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

There is shouting from Gongenzaka, shouting that Peridot will need to ignore. For a sharp instant as Yuuya falls, his focus moves from how Peridot will need to guide iron, to 'Yuuya!' on repeat...as if they could do anything about it.

But the sharp pangs of fear and worry cut short, and Gongenzaka regains his senses in time to pass on something of an idea. "She will still focus on us- but if it is possible once this arm is cut away, guide the iron inward!"

Not to mention what ever other direction their target may be in, but keeping the iron INSIDE while not getting squashed is the big goal first. They can move from there.

While the position is good for getting a stab into the hole, it's awful for protecting himself when his usual method of survival is "just don't get hit" and there's nowhere to go.

He barely manages to get the iron in his good hand before her arm slams into his back and he screams. A jerky shudder rides through his body as wooden bones are snapped and his flesh is bruised by the impact.

He gasps for air, his focus slipping to autopilot as he thinks over about stabbing iron into the hole, struggling to push his arm through.

"What the hell are you--" is as far as Rita gets in protesting before Yuya takes the brunt of the attack for her.

She holds on to him as they fall, spreading her wings to try and slow them down, but it does little. They crash into the vines growing around the Mother's feet but by some stroke of luck, rather than getting raked through the crystal thorns the whole way down, they end up tumbling right on top of Lambert's fallen dragon-body. There's a sickening crack at some point, and at the end of it, Rita's lying still, conscious but wincing in pain with one arm still wrapped around Yuya and one of her wings bent in a direction it's not supposed to bend in.

~~WHY THIS BITCH GOT SO MANY ARMS~~

Zangetsu snarls as the Mother tries to smash one of their best chances into mulch. Peridot goes for the wrist, and Zangetsu goes for the forearm, attacking the elbow joint... and keeping an eye on poor squished Syr. If he has to finish the job himself, he will.

He cloaks his blade form in black and red, hot but not quite fire so much as raw energy, slashing violently at the joint.

Peridot's descent is so out of control that she mostly just manages to smack the hilt and flat side of the blade off of the arm instead of getting a clean cut, in the same moments that Lambert clings to the arm with his tail and falls down. Neither attack manages to stop her from wrapping her fingers around Syrlya's body, continuing to squeeze as she pulls him away from her chest.

Like a damsel in King Kong, Syrlya is being held aloft now, as the Mother regards the beings clinging to her with impatience. She tries to step out of the snare of vines around her legs, but it's a bit more difficult than anticipated.

"I'm impressed," she drawls, shaking her body in an attempt to rid herself of these pests. "So let's try this, instead.".

Darkness emanates from every crease in her chassis, filling the air like an inky mist. For everyone enveloped in it, they will be weighed down by the metaphysical force of darkness - everything will become harder, and their own personal demons will rail at them with particular violence. Pain hurts more. Fear pulls at the mind more desperately.

The black mist fills the entire surrounding area, up to the walkway in the middle of the water. The Mother laughs, exerting her will triumphantly.

[EFFECT RADIUS HERE!]

Edited 2018-11-12 01:17 (UTC)

Yuya's body rolls limp in Rita's hold. There's blood starting to pool from where the arm slammed into him, under the armor and on his head. But he's breathing steady, his eyes fluttering as he struggles to hold onto consciousness.

And then there's smoke. He hardly registers his fear, because the sudden spike of pain makes him black out.

Yuusei's pace slows momentarily, like he's tripping over himself as he runs into the black mist clogging up over half of the "battleground" now. He's not exactly in pain, but something in his chest aches - nonliterally for once - as he wonders if he can even make the stretch across to reach Steven, if there's even any point. Shouldn't he be trying something more productive in the face of the Mother like everyone else? His veins begin to sting, and then they burn as he coughs from the smog.

Even so, he shakes his head and presses forward, intent on securing his targets. He can't fight in this battle, so he'll make damn sure no one has to get hurt more than necessary if he has anything to say about it.

Rin only has a moment to see Rita and Yuuya (and Lambert) fall before the foul smoke fills the area immediately around the Mother. He, Kuro, and Yukio are, for the moment, outside the range of effect... but he can't let fallen allies stay so close to the danger.

