2026-03-15: Trial by Fire: Difference between revisions
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*'''Where:''' Konan District Aerospace Museum | *'''Where:''' Konan District Aerospace Museum | ||
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-03-15 | *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-03-15 | ||
*'''IC Date:''' | *'''IC Date:''' Tuesday, October 16, 2012 (segues directly into [https://www.velvetroom.wiki/index.php/2026-03-27:_The_Lion%27s_Roar this scene]) | ||
*'''Summary''': ''Having received word that the Joker Killer plans to stage something at the aerospace museum, Hyousuke and Moriko move in to try and stop his plans. But it seems like Moriko's been here before...'' | *'''Summary''': ''Having received word that the Joker Killer plans to stage something at the aerospace museum, Hyousuke and Moriko move in to try and stop his plans. But it seems like Moriko's been here before...'' | ||
Latest revision as of 17:12, 28 March 2026
- Log: Trial by Fire
- Cast: Hyousuke Suzuki, Moriko Kumamoto
- Where: Konan District Aerospace Museum
- OOC Date: 2026-03-15
- IC Date: Tuesday, October 16, 2012 (segues directly into this scene)
- Summary: Having received word that the Joker Killer plans to stage something at the aerospace museum, Hyousuke and Moriko move in to try and stop his plans. But it seems like Moriko's been here before...
(|======================== Monad - Aerospace Museum ========================|)
-==== Round 1: The Other Side - Challenge Level 2 ===========================-
| Approach Options: Academics or Proficiency |
| Conditions: Curse - -1 to Group Roll (Per Character), Educational - |
| Academics Up L1, and Terrifying - Guts Down L2 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
The Konan District's Aerospace Museum is easy enough to find, in part
because it has a life-sized Zeppelin replica attached to the building as
both exhibit and restaurant. Rumor has it that it can actually fly, but well
you can't believe everything you hear, right?
In the lobby, there's World War II memorabilia, including a Mitsubishi A6M
Zero hanging in pristine condition from the roof above. The lobby looks
empty save for a beautiful young man in the Kasugayama High uniform that
some may recognize as Jun Kashihara. He's looking around with a fretful
frown, as if searching for a museum employee; upon spotting you, he
approaches with a letter in hand to say:
"Excuse me--I don't mean to alarm you, but you should leave immediately.
Someone dangerous is coming here..."
The letter in his hand is tightly clenched, but the eagle-eyed can make out
a message like 'cOMe aLOnE tO ThE AerOspAcE MuSEUM oR ELsE <3' in a
scrawled, erratic hand.
No sooner does he start a conversation with you, when abruptly an entire
wall detonates into a great conflagration, as some incendiary device
detonates.
"Kya-hahaha! Welcome to my walk down memory lane. Guess you ran into the
first of my bombs. The next will go off in the stairwell, then the other
floors will go up in flames one by one!"
As flames of expiation light the heavens
The Lion's roar echoes far and wide
"Don't you remember? It's just like the Other Side. There's a field trip
touring the museum right now. If you don't get those kids to the roof,
they'll become barbeque! Better hurry! Kya-hehehe-ahahahaha!"
Your first challenge is rather simple, the voice wasn't kidding about the
stairwell going up in flames next. You have seconds to locate it, and run up
to the second floor before the fastest way to the second floor goes up in
flames.
Can you make it in time?
OOC: The Red Text in this Monad represents Deja Vu moments from 'the Other
Side'. If you've determined that your character was not present in Innocent
Sin, or you haven't decided yet, then you can ignore these moments.
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Information, like a disease, had a way of spreading once it breached containment. From where he'd heard the rumour, or from whom, was unimportant - Hyousuke had his channels, and he had his methods, blunt as they were. So, when he'd learnt of the fact that the Joker Killer had plans for the aerospace museum, he couldn't help but charge in like a bull seeing red, only stopping long enough to give a moment's notice to anyone that might have been able to accompany him. He'd hoped to be able to lead a small army in to eradicate the threat once and for all, but impatient and un-leaderly as he was, such a thing was out of reach.
