Sensation 1.3: Lost In Space
Kermie
Probably Currently Writing
- Location
- Somewhere on the planet
- Pronouns
- He/She/They
[X] She was like a sister to me.
[X] A head of pink and blue hair.
You struggle to open your eyes, your thoughts blurry and head aching.
You can hear just fine though. You can hear two voices, one girl, one guy.
"March, what are you—oh my."
"Dan Heng, we need to help them!"
"Weak breathing and pulses—March, you'll need to do CPR."
"March" and "Dan Heng" seem to be a very…unique duo. Likely Pathstriders, or members of the security team.
"Alright, you get the gray haired girl, and I guess I'll take red hair over here," March says, "But do it quickly, ok? I don't really know how to do CPR!"
Ah, if she doesn't know how to do CPR…
You need to get up, now. If she's at least decently strong for a Pathstrider, those chest compressions are about to be chest crushes.
You groan. "Ah…no need to wake me up. I just got knocked out for a minute or so." As you slowly open your eyes, you see…
A lovely pink and blue girl who looks at you, surprised.
March jumps back. "Waah! You scared me!"
"Sorry about that, Ms. March," you cough, awkwardly, "I only just started to wake up when you and Mr. Dan over there started to talk about CPR."
The "Mr" in question turns to glance at you, before focusing once more on Stelle. He's dressed in green, and seems to be trying to…shake Stelle awake?
You glance at Stelle and immediately notice that she looks completely knocked out. But if you just woke up, she shouldn't be far behind.
"Hold up, you two, out of the way please." You push Dan and March aside, focusing on Stelle. You rub your hands together, and form a pink Spirit String, which is tied to your right pinky. Just one represents your power to connect with others, and a full staff's worth would be enough to gaze into someone's Inner World.
Considering that Kafka started this with her Spirit Whisper, your power should be able to reverse it.
You look back at March. "Both of you, I'm a Pterugean, so this should wake her up. If this doesn't wake Stelle up, however, I'm leaving it up to you two to pull me out from unconsciousness."
March looks perturbed. "Wait! Shouldn't you try something else? I mean, this is going too fast, and you really shouldn't try something like that on someone knocked out—
[Social Roll]
[+30% Great Skill
+20% Looks like you know what you're doing
-10% March's Uncertainty
-10% Injured]
[7. Barely.]
You just have one thing you can say right now. "It's the best thing we have on hand right now." The second you finish that sentence, you give a respectful nod to March, and immediately focus back on Stelle.
You put your hand on her neck, and focus.
The world dims. Your hearing dulls. And before you know it, you close your eyes, and you open them to blackness.
You look down, into the empty void that is Stelle's consciousness.
Every Pathstrider has an Inner World of sorts that represents their soul, some of them manifesting it when they activate their Ultimates. Your Spirit Sync, when pushed like this, can go into those worlds, your very souls, emotions and some thoughts being shared. But Stelle…doesn't seem to have one. Where there would be stars, floor, or sea, there is only void.
You look up, and you see Stelle, trapped by her arms in purple string: likely a representation of Kafka's Whisper.
And behind her—oh Xipe.
The Stellaron beats like a miniature sun, grown to twenty times its size. It is the heart of this World, the object around which everything else orbits.
This will need to be a rush job. Behind you, the string on your pinkie is still there, holding you to the outside.
[Spiritual Roll]
[++???% Emanator
+???% Promise Made
-???% Light of The Stellaron]
[11. Just there.]
You take that string, and push against it, the knot letting go. A lack of other gravity pulls you toward Stelle. You take her body, and yank.
Her eyes flutter open. "What's happening…?" She groans.
"I'm getting you out of here." You respond.
The Spirit String goes back to you, flung by an invisible command. It wraps around your pinkie, as you wrap your arms around Stelle. You take it, and fly out of the Inner World before the scorch of the Stellaron hits you again.
As your eyes open, Stelle's do too. Behind you, March and Dan Heng gasp, surprised by her sudden awakening. You focus on Stelle, however.
"Alright, how many fingers am I holding up, Stelle?"
"Two?" She's correct. Next question.
"And what do you remember about Kafka and me?"
