synflux | TRAVEL LOG #5

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TRAVEL LOG #5

TRAVEL LOG #5

CONTENT WARNINGS: death, nightmares, gun violence, survival scenario

▶ 001. EYES WIDE OPEN.

"Angels of Lilith, report for duty in the DISPATCH."

The day starts off with alarms blaring and oculars shining bright lights in the Outsiders' heads, waking them up early for an emergency dispatch. Although the current Rift at Mt. Fuji needs to be explored and examined, the Rifts continue to appear in different parts of the world, and this Rift is no different. Captain Yamakawa continues,

"We have received a distress call from EGYPT. Much of the region fell during the first kaiju crisis. Now it is a desolate land that survives with the help of a generator called an ESSENCE which is currently malfunctioning. We assume the cause is Rift energy—according to our radar, there is a heavy amount of Rift energy coming from that area. We will move out immediately. Pack all the things you may need, but each Outsider will be supplied with a care package of their own containing essentials."

Even though it is 4:00 AM Tokyo time, LILITH hopes you all have slept well. It could be the very last good sleep in awhile. While the dataportal to Egypt is operational on Japan's end, because of the malfunctioning generator, Outsiders are unable to come out on the other side. The old method of using the flying cruiser will be used once again.

There will not be assigned seating for this other than by teams. Everlights will sit with Everlights, Brimstones with Brimstones, and so on. The Outsiders will be encouraged to rest on the flight, and a few hours before landing, an in-flight meal will be provided. The meal is surprisingly delicious and consists of chicken or pork katsu cutlet, but with the warning that all Outsiders will know about: it contains high amount of cyber caffeine. This sort of newly innovative caffeine can keep Outsiders awake for several days, but sometimes it may cause restlessness or hyperactivity, causing characters to have a jittery amount of energy but razor sharp focus. Other times, it simply keeps characters awake and they feel no different. The cutlet will be served with KAIJU™ Energy Drink. Any Outsiders that require a different diet will be provided with what they need, and the cyber caffeine will be added to it if they would like.

Yamakawa gives instructions again:

"We have received more information about the kaiju. Civilians have died in their sleep from horrible nightmares, and we are encouraging Outsiders to sleep together in pairs or groups, or disregard sleeping at all until we obtain more information. We are still receiving facts about this monster, but this meal will help with keeping everyone awake as a safety measure."

Those who do not want to have the highly caffeinated meal can have everyone's favorite: a ration bar that isn't spiked with any energy, but it doesn't taste good at all. Outsiders may be more likely to fall asleep and be in danger by choosing this meal. The balance of a dystopian society.

▶ 002. ARRIVAL IN EGYPT.

When they finally arrive, the air is temperate and dry in Alexandria. The Outsiders might have to check their clocks once more to make sure everything is right; everyone is expected to land in the late afternoon and every clock says it should be close to evening, but the city is already growing dark with the sun setting quite early. Because of the ESSENCE disruption, Alexandria is running on back up energy, which makes for spotty lighting and loss of basic power.

LILITH will be greeted by a small group of researchers at the airport and they will help take the Outsiders to their base: the Alexandria Institute which was once the University of Alexandria. They will give the Outsiders a quick run down of the situation and some background.

1. LILITH does not have a strong defense branch in the region any more. Instead, the branch here seems more focused on research, especially on the origin of kaiju and rifts.
2. This region is extremely prone to spontaneous Rifts. Many of them are small and pass quickly but this most recent one is unprecedented.
3. One evening, in the final week of March, the Alexandria Institute received a corrupt file from their fellow researchers in Greece. It shut down much of their research facility (including their warp portal) and all they have been able to recover so far are the words, "Do Not Go To Sleep."
4. The next morning, they awoke to find the sun rising later and setting earlier. It feels like the days are getting significantly shorter.
5. Many locals developed a fear of the dark and going to sleep. They would then die in their sleep within the next few days.
6. The autopsy of these victims have shown no cause of death, puzzling coroners.

Progress has been slow because the corrupt file shut down many of their facilities. They have not been able to track the source of the Rift or identify the kaiju responsible for it. They believe the answers may be within the corrupt file and will be happy to receive any help they can get from the Outsiders.

