closed ❖ our minds are troubled by the emptiness

[conciliant]

🧙 WHO: 2B & others
⚔️️ WHAT: July catch-all!
🕒 WHEN: Throughout the month
🗺️ WHERE: Wherever the threads happen
⚠️ WARNINGS: N/A

Some closed threads for the month! If you'd like to plot something with 2B, please feel free to hit me up via PM or @ crystariums, or at the cr meme and I would be happy to do a starter 💖

Comments

nines.

[conciliant]

[The several days trek up the Ash Mountains doesn't bother 2B in the least. While the androids don't require rest the same way that humans do, the idea of "camping" like they do did pique her interest, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't intrigued by it or what it entailed. With some help from both 9S and their pod units, the pair was able to set up a typical campsite without too much trouble, with a tent and a campfire just like the humans do! She doesn't need it, but she's even brought a fishing rod in case the opportunity presents itself!

She hunches over the fire, lifting her hands as if seeking its warmth. She feels comfortable, but... this is how it's done, right?]

We'll stay here for a night. [Her voice is gentle when she addresses 9S.] We need to make sure the care package gets to the research facility.

[Just to be clear on what her expectations are. She doesn't want to burst his bubble too much, but they still have a job to do! She moves on quick, leaving no room for an argument.]

Do you remember the cave just off the path? The map didn't say anything about one.

[scandroid]

Yeah, that was kinda weird.

[ Why would the map not identify it? It might seem like an unimportant detail to a human cartographer, but to scanner units like him, it's inconceivable to leave any information out of a scouting report. It's been bothering him for a while, even if he is enjoying this moment with 2B right now. Camping is pretty fun...!! ]

It could be uncharted territory. I know we have our mission, but we can't just leave it unmarked either...

[ Is he being a responsible scout or just overly curious right now? Could be a bit of both! ]

[conciliant]

[She hopes it's the former!

Never one to stray too far from their mission, it's rare that 2B ever agrees to do so, but she does make exceptions every now and then.]

I agree.

[There could be a very legitimate reason that the cave remained unmarked, or it could be as simple as the humans missing it when building the map. Either way, it's better that they do check than not, and knowing 9S, something like this is exactly the type of thing he would not stop thinking about until it was solved.]

They may not know that it's there, or it could be that it's too dangerous to map out. But we have some time before the sun goes down.

[She thinks, anyway. The night and day cycle is still something she's getting used to here.]

"Affirmative. The time until sunset is approximately three hours and twenty-two minutes."

[scandroid]

[ He's visibly surprised at her compliance, although very relieved that he doesn't have to negotiate her into going along with him. Not that he'd have much sway to begin with... perhaps pleading to be allowed to explore would have been a better word for it. ]

Aw, c'mon, you just really wanna know what's in there, too, right?

[ She's definitely not built like him, but he cannot imagine someone not being curious... ]

Why don't we make it a game and try to guess what we'll find? You should go first, 2B!

[conciliant]

[His question is met with silence, and his suggestion gets a glance in return.

She is a little curious to know what's going on with it, and why the map has been wrong since they got partway up the mountain, but her intentions mostly lie in wanting to protect the city from whatever it could be that's living in there should it prove to be dangerous.

But that doesn't mean she won't humour him a little. She pauses to think about it for a moment, her hands lowering from the fire.]

An large animal of some kind. [The next words come as if it's a completely foreign concept to her, and the air quotes are audible in her voice.] A "mama bear" and her cub.

[She only really knows about them after meeting another girl with a bear for a familiar, and she'd explained what it was and that there was such a thing as a "mama bear". It was the first time 2B had ever seen one, so needless to say, she asked some questions.]

Maybe the humans didn't want to disturb them.

[As she rises and brushes her dress, she gestures to him.]

And you?

din.

[conciliant]

["Someone who can fight." 2B fits that bill, and so here she is, volunteering to help free a slime.

What she didn't expect was her partner to look the way Din does, and it immediately puts her on her guard. She's learning not to trust the outward appearances that others here have, as their worlds have all been vastly different from one another's, but... it's still a process—a very steep learning curve to go against what her initial instincts have programmed her to do. The helmet is very deceiving!!

So, the moment they meet, she's immediately turning to her support unit: the small metal box hovering behind her.]

Pod, scan for artificial lifeforms.

[The unit behind her makes a whirring noise, like it's processing something.]

"Negative. No artificial lifeforms detected."

[Hello. Nice to meet you.]

[friendsallover]

[Din is also someone who can fight so between the two of them they should be able to manage. Though he is also not someone who is the best at social graces, rarely introducing himself and usually just there to get the job done so he can get paid.

He's immediately on guard as the unit starts scanning. It had to be droids, didn't it? But he can do this. He's worked with droids before. He can do it again.]

It's just armour.

Are you here for the quest?

[conciliant]

[2B's defensive stance relaxes, as does the hand at her side that had been prepared to reach around for one of her swords at a moment's notice.]

I am.

