Of course, much of the news is occupied by the "disaster" of the Avatars game shutting down; it's a testament to the power this game wielded over its players that this is the primary thing on so many peoples' minds. Rumors flow that the Avatars game is becoming real - and judging by the crowds of fanatics that have shown up, there are plenty of people who greet this with joy and anticipation. Riots have broken out. Reports flood in of sightings of monsters - and many of them could even be true.
After all the trouble they went through, it would be understandable if the heroes would take a breather; their "vacation," however, is short-lived. While the police and armed forces have been dealing with "monster" outbreaks (who are, after all, susceptible to concentrated weapons fire), the unthinkable has erupted at the site of the Avatars theme park under construction. Despite all the measures taken, it appears that that other reality has taken some sort of foothold in the park. Facades have split asunder, to be replaced by buildings of stone and crystal and wood - and creatures of another world have poured through, laying claim to this realm.
Clouds of black smoke rise into the sky, dissipating at some distance - but this seems to emerge just at the fringe of the "incursion zone," where the realm of fantasy stops, and the Real World still holds sway. Armed forces have dealt with the monsters that have poured beyond the zone: the creatures began emitting this "black smoke" whenever they ventured too far, began going mad, and started to melt away - some slowly, some frighteningly quickly. One way or another, they were dealt with, or at least driven back ... but the containment perimeter is being overtaken by the expanding "zone." Within the "zone," the monsters do not dissolve, and their powers are greater. The forces have been obliged to fall back.
How far will this expand? There is no telling, but observations indicate that the expansion rate is accelerating, if irregular. The implications are severe ... and it's gotten too big to keep the secret in. The "pilgrims" have come, desperate to reach what they believe to be their "promised land." There's been just as much trouble trying to keep crazed civilians from breaching the perimeter from the outside, as to keep monsters from overrunning the defenses from the inside.
Experts must be called in - and there are only so many to call upon. Inevitably, Officer Cranston, Holly Trudeau and Jason Edwards are among those experts who've been shipped in - along with their strange companions.
A V-12 VTOL Valkyrie Gunship speeds onto the scene, with its passengers and their gear. What, exactly, they're supposed to do is unclear. Advise? Single-handedly work miracles to drive the enemies away? That hasn't been settled yet. Viewscreens in the spacious passenger compartment (normally designed for transporting troops to the scene, as a flying APC) provide external views from vehicle-mounted cameras, as well as video feeds from observers on the ground. "We're within visual range," the pilot calls over the intercom, down to the passenger chamber - he leans down as if to call back from his elevated station, with the copilot, but his voice carries far better over the intercom than it could through his masked helmet. "We don't want to get in too close: aircraft get knocked out of the sky by those lightning bolts. It's like someone's controlling them."
Randall checks his comm and glances over to Mara, parked where there'd be an APC. "Breather check, everyone," he says. "I've got sleeping gas grenades, in case we get a chance to put 'em under. They're still victims even if they've been brainwashed."
"I have to say it, but I think we have to get to the center of that mess. My guess is that the quantum wave function that runs the simulation is now at the heart of that choas. So, someone has to go in and collapse it to stop this insanity. Holly, can you contact the 'heads' of Avatars and get confirmation on the location of the quantum function generator?" Jason asks from where he sits strapped into the passenger compartment. He fidgets uncomfortably is the provided body armor, too. If he was asked, he would truthfulyl admit he almost didn't come.
On her phone, Holly is yelling. "I need to know if there's a Q-Core at the park site, Chaz! And what's the status on shutting down the cryogenic pumps at the tower?"
Akiko checks the straps on her harness and kevlar body armor. She shifts uncomfortably, hanging tightly with one hand onto the restraint bars flanking each side of her bench against the passenger compartment hull wall. Inari, by comparison, looks cool and collected, quietly surveying the scenes on the cameras; it looks a bit wrong on her, not quite fitting the style, but she's adorned with kevlar "barding" of a sort developed for boomhounds (genetically engineered bomb-sniffing and general purpose security dogs).
The police lieutenant is looking far from piratical as he's switched to kevlar armor with ceramic inserts and a matching helmet, all done up in black and white colors with the Cybercrime Emergency Response Team logo in silver on the side. He loads a sleep grenade onto the launcher. "Have we got a clear spot to land in, or are we going to have to get past the crowd?" he asks of the pilot.
Holly's communicator crackles back - there's increased interference, now that they've gotten closer to the "incursion zone" - "At the park site? No, there's nothing more than basic foundations set up there. We haven't even installed the operational computers yet - not until the construction is finished. There's no way we could possibly secure the site to an appropriate level until construction is complete."
"At the tower," Chaz's voice continues, "it's as dead as we can make it." He sounds a bit hurt at this last part. No doubt he's polishing up his resume; Avatars LLC is going to have a hard time recovering from this.
Mara sniffs the air, but all that comes across to her is the cold, artificially clean air of the helicopter's sealed environment system. Her tail flicks and scrapes along the rear hatch. She exhales fog noisily.
"Great," Holly notes. "Without the cryo, the entanglement nodes will evaporate and the 'process' should detach from the system. The park should be the only remaining physical anchor then, hopefully."
Randall checks the safety, then leans forward to scout out a good landing spot. Somewhere where we can land and get into the park with a minimum of panicked crowds to plow through.
There's a flash on several of the monitors - a streak of fire emerging from the park! "Brace yourselves!" the pilot cries out, and there's hardly time to comply as the Valkyrie rocks. "I'm pulling back. Something inside must have spotted us - just dodged a fireball!"
"That doesn't help the park, though. We need to cut its anchor, which I have to guess is at its center," Jason comments grimly. "RIU, I have a strange question ... ack!" Whatever he was about to ask gents lost when the hacker hangs onto his harness as the ship rocks.
It might not necessarily have been aimed at the valkyrie, per se. Judging from the scene outside, there are plenty of fireworks to go around. Explosions erupt in the sky - spectacular magical effects, and mundane weaponry clash, as the perimeter forces try to suppress another "monster rush" from the incursion zone.
Mara braces herself with claws against the mooring points where an APC would normally be secured. Her fans whir as she looks up, reflexively trying to assist in 'dodging'.
"Good news and bad news!" Holly reports. "The Avatars main core should be detached from the new reality soon. The bad news is I have no idea how to disrupt the growing anchor point here. If I had to guess, I'd say they've got their there own version of a quantum core in there maintaining the overlap."
"Which given how this stuff seems to work is some great monster," Jason grumbles, "Like, oh ... Blake. He has enough mods he might physically act as one!"
"Yeah, a living mind is an effective entanglement node," Holly supposes. "He knows the site, he's from this world but a now a part of the other one. He could be the keystone."
The general rocks in his restraining harness. He's decked out in full SWAT gear, and is only recognizable on account that his face plate is slid up while inside the passenger compartment. He turns away from the viewscreens, looking back to a datapad that he's flipping through. He has a lot to catch up on, when it comes to technology and life in the Real World.
"So we just have to wrap him up in cordite and stuff a ton of C4 up his nose and problem solved," Jason grumbles. "Anyway, we need to land and move in ... unseen if possible. We have to get to the core of that mess."
Randall fills the General in briefly. "We're going to have to make a landing, then fight our way in. White has probably transferred itself into a quantum core in the Diadem. We'll plant charges on a timer and retreat."
"I can't make us all invisible," Holly notes. "But once we get close enough, Inari should have all of her powers available. She might be able to disguise us."
"I'm getting a new feed from one of our drones that's broken past the perimeter!" comes a call from one of the operators at the mobile command center. "Patching it through now. This is one Big Bad!" One of the interior monitors switches to show the drone camera view of the center of the park, where a recreation has manifested of what looks like some sort of open temple from the Avatars universe, ringed by broken stone pillars, with myriad giant statues and fountains that spray sparkling light rather than water. In the center of this ring stands a giant creature, a centauroid form, a melding of leonine body, flaming wings, and muscular upper form, bedecked in gaudy, glittering golden armor. It's Blake; his facial features are only barely recognizable now, but it's the same Blake that was in the Hall of Doors, only more glamorously equipped now.
The police officer looks up at the monitor. "..."
"If the people outside can see that.. well, Blake wanted to play god and have his own worshipers I suppose," Holly mutters.