"... Stay here," he says to Yukio with an authoritative voice. He doesn't give his brother a choice -- Kuro crouches and Rin pushes his brother off the back of the cat.

"Don't breathe it in, Kuro!" he says, holding his breath as well as they charge into the fog. Knowing fae magic, it probably won't matter ... but he's not going to risk it.

The despair is overwhelming, and Kuro stops dead as he enters the area of effect, cowering. Rin feels it, too, but they have to keep going. He rubs Kuro behind the ears and horns, spurring him back into action.

The pair find Yuuya and Rita in the smog, and Kuro grabs the unconscious one in his mouth like a mother cat carrying a kitten. Rin offers his hand to Rita.

"Get on!"

Bizarrely enough, the sudden stab of terror on top of what Eruka's already feeling does what her panicked mind couldn't: it shocks her out of vapor form, dropping her onto the Mother of Invention's body with a wet-sounding splat, clinging onto her and starting to slip down from the sheer force of gravity, closer to the cavity in the Mother of Invention's chassis.

Fear works in odd ways, though. Eruka's mind is so blank with fear she can't think of her allies, can't think of anything except what comes instinctively: destruction. Even as she starts sobbing hysterically, she pulls on her magic, a tadpole bomb forming in the palm of a slimy hand. With all her strength, as she slides on down, she'll attempt to shove it into that gap, willing it to squirm inside and detonate.

For a few minutes things seemed to be going well. The skyway's destruction didn't cause anyone to get terribly hurt, and the Mother's chassis was cracked enough for Ignatius and Lambert and whatever smaller people to go stabbing. There's They're staying in small mobile groups, hauling each other out of danger, surviving.

Then the world goes dark and fearful.

Not featurelessly, Papyrus realizes after a panicked second, there's still some light. But things dim and spirits drop, his aching ribs flare up in a way that suggests they're actually very cracked inside the metal casings, and the blaster flickers and disappears in his distraction. He dangles from Carly's grip for a second as he struggles to at least maintain his blue magic.

What are they doing? Of course she's not just big and scary, she's got the full gamut of power of one of the true fae. Even the Ringmaster didn't go toe to toe with the Prince, and this Mother's more than on par with him. They've rushed this plan, unprepared, and they're going to start dying for it. Maybe permanently, maybe not but getting hurt and hurt for a long time instead.

And here he's dragging Carly down, literally, as he can't keep the blue magic going steadily. He lets go of her hand, meaning to let her fly wherever she's going to while he drops towards the water guided with flickering magic.

As the mist takes over, Steven finds himself crying from pure stress. His back is hurting from getting the wall so hard, and his gem is missing. He can't find it again. He's trying to see it in the darkness, but he doesn't know where it went. His magic wasn't enough to stop her. What is he going to do?

Yuusei will make it to him, and when he arrives, Steven is crumpled in the wreckage and crying into his hands. This feeling is so familiar. This despair, like a heaviness in the air.

"My gem... it's gone..." he whimpers. "I'm sorry... I can't..."

Edited 2018-11-12 01:46 (UTC)

Lambert's just trying to pick himself up when a couple of punks barrel down onto his back and then the Mother unleashes that attack, stunning him for a moment before he shakes it off. For a moment, the golden circuitry on his horns and the bones of his tail shine bright as he refocuses himself, the lines in the light of his soul's color briefly as he marshals himself.

Looks like the cavalry's here, or at least a way out. He rumbles, pushing himself up to get Rita closer to Rin and his offered hand. He heard that crack -- he intends to keep fighting, but she doesn't have to. Metal glints between his teeth, the sliver of iron he's still hanging onto ... though he should probably rethink his approach here.

Yukio's shots have been ineffective, but it's the only thing he can do right now. And then Rin shoves him off Kuro's back, just barely outside of the billowing mist.

"Nii-san!!" Bad choice, Rin. Yukio's pissed.

He needs to get back into the fight, but there's nothing he can do, and he knows it. Yukio, of course, goes into the mist anyway, limping forward before coming to a dead stop as the pain and darkness hits. His claws dig into his palms and he can't move. He can't do anything. He's just a powerless human.

"It's okay," is all that Yuusei can say at first as he reaches down to scoop Steven into his arms. Staying in one place for very long is an atrocious idea, and he thinks he can remember where Steven's gem bounced. He's not exactly knowledgeable of how gems work even with Peridot as his primary supervisor, but it certainly seems important, so it's his next priority.