"I think that I knew her? And she might have mentioned you, a few times…"
Alright. That's good enough. You take Stelle's arm and together, you two get back up on your feet.
You take a good look at her. Despite having a fairly vacant look, you can see some of the cunning underneath that Kafka no doubt taught her.
Dan Heng chimes in. "Excuse me, but can you explain what you just did? I believe I've seen that somewhere in the Astral Express's archives."
"It was my Spirit Sync," you respond, "it allowed me to get past some of the memory loss and mental trauma this girl had. She's essentially my niece anyways."
Technically you aren't lying, if you just omit the fact that it was easier to get past any trauma she may have had because Kafka erased it, and that she's only your niece (more like you're her godmother) because Kafka dropped her on you.
But well, it probably would be a good move not to mention Kafka considering she's wanted by roughly everyone in the galaxy.
"A Pterugean, then…" Dan Heng seems thoughtful.
March, however, seems a bit more engaged with the conversation. "Either way, we need to go. The Space Station just got attacked by the Antimatter Legion, and we came to help by the request of Lead Researcher Asta."
Stelle raises her hand, clearly still in a daze. "What's the Antimatter Legion?"
"What?"
March turns to you. "Is she ok?" She whispers, "I don't think that she should be missing that common knowledge, as a researcher here."
"She's not a researcher here," you whisper back, "she's my niece, I took her here while I was on a trip here for Herta. I think she's suffering from memory loss, so give her a break, ok?"
Again, that was all technically true, except for the "I took her here" part. It's more like she was taken to you.
March's expression turns sympathetic. "Amnesia, huh? That sucks. Hopefully she'll get better."
[Social Roll]
[Fairly close with March already. Auto pass.]
She's definitely known someone who's gone through amnesia before. She said that with too much familiarity with the subject to be anything else.
March turns back over to Stelle, and extends her hand. "Alright, then! What's your name?"
Stelle seems a bit surprised by the hand, but takes it. "I'm pretty sure it's Stelle."
"Ok, Stelle, let's go to the Master Control Zone up above. That's where all the other researchers and Asta are!"
Dan Heng goes to tap March on the shoulder. "Before we start going," he says, "I'll need to find Arlan on the upper floor. We lost connection with him a while back."
You look at him, before nudging Stelle over to his side. "Could you defend Stelle then, please? The elevator doesn't work, and you seem to be a fairly good fighter out of all of us here."
Stelle looks a bit confused, before shrugging and walking over to Dan. "I guess it would be good for me to stick with someone." she states nonchalantly.
"Dan, while you're up there, explain some stuff for Stelle, alright? Aeons, Paths, Factions, all that stuff. I really don't want to have to explain too much."
Dan Heng nods respectfully. "Alright then, Ms…"
"Shelley. I'm Shelley Marie, a retired Devil Hunter from Pteruges-V."
Dan Heng and Stelle run off together, as you turn to March 7th.
"By the way, who are you guys with again?"
March's look brightens up. "Oh! Me and Dan Heng are with the Astral Express, and we decided to help out with the rescue effort when we came here on one of our normal visits!"
Your eyes widen. The Astral Express? THE Astral Express known for carrying travelers and Trailblazers across the stars? The best space vessel of all time, formerly powered by a now deceased Aeon? THAT Astral Express?
You nod slowly. "Wow…must be awfully cool, all the things you get to see."
March nods enthusiastically. "Yup! Now c'mon, Dan Heng's going to get way ahead of us."
March runs up ahead. Now, you could just fly up using your Emanator side and leave behind everyone in the Sector, but there's no reason to just leave them in the dust. Besides, you're a fairly new Emanator, only a year in the bag so far. You'd much rather use your Devil Hunter powers instead of overextending your Emanator side and hurting yourself.
You two run through the sector at a brisk pace, March occasionally pointing out a few things here and there. Eventually however, trouble finds you, as it always does.
March is the first one to notice it, but you see it soon after. The Legion keeps on stalking around, and some mook soldiers block your path.
"Ah, it's the Antimatter Legion!" March says, "So these crazy jerks made it all the way here... Don't worry Ms. Shelley, watch this!"
