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ximilialog2021-08-01 12:57 pm
- ! event log,
- doctor who: clara oswald,
- doctor who: the doctor (11),
- fullmetal alchemist: edward elric,
- grishaverse: the darkling,
- gundam seed/destiny: yzak jule,
- mcu: bucky barnes,
- mcu: daisy johnson,
- mcu: erik stevens,
- mcu: sam wilson,
- original: dusty fields,
- pacific rim: newton geiszler,
- star trek aos: james t. kirk,
- yakuza 0: goro majima
MISSION: GHOST GIRL PART 2
● ● ● M I S S I O N 1 . 2
There is tension in the air for the next few days that follow, and there are too many questions and too few answers, and less that anyone in the palace is willing to give. The Orbers have been separated into two camps, with the sick and infected locked in a wing that cannot be accessed, save for the snatches of conversation exchanged through communication devices, and the rest kept in the dark with watchful eyes guarding their every move. But the team won’t sit down and accept their fates, and certainly not the fates of their newfound friends. Plans are discussed and carefully plotted between them, away from vigilant ears, and it can’t come soon enough.
1.0 Jim, Bucky, and Sam have been tasked with getting people in the infirmary to band together to knock out the guards, tie them up, and then escape. Syrlya will help the team from the outside, providing a portal to quickly help the infected escape the palace unseen. They will attempt to unlock the doors from the inside, and once unlocked, The Darkling can cut through the entire door, bringing it down; Daisy will help him. In the meantime, to keep the guards from alerting the rest of the palace, Richie will be tasked with distracting them, keeping their attention away from the infirmary.
2.0 Once the team has escaped through the door, Sabriel can help put the guards they come across to sleep, as well as disorient any servants they don’t want to catch leaving. Erik will be shielding them from any guards who try and stop them. It will be difficult for the infected to keep their wits about them, but they’ll have to remember who they are and focus on what makes them them. Finn will be the only one who can help the infected with the changes that affect the mind, so those who find themselves hallucinating, lashing out at others, or are struggling with any number of other changes may require some help to escape. From the outside, any other Orbers may join the escapees on their way to Yuryeong.
3.0 While the great escape is occurring, Clara, Hermann, and Clarke will have to try and convince the guards that they don’t support the escape and reassure them that they are on the side of Gyeongje’s rulers. In the end, will you escape to the outside and help as best as you can from the outer city? Or will you remain within the palace walls and hope that the guards don’t suspect you?
The knowledge of the way to Yuryeong leads the infected and those escaping with them deep into the forest, along a path covered in thick underbrush and a shelter of trees above. Eventually the group will notice a golden glow shining through the thicket of foliage and will be led to a small shrine made of stone and half-covered in moss; it seems old, almost abandoned, yet before it there is an altar bearing signs of offerings recently left upon it.
Once they approach, there’s an unearthly glow around the shrine like sunlight emanating from within; something seems to slowly be reaching out to envelop each escapee. Those familiar with magic will recognize it as a barrier spell of sorts — it inspects them, reads something inside them only visible to the spell itself… but whatever it’s looking for, it must be successful because the forest around them begins to blur.
When their surroundings refocus again, the small shrine has been replaced by a much larger one, and the trees around it carry red ribbons of prayer waving slowly against the wind. The entrance to the shrine is shrouded in darkness — though it’s not entirely natural, as becomes evident when the shadows start to move and a tall form emerges.
4.0 When you follow him inside, you’ll be surprised: instead of the inside of a shrine, the door is less a door and more a gateway. Behind it is what can only be called a small village: there are tent-like houses that stand on shaky foundations, made from leftover wood and harsh, hard fabrics, partially held up by the trees nearby; pathways that cut through the grass; a large area outside where pots are held over fire, the smell of stew wafting in the air. And all around there are monsters: different forms moving, speaking to each other, some around the fire, some emerging from their tents, and some ducking under the flaps to disappear into them. Perhaps more surprisingly, there are also people: some are dressed in clothes not unlike the citizens in the merchant district; some bearing the uniforms of the guards, mingling with the monsters with ease.
The shadow-man disappears into one of the tents, unmarked from the rest, and when he reemerges, he is not alone. So-Yeon’s white clothes stand out from the rest like a beacon and she slowly approaches the team members where the shadow-man had left them.
She nods to the shadow-man — it becomes clear the similarities between them; this is her brother — but anything more she wants to say is interrupted when one of the guards runs to her side, tugging her arm. It’s an emergency, they say urgently. She looks at the team, mouth half-open, but then turns away swiftly to follow the guard into one of the tents… She reassures you that she will speak with you later.
