⇨ POLARIS 3.0

[ringleaders]

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.

Comments

[whattaprick]

No, the place never did make sense. With Childermass turning away, Lambert moves to the pool's edge too, though he remains standing instead of sitting down. He's glad to not have to explain it, because it leaves him feeling like a fool too, looking back on his own choices. Not that he knows what else he could have done, remaining on the Farm, but at the very least, he wouldn't have ended up like ... this. Maybe. Who's to say they wouldn't have pulled him out anyway?

"You're just human," is what Lambert finally settles on. "At least your mistakes gave people a chance." In some cases, the chance to try something stupid, but ... probably not helpful to bring up how Strange using that burst of magic to drop himself in Theta, right now.

"I hate what you did, but we couldn't have gotten ourselves out without what happened to Ignatius. I know that." The rest -- shadows, the doors to the dimension holding their things -- it's impossible for him to imagine how they were meant to help Gild with nothing but the Marks to arm themselves and carve their way to the Core. Compared to freedom, a little soul damage and some lost memories seems cheap, but it's hard to try and comfort Childermass while trying not to choke on his own relief at the same time. It could have been worse.

"Can't help with the bear, though," he tries to joke. "That was all you."

[atouts]

"It was," Childermass agrees dourly, any attempt at joking ignored. Following that, he's silent for a moment or two, just gazing out across the pool at what few carnival members are still milling around over on the other side. He can't make out who. He doesn't really care to, though. It almost seems like that's the end of what he has to say, like it's over, nothing left, but—

"And I'm not," he says, falling back to an earlier comment. "I'm not just human anymore. I haven't been since Portland, I just haven't wanted to accept it. I can't go back to England like this, Lambert. Even if that's ever an option. Without the Ringmaster, I suppose it isn't..."

Whether it's an improvement or not that he's fallen into a tired, gruff monotone rather than yelling or panicking again, who knows.

[whattaprick]

“You know what I meant,” Lambert scowls, crossing his arms. It’s not like he doesn’t know that other Carnival members care a hell of a lot more about getting home — wherever that is for them — so he gets that admitting this is sort of a big deal for Childermass.

“Why not? John Uskglass came back after living with the faeries, why can’t you? Even if the Ringmaster’s gone, she can’t be the only fae that can bring you back. Might take a little longer, but if the Caravan can manage to hop worlds, maybe you can too.”

[atouts]

Well, that's one way to get him looking over at Lambert again, though it'll be with a scowl. Childermass isn't an easy man to offend but comparing him to the Raven King? Really?

"John Uskglass was raised in Faerie," he points out coldly before looking back across the pool and finally deciding to get back to his feet. "He came back to our world and told our lands to be magic and they were. You can hardly compare me to that."

That's like saying if God could do something, why not Childermass?

"And trying to find my home without the Ringmaster would be folly, anyhow. There are infinite Earths, infinite Englands. Worse, I'd be going back with nothing to show for all my effort."

[whattaprick]

“I can and I will,” Lambert snaps. “Maybe you’ve changed, maybe you can’t go back to the same life you had, but you can still go back. If there isn’t a place for you, then make one. Or do you really want to leave the Raven King’s legacy up to his drunken book and the magicians you left behind?”

His voice hasn’t raised as much as one might expect, but it’s getting harder to keep himself from just reaching out and shaking the magician. He turns away from Childermass instead, crossing his arms tighter and drawing the illusion of the Gamma over himself again.

“We might be headed to the Summerlands next. See if we can get the Summer Maiden’s help get the Ringmaster back.” It’s easier to be calmer without his own voice in his ears. “The Gilded Mark thinks the Huntsman allying with Winter is a problem, maybe enough of a problem for the Summer Court, so that might be a fight coming too.”

[atouts]

There's just the barest flicker of amusement when he looks at Lambert again, declaring how, yes, he will compare him to the greatest magician of all time. A faint twitch of his lips, maybe a smirk, but that's it.

"Strange is closer to the Raven King than I'll ever be, Lambert," he says, adamant to clear that here and now. Flattery from one's lover is nice but there are limits. "Before the carnival, I hand nothing but a handful of parlor tricks to be creative with."

But he'll leave it at that. It may not matter in the end, if they never even get back to England, their England, any England. That's where his sad bout of amusement will fade. It's tempting to remind Lambert that the Summerlands left the Summer Court, that they had no say in what the Court would do, but...

"It will be a difficult argument to make," he settles on that instead. "They aren't a people for war." And after saying as much, he'll frown and scrutinize the illusion the witcher has pulled about himself. It would be a lie to say hiding the Mother's alterations is a relief but, at the same time, that isn't Lambert. "Why are you hiding under that?"

