Aurora Express: A Panfandom RP

Who: everyone
When: Day 59, evening
Where: near the Aurora

[As evening closes in, with the candy hearts and decorations still around, the train is assaulted by... a smell.

An awful smell, like mold and rot, that drifts down the honey river from the spring deeper into the plateau, preceded by a wave of fleeing eels. The river changes from golden to a sickly greenish black sludge and rises, beginning to spill over its banks.

Everywhere the sludge spills, tendrils of stick black "candy" grow, looking somewhere between weeds and tentacles. They move, and reach out hungrily towards you. If they catch you they'll cling to you, covering you in sludge and minor scrapes, though they don't seem able to do much more harm than that. Anyone touched by sludge will feel unbearably lonely, and find themselves either unable to lie or unable to tell the truth. Which depends on the person, though it's more likely to be whichever urge is more foreign to the individual.

The sludge is hard to remove. In fact, it'll only come off when washed by someone else's hands...

On the bright side, the river will clear and the weeds will disappear by morning, so hang in there!]

Who: heart runners etc
When: Day 58, evening
Where: around

[After several hours of exploring, everyone is booted from the hearts they're in, finding themselves back in the trial clearing. Nearby, the red spider lilies in the portraits die away, the subjects open their eyes -- and the portraits disappear in clouds of black mist.

In the sky, new stars in the colours of Thyme, Jasmine, & Licorice are shining.

The ominous voice doesn't comment, but the sleeping heroes are now waking. Whether they remember what went on in their hearts is up to their players, but either way, surely what you did had some impact on them.

Although... you get the feeling that something isn't quite settled. It's a shame there's no way to confirm it.]

Who: Everyone
When: Day 57, morning
Where: The train!

[ There is a new car attached to the back of the train. You'll have to get past the garden, the gym, and the library to get to... the arcade.

Near the entrance is where you'll find the conveniently-placed machines to get tokens to play any of the arcade games. It seems to be a formality because it doesn't actually cost you any sparks to play the games, but be sure to swing by there before you hit up the games. And what an array there are! Overall, there's two floors filled with various types of games.

There's the crane games, filled with various cute plush versions of monsters you may have faced before (both during your stay on the Aurora and back home) as well as, more rarely-- is that a plush of yourself? Or one of your teammates perhaps, someone you care about on the train. It might be worth trying to pick one up!

Next of course are the video games and there's an array for all kinds of interests-- Rhythm games of all types, fighting games, shooting games, racing games... There's no shortage of different types you can play. Try one out, you might like it!

There's also a variety of purikura photo booths if you and/or a friend would like to try your hand at getting a cute set of sticker photos.

You've got some time to relax for the moment, so why not try it out at the arcade? ]

Who: EVERYONE
When: Day 54, sunset
Where: all around Origin Star

At first, when all the totems have been deactivated and everyone has returned to the Aurora, it seems like the dire situation has still not been resolved. The sky is still dark, the miasma still floating through the air.

But then, after an hour or two, you hear the clear ringing of a bell-tone, as you've heard every time Origin Star's Prism has reached a new level of purification. If you happen to be on the beach, you'll see it too -- glowing a paler and brighter green and sending off waves of white light.

Out on the Final Island, another scream resounds. In the distance you see tendrils rising, massive vines lifting and curling into the air like tentacles. They grow, and grow, and grow, into monster of unimaginable size, screeching all along, the concentrated remains of Malice on this Star. They lash out, bridges across the sea coming right at all of you!

But before they reach the shore, the Prism shifts fully to white, and light explodes from it, bright and warm and full of square-shaped sparkle. The darkness in the sky recedes, and as the pink-and-golden beams of the setting sun touch the island, the monster screams one more time, and then... dissipates, leaving behind it a picturesque scenery, white stone ruins surrounded by jungle and dotted in colourful flowers.

On your island, equally wonderful things are happening. Any remaining emotional effects you may be under fade, and the monsters in the jungle transform back to their original shapes as normal flora and fauna. The jungle blooms in front of you, becoming a visual feast of flowers, birds, and butterflies, and off towards the remains of the town you hear the sounds of people.

In fact, some of those people are appearing right around the train -- showers of sparkles coalesce into the forms of living people, some with many wings and some with a deer's body. They're confused and alarmed at the moment, but alive and whole. Even the girl that was brought back from the far island is waking up, and within the magic bottle you found on the third mission, echoes of a soul can be sensed by those with the power to do so.