"You know, he's still ugly," Jason is compelled to comment when he spots the viewscreen. "And frankly, it's fitting. He did come across as a p..." The hacker then stops, seeming to decide that the language isn't appropriate here.
Akiko shrinks back in her harness as she surveys the monitor. "You've got it now, Blake. Your great big power trip," she whispers, voice wavering. "Just can't you please leave the rest of us out of it?"
As Randall checks the monitors about that landing, he sees a cleared-out area near the mobile command center, outside the incursion zone, and with its own defensive perimeter. There's already another Valkyrie on the ground, and an assortment of APCs (some of them adapted to comprise the mobile command center, along with a few quick-fab structures).
"I hope someone down there has the blueprints," Holly says. "They should show the service-tunnel system."
"Pilot, take us down there," Randall says, pointing to the clearing. "Let's sync up with Perimeter Command to give us some cover, then we'll take a squad in."
"Right on it, Agent Cranston," the pilot says. He calls in, and the base soon calls back with clearance granted for landing. "All right - we're putting down!"
"Y'know, I miss my job. It was easier when all I had to do was figure out the weaknesses in business security systems," Jason grumbles as he resumes looking outside. "Never had the desire to be a 'hero'."
"Now you get to hack a wannabe-god," Holly says to Jason while grinning. "How different can it be? If I'm still employed after this, maybe you'll even get paid!"
"I'm not holding my breath!" Jason retorts.
"Thanks, Bailey," Randall says to the pilot. "True that, Jason, but you have the most experience right now with these security systems. Let's figure CERT'll pick it up." The fireworks outside are distracting him from the niceties.
"They'll make it into a movie. MonsterBusters. You'll be the geeky genius to Randall's smooth-talking leading man," Holly suggests. "All you have to do is survive and live off the royalties."
"Or we'll be hated worldwide by all the game junkies who saw up blow up their fantasy," Jason points out. "Never underestimate insanity!"
The police officer laughs. "You'll get to be a tall, leggy beauty in the movie!"
"No one would believe it. That goes beyond suspension of disbelief," Jason comments with a laugh.
"Akiko and I will play ourselves, of course," Holly claims. "We've got star quality! And we'll need the work."
Mara looks away, intently toward the direction of the "bubble" around the park. Her eyes narrow; she seems especially wary. "Danger," a feminine voice says from her dashboard, very quietly and easy to miss over all the din. "Sensing others. Feeling of anticipation." She pauses, looking a little less hostile, as she glances to Randall. "Comforting nuzzling sense," the voice narrates, eerily.
RIU blinks at Mara, looking rather taken aback.
Randall surveys the park with an eye for how to get past Blake's Den. If it were him setting it up, the big obvious guardian would be just a decoy, but AIs tend to be... He looks distracted. "Mara?"
"Uh, your bike just talked," Jason says dumbly.
"Comforting nuzzling sense?" Holly asks, arching an eyebrow. "How are you going to explain your new girlfriend to your mother, Randall?"
Mara blinks, tilting her head to one side, leaning in closer as if trying to get a better look at Officer Cranston. "Querying sensation?" narrates the feminine voice from the speaker on the former spinner-bike's control panel.
Randall grins. "Step up from the kind of girls I was dating before I went to police academy," he says. "It's all right, Mara. We'll be down shortly, then you can get out."
"I hope she's not saying she senses a target lock on us," Holly points out.
Jason starts laughing. "Oh, I get it. She can't do the mental link with Randall anymore in this world, so it comes out as vocal," he says. "And unless Randall wants some brain butchery, not sur that will change."
Mara's speaker-voice says, "Purring sensation. Calming and reassuring."
"Hah! Of course. And RIU isn't doing it because Jason has that radio in his cranium," Holly notes.
Randall says thoughtfully, "Bailey, change course, yay by yar," gesturing to the path he means. It'll take a little longer to land but give them more cover. "Sanders, check the radar. We might have incoming bogeys."
RIU perks up, looking at Holly, as if recognizing his name and realizing that he's being talked about, which means he's getting attention!
"And my link is still working. RIU heard that," Jason comments to Holly.
Holly reaches over to pet the little dragon on the head.
The co-pilot calls down, "Nothing so far, Agent Cranston. I'm keeping a watch out, but right now it's just random flak."
RIU purrs loudly, leaning into the petting. The little dragon's eyes close in bliss.
"Thanks, Sanders," Randall says. He unstraps to go check on Mara and her control panel - among other things, whether he can switch it to be a personal broadcast.
"Randall, if we can find a service tunnel, I think we should try to use it," Holly says. "We'd do better in a space where they can't easily surround us."
"You know, given the implant I have, and the duplicate has," Jason begins to say, "Who's to say that white won't try to use either of us as anchors if Blake goes down?"
"See if you can locate us one," Randall replies to Holly.
Unfolding her mobile's keyboard, Holly starts trying to access the plans for the park.
The police officer adjusts Mara to log to his PDA (if they want to get the Mara feed) and rebroadcast from there to his helmet headset. There should be enough video memory for the several hours he expects the engagement to take. He pats her shoulder. "That should take care of that."
Randall suggests, "Maybe you should try pinging your implant via RIU?"
Although the central AI system might be down, there are several sites belonging to Avatars LLC that she still has security clearance for; there was no reason, after all, to have all the construction logistics on the central system, per se. In mere moments, she has blueprints pulled up for the park plans. Part of the earliest construction consisted of underground tunnel systems used for maintenance and to allow for park employees to get from point to point without traversing "front lot" areas. (This is especially essential for costumed characters who should only be seen in certain themed parts of the park.)
"RIU, can you sense anything from that chaos ahead? Do you think you have access to anything like we did back in the simulation?" Jason asks the dragon. "And as Randall just suggested, can you access the implant using the codes we copied in that simulation of the surgery?"
"Once we touch down, you might be able to use the computers in the mobile command center too, using RIU to actually hack it might be kind of like performing surgery on yourself," Randall adds.
"With the hand you're using for the blade!"
Akiko leans over to adjust Inari's headset - definitely not a standard piece of equipment for boomhounds - and to double-check the belts holding her kevlar "barding" in place. "I guess I really don't know much about that 'Avatar link.' I never really had one in like I guess Links are supposed to normally have."
Holly scans through the plans, focusing on tunnels that connect to exterior loading docks that might still be outside the reality-bubble.
RIU closes his eyes, as if straining and concentrating, but then opens them again in exasperation, looking dejectedly toward Jason.
"Once we're down, we might be able to access some working security cameras," Holly notes.
"Remember where we say that code flash black? I wonder if Black actually downloaded something into me," Jason suggests. Then inwardly, he thinks to the dragon to test out the brain chip, "Don't worry about it, it's okay." To Akiko, Jason explains, "Well, because my brain was hacked up, I can feel and hear RIU in my head. I can also see what he does. It was disorienting at first, but I've gotten used to filtering it out. Probably what the game originally intended for the way a link worked, I'm just 'special' so it was possible." That last bit comes with a frown.
The police officer, done with checking on Mara, goes over to check on the plans with Holly.
RIU squints his eyes, as if concentrating.
Randall says while going over the park details with Holly, "Or, Black might have overridden Jason Zero, but not you."
"If an AI can embed itself into someone's brain, then for all we know Blake is White now," Holly points out.
"It's possible. Just grasping at straws at this point," Jason admits with a shrug. The hacker then visibly twitches. "Oh well, that is just lovely," he growls, "Thanks, you jerk."
Jason quickly adds, "Not you, RIU, you're not a jerk. The guy who messed with my head was."
RIU lets out a sigh, and flies back over to rest on Jason's soldier again.
"What'd I do now?" Randall says, looking up.
"Prepare for landing!" Bailey, the pilot, calls out. "I'll try to make it soft."
"Oh, that guy. Your school chum," Randall says. He straps in again quickly.
"Not you either. Not today, anyway!" Jason says to Randall.
"RIU, if anything tries to access my implant, please alert me quickly," the hacker thinks as he pats the little dragon.
Mara settles in again, claws grasping the mooring anchors. Her head keeps roving the sky, but this time the quiet female voice is not to be heard, though Randall nods at her.