March and the soldiers start charging at each other, but at the last second, March dodges, and fires an arrow made of ice straight into its face. You take the advantage given, by taking your trumpet and making a new dent in its face by bashing it in.
You keep moving, dodging and weaving through the blades, before playing a shrill note on trumpet. It sends a wide arc of fire through the battlefield, eliminating the remaining opponents.
"Wow Ms. Marie, you're a lot stronger than I thought you were!" March exclaims.
You grin, brushing aside your braids as you walk over to her. "Thanks, but I'm not that much older than you, so don't treat me like a grandma. Besides, I'm not a Devil Hunter for nothing."
You consciously choose to leave out the Emanator powers. People tend to treat you like you're above them when you say that, and you'd rather just be one of the people instead of their god.
You make it up to the elevator after that, and as you fruitlessly tap the control panel, March groans.
"Ah, I knew it—the Antimatter Legion must have broken it."
"That's possible," you respond, "I was riding in this elevator with Herta, but she's probably ditched that puppet body by now, and the elevator as well."
"Too bad Dan Heng's not here," March complains. "He's like a walking encyclopedia. He knows a ton of complicated stuff… maybe even elevator repair."
Just at that moment, Dan Heng and Stelle appear from behind. "Dan Heng doesn't know that one." Stelle dryly says.
"I don't know that one." Dan Heng repeats.
March is surprised. "Whoa! Why are you guys here?"
"While I was talking to Stelle," Dan Heng explains, "we took an upper route and saw you two from above."
"We saw that Security Captain guy, Arlan I think, and he was injured." Stelle says. "We should all get up there so that someone can help him."
"Alright then, what are we doing here?" March asks. "Let's go!"
You all go up, and there you see Arlan.
"Hey Arlan." You wave.
Arlan looks badly injured, his stomach having taken a few bad slashes. "Hello, Shelley."
If the others notice that you know each other, they don't show it. They then start talking, and you look over at Stelle. She's completely out of it, so you go to stand next to her while Arlan, March and Dan Heng start talking about what to do next.
Nothing you didn't know already, aside from the elevators being locked down on purpose. You already did suspect that Kafka had figured out how to break the security system to get into the station.
You really need to give her a good scolding for being so irresponsible later. It's gonna be a pain having to care for Stelle considering how much you travel.
Speaking of Stelle, you look over at her, and she's probably a minute from falling asleep. You give her a nudge. "Hey kid, wake up, we're going."
Stelle's eyes snap back into focus just as March, Dan Heng, and Arlan start booting up the repulsor bridges.
"Thanks, Ms. Shelley, I was spacing out there." Stelle's eyes look over into yours. "While we're talking, do you know anything about Kafka? I think before I went to sleep, she started talking to you…"
You twirl around one of your braids. "She's my friend: almost a sister to me, honestly. While I never heard of you before today, she told me to take care of you."
Stelle looks interested. "Do you know anything about why she put me here? She seemed to know what was going on way more than I did."
"Sorry kid," you say, "while Kafka's my friend, I don't know anything more about the Stellaron Hunters that she's with than you do."
Over in the background, the conversation finishes.
"Alright," Arlan groans out, "I'm coming with you."
"Make sure to not make that leg injury any worse than it is, ok?" You say.
Stelle chimes in. "You can use me as a crutch."
…yeah, she'll definitely be an odd kid. Why couldn't Kafka have trained someone normal?
…oh come on, you already know the answer to that question. It's Kafka, she'd never be "normal."
You all make your way down to the elevator, snagging a Light Cone for Stelle on the way, until you're at the edge of the platform once more.
"Is that it? We've reached the elevator already? That wasn't too many monsters~" March says cheerfully. However, her expression sours as she realizes.
"Oof, probably shouldn't have said that... Might bring bad luck."
"On Pteruges, we have an expression, speak of the Devils, and they shall appear." You comment.
And true to form, multiple Voidrangers from the Legion pop in. There's a concerning amount now, they likely increased how many they sent to account for you. At minimum, you count fifty.
"Everybody!" Dan Heng warns, "I think it's time to go."