5.0 If you follow her suggestion, you’ll find that there are a few empty houses to occupy — though inside, they are barely furnished, mostly consisting of hastily-crafted wooden desks and spare clothes or sheets on the ground making what appears to be a bed. In general, all of Yuryeong seems less like an established town and more like an emergency encampment, and those who are not infected may want to do something about that. Perhaps you want to help make the “houses” more comfortable, or perhaps you volunteer to hunt and forage for food — with so many new mouths to feed, it’s clear that whatever supplies exist won’t be enough. Or maybe, having assessed the desperate situation, you decide to sneak back into the city, avoid the guards there, and come back with supplies.
If you are feeling inclined to do a little cooking, there are few pots and pans scattered about by the fires. Just be sure to leave some of the meat uncooked as some of the infected seem to require it raw.
Those who want to explore will find a graveyard in the woods near the shrine — there are nearly a hundred graves marked with stones bearing crude carvings. Those who walk among the markers might find some spirits of the deceased still lingering, dead townspeople, either killed in attacks or by the infection.
6.0 As the days pass, the infected will find that their changes have reached the end and have come to the completion of their transformations; and though they are not entirely losing their minds, thanks to Yuryeong’s barrier, the mental effects do persist. With the team progressing through a working cure — So-Yeon is there alongside the team members focused on the cure and readily provides what help she can… though pushing the orb’s power out of her and into the cure often leaves her anywhere between tired to half-conscious, carried back to her tent by her brother on numerous occasions.
Eventually the time comes for the cure to be tested… after all, while in theory it seems to work on the cells of the infected, reversing their mutations, you never know if it works in practice. The particularly brave or daring will be the first and necessary test patients — and indeed, the cure does not work without some hitches. Those it’s tested on find their transformations receding and then returning again, and unfortunately once the changes begin to be undone for good, it does not come without considerable pain.
But endure that pain and finally, finally, after countless hours of work, science and magic together, the cure will start to work. The infected team members will slowly start to change back to themselves.
The members of the team who choose to stay within the palace walls will have to convince the Lord and Lady of Gyeongje that they are there on the basis of believing the rulers are just and right in their thinking. And, sure, it takes some doing, but eventually it is the Lady Jeung-Sun who nods her head. It seems she believes you when you tell her and Lord Suk-Ju that you condemn the actions of your fellow teammates, that their siding with the Ghost Girl is to declare themselves enemies of the palace and its people.
That’s good, right?
7.0 For the remainder of the late afternoon, there appears to be a sense of camaraderie between you and the rulers of Gyeongje. You’ll be welcomed to tea and food, to be seated in the main room alongside the captain and some of the higher-ranking soldiers. At one point, the captain is beckoned to the main table where she leans in while Lord Suk-Ju appears to be relaying some important information he doesn’t want his wife to hear. (Lady Jeung-Sun remains none the wiser while she sips her tea, watchful of her company.) The captain nods, and then she nods again, and her eyes roam over to where you and your teammates are enjoying tea and bite-sized foods and other things. She straightens and approaches your tables, her expression solemn and unreadable.
You might be curious by this point, or perhaps you’re beginning to suspect that you’ve overstayed your welcome. But before you can utter a word of warning to the rest of your team, if you’d had any of the tea and foods, your tongue might start to feel a little strange, slippery to match the way your brain feels like it’s sliding out of place inside your head. If you decided to abstain from the offered sustenance, you’ll notice your fellow Orbers start to look quite unlike themselves: lethargic and a little overheated; some might start to babble confessions to questions they might otherwise have kept to themselves.
The next thing you know, you note the captain raising her arm, shouting for the guards to arrest you and the others while the truth serum is still in effect.
It’s time to go.
8.0 It’s not without some fussing and possibly a brief scuffle before you manage to get past the guards and back out into the palace grounds. Your heart is beating so fast and it’s difficult to remember where you are or how to get out; the palace has been built like a maze. A figure seems to emerge from the shadows and she’s alone. “Trust me,” she whispers as she ushers you and the others down a path you don’t recognize, “I’ve helped one of you already.” But before you’re about ready to call her out, you see the exit up ahead. You’re almost there. You’re almost free.
There are others waiting for you right outside of the gates, and they lead you towards the merchant’s district, a comforting sight to those of you who have explored it, and familiar enough to those who haven’t. There are shouts in the distance, difficult to discern but it’s easy enough to hear the displeasure, and more importantly, how they’re in pursuit of you.