"You did great out there. I'm gonna get you to Herbert and see what we can do about your gem. It's okay."

A million thoughts race through Sans's head as the darkness envelopes them. There's a familiarness to the idea of elemental darkness, like something he's lived with for a long time. A symbol of everything wrong with him, and a constant companion through his life.

He remembers not long ago, how the dark side of himself felt when left to his own devices. It would be so easy to succumb to this despair, this fear. It's practically second nature to him. Yet, as he fear starts to set in, he knows something else that is second nature to him. Something newer, but just as vital, and so important to not let go.

He doesn't have to feel like this forever, he thinks.

He taps into the angelic light of his aura, emitting it around himself like a beacon. Angels are opposed to the darkness, to this decay, and he can remember another life where he was opposed to everything it represented. Maybe, what he has left will be enough.

He projects the light in a radius around him, his wings and halo spread wide, which will lessen the effect of the darkness to anyone within its reach. It isn't a huge area, because there is only so much he can support, but seeing the light will offer a resistance benefit to anyone close enough to bask in the glow.

Oh wow! Great! She doesn't even have to be zapped into the metal to experience the horrible crushing darkness! Science truly does amazing things, doesn't it?

As she goes flying off the tit ramp, Peridot tries to course correct by turning into a bat again, zipping back towards the chassis and latching on to the Mother's midriff. Changing back again, she grits her fangs and digs in her claws to hang on for dear life, shuddering as the mist seeps in clouds her mind. It's a colossal effort just to call the vorpal sword back to her, the speed of it's return to the safe grip of her tail sluggish by her usual standards.

It's the self-doubt effect that is getting to her the worst. The knowledge that she was never meant to be in a combat situation like blares in the back of her head louder than ever, making it hard to hear Gon's voice or to even hear her own thoughts of anything other than how stupid she is for thinking that she could do this, that she could make a difference in a fight of this scale. She should have just left this to other people, like...

...Syr. She tries to locate him, terror coursing through her when she sees the peril he's currently in. Conversing with him, making their plans for this escape attempt has been one of the only things that has kept her going in Polaris, and now this fae is going to kill him and she can't do anything about it. It's like the Mother is literally crushing their hopes of escape with her bare robot hands.

"Syrlya!" she cries frantically, feeling helpless to assist.

For what feels like forever, Rita can only lie where she is, staring across at the pained look on Yuya's face and wondering if she just got him killed. She knew the risk she was taking by charging in there, and by dragging him with her, she... she did this. If he dies, it'll be her fault.

But then his body's lifted away from hers, and at first Rita can only watch, still feeling paralyzed by this feeling of despair. With Lambert pushing her closer, it's easy enough to reach Rin's hand, and Rita starts to extend her own arm. "I..." she begins, weakly, but then her eyes seem to focus, as if she's pushing away the fog of hopelessness.

With a jerking motion, she pulls her hand back, and instead uses it to push herself up to her knees. "...I'm fine, damn it. I can still fight!"

As she straightens herself, she tells Rin, "Take Yuya. I can keep going." Then to Lambert, she pulls out the other phoenix vial he'd handed her earlier and, scooting closer to his head, offers it. "You're not giving up yet either, right? Need a boost?"

Being right ontop of the Mother (sort of), Gongenzaka is hit by the wave fast. While his senses are largely limited to what Peridot experiences, his soul is yet his own and immediately he finds himself assailed with regret and uselessness. He's just here- he's not doing anything yet not really, their current target is nothing he can specifically point out because it's obvious where the hole in the chassis is-

He can't...help, he can't-

Spiritually he chokes- but he can see through Peridot, and he can see Syrlya through the mist. But he can't do anything, can he...can...

Iron. Syrlya has... "...THE IRON!" he finally screams at Peridot. "You can still get it through- Syrlya cannot, but you can! Peridot! LAUNCH THE IRON! FORWARD, AND INWARD! YOU STILL HAVE THAT POWER, AND THAT MARK!"

As the darkness hits, it hits Strange like a truck. Almost instantly, the magic stops. The vines wrapped around the Mother stay put—but at the moment, Strange isn't making them grow any more.