Jun - or at least, something wearing Jun's face - appeared before them, and shocked whatever consternation Hyousuke had had out of his system. He regarded the figure with keen, green eyes, cloaked by the gold of his visor, but something seemed... off.
"I don't like this." He muttered to Moriko, not turning around for fear of arousing suspicion, but making it clear that he wasn't best pleased. "I know Kashihara-san, and he doesn't act like-" He didn't have the time to finish his sentence, much less read the note. A burst of fire devastated the wall, and Hyousuke staggered back, arms thrown up to try and block any debris from hitting him - or his friend.
"The hell's he talking about? I don't remember shit!"
Hyousuke clenched his teeth, and shook his head. "Forget it, we'll figure that out later! Come on, we gotta move!" Hyousuke broke into a sprint the second he'd finished speaking, and bolted towards the stairwell. It was a foolish decision, to charge straight towards where the bomb had been planted, but what choice did he have? Any slower, and he risked losing the only way up that'd let him get to the purported civilians in time.
MONAD : Hyousuke Suzuki has acted with Warmup toward The Other Side! Diligence and Focus!
<Pose Tracker> Moriko Kumamoto has posed.
Moriko herself had at least offered to help when she'd heard trouble. This isn't really the sort to be too picky about when, how or why. "I don't though." Noting admittedly, "So I'll have to take your word on it." She had arrived in something different than usual. Opting for a baggy t-shirt, light jacket and skirt. The biker look is convenient. She likes riding. It also runs into the problem of standing out a lot more than a bog standard high school girl would.
She may or may not have changed when she got here from some denim at least. Don't ask why.
She's watching the figure inbetween trying to scan for.. something. Something useful?
There's a flinch and she grimaces, closing her eyes for a moment. Belatedly thankful for the cover from Hyousuke as this lapse overwhelmed her. Turning, she starts to pull away, then her mind catches back up to reality and she tries to push around her friend.
There's a certain level of decisiveness when she says, "Come on. It's over this way." Trying to get in front to lead the way.
She had said she hadn't been here before right?
MONAD: Moriko Kumamoto has acted with Erratic Studies toward The Other Side! Efficient and Patra!
(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) -==== The Other Side - Round 1 ==============================================- Hyousuke Suzuki Proficiency Success Warmup Diligence and Focus Fatigue: 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Moriko Kumamoto Academics Success Erratic Studies Efficient and Patra Fatigue: 0 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- Starting Conditions: Curse-0, Educational-2, and Terrifying-2 Final Conditions: Educational-1 -====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 1/6 |= | ===================================================- (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke, in short order, let Moriko take the lead. He didn't have questions regarding how she knew the museum so well - why would he? He had no idea where she had or had not visited in the past. Even if he had, it was unlikely that he'd have interrogated her, being thankful for the fact that she at least knew where to lead the two of them. He thundered along behind her, feet like rapid thunder as he cleared the museum floor at breakneck pace, then practically leapt up the staircase in short order.
"Move, come on!! We haven't got-"
Hyousuke wanted to say that they didn't have long, but the bomb made his point for him. Tossed forward by the shockwave, he collapsed onto the ground, grunting with the strain before coming to an unceremonious halt. Quickly, he checked himself. No injuries - that was good. His costume was a little singed, and the cut on his chest stung something fierce, but it was a set of things he could ignore. "Shit, that was rough. Kit-san, are you alright?"
MONAD: Moriko Kumamoto has drawn a new Challenge!
(|======================== Monad - Aerospace Museum ========================|)
-==== Round 2: Worst Field Trip Ever - Challenge Level 2 ====================-
| Approach Options: Proficiency or Guts |
| Conditions: Clumsy - Proficiency Down L1, Educational - Academics Up L1, |
| and Scary - Guts Down L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
The second floor of the Aerospace museum is already filling with smoke, as
flames from the first floor have already caught hold here, licking along
several particularly flammable spaces. Exhibits about the history of
aviation in Japan and in general are lined up with artifacts of prior
generations.
Fifteen. Fifteen minutes. That's how long you have to find the kids and get
to the roof. You're not sure why you get that instinct.
You've gotta find those kids! Quick!
