lostcarnival | ⇨ POLARIS 3.0

Entry tags:

⇨ 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

He'll get to that.

For now, Yuusei, having retrieved Steven's gem by this point, bounds through what remains of the Mother's mist around her fallen chassis, spotting where Syrlia's been set on the ground out of her grasp. He doesn't want to waste time dawdling and telling Steven things he doesn't know, though for a moment he does wonder if Steven will be alright so close to the Mother. Either way, he returns his gem after setting him by Syr, murmuring a brief "You're doing great," before racing off again.

He undoubtedly passed Carly on his way to Syr, and for that he feels kind of bad, hoping she didn't see him and wonder why he didn't stop or acknowledge her. Soon, though, he's at her side, kneeling to examine her legs.

"...this is going to hurt," he tells her, as if she wasn't already in pain and wouldn't continue to be regardless of whatever he does next.

Which, he decides to lift her off the ground, starting his arm under her good leg first before taking the other. He tries to be gentle, but how gentle can one really be with a broken leg like this? Either way, he heads back toward the tuck shop where he hopes Herbert is still waiting, his pace slower than it was with Steven on account of Carly's limb.

He's maybe a little impersonal at first; there's no attempt at conversation or even a friendlier gesture (though he can't do much right now), but truthfully he feels there will be a time for that, after the Mother of Invention and after Polaris.

Everyone will be busy with destroying the remains of the Mother a while and generally getting themselves together. After several minutes pass, however, they will be met without another violent shake in the station - just in time for a huge beam of light to tear out a portion of the ceiling right out, at the far side of the room. Some debris fall, but the blast moves at an upwards trajectory, knocking most of the remains to some unseen place outside.

The rip in the ceiling exposes a pure blue sky, followed by the arrival of something that looks like an airship hovering into view. There is a gate at the ship's bottom, hanging open, with a few different people hanging off of it like the immediate plant was to dismount. There is some hesitation, though, when they see that the Mother is torn open like a tin can and lying dead on the ground.

"You finished her without me?" an unfamiliar voice calls. It appears to be a fiery fae with blazing hair and charcoal skin, with golden marks inscribed all over her body. She laughs, grimly. "Crying shame."

To anyone who has felt her magical touch, it seems obvious that this new arrival is Gild, as she stands on the airship platform, her golden bow at the ready. She looks like she's taken a fair number of wounds, black holes against her skin. Alongside her is Scald and a white furred fox, who raises a paw to wave.

"Samyaza!" Kerubi calls out. "You survived, then?" Then she looks to the others. "No escape plan needed, I see." Meanwhile, Scald is quietly scouting the area, most likely looking for his sister.

Edited 2018-11-12 18:44 (UTC)

It's around this point that Rita finally decides to get off Lambert's back, jumping down and landing with a wince as her broken wing flops about behind her.

"I was starting to think you'd never show up," she calls back, drawing closer to the airship to get a better look at the fiery woman. "So you're the Gilded Mark. Thanks for the help."

She speaks casually, but her gaze soon drifts to Ignatius, curious about how he's going to handle this reunion.

With the adrenaline of the fight wearing off, Lambert can’t maintain the dragon form much longer anyway. With Rita off him, he’ll shift back into being a man, of a particularly worn, bruised-looking one.

While the new arrivals have his attention, he’ll also glance to Syrlya to see how he’s holding up. He saw someone take Steven over there, but with the general cathartic feeling of letting all that fire loose...

“Maybe you shouldn’t be greeting a fae with an iron weapon,” he’ll murmur quietly as he follows after Rita.

Misunderstandings can happen, and all that. He’ll draw up beside her and hold out a hand for the knife, evidently prepared to take it back.

The Gilded Mark leaps from the ceiling entrance, hitting the floor gracefully - through she stumbles a bit after landing, as if still whoozy and exhausted. She holds one arm around her side, like she's clasping a wound. As she moves closer, they'll be able to see some blackened veins lifted against her charcoal skin.

She comes forward, glancing at Rita and seeming to recognize something about the way she feels, before looking forward in search of something else. She doesn't know for sure how all of this played out, but she feels... up ahead...

Oh.

Ignatius turns around to the sound, having been blasting the last bits of the Mother's chassis. He's caught off guard when he sees her, his eyes going wide. He immediately wants to go somewhere else.

"Did you..." Gild begins, only half processing the thought before looking utterly confused. "What...? Ignatius...?" She knows it's him. The golden mark on his face tells her as much. She takes a step towards him, reaching out a hand uncertainly, and Ignatius takes a step back. In a rash decision, Ignatius poofs himself into white flames, zipping off somewhere else that Gild isn't looking at him.