Several of the external monitors are not taken up by views of the mobile command center. The VTOL jostles a bit from the cross-winds, but touches down without incident. In short order, the rear hatch drops to form a ramp. Outside, national guardsmen man defensive positions, and some men and women in oversized flak jackets and com headsets wait to greet the new arrivals.
"Okay, unstrap and let's go," Randall says. "Pleasure flying with you, Bailey, Sanders. Stay safe!"
"Are you going to be pulling out of here again soon?" Bailey asks. "Or, should we fall back to standby?"
Jason unhooks his harness and gets to his feet. After quickly collecting the hear he was given, the hacker disembarks from the VTOL. As he's stepping out, he realizes something and quickly says to the people outside, "The dragon, fox, and bike-cat-thing are on our side!" Who knows if this group was briefed on the crew, after all.
Folding up her mobile, Holly unstraps and grabs up her BFG. The armor, pistol holster and ammo clips look a bit out of place over her sorceress robes.
"We'll be going by ground from here," the police officer assures the pilots. "You can check with HQ if they need you elsewhere, and we'll comm in if we need an airlift." He stands and heads outside to greet the others, rifle slung behind him. The cutlass strapped to his side is the one thing that stands out from the SWAT-style outfit. "What's the situation out here?" he asks.
Outside, an officer makes "this way" motions with his arms. From his body language, maybe he's just a little taken aback by the spinner-bike-turned-dragon, and the giant fox-like "bombhound," but he keeps it professional.
Mara slinks out of the VTOL transport gracefully, then stretches her wings, a ripple flowing down her spine now that she's finally out. She looks up at the skies and then at Officer Cranston hopefully.
Bailey tosses a salute, and then once the group has grabbed their gear (and critters) and they're off the ramp and at a safe distance, he closes the VTOL's ramp and lifts off. The sky lights up again with a dazzling display of lightning and "fireworks," but the Valkyrie makes it through.
"Not yet," Randall says to Mara. "Too much friendly fire, and we don't want them confusing you with the monsters. Patience, milady." He smiles a little at the responding voice, but whispers to Jason, "I bet if we ran a population demographic on the crowd, 99% of them are players... Who've been listening to White whisper at them over their avatars' channels for days."
"Welcome to Mobile HQ, Agent Cranston!" says a dark-complexioned woman in her 40s - Agent Green, judging from her ID badge. "I'm sorry that the area isn't as secure as we'd like; when this started, we were two miles out from the edge of the incursion zone." She nods to the others as well.
As an aside to Akiko, Jason says, "Don't let Blake and his appearance rattle you. He's still the same insecure guy under all that, and that will work to our advantage." There he stops to listen to Randall and nod grimly. "I know, I'm worried we may end up hurting innocent people ... but I'm not sure what else we can do. If we falter, we might lose the world."
"Randall, find out if anything other than monsters have tried to breach the bubble," Holly requests. "Namely, people trying to come out of the park. We know they can be disguised in whatever uniforms are needed."
Randall nods to Agent Green. "Thanks, Ms.-- er, Agent Green," he says. "Sorry, having a hard time getting used to being called 'Agent'."
The police officer tilts his head toward Holly, thnn nods. "Let's get in the command center and then we can get caught up, all right?"
Agent Green nods, and, with her armed escort, leads the way to the quick-fab command center building, which is built around a core formed by two trailer-truck-sized vehicles parked together to house the heavy equipment.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think your ... ah ... vehicle is going to fit inside," Agent Green adds, looking askance to Mara. "The best I can offer is...." She gestures to a quick-fab garage that currently houses a battle-damaged APC, and is large enough to hold two more.
Mara gives the APC a disdainful look. She is obviously much better than that heap of junk.
Randall chuckles and pats Mara. "It's okay, I'll give you a feed from my PDA in case there's trouble. All right, Agent Green."
"Can the dragon come?" Jason asks and thumbs towards RIU, who is still curled around his shoulders.
"I'm sure he'll fit," Holly notes, swinging the BFG onto her back (after having found a shoulder-strap that could attach to it. Why it didn't come with one in the first place...
Mara looks enviously at RIU, who's of an appropriate size. She huffs, sending fog rings floating from her nostrils, before taking up a station that looks clearly guarding the grounds, not just parked.
Randall checks the feed. "All right, let's go," he says. "RIU's with us, Agent Green, and an invaluable aid to Jason, our computer expert. Can you set up a temporary access for him so he can setup shop?"
"I think we have room," Agent Green says, smirking. She glances at RIU's media ports, and says, "Looks like you've covered every media standard." The engineers in the garage look a bit fearful and maybe just a little fascinated at their new "charge," but before there's a chance to observe much more of this intriguing interplay, the "consultants" are ushered inside. Inside the quick-fab structure, workstations and holo-screen projectors have been set up, with operators maintaining communications with field units (since battle AIs still aren't advanced enough to handle it all without some human intervention). "You'll want to see our battle map," she says, gesturing to a holo table that shows an up-to-date, high-resolution and impressively large overview of the local terrain - and the superimposed "bubble" of the incursion zone."
Randall quips, "RIU has the KY-double-zero-T media standard nailed down to a T."
The General looks approvingly at the battle map, as he leans in to examine the holographic overlays. "Even our best sorcerers could not do better," he says with a tone of awe.
Holly goes up to the display to try and locate the loading docks.
RIU blushes, looking ever so bashful! He hides behind Jason's head, suddenly shy.
Randall relays Holly's questions - humans or humanoids coming from inside the incursion zone - to the technicians to try and get an answer on that.
Jason peers at the holo map in thought. "Has anyone done analysis on the expansion pattern. It's not circular, but I still expect there is an equation governing the same it's taking. If we can determine that equation, we should be able to locate its epicenter," the hacker comments, then just 'sighs' as he has a dragon hiding behind his head.
"Can you overlay the underground tunnels and power grid on this view?" Holly asks the holo-tech. "Let's see if the shape of the bubble is following the power lines."
There are several double-takes at the giant fox, and little dragon, but one of the technicians is ready to get the newcomers up to speed. "The display represents the best we can offer at the moment; there's considerable interference, our drones keep losing contact as soon as they come in, and our satellites can't cut through the cloud cover and distortions to get a clear, up-to-date bird's-eye-view of the situation. We can still estimate the extent of the incursion zone," and here he falls into a stream of what amounts to "technobabble" before Agent Green gives him a look. He clears his throat, then continues, "Here's an overlay of the original construction plans, accounting for what should have been completed before the disruption. The solid areas show recent confirmed analysis by drones and forward observers. The 'ghost' areas are only extrapolations and estimates. The interface allows queries to show timestamps of the last update, for your consideration."
Randall studies the map and overlays where they spotted Blake, according to his recollection of the terrtain.
Frankhauser gives the newcomers an overview of the interface: it's a holographic "point-and-poke" setup, one of those peculiar military balances between user-friendliness and awkwardness, in an ever-evolving attempt to make equipment that doesn't require actually reading the manual first in order to operate (in theory).
There's a ghostly image of "Blake," though it's hollow and only "skinned" from certain angles - built from multiple observations and conjecture, and "ghostly" on account that someone opted to represent him as part of the "terrain," but no doubt keeping in mind that he could very well have moved since then.
Jason finds himself a chair and sits down. He locates one of the compressed data feed cables and actually hooks it into the little dragon. The ensuing giggles from RIU does nothing to dispel the cute comments, alas. "I have a better interface, even if it giggles," Jason remarks as he leans back and closes his eyes. From there Jason tries to bring his 'visual' link with RIU to the forefront and look over the data that way while the others use the map. The first thing he does is go through the expansion rate on a timestamp basis and looks for patterns.
From Jason's analysis of the data, it looks as if Mobile HQ is going to have to start packing up sometime late tonight, and out of here by sun-up. But after that point, if the rate of escalation continues, in the next 48 hours, the entire state could be enveloped.
Randall speaks with Green briefly. "Anyone that's come from the inside, if they're not one of the team from outside, should be considered a possible infiltrator, programmed by White," he says. "We've already identified one case where White deployed a virtual security agent."
"Jason, look for anything that is impeding the expansion to make it uneven," Holly asks.
Jason relays this information to the crew at hand. "Hopefully we will get this dealt with before then. If the expansion reaches the side of the sate, well, I'm not sure we can stop it," Jason comments. There's a brief nod from the hacker and he goes back to expansion analysis.