Unfortunately there are demons coming down the hallway already. Horse-headed
creatures that stand on two-feet. With a whinny of rage, they come at you,
spreading more flames with Maragi spells.
And that's just the first group of them.
You have to search this floor quickly AND thoroughly, fighting demons as you
go, paths that were open before closing off in flame.
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Moriko Kumamoto has posed.
Moriko isn't going to stop and think about it right now. That she could feel she'd picked the right direction. That she knew the layout. She probably just saw the layout when researching something one time or other. It's the smart way to find out what kind of scenery and layouts you should have right?
She does escape the worst of the explosion having started to move away. And by dint of Hyousuke catching the worst of it. She turns on her heel, offering her hand out, "I'm fine, thanks-" pausing briefly, shaking her head, "Thank you. Don't... get hurt again though."
Her free hand is already going to her little satchel. She keeps- She pauses. Looking closer. "That's not deep. Be careful, but we need to keep going."
She looks around, pointing, "Up the stairs, we can try to get looped around. There's going to be a fire..." She trails off, "Up there if we take the direct route." There's a pained look on her features, then she shakes her head. "The way he was talking." Trying to reconcile it.
She'd been here with others last time hadn't she? Behind them.
What last time? Why would you do this thing twice?
"I think I've had weird dreams." She tells herself, more than anything.
MONAD : Moriko Kumamoto has acted with Mechanical Knowhow toward Worst Field Trip Ever! Diligence and Efficient!
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
"I'm fine." he said, before standing straight. "Just got knocked around a bit. Armour's burnt a little, but nothing I can't get fixed." He took the proffered hand and straightened himself up, dusting off whatever ash or debris still stubbornly clung to his body.
"Going to be? What do you mean, going to?" Hyousuke blinked and remained silent. He still needed to piece together his thoughts, themselves left in disarray from the moment that first explosive had ripped through the wall. It took him a little while to put together what he thought was a plausible explanation, and nodded as if he was some sort of genius coming to a revolutionary breakthrough. Her coming to a similar conclusion only seemed to reaffirm the sentiment. "Right, the other explosives, that voice said there's more up ahead."
The last thing she said threw him for a loop, however, and he couldn't help but cant his head slowly in her direction.
"Weird dreams?" He said, curiously, but tentatively. He didn't dare to make a joke - if it was something she thought to bring up in such dire circumstances, it had to be serious, did it not? Serious or not, however, it looked as though it would have had to wait. "Damn it, hold that thought - we've got demons! Keep moving, but don't go too far! We'll never find each other if the smoke gets too thick!" With those parting words, Hyousuke threw himself at the nearest demon, launching a furious assault with Achilles in tow. He was not much of a firebreak, but under the circumstances, he would have to do.
MONAD: Hyousuke Suzuki has acted with Bravado toward Worst Field Trip Ever! Bravery and Focus!
(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) -==== Worst Field Trip Ever - Round 2 =======================================- Hyousuke Suzuki Guts Success Bravado Bravery and Focus Fatigue: 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Moriko Kumamoto Proficiency Success Mechanical Knowhow Diligence and Efficient Fatigue: 0 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- Starting Conditions: Clumsy-2, Educational-1, and Scary-2 Final Conditions: Clumsy-1 and Scary-1 -====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 2/6 |== | ===================================================- (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Moriko Kumamoto has posed.
Moriko passes by a few doors as she goes, like she knows each one is both empty and unsafe. A glance in some of them wouldn't be advised, the handles are already hot. She had been here before right? She shakes that off and squeezes her eyes shut.
"I mean it's what makes sense." She can't explain it. Isn't going to try and explain it at this point. It's more effort than it's worth. Which is, she has no idea why she can see it so clearly. She doesn't remember anyone here though.
That gets shoved aside. They've got demons to fight. Which she absolutely does. Rotating between her polearm and the everpresent fox that's earned her nickname of sorts.
"I don't know." She finally says. Admitting it as they clear their way forward. "If you need to hold my hand it's fine." Holding it out, "You're right about getting lose. We need to.. keep low too."
MONAD: Hyousuke Suzuki has drawn a new Challenge!