He's been in this before. Trapped in a pillar of darkness, something that slowly tried to kill him, and would have killed him had he and Norrell not killed the enchanter. That's got to happen here: they've got to kill this fae. He didn't give up then, Strange refuses to let himself give up now, despite the thousands of voices in the back of his head that are trying to tell him otherwise.

So Strange tries to push past the fear and the worry as he shoots a jet of fire high in the air in what he thinks the direction the Mother of Invention is in, in a valiant attempt to push past the darkness.

They were doing so well. Getting away from the debris, getting to somewhere they could really help, really do something...

And then the darkness hits and it's as if she's in the void again. Even with her wings, she starts to feel herself drift downward, eyes welling with tears under the force of her own regrets. Her leg hurts, everything hurts, she can't see, she can't see-

And then there's light.

There's light, and with a choke, Carly flaps her wings and regains a steady hover, this time drawing her bow. "Not...this time..!" she cries, arms shaking as she forms an arrow of hellfire. "...I won't give in, not this time..!"

...

Her aim might not be great, all things considered. (But she's firing An Arrow, so that's great.)

Rin grimaces when Rita rebukes his hand, "But, your injuries...!" he says, though he knows it's futile. Rita is like his brother that way -- once her mind is made up, she won't be convinced otherwise. And unlike Yukio, he can't force her up like he forced him down.

"... Give her hell, for me, for Yuya!"

Kuro turns, all too happy to flee the smog; the cold, the dark, the despair.

And they run into Yukio, of course.

"Yukio!! I told you to-- urgh!!"

Syrlya's breathing wheezes faintly as there's pressure kept on his chest. His body seems to slump a little, but the hand holding the iron still clings with a tight, desperate grip. He... he hadn't been fast enough.

His lead lulls a little as he tries to focus his gaze. Somehow there's a new rolling agony past the numbness of being crushed, but it's nothing to the weight of fear, guilt, failure.

But those, he's fought through before. Those claw as his mind every day, and he takes a shuddery breath as he reminds himself that all his misery has to wait.

He sucks in a shuddering breath, glancing until he sees--"Peridot."

Goddamn the Mother of Invention and her stupid, stupid tricks! A million thoughts rise up in Zangetsu's mind as he watches her crush Syrlya despite his best efforts to disable her.

You can't protect anyone, can you?

They'll all die, then you'll die, and then what will Ichigo do? He'll die, too.

What kind of weapon can't even make a dent in something like this?!

Zangetsu hisses, then screams aloud against his own thoughts. "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! I CAN DO THIS! PERIDOT!" he yells, "GO! GET THE KNIFE!"

Turning his despair into frustrated rage, Zangetsu pours his energy into his sword, stabbing it into the crook of the elbow of the arm holding Syr.

Beau's halfway across the walkway, seeing the people who'd landed in the water already moving out under various means, pressing forward to check where the skybridge collapsed.

Then the cloud spreads, and not for the first time, she freezes up faced with something unfamiliar and painful and fundamentally unpunchable. How do you punch a cloud? About as much difficulty as punching a ghost. You can see it happen, but you pass right through without doing any damage.

Worse, just standing here breathing reminds her of regrets, the idea of pushing forward brings regrets, and the thought of turning tail brings still other regrets. Every option is shitty. Fuck it, she might as well keep doing what she was doing - check for anyone unconscious or obviously injured, try to haul them back to the dipshit healer hiding under a cloak. With a shaky breath, she presses on.

...The iron. DUH... Now that Gon is shouting at her, she feels like a complete idiot for not thinking of that right away.

Later, she'll blame the darkness magic for that oversight.

Screw this mist, though! She can do this! So what if she's not acting how a regular Peridot should, she hasn't done so in years and it has barely bothered her in ages until now! Isn't her metallokinesis proof enough that she's much more than Homeworld ever made her to be?

She holds out a hand towards Syrlya and feels for the iron, trying to beckon it towards her. It's not hard to sense; there's metal everywhere around her, but she knows from experience that iron has a unique vibe that makes it stick out like a sore thumb now. Even without direct contact, it doesn't like to play nice with her fae-touched essence. She just has to look for the metal that feels the coldest and least friendly to her metaphorical touch.

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