You receive a message on your Chain:

☆: Hey, look at that! You did it!
☆: That's one Star down, nine or so to go!
☆: As a reward, we've programmed in a new Bond for each of your teams, so check the board in the lounge to see those. We'll also be giving you a new train car, so keep an eye out for that announcement!
☆: Unfortunately, you can't rest on your laurels too much. Take tonight to get some rest and take in the fruits of your labour, and tomorrow morning we'll head to the next location.
☆: And, to be more formal... Congratulations, Heroes of Distant Stars. Through your efforts and your bonds, you've restored love and peace to this sector of the universe. I, Cardamom, Prince of Stars, my Circle of Knights, and all the people living in this sector, thank you with all our hearts.
☆: Now, let's party!

As of now, you may earn sparks via your new team bonds, which are displayed in the lounge with all the others. For the evening, there'll be free sweets and champagne in the lounge car. It has no special effects and is just good plain fun! You'll also hear cheerful electronic pop playing from the intercoms all over the train, because your patron is Like This.

Speaking of... after a bit, Cardamom will be hanging out in the town handing out food and supplies to the people and explaining the situation to them, if you wish to join him. You may also speak to Lily, the girl brought back from session 2. Thyme will be around as well, but he'll be busy helping the townsfolk settle, so won't have a toplevel in this post.

Additionally, after a bit, the next train upgrade suggestions gathering will appear, so make your wishes known!

Who: E V E R Y O N E
When: Day 54 all-day
Where: E V E R Y W H E R E

This morning, just after dawn, you're awoken by a wail so deep and loud it makes your chest rumble. An eerie noise that feels supernaturally wrong, it's like a roar and a screech intertwined, multiple voices lashing out in anger and pain all at once. The sound last several long seconds, before facing into a distant hum.

Should you follow the noise towards the beach, you'll see that the corrupted island across the water is surrounded in a black miasma, floating into a sky that appears to be stained with bruise-like purple. For a little while it remains contained, but after a few minutes, there's a heart-beat like pulse.

Once

Twice

Thrice...

And the darkness rolls across the sky, bringing with it air filled with black dust motes that smell of mildew. The jungle is quiet, its wildlife in hiding from the Malice encroaching upon it, but you swear you can hear whispers out there. They're too quiet to understand, but you just know they're temping you:

Just let go. You don't need anyone but yourself. Everyone else should just go away.

Fortunately, as long as you stay inside the Aurora, the whispers won't actually cause you to act differently. They'll just be unsettling. Head outside, however, and you'll find yourself growing slowly more irritable and likely to say something nasty.

It takes a few minutes, but eventually everyone receives a message on their Chain, from The Construct. The same message is also aired in a robotic voice over the intercom.

Systems have detected imminent danger. Due to progression of purification, it appears the primary source of Malice on this Star has become enraged. This creature must be purified in order to complete Prism restoration.

Heroes willing to venture into the creature's lair, please make preparations and assemble in the lounge in two hours. A guide will be sent to transport you to your target location and aid your search. Please do not attempt to approach on your own.

Be aware, there is an increased likelihood of malicious creatures approaching at this time. It is advised that you remain inside the train as much as possible.

And remember: Stay Positive! The fate of the universe depends on your healthy bonds.

The announcement will prove quite true: periodically throughout the day, monsters common in corrupted areas of this Star may appear around the Aurora. They will appear one at a time and may be driven off -- it seems the overall purification of the jungle has made them weaker than they were before, but they're still dangerous!

It's time to wrap things up in this part of the universe -- good luck!

[NOTES: Please use this post to mingle freely, make IC plans, and general deal with the overall day of the event! To go and purify the island, there will be three sessions of mod-guided exploradora: 3pm PST & 7pm PST on Saturday, and 6pm PST on Sunday! Sessions happen sequentially ICly, so you can go to as few or as many as you like. If you intend to play, please to go sign up in this toplevel just so the mods have a rough idea of numbers. You can play even if you don't sign up, though!

Also, please check out this toplevel to leave your submissions for your new team bond! Submissions must be in by 6pm on the 6th, or the mods will pick a second bond for you. Thank you very much!]