It's because of you that everyone's in this situation. Now it's up to you to choose how to get of it.
Thanks to your choice last update, you have achieved Relationship Level 1 with March. (Thinks You're A Cool Adult)
[ ] Fight The Legion [DANGEROUS]
You did it well enough last time. But you didn't have an injury back then. But at the same time, you could stand to get closer with the Astral Express if you hold off the Legion together…
Note: this will have you coordinate all units for your first combat vote. Combat will be explained in the below tutorial box.
[ ] Plan (Write In)
-[ ] Primary Strategy (Write In)
You
-[ ] Shelley will… (Write In)
—[ ] Shelley supports…(Write In, March or Stelle recommended)
Defense
-[ ] March will… (Write In)
Offense
-[ ] Stelle will… (Write In)
-[ ] Dan Heng will… (Write In)
[ ] Run
Don't just stand there, Shelley! If March 7th's friend is telling you to run, run! Slap that elevator button and move!
[X] A head of pink and blue hair.
You struggle to open your eyes, your thoughts blurry and head aching.
You can hear just fine though. You can hear two voices, one girl, one guy.
"March, what are you—oh my."
"Dan Heng, we need to help them!"
"Weak breathing and pulses—March, you'll need to do CPR."
"March" and "Dan Heng" seem to be a very…unique duo. Likely Pathstriders, or members of the security team.
"Alright, you get the gray haired girl, and I guess I'll take red hair over here," March says, "But do it quickly, ok? I don't really know how to do CPR!"
Ah, if she doesn't know how to do CPR…
You need to get up, now. If she's at least decently strong for a Pathstrider, those chest compressions are about to be chest crushes.
You groan. "Ah…no need to wake me up. I just got knocked out for a minute or so." As you slowly open your eyes, you see…
A lovely pink and blue girl who looks at you, surprised.
March 7th
A girl traveling with the Astral Express. She's lost her memories, and is searching for her past. Also tried to give you CPR, so that's certainly a notable introduction.
A girl traveling with the Astral Express. She's lost her memories, and is searching for her past. Also tried to give you CPR, so that's certainly a notable introduction.
March jumps back. "Waah! You scared me!"
"Sorry about that, Ms. March," you cough, awkwardly, "I only just started to wake up when you and Mr. Dan over there started to talk about CPR."
The "Mr" in question turns to glance at you, before focusing once more on Stelle. He's dressed in green, and seems to be trying to…shake Stelle awake?
Dan Heng
A boy traveling with the Astral Express. He's running from his past, and is fairly calm and reclusive. Also the archivist of the Astral Express.
A boy traveling with the Astral Express. He's running from his past, and is fairly calm and reclusive. Also the archivist of the Astral Express.
You glance at Stelle and immediately notice that she looks completely knocked out. But if you just woke up, she shouldn't be far behind.
"Hold up, you two, out of the way please." You push Dan and March aside, focusing on Stelle. You rub your hands together, and form a pink Spirit String, which is tied to your right pinky. Just one represents your power to connect with others, and a full staff's worth would be enough to gaze into someone's Inner World.
Considering that Kafka started this with her Spirit Whisper, your power should be able to reverse it.
You look back at March. "Both of you, I'm a Pterugean, so this should wake her up. If this doesn't wake Stelle up, however, I'm leaving it up to you two to pull me out from unconsciousness."
March looks perturbed. "Wait! Shouldn't you try something else? I mean, this is going too fast, and you really shouldn't try something like that on someone knocked out—
[Social Roll]
[+30% Great Skill
+20% Looks like you know what you're doing
-10% March's Uncertainty
-10% Injured]
[7. Barely.]
You just have one thing you can say right now. "It's the best thing we have on hand right now." The second you finish that sentence, you give a respectful nod to March, and immediately focus back on Stelle.
You put your hand on her neck, and focus.
The world dims. Your hearing dulls. And before you know it, you close your eyes, and you open them to blackness.
You look down, into the empty void that is Stelle's consciousness.
Every Pathstrider has an Inner World of sorts that represents their soul, some of them manifesting it when they activate their Ultimates. Your Spirit Sync, when pushed like this, can go into those worlds, your very souls, emotions and some thoughts being shared. But Stelle…doesn't seem to have one. Where there would be stars, floor, or sea, there is only void.
