World Tree MUSH

    A couple years ago by local time, this property in downtown Natsuto City was replaced by a very strange crater. No ordinary explosion, whatever it was disintegrated a skyscraper without a trace; and it didn't so much 'blast' a crater in the earth below it, as simply scoop the concrete, dirt and stone right out, as if erasing it from existence. No blast damage to nearby buildings, no signs of a gas leak or explosive devices. To this day, the mystery remains unsolved by authorities, jotted down as 'the work of an unknown person or persons from other worlds shortly after our own Blossomed'.

    Now, months upon months of rain have softened the look of the crater, and the various pipes that used to connect with the building are gone or sealed; a dirt ramp leads down into the crater, and a chain link fence surrounds the entire property. It still carries faint hints of a powerful release of magic, but time has weathered away at this desolate testament to unnatural goings-on.

    Tonight, the chain link fence stands open. People have long since learned to tune out the vacant lot, but tonight their mental blind spot is on an entirely other level. People find something in a nearby window to stare at, suddenly wonder what time it is, feel a sudden urge to send a text to a loved one... nobody can seem to muster any attention whatsoever for the crater, even in passing.

    Nobody, that is, except for a handful of offworlders, and one particular local.

    Dressed for the summer heat in a comfy skirt and T-shirt, Yumi Tachibana waits at the open front gate, hands in her pockets. This is the place; the Guardian of Natsuto said the meeting would be here. And she's pretty much certain they picked it to mess with her in some way. Why else would it be here?

    This place. Though Rydia has never personally seen the crater in person, it's not the first time she's been to Natsuto. In fact the last time she was here, it was to deal with a rampant unicorn. But now the last Summoner of Mist is back, sans chocobo this time as she followed Yumi and likely marvelled at the city's public transportation.
    Dressed in her usual green robes, the small girl scrunches her nose at the sight of the crater on arrival.
    "Wow. It sure looks like Titan went on a rampage. So this is where you're supposed to meet that guardian person?"

  "Has so much time passed already...? The earth has already begun to forget it," Zelda murmurs softly; somberly. "Look how the rain has softened it. And I see the city has already sealed off the infrastructure, as well."

  The Hylian is dressed in a light tunic and breeches, boots, and a quiver; the bow, already strung, rests over the opposite shoulder. She wears a light cloak with a hood, and the hood is drawn up over her face. It's hot, but it makes her feel more comfortably anonymous. Lynel the enormous war horse is tied up a little ways away, at a park, where he's probably busy trimming the lawn.

  She licks her lips, looking to the alleys and the avenues. "Perhaps it is the residue, but this place makes me uneasy, Yumi Tachibana," she says, very softly.

     The city itself is not so impressive to one Celesta Jones, "rookie" cop of the NYPD and all around big sis. New York of the 21st century is pretty cool itself, with cyborgs and gene-modded animal people and televised mecha combat. But what it doesn't have is a giant unexplained crater made by mysterious circumstances, which sounds like a great tourist attraction. The intrigue, the wonder, the sPoOkInEsS of what could've caused it is just too interesting not to explore.

Thus, as she approaches, valiantly ignoring the sudden urge to go check on her younger cousin, Celesta notices a small gathering at the gate and waves to them with a cheerful smile. "Heya! I don't have to pay to see this thing, right? Cop wages just aren't what they used to be." At present, she's wearing a red tanktop with tan slacks, certainly not here on business. Noting Zelda's and Rydia's styles of dress, she has a sudden fit of girlish giggling and asks, "Oh, I'm sorry, was I supposed to come in cosplay? Not really my thing, but..."

    Needless to say, when Lex heard about Yumi's momentary breakdown, she became very concerned.

    She makes her way through the city; she's gotten into the habit of setting her cybernetic limbs to flesh-tone, just so fewer heads turn towards her as she walks along, and Lightshard 18 is currently dematerialized altogether.

    She nods in greeting to Yumi, Rydia, and Zelda. "Hey guys," she says. She hesitates. "You doing okay, Yumi?"

    She pauses, looking curiously at Celesta, and narrows her eyes at the outburst of giggling. "They're just, like, people from different Blossoms, kind of thing," she says flatly.

