DEPLOYMENT 2: It'll Be a Gas! (Stage 2->4)

[walking_nuke]

[It's not even been a week and Balin's already getting a first-hand taste of Mayfield's machinations. Since he wound up in the shoes of a construction worker, he's been unable to avoid being exposed to that floral truth-serum gas pervading the town. Over the course of the 14th, the effects rapidly worsen.]

A. [ACTION - STAGE 2 (After work, all

Comments

[puppeteerings]

Mm. At first, everyone received a census that included odd questions, such as 'what do you fear most', 'who means most to you', and 'what do you desire most'. Anyone who filled it were forced to answer truthfully, and the census form became indestructible after it's complete. Some time later, a portion of the citizens received a letter, which included the information of someone else in town that they were assigned to kill. Everyone woke up that day with their regains gone, so we all started on equal footing. People were pressured with what they answered on the census as incentive, and I do believe that some began hallucinating on the 4th day or so, if they had yet to perform a single kill. With each kill, something is returned, and a new target is assigned after the initial one has been eliminated, usually the target that your target previously had. The killed were also not revived the day after. For a week, the dead stayed dead, but after that timeframe has passed, everyone came back

[walking_nuke]

[Balin stays silent as Touko explains, but he's audibly writing as she does.]

... Jeez ... Caesar wasn't kidding about turnin' people's fears against 'em then. Shoulda figured how far'a town'd go to get people to kill in cold blood.

[Balin sounds mildly disturbed by her account of Black Mage.]

Doesn't sound like Black Mage needed any extra motivation for'at, though. Damn.

Did'ose guys who killed somebody keep what they regained after it was over?

Bwuh sorry for the late LJ's downtime didn't help...

[puppeteerings]

I've heard of instances when "hazmats" were deployed as well. They are men in white suits wielding axes, and if you manage to puncture the exterior, there's nothing inside but poisonous gas. Investing in a mask may not be a bad idea too, if you want to be as cautious as possible.

[Yeah the town had to... "adapt". Though his take on evil is so cartoonish despite being still awful that... it got... hard to take wholly seriously for her, to be completely frank.]

He's also doctor here, from what I've heard. He terrorizes the patients on a daily basis. If you need healing, might be best to go to the Church instead of the hospital; curative crafts of a magical nature are quicker anyway, compared to the medical treatments of this era.

Ah, they lost it all. Or rather, things went back to how they were before it all started, though people were returned a possession or an ability shortly after. As you might've already heard, regains tend to happen after an event of some sort.

It's all good. :D I've been frustrated with the DDoS botnet, too.

[walking_nuke]

[Balin can be heard writing and murmuring about the hazmats. Definitely taking notes. It almost sounds like he mutters "AP mines might work" while writing.]

Oh you gotta be kidding me. Mayfield lets someone like'at Mage work at'a hospital? ... Wait, no, that's pretty much in line with everythin' I've heard about'is town so far ... the Church has got padres trained in medicine? Or ...

[It's okay, Balin. You can say it.]

Healin' magic? Yeah, I'll look there in case somethin' happens.

But ... yeah, I'd heard about'a whole deal of us gettin' our stuff back bit by bit over time. Guess it's good enough that they didn't keep everything they got from'at event. I'm sure'is town'd've gone'a hell in short order.

[A pause.]

Well, more'an it already is.

Seems like things are coming back in order now at least... :|b

[puppeteerings]

This town has a very twisted sense of humor, yes. Just remember that after death, people come back the second day without retaining any wounds; the body is easily repaired, but it's the mind that'll keep getting worn down. In a place like this, keeping your thoughts straight is more crucial than staying alive. [That's her piece of advice, going by what she's already seen of this place.]

Both would be my guess. The sister that I've briefly spoken to made no secret that healing is offered as a public service. [What's wrong with magecraft... Though the spiritual healing they practice at the Church is more sacrament than thaumaturgy, but it closes wounds and gets the job done. Ah, with how familiar she is with the human body, she can serve as a surgeon herself, but if there are already people volunteering for the job, why put herself out too?]

The town can tip everything to chaos at the drop of a hat, but there are still some strange rules of order that it insists on abiding by. [You can't hear it but you can probably picture the shrug

Yeah. I hate having to spam "Refresh" just to view pages though. T_T

[walking_nuke]

Seems to me like they both go hand in hand, though, you know? With'a folks who flipped out with'at "spring culling."

still, I'ma soldier. If it comes to it, I ain't afraid'a kill people threatenin' me. Just ... gotta figure out how'a handle'a big bruisers in'a neighborhood without my Logos Abilities.

[The tone in Balin voice implies that it's not necessarily the idea of magic that's got him uncomfortable with saying that; after all, he's had a few years to get used to the Logos system. He's just unused to thinking of clergy as having intrinsic powers. It reminds him too much of D&D!]

Anyway, so a nun's doin' that healin' business? What's her name, just so I know who'a ask for?

[And a beat later ...]

Speakin'a which, what's your name? Don't recall ya mentionin' it.

Little by little, it's getting back there...

[puppeteerings]

Mm, probably, it's also a question of perspective. Depends on how much the concept of dying terrifies you, even with the knowledge that you'll wake up again as if nothing has happened.

