feathered coyotes howl at the five moons now lending their light to see the town’s destruction better. The team may be the only living humanoids, but they are not the only living beings in the town anymore; in the absence of people, animals have made the town their home. And coexist they must, now, to survive the rapidly dropping temperature of the night that has fallen upon them.

2.0 The next morning, as the moons disappear underneath the horizon and let the two suns bring out their scorching rays once more, the team wakes up to the reality of having to survive Scorpion’s Bend… with very little supplies. So search the empty houses, for they still stand; the fire that has burned away the people has not touched the buildings… but they have not been immune to the passing of time, or the harsh weather in the desert. You may find clothing, basic equipment, pots and pans left on a now-cold stove; but no valuables, no money, no gems, no jewelry, no weapons.

But amidst your search through the town, remember that what you need, first and foremost, is to find water and something to eat — it will not be long until the suns are high in the sky, and some of you are already in desperate need of proper nourishment, without being left to endure the scorching temperatures the days on the planet of Badrock bring.

3.0 But should you want to brave the heat, you’ll find it is now possible to leave the town and venture out into the desert. Out there, the rock dragons search for prey, while bald vultures circle above your head in groups of three or four, their shrieks growing in volume the farther you walk. If you show weakness, any weakness, they strike — and the dragons, sensing their chance, are not far behind.

And when you least expect it, the ground underneath you trembles, like a small earthquake is approaching you… and then you see it: from the sand, a whale surges up, then another, and another, arcing through the air like suspended there, before the sand swallows them once more. Should you get too close, you too may be swallowed underneath the sand; unless you’re very, very careful, or have in your arsenal something else that may help you to deal with these near-immortal giants that have swam across the deserts for hundreds of thousands of years.

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// PART II.YOUR WAKE UP CALL  

Time passes at a snail’s pace without the comforts of the town you were used to. Scorpion’s Bend is now a wasteland you must survive, and it clearly isn’t easy. Some of you might question whether retrieving the orb is still an endeavour worth pursuing after all of this, but the rest of you know that it is. That you’ve come this far and you’re nearly there; you just need to band together and form a gameplan.

As the suns begin to set over the horizon on yet another grueling day of scorching heat and rough, dry sand in the ghost town of Scorpion’s Bend, you might begin to hear a distant thunder that has nothing to do with an oncoming desert storm or otherwise. It rattles at the already weakened structures of the old Saloon and the General Store, bits of broken glass and debris vibrating with the raucous sound of clattering hooves, feet, and paws. And as the sound of the invasion grows louder – you’ll hear the unmistakable manic howling and bellowing in accompaniment: these are the Bouldersnakes that some of you have already heard much of.

4.0 The Bouldersnakes are not a group to be taken lightly, and have garnered the fearsome reputation that they now hold for a reason. Kicking up dust, they arrive like a cloud of chaos in different sizes, shapes, and forms. Some have the ability to shrink and grow in size to match their opponents in physical size and weight. Other Bouldersnakes are agile and quick; and others yet are superhumanly strong and robust – either way, they make for formidable opponents when you, yourself, have been weakened from weeks of a lack of proper nutrition and sleep. The individual members of the Bouldersnakes are like a band of bloodthirsty brothers: from all walks of life and all colours and creeds, with a severe and mean streak to them, who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

What goals, you ask? Should you listen carefully, their leader, riding a winged lizard-like creature, shouts to their underlings:

“Find it! This is where it told us to come to. We missed it last time, but no more! I don't care what we have to do, we're getting our hands on that thing!”

As it so happens, you are not the only crew in search of that elusive orb; the Bouldersnakes have been tracking down the whereabouts of this mysterious and all-powerful object themselves, burning through towns – quite literally – to get it. News that Scorpion’s Bend has seen a resurgence of life and might still be the resting place of the orb has the bandits seeking out the town again. Their first round through Scorpion's Bend about a year ago had them coming up empty-handed (save for a few bits and baubles), but this time they are determined to find what they've come here to find. Though if there’s anything left here to salvage... they’ll ransack as they please.

Whether you confront them head-on or they catch you in hiding, they won’t easily back down from a fight. It will be best to keep your distance if you can manage it, and hope that they’ll pass you by. But the Bouldersnakes have their weaknesses too: once maimed, they still bleed, and none of them are immortal, though they are notoriously difficult to kill based on their talents alone... and when they carry weapons, too, well — those not accustomed to battles may find it best to hide. And even for those with fighting experience under your belt, teaming up with your fellow Orbers and combining your shared skills will be your best chance at survival.