    "Yeah," Yumi confirms to Rydia. "This is it... and it's also where I woke up." It probably goes without saying for Rydia, and definitely for Zelda; but Lex probably benefits from hearing it said out loud. To Lex, she can only give a little nod. "Yeah, I'm fine." A lot of what's been bothering her is about to be answered, after all.

    The sound of Celesta's voice tugs Yumi's attention around sharply; she'd noticed the way people seem to be ignoring the crater more than usual, so having Celesta just saunter right up casually sets her on edge. "Ma'am, I'm not sure what you think is going on here, but I'd strongly suggest moving on. It's a little complicated, but-"

    "I do not mind," speaks a strident voice from within the crater, echoing as if off unseen walls. "If she is capable of seeing through a perception dampening field, she may involve herself in mortal danger if she so chooses."

    For a second time, Yumi whips her head around, down towards the bottom of the crater - where a small animal of some sort seems to have appeared. She frowns, glancing around at the others, then back down; the voice speaks up again, with a simple, "Approach. I will answer those questions I deem necessary."

>> SUMMARY[Yumi Tachibana] >> SUBTITLE: 'GUARDIAN OF NATSUTO - Vulpes ex Machina. CV: Norio Wakamoto.'

  Zelda cocks her head to one side at Celesta's commentary, summer-blue eyes blank. She shakes her head, then, lifting a hand to clear chestnut hair from her face. It's loose, bright chestnut stirring with every breeze. Lex makes her appearance, then, and the Hylian tilts her head to her, politely. "Miss Brando."

  She glances back to Yumi, though, arching a brow. She's about to say something, but her thoughts are interrupted by the stridence of that sudden voice.

  The princess spins slowly on her heel, head tipped down enough so the hood shadows her face. Her mouth is compressed into a thin line, grim.

  "Yumi Tachibana, I gather this is our awaited guest." Zelda's voice is soft. The words are not a question. She shrugs her bow from her shoulder, carrying it lightly, and in between one breath and the next the slender fingers of her free hand are pinched shut over the end of an arrow.

  She doesn't string the bow, yet, but she's ready. Looking over the edge of the crater, she makes her way down, summer-blue eyes solemn. What sort of (talking) animal is that...?

    The place where Yumi woke up... With no memories, no nothing, except a name. Rydia goes morosely silent for a few beats, before turning her head.
    "The hell is cosplay?"
    Though she rallies fast enough for a "Hi, Lex." the Summoner, too, jerks her head towards the new voice, hand now much closer to the dagger at her hip for a beat.
    "... This who we're supposed to meet?"
    The fact that it's a small animal thing doesn't seem to shock her all that much at this point.

     "Right, right, the Blossoms thing, World Tree, all that. Sounds like some funky sci-fi stuff, but I guess I'm living it now. Heck, just a few decades ago, half the stuff we have in my world would've been the stuff of fantasy too, so I guess it all checks out." Celesta remarks in response to Lex, then glances down into the hole to see where the voice is coming from.

"Huh, talking animals too? Not sure if this is the real deal or an animatronic, but I'll believe a lot of things at this point." She wastes no time in heading through the gate and down into the crater towards the clearly mystical creature, waving to it without breaking her casual stride. "Hey there little guy! What's the scoop on this place?"

    Lex's head also whips around towards the source of that new voice. She stares at it for a moment with an unreadable expression; then, when the creature mentions 'mortal danger', her expression actually hardens slightly. "Shard, I think we should follow Sheik's lead, and stuff," she says, nodding towards Zelda's bow and Rydia's dagger.

    "I could not agree more," says an electronic girl's voice from her prosthetic left arm. A stream of green pixels and Elvish computer code erupts from her arm, and forms a high-tech five-foot-long sword with mint-green running lights and a gleaming white blade with a black edge. "Just say the word, if and when you wish to go all the way," the voice adds, this time coming from the sword.

    Lex shrugs. "Right," she says. "I mean, I haven't told -- erk." She winces as Celesta suddenly strides forward ahead of everyone else. "... ohhh boy."