Hah. Support will become a bigger asset than offense is my theory, but there is a brand of solidarity here that runs between all the captives. Our enemy is common, after all, and more or less everyone is looking for a way out. It won't hurt to be cautious, but you're more likely to run into some allies first before you make an enemy in town.

The head priest is named Kirei Kotomine, and the nun, Ciel. You'll probably meet with at least one if you visit; to my knowledge, neither are particularly hard to get a hold of. You can ask over the phones, too; there are others in town versed in healing magic, they simply don't advertise it like the Church does.

[...hah] Touko. Aozaki, Touko. And yourself?

[walking_nuke]

Well, I've been clinically dead before, more an'a few times. Dyin' in combat's not fun, even temporarily. An' don't get me started on resuscitation sickness. Even if death's cheap-cheaper here, I ain't gonna roll over for'a ones that'll try to kill me.

An'at's true we got a common enemy, but-if stuff like'at "spring culling" is any indication, there's people here that'll turn on others in'a town if'a right buttons're pressed. I'd be more trustin' of allies I know'a town's gonna have to outright brainwash to make 'em turn on their buddies.

[He sounds like he's writing some things down.] Alright, Kirei Kotomine ... an' Ciel's'a nun. Got it.

[The way Touko introduces herself sounds almost like "Bond. James Bond." to Balin's ears!]

So you're Aozaki Touko-wait, that's ... Japanese, right? Last names first, so your first name's Touko?

Oh, an' I guess ya didn't hear earlier-I'm Sergeant First Class Balin Wilbur, Logos Receptive an' Demolitionist of'a Army of Allied Free Sentients.

[Standard name and rank thing.]

[puppeteerings]

Oh, so revival is possible in your world? Haha, sounds like you'll be fine here, if you're already accustomed to that much. Most people aren't.

Admittedly, it's very... circumstantial. Well, you haven't been here for that long yet, right? Give it some time and look around. You can draw your own conclusions.

Mm, that's right. Japan's very finicky with honorifics, but given that we're in America anyway, just Touko is fine. My, that's quite the title. What would you prefer to be called here, Sergeant?

[walking_nuke]

Yeah, but it's a thin window before you're too far gone-if you're biologically dead, it's game over for real.

Way I see it, it's not that far off from what'ey used to do in hospitals back home; you know, put you down far enough so'ey can operate on you? Where your lungs an' heart stop workin' but you're not actually completely dead? It's just that'ey can reliably bring you back from that kinda death on'a battlefield now, an' reverse a lot of'a bodily trauma caused by bein' down for'a count.

[A beat.]

But it still sucks to die. And ... Receptives're given priority on resuscitation equipment over regulars, just 'cause'a what we are. So people still die for good ... a lot.

[He takes a few moments before responding to the rest of it.]

Yeah, I've only been here for a few days-[Considering this is still a phone call from the 14th of July~]-but I'll definitely keep my eyes open

I swear I didn't forget I just got..... busy.... /sob

[puppeteerings]

Ah, so it's just a wider margin. [she sounds understanding.] Fair enough, but in a sense... If one doesn't understand the gravity of death, they also can't understand the full worth of life. Hang onto that if you know; it may get hard in Mayfield.

[A low chuckle.] It's America now, so don't worry about it. You can call me "Touko-san" if you'd like, but I don't mind. The Japanese are considered to be very polite and humble contrasted to the rest of the world, so while honorifics exist in every language, it's just there in particular that the differences and nuances are far more important than most, if not any, other country.

I've never been in the military, so I can't say, but if you don't mind the title, I'll drop it and go with Wilbur. How about that?

It's all good! I CAN GO FO' DAYS, ALL DAY

[walking_nuke]

Don't worry, I ain't plannin' on goin' postal or anything. The town's gonna hafta brainwash me to make me kill innocent people by choice.

Ahright, well, if you guys don't use 'em here I won't. But yeah, you can go with Wilbur. Or Balin, whichever.

Thanks ;u;/

[puppeteerings]

But if you're brainwashed, it's no longer a choice, is it? They have an expression here; "knock on wood". Do you know what that means?

Wilbur sounds fine. Nice to meet you~ [She sounds pretty lighthearted about it, now that the technical jargon has been mostly gotten out of the way.]

/no1

[walking_nuke]

-Oh. Yeah, you gotta point there. Guess it'd be better to say they'd have to brainwash me to make me kill innocent people intentionally. But yeah, I know that phrase. It'd be just my luck for somethin' like'at to happen.

It's been nice to meet you, too-just wish this fuckin' truth gas or whatever it is would just go'a hell away already.

[puppeteerings]

[She chuckles.] That's right, so be careful with what you say and wish for. This town tends to twist everything, as it has proven and will probably continue to do so again.

Has it really been that bad? You could be spilling some deep dark secret of your scarring past, or embarrassing situations that you've found yourself experience, one way or another. Contrasted to some of the things I've already heard, you may just have gotten off easy this time.

[walking_nuke]

Heh, well, I already kinda spilled my guts to you an' everyone else I've talked to ... 'cept for'a fact that I abuse painkillers an'adrenaline shots-

... Fuck.