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Shards of a Broken Sun [Deprecated; see link in final post for remake]

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Quickshot0 said:
also that's why we summoned them in the first place, right?
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More... general utility. So I mean, sorta, but...

Hairy Jack: He's a dog. A giant, mean, spectral dog that's very good at fighting, but still basically a dog. Io got to fulfill an old dream (not pictured) by riding him, and he's otherwise... well, doglike.

Teagan: <REDACTED>. She is very good at fighting. She's also many times Io's age, a higher level than Io should be able to summon*, a good tactician, and only really follows orders to see how good Io will get at giving them. But <REDACTED>. She's a High Pixie; it should be obvious by now that she's a specific High Pixie.

*: In DeSu2, the player can only hire or fuse demons that are lower-level than the player. NPCs break that rule all the time, however; including Io at one point. What's important to note is that they don't use Alcor's app to do so. The level rule is probably there as a safety measure.

--
Thus far, oncall this week has sucked. I hope to get the next part out tomorrow, if I can get some sleep this time around.
Baughn threw 5 10-faced dice. Reason: Removing loopholes Total: 19
1 1 2 2 5 5 2 2 9 9
Baughn threw 3 10-faced dice. Reason: Intimidation Total: 27
8 8 9 9 10 10
 
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Tuesday's Disquiet 8
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    • Io

    Quick situation check—

    She looked wildly around, but it didn't seem like any of the kobolds were trying to get behind them. Good. There was a half-circle of the beasts—only the larger ones—holding a defensive line around the smaller ones. Their children? Mates? Either way, they were effectively blocking access to that part of the cave, which would have been a problem if she had any intention of going that way. They seemed—pretty intimidated, actually.

    Io supposed she could understand, for while she couldn't see her own reflection anywhere, she was sure she looked scary; the flames flickering brightly around her probably made her look like something out of a horror movie. The only thing the kobolds had on their side was brute force, and… well, she had more, even of that. Yesterday had shown as much; on one occasion she'd punched through the side of a car, and while normally she'd be worried at how fast she was changing, at the time she'd just taken the opportunity to throw the car's door (after ripping it out) at a bird-thing that was dive-bombing her.

    She twitched a little, as a tongue of flame she'd lost track of dived in through her skin, leaving a glowing spot and a hot-and-cold numb feeling behind. Yes, she supposed—if she'd seen a classmate looking like this—wouldn't have mattered even if it were her best friend—

    But she could use that.

    A few of the kobolds were edging closer. There was no way she could take them all on, not without probably losing control entirely, but they didn't know that now did they?

    She let out a shower of sparks, and they jumped backwards. Good. They were acting a lot like animals, or something similar. Hyenas. That might not be entirely accurate, but they were smart enough for pack tactics, and smart enough to know fear. They didn't just work on raw instinct. With animals, Mom had always told her, the trick was to appear in control. They reacted to confidence, as well as direct threat, and the three of them had already killed several of the kobolds.

    The whole thing put a bad taste in her mouth. It wasn't something she had much time for, but the way they were behaving… they were defending family, weren't they. Like she'd failed at.

    Hand raised, ready to blast them—or punch them, even if she'd rather avoid that sort of gore—posture confident, she walked steadily towards the exit. She wasn't fleeing. She was walking, somewhere she'd always been planning to go. It helped that that was true. Teagan followed, hovering defensively over her shoulder. And Jack, of course; he really was like a dog, he'd follow wherever she went. Oh, but she couldn't show a spectral dog like him to Mom and Dad, because—

    She'd gotten halfway through that slightly humorous thought, on autopilot, before she remembered just why she'd never be showing anything to her parents again, and it was all she could do not to stumble. But there were still the kobolds, so she shoved it aside once again. Hibiki-kun had… he'd taught her that much, before he went home.

    They wouldn't pursue. Not after she'd shown her strength. Not if they didn't think she was running. She believed that, really she did, but she couldn't stop a tiny, almost unnoticeable tremble from showing in her gait. At least it didn't seem that the kobolds had noticed.