[whattaprick]

Are magicians incapable of conceptualizing the world or themselves in a way that doesn’t involve magic? Lambert wonders. It’s starting not to feel like it.

Lambert shakes his head; Childermass’s misunderstood his point. “I think the Summer Court would be happy to have the Ringmaster taken. But maybe they’ll fight Winter for their own sake, that keeps one enemy off our back. If we can get help from the Summerlands, maybe...”

And Childermass asks that, of course. The Gamma’s expression mostly remains neutral, Lambert’s tone light and mocking.

“Why not? Maybe I just like the look, and I don’t feel like stripping a technician for clothes.”

[atouts]

No, they really cannot. They've only just gotten it back and they would really like to keep it, so even Childermass agrees with them on that.

In any case, the explanation from Lambert is lacking and the magician can only look at him in mild disbelief.

"You'll steal whatever you want from whoever you want or wander around naked as you please. It's never bothered you before."

Everyone's seen Lambert naked by now. It's a constant.

[whattaprick]

“You’re right. Maybe I should just steal your face instead.” A mirror of Childermass in an all too familiar purple-patterned shirt stands across him, though he’s missing some of the changes he’s picked up since Alola. The wry smirk on his face is entirely out of character.

“Too bad this probably wouldn’t fool Baker for long. I always meant to try that...”

[atouts]

That is an immensely difficult shirt to be miserable at, truth be told, even if Childermass does try to keep a blank face when Lambert swaps illusions. Good God, is that really how he looks in that? A thought that inevitably leads to a snort of laughter and him rolling his eyes.

"Someone might expect you to take things seriously looking like me," he warns, at least making some small effort to go along with the joke. It's a start, at least. "I am going to miss that shirt. I left it back in my trailer. Baker, though... He's at least in my shadow."

He's just grateful he had no cause to release the Arcanine. Everything is beginning to seem too dangerous for the dog, even if that dog happens to be as tall as him and breathing fire.

[whattaprick]

Yeah, it really is how he looks. At least Alolan Childermass didn’t opt for shorts or this illusion would be a lot more ridiculous.

“Are you implying I don’t take everything seriously?” Lambert makes a show of drawing his brows down and pouting at Childermass. It’s also probably a little different hearing his own gravel-rough voice coming from someone else’s throat instead of in his own head, no matter how mock-offended it sounds...

“Let him out this instant so I can give him some very serious belly rubs.” And Lambert has a suspicion that while Childermass might not want to be touched by Lambert right now, a big, dopey dog with no concerns except whatever innocent doggy thoughts go through his head is a different story.

[atouts]

He'd be right. Different rules apply to dogs, especially Baker. Still, Childermass looks unconvinced and trying hard not tell Lambert to stop talking. It's alarming to hear that voice mirrored back at him, even if that will wear off quickly enough.

"You demand that now but you'll regret it when he tackles you," is the only warning Lambert gets before he closes his hand -- a small pocket of shadow and an idea is all he needs to rummage around these days -- and produce the Pokeball, sized small until he hits the button. It expands and pops open. There's that telltale flash of light and, just as expected, Lambert is about to find a mass of orange and cream fur with a wildly wagging tail and way too much drool for anyone's own good leaping at him.

He does look like Childermass, after all. Leap first, smell later.

[whattaprick]

The illusion is a good one, but it doesn’t quite extend to touch. What Baker will feel as he pounces on Lambert distinctly doesn’t match up to what he sees and very unfortunately for the witcher, he can also feel Baker. Who’s jumping on an injured man.

“Fuck!” Childerbert cusses colorfully as a paw plants itself on the entire giant bruise of his side right now and the recently bandaged gash. Wheezing for breath, he raises a hand, pushing at Baker and trying to pitch his command like Childermass would.

“Get off, you great beast, you’re not a puppy anymore!”

[atouts]

"Should have thought of that before asking for him," Childermass says so very matter-of-factly. Of course, him talking from behind the dog and a version of 'Childermass' talking from under that same dog... confuses the dog.

Baker will move his paw as he's shoved at, twisting partway around to look back at the real Childermass with ears perked. One Childermass there. He looks down again. He may not be standing on Lambert anymore, but he is standing over him, effectively pinning the witcher where he is. Second Childermass down there.

Yeah, Baker just whines, puzzled until he leans down again to shove his nose in Lambert's face and sniff.

[whattaprick]

Of all the ridiculous things Lambert has done for love, letting his boyfriends’s dog step all over him to make him laugh has got to be near the top.

