lostcarnival | ⇨ POLARIS 3.0

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⇨ POLARIS 3.0

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 115
Where: Polaris
What: On the morning of day 115, a couple hours before the technicians would come to pick up the test subjects, the escape plan will officially come into effect. If your character has been left out of the loop up till this point, feel free that someone hastily explains the plan during the initial phase! The meat of everything else will be played out via megathreads and any private toplevels people want to make.
Warnings: Probably violence.

PEER REVIEW↴

The plan starts with getting everyone out of their cells. Childermass is going to be using his Gilded Mark to enhance his shadow movement abilities, unabling him to teleport himself and other people out of containment. If your character has other ways of escaping they are free to pursue that, but on a base level, it can be assumed that everyone gets out thanks to Childermass. (Thanks Childermass!) Once everyone has been removed from their cells by some means or another, they will be forced to split into teams as swiftly as possible, as the moment people start breaking out, negative attention from the staff will start building. The area is poorly guarded at first, but as people become aware of the breakout, more will arrive.

Gild, speaking on behalf of her inside plant, will say that those that 1) want to get their stuff back, 2) want to find Ignatius, should get the assistance of their allied Deltas to access sector A5. From there, they will have to access Polaris's storage in A3, a neighbouring sector, and find access to C2, the station where Ignatius is being held. They should expect to be met with armed resistance, but with any luck allies will be there to assist them.

In general, characters will be most effective if they back one of these major objectives:

► TEAM LOOT: This team is trying to get back the items and pets that were confiscated when the group was brought into Polaris. Their objective, according to their allies on the inside, is to get to A5, and then make their way to A3. The important thing is being able to locate their stuff among a sea of other items, and to make it through security in order to reclaim it. Gild's plant has said that they will assist with this. After getting these items, Team Loot may wish to merge with Team Rescue.

► TEAM RESCUE: This team's primary focus is to get to A5 and then make their way to C2. If desired, they may wait for or join with Team Loot, or they may strike out ahead in order to take advantage of the element of surprise. The key factors are obtaining a way to access C2, as well as being prepared for armed conflict with the technicians guarding it, as well as possibly the Mother of Invention herself. Though, the ideal is that Gild will be distracting here at that time.

► TEAM DISTRACTION: This team can do their thing wherever they please, as their main intent is to sew general discord and distract the staff from the teams doing more important things. They should be prepared for armed resistance, but what tactics they pursue beyond that point are highly variable.

► TEAM FORTRESS: This team is attempting to set up a protective base of operations in the original sector in order to survive the conflict and protect their noncombatant comrades. How they accomplish this is also highly variable.

Other objectives may exist, of course, and can be made with their own separate top levels. Chunks of these megathreads will have to be played out in summary form, so when characters are simply trying to get from place to place and specifics aren't necessary, feel free to stick to that format. Assume that everyone is already out of their cells for the purpose of the megathreads.

Here is a shitty map of how the sectors connect, from a side view of the central Polaris hub.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The half demon growls, small flames flaring off his head and naked shoulders. He has his hand on his sword, ready to draw it.

"You... You must be the Mother of Invention! Give me my brother back!! He's not yours! None of us are -- we don't belong to you."

There's some magic involved, but there is also some genuine tech - it makes it hard to figure out the nature of with the Third Eye, where the cause and effect bleeds together. It is definitely centered in that implant, though, rooted deep into Yukio's brain.

"No," Yukio says Rita, simply, and drops the rifle to the ground, discarded utterly without care. "I hardly need a mortal vessel to fight my battles. I've been distracted, though... I'm taking some time to catch up."

He looks right at Rin. "Your brother accepted my touch of his own will."

"That's a lie," Rita snaps. She might not know Yukio well enough to know how he thinks, but it's inconceivable that anyone would welcome having their mind invaded like that.

She folds her arms. "If you've got something to say to us, then spit it out already. Unless you're just stalling for time while you catch up, in which case we've got no reason to play along."

Strange is moving as he talks, trying to get a different view of this magical-technological mishmash inside Yukio's brain while also separating himself from the rest of the group should they need to bumrush Yukio.