(|======================== Monad - Aerospace Museum ========================|)
-==== Round 3: Grab Your Asses! - Challenge Level 2 =========================-
| Approach Options: Charm or Understanding |
| Conditions: Clumsy - Proficiency Down L1, Scary - Guts Down L1, Smooth - |
| Charm Up L1, and Soft - Understanding Up L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
Entering an exhibit on the events leading up to Westernisation and the
birth of Aviation in Japan after the Meiji Restoration, you find about a
dozen elementary schoolers huddled close to the floor, due to the smoke
already spilling into the room, even before it was opened.
"Are you firefighters?"
"Please get us out of here!"
"I'm scared..."
Some kids are outright crying on the floor, shaking, in little state to even
move, much less to follow your directions in demon infested burning
hallways.
Now is the time to change that. What do you say to them!?
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke's face contorted behind the mask, and its frame shifted with his features. The expression behind it wasn't clear, but the fact that it had been in response to her stating that it was what made sense... that much was a little clearer, to anyone looking at him when it happened. He held his gaze on her for a moment or two, seeming to wait for her to divulge more information, or at least try to clarify, but he diverted it soon after. There would be time for it later. For now, there was work to be done.
Hyousuke paused upon her offering her hand again. Taking it to get up had been a simple and practical thing - an instinctive action he'd not had time to be uncomfortable about. The offer she made then and there, however, was a little more involved. He took another moment to consider his options, but in the end - and against his own screaming instincts - he clutched Moriko's hand in his. Not for his own sake, but because - in his mind - she seemed to need it. He didn't want to be touched, but in that moment, seeing her in such a state pained him just a little more.
What he saw after had him lose her grip in a moment, and hold it out to the children instead. All thoughts of discomfort and disquiet vanished the second he saw them, huddled together and terrified beyond all belief. Anger fled him - Hyousuke was *furious.* It was one thing to fight adults, and at least high schoolers could comprehend what they fought. But these were children. Young, and innocent, and people that should not have been involved in any of this.
"That fucking bastard..." He snarled, mostly to himself, and only loud enough that Moriko could hear. "...He was going to kill kids...!"
Then speaking loud enough that the roaring of the flames was but impotent crackling next to him, Hyousuke inched forward and held his hand out to try and comfort the nearest group.
"Come on, it's this way! Can you guys stand up? Me and my friend here are gonna get you out in no time, you just gotta be brave a little longer!"
MONAD: Hyousuke Suzuki has acted with Charm toward Grab Your Asses!! Base!
<Pose Tracker> Moriko Kumamoto has posed.
If it helps any, Moriko seems genuinely disturbed by these little bouts of inspiration. Is that even the right word? They're not memories. Deja Vu feels wrong here. That is what it is though, isn't it.
Helping pull Hyousuke to his feet... with some effort and a grumbled something or other that may be a cover for her wounded pride that she's that much weaker than her self image would suggest.
She gives Hyousuke's hand a, what she hopes is, a reassuring squeeze as she leads the way. Keeping low..ish. That she's got someone there to help, at least does seem to alleviate some of the growing concerns she's had. For what it's worse, she's gotten them through without more than far too many random encounters... right?
Try not to think on that one oto hard.
The hand slipping away goes unnoticed when they find those kids. She glances back, to make sure he's okay. She thinks. Then looks to them. Panicking, crying. She wants to go hug all of them. She wants to try and show them that she's tough and will keep them safe. She has no idea what she's doing with kids outside of the context of her brother, or operating an inn back home where she can fall back on bland platitudes.
"He was." She murmurs. Working her fingers near her evoker a few times. "Buried the story or not, did we make the right call? We could have gone-" she trails off.
"We're not." She admits, "We were looking for you to save you though!" She pauses for a moment. Looking to Hyousuke and whispering out of the side of her mouth, "What's your stage name?"
This could be going better. "We're heroes here to save you. Come on."
She doesn't look like one. This may backfire.
MONAD: Moriko Kumamoto has acted with Understanding toward Grab Your Asses!! Base!