The police officer gets back to the task of identifying a security tunnel they can access.
Agent Green nods. "We've encountered infiltration attempts." She taps her badge. Your issued IDs have cycling transponders. As of yet, the enemy hasn't figured out how to replicate our signals - but they have the capacity to try. We've repelled several attempts. I regret that we do not have any survivors in sufficient state for interrogation."
Holly frowns, and asks, Agent Green, "You wouldn't happen to know how far we are from Cal-Tech and JPL, would you?"
The rippling incursion border mostly expands outward, but its ripples result in areas that are occasionally covered, then briefly uncovered for periods - often choked in black, obscuring clouds, in the wake of the regression. In the course of comparing the construction plans with the battle map, Randall notices a service outpost at the very fringe of the incursion zone ... that is, based on the simulation's current model, it is currently covered by the incursion, but should experience a "sweep-back" within the next hour.
"Holly, we could make an insertion here," the police officer says to Ms. Trudeau, pointing out the location. "Agent Green, do we have any spare troops, maybe a demolitionist? I have in mind taking a small squad in, get inside the border, find the quantum core White is using and setting charges to destroy it. We'll need just a few people to give covering fire."
As Jason works with the interface to filter out extraneous data and focus on patterns that might explain the rate and method of expansion, the shape of the incursion "dome" is a little more clear: it's vaguely mushroom or lightbulb shaped, actually expanding out further into the air than on the ground, as if there were a bit more "surface tension" on the ground and resistance to its expansion. There appear to be patterns to its expansion: here, on a road, there's a "pseudopod" jutting out that follows the road just a bit. There, in a section of woods, and over there in a section of open field, the field bulges out a bit. There, a recent explosion ... the field's edge fluctuates a bit.
"I'm reluctant to call anyone 'spare,'" Agent Green says, "but if you've got a plan, we'll make what concessions we can. At the very least, I can send you some of the men stationed here to provide you with cover, and we have several qualified combat engineers who can help with demolitions."
"Mmm," Jason mutters as his eyes crack open. "It's expanding upward faster than along the ground ... and to make matters worse areas it claims ... become some sort of pattern in that similar areas then become easier to claim. I suspect its because as it claims a section, it understands the molecular structure of that area and thus anything similar can be rewritten easier due to quantum state similarity. And its rate is slowed by the rate at which it can rewrite a location ... Now here's a concern, when it hits the oscean it may expand a lot faster as the ocean structurally is fairly uniform since its a set mass of water and salt in solution."
Randall, glancing over, suggests to Jason, "Are all these incursion areas actually part of the same area on the other side? The park was designed with a lot of different areas close together... White may be crazy-quilting synecdoches from anywhere in the Diadem or the simulation areas it can."
"It still has to simulate the environment it's overtaking," Holly comments to Jason. "The more fractally dense the region, the more resources. Maybe we can dig a moat around it and fill it with burning oil."
"Actually, we would probably be better off filling it with high rate of decay radioactive material. We need stuff that is changing rapidly so it can't compensate well. Fire is breaking chemical bonds, but radioactive material actually changes at the quantum level," Jason notes.
Randall nods to Agent Green. "Two soldiers should be adequate to give the engineer cover," he says. "As for radioactives, I think that'd be unwise for a population center, Jason."
"So, we just need to strap cans of plutonium to our backs?" Holly asks.
Agent Green frowns at that. "If I understand you correctly, perhaps we will have to resort to the nuclear option after all. I assure you, nothing is off the table at this point. But ... I really don't want to recommend to anyone that we go there, if there is some other way."
"But either is beside the point, we need to stop the core. Everything else is just a band-aide. And really, I would prefer to avoid a nuclear incident too, but if it comes down to a choice between that and losing the state, well. I suggest we set a timetable or radius of expansion limit so that if we cannot halt it by that date, we use extreme measures," Jason remarks. "Inari, can you feel anything from the chaos nearby? You had the most contact with Blake and his ways."
After consulting another map, Holly notes, "We have less time than we think. If the field reaches CalTech, it can break out in other areas. Their Q-Core has entanglement links to Fermilab in Chicago, the super-collider in Geneva, and facilities in Sydney and Tokyo. We'd better get the California node to shut down."
Inari closes her eyes and focuses. "I feel something. That's undeniable. Ever since we came to this world, and that door closed and opened again, it has been quiet in ways I never before knew possible - and now, closer to this place, I can hear them again. But I can't make sense of it. It's still behind a curtain - a barrier. I cannot clearly sense anything - except that there is not nothing there." She makes an exasperated-sounding sigh.
"I'm sure there're some nervous missile launch technicians standing by and the President has found and dusted off the 'Football'," Randall says wryly. "Any objections to my plan as it stands? Or amendments? Like maybe distract Blake with some heavy weapon fire while we're going in?"
"Agreed. We need all massive computer systems, quantum or not, in the nearby area offline," Jason confirms.
"Start making calls, Agent Green," Holly suggests. "Is there any cover near our chosen entry point, Randall?"
"I'm sorry to give you so much bad news," Agent Green adds, "but here's another reason for concern: radio communications tend to die soon after entering the incursion zone. We've been communicating with the drones by laser - and even that doesn't last long before they get intercepted. Once you go in, you may not be able to call in for support or airlift out - and I'm not sure we'll be able to respond to a flare."
The indicated entry point is currently covered by the incursion zone, but the rippling seems to be ever-so-slowly (and probably temporarily) receding. Most of the terrain is marked with 'grey', but the previous survey indicates outbuildings, a dirt road, and some tree-filled areas that haven't been cleared out yet, and a field (purchased as part of construction expansion) that has been left fallow.
"Honestly, it won't be much different than what we've been dealing with. We've spent days inside that simulation with little access to the outside world," Jason points out and shrugs. "Which is why we need to decide on a size or time end point by which if the problem is not solved you call in a tactical nuclear strike."
"All right then. By the way, Lion Boy there's almost certainly a pawn of White in the bid to take over the world," Randall says, pointing over to Blake. "I don't think they make cuffs big enough to bring him in though." He superimposes a view of the service tunnels. "But he almost certainly is going to be guarding something important, his ego won't let him be used for anything less. So, assuming it takes us this long to get to this point..." He works out times. "Sending in some assault drones to launch rockets at him might be helpful at Time T."
Agent Green nods. "We can arrange for tactical airstrikes. I'm not sure the drones can get that far in, but if we send several at once, perhaps at least one can get through to provide a distraction for you."
"Don't count on any conventional explosives working inside the field," Holly points out. "Even nuclear ones. Kinetic weapons are different though. Artillery shells may not detonate, but they still pack a punch."
"After that... If you don't have anything from us in, um, T plus an hour, you can assume our plan's failed," Randall says.
A Valkyrie drops the heroes and their small support team into recently vacated "enemy territory" forward of the defensive outer perimeter, but just outside of the momentarily retreating incursion zone border. Black mist rises from the grass, trees, even the rocks, and the air smells vaguely of ozone. Although the sky rumbles with thunder and flashes of lightning, the threatened rain never falls - and a pity, too, for perhaps it could wash away the oily black foulness that taints everything.
"You'd think White would have upgraded its simulation," Randall says thoughtfully as he steps out of the craft, leading Mara. "It must still need permission. And Blake is its resident puppet-in-chief."
A combat engineer in heavy armor, Waterson, is the demolitions expert assigned to Agent Cranston's team, carrying a deadly payload. Two armed troopers - Teppei and Thompson - provide cover, and take the lead.
"He's not the hacker that Jason is," Holly notes. "He couldn't get the full upgrade, and without the main core it probably can't be done now anyway."
Up ahead, there's a thick cloud of melting black. It's dark here, but rather than shining flashlights around, for now the team's helmets rely upon nightvision suites, giving the surroundings a ghostly and colorless appearance.
"We cut off its ability to do that. And frankly, I have no desire to upgrade White," Jason remarks dryly as he checks that his 'streetsweeper' shotgun is loaded with buckshot for now, with a reload of buckshot at hand, that two reloads of slugs are secured at his side. "We've upgraded everything that deserved to be." Inwardly, he thinks, "RIU, stay alert and scan everything in every spectrum you can. I want to know of a mosquito burps."