When they arrive at the Institute, Outsiders will be set up in the old student dormitories. Each room has 2-4 beds depending on the room, with a common shared area on each floor. Given the current threat, there is also a supply of energy drinks and bars boosted with cyber caffeine. Outsiders have two options:

1. OPTION ONE: Stay in Alexandria and help the researchers with the generators, while keeping themselves and teammates awake during the night by playing games.
2. OPTION TWO: Go out into the Egyptian desert on camel-back, spending time getting to know their camel before heading out.

OOC NOTE: While players may write prompts for both options, we ask that you submit for a clue only once per player (not per character, as we have a lot of characters in game now!)

▶ 003. LEARN & EXPLORE. (ALEXANDRIA RESEARCH.)

Times are hard in Alexandria right now with their generators malfunctioning and efforts being split. The researchers are trying to get the generators back up and uncorrupt the data they received from Greece. LILITH will instruct the Outsiders to help with the research but also warn that they cannot afford to just sit around and wait to crack codes. The researchers also agree. Sometimes the best way to get research data is to go out into the field, but they haven't been able to do it due to not having much protection. The desert is vast, and there have been sightings of other small kaiju lurking beneath the sand and in some smaller cities.

Outsiders can decide to stay in the city of Alexandria to help crack the codes, or they can opt to go out into the field. For the latter, they can choose to stay close to home and investigate within Alexandria.

Those who wish to help with the ESSENCE generators and researchers will stay in Alexandria, using any downtime when not investigating to try and stay awake, slumber-party style. Two Truths and a Lie? Maybe Spin The Bottle? Perhaps some games can keep Outsiders enticed so they don't doze off.

▶ 004. FEELING SANDY (DESERT EXPLORATION.)

For those who wish to explore the desert and smaller cities, Alexandria Institute will supply what they need, such as water, food, essential tools for digging, sleeping bags (no sleeping, but maybe for resting!) and anything else. To conserve energy, the researchers supply camels for the Outsiders to use. The camels are mostly tame, but have their own distinct personalities, so they may need a little more handling and can be coaxed to behave with treats like artificial carrots and bananas. Outsiders can spend time getting to know their camel if they are going to explore the desert or cities. A camel can seat two people on its back comfortably, but also carry any essentials that travelers need to bring along.

In the distant small cities and across the desert, Outsiders will come across Sand Crocodiles, one of the smaller kaiju that have been inhabiting the desert. These monsters are basically crocodiles but with a twist: they can spit fire if angered and they can camouflage in the sand. They hide strategically, and one wrong step will cause them to push their jaws out of the ground, harming a person or camel. The stubby quills along their backs or rounds of their horns aren't entirely covered while hiding, so watch carefully. Fortunately, Outsiders will be supplied with a shotgun. Aiming between the eyes or in the mouth will kill it, but also beating it with the back of the shotgun will also do the trick. And yes, they also taste like crocodile too, if anyone is hungry.

After exploring, Outsiders are requested to report their findings back in Alexandria.

▶ 005. AFTERWORD.

Welcome to our fourth travel log!

Welcome to the new and improved Travel Log! Below, you will see the link to the MONSTER DEBRIEF SHEET post that has information about the kaiju below along with RIFT EFFECTS. Fill out the form for RNG Attacks and whether you would like to receive a RIFT EFFECT. This should give characters some ideas for the status of their character in the next log, which will have more action and monsters in it. Outsiders may use the CHAT to report and discuss any findings.

We thank you in advance for your patience as we try out this new format!

All tags on this log are worth 2 points and will count towards April AC.

EVENT BREAKDOWN/RECAP (CLICK TO EXPAND)

1. EYES WIDE OPEN: Outsiders travel to Egypt after receiving reports of their power generator, ESSENCE, being unstable and malfunctioning, leaving citizens in peril. They are instructed to "stay awake." They are supplied cyberpunk caffeine and told to try not to sleep or stay in pairs to be watchful of any danger.

2. ARRIVING IN EGYPT: Arriving in Alexandria, the Outsiders are confirmed that citizens have been dying in their sleep, with coroners unable to determine the cause. The days are mysteriously getting shorter and people are unable to stay awake.

3. LEARN & EXPLORE: Outsiders are given options to stay in Alexandria to help with the generator or find clues to assist the research team. Between researching, they are asked to continue to stay awake by any means possible. Those who will be exploring the desert and smaller cities for clues are given a camel for transportation. Outsiders are encouraged to get to know their camel before traveling.