"Oh, I'm certain she's stalling," Strange chimes in. "After all, it's not like this embarrassment can do anything without her toys."

And he is perfectly fine with a little bit more of that stalling, mostly because he wants to examine whatever the hell the Mother's doing to Yukio while the magic's active.

Rin snarls and starts to say something, but Rita beats him to it. So instead, he turns his burning glare on the Yuki-bot, lips still drawn back in a grimace.

"You can't fool me -- I know my brother. He'd never say yes to something like this, unless you tricked him. What do you want?!"

"I'd most like observe," he says. "The inside of an insurrection... how exciting." Then, he looks at Rita. "But, if you'd rather, I could use your vessel instead? I see you now, with your new Classification, your falsified documents. I didn't understand at first but now I understand perfectly."

Rita's fingers clench, digging into her skin. "Like hell," she spits at the possessed Yukio.

"Sounds to me like you've seen enough. Strange, can you take him out?" Rita may have her powers back, but she doesn't have any way of knocking someone out without seriously hurting them.

"Violence is in your nature," he says, not moving to defend himself. Yet, anyway. "Fitting, for the Wyld Fae."

"With pleasure," Strange answers.

And not even a second later, Strange poofs himself into smoke form and flies towards Yukio's face, as he straight up attempts to gas a teenager.

Yukio just keeps standing there as Strange attempts to gas him. If he's hoping for Yukio to pass out peacefully, he doesn't.

"Return the Summer Court to me and I will set you free," he says, seemingly unaffected. "Anyone who agrees and participates will reap the spoils."

"I haven't seen 'spoils' so far from following any of your directions," says Herbert, who is still salty about the whole levelling up thing. Even if it would have meant he would probably be in Yukio's situation right now. At least he wouldn't have had to do more farming. "You haven't had us here long enough for that to work--what a stupid thing to try."

He pushes up to stand, eyes the outside, and sort of side-walks a little more towards the wall of the tuck shop, keeping an eye on Yukio.

Yuya's standing back and not engaging either of them, wringing his hands around his staff. But he's listening, from a distance, focus keen on what of the arguing he can pick up.

And that offer makes him bristle. "No way! You can't have him back!" He shouts from the back. Or anyone, honestly, but it seems like someone's the priority here.

He glances around, backing up to try and find Ignatius so he can shuffle closer to him, even if it takes him out of hearing distance.

Rita's not going to dignify that offer with an answer.

Instead she stares at Yukio, who is apparently just standing around, casually inhaling some knockout gas. "That... should have knocked him out," she says, looking completely dumbfounded at this result. "...Maybe it's because she isn't controlling his mind... She's just using his body like a puppet."

Then Yukio's still in there, unaltered but powerless to act...? Or maybe he is unconscious, even though his body's moving.

Neither Herbert nor Rita have actually answered the Mother of Invention's question. And considering that trying to knock out Yukio isn't exactly working right now (and Strange really doesn't want to accidentally murder someone since this form is kind of poisonous), he'll float back away from Yukio and turn back into his normal form, landing near Rita.

"Whatever she's doing, the enthrallment is part of this magitech something deep in his brain," he whispers, just audible enough for Rita to hear. She's a Delta, she'd know things. Strange starts speaking in full voice as he looks over at Yukio. "I believe I speak for those assembled when I say no, we won't return the Summer Fae to you and we refuse your offer."

"I know," Rita whispers back. "We..."

Explaining will take too long, so she reaches out and grabs Strange's arm, then uses her information transfer ability to fill him in on the rest.

She'll show him how, as part of initiation into Delta, all four of them had computer chips implanted in their heads. The chips allow them to interact with the visors, and are what Polaris's systems use to identify them. Rita and Tyki had their Delta chips swapped out for Beta chips, giving them access to more of the facility... which is probably why they aren't the ones being controlled right now. But now that the Mother knows Rita's new designation, that could change...

She'll leave it at that and let go of Strange, simply giving a firm nod to indicate her agreement with his declaration.