"Hey! Don't you dare, you-" Gild shouts after him, starting to run and then noting that he's already gone. He stops near Rita, looking at her with a flash of anger and confusion. "What happened to him?"

Then, before she even waits for an answer, she shouts after Ignatius again.

"Get back here, Ignatius! Don't act like a child!"

Rita hands the knife back to Lambert, then watches, eyes wide with bewilderment, as Ignatius just takes off as soon as he's faced with Gild. She finds herself freezing up for a moment as Gild turns to her with that question... then sighs.

She might as well try to fill her in. Not just Gild's sake, either... There are a lot of people here who didn't see what happened to Ignatius and might appreciate an explanation.

"It's complicated," Rita begins, her arms folded. "The short of it is... the Mother of Invention poisoned him with ice magic. One of our people tried to cure him by calling on Creation, and... the result was some kind of synthesis. Instead of purging the ice from his body, it fused it with his domain... or something like that."

It's a phenomenon Rita would love to study, given the chance, but there hasn't exactly been time to figure out even the basics of what happened back there.

Gild furrows her brow. She was expecting him to be mutilated, traumatized, changed... but not quite like that. He's both more healthy and more messed up than she was expecting and she isn't sure how to deal with that.

It would probably be easier to deal with him if he was more hurt.

She crosses his arms, frowning, but right now she isn't going to dignify his reaction by chasing after him. Instead, she looks at Rita, and then the rest of the group. Meanwhile, some of the people from the airship start dropping into the room by rope ladder.

"...Right," she says, carefully. She looks at Rita. "Well, I'm the Gilded Mark. I think we met." Though, she pauses there. "Are you his...? Uh..."

She had no idea that Ignatius had children, what the fuck.

As Rita goes and explains Ignatius's everything, Strange gives her a look like she's a total idiot.

"What happened to Ignatius is a private matter that's possibly very embarrassing," he hisses, slightly under his breath. And then, in full voice, he turns towards Gild and gives her an accusatory glare. "And honestly, considering that I've no idea just who the hell you are or how the hell you found us, you're the one who should be answering the questions in the first place!"

Fun fact: not everybody knows who Gild is. Sure Rita said 'Gilded Mark' but that name means absolutely nothing to Strange. Fill up the rest of the crew on the plot, please.

The Gilded Mark's lip presses into a firm line as she turns to face Strange with a similar amount of force and accusation. She is actually quite tall, much like Ignatius is, so she has the advantage of glaring down her nose at him.

"I'm his sister," she says. Then, all in one moment, her severity melds away as her shoulders sink. She sighs. "...Though I'm sure he wouldn't have told you that."

Strange glares up at her with the force of someone who is absolutely not impressed by how tall and impressive she is. They murdered one fae already today and Ignatius's entire friggen domain changed, this day can't get any more chaotic than it already is!

"That doesn't answer my second question. How did you find us?"

Rita looks a bit uncomfortable as Gild trails off, but is immediately thrown off by Strange's scolding. She answers him with an irritated scoff and a roll of her eyes.

Fortunately, Gild steps in to introduce herself, and Rita's content to leave her to dropping that bomb on the group. There's little change in her own expression, having heard this much from Shimmer already, though it's still pretty damn weird to imagine.

At last, she'll answer Gild's question to her. "My name's Rita," she says plainly. "I'm not his..." And there's a pause, as she tries to actually think of what she is to him, and frankly, she has no clue. She shakes her head. "...Ugh, I don't know. Whatever we are, that's complicated too."

Gild glances at Rita uncertainly, but she'll take her word for it. She's not sure how you can be sort of someone's child, but alright. She assumes there is a lot to catch up on. So, she answers Strange first.

"I'm the Gilded Mark. My domain is that of... well, Marks." She gestures at the golden tattoos on her body. "Anyone who bears my Mark, I can find anywhere. Did you ever notice the tattoos Ignatius has?"

At the tattoos question, Strange nods, quickly putting together what she's implying. He's certainly not going to admit it out loud, but he's seen Ignatius shirtless a few times, he's pretty aware of those tattoos on his dumb pretty ripped abs. So if a tattoo is her Mark, then she should be able to find him no matter where he is. Strange hems and haws as he tries to find a nice way to say 'so you stalked your brother across the multiverse, do you not realize how absolutely creepy that is.'

"Well no wonder he doesn't want to see you," Strange simply remarks, raising a wry eyebrow at Gild. "Nobody likes unexpected visits from family, least of all after something like this." Said with a vague hand gesture to encompass all of Polaris's everything.

Still, he got what he needed to know, so he'll finally back down a little bit and let someone else take the floor...though he's still watching Gild a little too intently.