"Waterson, Teppei, Thompson," Randall says to them. "You've probably heard the briefing, maybe even seen the monsters, but we're heading into what's probably a simulated zone. Magic will come into play. Ask Holly if you see something that looks out of ordinary, she can deal with it, but otherwise just worry about surviving and covering us as we get in there." He nods to the cloud ahead. "That up there's our entry point."
"That cloud is our indication that the field is in retreat here?" Holly quietly asks Jason.
"It's like this right after the field withdraws," Teppei explains. "Weird stuff gets left behind, and what can't run away starts sizzling off into that black smoke and goo. It'll be a while before it fully clears out." It's hard to tell under the armor, but he seems to shudder just a bit.
Jason nods to Holly, "It's the interference zone. Unstable matter."
"Be careful," Thompson says in a gruff voice. "Sometimes nasty things drop out of the trees. Mutant goo squirrels or something."
"How about you, Inari?" Holly asks the armored fox next. "Sense anything?"
Randall pauses. "Don't eat or drink anything from the other side, no matter how tasty it looks," he says. "This short an exposure to low-grade virtual simulation shouldn't be too bad, but if much of your body were to get replaced, you'll be in trouble coming back out."
Inari winces, ears folded back. "We're getting closer. I know that's stupidly obvious, but that's all I can tell you. I don't sense anything big nearby, if that helps."
"So, wait for the smog to clear, or use it for cover, Randall?" Holly asks next.
"Heh," Waterson, the demolitionist says, "imagine having food turn to black goo in your stomach! No, scratch that. I don't want to imagine it."
The police officer moves forward, taking point. "We don't have a lot of time. Once we get through the smoke, we'll be in the simulation area."
Randall quips, "Too rich fare for you?"
Jason reaches over and pats the back of Inari's armored neck. "We'll all be fine. Don't worry about if it 'sounds stupid or not', your input is valued," he says. To the others, he says, "And I imagine the smoke is as hard for them to deal with as it is us, we should use that to our advantage and go now."
"Never tried caviar I guess," Holly notes, and swings her BFG around from her shoulder.
"If we get attacked by something with goo, use hollow-points, frags, or buckshot," Teppei advises. "Standard ammunition just annoys it. Incendiary usually causes more trouble for you than them. Armor-piercing is a total waste, and punches right through, clear on out the other side."
Randall checks his ammo selector as he advances slowly and carefully. "Got it, thanks, Teppei."
Waterson laughs over the com at Holly's dry humor.
"Gas masks," Holly suggests, clipping her own into place.
Before anyone else notices it, Officer Randall is able to pick out the form of a structure in the midst of the black cloud, while switching between his nightvision options. It has the outline of a stone turret, but the "stone" is melting away, and what remains crumbles as it loses support. Just now, there's a rumble of "stone" falling into sludge, as one of the parapets collapses. Underneath the supplementary stonework, the outbuilding still stands: some of its quasi-medieval facade is "real" in the sense that it was built in the Real World to fit the Avatars motif, but made with forced perspective, and only for looks. It appears that once inside the incursion zone, it was supplemented with additional material to more authentically welcome it into the fold of Avatars-style architecture - and those add-ons are melting away with the momentary recession.
Jason nods to Holly and clips his on now as well. "No turning back now, I guess," he comments.
Mara follows warily, her fans humming whisper-quietly. They don't actually make bike-sized gas masks, so she settles for snorting at Holly's suggestion, then taking a breath.
Akiko helps Inari with her boomhound gas mask - a rarely-used accessory, given the typical reasons boomhounds are used in the first place, and impossible for paws to manage on their own.
Randall motions for the others to follow as he proceeds around the outbuilding, looking for the entrance. "Looks like substandard construction," he jokes. "The Mafia would be proud."
Jason follows Randall, making sure to keep a few steps to the side in case he has to fire the gun he was given.
A light suddenly flares up in the midst of the black cloud, and an outward rush of wind drives it away, scouring the crumbling stone, and causing a bit more of it to hasten its collapse. A willowy woman in flowing - but tattered - robes, and corroded armor and crown, brandishes a tall staff embedded with multiple crystals. Several crystals orbit the tip of the staff, but they waver, unsteadily. One of them falls from the mini-orrery to shatter on the ground. The woman coughs raspily, wiping some black away from her mouth. "Halt!" she commands. "Outsiders may not proceed further! You are not permitted!"
Inari snorts. Her voice is somewhat muffled underneath her gas mask. "I don't sense much from her. She's not the real challenge."
"We're returning from our recon mission," Randall says, trying subterfuge. "It's all right, you can stand down. You look tired." He nods to the General to back him up.
Teppei and Thompson take up positions, guns ready all the same.
Jason readies the shotgun, but doesn't fire for now. "RIU, scan the area. If Inari is right, then this is a distraction..." he thinks to the dragon.
"Is she alone then?" Holly whispers to Inari.
The woman looks weary, and coughs again. Her expression changes markedly, although the two troopers' actions don't do much to back up Randall's story. She nods. "You made it, then. Good. Good." She looks like she's about to say more, but coughs more violently.
Inari says, "She's an Augment Link. She doesn't have a guardian beast."
"It wasn't easy, they're all over the place," Randall confides. He motions for the others to go in while holding her attention. "Have faith, it's only a matter of time."
"The White is able to mobilize the VPCs then after all," Holly whispers. "A few anyway."
RIU warily scans the place, but looks back to Jason with what seems to amount to a small dragonish shrug.
"The others have drawn back," the lone woman says. "I have a spell of regeneration in play, so that I can keep the outpost for the Light," she adds, as if to stave off any concern Randall might have for her.
Randall nods gravely. "You have stood where others have fallen," he compliments. "I'll include that in my report." He goes to check inside the outpost, keeping an eye on her.
Holly follows along quickly, hoping her robes don't raise questions.
Jason follows as well, remaining quiet.
Behind the woman, there's a large wooden double door. Despite the quasi-medieval trappings, it reads, "Private property of Avatars LLC - Employees only past this point," in a not-so-themed sign. It is unlocked, and inside it looks as if the electrical lighting system is still intact - but turned off - even the emergency exit light is out, indicating that flipping the switches would accomplish nothing.
Randall holds the door for the others to gather, including Mara, hoping that the woman's distraction by holding her spell will keep her from paying especial attention.
"Does anyone else feel bad for her?" Jason asks quietly as he gathers in close to Randall.
Despite all indications that a reasonable inhabitant of the Avatars universe should take issue with a police-spinner-turned-wyvern fitting into either her world or the real one, the lone guardian doesn't seem to cue into it. She faithfully stays at her position, looking out toward the distant defensive perimeter.
Mara gives the woman a sidelong look and gives Randall a silent whisper. A look of pity.
Randall whispers back to Jason, "White has a lot to answer for."
Inside, the walking space is much more cramped. For normal human-sized persons, it's two abreast, what with all their gear. Mara is forced to fold in her wings and stoop down, carefully choosing each step. Inari has an easier time of it, though she's unable to walk alongside Akiko; instead Akiko follows immediately behind her.
"I know they're just incomplete simulations, but," Jason says and ends it with a shrug, "I just hope we get this over with quickly." Inside, he offers to take a frontal or rear position, given his armor.
Randall discreetly locks the door from the inside - sorcerers don't tend to be very good at basic lockpicking - and leads the way inside.
Holly makes sure she's up near the front of the line, since her weapon wouldn't be effective anywhere else. "Our map should still be good," she notes.
So far, it looks like Holly's and Randall's maps pan out. Although there is evidence here and there of additional material being added from the "incursion" in order to add additional "Avatars touches" the environment (as evidenced by useless and slowly-disintegrating "torch sconces"), it appears that the incursion did nothing to destroy the underlying structure, and the tunnel continues, clear for the most part of any obstruction. Here and there, the tunnel widens to allow for a ladder going up to a surface access hatch, or a cubby for a junction box.
More static clutters communications when anyone speaks over the line; the system is "smart" enough to cut out the static entirely when no one's speaking, though the "line-connect" indicators on everyone's helmet heads-up display flickers now and then in silent testimony to the interference.
"Mind if I check the junction boxes for power and the like?" Jason asks the group. "I want to see what is still 'working' in this mess."
