victory_road | 1st Ω [Action for New Bark Town/Video]

[Action; New Bark Town]

[Fresh green grass. A breeze that carries no hint of smog or pollution or any other manner of nastiness in the air. People happily walking around unarmed and seemingly unworried over the potential of being jumped or mugged even in broad daylight.

This was not Pandora.

Not that it took any of these observations for Athena to conclude that something was very wrong. Just the feeling of the sun on her face as she drowsily awoke earlier (ugh, Janey was right, she was starting to lose her edge) was enough to send alarm bells blaring through her head. After all, her and Janey's place in Hollow Point wasn't the worst, but it was far enough away from the cave entrance that they don't really get much sun. That put Athena instantly on alert, and she practically bowled "mom" over before she could even open her mouth and instinctively grabbing the pack - she didn't even care whose it was - by the door and heading outside.

So here she was now, pacing in the middle of town like an angry kraggon, looking for anything familiar... but there was nothing. She couldn't even see Elpis's broken surface in the sky, so there was no way this was Pandora. One of the Edens, maybe...? But which one, they were all better than Pandora, so she couldn't tell by just one glance in one town...

Okay... okay. She had to find her bearings. She could do that. First, check the pack for anything that could be of use. Pulling it off her shoulder and tugging it open, Athena began sifting through the contents; food, a change of clothes (pfft, like hell she was going to get rid of her armor in an unknown location), what looked like some basic medical supplies, a... red and white ball? That catches her attention.

She set her bag down so she could examine the ball more closely. Round, one button on the middle... some kind of robot? At first glance, it reminded her of Gortys before she had been activated, so maybe if she pushed the button...

And then she promptly dropped it as the ball burst into light, every one of her battle instincts flaring to life as her brain screamed grenade! But damnit, she had no guns, no shield or sword....

Wait.

Sword?

Okay... yeah. That was definitely a sword floating in front of Athena. Staring at her.]

What the...

[She reached out to grab it by the hilt, but surprisingly enough, it dodged out of the way of her hand! Frowning, Athena tried to grab it again. And again it dodged. Her frown then morphs into a full-blown scowl, and she lunges for the thing.]

Argh-- get back here!

[Video]

[OKAY EVERYTHING'S UNDER CONTROL, EVERYTHING'S COOL. Except... not. So when the video flickers on, the rather annoyed, severe face of a young woman can be seen front and center.]

I'll give whatever dirty lowlife responsible for this ten seconds to identify themselves before I start hunting them down. Believe me, you don't want that.

[There's a pause, and her frown deepens if that's even possible. This... kidnapping, or whatever it was, had happened in her home. Said home was crappy, sure, but it had been damn secure. Athena herself had made sure of it. So if whoever-it-was had been able to get her without a problem, then the other occupant of the house could possibly be...]

Springs. As soon as you see this, echo me.

[She doesn't sound worried, but the edge in her eyes fades a little, and she reaches up to run a finger along a gleaming silver ring hanging from a chain around her neck. She blinks, realizing what she just did, before she practically shoves the ring under her shirt and out of view.]

If anyone can direct me to the nearest fast-travel station, the information will be much appreciated. [There's a pause, and the curious eye of a Honedge peeks on-screen with a gleam of curiosity. The woman glances at it, scowls, and pushes it away from the camera.] Also, the nearest gun vendor.

[Because this isn't the first odd creature she's seen so far, so she's not taking any chances. If she can't have Xiphos and Aspis, or at the very least any of her more advanced guns, she'll have to make due.]

Finally, if anyone familiar to me is viewing this, I will update my status as soon as I find my bearings in this bizarre town, and we can arrange a meetup then. Until then:

Athena, out.

[Click. The video finishes.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[... Athena just. Raises an eyebrow at that.]

... Right. Something like that I wouldn't expect to hurt anyone. In fact, I think I'd be kind of impressed if it did.

But if this planet's crawling with monsters as much as people seem to be implying it is, then there's definitely something bigger and badder than a fish lurking around.

Oh, definitely. But, usually if you raise yours right, you have your big strong monster buddy to keep you safe. That’s what I’m aiming for with Ronmeer- apparently he becomes a big water snake large enough to ride.

Oh! And you can always buy Repel.

You don't find that dangerous at all? When monsters get bigger and badder, so do their tempers, usually.

[Athena won't deny that she can be stupidly reckless sometimes, but that just seems ridiculous...]

Depends on the monster, honestly.

Really. So you're saying not all the monsters here are bad? What's the point of calling them monsters, then?

Hmmmm, to put things into boxes so that people can identify things stronger and so more dangerous than them? The intricacies of where self satisfied morality and language intersect?

But I have a feeling you’re not really interested in that kind of conversation.

That just sounds like you're trying to make things more complicated than it seems. If they're not bloodthirsty beasts, why not just call them animals? "Monsters" sounds too... dangerous, I guess.

You would be right on that.

[no offense. athena just doesn't tend to hold back for the sake of possibly offending someone.]

[No offense taken. Dee just laughs.]

Maybe another time, then, when you’ve gotten all settled in. It looks like you’ve got a whole lot of people answering any questions you have, at least. This place is nothing if not friendly.

... It's kind of weird, isn't it? Are people normally this stiflingly friendly?

[One or two isn't odd, but everyone here is trying to help. It's... a little weird,considering what sort of environment Athena is used to.]

Mmmm, I guess. But then again, a lot of people aren’t from the same world or even universe. Generally speaking- and this isn’t always the rule but you know- people are social. They try to help each other out, especially when in an unfamiliar situation.

Plus, you know- a lot of them were in the same situation, so they’re just keeping the nice veteran train going.

[That gets a bit of a laugh out of her.]

You must not be from Pandora, then, if you think like that. People like that are a rarity, where I come from.

Good news: you’re not on Pandora anymore. I mean, not that there aren’t jerks, but you know. That'd be a little unbelievable.

1st Ω [Action for New Bark Town/Video]

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