World Tree MUSH

    The world of Gamindustri, it's a world much like any other, vast open grasslands, urban built-up areas, deep chasms, and rents into the source code of creation.

    Well, that last one isn't really normal, but regardless, a call goes out from Black Sister Uni. Coordinates are provided into the grasslands surrounding Lastation. Those that need it, receieve a ride on a hovertram, a sleek black vehicle that flies over the terrain before descending to the location. A basecamp of Lastation Defense troopers surround a cave entrance that glitches fitfully, showing the grid-like structure beneath surface textures briefly at random.

    Uni stands in the center of the camp, looking at the entrance as troopers pick off the occasional Malvader that pokes its body into the open.

    Talia's already getting ready as they go, checking her lightsaber's power output before she hops off the hovertram. Her cloak removed, the Jedi approaches Uni and the troopers. "Hello there!" She greets with friendly enough smile. "Hope we're not too late, how does it look so far?" She asks, eyeing the entrance curiously.

    This world is so strange. Every lifeform feels digital. It's been an interesting time getting acquainted with how Gameindustri works.

    Aurelia looks out the windows of the hovertram, taking in the sights of Gamindustri before disembarking and hustling over to the basecamp. She's just wearing an oversized jean-jacket, jeans, and a t-shirt, not armored up like she was the last time she was in Gamindustri.
    Aurelia gives her name to the Lastation defense troopers, explaining she was here to help deal with the larger problem. "... There aren't any dragons, right?"

>> SUMMARY[Talia Kyras] >> Talia said the line, we can go home now.

Misaki looks tired. She's not transformed yet, still in her school uniform. She's even got her bag and umbrella with her. She yawns into her elbow as she gest to the group, "Hello miss Uni, miss Argent, miss Kyras." She looks for a place to sit down.

    Earlier:

    "Message recieved at mail station." POD 042 announces. 

    "Huh I wonder what it could be this time?" YoRHa Number 9 Type S muses, rubbing his chin, while YoRHa Number 2 Type B opens her email.
    "It's from Operator 6O." She says. "They recieved word that Uni's world has some kind of issue. We have some free time."
    "Huh. That's odd. There wasn't anything else in the message?"
    "..."
    2B opts to not bring up that 6O included their horoscopes in the email and that 9S' read as 'terrible misfortune'.
    Ahem. "Nothing. Nothing else."

    Now:

    "Hey 2b are you suuuure the email didn't have anything else attached?" 9S asks as the hovertram lands and the YoRHa androids disembark. 2B pays him no mind as their pods float after them. 
    "Uni." 2B greets, stoic and professional. And not at all thinking about her horoscope reading as 'GREAT FORTUNE'.

    Uni turns as the tram arrives and unloads its passengers. She offers a nod to each in turn. "I'm glad you're here... I sent in a scouting team but they haven't returned yet, and now we have a trickle of Malvaders, so I'm fearing the worst."

    The trooper that Aurelia asks just shrugs. at her question. Another trooper brings chairs for those that want them, though the briefing seems to be short.

    "I'm going in myself, and I wanted people I could trust and can feel confident that they can handle themselves with me. The troopers are good, but they're only human, and I don't want to risk their lives protecting me." she looks at all the troopers not currently on marksman duty. Each one seems ready to dive between the Goddess and danger. "This is an official Guild mission. The Guild is offering a sum of credits to all participants, and I am offering a carepackage of useful items on top."

    "If they're missing, they're in danger without a doubt." Talia says with a nod. "I'll go too, might as well." SHe says, indifferent to the prospect of credits. She's pretty sure she's not a member of this guild anyways. It's the least they can do. "Let's go, then."

"I didn't know I wasn't human anymore." Misaki grouses a little, "But let's just get this done." She gets up and transforms, "Can I leave my bag here and have it not get messed with while I'm helping you take care of this? My dad's got me enrolled in afterschool classes for no reason."