You’re led into a home with a dimly lit hearth and there’s enough space to look as though this might have once been the residence of a large family, maybe even a well connected one. The wood walls, painted red, seem dull now, the colour flaked and chipping away from the worn structure. It has seen and faced time and disuse. There are thick curtains covering the windows and trinkets left on a table facing a mirror. Everything is covered in a light layer of dust.
A strong, stout woman with her dark hair piled high atop her head comes from the next room over, followed by two other women, both much younger than her. Her daughters, perhaps, or maybe the daughters of her neighbours. Either way, they seem simultaneously protective and obedient to the older woman, moving to stand behind her while she and the guard who initially helped you escape exchange words. You can make out the words ‘Listen to them, they speak the truth’ — and then the guard nods in your direction and slips back out of the house without another word, leaving your fate in the hands of this unfamiliar woman who looks as though she might have boxed a few ears in her time.
“I’ve been informed that you can tell me exactly what is happening to our city and why we are made to suffer as we are,” she says. “You may call me Aunt Min-Ji. Which of you will speak?”
9.0 Not all of you will have been led to Min-Ji’s home, or perhaps you’ve simply decided to find your own way. Maybe you’re keeping guard from nearby, opting to protect the others during the quiet, informal council. Either way, the sound of the palace’s guard is louder, and there is commotion and flickering firelight reflecting against roof tile and cobblestone as Lord Suk-Ju’s search parties have entered the outer district with the intent to silence you before the truth gets out.
Use your wits and your weapons to protect this area and defend it from the guard. Those with abilities to snuff out flame might be especially useful at this time, as wood doesn’t exactly do well against fire, and the guards have come equipped with torches in hand.
10.0 It’s becoming clear that the palace guards were never going to allow you and the others to exist in peace, not while the Ghost Girl and the Infected were still at large. You’ve now been declared a threat and an enemy to Gyeongje and must be stopped at all costs. If you run into the palace guards, you’ll be met with a fight, and you must try and defend yourselves and the merchant’s district to the best of your ability. If you aren’t much of a fighter, you can still be useful. There are always other ways of tricking a guard or disarming them — just, you know, use that clever brain of yours.
Even while you’re in the midst of a tussle, you might notice a suspicious party moving past the commotion. There are a cluster of guards surrounding a dark wood box suitable for one, lifting it by its formidable poles. The palanquin is concealed by fabric curtains but a shift of wind reveals a man’s figure within it — he looks panicked and harried as he urges his entourage on. You know that face, you saw him only moments before he called for your arrest. Ah, yes, it’s none other than the Lord of Gyeongje, himself. But where is he going?
And while staying within the city has quickly become dangerous, there is some good news from those in Yuryeong...
The cure is administered to the Orbers first, and with very little complaint — “Our people are still wary,” So-Yeon explains when the rest of the compound hesitates, “let them see the success of this first.” She seems to pause, her expression thoughtful before she adds: “Besides… I have a plan.”
The plan, it seems, requires returning to the city. Everyone in Yuryeong is gathered in front of the shrine where So-Yeon speaks to them all, her voice easily carrying over the crowd with renewed strength.
“Everyone! Finally, we are returning to Gyeongje! We will take back our home and show everyone the truth. We will expose the lies once and for all!”
11.0 Her words are met with a roar of approval… and whether you agree or not, you’ll find it difficult to stop the infected citizens from leaving. One after another, they follow a procession through the door of the shrine, disappearing through the barrier that has protected them all these months — none look back.
The journey back to the city from the dark woods is deceptively easy but everything seems to change the moment the group reaches the edges of the outer district. Armed guards are waiting for them patiently as though they were prepared for their return — it is an army by the looks of it, assembled to pursue the monsters instead of protecting the palace.
But just how did they get there…?
12.0 Those in the city may have an answer for that. The signs of the guards mobilising are impossible to miss: their presence on the city streets is suddenly gone, like they have dropped all efforts to search for the team; instead, they can be seen dragging heavy carts full of arms to the palace.
It is possible, too, to see some of the guard sneaking back into the city, knocking on the doors of houses where some of the team have taken to hiding. There are whispers between the cracks of the doorways — It’s finally happening, the captain has called for us to go to war, it’s the Lord’s orders, what do we do —
But it’s the noticeable presence of the full force of the guard leaving the palace the next day. They form an impenetrable wall around the border of the outer district, some perching on rooftops in the merchant district, all alert, their backs straight … all of them ready to fight at their captain’s command.
