Every tree needs a SeeD

[gunbladegrrl]

Who: Maria and whosoever bothers her!
What: A new arrival wakes up and tries to make sense of all this.
Where: Home!
When: Morning to noon.
Other: ??


A. Inside.

[The first thing Maria is aware of is pain.]

[This is because she is lying on two gunblades and a rifle. Aside from being uncomfortable in and of themselves, they also are holstered in such a way that lying on them bends her back in a miserable U. Which immediately tells her that she isn't where she should be. She doesn't sleep with her weapons strapped on, and if she DOES it certainly isn't on her back.]

[She's on her feet in two moments -- and looking all the more shocked when she is, because she should have been on her feet in only moment, but her body didn't respond correctly. Quick mental stock tells her that all her Junctions are gone. Reflexively, she slaps a hand to her chest, verifying that her Junction Device is indeed still there...]

[Worse and worse.]

[So it is that the sound of a door crashing violently open as it's kicked fills the air inside Home, and the girl barges out into the hallway. Her weapons aren't in her hands, but the scowl on the face and the tension in the broad muscles of her shoulder and back say that she's just looking for a reason -- or a person responsible.]

B. Outside.

[So nothing here is responsible. No one knows why. That's just super]

[Maria faces the tree, eyes squinched shut in concentration and one hand extended. While technically she doesn't need to have a hand out to Draw magic, she's always found it easier that way -- a mental prop to help her focus, as it is. But all the focus she can muster isn't enough. She can't Draw.]

[Letting out a snarl of frustration, she checks the little device in her other hand, makes a couple adjustments to it with a flick of her thumb, then sticks her free hand out again. Maybe this time.]

[Urrrrrrrrrrghhh...]

Comments

[gunbladegrrl]

[Right. Well. The robot looks like something she could dismantle with her bare hands -- which is not entirely a reflection on its appearance when she has a grip strength adequate to tighten lug nuts -- so. Her shift out of a ready stance is subtle by palpable.] That might be better.

[orbislife]

[ He does have less plating than other Omnics of similar configurations, and he has wires exposed to the elements. Zenyatta does not look the most sturdy. ]

Please, follow me. It is not far.

[ He turns around and begins to descend the stairs with careful steps and one hand on the railing.

... He is used to hovering. Not walking and stairs, though he has been forced to relearn both, so forgive the excess in caution. ]

[gunbladegrrl]

[The slow procession has her hackles up, but not for any good or rational reason. She's just entirely on edge, in a new environment and decidedly lacking in almost everything that would make her comfortable.]

[But -- and here she rolls her shoulders, just to feel their reassuring weight -- she still has her gunblades. Nothing she can't handle without them.]

[orbislife]

[ When they reach the first floor, Zenyatta moves much fast over to the sitting area. He picks a wide chair that allows him to sit in a lotus position. ]

I will answer your questions as much I can when you are ready for them.

[ Given her violent outburst, he will let her direct where the conversation goes from here. ]

[gunbladegrrl]

First question, I suppose, is what world is this?

[She all but throws herself into a chair. Maria doesn't want to sit, but she's pretty sure pacing around like a restless panther will only set the robot on edge in turn. Sometimes you had to be diplomatic no matter how much you didn't want to.]

[orbislife]

[ If she wants to pace around as a way to ease her tension, then Zenyatta would not mind. He is really used to dealing with much worse, and as a near rule, he goes with diplomacy and compassion before anything else. ]

Fa’Diel. There is a town nearby called Domina, but beyond that, I do not know. We have all found ourselves taken from our homes and brought here.

[gunbladegrrl]

{Maria waves off the last statement as being unnecessary.] Right, I recognize that pattern. I just thought we'd solved it. So does anyone know anything about why Time Compression is acting up here?

[orbislife]

I apologize. I am unfamiliar with that term.

[ He hums in thought. She sounds like she knows of this phenomenon from her own world. Zenyatta could make guesses, but they would be just that. Guesses. With little in the way of having evidence to support it. ]

... Perhaps you should find a young woman named Accord. She has more experience with timelines.