    "Hum," says Shard. That is, she pronounces the word 'hum' instead of humming. "I approve."

    Yumi begins the walk down that large ramp as well; it's broad and sturdy enough to accomodate trucks and construction equipment, so it's a bit of a hike, but very stable ground. "Seems so," she replies to Zelda and Rydia.

    What awaits at the bottom of the crater is hard to call an 'animal' once the group gets close enough for a better look. It's more like an animal-shaped clockwork automaton comprised of steel and brass. Whirling gears, ticking springs, pistons, all in the approximate shape of a fox with red gemstone eyes. The tail looks like some sort of housing for an odd gyroscope, at the heart of which is another crystal, this one glowing blue; and yet it still sways as a normal tail would, thanks to numerous joints and collapsing portions. Around the clockwork fox's front paws are a pair of shackles, each with a single link of chain connected to it.

    "Hmph." The Guardian grunts, sounding faintly irritable. "A hundred years ago, humans would have paid offering for the privilege of meeting a Guardian. Now I am offered only the points of weapons. I preferred the food." It cants its head slightly, turned up to look straight at Celesta, and adds, "'The scoop' is that you have wandered into a meeting of those who risk their lives against terrors which twist reality into a waking nightmare. I am Vulpes ex Machina, and I am charged with overseeing the defense of this city. Yumi Tachibana is one of its two remaining defenders. She and her allies have questions."

    Yumi seizes an opportunity to open the bidding. "First question is, what the hell happened to me? You know exactly what I mean, don't you."

  As Rydia speaks what half those present are thinking, the princess blows a quiet breath through her nose, mouth quirking in amusement. That girl is fearless. Zelda flexes her left fingers over the grip of her bow, the trailing end of her arrow pinched between the slender fingers of her right.

  'Sheik' glances over her shoulder as Lex follows, and slows to a halt near Celesta and the creature. Automaton? Since the other's already started interrogating the figure, 'Sheik' is content to wait and listen, admiring the details of the curious little machine-fox; gaze lingering thoughtfully on the shackles. The arrow finds its way back into the quiver, and the bow return to her shoulder.

  "We offer our apologies, Guardian." Zelda clasps her hands before herself and bows, respectfully; the ritual knowing of a priestess. "Please excuse my rudeness. My circumstances are extenuating; it is not in my nature to do so."

  Her gaze slides to Yumi, though, and then to Vulpes ex Machina, patiently awaiting an answer.

    Rydia knows no fear. Not of cosplay at least. And the girl's filters are pretty barely existent. Nevertheless, there goes Celesta, and the small, sassy, green-haired child watches after her as she goes right towards the Guardian of Natsuto.
    But her hand edges away from her dagger when it seems that the creature is the one they are indeed here to see.
    She does not apologize for reaching for it though.
    But she does tilt her head to a quizzical angle as she gets a better look at the vulpine... Construct.
    What? It's interesting.

     As they make their way closer, Celesta finds that it is indeed an animatronic, of a sort. "Aww, look at you! Someone put a lot of effort into you, didn't they~" she fawns over the thing, kneeling down in front of it and trying to... yes, trying to pet its head. "Yeah, sounds like my job honestly. I bet you don't even pay these kids, do you? For shame."

A moment later, while Yumi is asking her question, Celesta snickers to herself. "Vulpes ex Machina... 'Fox out of the Machine'. Cute. Kinda surprised we never ran into a Vulpes back home, actually. A lot of those Alter guys love using dumb Latin codenames."

    Lex shrugs, and places the sword on her back, where it stays without any apparent support. "You're the one who brought up mortal danger," she answers Vulpes ex Machina without missing a beat. Kind of the opposite of Zelda. "But, uh." She grins nervously. "Sorry about that."

    "You have my apologies as well," adds Shard. Neither of them seems appreciably more fazed by the creature than Celesta, either way; Lex didn't really have any advance expectations, and Shard ... also has no fear, just like Rydia, albeit probably for different reasons.

    Lex glances at Yumi. "I got a question, too," she offers. "What are youma?" Her prosthetic hand unconsciously goes up to her right arm, where a youma's scythe scratched her two months ago ...