“Fine,” he says, still a little breathless. “Then I guess I’ll just have to steal your dog too.”

He puts his hands right up against that big fuzzy head as it leans in to sniff him, finding Baker’s favorite spots to give a vigorous scratch.

“Isn’t that right, boy?” he croons. “Come with me and I’ll feed you enough treats to make you pop.”

[atouts]

Whether Baker understands or not is up in the air but the outcome would have been the same regardless. Baker likes Lambert almost as much, meaning he's getting slobber all over him when he starts licking his face.

"Baker, here," Childermass will call him off before the witcher drowns in overly warm dog breath. That gets him away from hovering over Lambert, turning tail to go trot over to his master. Surprising no one (or at least no one around them aka just Lambert), he does reach out to let the dog shove his big, dumb face into his arms for ear scritches.

"You can only feed him that many treats after we're away from this god-forsaken place." He adds that just in case Lambert's planning to follow through on that promise. "I don't want him eating anything made on here. It's all poison."

[whattaprick]

“The fruit on the Farm, maybe — kind of made my mouth numb when I tried it — but they wouldn’t poison their own people, would they?”

Or maybe they would. He doesn’t know much about what Winter would and wouldn’t do, not really. With Baker off him and safely in Childermass’s arms, he rolls to his feet and heads back to the pool to splash water on his face. Last thing he wants is his face wounds getting infected by magic doggy drool on top of whatever else was on Strange’s claws. He keeps an eye to Childermass and Baker, content that the plan seems to have worked for the moment. Though he does sadly have to burst Childermass’s bubble —

“We aren’t leaving just yet. The fae need time to rest up. Camping in the Wyld Lands for the night is an option, but we might end up getting jumped, too.” His gaze drifts, searching for a horizon he can’t see. “There’s still the rest of the technicians to worry about. They might not believe she’s gone so easily.”

[atouts]

"Anything the Winter Court touches is poison," Childermass mutters, though that doesn't keep him from ruffling Baker's fur. It's comforting just having him around. Someone entirely untouched by this ordeal, able to be happy no matter what, but that's dogs for you.

Still, the news that they're sticking around longer isn't surprising. It'll still earn a sigh and ends his attention to Baker, who whines over that and shoves further at Childermass so he's at least getting a hug around his neck if not scritches to his ears. It forces the magician to lean over and look at Lambert around all the fluff.

"I know. We can't just abandon this place to the wind but... I would rather be gone from it sooner than later."

[whattaprick]

Get that big old dog hug, Childermass, you deserve it. Lambert’s looking away when Childermass glances over, having taken to sitting on the edge of the pool.

“It’ll be over soon enough,” he tries to reassure. “Then Baker can go chasing deer back in the Summerlands again.”

The last time they were there feels like a lifetime ago. So much has changed since then, and so quickly.

[atouts]

"Perhaps we should stay out there," Childermass sighs, turning his attention back to the arcanine and vanishing from view behind him again. Baker woofs quietly. "See? He agrees."

Or he's just happy to be out of his Pokeball after so long. One or the other.

[whattaprick]

Despite himself, Lambert can't help but smirk.

"You say that now, but I think you'd actually go crazy living around that many airheaded fae. Or turn into some cryptic sage like the Starlight."

Which reminds him of something, actually, that makes him sit up a bit straighter and look back to the magician.

"If we do end up going back there ... I want you to come with me to see her. I want to get you the same spell spell you asked her for, for Steven and Strange." It might be too little too late, but if it can keep a fae mother from seeing her faeblood, maybe it can keep a wrathful queen from seeing the target of her curse.

[atouts]

"Would need to bother telling fortunes again to do that," Childermass says with a faint snort, though what he asks, that has him looking around Baker again to eye Lambert warily.

"We could do that, but... you know the price. What are you planning on giving up?"

[whattaprick]

Lambert shrugs.

“Probably my medallion. It’s not like it’s seen a lot of use of late. And before you start bitching about what I can or can’t give up for you, you can stuff it, all right? Let me do at least this much.”

[atouts]

Oh, he can and will bitch about it.

"I thought as much," Childermass says disapprovingly, frowning at the witcher. "I could remake my cards. You can't get another medallion. It's too much."

[whattaprick]

"If things work out the way I hope they will," Lambert enunciates, slowly, "I won't have to be a witcher anymore. And I won't need a chunk of metal just to remind me I should count myself lucky I survived something that killed most of the other boys I grew up with."

He shrugs, pushing himself to his feet.

"I'm giving up part of my past to make sure I still have a future. Seems fair to me."