4. FEELING SANDY: While looking for any clues out in the desert, Outsiders encounter smaller kaiju known as Sand Crocodiles. They hide in the sand and attack at the opportune time, snapping jaws and spitting fire. Shooting them between the eyes or in the mouth will K.O. them.

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[ Kaga's ears twitch in surprise. ]

You can curse? Somehow I figured even trying would make you catch fire or something...

[ It's a compliment in a weird way. She respects and appreciates Raidou's usual demeanor, it's part of why he's one of the few Everlights she has nothing bad to say about.

She shakes her head and returns her attention to the skies, chewing her lip thoughtfully as she considers the location of the sun, tilts her head to better hear the sound of propellers in the distance. ]

It's about ten in the morning, Enterprise is about to enter things... this next part hurts.

[ She sighs the sigh of the long suffering and turns her attention back to Raidou ]

This ship isn't me, but she is. It's... complicated. This battle never happened in my world, or... well. It did but.. Ugh!

[ She makes a frustrated noise and rubs the back of her head, mussing up her hair. Everything about her world is a complicated mess. ]

It'll probably be easier if you explained why you're here. If you're here. I'm not entirely sure this isn't from me getting knocked in the head too hard.

What do you mean, it never--

[An explosion nearby cuts off that thought as he braces from it. He doesn't quite understand what Kaga is talking about, though. "Complicated" will have to do as an explanation for now, until they get out of this.]

I can't-- Either I'm having my most vivid or strange dream ever, or it's the kaiju. The worm. In Vegas. It did something like this too. Sharing our memories, forcing others to be there--

[He looks around at the chaos, unsure of what he's supposed to do. If there was anything he could do. This looks really bad.]

Or, you hit your head really hard. But I don't think I'm a figment of your imagination here. Please tell me you'd hallucinate about someone else in that case.

[A Raidou Joke™? At a time like this???]

Mmm, good point. If I'd been hallucinating it'd probably be Nyuu-chan and we'd be out to dinner...

[ She appreciates the Raidou Joke™ at least. That kind of humor is very much Kaga's speed and she's able to respond in kind. ]

The worm though? Yor-san mentioned it a few times. So we're likely dealing with a kaiju that can mess with our heads... bastard. How the hell do we--

[ Her question dies mid-sentence as her ears stand up straight, twitching in a direction. A few seconds later Raidou can hear it too, propellers, air screaming as something heavy dives through it. ]

--SBD Dauntless, Eagle Union. They're going to hit in about three minutes.

[ Boom! Boom! Boom! Two other carriers out in the wave are savaged by bombs, smoke rising from the vessels as they shake in the water. A pained expression crosses Kaga's voice as she eyes one of them, a soft "Nee-sama..." muttered between her teeth. And then. ]

... Shit! Two minutes left. MOVE!

[ She grabs Raidou under the arm and leaps off the deck of the IJN Kaga, floating off to the side of the ship just in time. Bombs hit the flight deck at the stern, midship, and aft exactly where the pair were standing. Screaming seems to issue from everywhere all at once, not just the rents in the ship's structure, and Kaga clutches at her chest with a hiss of pain. ]

F-five minutes... can you believe that? The entire battle decided by five lucky damn minutes.

[ There's a horrible burning feeling that Raidou gets to share in as if his very insides are lit on fire. Mostly because at this moment, Kaga's are. The ship becomes dead in the water, unable to continue her maneuvers, and that sensation from when the planes were destroyed earlier of something being lost comes in droves. ]

Akagi and Soryu are already dead too, they'll just linger. That bastard Yamamoto will have all of us scuttled. Killed by our own damn people... that's no way for a warrior or a ship to die..!

[ She coughs, her throat feels like its burning. What's worse, blood bubbles up past her lips. This is. Not a fun experience to go through again. ]

Nineteen hundred fifteen hours for Soryu, nineteen hundred twenty five hours for myself. Nee-sama fights the longest, it's not until the next morning that they decide to kill her. [ She clenches her fist as she stares at the destruction three stricken ships, uncaring of the aerial war still going on all around them. ] We should've at least been allowed to die at Enterprise's hands... what they did to us was sickening.

When this happened to me, when Katsuki-kun saw-- It ended when I--

[Before he can even finish thought, Kaga grabs him and they jump, explosions ringing in his ears. Being in the water seems no better as shrapnel and oil and gods know what else swirl around them.

Raidou coughs, trying to suppress the burning feeling he shares with her. He's living this horror with her, but for how much longer? How is Kaga still here after all this? Spirits aren't easy to kill, but...]