    The deference from Zelda causes the clockwork fox to cant its head again. "...deference and manners. A refreshing change." It seems quietly pleased. "In answer to your question, Yumi Tachibana, what happened to you is Overcharge. Your magic comes with a price. A buildup of sorts, left behind by high usage or occasional surges. When Overcharge builds up, it becomes more unstable, and will eventually release itself forcefully. This forceful release comes with Fallout. The nature of the Fallout is affected by the emotions you have been using to control your magic."

    Yumi's expression is thoughtful. "So because I fuel mine with the good stuff... that's what went out of control when this 'fallout' happened."

    Just as Celesta's hand is about to make contact with Vulpes' head, the Guardian simply disappears. When it next speaks, it's perched atop a nearby pipe, still partially sticking out of the crater. "I pay senshi quite well. If they collect enough Oblivion Crystals from vanquished youma, they are entitled to a wish. World domination is out of the question, but many things are not."

    And Lex asks the next question on Yumi's mind. "By your reaction, you have encountered more than one. I will not waste your time with basic explanation. Youma are monsters born when a human's natural magic is driven out of control. It is like a metaphysical cancer which warps their existence beyond recognition or salvation. I will forestall the inevitable question- no. There is no way to reverse the process. It is nothing like a curse or a poison or an injury; it is their own existence warping itself. Their only relief is in destruction."

    Yumi folds her arms, mulling this over. She seems to be deciding what to ask next.

     Celesta is only half-listening to the explanations given, instead just disappointed that she didn't get the pet the cute robofox. "Phooey. Here I wanted to tell my cuz that I got to touch a magical clockwork fox, but I guess we're not playing that today." Standing up with a shrug, she places her hands on her hips and tilts her head at the Guardian, arching an eyebrow. "Wishes, huh? Well, world domination's overrated anyway, too much paperwork and just... *work* work. I'd take a fat stack of cash though. Bills to pay, mouths to feed, yadda yadda."

After that, she glances toward Lex... more specifically, that prosthetic arm of hers. "Did one of these 'Youma' things take your arm? And uh... the talking sword, cool and all, but how's that fit into this? Is that an AI or some kind of magic voodo spirit thing?"

She's taking all of this *far* too in stride.

  The somber Hylian listens quietly, folding her arms before herself as she does. Every so often she rubs at the triangular-shaped mark on her right hand, pale against her skin, as though it somehow bothered her. Her eyes never quite leave the fox automaton.

  So, the fox answers the question of what's going on with Yumi's emotional state and her powers. Zelda absently rubs at the Triforce of Courage with the opposite thumb, mouth turning down in a thoughtful frown.

  She startles and looks up as Vulpes reappears on another pipe, blinking, and her features turn somber at the nature of youma.

  "You are certain there is no relief from the process? So be it." Zelda sounds disappointed by this answer. "Mm. So it is to be extermination, then. An unfortunate necessity."

    Lex considers the answer to her question; almost immediately, she's starting to look gloomy. Especially when Zelda accepts the answer. "I mean," she mumbles. "That forthrightness is kind of refreshing." She looks over Vulpes ex Machina. "I was kinda ... half expecting you to be a bit more evasive. Considering how long it apparently took you to have this conversation, and stuff." She sighs softly. "There's really no way, huh."

    She looks over at Celesta. "Oh. Uh, no no no, I'm not from this world," she says. "I lost my limbs because ... of ... some problems back home. I got cursed. I'm just here because Yumi's a friend. She ... rescued me and some other people from a youma."

    "As to the question of whether I am a spirit or an AI," says Shard, "the answer is 'yes'."

        "Hey." Yumi's voice is stern, and she's staring straight at Celesta. "I'm not sure what your world is like, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't treat all this like it's just some sideshow. People are dying, or worse than dying," she adds with a glance at Vulpes. Finding out what youma are... she'd suspected something along those lines, but it still leaves a sour taste in her mouth. "I don't care if you stay or go, but if you're going to stay, please keep that in mind."