You look up, and you see Stelle, trapped by her arms in purple string: likely a representation of Kafka's Whisper.
And behind her—oh Xipe.
The Stellaron beats like a miniature sun, grown to twenty times its size. It is the heart of this World, the object around which everything else orbits.
This will need to be a rush job. Behind you, the string on your pinkie is still there, holding you to the outside.
[Spiritual Roll]
[++???% Emanator
+???% Promise Made
-???% Light of The Stellaron]
[11. Just there.]
You take that string, and push against it, the knot letting go. A lack of other gravity pulls you toward Stelle. You take her body, and yank.
Her eyes flutter open. "What's happening…?" She groans.
"I'm getting you out of here." You respond.
The Spirit String goes back to you, flung by an invisible command. It wraps around your pinkie, as you wrap your arms around Stelle. You take it, and fly out of the Inner World before the scorch of the Stellaron hits you again.
As your eyes open, Stelle's do too. Behind you, March and Dan Heng gasp, surprised by her sudden awakening. You focus on Stelle, however.
"Alright, how many fingers am I holding up, Stelle?"
"Two?" She's correct. Next question.
"And what do you remember about Kafka and me?"
"I think that I knew her? And she might have mentioned you, a few times…"
Alright. That's good enough. You take Stelle's arm and together, you two get back up on your feet.
You take a good look at her. Despite having a fairly vacant look, you can see some of the cunning underneath that Kafka no doubt taught her.
Stelle
Kafka's old apprentice, and your new charge until Kafka's script says otherwise. A girl with incredible hidden potential, and a bit of a mischievous streak.
Kafka's old apprentice, and your new charge until Kafka's script says otherwise. A girl with incredible hidden potential, and a bit of a mischievous streak.
Dan Heng chimes in. "Excuse me, but can you explain what you just did? I believe I've seen that somewhere in the Astral Express's archives."
"It was my Spirit Sync," you respond, "it allowed me to get past some of the memory loss and mental trauma this girl had. She's essentially my niece anyways."
Technically you aren't lying, if you just omit the fact that it was easier to get past any trauma she may have had because Kafka erased it, and that she's only your niece (more like you're her godmother) because Kafka dropped her on you.
But well, it probably would be a good move not to mention Kafka considering she's wanted by roughly everyone in the galaxy.
"A Pterugean, then…" Dan Heng seems thoughtful.
March, however, seems a bit more engaged with the conversation. "Either way, we need to go. The Space Station just got attacked by the Antimatter Legion, and we came to help by the request of Lead Researcher Asta."
Stelle raises her hand, clearly still in a daze. "What's the Antimatter Legion?"
"What?"
March turns to you. "Is she ok?" She whispers, "I don't think that she should be missing that common knowledge, as a researcher here."
"She's not a researcher here," you whisper back, "she's my niece, I took her here while I was on a trip here for Herta. I think she's suffering from memory loss, so give her a break, ok?"
Again, that was all technically true, except for the "I took her here" part. It's more like she was taken to you.
March's expression turns sympathetic. "Amnesia, huh? That sucks. Hopefully she'll get better."
[Social Roll]
[Fairly close with March already. Auto pass.]
She's definitely known someone who's gone through amnesia before. She said that with too much familiarity with the subject to be anything else.
March turns back over to Stelle, and extends her hand. "Alright, then! What's your name?"
Stelle seems a bit surprised by the hand, but takes it. "I'm pretty sure it's Stelle."
"Ok, Stelle, let's go to the Master Control Zone up above. That's where all the other researchers and Asta are!"
Dan Heng goes to tap March on the shoulder. "Before we start going," he says, "I'll need to find Arlan on the upper floor. We lost connection with him a while back."
You look at him, before nudging Stelle over to his side. "Could you defend Stelle then, please? The elevator doesn't work, and you seem to be a fairly good fighter out of all of us here."
Stelle looks a bit confused, before shrugging and walking over to Dan. "I guess it would be good for me to stick with someone." she states nonchalantly.