(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) -==== Grab Your Asses! - Round 3 ============================================- Hyousuke Suzuki Charm Success Charm Base Fatigue: 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Moriko Kumamoto Understanding Success Understanding Base Fatigue: 0 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- Starting Conditions: Clumsy-1, Scary-1, Smooth-2, and Soft-2 Final Conditions: Smooth-1 and Soft-1 -====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 3/6 |=== | ===================================================- (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
The squeeze wasn't welcome. The touch itself wasn't welcome. He couldn't look at her - he didn't want to risk her seeing through the mask, and how uncomfortable holding her hand made him. But he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something going on with Moriko that he couldn't even begin to understand, and if his presence could help alleviate some of her own discomfort - even at the cost of his own - then he was willing to grin and bear it. He could process it later, but for now, the ever-reliable tactic of suppressing his thoughts and focussing on the mission took centre stage.
Moriko asked him what his stage name was, and he - without turning his head too much - cast her a desperate glance. Before he could tell her that he'd never given himself one, having never actually needed one before, one of the kids piped up and pointed directly at his mask.
"It's... It's Blue Swan...! Blue Swan's coming to save us...!"
Hyousuke might have, under any other circumstances, been a little bit taken aback by the fact that he'd not only been mistaken for a Phoenix Ranger, but been mistaken for one that didn't share his gender or aesthetic. However, with a gaggle of scared children in need of someone to lead them out, he took what he could get.
"That's right!" He called out, striking a pose and jabbing his thumb into his chest. "Me and my teammate are here to fight the bad guys and save you all! Isn't that right, my demon-destroying compatriot?" He didn't wait for a response when he looked at her and mouthed - for all the good it did from behind a mask - to go along with it. Either way, it worked, and the children flocked to him and Moriko, just a little bit braver than they had been before. "...Come on." Hyousuke said to her. "We need to get out. Do you know a way through?"
MONAD: Moriko Kumamoto has drawn a new Challenge!
(|======================== Monad - Aerospace Museum ========================|)
-==== Round 4: SCREAM for Ice Cream - Challenge Level 2 =====================-
| Approach Options: Charm or Academics |
| Conditions: Curse - -1 to Group Roll (Per Character), Fairy - Subtract 1 |
| Fatigue on success., Smooth - Charm Up L1, and Soft - Understanding Up L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
It's only getting worse as more devices are going off, the hallways are
choked with smoke, and the kids are coughing the whole way.
But! Sanctuary! Glorious sanctuary! You see the outline of a doorway which
leads to a certain money-grubbing fairy's shrine.
Entering the spring is an instant relief. The kids breathe easier. You'll
have to move before long, but any reprieve is welcome.
"Hey rugrats! Nothing in life is free, and that includes fresh air!" Trish
crosses her arms, tapping a riding crop, "Since you're exceeding maximum
occupancy, I'll have you know that I'm charging by the minute. I'd put it on
your tab but... ha! You don't have one. Tabs are for deadbeats and losers."
Then, with a grin, the fairy suddenly goes to stand behind a new fixture in
her fountain, covered by a bright red cloth, which she pulls off with a
sudden flourish, to reveal an ICE CREAM COUNTER and brandishes a scoop.
"Also I'd like to introduce you all to the latest addition to my business,
the Trish Refreshment Stand. Who wants Ice Cream? Only 5000 yen per scoop."
"Me!"
"Please! My throat feels like it's on fire!"
"Is she a real fairy!?" "Nah, it's gotta be a costume."
"That's right kiddos." She winks at them, before looking at all of you.
"Just a costume." She makes a gesture of two fingers rubbing against each
other at you. You start to realize, you've been CONNED! She's definitely
price-gouging in the middle of the raging inferno, tugging on your heart
strings and using the kids as props.
Are you really gonna let these kids go without ice cream?
Maybe you can convince her to be reasonable. That's one big maybe.
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Moriko Kumamoto has posed.
Moriko might apologize later, if you know, she was ever made aware of the fact and all. She's not and she's a bit dense in some areas. Something's been lost in the translation between one line and another it seems. She is appreciative of it on some level at least.