[gunbladegrrl]

Long story short, a Sorceress tried to squeeze all of time and space into one point inside her, and it had long-term ramifications. [Maria makes a motion like scrunching up paper into a wad between her hands.] Like causing people to end up in the wrong world or the wrong time or both.

[orbislife]

[ Zenyatta turns to make eye contact with the woman, and if he could show facial expressions, his would be pure confusion.

Because... what?

Why would someone want to do that? What benefit, regardless of morals, could there be? He has no process or algorithm that allows him to understand the motivation behind it. ]

... There are simpler and less damaging ways to become one with the universe.

[gunbladegrrl]

But. [Maria lifts a finger to make her point.] How many of those ways let you recreate it in the manner you see fit, making you a supreme being and its ultimate arbiter?

[orbislife]

[ With this additional information, he can better understand the intent of this sorceress. He does not agree with her actions, but he understands a little more. ]

After compressing time and space within her, she intended to birth a new universe and rule it. It sounds as if she partially succeeded in your world. Did she face opposition, or did the attempt fail from a more technical standpoint?

[gunbladegrrl]

The technicalities of it all are what allowed the opposition to exist. But SeeD took her down. [And Maria had nothing to do with that -- she had, in fact, been six years old at the time. But as a SeeD, she cherishes the legacy with pride.]

[orbislife]

That is good. I would be concerned for your world if that had not been the case.

[ Zenyatta gives a tilt of his head. ]

However, it also sounds like what you described does not relate to here or to what Accord is familiar with.

[gunbladegrrl]

[Maria shakes her head.] But I've seen this exact thing happen before. It centered on my world because that had been the center of Time Compression, but the results are the same -- people from different times and different worlds all being displaced to a new world like this.

[orbislife]

Ah, I mean a malicious force causing the compression. This place has been very peaceful thus far.

But if time compression can happen by other means, then perhaps you are right.

[gunbladegrrl]

Well, the thing about affecting all of time and space is that it affects all of time and space. So Time Compression is capable of having effects that predate its inception or postdate its end, and because of its half-complete nature it can also be very sporadic as well.

Hell, we once had Garden flood with jam because of it.

[orbislife]

[ A garden flooded with jam? It is a very amusing image to imagine, though the gardener must have been quite distressed by the development. ]

That is a very intriguing effect. It is clear you know much about this, miss.

[ It dawns on him that he has not shared his name yet and has not gotten hers. ]

[gunbladegrrl]

Well, being from the world it originated and dealing with it for years... yeah, that comes with the territory. [She is relaxed enough, at last, to let a ghost of a smile past her lips.]

[orbislife]

Then perhaps you will be able to discover why we have come here and if there is anything we can do to return us to our original worlds.

[ Not that this world is unpleasant, but Zenyatta has things to do back home. Returning is preferable. ]

I am Zenyatta. May I ask your name?

[gunbladegrrl]

[Maria shoots to her feet out of pure reflex, straightening directly into a stance of military attention.]

Maria Cyphert, SeeD.

[orbislife]

[ Zenyatta bows from his sitting position. He does not mean to be rude. It is just that he is normally in a sitting position that he does not think to stand to do so. ]

It is a pleasure to meet you Miss Cyphert. You are among friends here in this tree, and if I can assist you in anyway, even just to talk, please do not hesitate to ask. I will do what I can.

[gunbladegrrl]

[The courtesy throws her off just a little, because -- that isn't a normal offer in her line of work. She drops back down into the chair with a little frown that isn't for Zenyatta.]

Okay, what do you know about a failure of magical or paramagical ability here?

[orbislife]

I do not know the reason why it happens, but others have experienced a loss in abilities and powers here. Myself included.

[ In almost a nervous gesture, he looks at his hands and slightly flexes his fingers. It had been years since he did not feel the warmth of the Iris and energy flowing through him in nearly every waking moment. Zenyatta knows the Iris is there, but he cannot reach it. He feels like he did when he first started training in the monastery. ]

[gunbladegrrl]

Huh. That's weird. [Definitely not in keeping with her experience, and she can't understand why it would affect paramagic in any form.] 'Others' as in 'some others' or 'everyone' or next to it?