[If it weren't for the visor over her eyes, he'd be able to see her looking him up and down with her eyes during the moment's silence that follows before she's walking away, towards the magma and the pods that this slime has apparently fallen behind.]

You shouldn't need so much armour for this.

[friendsallover]

I feel better with it on. You never know what you might encounter.

[He lives a rough life, and to not wear the armour would feel wrong. It's as much a part of him as anything.]

[conciliant]

[Another lingering look, perhaps a bit judging too, before she leads on to the lava pool where this supposed stuck geode slime awaits their help. She pauses, the toes of her heeled boots stopping short of the safe edge where she can feel the heat billowing up at her face.]

I've never helped a geode slime before, so I don't know where to start. Reach back there and grab it?

kaeya.

[conciliant]

[While she isn't too keen to return to Celliwig after the events that transpired when they attempted to leave the place, the call for help was too much for her to resist. Not only is helping the humans here important to her, but the need for money is something she needs to start worrying about here. It wasn't so much a concern back on Earth, but here, nothing is given to her regardless of need or want.

She enters Diamond Falls again, wandering down into the lava chamber. It's her second time being down here after partaking in the ritual, but she remains wary of the place. The further down she goes, the hotter it gets, and she's just waiting for Pod's warning to come up again.

Further and further she goes until she spots a man, alone, who she can only assume is who she'll be working with today. He looks normal enough from a cursory glance—nothing out of the ordinary—so she approaches without hesitation.]

You're here for the job?

[cryostar]

[Naturally, Kaeya couldn't help but be intrigued by the job.

Even if he dislikes heat to a certain extent.

But he figures it'd be a good chance for him to properly explore this world and what better than to go down to a place filled with lava and other potential disasters?

Kaeya glances over at her.]

I am. Are you going to be my partner for this job?

[Half teasing, half serious. Though he's not quite sure how well versed in fighting this person is.]

[conciliant]

Yes.

[Her answer is given in a curt manner, her voice as stiff as ever. The heat certainly isn't helping—if androids could get cranky about it, then she would be well on her way there—but she's not going to complain. Not outwardly, at least, but it's hard to mask these things sometimes.]

My name is YoRHa unit Number 2, Type B—er, 2B.

[She really needs to stop introducing herself so formally. Baby steps! She'll get there. But she wastes no time in walking past him and to the pool of magma at the edge of the room.]

Let's save a slime, shall we?

[Straight to the point, this one.]

[cryostar]

[A slow blink.

A robot then? He didn't think he'd run into any here.

Still, he follows after her.]

After you, milady.

[conciliant]

[The two of them won't make much progress standing here, but 2B simply looks to him again, not sure where to go now, or how to go about finding this slime.

But first things first, as she stops at the edges of the lava pool:]

I gave you my name, but I didn't catch yours.

drake mallard/darkwing duck.

[conciliant]

[It's only curiosity getting the better of 2B that brought her to the carnival, after hemming and hawing about going for the first day, it isn't until the second that she decides to finally bite the bullet and go—on her own, of course. Having 9S around with her would only complicate matters and would make it very difficult to leave as soon as she wanted to.

But there's something a bit off about things near the carnival grounds when she arrives. It isn't all fun and games like she imagined it would be, but instead... A man runs past her screaming with his hands over his head and behind him, a wet sponge leaving behind a trail of water and bubbles chases after him.]

Hm?

[And in between wondering if she can help him, there's a distressed beep that comes from her Pod.]

"Alert: An excess of water can cause damage to a support units—"

[When she turns around, there's another sponge trying to wipe it down, sopping with water and soapy foam that threatens to consume the pod whole. And when she goes to shoo it away...? She feels something catching and tugging in her hair.]

What the—!?

[SOMEONE HELP.]

[flapsin]

[As for Drake, he needed no persuading to check out the carnival. It seemed like a fun way to spend a day or two, especially on a hot day! He kept his wits about him, just in case something went wrong. ...He just did not anticipate things going wrong in this specific way!

But once he became aware of the cleaning supplies going bonkers, it seems like as good a time as any to spring into action! He suits up, and Darkwing Duck sets off to do battle! He almost immediately spots some familiar figures in trouble. 2B and Pod! Darkwing Duck races towards them to help - and he announces his presence at the same time!]

I am the terror that flaps in the night!
I am the tilt-a-whirl that upsets the stomachs of evil...
I am Darking Du-AAAAAUGHHHHH!!!

[He's cut off as he slips, as the ground as has been made very slippery with soapy water by one renegade sponge! He slides forward and only comes to a stop by colliding into Pod, which he tries to cling to!]

[conciliant]

[Pod can certainly carry a three-hundred-pound android when it needs to, but it can only anticipate anyone else clinging onto its body so suddenly for so long. Its claw-like hands spin and try to grasp at Darkwing Duck—any point of contact it can reach—but that along with the sponge makes it difficult for it to find its balance again.]

"Alert: Initiating self-defense mechanism."