13.0 And a fight does ensue the moment the Yuryeong forces arrive. Just as before, in the palace courtyards, hesitation ripples amongst those of the guard who seem yet again unwilling to fight — but most of them, it seems, have gathered their resolve. They aim to target everyone equally, human or monster; and in the midst of it all, the captain calls her forces to her.
While some of the guards wield regular swords (one or two), some have equipped themselves with sabers or bows and arrows — all are strong, capable in combat, and are clearly using the magical arts to help them fight. A single jump might take a soldier from the street to the rooftop or higher still into the trees. Some will fight with talismans, using them to freeze their opponents in place, to bind them, or make their weapons burn fire-hot. Some guards may also have their own special weapons: whips of pure energy, fans that create unnaturally strong blasts of wind, or arrows that — when they hit a target — neutralise any magic their target might have for long enough to leave them vulnerable for further attack.
As the fighting inevitably spills from the edge of the city and into the streets of the residential district, brave civilians begin to join the throng in an attempt to interfere. Further still are the innocent bystanders unaware of the fighting or the reasons for so much violence near their homes. Without weapons or the skill to defend themselves, they’ll need someone to protect them — they’ll need you.
The fight is heated on both sides, the cries of metal and magic ringing through the air amidst shrieks of the fearful citizens, and when it feels as though casualties are unavoidable, it’s So-Yeon’s voice that rings out over the city that has quickly transformed into an ugly battlefield.
The barrier that kept Yuryeong hidden slams through the city with a staggering force, and So-Yeon, with her face seeming greyer than just moments before, sways on her feet before taking a step forward.
There is a palpable hush among the crowd, surprise and wariness spreading across the faces of the Gyeongje guard in equal measure. Some of them quickly gather their wits about them, making attempts to push against the barrier that has suddenly materialized between the infected, the orbers, and the palace’s guards like a wall. But the others seem noticeably relieved, and others still are curious. Hesitant whispers ripple over the army. Many are unsure what to do next.
One, however, refuses to be silenced — as she pushes herself towards the front of the forcefield, the captain raises her voice to those under her command.
Her words are cut short, and shadows that seem to slide like liquid from darker corners of the city gather towards her, wrapping themselves around her arms and her legs and her mouth, binding her to keep her from speaking any further. Like the shadows themselves, Seung-Hyun’s form glides next to his sister, motioning to one of Yuryeong’s guards to take the captain away.
Without waiting for anyone’s permission, she begins to follow a path leading directly into the marketplace, the infected moving quietly after her, a procession of ghouls and ghosts made flesh. With no one to command them otherwise, their captain silenced, the Gyeongje guard slowly lower their weapons, watch for the Ghost Girl and her army, and follow.
F Y I
• The conclusion of the first mission will be revealed on August 14, and the team will return to the station then.
• If you have questions about anything in this log, please direct them here.
• Soundtrack for this log (parts I, II and III): ♪ ♪ ♪
no subject
Not that I haven't thrown a few wrenches in my time. But I promise, I'll aim them at something other than your head. The lecture part — I leave that to Hermann. I think that's one of his greatest superpowers.
no subject
[She is passionate about her work. How it can help people after an accident or such to be able to rebuild their lives, once they got through the rehabilitation. Which usually takes a few years. Ed pushed himself to get it done in one and that was a feat in and of itself. He chuckles, shaking his head as he lowers his gaze a little.]
Lecturing as a superpower, huh? Al and Winry'd beat me at that one. The way they keep fussing.
[Probably because, you know. Ed gives them good reason! But somehow it isn't that surprising someone else would take on that role to try keep an eye on them even if their usual support might be back home. At least in Ed's case.]
no subject
... But I guess that's practically a given, in some lines of work. Mine included.
[Winry would fit right in with the K-Sci team, honestly. Newton doesn't know her of course, but the passion for her work to the point of throwing things? Yeah, that's peak PPDC science team material. He's had chalk thrown at his head before, when things were particularly dire.]
Al? Is that mechanic number two?
no subject
[Because Ed was an idiot who went up North back home without mentioning to arrange that with her prior. Oops. He isn't about to outright admit that though, unless asked more on the details. But even then, Winry knows more on all that, Ed's more just familiar with the basic metal used most of the time otherwise, and knows enough to take care of basic maintenance himself when he's traveling and away from her.]
Hm? Ah, no. Al's my younger brother. A year younger than I am. He's. How I lost my arm. I offered that in exchange for his soul, to bind it to the armour after....after the accident.
[Yeah. That kiiiinda classes as human transmutation which he'd said was forbidden. Ed's gradually, slowly, opening up a little. He can at least try give some basics in explanation, sort of.]
