003

[forceofnature]

[pseudo-voice... or is it???]
Attention, peons!

[Viridi's voice echoes once again with its usual Message From the Divine manner.  Nothing out of the ordinary here.]

...OK, look, I'm not going to pretend I like you humans any more than I did before, but for what it's worth, I guess you're not all completely horrible.  I mean, you're still active participants in a culture that exploits nature, hastens the death of the planet, and imprisons livestock in horrifying conditions, but I'll give you a step up to 'Mostly Horrible' since it seems like some of you actually care about restoring this planet.

[This can be interpreted as a major concession for Viridi.  ...Some form of concession, anyway.]

Anyway.  I've talked about that stuff so much even I'm tired of hearing it.  Let's move on to the real topic.  Take a look at this.

[The COMPS will automatically activate their video feed as what appears to be a prerecorded message begins to play.  It displays Mt. Utsugi in Gemini District - and the time stamp in the bottom corner displays 23:59:45.  Those who have been in Gemini District during the 13th Hour will know what's coming.  At the stroke of midnight, without any fanfare whatsoever, the mountain will quietly and seamlessly raise itself from the ground, contort horribly, and mutate into a horrifying amalgation of stone and clockwork and steel.]

There!  I'm sure some of you have seen that in action.  The question is, why isn't anyone trying to investigate what's obviously the main dungeon of this RPG?  I mean, just look at it!  If we're here for any reason at all, it's to march into that abomination and stamp out the final boss!  There's no reason not to storm in there right now and shake the bull by the horns until it moos!

...I mean.  Aside from the part where some stupid apes think they know better than a goddess - not you guys this time.  I can get around them, but barring some form of mass destruction, I don't think they're letting you through.  ...But that doesn't mean you should sit around on your butts twiddling your thumbs waiting for permission!  As entertaining as it is watching you live your pedestrian, quotidian lives, you need to be prepared to do so some serious demon fighting when it comes up.  And it's going to come up.

So here's where I come in.  Call it... divine intervention.

[The feed flickers from the view of the Mictlan into a view of a petite, nine-year-old girl.  This would be the first time since she came here that Viridi has shown her face.]

Alright, the first person who says anything about how I'm a little girl is getting turned into a rat.  I'm serious.  Rats don't live happy lives; don't test me.

Now listen closely.  It's demeaning enough having to say it once, so I'd rather not repeat myself.  ...In my world, gods traditionally choose heroes and mediators to act and fight on their behalf, because if it isn't obvious, having gods throwing punches at each other generally doesn't work out for the longevity of the world.  As might be obvious, my generals aren't here.  That means I need someone to work through. 

You can see where this is going.  If you want to fight demons, but you're not sure you can handle it on your own, I'm willing to Support you. Criteria - Don't take this for granted.  Don't talk about the environment unless you agree with me.  For both of our sakes.  And don't be really annoying.  That's more on a person-to-person basis, but just as a general scale: Hades - really annoying, Dark Pit - pretty darn annoying, and Pit - more tolerable than annoying except when he sings.

The perks for you are the Power of Flight, teleportation, access to my sanctuary, hearing the melodious sound of my voice, and getting Supported by a goddess.  And yes, the Power of Flight means you can fly.  Five minutes maximum before you fall - don't yell at me if you go over because I didn't make the rules on this.  I can only really do one person at a time, so this is a first-come first-serve sort of deal.  ...Now see how selfless this all is?  I am nice.

[Viridi pauses at the end of her speech.]

What is with this stupid weather, anyway?  Is this the century where global warming begins?

((Basically, this translates to periodic fighting logs!  I've discovered that I'm rather fond of running those so I'd like to do it more often.  I'll just be throwing up a demon-fighting log every now and then with Viridi acting as Support for you.

Also Viridi is serious about the rat thing.  Don't respond ICly with that line if you don't want her casting Ani on you.  Or do so if you want that!)) 

Comments

[stolemylook]

I wouldn't be annoying if you stopped bothering me all the time.

[forceofnature]

Annoying is more of a state of existence. I think you're stuck with it for life, sorry.

[pistolsakimbo]

I dunno... if they're keeping the place off limits, it might be for a good reason...

[But damn she's been curious about what's in there, and it's obvious in her voice.]