    "We have sought a means to reverse the process for a thousand years," Vulpes ex Machina replies to Zelda. "If we should find it, we will immediately enact it. But we cannot allow them to feed on humans while we are searching. It is akin to letting rabid animals roam free while you seek a cure for rabies."

    To Lex, the Guardian huffs dismissively. "Others of my kind delight in evasiveness. I see no point in such things. Neither sugarcoating those facts which you would discover on your own, nor pretending to give an answer when in fact I have given none. I will answer what I will answer, and I will not what I will not. I have seemply been busy, and Yumi Tachibana was already equipped with the necessary information and abilities to fight youma."

    Well, at least he's honest.

    Yumi folds her arms. "I've got one. What happens if a magical girl suffers a serious injury? I've had people to heal me, but somehow I doubt Elizabeth has never taken a bad hit in her career, and she doesn't seem to have any scars or lasting damage. Medical technology here isn't that good." At this, Vulpes' demeanor almost seems... confused? "We heal them, of course."

    For a second, Yumi quietly stares.

    "You've never healed me."

    "You have never needed it. Your friends have filled in."

    Yumi turns to look over her shoulder. At Zelda, and then Rydia. Both of whom have exhausted themselves patching her up in the past. "...start healing me. Please." If a clockwork fox could sigh, Vulpes would. "Very well."

     Celesta looks taken aback by Yumi's sharp words, but rubs the back of her neck as she glances toward the ground and mumbles, "Er... sorry, it's just a lot to take in. I'm still pretty new to this whole World Tree thing, and it still kinda seems like a dream, like nothing's real. Just kinda... distant." She then sighs and adds, "Besides, this all sounds like something I would've seen in a cartoon as a kid. It's hard to believe."

Then, nodding to Lex and Shard, she says, "Prosthetic limbs and AI though, I can believe in those. We've got those where I come from, even if the AI aren't usually for civilian use. Lot easier for me to relate to, I mean." And then a grin. "I'd *kill* to get me a talking sword though. That is just too cool. If these 'Youma' ever show up in New York, we'll probably need better gear anyway by the sound of it."

  The Hylian watches Yumi's commentary to Celesta, expression somber and just a touch disapproving. As the token priestess of the group, such treatment of a guardian spirit is a little insulting. It's not her place to comment, though, and so she holds her silence.

  "I see." Zelda fixes her attention on Vulpes at the clockwork fox's answer, gaze sliding down to the floor as she considers. One can almost see the wheels turning. "Yes. Yes, that is sensible. Unfortunate, but sensible."

  She slides a look over at Yumi when the fox says Yumi's friends have always filled in. Yeah, that's certainly true, but it's not really all that comforting. She shakes her head beneath her hood at that.

  "May I inquire how many charges such as Yumi Tachibana you oversee, Vulpes ex Machina?" Zelda's voice is soft, as she peers at the clockwork spirit.

    Lex furrows her brow at the discussion of Yumi's healing. Still, she's starting to look a bit depressed by all this. It seems this is the first time she's been confronted by the fact that sometimes, not everyone can be saved. She takes a few deep breaths to try to steady her nerves.

    (Zelda might sense Lex's curse shifting ...)

    Lightshard 18 shifts against Lex's back at Celesta's last comment. "Now there's a hair-raising thought," says Shard, who sounds like she's trying to plow through a negative moment of her own. "I was going to hope that you'd best show more concern for elven terrorists ... but ..."

    The sword rises off Lex's back, and turns towards Vulpes ex Machina, back-end first. "My own question is thusly, is the youma-effect endemic to this world, or to its people?" she asks. "Or to be more precise: is it possible for this ... transformation to happen to a non-native visitor to this world? Alternatively, is it possible for it to happen to a native of this world who has left for another Blossom?"

    Yumi's sternness towards Celesta relents a bit. "It's alright. Just, if you do come along for a youma, be ready for a rough time. It's more like something out of a late night anime, you're stepping sideways into a weird dimension to fight a monster that's running on pure emotion. Not something you'd want to put a kid through."

    'Not something you'd want to put a kid through', said the girl who looks like she's about 15 years old.