    — — —​

    Amu

    "I have some rules I want you to state that you'll follow, for the duration of your mental contact with me," she said. "For starters… stick to read-only. No altering my mind, in any way. I don't know the full scale of your duties and purpose, but I have a lot of people counting on me to walk away intact from this, and there's a lot going on that you might not know about. So the sooner we can resolve this, without resorting to violence, the better." She thought for a second. "I have some additional clarifications to make, and I'll want you to explain your understanding of these rules before I give you any form of access at all."

    I am listening.

    Amu, are you sure this is wise?

    Maybe not, she thought back, but it's the fastest way I can think of to fix this. I'm relatively sure I'll be fine. Now hush, I need to think.

    Which was starting to get harder. Still not as hard as when she was just Amu, but she thought she'd have five minutes more, tops. She'd better make them count.

    "So when I said 'read-only,' I meant you shouldn't make any changes to the way my mind works that would affect my behaviour later… or any changes that wouldn't, except in improbable or impossible circumstances, or which affect my own experience. That includes adding, altering or removing memories, feelings, emotions, skills…"

    She went on like that for a while.

    — — —​

    Io

    "We made it—"

    The corridor had turned nearly circular. Io sank back against a slightly more comfortable outcropping of root-stuff, a thin layer of sweat covering her forehead. At the end, there, she'd been starting to think she'd really overdone it.

    Her arm still hurt, but even the thought of trying to fix it made her queasy. The scratches weren't all that deep anyway; a few millimetres at most, and they weren't bleeding. She'd live. She just needed some rest...

    "Yes, we did." Teagan looked her over carefully, fuzzing over a few spots where she'd gotten splashes of kobold gore on her. It was the only thing she could do, since she didn't know how to heal, but Io thought it felt nice all the same.

    She supposed her uniform was definitely a write-off, now; even her skirt had gotten torn in a few places, where she'd dragged herself all too fast through thorny outcroppings of the walls.

    "'e kobolds wo't want to follow," she slurred. "Less rest a little."

    It felt like the walls were rocking her to sleep—she felt like she was lying down, but she was sure she'd been standing up—it felt nice. She was so very tired.

    "Io?"

    She closed her eyes. Kobolds with families, huh… that was new. Like lions, or hyenas—still dangerous, she supposed, but she felt good about not killing them all.

    "Hey, Io!"

    Mom, just let me sleep—

    — — —​

    'Io, I said! Are you listening?"

    She blinked, and in that moment of inattention her foot slipped. Gravity caught her, unbearably slow. "Aah—"

    "Caught you!"

    Dad's powerful arms slipped around her, stopping her from falling into the water. She looked down. Another few centimeters—no, less—

    "Hey, are you two okay?" Mom called from the far side of the river.

    Io rubbed her eyes, forcing herself out of whatever dreamland she'd wandered off to, and took stock of the situation. Then blushed. Dad had jumped into the river to save her, so even if she was fine, he was all wet! Plus, they'd hiked this route something like a hundred times, so what on Earth was she even doing falling off? Though, well—

    Sunny skies, distant birdsong and wind rustling through the trees, check. River, check—one of these years she'd totally build a bridge—and wading stones, and a river, but—still far too close—

    Getting closer?

    "I'm fine!" Dad shouted. "Not sure about Io-chan, though!"

    She whimpered a little, as he lowered her another few degrees; she was close to horizontal already. If her shoes slipped—no, even if he she just relaxed a little—she'd get soaked! Sure, she had her swimsuit on underneath, but she hadn't been planning to swim in a river!

    "Stop playing around, you two! Come on, daylight's burning!"

    Idiot dad.

    "Coming!" He lifted her off the ground, carrying her in the princess position the rest of the way.

    Idiot dad, but—

    She smiled, purring a little. She didn't hate this sort of thing. It was her last summer before starting middle school, she should take advantage while she could; that was Mom's wisdom, from her to her only child, and she didn't disagree.

    — — —​

    "Hey, Io!"

    She jerked awake. What had… oh yeah. She looked up at the frustrated glare of her older sister. They were at home, sitting in their shared bedroom, and she'd… apparently fallen asleep while they were talking. Uu~, that was embarrassing.