"Not no, but hell no!!" Rin yells at the Mother. "He's our friend now! He helped us when he didn't have to... And besides, why should we believe you? Your word is garbage!"

Herbert reaches the wall, meanwhile, and starts edging along it, away from this altercation. It's still not out of the realm of people starting to throw really generally damaging spells at each other so he'd prefer to be as far from that theoretical radius as possible.

Getting out of the area is probably a very wise choice. However, since Rin and Yukio are both involved, Shura isn't going to be far. She makes her way to Rin's side, jabbing his side with her thumb.

"Rin." Keep your feelings down for a second, you shounen protagonist. Shura casts a glance over to Rita and Strange, hoping they're trying to come up with some plan.

"I see," Yukio says, sounding impartial. "I was curious what you'd say. How unusual... a microcosm study in the potential of social bonding between mortals and fae."

Yukio looks at Rita.

"That said... Perhaps I can get his attention myself. Perhaps he would react better to speaking to his own spawn."

Rita shrinks back a step at that, suppressing a shudder at the thought. It's a credible threat, and one that genuinely scares her. But...

"It won't work," she declares, her body tensing as she tries to muster up some confidence in that statement. "First of all, because I won't let you. And secondly, because he's not stupid enough to think there's any point in negotiating with you."

At the very least, those are two things she really wants to believe right now.

Herbert doesn't believe that Yukio "let" the Mother of Invention into his head either. It's all this brainwashing garbage like with the Prince all over again. (He doesn't even think the Mother's scientific methods are very good. She's obviously far too fixed on aesthetic. In retrospect, he's not interested.

Yes it took until now for the final coffin nail.)

Also he's fairly certain there's about to be a lot of fire, very soon--or at least some mind games--so he takes off running towards the back rooms. When in doubt, go for the biggest guns that you can feasibly trust.

The idea that Rita won't 'let' her is practically a joke. Rita already let her put that implant in her body. She fought to be raised to Delta. That's as much as an invitation.

Yukio will abruptly drop to the ground, his body smothered by Strange's poison, as the force keeping him aloft vacates. Instead, Rita will feel something activate within her brain implant - a feeling that travels through her nerves replaces her own will, like complex puppet strings. Robbed of her connection to her body, Rita's perception will go blank.

Now Rita moves with that unnatural gait, that change in disposition. She turns to look at the group, and then moves towards the shop.

"Ignatius!" she calls. "I've found you..."

Ignatius sits up in the back room where he has been resting, his eyes widening. He hears that voice, and he knows it doesn't fit - through his connection to Rita, he can immediately sense that something is wrong. It sends an unnatural chill through him.

To anyone with him, he's obviously terrified - a reflexive reaction that no amount of honor or pride can hold back. Still, he starts trying to get up, like he's going to do something, even if he doesn't know what.

"No..." he murmurs plaintively.

Yuya's attention snaps up as well, his eyes widening as he recognizes the voice. A deeper chill runs down his spine as it sinks in, the way she's walking them around, and now it's Rita...

It takes Ignatius moving to shake him, and then he's stumbling to his feet as well. There's a moment where he thinks, maybe it's better to try and hide in here--but there's no where to hide, and nothing stopping her (Rita? The Mother of Invention?) from just walking in.

"Wait--" He bolts, suddenly, swinging around the doorway so that he can get the first look.

Already, Herbert was hesitating when he heard Rita, or rather, the Mother coming in after him. It's not exactly good PR to betray Ignatius' hiding spot, and he can't afford a negative reputation in the middle of mind games. But then, thankfully, Yuya pops out, and he can speed up again, pushing past Yuya and into the room. It might not be the best place, with the Mother's attention fixated on Ignatius, but it's better than standing between them, or off to one side.

He could really do with the vorpal sword right now, to cut an escape hole out the back of the room. He's hardly going to make it out with a scalpel. Inevitably, he ends standing wide-eyed in the centre of the room, looking between Ignatius and Yuya at the door.

"Don't go with her!" he hisses. "Rita has an egg. You don't."

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