"Dan, while you're up there, explain some stuff for Stelle, alright? Aeons, Paths, Factions, all that stuff. I really don't want to have to explain too much."
Dan Heng nods respectfully. "Alright then, Ms…"
"Shelley. I'm Shelley Marie, a retired Devil Hunter from Pteruges-V."
Dan Heng and Stelle run off together, as you turn to March 7th.
"By the way, who are you guys with again?"
March's look brightens up. "Oh! Me and Dan Heng are with the Astral Express, and we decided to help out with the rescue effort when we came here on one of our normal visits!"
Your eyes widen. The Astral Express? THE Astral Express known for carrying travelers and Trailblazers across the stars? The best space vessel of all time, formerly powered by a now deceased Aeon? THAT Astral Express?
You nod slowly. "Wow…must be awfully cool, all the things you get to see."
March nods enthusiastically. "Yup! Now c'mon, Dan Heng's going to get way ahead of us."
March runs up ahead. Now, you could just fly up using your Emanator side and leave behind everyone in the Sector, but there's no reason to just leave them in the dust. Besides, you're a fairly new Emanator, only a year in the bag so far. You'd much rather use your Devil Hunter powers instead of overextending your Emanator side and hurting yourself.
You two run through the sector at a brisk pace, March occasionally pointing out a few things here and there. Eventually however, trouble finds you, as it always does.
March is the first one to notice it, but you see it soon after. The Legion keeps on stalking around, and some mook soldiers block your path.
"Ah, it's the Antimatter Legion!" March says, "So these crazy jerks made it all the way here... Don't worry Ms. Shelley, watch this!"
March and the soldiers start charging at each other, but at the last second, March dodges, and fires an arrow made of ice straight into its face. You take the advantage given, by taking your trumpet and making a new dent in its face by bashing it in.
You keep moving, dodging and weaving through the blades, before playing a shrill note on trumpet. It sends a wide arc of fire through the battlefield, eliminating the remaining opponents.
"Wow Ms. Marie, you're a lot stronger than I thought you were!" March exclaims.
You grin, brushing aside your braids as you walk over to her. "Thanks, but I'm not that much older than you, so don't treat me like a grandma. Besides, I'm not a Devil Hunter for nothing."
You consciously choose to leave out the Emanator powers. People tend to treat you like you're above them when you say that, and you'd rather just be one of the people instead of their god.
You make it up to the elevator after that, and as you fruitlessly tap the control panel, March groans.
"Ah, I knew it—the Antimatter Legion must have broken it."
"That's possible," you respond, "I was riding in this elevator with Herta, but she's probably ditched that puppet body by now, and the elevator as well."
"Too bad Dan Heng's not here," March complains. "He's like a walking encyclopedia. He knows a ton of complicated stuff… maybe even elevator repair."
Just at that moment, Dan Heng and Stelle appear from behind. "Dan Heng doesn't know that one." Stelle dryly says.
"I don't know that one." Dan Heng repeats.
March is surprised. "Whoa! Why are you guys here?"
"While I was talking to Stelle," Dan Heng explains, "we took an upper route and saw you two from above."
"We saw that Security Captain guy, Arlan I think, and he was injured." Stelle says. "We should all get up there so that someone can help him."
"Alright then, what are we doing here?" March asks. "Let's go!"
You all go up, and there you see Arlan.
"Hey Arlan." You wave.
Arlan looks badly injured, his stomach having taken a few bad slashes. "Hello, Shelley."
If the others notice that you know each other, they don't show it. They then start talking, and you look over at Stelle. She's completely out of it, so you go to stand next to her while Arlan, March and Dan Heng start talking about what to do next.
(This one's a copy and pasted section from the game, because I couldn't figure out how Shelley or Stelle being there would make this conversation interesting at all. This won't happen much, trust me. Skip if you've already played or seen this quest.)
Arlan: Hey... you're all together?.
March 7th: Yep, we're from the Astral Express~
Arlan: Oh... Did Madam Herta send you to help?
Dan Heng: It's just a coincidence. We came to deliver the rare relic Herta trusted us to find... We didn't expect to arrive during an invasion.
