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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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Damn, she's going full mom on him. ... Well, he probably deserves that. With a sigh, he stands up. There's the slightest tremble in his knees that he knows comes from either a lack of food or a lack of nicotine, and in their situation, probably both this time. He's been eating now and then when he can, but he ran out of cigarettes figuring he'd be able to buy some here, and it turns out they were all as fake as the food.

It's a short walk to the little attached house where he grabs a dented, rusty saucepan and a serving spoon, since those suit his size better than the handful of cracked bowls stacked on a shelf, and then he's back in a moment to scoop up a pot of soup and set it beside him to cool.]

You win. I'll eat. Tell me about your people back home, while it's cooling off.

[Watching him get up, Daisy's confused as to where he's going until he comes back with what he needs to spoon out his portion.]

Good, because we would have problems if you didn't.

[She teases, as if she could actually threaten him into doing anything he didn't want to do. Her teasing smile fades a little when he asks her about her people. It hurts to talk about them, knowing there's nothing she can do to help them from here.]

What do you want to know?

Well... You said they helped make you who you are today. So, who are they?

[He really can't even guess, that's the thing. Daisy is just as bad as he is when it comes to keeping her private life completely unknown. Time to see if he can learn at least some of it.]

[God, where does she even begin?]

I met them when I let them take me hostage because they had access to information on my family. I didn't plan to actually work with them, let alone actually grow to care about them.

[That's the readers digest version at least.]

[All right, that's not... even a little bit what he expected. Good thing he was waiting for the soup to cool, he might've spit out a mouthful of it. As it is, he stares at her for a moment with eyebrows furrowed and pupils narrowed in mild alarm.]

... They treat you all right?

[They must, with what she said earlier, but still. Stockholm syndrome (not that he knows it by that city's name) is a thing he's well familiar with.]

They're my family.

[Oh.

It's not until Rosi's reaction that she realizes how bizarre this whole thing sounds. She's never really had to talk about it before.]

I knew who they were before they even knew I existed. I essentially made it so they'd have to kidnap me to get me to shut up.

[While that doesn't exactly explain a lot in itself, it does change the nature of the abduction, doesn't it? That's one way to work your way into a group of people who might not otherwise take you in. Some of the concern leaves his face as he nods slowly.]

And you wanted that... because your family is the source of your powers, right? Do the people you ended up with also have abilities, then?

It's genetic on my mom's side, but, I had no idea about any of that. I didn't even know who they were, it's why I tricked them into finding me. They had information on my family that I would've never had access to otherwise.

[She's only aware of how insane her life is when she talks about this stuff.]

One other person does.

[Daisy smiles tiredly at him,]

What about you? Whoever took you in. Were they nice?

Edited 2022-02-17 21:06 (UTC)

[The idea of powers being passed down through families isn't too foreign. Not how it works in his world, sure, but everything else can be passed on. Actually, that makes him wonder even more about how devil fruits work, but that's probably a question for another time.]

Glad you found people to help, then. That's not usually how abducting goes.

[Though, all right, he did sort of kidnap Law in order to save his life, so maybe people should give kidnapping more credit. The idea makes him chuckle.]

Anyway, yeah. His name's Sengoku. He's an admiral in the Marines. Just happened to find me by chance, I guess. Took me back with him when it was obvious I was all on my own. I... really owe him my life, actually. I don't know how I wound up so lucky.

[Daisy laughs tiredly, but he's got a point.]

No, it's not.

[Warming her hands up by the fire, Daisy watches him as he tells her about this guy named Sengoku.]

Is that how you started traveling on boats? When he found you.

Yeah, suppose so. I remember I couldn't quite believe how nice everyone was. You know, my first instinct was to wedge myself into some gap in storage and hide, but he set up a hammock for me in his quarters for the trip back, and everyone kept giving me food.

[He laughs a little, shaking his head. Best way to a starving kid's heart, that's for sure.

It also makes him wonder, as he's wondered many times, what the crew thought. Sengoku doesn't just adopt children left and right. They couldn't have known what had made the admiral take pity on this one in particular, but they played along.]

I wanted to repay him for that kindness, and I saw how much good the Marines did for people like me. The best thanks I could give was to enlist and pay it forward.

[Daisy smiles sadly at him when he admits to being scared of them at first. She remembers that feeling over and over again, desperately wanting to be loved by someone only for them to send her back to the orphanage after a few months. Eventually she learned to trust no one but herself.]

You’re a Marine?

[It makes sense, but she’s got a hard time keeping the surprise out of her voice completely.]

That all right?

[He passes it off as teasing, but he knows how in certain crowds, his government affiliation could be a real drawback. It's why he kept quiet about it for so long here, only recently choosing to open up to anyone who might ask or need context once he saw there were plenty of others who are or formerly were in their own world's militaries, and nobody seemed to be going after them for it.]

Are you kidding me? That's really impressive.

[She's realizing more and more just how little she knows about him, and every time he shares something new she's just as surprised as the first time. His life was something else.]

[For the moment the teasing little smirk vanishes, replaced by briefly widened eyes and a more genuine smile.

Impressive? That's - really? That's not a reaction he typically expects. It's nice, though. He shrugs, managing to look almost bashful for a second.]

Well, it's not as glamorous as it might sound. But, yeah. Like I said, I wanted to give back, and that seemed like the right way to do it.

I didn't think it was.

[Daisy's had to do a lot of things that might seem 'glamorous' to an outsider, but it's far from it.]

How long did you serve for?

Been just over ten years now. Started helping out on ships and running chores around Marineford when I was just fourteen, and then formally enlisted at sixteen, soon as I could.

[So, there, now she knows how old he is, too. Math.]

Huh.

[Daisy takes in his features, clearly surprised.]

I thought you were older.

Really? What, is it the height? How much older?

[Now he has to know. And - is seeming older a good thing or a bad thing? Probably good he doesn't seem younger anyway, that would be weird.]

The height definitely factored into it.

[Daisy shrugs,]

I don't know. Maybe 35? Just a little older than me.

[And now he knows her age, roughly anyway.]

I had you figured for closer to my age, too. But I guess once you get to a certain point it's hard to tell. At least neither of us is going gray yet, right?

[Yes, he had to learn to fend for himself early, did that whole "grew up too fast" thing in some ways, but more of it's to do with personality. At least he does know how to have fun when it counts.]

Really? That's sweet, but I'm really 52 years old.

[Daisy manages to keep her expression of seriousness for all of two seconds before a smile breaks through.]

Uh, speak for yourself.

[She's definitely plucked a few grey hairs already.]

[An obvious joke given she'd just implied she's somewhere under 35, so he laughs along with her.]

I guess if I do have any, you'd never know.

[He looks up at his own bangs a moment, then shrugs and finishes off the last of his soup before it gets too cold.]

Not until they all go gray, and then I'll get to look distinguished. Might even try growing a beard.

[Daisy laughs at that, shoving at his arm.]

Shut up.

[Smiling as she scoops up another spoonful of the soup, Daisy nearly spits it out when he mentions trying to grow a beard.]

I don't know that a beard with your smoking habit would go over so well...

[He's burned himself far too many times since she met him.]

[He snickers at the playful shove and jokingly wards her off with his spoon.]

Nah, you're just jealous you can't grow one. They're cool. Actually, last time I had facial hair it came in all thin and patchy. Looks like shit. So that better change by the time I'm old.

● ● ● M I S S I O N 4 . 2

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