    "Sorry, what were you saying? Ehehe…" She scratched the back of her neck.

    "Now, look, if you don't care enough to stay awake—"

    "I care! I care!" She gave Suzuka her most adorable pout, the one she almost never used unless she wanted something. "It's just…" The air outside her room was dark, almost reddish. She seized on the excuse. "It's late, and I'm really tired! But I'll do my best to stay awake. Look!"

    She pinched her cheek, staring pleadingly into Suzuka's eyes. "Shee?"

    "That's…" Suzuka snorted. "Aww, c'mere, you little rascal. You know I'll have to punish you."

    She didn't try very hard to escape the hug.

    A few minutes later she was sitting on Suzuka's lap, leaned back into her chest, while the latter explained what was going to happen. "So you see, I'm going to university in a few months. I'd been planning to study right here in Tokyo, but then I got an amazing offer from this professor in London. Apparently that math competition was good for something, and they're offering a full scholarship at one of the best universities in the world. So…"

    "You want to go?" Io looked up at Suzuka's eyes. Well, nose.

    "I don't want to leave you. I don't want to leave," Suzuka said, her arms tight around Io. "I've never lived on my own, but this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I don't know what I want."

    "But you'd come back, right?" Io said it like it was obvious, and maybe it was. Suzuka nodded.

    "After five years, maybe more. You'd be all grown up. My cute little sister…" She swallowed, and Io felt a sympathetic lump in her throat. "I'd call, every weekend, but I don't think we can afford any visits. Not even for summer."

    She didn't understand what it meant. She was only thirteen. She'd always wanted a sister.

    "Well…" Io scrunched her face up. "Mom always said, live so that you don't have any regrets. You'd regret it if you don't go, right?"

    "I'd regret it if I lose you," Suzuka whispered.

    "Ah." She smiled. "You're not losing me, silly! I'll be right here. Five years is a long time—" Practically an eternity. "—But so is three months! We'll have lots of fun until then, okay?"

    As far as Io was concerned, the end result had already been decided. And so it was.

    And when Suzuka finally left, she cried herself to sleep for three days straight, but they spoke cheerfully—in the same tone—over the phone. Suzuka would be back. Even if it didn't happen until Io was nearly nineteen…

    — — —​

    "Io! Please!" Teagan slapped her across the face, hard enough that her own hand began to sting, but it didn't even leave a mark. "Oh, Mab damn it—"

    She froze, and her eyes fell on the device stuck into Io's pocket, the one she used to summon demons. The Paths had all been broken up, but Io had managed it somehow, using that. If she could summon one of her allies… but they were either incapable, or too dangerous to trust with Io's life. On the other hand, the Queens were always so competitive, in ways she couldn't even understand.

    There was Outsider interference here, enough to break the world. Mab had to be involved.

    And it would be a coup, wouldn't it, for the winter queen to gather not only an entire flock of summer's fairies but also such a powerful human to her side? It would make no sense to harm them, if she could gain more by helping.

    It didn't stop her teeth from chattering at the thought, but mere physical danger would never be enough to stop Teagan from doing what was right for her kin. Now—

    She stared at the moving, glowing symbols on the glass pane at one end.

    How did you use this thing?

    — — —​

    "Mom!" She screamed up at an open window, sitting in their small garden with a tiny, broken-winged bird shivering in her hands. "Mom, come quick!"

    Her mom skidded around the corner less than a minute later, scaring away the cat that had been glaring balefully at her ever since she'd taken away its meal.

    "What's wrong?" Mom said tensely, then looked sad as she saw what she held. "Oh. Oh, honey…"

    "Can you help it?" She asked, tears streaming down her face. "It's so badly hurt…"

    There were more than a few drops of blood staining her hands, but Mom—shook her head—

    "I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do. Even if we took it to the vet…"

    They couldn't afford that; even at fourteen she knew they couldn't, but a day later there was a tiny little grave marker in a corner of their garden. She never asked for a cat of her own again.

    — — —​

    The world flickered.

    Who did she want to be? There were so many answers, from different times of her life.