She side eyes him when he clearly stalls for time. "Really?" In a tone that suggests true disbelief. "Not even like, the Blue Bomber?" There's a pause. "Bad time for that."
She's not sure if that joke would fly anyway.
He earns a name though and she tilts her head and murmurs, "Im-san has become Im-Swan."
She won't apologize.
Moriko is not able to read lips when she can see them. She can at least put two and two together though. After a second. "Yeah!" She cheers, "I am-" she fumbles briefly. Glancing down at herself. "I'm in disugise." She holds up a finger to her lips. "I'm his support. Just call me Ash Fox."
That one might also not fly. It's a tree! Oops.
Still, they manage to guide the kids along. Finding themselves with a brief reprieve. A bit of fresh air. A chance to not panic about you know, smoke. Fire. Kids running off or falling behind.
Moriko does a quick headcount, then seems relieved. Until she spots the fairie.
She spots the con happening and gets something of a scowl on her face.
She steps forward. Adopting a delinquent's pose, hand on her evoker. "The place is about to go up in flames. You're going to lose an avenue one way or the other." She beckons back, "Give us a reasonable price and I might tell you where else you can set up shop. You might even like the neighbors." She slips into a thin smile. "Something mutually beneficial."
At least she doesnt speak just like her grandfather's friends. She just.. kinda riffs on them a bit.
MONAD : Moriko Kumamoto has acted with Erratic Studies toward SCREAM for Ice Cream! Efficient and Patra!
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
The Blue Bomber remark drew a disapproving glance from Hyousuke. While it wasn't quite strong enough to punch through the protective layer of plastic over his eyes, the one that followed her changing his honorific to -swan just about melted a couple of holes through the lens. He wasn't sure how he felt about the nickname, but he certainly didn't feel surprised. To be saddled with something like that was, to the best of his knowledge, quite on-brand for her. That aside, if it helped lifted her spirits after everything she'd displayed on the lower levels, Hyousuke supposed he could stomach being saddled with 'Im-swan.'
With as much gusto and acting as he could manage (certainly more of the former than the latter), he kept the kids moving, reassuring them that he'd simply punch away any demons that threatened their lives. Just as he started to question how much longer he was able to keep it up, sanctuary arrived, and Hyousuke began to thank whatever deities looked down upon him for their mercy... only to realise they were trickster gods, and he was the punchline of their latest joke. Trish was a nightmare at the best of times, but now
"Come on, five-thousand? That's kinda steep for kids. I'd be surprised if they had five-hundred between 'em." He was hardly the slickest negotiator, and he had close to zero faith that his approach would work, but he couldn't let Moriko carry the burden all by herself. "Fox's right, this place is gonna go down any minute now. How 'bout this? You let the kids out somewhere safe and let them keep the ice cream, and I'll throw in some cash for your trouble. Think about it - you get them out of your hair and make room for paying customers and make some money, and all you gotta do is let them walk out with an early dessert."
MONAD: Hyousuke Suzuki has acted with Charm toward SCREAM for Ice Cream! Base!
(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) -==== SCREAM for Ice Cream - Round 4 ========================================- Hyousuke Suzuki Charm Success Charm Base Fatigue: 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Moriko Kumamoto Academics Success Erratic Studies Efficient and Patra Fatigue: 0 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- Starting Conditions: Curse-0, Fairy-0, Smooth-1, and Soft-1 Final Conditions: -====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 4/6 |==== | ===================================================- (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Moriko Kumamoto has posed.
Moriko seems oblivious to the glare she's getting. Or she knew it was coming. Hard to say either way. That he might have tensed up at the 'swan' bit does get a sly grin on her features though. It absolutely was on brand for her. She holds her hand up though, then offers a reassuring gesture down. "It's fine." She grins.
The fairy does give Moriko a flat look, not quite commenting on the fact that surely a place between worlds can have more than one entrance, but the fact that the biker was clearly trying to pull something on her own was enough for her to decide that pushing the kids out for their pocket change in exchange for a safe exit and ice cream goes a long way.
Better than nothing, right?
Moriko would you know, thank her. And even actually recommend a spot for a new door.