So Winry gives him polishing oil and stuff to take care of the armour. The two of us are it. Since we lost our mother and our dad walked out on us when we were little.
no subject
Whoa.
That's heavy, man.
[Your life sounds like kind of a mess, Edward.
Newt's lost all tact at the moment when faced with that level of shitshow.]
no subject
[At least. That's what he tells himself. Ed's been through a lot and a lot of it is well in the past for him but that doesn't mean he is free from nightmares, from having PTSD from it, especially given his young age on top of everything he had endured. He gives a shrug, a sigh emitting from his lips gently shifting some of his bangs. It still hurts. It always would. Until he knows he's succeeded and Al is back in his regular body again. Until he knows Al is alright, regardless of if he himself is entirely back to normal with his auto-mail or not.]
no subject
... I sure hope they're not lying, either.
What do you make of all of that? You trust them at their word about the orbs? And about fixing everything going on for us back home.
no subject
[Al had a time limit. Eventually, there was the risk, the inevitability that the armour would reject his soul because it isn't his original body. It's already been four years. Ed had to figure it in time. He refuses to consider the chance he won't. Ed can't consider that possibility. Ed's lips purse, his hands balling to fists at his side.]
But. It isn't like our regrets are being fixed for us for nothing. It's still Equivalent Exchange in us working for it. But. Hm, What about you? What do you think?
no subject
... I think equivalent exchange only applies to so much, on a basic human level. Sure, the orb might abide by it, but does the people who're collecting them abide by it, too?
Sometimes, people take things without giving back. It happens all the time, right? People stealing from others, or taking a life and then getting to keep theirs. As much as I wanna believe it applies here... I don't know.
But it's not like I'm gonna give up and leave. The risk of dying or getting double-crossed is kinda worth it.
no subject
[He can't speak for everyone. Of course he can't. But as a general principle, Ed tries to live by the law of Equivalent Exchange in always paying people back somehow at least. In trying to obey it at least himself.]
Maybe not everyone lives by Equivalent Exchange, like you said. But I do.
no subject
... Okay, I'll admit — that's a pretty badass name. Still, what an asshole; going after kids is kind of a big reason you'd deserve to get your ass kicked. [Honestly, most of what Edward says goes over his head; he doesn't know what Ishval is, or State Alchemists, or what the war was, but it all sounds heavy.] ... What're you gonna do if your personal goals start asking you to go against it?
Equivalent Exchange, I mean. Or at least, what you're willing to exchange.
no subject
[As for his next question. Well. Ed's got his limits. His morals. There are some things he is not willing to budge on. Things he knows Al wouldn't budge on either. So if it comes to that.....even without Al being here. He's going to keep that that. Whatever that means for him. Ed sighs, running a hand through the hair at the back of his head at his neck.]
That's -- I mean. Even with needing the orbs. I won't -- I'm not going to kill anyone for it. Al and I already agreed getting our bodies back isn't worth anyone dying for. So I'm still going to have my limits.
[Which. Is sure probably inevitably going to eventually come up and bite him as a result of his being so stubborn on that, but. For now. Things have managed to work out at least. Mostly.]
no subject
[He's pretty sure they're gonna be anyway. Which... sucks. It sucks that they can't just do their fucking best and be themselves with their morals while they bust their ass to collect these things. But... what can ya do? Not much, probably.]
I'd feel the same way if I were you guys. The whole... not wanting any lives getting lost. Even for family. There are some things you can't come back from, you know?
no subject
[So. No. As tempting and hard as it might be. Ed's not going to go along with any goal regarding him needing to kill anyone. Even if he might take longer in getting towards his goal. Even if he might be told off or punished for it.]
I don't care what that might mean for me. That's not how he wants to do this. I'm keeping to that, here.
no subject
[He smiles a bit more openly.]
And hey! You'll be one of the heroes here, too, right?
We're gonna help this place and they'll hopefully be letting us have the orb in return.
That's some kind of equivalent exchange, right?
no subject
[If only Newt knew the amount of paperwork Ed results in for poor Mustang. Or maybe he'd cheer Ed on in that in not getting on with the Colonel either. Ed's done things he regrets. He's trying to set things right, wants to fix things. If he can. He's never necessarily considered himself a hero.]
Not sure I'd call myself a hero. More. Like Icarus.
[Ed made the mistake of being too arrogant. Getting too close to the sun, as it were. Those wings of wax melted and he fell. Hard.]
But. Yeah. The orb is the goal.