    2B and 9S aren't here for the credits.
    Though their cash reserves are running low so they won't say no to them.
    "Whoah, 2B, you hear that? We get to save humans today."
    "Mmhmm."
    "... Doesn't that excite you?"
    "Not really?"
    "Not even a little bit?"
    "A mission is a mission. You can play with the humans afterwards if you want, 9S, but for now, focus."
    "Aw man, why do you always have to be a spoilsport..."
    This is the little interaction that happens between the androids as 2B unsheathes her katana and puts in ready position, floating behind her back.
    9S mumbles indignantly.

    The trooper Captain takes Misaki's bag. "I will guard it with my life, Miss." he says, placing it in one of the tents and taking up a position outside of it so noone can enter.

    Uni, for her part frowns a little at Misaki's comment. "You are more than 'just human'. My troopers only have their equipment, which can be broken, you have powers intrinsict to your being which cannot be taken away so easily. That was all I meant."

    Once everyone is 'suited up' or otherwise ready, the Goddess summons a bullpup rifle, sounds a whistle to summon Bravette from wherever she was floating, providing some birds-eye view of the are or something to land on her shoulder, and turns to the entrance, heading inside.

    2B, 9S, and their pods follow Uni. But...
    9S deviates from the course, side-eyeing... Something from the corner of his vision.
    Not that anyone can tell with that blindfold on him.
    "Hey... Hey..." He says, nudging Talia as the party is on the move.
    "... Why is your skin green?"

"So you mean mundane." Misaki responds to Uni, "And I know some people who could make me look powerless who rely on their equipment." Grousing aside, she glances to Talia and 9S, "Because she's a Jedi." She says, confident in her answer.

    Talia raises an eyebrow at the android. She had figured he was some kind of droid the moment they'd seen one another on the transport. It was strange, she'd never seen droids so lifelike before. Plenty of droids with personalities and feelings, but never one with humanoid skin and hair and the like.

    "Hn?" She's a little taken aback by his question. "I...I'm a Mirialan, I'm not exactly human if that's what you're asking."

    She can't help but chuckle at Misaki. "Jedi isn't a species or a race, it's a creed." Talia explains.

    Entering the cave, it looks like a normal cave for at least the first few feet, but then it starts to 'bleed' into a smooth black with strange, glowing green lines in a grid-like pattern. The corridors become very straight and visibility seems to drop dramatically, even with light sources, like the world itself is absorbing it. After a few minutes of walking, a crossroads appears, and a trooper can be seen propped up against one of the walls, clutching a wound on her side that drips blood between her fingers. Her weapon is broken and her armour seems melted in places. "T-The others... got chased down... that way." she croaks, pointing with her free hand down the path she's propped up in, the right, though sounds of battle can be heard from straight ahead and to the left.

    Into the cave and 9S' focus is locked squarely on Talia as soon as Misaki says 'Jedi'.
    "Jedi? What's a Jedi? Being a Jedi makes you green? Wait no- if that's not the case- what's a Mirialan? Is that some kind of space alien? 2B and I were made to fight space aliens, but a different kind of space alien that made machines-- so now we have to fight the machines and---"
    2B scruffs 9S by the back of his collar.
    "Aw, but I wasn't done asking questions." He whines as she nudges him to the back of the group.
    9S' wild curiosity aside, when they encounter the injure trooper, the androids go silent.
    "We should get her out of here." 9S says quietly.
    "Thank you for volunteering, 9S." 2B says.
    "What- hey!"

    Talia lets out a soft sigh. "There'll be time for questions later, 9S, I assure you!" She promises, and nods gratefully to 2B when she gets Nines out of her hair.

    That last bit about fighting machines that were made by aliens doesn't sound too good to her, but at least he didn't attack her on sight.

    "We'll get the rest, I assure you." She tells the soldier before she hears combat ahead, grabbing her lightsaber she dashes off towards the fighting!