5.0 By the time the suns have disappeared and the moons have risen, the Bouldersnakes invasion will make the bandit attack from the other night seem like a childish tussle. The Bouldersnakes don’t play nice and have adapted to the harsh lands as ruthless survivors. They arrive like a wave, many equipped with weapons: guns, sabers, pistols and small knives. A few others have engineered their own specially crafted weapons made of metal and magic (in the shape of guns, blow-torches, and blades) that wield a special element harnessed from mined ore called ‘pulsefire’. It is this pulsefire, glowing a deep blue (like the hottest colour of flame), that has the capability to destroy all living beings and allows the bandits to systematically ravage unsuspecting towns down to ash, reap its benefits (either for the town’s riches and wealth, or and especially: for any supply of ore), and then leave without a trace.

The best way to fight against pulsefire is to acquire weapons of pulsefire of your own and best a Bouldersnake before they best you. (Think high stakes, noon-time duels of the pistol.) Of course, this is a very risky and very dangerous affair as one shot by pulsefire could mean your untimely demise and the element itself isn't easy to put out either, so it might be best to work in teams to strategically disarm and swipe a pulsefire weapon to use before they manage to overwhelm you.

NOTE: If your character is alive, your character will be vulnerable to the effects of pulsefire. Unliving things such as buildings and infrastructure will not be affected. Pulsefire has a slow spread-rate over unliving things, but its effects on the living are instant. Once in contact with the element, pulsefire quickly consumes the living body and spirit until it is turned to ash. Putting pulsefire out over unliving things is relatively easy, but once pulsefire has touched the living, there's little to no chance of making it out in one piece.

All through this, you must still remember your goal — it is not to stay in Scorpion's Bend, or even fight the Bouldersnakes, but to find the orb... and that means finding Welford Branson. How will you convince him to give you the orb, when all signs point to him not even knowing what it is, or what it has done? That is what you must decide... if you survive the Bouldersnakes in one piece, of course.

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F Y I

• The events in this log take place ICly right after the end of the NPC thread.

• The voting for how to get the orb is now open! Please head HERE to submit your idea for how the team should proceed to get the orb, or +1 others’ ideas.

• The conclusion of the mission and the return to the station will be posted on February 13.

• If you have questions about anything in this log, please direct them HERE.

• And finally, your soundtrack for this log: ♪ ♪ ♪

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Peter--

[the call is sudden, a little sharp with the note of urgency in the tone. Blue is so often more soft and careful, but there's no time for that.]

Saloon. Hurry--

[he's the closest friendly mind near him, the clearest one to call in a pinch, and this is indeed a pinch. the honeycombed psychic barrier he's bubbled himself in is starting to fray under repeated punches and swipes of massive arms and slicing of blades. they'd gotten the drop on him, these two: their minds are shielded from his senses, and so when he dared to start to get up and move to a new hiding spot...there they were.

and now here they are, trying to carve through his protections and get to him, seemingly convinced this power of his has something to do with their prize.]

[ Peter winces at the voice in his head, not too fond of extra voices in his head when he's not expecting them, but quickly noticed the alarmed tone. ]

On my way. [ He leaves whatever is doing and sprints to the saloon without a second thought, aware that if Blue is calling for him, it needs to be for something important or life-threatening. Sure enough, the view that greets him when he gets there is not a pretty one.

Aiming high, Peter fires a plasma shoot to the chest of the nearest alien to Blue. He's not playing around when the life of his friend is in danger, and some Bouldersnakes are strong enough to shake off his electric bolts if he only tries to stun them.He's also learned that the best way to deal with these bastards is to do it as quickly and unexpectedly as he can, so they don't have time to ready the pulsefire weapons.

He aims at the other alien but misses. After his companion got shot, it quickly tries to duck out of the line of fire. Growling under his breath, Peter runs forward, jumps, and activates his jeet boots to deliver a flying knee kick to the alien's face. It hits him square in the jaw with a sickening crack, sending him flying backward and crashing against some tables. The wood breaks and splinters under the weight, but Peter can hear a groan, so that means that one's not dead. He readies his blasters again, standing before Blue and looking over his shoulder only briefly. ]

Blue!? Are you okay? Get out of here if you can, I'll handle this.