Randall cross-checks the sweep-back rate. At some point they ought to cross back into the simulated area, and it might be a good idea to be set to retreat upward if there are unwelcome guardians included.
"All right," Randall says as he works his tactical map.
RIU instinctively follows Jason's lead, and flips through his Swiss-army-knife of clawtip selectors, and extends some voltmeter probes. He checks the line, and sends the data to Jason. The power's off.
Jason nods and hmms. "There is no power. How does this place get electrical power, Holly? External or internal generator?" he asks.
"It would have backup generators, but at this stage of construction I'd think it would be depending on outside power," Holly says. "The military would have cut the lines right away, of course."
Up ahead, there's a faint shimmering as portrayed in the helmet's nightvision sensor suites. It seems to correspond roughly to the location indicated on Randall's simulation as the likely current location of the incursion zone limit. There's an access ladder leading up to the surface on this side of the barrier - but the hatch is too small for either Inari or Mara to get through. The next station that's large enough to allow for them to easily get up to the surface is beyond the barrier.
"Time to go through the Looking Glass," Holly warns. "Be wary of the Jabberwock and Frumious Bandersnatch."
"There's stronger interference up ahead," Combat Engineer Waterson reports, checking his more extensive sensor suite. "If you've got any un-shielded electronics, you'll probably want to shut them off before we pass through."
At that, Jason nods. "Thank you," he says as he summons RIU back to his shoulders. "Also beware of garden gnomes. They're gnasty," he jokes.
"No telling what happens to these power lines in the simulation universe," Randall says. "They may conduct a different kind of energy then." He eyes the barrier warily, then looks over to Waterson, Thompson and Teppei. "This is it, folks, the NDA-point of no return. The rest of us have already been in the simulation before. If my theory's right, you shouldn't be unduly affected but test it by sticking a finger you don't care much for over the line first and pulling it back. Good advice, Waterson."
Randall puts Mara's dashboard into standby mode and his own PDA likewise.
Jason shuts down any of his electronic tools at the warning and nods. "Want me to go through first?" he offers, "Or send RIU through invisible?"
"Our comms should be okay," Holly notes. "Will you lose contact with him, Jason?"
Teppei takes a deep breath, and carefully advances toward the shimmering barrier, gun at the ready, but one hand extended. The "barrier" doesn't appear to distinct that it has a solid, definite surface; it's a bit fuzzy, and fluctuating, but best spelled out by the black haze that accumulates just on this side of it.
"I don't know," Jason admits.
"Well, I guess he can just come back to us to report, but best not to have him go too far ahead," Holly advises.
Randall moves up with Teppei, intending to take a first step across. "Wait a bit."
"Me?" Jason asks.
The police officer tosses a clip of bullets across the barrier first, to verify nothing untoward will happen.
Teppei folds himself back against the wall, withdrawing his hand and letting Randall pass.
"Better to risk an inanimate object first," Randall explains.
The bullets fly through the barrier, unimpeded, hitting the concrete floor and skidding a reasonable distance. There are no sparks, though the shimmering barrier ripples subtly.
Randall nods. "It should be clear. I'm going to scout ahead first. Save RIU's energy, Jason."
"Inanimate? Oh, well, send Holly though, then," Jason jokes. "Or, wait, she's intolerable. There's a difference."
The barrier ripples as Randall passes through, and he immediately feels a change: he senses ... something he didn't, just a moment ago. There's a faint buzzing sensation, a whispering somewhere distant, unintelligible, fleeting. There's no mistaking that a line has been crossed, but it's hard to make sense of the particular meaning behind it. In any case, there is no impact; his HUD indicates some impurities in the air that his filters are picking up, but the filters should be able to last him for the entirety of this mission (or so one hopes).
Teppei follows Randall's lead, tentatively, but when nothing happens, he quips, "Come on in. The water's fine. Er ... just keep your masks on."
Thompson says, over the com, "Hey, what about your robo-pets? Do they have to breathe?"
"It's all right, but I think Mara's broadcast whispers aren't going to be broadcast anymore," Randall says from the other side. "Not sure what's with the impurities in the air, I wish we'd been able to find a mask for Mara but they don't make boomhound masks that big."
"Following," Jason says as he follows after Teppei. He can't help but reach up and pat the dragon on his shoulder. Whether it was to reassure RIU or himself, though, is anyone's guess.
RIU's "wing-fans" flare up brightly once over the barrier. The little dragon's whiskers perk up, and it suddenly looks around, with a "Hey, what's going on? Oooo! Shiny!" look on its face.
Randall chuckles. "Yep, KY-double-zero-T interface is back on-line." He moves forward to make room for the others to cross.
"Wow, okay, that was different," Jason mutters after a brief pause, "And good in a way, I guess. Better connection." As he now moves aside, he asks RIU, "You don't happen to see data streams again, do you?"
Inari steps through with some hesitation, then declares, "I can feel the magic again. Not just what we took with us to the Real World, but the paths crossing through the aether ... or ... I mean ... whatever is in here. I think that means the Light and the Shadow are here, too."
RIU closes its eyes and squints, concentrating.
"I hope that doesn't mean Akiko will sprout tails and whiskers when she steps through to join you, Inari," Jason jokes.
Mara chuffs as she waits for Akiko and Holly and Waterson to proceed. A fog ring blows from her mouth.
As Holly steps through, she notes, "We're breathing a mix of real air and virtual air, so the impurities must be the virtual stuff."
Akiko says, "Oh, don't even joke like that! Good grief, maybe you'll give the Avatars world ideas." She takes a deep breath, behind her filter mask, and then steps through.
"This place is different from the simulation," Jason says into the comm, "There are data packets, but not in exactly the same sense. It does give us perhaps a slight boost, though. I might be able to make localized alterations."
Waterson follows, then grumbles, as he shuts off some sensors that apparently weren't properly shielded after all.
The ice wyvern takes a breath and then crosses the line herself.
Jason, for some reason known only to himself, ends up giving Akiko a quick visual inspection for 'fox parts'.
Akiko shudders. "Different. Feels different. Oh Lord ... we're back. They're here." She grabs Inari's fur tightly.
"Who?" Holly asks Akiko.
"Snap out of it!" Inari barks. "You must have some path-lines being reestablished. It's no worse than for anyone else. Let's just hope nobody is scrying for us specifically."
"You'll be fine, Akiko," Jason tells the woman. "We made it out and this time we're here on our terms."
Randall looks up. "Don't worry, in... Just a little while, they're going to have other things to worry about," he soothes.
Akiko leans against the wall. "Sorry. I just felt it for a moment. I don't even know why. I just felt for a moment that ... I know ... I mean, I know Blake's here, obviously. But Jenny and Small. For a moment, I just knew they were in here somewhere."
"Well, that means they survived our last encounter after all," Holly says. "Getting them out of here, now.. that will be a challenge."
"Don't get sentimental on me," Inari huffs. "They weren't really your friends, Akiko."
"Just look at yourself, you're still nicely de-tailed," Jason adds in at a lame attempt of humor. "And if they are, we'll deal with them. You aren't going to be the game villain anymore; today you're the heroine."
"Right, so let's go crawl up Blake's... ego.. and do some damage," Holly suggests.
"Stuns worked on them before, and this time I brought some heavy duty taser bombs," the police officer says as he takes point again since the border crossing seems to have gone as well as can be expected. He checks the sleeping gas grenade in the launcher, then slips the clip of bullets back into his belt. "I just hope they didn't get the Blake Beauty Makeover."
"Unlikely. Do you think Blake would share any real power with them? He'll want happy little puppets," Jason points out. "Lets go cut the strings."
Teppei cuts in, "Just to warn you, Agent Cranston, radio has totally cut out. My com is operating entirely on laser. We're likely to lose contact with anyone who isn't part of a line-of-sight chain, so we'll have to keep together. Up ahead, it looks like the passage opens up."
Randall nods, checking the map. The first Mara-friendly opening should be coming up, but is there one closer to where Blake is going to be?
According to the map, there's a junction up ahead, where there's a warehouse, and some stairs up, with large enough openings for larger creatures to squeeze through. There's no telling what sort of terrain will be on the surface. Otherwise, they should be able to follow the tunnels all the way toward the center of the zone. However ... judging from the information that had been gleaned from Blake's private files from his office, he should have access to this tunnel map as well....