Because having easy access to dubious supernatural things is a great idea.
Maybe actually.
Just a pricy one.
Either way Moriko gestures, "Let's go. We have to check for others. Just in case." Suddenly not so sure.
MONAD: Hyousuke Suzuki has drawn a new Challenge!
(|======================== Monad - Aerospace Museum ========================|)
-==== Round 5: Déjà View - Challenge Level 1 ================================-
| Approach Options: Guts or Understanding |
| Conditions: Hard - Understanding Down L1 and Heartening - Guts Up L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
You rush into one of the hanging displays in the Aerospace Museum. A
life-sized model airplane hangs from the ceiling over an open floor plan. A
portion of the floor acts as a walkway that leads right up to it. There's no
reason to approach it, given that the place is actively on fire and you
still have a ways to go before you reach the roof.
But... you could swear--some of you--that you hear a young girl screaming
for help from over where the model airplane is. No matter how much you look,
though, there's no one there. Eerie.
Not everyone will hear. Just those who might be getting reminded of a past
that never was, if they were a part of it. Those who wouldn't are simply met
with another empty room.
Whether you hear or not, do you move on, or do you double down? Tick tock...
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke was almost certain he could hear Trish tittering at him once he'd turned his back on her. Sure, he'd managed to con his way into securing safe passage for the kids, as well as a sweet treat to make the experience a little easier for them, but he'd had to make a great sacrifice in the process.
"...You bring a spare helmet today? I'm gonna have to ask you for that ride." He grumbled, clearly not happy about having to hand over the money he'd been carrying with him that day. "That was my train fare."
That was a problem for later, however. For now, proceeding was the order of the day.
He followed behind her, no more than a step or two in case Achilles' bronze-clad might was needed. It was a little awkward, acting as a shield yet needing to let her take the lead, but that was not what inspired the great sense of unease in the pit of his stomach. That dubious honour belonged tot he room before them. Devoid of life, and bereft of notable decoration save for the plane and its approach, the place he beheld was practically barren.
"Nothing." He stated flatly, casting his gaze around slowly, trying to find whatever trap it was that the Joker Killer had set.
"Can't see any bombs. Doesn't look like there's anyone in here but us. So what's the deal with this place...?"
MONAD : Hyousuke Suzuki has acted with Bravado toward Déjà View! Bravery and Focus!
<Pose Tracker> Moriko Kumamoto has posed.
Moriko scratches the back of her head, "Yeah. You mentioned we were getting up to something. I thought it might be useful." She gives him a look. "We're going to look like bad extras in a show though." Which. At least is amusing. There's a pause as she offers wryly, "I tried." WHich is, she was trying to avoid coughing up what little money she had.
She also doesn't have pockets and all to empty out.
That is indeed a later problem.
She looks around. Back and forth, looking for anyone else. Anything else they might need to try and pull. Reaching out with what limited senses she might possess magically.
There's a frown. Looking down at the ground floor. "Nothing." She agrees.
"I don't know." She admits. Glancing over, starting to hurry along. They need to get out still after all. "Maybe there was something we could have found with more time. A clue. Something." Though why an aerospace museum?
There's a dull ache behind her eyes for a moment. Then her head tilts. A scream and across the way. The fastest way over was that plane. There was a growing fire elsewhere...
She's moving before she thought about it. This wasn't how it happened last time right? Was it?
She can't stop to think, "Someone just screamed over there." She calls over her shoulder, running along as she's wont to do.
MONAD: Moriko Kumamoto has acted with Improvising toward Déjà View! Bravery and Focus!
(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) -==== Déjà View - Round 5 ===================================================- Hyousuke Suzuki Guts Success Bravado Bravery and Focus Fatigue: 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Moriko Kumamoto Guts Success Improvising Bravery and Focus Fatigue: 0 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- Starting Conditions: Hard-2 and Heartening-2 Final Conditions: Hard-1 and Heartening-1 -====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 6/6 |=====| ===================================================- (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
(|======================== Monad - Aerospace Museum ========================|)
-==== Round 6: A Page from an Old Script - Challenge Level 1 ================-
| Approach Options: None |
| Conditions: Revelation - The best result. |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
You burst out of the third floor's entrance, where the Zero hangs from the
ceiling; the entire ground floor is up in flames now.