March 7th: Why is the Antimatter Legion targeting you guys? It seems they just ignored the surface of the planet and came straight to the space station.
Arlan: I... have no idea. The Legion came at a very suspicious time…almost right after the security system suddenly failed.
Arlan: Lady... Lead Researcher Asta immediately began to organize the evacuation. I was supposed to cover everyone as they evacuated, but... I didn't expect to end up failing in this task.
Dan Heng: Don't be too hard on yourself. Your leg and dominant hand were injured. It was a wise decision to hide here and avoid a head-on encounter with the Legion.
March 7th: Yeah! Most of the staff have been evacuated safely, so right now our highest priority is to return to the master control zone and plan a counterattack! So... do you know how to use the elevator? I couldn't start it...
Arlan: After the evacuation was complete, the elevators were all shut down to keep the Legion away from the master control zone.
Arlan: Since Lady Asta sent you to look for me, I assume she must've given you the encryption key for accessing the elevator system?
March 7th: Oh, right, she did give me some sort of card...
Dan Heng: ...March...
March 7th: But where did I put it...
Arlan: You...
March 7th: Ah! Here it is!
Dan Heng: …
Arlan: Hey... you're all together?.
March 7th: Yep, we're from the Astral Express~
Arlan: Oh... Did Madam Herta send you to help?
Dan Heng: It's just a coincidence. We came to deliver the rare relic Herta trusted us to find... We didn't expect to arrive during an invasion.
March 7th: Why is the Antimatter Legion targeting you guys? It seems they just ignored the surface of the planet and came straight to the space station.
Arlan: I... have no idea. The Legion came at a very suspicious time…almost right after the security system suddenly failed.
Arlan: Lady... Lead Researcher Asta immediately began to organize the evacuation. I was supposed to cover everyone as they evacuated, but... I didn't expect to end up failing in this task.
Dan Heng: Don't be too hard on yourself. Your leg and dominant hand were injured. It was a wise decision to hide here and avoid a head-on encounter with the Legion.
March 7th: Yeah! Most of the staff have been evacuated safely, so right now our highest priority is to return to the master control zone and plan a counterattack! So... do you know how to use the elevator? I couldn't start it...
Arlan: After the evacuation was complete, the elevators were all shut down to keep the Legion away from the master control zone.
Arlan: Since Lady Asta sent you to look for me, I assume she must've given you the encryption key for accessing the elevator system?
March 7th: Oh, right, she did give me some sort of card...
Dan Heng: ...March...
March 7th: But where did I put it...
Arlan: You...
March 7th: Ah! Here it is!
Dan Heng: …
You really need to give her a good scolding for being so irresponsible later. It's gonna be a pain having to care for Stelle considering how much you travel.
Speaking of Stelle, you look over at her, and she's probably a minute from falling asleep. You give her a nudge. "Hey kid, wake up, we're going."
Stelle's eyes snap back into focus just as March, Dan Heng, and Arlan start booting up the repulsor bridges.
"Thanks, Ms. Shelley, I was spacing out there." Stelle's eyes look over into yours. "While we're talking, do you know anything about Kafka? I think before I went to sleep, she started talking to you…"
You twirl around one of your braids. "She's my friend: almost a sister to me, honestly. While I never heard of you before today, she told me to take care of you."
Stelle looks interested. "Do you know anything about why she put me here? She seemed to know what was going on way more than I did."
"Sorry kid," you say, "while Kafka's my friend, I don't know anything more about the Stellaron Hunters that she's with than you do."
Over in the background, the conversation finishes.
"Alright," Arlan groans out, "I'm coming with you."
"Make sure to not make that leg injury any worse than it is, ok?" You say.
Stelle chimes in. "You can use me as a crutch."
…yeah, she'll definitely be an odd kid. Why couldn't Kafka have trained someone normal?
…oh come on, you already know the answer to that question. It's Kafka, she'd never be "normal."
You all make your way down to the elevator, snagging a Light Cone for Stelle on the way, until you're at the edge of the platform once more.
"Is that it? We've reached the elevator already? That wasn't too many monsters~" March says cheerfully. However, her expression sours as she realizes.