[the relief is immediate, and with it the barrier drops and Blue can catch his breath. but it's a temporary reprieve; the searing shots send slices of sympathetic pain his way, causing him to recoil, backing up against the bar counter between some of the few still-remaining stools.

his eyes dart to Peter when called, about to respond, but--]

Look out!

[he feels the intention before it happens, the alien that had been shot at rolling onto arms and legs to lunge forward and catch Peter by his ankles.]

[ Peter is not expecting his attacker to go for his legs, and he's not quick enough to get out of the way. He curses as they end in a tangled mess of limbs on the ground, all snarls and punches flying. Peter is no stranger to hand-to-hand combat, and Gamora hits harder, so he manages to stop a few hits, and return the favor in kind. The bandits here remind him of some really nasty Ravagers that Peter met while growing up, feral at times and who were only a hair's breadth from being total psychopaths.

At some point, Peter manages to stand up, grabs a chair, and breaks it over the bandit's back. Blue will have to dodge out of the way of the flying pieces of wood. Unfortunately, being hit by furniture doesn't slow down the asshole, but it sure pisses him off. It also gives him ideas because he turns to grab a table and lift it over his head to throw it at them. ]

Oh, come on! SHOW OFF! [ Peter jumps to the side and goes to grab Blue's arm to get him out of the way before the table hits them. ]

[Blue is as easy to yank around as a tissue paper mannequin, and twice as likely to bruise for it. still, he doesn't protest save for a startled sound and a grunt while getting pulled out of the way of any shrapnel, landing him against Peter's chest.

he might be dizzy and breathless, but he doesn't need breath to relay his thoughts:]

We should escape, Peter. Before more are drawn to the noise! [before Peter himself gets too lost in this fight, wired as he is right now.]

[ Peter is often concerned that Blue might be on the too thin side but, this time, it's really for the better than the man weight practically the same as a paperweight. It means the Guardian has little trouble moving him and then using his own body as a makeshift shield. ]

Jesus fuck! [ Unlike Blue, Peter favors swearing and talking shit out loud, especially when during a stressful fight, even if he also sounds a bit breathless. ]

Yeah, good plan. Wrap your arms around my neck. [ He will then lift Blue bridal style and start running because he can hear the bandit roaring behind them. Sounds like those have never been a good sign in the past. ]

[he does as ordered, ears ringing from the cacophony of gunfire, breaking materials, and Peter-swears. he tucks his head down against Peter's shoulder, trying to be as slight as he can, holding his breath. he has to brace against Peter's fury, focused though it may be; there's some turmoil there that's hard to be so flush against in a crisis, but fighting against it will be no good. they have to focus instead on getting out safely, alive, and without getting chased down like animals.]

[ Peter is used to chaos, explosions, and guns being fired around him, but even he winces at all the noise. A broken table goes flying, and Peter dodges it in the nick of time, swerving to the left and almost tripping. It breaks against the ground, and Peter stops running for a moment to catch his breath, but the table is not the only thing that turns into splinters.

Behind them, the bandit keeps making a horrible noise, and the front wall of the saloon explodes as a massive creature now punches through it to step out of the building. Peter can tell it is the same bandit as before because the clothes have shifted with him, but there are two more arms than before, and the dude has tripled in size. The Hulk would be jealous. ]

Did you know it could do that...?

No.

[there's a lot here Blue didn't fathom, yet here it all is! his stomach drops, aware of the larger threat more through Peter's eyes than his own.]

We need to get out of here!

Eeeh, I've fought a planet once. [ Once the shock is over, Peter is frowning, not all that happy with the idea of hauling ass and letting others handle this problem. Much like Ego, his new plan about how to deal with the new problem is to blow it up with a bomb. ]

Can you stand? I'll distract him, so you can run to safety, then deal with him.

I won't get far on my own. [that's the plain truth; he's certain he'd barely clear the door before staggering, even on adrenaline alone.]

If I'm in the way, move me somewhere first.