"Folks, what's your take, try to follow the tunnels all the way through or go up and over land from ahead? We should be hitting the warehouse soon," Randall asks as he peers ahead.
"The tunnel offers us protection from being overwhelmed," Jason says, "But at the same time we have no good way to find cover down here if we are attacked. It really depends on if we expect to encounter anything down here."
"Secure the warehouse as a fallback point, and press on though the tunnels," Holly suggests. "If there's a focus for all of this, it's probably down here instead of out in the open."
Randall nods. "Let's do it."
"The warehouse may give us a 'lay of the land' as it were too," Jason says after considering Holly's suggestion.
As they progress past the border point, the torch sconces on the walls are no longer deteriorating, though a few of them look a bit etched and worn, as if they might have been subjected to an acid-bath-like treatment and then freed from it. Now that there is no black mist to obscure it, it's evident that there is flickering torch-like ahead - sconces that are still lit; these torches show no sign of the "acid bath" treatment, and appear to be whole and untouched. Further ahead, wooden beams "reinforce" the concrete walls, and furthermore the concrete walls give way to a faux stone block covering. Slowly, inexorably, the stone block texturing "grows" on the walls. The incursion zone wall must have pushed in further ... and is now slowly pushing back outward again, with fresh "texturing" growing in its wake.
Further up ahead, the passage opens into a larger chamber with a higher ceiling, though it can't be made out from this perspective. The flickering light indicates more torch sconces and braziers - and passing shadows indicate that someone must be moving about, at a higher level - perhaps on walkways up at ground level.
Between here and there, cover is practically non-existent. The support beams are far more decorative than essential, and hardly large enough to hide behind (or else they'd be making the passage that much narrower). It's a straight line to the open chamber, without door or barricade to hide behind.
Randall checks the map on his PDA. "At some point our lady sorceress who was guarding the service outpost is going to realize she's been had, once the zone crosses her again, and then she'll be hopping mad. Once she finds that we locked the service door behind her, she'll either bust it down coming after us or send a message to her higher-ups that we came down this way," he predicts quietly to the others. He uses a trusty commando's tool - the dentist's mirror - to try and get a view of the guards around the corner.
"I can send RIU out there invisible to scout," Jason offers.
"Scouting is good," Holly agrees. "Randall, any other tunnels branching from here?"
"Send RIU or no?" Jason asks Randall.
As Randall approaches the end of the access tunnel, he can see that the tunnel continues on the other side of the chamber. According to the map, this is a junction point - a four-way intersection - with tunnels heading off in each direction. For the ultimate goal of reaching Blake, he could either continue straight forward across the chamber, or jog left. The network of tunnels is more or less arranged in a "grid," though missing several connections.
Randall nods to Jason. "I'm not much at stealth," he admits. "And Ms. Green wasn't expecting to need commandos, so we didn't have any available. If there's just one guard, maybe RIU can stun him."
Mara gives Randall a look that suggests, We could freeze them all and sort them out later.
"Alright, time to do a disappearing act," Jason tells RIU and pats his shoulder. "Lets see what is pacing around up there..."
The chamber is a two-story affair (one of those stories being underground) with walkways around the edge of the chamber up at ground level, and stairs leading down. Whatever the final intention is for this structure when construction is completed for the park, it appears that in this incarnation it's part of a barracks complex. Boots can be heard tramping on the walkways, and across the other way. Judging by the shadows, there are a couple of guards flanking the opening of the passage into the room. (One can only wonder why, if this is a passage to the outside world, there wasn't a barricade set up with troops stationed and ready to shoot anyone in the tunnel like fish in a barrel.)
"If we've got quite a few, sleeping gas might be the way to go," Randall whispers to Jason. He hefts his assault rifle meaningfully.
"We've also got Inari you know," Holly points out. "She could disguise us as their own troops, and we just march on through like we were on patrol."
Randall gives Inari an inquiring look.
Inari looks troubled, and watches after, even though it's unlikely that she's able to see RIU any better than anyone else can.
Inari's eyes widen. "Stop!"
Jason orders RIU to halt mentally!
RIU flutters along the corridor, sending Jason a visual feed. No one seems to notice him at all. He flies out into the chamber - stops.
The RIU's-eye-view blinks. He switches spectra. The heat forms don't match the video feed.
"A trap?" Holly whispers to Inari.
Randall looks worriedly over to Inari and Jason, then studies the room trying to anticipate where the threat lies.
"Uh ... there is something else in this room folks," Jason whispers. "The shadows don't match the heat signatures." He instructs the little dragon to scan around more in the room to try and determine what else may be in here.
RIU's infrared scan shows some warm bodies clustered around the tunnel entrance, where none are visible in the visible spectrum. They appear to be armored, judging from the cold spots, and they are kneeling, holding ... crossbows? Someone else is nearby, with no visible weapon. They appear to be behind some cold objects - a barricade - blocking the passage. It's a defensive position, after all. RIU's audio faintly picks up, "They've stopped outside of range."
Inari whispers, "The shadows aren't right. They're too clear."
The police officer frowns. "Holly, can you conjure up breath masks for RIU and Mara?"
Jason relays this information to those gathered, the number of people and weapons. "Great," Jason whispers worriedly, "We're just out of range for now. We need to deal with them somehow. Does anyone have a grenade of some sort?"
"I've got some yes. I'm thinking sleeping gas. Even if we can't get masks for our dragon friends, we can wait for the smoke to disperse," Randall whispers.
"Well, hey," another voice is picked up by RIU, "it's our lucky day. Looks like that's ice. Your specialty is fire, huh, Miragia?"
"And ... one may be a mage," Jason remarks grimly.
Holly's mind races through the likely catalog of items that would serve as gas masks for RIU and Mara. "This could be tricky; I can't just invent stuff you know.."
"To me!" RIU's audio picks up. A large heat signature shimmers into RIU's infrared scanner, shaped vaguely like a vulpine with extremely large ears, and over-large paws, and a narrow muzzle - but one, judging by the scanner, bathed in flame.
Randall grins, "No, you have to add your own little differences. That hot dog disguise for the Ozymandias? Bring RIU back when you can, Jason. I'm going to take the shot."
"And ... there's another fox in there. Big ears and feet," Jason mutters. Getting an idea, he flips up his mini term and starts typing. "Give me a moment..."
In RIU-vision, the fire-fox trots over to line itself up, pointing down the corridor. The two heat signatures of the crossbowmen clear out of the way. But none of this is evidenced to anyone observing from the confines of the tunnel.
The police officer retrieves his dentist's mirror and stows it, then flips the safety off. Anti-personnel rounds, sleep gas. Madre de Dios, he hopes he doesn't have to kill anyone.
"We're being targetted!" Jason hisses to the others.
"Gah, this is tricky. I have to relearn data flow in this simulation," Jason growls.
Holly steps back against a wall and mutters to herself. "World War One.. Cavalry.. Gas-Mask," she says, as quietly as she dares while still hoping the universe can hear her. From out of her pocket she produces an antique gas mask meant for a horse.
Mara looks dubiously at the mask, but offers her head for fitting to Holly.
In the RIU-view, the infrared signature suddenly goes cold. There's a strange "meep!" sound.
"Hah, killed the power level of the creature," Jason says.
There are a lot of straps, but Holly manages to make it fit the wyvern. "She won't be able to use her frost weapons like this, so you'd better hope the gas works Randall."
Randall grimaces. "Oh, I do."
Over RIU's audio feed, the magess(?) can be heard to cry, "Sirocca!" but this sound is somehow muffled, for it doesn't reach the ears of those in the tunnel.
"I think RIU will need to hold his breath and just fly through," Holly notes. "He's got speed on his side."
"Hold the line back here, they'll have to bounce their shots around the corner," the police officer says to the soldiers. "I'll try to gas 'em out, but we may need suppressive fire to push 'em back."
"I think I can soften them up first," Holly says, and shakes out her arms. "Exorcise, Flexorcise, Repel and Dispel," she chants, reaching into her robes. "Exploding Skunk of Irony!" She pulls out.. a skunk! She sets it on the ground, pats its tail, and sends it scurrying off towards the warehouse.
"Might want to call RIU back now," the sorceress notes.