"A Jedi is kind of like being a knight except with swords made of light that go bzoom" Misaki answers one of 9S's questions, she's actually slashing with a glowing rod as she makes the sound effect. "Don't worry about it, mister Ess. I'll take care of it." She heads over to pick up the injured trooper so she can rush the trooper back. "I'll be back right away."

    "Don't split up!" calls Uni, as Talia runs off... "tch. Miss Sakai, let Nines take her out, we will need you for this fight." she adds, then turns to head down after Talia. "Bravette, scout out the way the trooper indicated, I want to know if any of them survived." she orders, the Shinki lifting off with a salute, and heading down the right tunnel, vanishing quickly into the artificial gloom.

    As Talia charges, the tunnel begins to shift from green to blue, but with strange red 'cracks' in the black surface. Eventualy she finds a large antechamber where several Malvaders are engaged with what look like random collections of JPEG artifacts rendered in 3D. Laser bolts spray from both sides, but any Malvader that touches one of these 'Glitches' screams in their distorted digital-sounding language as it's warped into another glitch.

    "M-mister Ess?" 9S blurts, sounding perplexed. "E-everyone just calls me Nines."
    That's what he says anyway as he hoists the trooper's arm over his shoulder and starts leading her back out the cave. But he pauses briefly. "Wait did you say swords made out of light?"
    Talia picks a path for the group.
    "Pod. Go with Bravette." She says, sending her floating robot assistant with the little helper robot.
    It's at the sight of the Malvaders fighting the strange glitched beings that she pauses.
    "... So which side do we engage?" She asks deferring to Uni's knowledge.

    That telltale BZOOM of a lightsaber greets the Malvaders as Talia rushes the enemy, leaping toward one of the creatures. With swiftness guiding her, Talia slases at the Malvader with her lightsaber, to slash deep and cut the creature in half. Digital or not, she knows they die to the saber and blaster.

"If you're sure. I 'm real quick, though." Misaki lets 9S take care of it, "I don't know you well enough to call you by nicknames, mister Ess." The Senshi explains herself, she takes up position behind Talia and begins taking shots at the glitches, "Who's been deep frying these poor memes?"

    Uni frowns a bit. "Glitchvaders? Here? Destroy them all, but make sure you target the glitches first. Their numbers only swell if they can convert other 'vader types." she says. She fires down range at the glitched monsters. "I guess we know what forced the Malvaders out of here and into the city, they were escaping these things." she mentions, frowning. "That means they have a Queen somewhere.

    Talia's sword slices cleanly through the 'vaders of both types, the glitchvaders trying to touch her, only to find they can't do anything to her. Misaki's lasers are just as potent, piercing her targets and causing them to 'derez' with a screetching fizzle.

    Meanwhile: Bravette and POD 042 head down the tunnel, and find three troopers in shredded armour, weapons broken and only one still breathing. They also find a wounded Ancient Dragon that looks at the robots balefully, but doesn't attack. In fact, it speaks! >Puny robots... you must destroy the beast in the core of this place. That way my brood and thralls can live peacefully. Do this, and I vow on my life that the city will not be raided by me and mine.<

    9S has never been called mister before. Especially not by a human. "Dsfsfsfdd!" He flusters before waving the group off. "I got this, I got this!"
    And so he goes.
    Once 2B recieves input on what to attack... The YoRHa android grips her katana and--
    It's like watching a living blender in motion. In an instant she's among the glitches, blade dancing in a lightning fast flurry of deadly precise blows, with full lethal intent behind them.
    Every now and then she minces a malvader too, but her focus is on thinning the glitches.
    Meanwhile back with POD and Bravette... POD 042 slowly turns where it floats in the air to face the shinki.
    "Statement: We must shoot the core for massive damage."
    Pod is... ... YoRHa pods are a little... Special.