Gild looks a bit shocked, but not in a 'the audacity of this mortal, questioning a fae', so much as just a regular 'wow this dude is an asshole.' In fact, she gives him a middle finger.

"I came here to get him out when I heard he'd been captured, but you know? I don't actually care if he wants to see me. I fought that robo-bitch for him, and if that's all he wants out of me, then that's just fine." She narrows her eyes. "But you're not the one that gets to tell me that."

Edited 2018-11-13 03:34 (UTC)

Well wow-wee, look at Ignatius go. Lambert doesn't think he's ever seen him peel out that fast.

"I'm Lambert," Lambert raises the hand not holding an iron knife. "The one who was with Steven. Marks worked like a charm, far as I could tell." Even if he ultimately ended up using his on something relatively smaller in the grand scheme of things, it did do its job, and for Childermass too. So, the backup's much appreciated.

Though given the present situation and the current mood of the conversation, he debates whether or not to 'fess up, and finally ruefully settles on, "And I might've had something to do with Ignatius getting caught in the first place." He looks at her a little warily, still bleeding and slightly singed, scratching at a cheek. "So, if that's an issue..."

He trails off. He did expect someone to show up for Ignatius eventually, for all the Ringmaster's worrying about it, but not like this.

The Gilded Mark turns to look at Lambert, easily dropping her dispute with Strange. She just looks sort of confused though.

"Caught...?" she repeats. "By who, the Huntsman?"

Now it's Lambert's turn to look confused, because he'd sort of taken it as a given that when the Gilded Mark came to find them, it was with the knowledge that Ignatius had been seriously bullied by the Carnival beforehand.

But apparently, her knowledge isn't all that up to date.

"No," he says, awkwardly. "By us. He's been a prisoner of the Carnival since the Summer Court attacked us in the Athenaeum."

She looks at him and laughs.

"Oh, yeah. I mean, he had that coming, didn't he? When I heard what happened, I started tracking his mark to try to keep you guys from killing his dumb ass. It'd be really awkward to have a distant ally kill my brother, you know?"

She's grinning slightly as she speaks.

"I knew he was in trouble with the Ringmaster, and originally I just wanted to ask you to go easy on him. But... when I tracked him to Shabon, it was pretty obvious things had taken a turn. Now... I'm here, I guess. Surprise, surprise, he doesn't want to see me..."

It's amazing how the more Gild talks, the more Strange just finds her intensely obnoxious. She's such an asshole! Who the hell responds to their brother being tortured with 'he had it coming?' He just gapes at Lambert and Gild with an expression of pure disbelief before rolling his eyes.

"You must be an incredibly distant ally. The Ringmaster's never spoken of you before."

Edited 2018-11-13 04:05 (UTC)

Lambert's in completely the opposite boat, flushing slightly as she laughs -- what did he say that was so funny? -- then flushing deeper for slightly different reasons and glancing away. Being reminded of the Ringmaster sobers him up quick, though, and he looks back at her.

"How much do you know about what happened in Shabon?" he asks, to steer the conversation somewhat back on topic. He doesn't know how much was left of the town after they left, but last he checked, it was in pretty bad shape. "The Huntsman took the Ringmaster, and he it sounded like he was working with Winter."

Gild frowns, crossing her arms as she considers that. She shakes her head.

"I asked some of the locals, and found out about the generalities of what happened. The carnival came into town and the Hunt followed. When the Hunt started going after the carnival, they left a huge mess in their wake..."

She exhales uneasily.

"One of the locals spotted someone matching Ignatius's description and talked about him losing a fight with the Wyld Hunt. They said the Hunt cleared out, and a bunch of servants following some kind of mechanical device took him and the rest away. Someone mentioned a dragon was there, but they didn't see what came of her..."

"...If the Huntsman is working with Winter, that's a bad thing for everybody. He's been gaining power fast... Faster than anyone was expecting."

Rita gives Strange a glare. "Would you stop!?" she huffs at him. What's his problem, anyway!?

Some of that irritation fades as the conversation turns to Shabon, and her expression turns pensive. "We sure didn't see it coming," she mutters bitterly. "I don't know how much you've figured out, but... the Ringmaster was killed back there. The Huntsman took what was left of her, and that's the last we saw."

"Took her egg," Lambert supplies, crossing his arms. "Based on previous experience, though, that means she'll hatch eventually."

What that means while she's stuck with the Huntsman, he doesn't know, and he's reluctant to speculate.

"Winter should be pretty happy about that, shouldn't it? Having a stronger ally taking care of its unfinished business."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

⇨ POLARIS 3.0

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject