TERRACE Draft - Remaining Days

[lucetimods]

Who: All Draftees
What: All hell breaks loose
When: From the 27th to the 1st.
Where: TERRACE!
Summary: Information post here
Rating: Varies on thread, please mark explicit material.

This post covers the second to sixth day! Be sure to check the info post on the timeline to know what's up. At 2AM on the 27th, the attack will break out while most people are sleeping. Be sure to use the above info post for any plotting needs you might have. Enjoy!

Some random NPC quotes about the island itself.

Be sure to tag this post appropriately: [canon] character name

Comments

[accepted]

28th

[Though he's soon up and awake, it takes Caius a moment or so to catch on and start getting ready once the alarm has gone off. It's while he's fitting his arm guard that he hears about the large number of cultists raining down which spurs him on to get out there as fast as he can.

He's soon throwing himself into the battle once he's made it outside. Nearby opponents get to deal with his swords whilst those that are closing in will have numerous shockwaves to avoid as Caius throws out arte after arte to keep the fight manageable.]

29th

[A minimal break is all he could manage before returning to battle, using his time to get something to eat and get his head down for a few minutes. Though enough to make him feel refreshed it's far from helping him last the entire day. He spends most of his time transformed, smashing cultists with his fists repeatedly to keep them away. Should a Shifter get near and forcefully revert him to his human self then he returns to using his sword to deal with things, but at a much slower, toiling pace.]

31st

[Considering he had heard T5 was suffering from an ongoing thunderstorm he was quite surprised to find it clear and sunny. What's more there's no fighting. Instead he finds himself in a village quite similar to the one he grew up in, but the buildings are far grander. He walks around, exploring the place before arriving at what would be his home. Inside his father is waiting for him, as are his childhood friend and her parents. He feels a mix of total disbelief and overwhelming happiness as he heads inside and shuts the door behind him.

Should anyone find Caius trapped by a dream shifter in T5 and enter his dream then they'll find him playing games with a pink haired girl and some other children while his father, Ramrus, watches from afar.]

30th

[fallenambitions]

[Alexei has been given the job to hunt some Shifters that have infiltrated the TERRENCE and turning the droids against them. It was a difficult task when most were likely in disguised as an MSF soldiers or a civilian. He'll try not to outright kill them if he realizes they're not the enemy.

He felt sure this time he found one. There was a group of droids moving off to one hallway, so he'll take this opportunity to slip pass them and attack the first person he sees. An MSF soldier. Anyone walking into this will probably get the wrong impression, but whatever, he's confident this guy was behind those droids.]

[accepted]

[The wrong impression has certainly been gotten all right. When Caius shows up, carrying his sword and out of breath from fighting with a a few cultists along the way, he soon starts running towards Alexei.]

Hey, what are you doing?! He's on our side!

[Sure he's heard the rumours going around about cultists disguising themselves to get around the city, but they're still just rumours to him.]

[fallenambitions]

[What--? Oh, gdit Caius. He'd love to tell you what's going on, but the culprit is taking this opportunity to get away. So he's gonna be busy stopping the soldier with an Raging Ice Fang. It certainly knocks the guy down at least]

[accepted]

[Well you could always tell him really quick what's up, but all he's getting is a guying trying to flee from Alexei while he continues to attack him with a bunch of ice. That wrong impression? Yeah. Emphasis on the wrong.]

Are you listening to me?! Stop it, you can't fight like this!

[Having caught up now, Caius makes sure to place himself between the downed soldier and Alexei so to hopefully stop any further attacks.]

We're meant to be helping each other, not fighting.

[fallenambitions]

[That certainly stops Alexei for the moment. He won't sheathe his blade though.]

Stand aside, Caius. I assure you, that soldier is not on our side.

[accepted]

And how would you know that, huh?! You're wrong!

[It's mostly his anger that seems to have flared up over the past minute that fuels that statement. He won't just believe the soldier isn't with them just like that, not when it seemed like he was being unjustly attacked from his side.]

[fallenambitions]

Did you not hear? There are Shifters in disguise as our allies. [He doesn't want to attack Caius, but that soldier was getting back to his senses and will likely move at any moment.]

He's one of them, controlling the droids that just missed us. [And they can be back at any minute.]

[accepted]

I've heard about it. [...] But if he was a real Shifter then you wouldn't be able to use that arte just now, right?

[His experience with Shifters mostly consists of fighting against them with his powers blocked, so surely the same would apply here. That ice he saw should not have been possible if there really was a Shifter around.]

[fallenambitions]

... [Dammit, Caius made him second guess himself. But he's positive he saw that soldier with those droids! What if this soldier was merely toying with them to believe they weren't the enemy?]

You make a valid point...[Alexei still won't lower his weapon though. Another soldier runs up behind them while they were talking to check on the downed man.]

[accepted]

[That settles it then. Alexei has the wrong guy. Another soldier showing up to help the other only makes him more confident that Alexei is in the wrong here.]

I've fought with Shifters before, I know what they can do. [He keeps his own sword drawn as he talks.] Now back off.

[fallenambitions]

... [The two soldiers were on their feet. Just as Alexei was about to accept that he might have been wrong, droids started appearing behind the two soldiers. Behind Alexei, the other set of droids from before had caught up with them.

This is far too much of coincidence.]

Looks like we have some company.

[accepted]

What!? Damn...

[With a pack of droids behind Alexei and another behind the two soldiers, Caius keeps his ground. The soldiers could take the group behind him, right? That leaves the others for himself and Alexei to deal with.]

31st

[tolivefortoday]

[ Yun had hoped she wouldn't have to venture this far from the secured zones or the medical teams, but with so many people scattered throughout TERRACE, it was inevitable. She's been following her instincts on a whim, on where to go, though when they lead her straight into a sudden change of scenery, she falters.

Was this...?

Of course. She's heard of the dream shifters, but she's never encountered them before. For a few seconds she worries she's trapped in her own dream, but no, she wouldn't be aware of it, would she? The worry is quickly dismissed, especially as the sound of children playing draws her attention elsewhere, among them familiar face. ]

Caius?

[accepted]

Hey, Yun! [He stops playing around for a moment so he can wave, but it's not long before a boy runs up behind him and slaps him on the back.] You can't get me back now, not when I'm talking to someone!

[That's not fair at all! The kid runs off again to go chase someone else, allowing Caius to walk over to Yun.]

We're playing tag, you can join in if you like.

[tolivefortoday]

[ Yun watches the other boy run off with an odd look on her face, bemused if nothing else. ]

I see that, but I'm afraid I'll have to pass. [ Which is a shame. She never got to play tag with the other girls in her own village, always watching from afar, as it would have to be now as well. Pushing that thought aside, she refocused on Caius. ] Where are we?

[accepted]

Back home. Uh, my home anyway. This is Fern. [...] How did you manage to get here--?

[He doesn't have time to finish the question before the pink haired girl from before walks up behind him and pokes him on the shoulder. "Who's this, Caius? Don't you want to introduce me to your new friend?"]

What? It's not that, I thought you were still off playing with the others. ["You really need to pay better attention, I stopped playing ages ago!"] Well I can't keep an eye on you all the time, my eyes would get sore! ["What did you say!?"]

[The two continue to bicker back and forth like this whilst seemingly forgetting about why they started arguing in the first place. Something about introductions.]

[tolivefortoday]

Your home... [ That really does settle it. They're in trouble. ] Caius, we--

[ But Yun stops talking when the pink-haired girl walks up. She watches as they fall to bickering instead and purses her lips, frowning, worried. Her gaze moves around them, picking out the other children and then the older man, the one watching from a little ways away.

Which one was it?

She looks back at Caius and his friend, giving them a few seconds more to argue before she decides to interrupt by introducing herself, speaking loudly enough to be heard over their own voices. ]

Hello. I'm Yun. I'm sorry for interrupting your game.

[accepted]

[Yun's introduction soon grabs the pink girl's attention, dropping her argument with Caius almost immediately to address her.

"That's okay, I was feeling a little tired anyway. My name is Rubia, it's nice to meet someone who has enough manners to introduce themselves." Rubia shoots Caius a quick glance, causing him to grumble and look off to the side.]

I was going to introduce you when I had the chance...

[The other children start to walk off now, having realised two of the people playing had dropped out. His father is still there to keep a watch over things, busying himself with reading a book and looking over every now and then to make sure everything is okay.]

[tolivefortoday]

[ Yun would laugh at that if this weren't so serious, but she'll settle on smiling instead. ]

He is who he is, I'm afraid. Mannerlessness included. I'm sorry, though... [ Sorry for what, Rubia will never know. That's all the time for smalltalk they have. She turns towards Caius, reaching out a hand for his nearest arm. ] Caius. We can't stay here. We have to go.

[accepted]

[He's about to go on to defend himself, insisting he does have manners and all that, but he's distracted by the hand reaching out for him.]

Huh? What are you talking about, go where?

[There's still plenty to do around the village with his friends and family, going somewhere else now would be stupid. Rubia seems very unsure about this, seeing as some girl has just shown up and wants Caius to leave, but she too is curious about what Yun is going on about and decides to hear her out.]

[tolivefortoday]

Back to the TERRACE. We're still there, Caius. You only think you're back home, but none of this is real. If it were, I certainly couldn't be here. I've never been a part of your world.

[ Hopefully simple logic will get through to him, but if not... She wonders just how drastic she'll have to get to break them free of this. ]

[accepted]

[Simple logic alone seems like it'll do the trick. At first he wants to argue back that she's wrong, that this is his home, but if that were the case then Yun couldn't be here. If he was really home then his dad his certainly wouldn't be here, not now.

He looks down at the ground, giving himself time to think the situation over again. Part of him wishes Yun was wrong, at least then he wouldn't have to admit to himself that for just a short time he was tricked into believing that a world that's too perfect to be true had fooled him.

Rubia seems to take this news far differently though, she can't seem to understand what Yun is saying or why Caius reacted the way he did, but she doesn't have time to speak up. By now Ramrus had walked over, lightly put a hand on Rubia's shoulder and told her to head home to her parents. He proceeds to stand at Caius' side and address Yun with the same, serious tone he would use when he scolds his son.

"I refuse to let you upset my son by talking to him any further."]

[tolivefortoday]

[ A father scolding an Alma Kinan girl is a curious idea, but one that holds no power, especially not when she knows none of this is real.

Yun pins the man with a cool, piercing look, certainly not an expression she wears often and certainly not one Caius will have ever witnessed. Before she's always smiled and laughed at most things, at worst she might frown or pout, but never this. ]

How dare you call him your son. How cruel can you be? [ She doesn't step away from Caius at all, nor does she plan on taking her hand away from his arm. No, she'll stand her ground. ] This is the only chance I'm giving you to let him go and leave with your own life. Don't be so foolish to mistake us for defenseless children.

[accepted]

["The only cruel one here is you, speaking nonsense in front of my boy. Don't listen to her, Caius."

Caius does not respond at first, having looked up to notice Yun's change in expression and the man he knows as his father looking down at her. He looks up to his father, staring at him intently before speaking up.]

This place isn't real.

[This person might look and act like his father, but that's it. They can't be his father, it's just not possible. Caius keeps his eyes locked on Ramrus, his hands soon clenching into fists and his arms tensing up as he continues.]

And neither are you. Who are you?