    Talia doesn't seem too terribly threatened by the Glitchvaders. Her lightsaber blocks at Malvader projectiles as she nimbly rushes in to cut more down, focusing on the glitchvaders. The mals's shots get knocked back by lightsaber strikes, as she dodges and dives to evade their fire. 2B's attacks are...quite impressive really, like a curvy, robotic ginsu in a nice black dress.

>> SUMMARY[Talia Kyras] >> Talia: "Dammit, I've got a crush on the murderbot."

Misaki is keeping on the move and taking shots at the Glitchvaders and any Malvaders that come a little too close for comfort. "Miss B, where did you learn to fight like that?" A pause, "Where can I get a dress like that?"

    Bravette, for her part, gets a really big sweatdrop as she rubs the back of her head at Pod's reaction. The bead vanishes as the hologram disengages, and the Zelnogrard radiots through. "Master? There is a large monster at the center of the dungeon. It appears to be the cause of the attacks."

    Uni continues firing, when Bravette's report comes through. "Did you find the team?" >"Yes, only the medic survived, the remaining two are dead."< Uni frowns. "Understood, call for evac and get them out of here. No-one left behind."

    Uni then relays what was found out, "New priority, target down the Glitchvaders, the local Malvader leader is promising a truce if we can destroy the source of the glitches, a 'queen' at the center of the dungeon."

    Talia, Misaki and 2B cleave through the enemies quickly, until only a few malvaders remain, who back up and 'drop' their weapons, the little pixel 'guns' dissolving as they warble out variations on 'surrender'.

    Talia, once the Malvaders surrender, switches her lightsaber off. It's...strange. She wasn't expecting that from them. Up until now she thought they were just dumb, constantly hostile drones. "Glitchvaders, got it." She says. "Where are the rest of them?"

    To its credit, Pod 042 at least has a grasp on the situation, pinging some intel data to 2B, before Uni gives the real meat of the situation to the group.
    "Understood." 2B replies, professional as ever as she wheels around to face the Malvaders.
    They drop their weapons.
    She makes a slight jerking motion of her katana, indicating now is the time to get out of her sight.
    "For the sake of efficiency, 2B is fine." She replies to Misaki, it's a completely different response from 9S who prefers his nickname.
    "I'm a Battle unit. Swift, efficient, and decisive elimination of any enemy is, literally, what I was made for."
    Pause.
    "The dress is standard YoRHa uniform."

"Ahh. So you ever thought about the thing where if you live by the sword every problem looks like enemy action?" Misaki mixing up several things in her tired head. She dismisses Joyous and Marvelous when the Malvaders dismiss theirs. "Do you guys sell those uniforms?"

    As 2B signals for the Malvaders to leave, most do. Only one remains, saying in its distorted voice. >"LEAD"< motioning with its stubby little arms back the way the group came... seems the way deeper in is in another part of the dungeon.

    Bravette nods, then signals to Pod, "Can you carry him? I'm not strong enough.. if not I'll signal for some of the troopers to come collect them."

    Uni, meanwhile, dismisses her weapons. "I have a feeling we will need to be prepared... I suggest we get my people out of here, regroup in the camp, then come back to finish this fight." to the Malvader she says. "Wait for us at the crossroads, we won't be long."

    "Yeah, it's a slippery slope." Talia nods. Misaki's a little confused, but she's got the spirit. "It gets harder every day."

    "Live by the sword, die by the sword. Constantly." 2B answers Misaki. "I was made for battle, but that doesn't mean I'm not capable of my own free thought." She says, stowing her katana at her back as the Malvader indicates willingness to lead the party.
    Pod begins scootching the medic inch by inch across the ground. It is a process that will take a while, so may as well call for that evac. As for the uniforms...
    "... I'll have to contact command."
    YoRHa probably could spare something for the extra funding, maybe.

"No that's not what I mean. It's more like, that you forget to see sometimes the problem isn't malice, just happenstance of miscommunications, but you're so used to thinking violence that you forget talking is an option." Misaki tries to explain herself, probably coming off a bit more rambly than she intended. "Thanks."