This is horrendous. I'm sorry, Kaga-san.

[Because what else can they do, wading in the water as everything around them is engulfed, but wait for the water to take them? Help's not coming.]

If you know how to stop this early then by all means, please do. I... don't think you'll like the last part.

[ She says this very calmly for a person who proceeds to have a coughing fit like one would expect from someone standing in smoke. The ship's internal fires were pretty bad at this point, there's nothing left to be done.

And like that time seems to just, speed up? The sun travels across the sky until its sinking, more death and destruction is had around them in fast forward, and finally smaller boats start to head to and leave the stricken aircraft carrier. ]

Ah. That time already? Damn... [ She looks over at Raidou, rubbing the back of her head whilst her ears pin flat. ] Have you ever drowned before, Kuzunoha-kun?

[ That's a normal question to ask someone, right? ]

... I don't. They end when they end. [There's a look of despair on him as he watches the scene progress, and at Kaga's question.]

Katsuki-kun saw the day I was killed. Last time, with the worm kaiju. It did this, too. The memory ended then. Because there was no more. So. I guess that's how this will end, too.

[He'll be very glad when this all ends, and he truly does hope they're asleep/ This is a terrible way to go.]

... I'm sorry, Kaga-san. [An expression of sympathy.]

Hmm. So you've died before too, interesting...

[ Said more to herself than to him. Really she's just trying to distract herself from the inevitable by thinking about how well adjusted Raidou seems to be for a mostly normal human who's gone through the whole dying thing. She's done it multiple times herself, it's not fun! ]

You don't have to apologize, you didn't cause this. [ She waves her hand absently, while her eyes track something moving just beneath the surface of the water.

And then an explosion goes off on the side of the ship, Kaga's hand proceeds to go flying off into the water at the same time. She just stares at the stump that's now at the end of her arm, her ears twitching. ]

Creator's sake... I'm getting sick of seeing that come offffff--FUCK!

[ A bit harsher language than she usually uses but who could blame her? More strikes hit the side of the aircraft carrier and Kaga's sympathetic wounds take the form of her side rending open, dying the water around them red and causing her to cough up some blood. ]

W-well... that's... typical.

[ The aircraft carrier gives a groan as it begins to sink. Kaga isn't far behind. She spares Raidou a look before her head slips under the water, her expression apologetic. She knows how bad this is.

The cold, the dark, the water rushing in. It was more lonesome than anything for the vessel, at least it extinguished the fires burning inside, the ship didn't have lungs to scream for the near for air.

Kaga does. Her scream is more of frustration than fear, yet the result is the same, silence and bubbles from her mouth as her vision fades out. The last thoughts she has is of her sister, the Akagi. Sunk earlier in the battle, the drift of the ocean assuring they won't come to rest with each other. Kaga will sit on the bottom of the ocean alone, a fitting punishment for failing to protect Akagi and defeat Enterprise the first time around.

If Raidou wants to seek her out after he's done experiencing a ship die he can find her easily enough. She's somewhere drinking from a flask and looking like she's in a foul mood, because she is. ]

[Unsure of what else to do, watching his friend be rent apart in front of him helplessly, Raidou tries to swim towards Kaga. But he's sharing in part of this pain, his lungs burning, his limbs searing. trying to get through the water feels impossible, and Kaga slides away beneath waves. Just as the air seems to be squeezed from his own lungs, everything fading fast, he wakes up.

He will come to find her, in the middle of the night in the quiet base, holding two cups of coffee. Though he sees she's already got a different kind of drink, he hands it to her anyway as he approaches quietly as ever.]

... This might work better at keeping you awake.

[ She raises an eyebrow as she considers him and the coffee being pressed into her hand. For a moment it looks like she wants to argue... but Raidou's right. KAN-SEN or not, alcohol isn't exactly going to help right now. ]

Right... thank you.

[ She sighs as she slips the flask into the folds of her robe and sips the coffee. It's actually more refreshing than she expected, the sharp flavor and warmth helping to chase off some lingering feelings of discomfort from the memory sharing.

Speaking of... ]

How are you feeling?

It was like I thought. A shared dream. Back in Las Vegas, the worm kaiju did something similar.

[He takes his own thoughtful sip of coffee, so glad that it's so much easier to obtain than back in Tokyo. He's going to bring back a suitcase full of it.]