[ Okay, never mind that idea then. He doesn't want to leave Blue alone if he's still at risk, so a strategic retreat is in order. Kind off. Peter is half running, half walking stupidly fast while carrying Blue, but a loud angry shout coming from behind him confirms that the bandit has decided to pursue them. Damn it. It's difficult to fight when both of your hands are occupied. ]

Ey Blue, look into the inside pocket of my jacket, on the left. You will find a round metal object. [ A mini bomb, Peter doesn't say just yet, lest he scares his friend more than necessary. ] Take it out, press the button in the middle, count to five, and throw it behind us. It is very important that you throw it before the light turns red.

[ He can't stress out the word 'important' enough. ]

Edited 2022-04-12 13:51 (UTC)

[Blue twists a little, best he can, so he can keep an arm around Peter's shoulder while trying to follow orders. in less dire circumstances, it'd probably be worth joking about copping a feel on him, but Blue isn't versed in life-threatening-situation-banter, alas. perhaps later. for now--]

Found it, I think-- [it's round, it's metal, it's got a button. Blue grimaces, trying to finagle it in one hand and press--

two, three, four...

toss-!]

[ It's a shame that Blue isn't used to that kind of chatting while being in super stressful situations, because this would be the perfect moment for either a pre-ass-kicking one-liner or a pun. Ideally, both at the same time. ]

Great job! [ Peter had been counting the beats in his head too, to make sure they were not going to explode themselves. Sure enough, a second after Blue throws the bombs, there's an explosion behind them. The blast radius is not enough to hit them, but Peter can feel the heat on the back of his nape. The ground shakes and he's frced to stop running b fore he trips, and gets into a crouch, using his body to shield Blue.

The loud sound is followed by a scream and a curse from the bandit pursuing them, and some thing comes flying past them. It's half charred and half bloody, bouncing on the ground and rolling around. Peter looks up and stares at what is....WAS probably an arm. ]

Uhm...I think I might have added too much energon to the mini bombs. At least they're not being chased anymore, so...success?

[the cacophony is punctuated by the abrupt, sharp severance of consciousness. death is intense on many levels, and for a Mu, it includes the loss of perception of the mind. perhaps it ought to be a comfort - a return to form for this town - but Blue can't help but recoil and clutch Peter a little tighter, bracing against that sensation.

unfortunately, this means Blue isn't really in a mood to reply with a similar level of hesitant optimism, his head buried in Peter's chest.]

Before more come...please... We have to get away.

[ Peter doesn't have to look at him to tell that Blue is upset. It's been an unpleasant experience from start to finish, and he generally doesn't go for the kill immediately, but these bandits have tested his limit. ]

Okay, okay. It will be all right now...[ The guardian pants, catching his breath, then starts to move quickly again. There are more bandits around, so he needs to find a safe place for Blue to stay, and the first building that comes to mind is the school. Some other orbers had been using it for shelter, and it's heavily guarded, so that is where Peter is heading.

He almost trips again when they reach the front door, his body feeling the exhaustion caused by the lack of proper nutrition these last weeks. ]

Blue I...do you think you can stand if I put you down?

[Blue doesn't answer verbally right away, instead just shifting his weight to facilitate the way Peter's posture is sagging.]

Put me down.

[he'll make himself get up on his feet if he must, though he still has to heavily rely on Peter's form to keep on those feet.

look at these guys, just a couple of unsteady reeds in the wind.]

[ Peter takes a deep breath and thinks back a quick thank you towards Blue. He keeps an arm around Blue's waist, holding him up much more easily this way.

They look a bit like a pair of drunks, but at least they are still upright ].

Let's get inside, so you can catch some rest. When was the last time you ate or drank anything?

I don't...remember.

[it's half-true, but true enough. either way, Blue accepts the body to lean on as the two of them shuffle their way toward a structure with more of a roof and far less a presence of hostiles. they'll figure things out from there, with Blue likely insisting Peter rest and then move on when someone - Yzak, Finn, someone - can come help him out in his stead. Blue doesn't like feeling like he must be babysat even if...he really must. pride and all. he can promise to eat later, just to spare Peter the sight of seeing Blue fail to do so.]

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MISSION: BAD COMPANY, PART 2

● ● ● M I S S I O N 4 . 2

F Y I

closed for peter

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CW for explosions + vague description of its gory side effects

and death!!!! mental death!!!1

woopsie

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Maybe we can start wrapping this one up and focus on the new threads? :3

ye c: the end