[forceofnature]

[Oh. Her.]

Like there's any good reason to deny a goddess. I could stamp all of them out just by rolling over the wrong way in bed.

[gforceinmyfaaaace]

♫ ~ OH THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL ~ ♫

[forceofnature]

Not anywhere near as frightful as my face is right now.

[Voice]

[darkbaptist]

It's much the same in my world, although the gods capable of choosing and assisting humans often ask for a sacrifice before agreement. As a means to call them down.

Regardless if continuing investigating this anomaly could lead to discovering what's happened to this world and leaving, I offer my assistance.

[forceofnature]

At least someone's taking this seriously. I don't know about sacrifices, but I could use some hot chocolate today if you want to offer any.

[greyerrant]

The way is shut, but the demons at the gates can be slaughtered well enough. The question of what lies within remains unanswered. As well as the question of why it is sealed in the first place.

[forceofnature]

Shut? What do you mean, shut? There's just some annoying twits telling people to stay away, isn't there?

Video

[awww_yeeeeeaaaah]

I dunno about the weather bu- [Oh.

Oh hold on a second his nose scrunches up and he-he-]

A-AH-CHOI!! Ah, sorry. [Must be the ridiculous weather!]

Anyway I'm all about saving the planet and I've fought demons before. A lot of them here are the same as back home, actually.

[forceofnature]

I bless you.

...Well, not really, but I've always wanted to say that.

What do you mean, the same as back home? Your world's overrun with demons? What are the gods of these planets doing, rolling around in bed all day?

[video]

[primordial]

[Whoah, lady, you look younger than he thought you looked, but after that comment about the rat, he feels that making any comment on it is a bit too risky on his part.]

Um...what's an RPG?

[Because that is clearly the most important point of this entire post.]

[forceofnature]

Role-playing game.

They rot your mind, don't think too hard about it.

[nofairy]

I've been fighting monsters around there, but I can't get through the gates. I haven't found anything that looks like a key, either.

[And he knows dungeon keys, okay?]

[forceofnature]

Yeah, I heard. I'm going to work on that.

The important thing is to keep up our training. Even if it's not accessible right now, we need to be ready for when it is.

video;

[greatergone]

I want to fight demons. I'd prefer to kill them all. But I lack the proper weaponry.

[forceofnature]

Exactly! Everyone's in a different position than they were used to at home, even if they were seasoned fighters. That's why we need to train with what we've been provided!

[selfgodded]

The temperamental weather fills me with nostalgia. Are you not enjoying it?

[Anant laughs weirdly at this - don't ask]

Hrm, it is nice to see that you are tolerating humans more, though! It seems you have learned that not all of them are as irredeemable as you believed! Not that any human needs to be redeemed, or changed, in any way...

But you can offer the power of flight to humans? How fascinating...how?

[forceofnature]

I'm the goddess of nature. This type of weather is terrible for me. If the frosts isn't consistent, all the melting and freezing will be too much for the fragile ecosystem; we're going to see a lot of dead plants next spring.

And I am not tolerating them more. I'm hating them slightly less. Slightly. The Power of Flight is a divine gift; it's usually for angels, but I can use it on humans with a few adjustments.

[dodgecharms]

[Sorry, Viridi, but Secret is having a hard time keeping her snark in check. After a moment or two's hesitation...]

You're a little girl!

[forceofnature]

[And then Viridi casts Ani over and over until the 40% chance hits. Or until Secret interrupts her. Secret is welcome to question why there's a dryad suddenly standing next to her poking her repeatedly.]

[bondsofsuffering]

[He gives an impressed whistle.]

Flight, too? That's some perk.

[Why yes, that is the important one here, clearly.]

[forceofnature]

You earthbound souls are always so impressed with that one. Pit whines about flying by himself all the time; it's probably a little overrated in a tiny little city like this.

Video

[echo_of_a_jedi]

[Well, who was she to comment on what a god looked like?]

I think you found out from Cerberus already the little progress we've made. The Mictlan is obviously important, but I think the weather might be a more immediate concern if it's unusual for this planet.

[forceofnature]

It's too extreme to be normal on any planet. My powers are limited here, but I can tell you now that the atmospheric changes are off the charts. It's definitely the result of some outside influence.