... It was... intense. I think I'm more concerned about the person who actually went through it than myself, though.

[How are you, Kaga?]

This makes three of these things that can mess with our heads. Fantastic.

[ She grumbles dryly while looking into her cup, watching the liquid ripple from slight movements. Those are waves you could get lost in if you weren't careful... ]

You shouldn't be. I'm used to dying by now, reliving an old one isn't anything special.

[ Except it kind of is. A full fleshed out memory of the original ship's sinking isn't something she's experienced before, just vague recollections and sensations. That was... horrible.

But this is Kaga, she's not going to show any weakness. She just shrugs. ]

Besides, that never really happened in my reality. The whole thing was just a bad dream.

[Her dismissal doesn't seem too comforting to him.]

How... many times has that happened to you?

[He only died the once, and got off easy. Energy spent, unable to breathe in the tornado-like winds towards whatever part of time and space Seimei was banishing him too, all he could do was close his eyes.]

Wait, it didn't?

[That explanation only confuses things further!]

How many...? Three or four at this point, I think. Maybe five?

[ Casual Coffee Sip. It really depends on if they're counting "her" first death or not, not to mention if the alternate timeline version of her that Akagi met whilst rescuing Amagi counts. ]

It's complicated. The memory of that ship and her data is what was used to activate my Wisdom Cube, it's how I was made. But that conflict didn't happen... well alright, it sort of did, that's how I died the second time, but as far as what you saw? That timeline doesn't exist anymore.

[He sort of gets it. Raidou's travelled the Corridor and seen glimpses into the future of his own world. A future that might be mutable, from all he knew. Kuzunoha Raidou XL seemed to think so.]

It didn't happen, but the experience seemed real enough. It sure felt real. Seems unfair, to experience such awful things that never really occurred.

It's something every KAN-SEN deals with. The data from the vessel our Wisdom Cubes activated with is a part of us, everything that happened to her and her crew lingers in there somewhere.

[ S H R U G. ]

It's normally not that intense though... honestly? I'm glad it happened here rather than the middle of a battle, at least now I know to expect it.

So it's like... you're already sharing memories with another vessel, like it happened to you?

[Yikes. How you even keep your own identity in the face of something like that? That is, if he's got this right.]

The kaiju is to blame for the intensity, and for me being there. It's happened a couple of times now with this one. So, more coffee it is.

[Before he gets caught up dying in someone else's dream after this too.]

No, it's... not quite... that was Kaga, and I'm Kaga. I exist because of the data of that Kaga but I'm not her, technically.

[ Oh Creator's sake, she's getting a headache... ]

The sooner we find and kill this thing the better. I'm getting sick of these little trips down memory lane.

[No kidding. This stuff was getting hard to follow. She can almost see the gears turning in her head.]

So, are you... are you a new iteration? A new spirit?

[He sure can agree to that sentiment, though.]

... Me too. Only one person ended up in one of mine, but I've ended up in a few. Here I thought I could stay awake more easily than that.

[ She's honestly starting to expect smoke to come out of the poor guy's ears before too long. ]

In a way... but also not? Human memories of the ship's legacy are what make us, essentially, so we are the soul of it. But we're our own people, so.

[ S H R U G. ]

I might not be the best person to explain the more... spiritual or metaphysical side of KAN-SEN existence, that's more Nagato-sama or Musashi-sama's area. I'm just a warrior at the end of the day.

[ A damn good warrior with a hell of a grasp on strategy, but she knows when she's outside her depth. ]

[He nods, though he looks a little sheepish.]

Sorry for all the questions. Must be the summoner in me.

[A guy who knows tons about spirits of all varieties who's trained to be a detective of course is going to have a lot of questions about something new like this.]

The important thing is you're you, and that's who's here now.

Don't worry about it, I don't mind.

[ A dismissive wave of her hand. ]

Or disagree with you for that matter. I'm Kaga, that's all that's the start and end of it. It always has been. Honestly? I haven't met a KAN-SEN that's been that bothered by our origin, I don't think we're capable of being bothered by it.

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TRAVEL LOG #5

▶ 001. EYES WIDE OPEN.

▶ 002. ARRIVAL IN EGYPT.

▶ 003. LEARN & EXPLORE. (ALEXANDRIA RESEARCH.)

▶ 004. FEELING SANDY (DESERT EXPLORATION.)

▶ 005. AFTERWORD.

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cw: light gore blood whoops sorry

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