Randall says quietly, "They may be people who managed to get by the line. Try to shoot to disable, but take out the creatures if they at--" His gaze is drawn exorably to the strange creature that Holly has called up. He gives Holly such a look.
"RIU, return!" Jason orders the little dragon. "No skunking for you!"
PAF! The side-effects of the spell are unpleasant, to be sure, but thank goodness for those air filters. The view down the corridor shimmers like heat rising from desert sands. The vision of the empty chamber is replaced by that of a reinforced barricade manned by determined-looking crossbowmen scurrying away. A flaming, oversized, huge-eared fox (no, really, huge ears!) is positioned just behind the barricade, wincing and with eyes watering.
"As if we needed any proof Holly worked in the Skunkworks of Avatars LLC," Randall quips to Jason.
"Hey, we have gas masks, they don't, might as well take advantage," Holly tells Randall.
Teppei and Thompson drop to kneeling positions, moving to the left and right to get clear lines of fire down the corridor, aiming their rifles. Waterson, too far back to get a clear shot, presses himself against the wall, and covers the rear.
"She really stinks," Jason quips.
Jason taps away on his console now that they're in view. "Now to try and disable their mage ... I don't want that doofy looking fox to get any help..." the hacker mutters.
A feminine voice down the corridor, with an implacable "vaguely-foreign-sounding" accent cries out, "Power Channel!"
There's a fizzling sound, and only a few sparks emit from the woman's outstretched hand. "Meep?" goes the fire-fennec, looking as if this is very much off-script.
"Illegal intrusion detected" flashes an intercepted message on Jason's interface. "Compensating...."
"What are you waiting for?" cries out one of the crossbowmen.
"Sorcery!" the woman cries out. "Shoot at them!"
"Bah, hurry, White is trying to compensate for me meddling," Jason whispers to the others. "We only have so much time before that fox goes flaming!"
The crossbowmen return to their positions hastily.
With a burp of machine-gun fire, Thompson and Teppei release three-round bursts from their readied assault rifles as the crossbowmen take aim.
The crossbowmen's bolts fly wild, and they jerk and fall back to the ground under the gunfire.
Randall sets up to launch the sleeping gas grenade into their midst, kneeling and looking through the scope of his assault rifle. He hasn't actually had much time to play with these things before, except in simulation, so a sweatdrop beads on his forehead. Well, this is a simulation too, he thinks to himself, trying to ignore the incoming fire. kaPAF
The grenade just barely manages to avoid nicking the top of the low passageway during its upward arc, and comes down just behind the barricade, right at the feet of the overlarge fox - who makes the mistake of looking down at what just landed. It explodes, shooting out streams of white mist.
The fennec gets it full in the face, reels back, and begins wheezing and squealing. The robed woman falls into view, choking and coughing, gasping, and then collapsing behind the barricade. Several other thumps suggest that they were not the only persons caught in the area of effect.
Randall makes a mental note to himself. Overcompensated for the arc! This thing has a lot of power in it.
"Got a RIU-sized breath mask in there too?" Randall asks as things fall quiet.
Mara gives Randall a look through the glassed eyes of her mask that clearly says You never let me have fun around here.
"He can hold his breath and be carried," Holly notes. "Straight through, right or left, Randall?"
"Good shot, Randall," Jason says and resists the urge to slap a grenade-wielding friend on the back. "We better get in there, disarm them, and tie them up! Or we could just strip them down to skivvies and burn their clothing and weapons...."
Jason's data-pad reads, "Compensation made. Power Points restored to maximum. Report filed." As to whom the report was filed, nothing is indicated in the transmission.
"Search the mage for ID," Randall adds.
"Not sure I can manage the same trick again," Jason admits with a frown.
"How about we run through before reinforcements arrive?" Holly suggests.
"We probably want to surface. Looks like they're watching for us down here," Jason notes to the others.
The police officer nods as he heads up to check the room out, and search the mage for ID - and handcuff her to a pillar.
"Inari, can you disguise us?" Holly asks.
As the team files into the room and secures it, they find that the gas grenade did the trick: the opposition has nothing by way of gas masks, and unfortunately for them, they had a fire specialist rather than an air specialist for a Link. With the fire Link unconscious, the fire fennec soon vanishes (shimmering away like a fading mirage), sparing them the trouble of having to figure out how to tie the beast up. The woman has no clear identification other than the glowing book pendants around her neck - and those are intangible to the touch.
Inari takes a while to study the prone forms of the soldiers, and then nods. "I can change your outfits to match those of the guards. The fewer changes I make, the easier it is to maintain the illusion against prying eyes and wards. However, it will only work so long as we keep close to each other. Perhaps I could disguise myself as this fennec, and steal her identity ... but I do not know how organized these people are - whether someone might think 'I' abandoned my post."
"What about Mara?" Holly asks. "Should I invisible her?"
Randall says to Jason, "They'll be looking for us above as well, and sleeping gas grenades won't work so well outside." He thoughtfully considers Holly and Inari's suggestion. "That might work."
Jason pets the invisible dragon on his shoulder. "Should we waste the power to do that?" he starts to ask, then just nods to Randall's call, "Okay, you're the boss."
"Can you make a glamor, rather than an illusion? Something that suggests to anyone who sees us, we're on a mission from White on our way to report back?" Randall suggests.
Teppei, Waterson and Thompson take turns guarding the adjoining corridors, and helping with tying up the fallen guards with plastic strip-bindings (as it would be imprudent to carry around several pairs of full cuffs for their line of work).
"You know another way we could get through, I bet?" Jason pipes up.
Inari says, "Disguise is more my forte. My invisibility works best only for myself, and any 'gear' or 'passenger' I might have; if I try to use my powers of illusion to make someone else invisible, there are significant chances someone would notice something amiss - a shadow that shouldn't be there, or a shimmering in the air. I do much better at making adjustments to what is already there."
"Randall, you're worried we might be accused of abandoning post if we go in disguise?" Jason asks.
"I have a suggestion, but you might not like it," he adds.
Randall checks the map. "Yes, and we know that White's already been sending troops out in disguises. These fellows seem set to shoot first and ask questions later though."
"Shoot," the police officer says. "Er, not that way."
"What if we left one of us undisguised and used him or her as an excuse for why we left post," Jason offers, "And that we're taking them to Regis."
Randall pauses. "You're right. That's really risky."
The General comes back downstairs from his part of scouting the interior. "The top part of this building looks to be not part of your world. Outside, there are streets - but I can't tell where in the Diadem we are 'supposed' to be. It's as if pieces of the Diadem were put together from all over - I can see towers from the inner and outer realms. But more importantly, there's an army massing out there."
"Okay, tunnels!" Holly declares.
Randall frowns. "That's going to be a lot of suspicious eyes to fool." He looks over to the left. Mara droops a little.
"But it might get us to him faster," Jason points out. He cringes and is quite for a moment, before he says, "Particularly if say, the one undisguised was ... Akiko. You know Blake has it in for her. I hate the idea too ... but I' not sure how else to make it through. We can't fight an army."
"Let's get moving then, unless you want me to puppet this Link to be our escort?" Holly suggests.
Inari says, "Eyes are only suspicious if we give them reason to be suspicious. So long as we do nothing to call undue attention to ourselves, we run little risk. It's only when we must pass guards into secure and secretive areas that we are likely to have trouble, or if we look too outlandish. But the tunnels have their appeal as well."
"The tunnels are fine, given there's an army overhead," Jason agrees.
"And we know where the tunnels lead," Holly adds.
Randall nods thoughtfully. "Let's work on the idea as we go. Can you have RIU scout ahead? The further in we go, the less army we have to pass whenever we decide to switch."
"Yes, I can have RIU move head of us and act as extension to our eyes," Jason agrees. "I just hope once we get to where we are going, we can actually stop this."
Akiko breathes out a sigh of relief, as at least for now it sounds as if she has a reprieve from being the token prisoner.
Mara chuffs, fogging her gas mask briefly. She gives Holly a look that suggests Wasn't there anything a little less humiliating in there?
"I wouldn't have let anyone hurt you," Jason mutters weakly to Akiko.
"Onward then," Holly declares. "Just don't wake up the Balrog."
Randall reloads with another sleeping gas grenade and moves up to take the point. "All right, folks, let's go. We're at T minus thirty to showtime!"