NO! [If 2B could lose her cool at any moment, it's this one.] Don't.

[She doesn't need her Pod self-destructing. Not at all.

Moving to try and grab onto Darkwing latched onto Pod proves to be difficult, even for a battle android and her impeccable balance. It's definitely the sharp heels on her boots, but when has practicality ever won over aesthetic? She slips on the soap coating the road and brings all three of them down with her, landing in a mountain of bubbles with a mighty splash.]

[flapsin]

[As he scrambles to hold onto the Pod, one claw ends up grasping his beak. Despite that, he groans a protest.]

N-no, I- I'm the one... defending you...!

[He doesn't get to say much else, because 2B is coming to the rescue at the same time! Or maybe it's more like the opposite of a rescue, because the next thing he knows, this masked mallard is at the bottom of an android pile.]

...Ow.

[conciliant]

Pod's self-defense mechanism is to fire or self-destruct.

[An important detail she feels the need to point out, in case that happens again.

2B is quick to rise to her feet when they slip, but it still remains a challenge. She's covered head to toe now in bubbles that cling to her no matter how hard she tries to shake them off, so she gives up and offers a hand to help Drake up as well. Hopefully he isn't too hurt after being slammed into by a three-hundred-pound chunk of steel.

But it pales in comparison to this stupid sponge that's now slipping around Drake's waist trying to clean the underside of his cape.]

What is that thing!? Make it stop!

cattleya.

[conciliant]

[2B has never heard of "zombies" until now, and even then, after getting an explanation from Pod, she's not sure she fully understands what they are. Undead doesn't quite cut it in terms of a description, and it makes her wonder if Pod even knows. It must, but she's having a hard time wrapping her head around it the idea.

Once humans, but after dying, this is what they become?

Knowing that, it's hard for her to conceive the idea of killing them... Humans. It still goes against what she's programmed to do... but if they are out to harm others, including the farmlands that supply them, then who is she to say no?

With her swords now hovering in front of her with kinetic magic, she lets the blades scrape against one another when she sees the first wave of them coming in. They're at a distance, but they're moving fast for being supposedly dead.]

Here they come.

[heofon]

And they're moving quick...

[ Cattleya flicks her katars to her sides, igniting it with fire from her elemental magic. She had placed some with dried leaves branches along the paths that the zombies are swarming down to, having learned from her encounter with the specters in Celliwig. She shoots fireballs at the branches to create a wall of fire and slow the horde down even just a little. ]

[conciliant]

[2B takes a moment to admire the weapons, recognizing them as something she might have used once in a while back on Earth, but that's about as far as the train of thought gets before fire is lighting up the fields and stretching to the perimeter of the fence. Elemental magic sure is something, and it's one she wishes she could have, but... hopefully she can find a use for her kinetic magic.]

So they don't have brains? [That's what she's been told.] Shouldn't be too hard to take care of them.

[Famous last words?

Their groans only grow louder when they start to pick up the pace, running now. Some of them get caught by the flames, stopping dead (no pun intended) in their tracks as it spreads up their legs while others are able to figure out to dodge it, side-stepping the fire and continuing in their pursuit.

2B's lips fall open, and her swords give a mighty WHOOSH around her in preparation.]

Adapting already, huh?

[heofon]

Without brains yet has as much heart as any warrior.

[ Because if there's anything zombies have over living people is that they are relentless. They feel no fear, or doubt, and just goes for their goal even if they're incapacitated. Which makes them dangerous, especially with these numbers.

She assumes a more stable stance, gripping her katars tighter as she aims them in front like two handguns, waiting until any zombie comes in range of her still-developing magical prowess. She shrugs, replying with the same dry monotone that 2B does. The fact they both are professional and stoic makes Cattleya already enjoy working with her.

She really can't stand braggy and talkative partners sometimes. ]

Adapting is our biggest advantage against the hordes of the undead...

[ So anyway, she starts blasting... Fire remains her favored element, as she projects fire balls with the aid of her katar, focusing her magic to the needle-like point for better accuracy. Cattleya shoots as many as she could, with some zombies getting back up or not being shot at entirely, giving 2B some targets for her sword. ]

[conciliant]

[2B doesn't think too much of the fire at first, not seeing it as a problem. If they can light them up and let them burn, then that's less work for them to finish them off... but it does start to pose a problem when they continue to run, albeit not as fast, while leaving trails of fire behind in their wake. The grass is dry, so it lights up and spreads easily, and 2B growls under her breath when a part of the fence catches.

With a whirl, she's able to put it out with her own magic, sending a blast of energy in a wide arch in front of them to blow them away.]

We need to be careful.

[Lest they want to set the entire farm on fire and have this fight all be for nothing.

But 2B doesn't let the thought linger and instead rushes forward with her swords, easily cutting down the zombies. Or so she thinks. Rather than go for the heads, she sends the blades plunging through their bodies, which does nothing to take them down or slow them...

She doesn't know any better.]

What the hell? That didn't work?