"Oof, probably shouldn't have said that... Might bring bad luck."
"On Pteruges, we have an expression, speak of the Devils, and they shall appear." You comment.
And true to form, multiple Voidrangers from the Legion pop in. There's a concerning amount now, they likely increased how many they sent to account for you. At minimum, you count fifty.
"Everybody!" Dan Heng warns, "I think it's time to go."
It's because of you that everyone's in this situation. Now it's up to you to choose how to get of it.
Thanks to your choice last update, you have achieved Relationship Level 1 with March. (Thinks You're A Cool Adult)
[ ] Fight The Legion [DANGEROUS]
You did it well enough last time. But you didn't have an injury back then. But at the same time, you could stand to get closer with the Astral Express if you hold off the Legion together…
Note: this will have you coordinate all units for your first combat vote. Combat will be explained in the below tutorial box.
Combat
Since most rolls are fairly simple, combat is based on planning and narrative. You'll have to choose the tactics that each combatant will carry out, and then all of them will fight as a team. Your Primary Strategy will decide the main strategy for everyone to fall back on if their rolls fail or the enemy unleashes something you didn't plan for.
Combatants are broken up into three categories: Offense, Defense, and Support. As for You/Shelley, you have both offense and support, choosing someone to support will allow you to give Spirit Sync to one person, buffing both you and them for the duration of the fight. Shelley can both fight and support, but results will be better if you choose one.
Since most rolls are fairly simple, combat is based on planning and narrative. You'll have to choose the tactics that each combatant will carry out, and then all of them will fight as a team. Your Primary Strategy will decide the main strategy for everyone to fall back on if their rolls fail or the enemy unleashes something you didn't plan for.
Combatants are broken up into three categories: Offense, Defense, and Support. As for You/Shelley, you have both offense and support, choosing someone to support will allow you to give Spirit Sync to one person, buffing both you and them for the duration of the fight. Shelley can both fight and support, but results will be better if you choose one.
[ ] Plan (Write In)
-[ ] Primary Strategy (Write In)
You
-[ ] Shelley will… (Write In)
—[ ] Shelley supports…(Write In, March or Stelle recommended)
Defense
-[ ] March will… (Write In)
Offense
-[ ] Stelle will… (Write In)
-[ ] Dan Heng will… (Write In)
[ ] Run
Don't just stand there, Shelley! If March 7th's friend is telling you to run, run! Slap that elevator button and move!
Remember when I said you'd get some combat in the next update? I may have miscounted. If you want a cool fight, go over to the side story for the Knight I posted last update. Sorry. Ok, back to chapter discussion.
In case you're still confused about Inner Worlds, they're not canon, it's just my way of explaining the random stuff that pops up during the Ultimates in the game. See Asta's Ultimate (the stars are just…there?) and Jing Yuan's (manifests a storm on command I guess) to see what I'm talking about. Going into them will also be the way Shelley's powers manifest in certain scenes, so watch out for that.
Stelle acts like a bit less of a mannequin thanks to Shelley's Spirit Ability sort of counteracting Kafka's. This basically serves to make her into less of a random amnesiac during the first arc, because otherwise she just mostly acts dazed and confused for the first part. She also has a few vague memories about Kafka…that may come up later.
And finally, I tried to make this update fun, but it's the tutorial mission. If there is any way to make this update better, please tell me, because I've got no clue.
In case you're still confused about Inner Worlds, they're not canon, it's just my way of explaining the random stuff that pops up during the Ultimates in the game. See Asta's Ultimate (the stars are just…there?) and Jing Yuan's (manifests a storm on command I guess) to see what I'm talking about. Going into them will also be the way Shelley's powers manifest in certain scenes, so watch out for that.
Stelle acts like a bit less of a mannequin thanks to Shelley's Spirit Ability sort of counteracting Kafka's. This basically serves to make her into less of a random amnesiac during the first arc, because otherwise she just mostly acts dazed and confused for the first part. She also has a few vague memories about Kafka…that may come up later.
And finally, I tried to make this update fun, but it's the tutorial mission. If there is any way to make this update better, please tell me, because I've got no clue.
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