    — — —​

    "I'm sure they're fine."

    Tokyo had been hit by an enormous earthquake, and they were struggling through the ruins. Her, Hibiki Kuze, and… she only knew him as Daichi, Hibiki's friend.

    Everything would be fine, it had to be. Mom and Dad would be there to welcome her when she got home. They were probably out of their minds with worry. And Suzuka—her cellphone didn't work, and it had been months since they'd last talked, but surely she was also trying to get through. Io really, really wanted to talk to her, or Mom, or Dad.

    Ignore the reddened sky. There was probably an explanation.

    Ignore the demons. There weren't really that many.

    — — —​

    She didn't want to lose anyone ever again.


    [ ] She didn't want to be so easily hurt.
    [ ] She wanted to be someone who could protect them.
    [ ] She didn't know what she wanted. Not yet. [2x]

    A/N: No write-ins this time around.
     
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    • I guess I'll go with this one for now... hopefully it leads to her waking up before Teagan figures out the phone. Not to mention... it's probably something she actually did want to do.

    [X ] She wanted to be someone who could protect them.
     
    Still meditating, but despite my initial response, I'm not sure if "Wants to be someone who could protect them" is the best choice...

    I'll have to think, carefully. Let's not forget that Io's been casting from Sanity Points for a while now, and that'll likely have consequences from whatever this resolution comes with.

    At the same time, it's not a bad sentiment either.

    Ugh!
     
    True enough, it's hard to say for sure what each option will do. One could also wait I suppose... but I'm a little concerned what a certain little summon is doing with the phone, and it potentially not being a good idea at all...

    Still, if you or someone else gets a new insight on it, or discover extra information by all means share.


    (Admittedly for all I know that plan will turn out great as well, but the risk/reward on it is very poorly known. At least to me it is. )
     
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    [X] She didn't know what she wanted. Not yet. [2x]

    Ultimately, I can provide no reason for this, it is simply what my meditations have settled on. My instincts, my heart, it tells me that an eighteen year old shouldn't be deciding who they want to be so soon after a series of traumatic incidents, because such resolve forged on such a fresh foundation may have unseen flaws.

    Is this the right choice? I don't know, is it a good one? I can't say. Is being someone who can protect others a bad thing? Not at all.

    But something in my gut tells me that things are too soon to finalize anything.
     
    [X] She didn't know what she wanted. Not yet. [2x]

    Going to have to concur with Alectai. Maybe partly driven by... well, thematic bleedthrough from other things, the idea that overloading a particular aspect of yourself can lathe away part of what makes you a person. Especially in a place where you can get power through insanity. And Io is in a particularly unstable position here, I think, what with having been using sorcery well past safe limits.
     
    Please don't bandwagon on me and assume my judgement is solid though everyone, I have no logic to base my decision on, only gut instinct, and for me, my instincts are something of a crapshoot.

    This is not aimed at Quantumboost though, just a reminder to everyone that just because I have been right in the past, doesn't mean I'm right here--all of those other "Right in the past" moments gave us a chance to come up with a Third Option, and some clues lurking around that we could try to navigate through the minefield.
     
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    racnor said:
    hm.. What triggers her death in the original DS2?
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    She channeled the power of a god, and eventually burned out. If she's in a good enough place mentally, she can instead learn to control it; her death tastes of suicide, although not the overt kind. The fact that she willingly went along with a plan that was likely to be fatal, however...

    Well, that's Io. She's giving to a fault.
     
    From what I recall of the LP, she'll survive if you've given her even the slightest bit of support; you have to be going for it intentionally to get her killed.
     
    ........ said:
    From what I recall of the LP, she'll survive if you've given her even the slightest bit of support; you have to be going for it intentionally to get her killed.
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    From playing the game, it's easy to do accidentally. All you have to do is skip some of her scenes because other ones seem more interesting--that's a thing, in the game: Time management is important, and the game doesn't tell you that she'll die. After playing it through once, sure, but I actually did lose her on my first run.

    Add to that that there are about three other people who'll die unless you're careful, and it's hard to get a perfect run.
     
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