    Vulpes listens to Zelda intently, and responds simply, "Two, including Yumi Tachibana. My area of oversight is restricted entirely to Natsuto City, and they are the only two operating within the city limits. There was a third, but due to an incident with an off-world unicorn wandering in, she has effectively retired. Elizabeth Asatsuki is also frequently required for business elsewhere in the world, as a direct subordinate to the Guardians, so she is often not available. Yumi is the only permanent resident who is active."

    The mechanical Guardian begins to absently groom itself, and adds, "I have arranged for two transfers to ease Yumi's burden, but they have been slow in coming. I am, of course, also able to create new magical girls. But the number of youma outbreaks recently has been small enough that there is no need as yet."

    To Lex, Vulpes responds next, still grooming as it speaks. "To its people. There are, so far, no worlds whose population possess a magical composition close enough to this one to result in similar outbreaks. However, as Yumi Tachibana can attest, it is still possible for one of our denizens to do so abroad." To this, Yumi can only nod faintly.

    After a brief pause, Yumi says, "If I think of others I can ask them later, but I've got one more." Her shoulders are square; there's a certain tension in her posture. She's invested in the last question.

    "What happened here? What made this crater, and why did I wake up in it? Who am I, and who is Mei Sakamachi to me?"

    In all technicality, it's several questions... but in practice, they're pretty much all the same one.

     Celesta nods to Yumi. "Well, if it's an anime, then I'll probably be pretty useless. I'm getting closer and closer to thirty every day, so I'm practically ancient." she confesses with a wink, then curls her hands into fists and throws a few mock punches. "But hey, don't worry about me. I can take care of myself just fine. I'd be more worried about you kids, honestly."

As the question of whether it's possible for Youma to show up in other worlds is answered, she shrugs and relaxes. "Well, there's always that one-in-a-million, y'know. And hey," she turns to Lex. "If there's no cure, then it's best to put them out of their misery. They've gotta be suffering in that state, right? And they're putting other people in danger too, obviously. It's for the best, and besides, detaining them doesn't seem to be an option."

  Zelda had been waiting politely for an answer to her question, but the instant Lex's curse starts shifting, the princess suddenly cringes, violently, and looks like she swallowed the most sour fruit in the world. She shakes her head and brushes the sensation off, tilting her head back towards Vulpes. She's interested to hear the answer to Lex's question, too.

  The Hylian takes it in quietly, thoughtful as she mulls it over. For now, though, she remains silent, looking to the mechanical fox as Yumi waits for the answers to some Very Important Questions.

    Lex shakes her head. "Yeah we covered that," she all but snaps back at Celesta. She takes a few more deep breaths. "Uh. S-sorry," she stammers, as her depression is completely derailed by her social awkwardness. The shifting of the curse is starting to fade.

    She looks between Yumi and Vulpes. She only has half of an idea of Yumi's history, but, well, it seems to her that it's that high primarily because Yumi doesn't know a whole lot either. She wants to hear the answer as much as everyone else.

    All eyes are on Yumi now, and the attention has her squirming just a bit. But she's finally got a lead on her past, and mild awkwardness isn't going to dissuade her.

    Vulpes actually takes a few seconds to answer. "Seven senshi gave their lives here. An exceptionally powerful youma awakened, and the only means they had to destroy it was, essentially, self-destruct. Engaging in deliberate Overcharge beyond the point that their body and spirit were able to handle. The resulting blast was able to completely destroy the youma."

    Finally done grooming itself, Vulpes sits straight on its perch, and continues. "Mei Sakamachi was one of the magical girls previously under my care. The plan was hers; the other magical girls acted under her guidance, and in the aftermath of the blast, she chose to cash in her powers and twelve Oblivion Crystals to receive her wish, thereby retiring as a senshi. Her family moved out of the city shortly thereafter. As for you-"

    Here, with little warning, Vulpes ex Machina turns around; there is a soft rattleclank of whirling gears, the faint jangle of the chain link at either ankle, and the Guardian disappears with parting, echoing words.

    "You are Yumi Tachibana, a senshi under my jurisdiction charged with eliminating youma. Anything prior is irrelevant."