Some of you may get a sense you've seen this before. A sudden fear that
someone might fall into the blaze. But when you search, no one is here.
As soon as you make it to the next floor, you feel it.
Sound effect: 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RARotEaobh0'
The world shifts into a monochromatic hue, and nausea churns in your gut. A
familiar presence awaits you on the rooftop.
You feel as if you're repeating the same actions. Reading from the same
script. That's impossible.
You know he's there. Steeling your resolve, you head up to the roof.
OOC Note: If you got this card, you'll start the next battle with the
Prophecy buff.
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
One moment, they were investigating the area, looking for something - anything - that could tell them what they were supposed to be doing there. The next, Moriko had all but vanished from his sight, and Hyousuke spun fast enough that he was a hair's breadth from giving himself whiplash. Muscles tensed in the face of an unknown danger, he looked to her, then to the only other thing in the room that seemed to be of note - but neither she nor the plane gave him any indication of anything untoward. His eyes darted from shadow to corner and back again, searching desperately for what had caused her to run, but nothing came up.
All that was left to do was to run forward himself, calling out all the while.
"Kit-san, what the hell's going on?!" He shouted, looking to her the moment he caught up. "There's no screaming! It's just us in here!" Maybe it was an illusion. Maybe it was some unseen demons playing games with them. He couldn't tell, but he couldn't just let her run off without him. Hyousuke, desperate to keep them together as a team, surged forward with adrenaline racing through his veins, a manic look in his eyes. He wouldn't leave her alone, but neither would allow himself to be left alone - they were a team, were they not? "Come on, focus, we can't just-"
Whatever thoughts he'd had were stolen from him by something familiar. Something that twisted his stomach into a knot so tight he could feel the bile rising through his throat. Something that clawed at the edges of his mind like the dark of night held at by by only a dim torch. Something that sent his teeth itching, and his heart pounding. There was something there, but its name... its name escaped him. His hand twitched, instincts fighting within him, half demanding that he throw up every guard he could to steel himself against the encroaching blackness, the other screaming at him to find solace those that stood beside him.
"The Joker Killer. He's up there."
His voice was low. It almost trembled. Hyousuke told himself that he was not afraid, and that this would be the end of things. He would seek his vengeance, he would deliver his justice, and the world would be a better place for it. But something - some cold and terrible thing, like a knife twisting into his stomach - spread fear's tendrils through him all the same. He clenched his teeth, he drew a breath in, and steadied his mind. He was not afraid. He could not be. Not when his friends and their lives were on the line. Slowly, he turned towards Moriko, and took the mask off. It was a stifling thing in that moment, and he needed to speak to her with nothing in the way.
"...Kit-san. Whatever happens up there, we're making it through this. I promise."
Was that reassurance for her, though? Or for himself?
<Pose Tracker> Moriko Kumamoto has posed.
Moriko is already moving, a distinct feeling that if she stops it's going to be a lot worse. Someone had already fallen right? She almost risks a look down. She finally risks a look down. Only after she's run across the wings of the plane, getting there. Getting set up. Landing. She looks completely confused and disoriented when she does so. "There was-" She starts. Then trails off. Stepping back.
Then something goes wrong and she tenses up, then clenches her stomach and leans against the railing. Heavily. She's off in her own world for a moment. She doesn't even seem to hear Hyousuke at first.
She slowly pulls her fingers away, standing straight. Looking around.
There's a frown and she mutters, "Should I be worried that this feels like a trap?" With a distinct thought going to her supernatural representation.
She looks onward, shifting from foot to foot, like she's trying to remember something. Trying to find out why this felt familiar. There'd been others hadn't there? She'd done something else, but this was the same thing. She'd followed. Lead?
She looks to Hyousuke and nods. "I'm dragging you out by your ankle if I have to." There's an attempted bit of humor. Most of it is a grimace though. There was none of the usual confidence in her voice. "No way, but onward." Though whether she's trying to be poetic, inspiring or literal is left up to the air.