Your head feels heavy, your memories foggy, and as you struggle to recall where you are and what you were doing, you hear the sound of something large and heavy moving behind you. Whatever it is - machinery of some sort, you can tell that much right away - it doesn’t seem hostile; merely a massive machine going about doing something down far, far below you. You can see it - through the cracks of the floor you're standing on, and the steep drop off the side. At least there’s a railing on this path to keep you from falling down there?
No matter which way you look - up, down, or out straight ahead of you - there’s endless paths and structures, as though you’re standing in some sort of massive building. You look to your left and there’s a broken section of wall revealing open space - strange, since you aren’t wearing anything different, yet you’re still breathing just fine.
A loud ping! catches your attention, followed by a few more. As you turn around to find the source of the noise, you’re led to a rundown computer terminal. It looks ancient, untouched, and dusty, and yet there’s a message in bright green standing against the stark black contrast of the monitor.
/// L O A D I N G . . .
Oh good, you’re awake.
Hi, I don’t have much time, so please pay close attention.
You’re the only ones who can save this world - all worlds, maybe.
Thank you for agreeing to help.
For now, please practice your new abilities and try to work together.
I’ll be in contact with you as soon as possible.
It feels familiar, like maybe you've experienced something similar before, despite the fact that none of you recognize this place. What's going on here? What have you gotten yourself into?
AWAKENING
Your memories leading up to your sudden arrival in this place may be foggy. Even if they aren't, you certainly don't remember how you got here of all places. And where exactly is here? Well, inside of some sort of massive structure that expands outwards, backwards, downwards, and upwards. Every direction you look, there's plenty of building to be seen, whether it's walkways over the abyss (but thankfully with mostly sturdy guard rails) or stairs and ramps leading up and down to new floors, or even rooms that don't seem to hold much of interest. All of it is rundown, worn and in desperate need of some dusting.
Before you sits the terminal, a sturdy computer set into a pillar with an old-fashioned and dusty keyboard. The green text remains bright against the black background, with a cursor indicating that you can input text, if you'd like. You may try to communicate with whoever's on the other end at any point in time during the week, though you may not receive the answers you're hoping for.
Not too far away is a carefully-arranged group of supplies. You'll find plenty of non-perishable food, blankets and bedrolls, clothes in your sizes that are plain but acceptable, and some basic supplies - things like rope and matches and flashlights, but no weapons or anything you could use to defend yourselves. You'll also find a large room nearby that happens to have several bathrooms and a fairly large communal shower. Despite being rather old and dusty, they do work... though the water never gets above "not freezing". Sorry about that.
Looks like you'll have to settle in, as there doesn't seem to be any way out of this strange structure.
EXPLORATION
It's likely that your first thought will be to explore. Why not? After all, there must be a way back home, or at least a way out of wherever this is. Traversing the structure is fairly easy, as even if a path is blocked by rubble, you'll find another one going in a similar direction somewhere nearby. In fact, the entire place seems to be rather pointlessly constructed - hallways that lead to dead ends, paths that loop in circles for no reason, and far, far too many stairs.
If you're lucky, you'll stumble across rooms with some basic supplies. They won't have any food or weapons, but you'll find some dusty fabrics and blankets, or small caches of tools. If you're unlucky, you'll be lost in this structure for far too long, wandering off the beaten path and possibly losing track of where you are and how to get back to the base... you might want to travel with a buddy, just to be safe. Or hope that someone stumbles across you and can guide you back, your pick.
Holes in the structure open out into what looks like... well, outer space. An endless sea of stars amidst a black sky that never changes, making it hard to tell how much time has passed. Despite this, you can breathe easily, just as you would back home.
MACHINES
It won't take you long to notice that you aren't truly alone. After all, how could you be, when massive machines seem to be hard at work on constructing even more of this place? The large ones - the builders - do just that, building more pathways and rooms and walkways, endlessly working and never stopping. They don't take notice of you; they won't respond to anything you say, and even attempting to poke and prod them won't get a reaction. Even if you get particularly daring and try to take one apart, you'll find that it's nearly impossible; these machines are massive. Finding a panel to get into to get at their wiring is strangely impossible. They seem to be completely seamless, with nothing you can really do to investigate them further.
But they aren't the only machines present. Though you likely won't see them immediately, you will hear them; a skittering, metal-on-metal clicking sound that alerts you to a presence, but fades before you can even detect which direction it was coming from. Whatever it is, it seems to be watching you.
And if you're ever alone... well, then they'll show themselves. Around three feet tall and made of metal with long, spindly legs that look like they shouldn't support their thicker cores, these spider-like robots aren't particularly strong on their own, but they never attack on their own, only in groups of three or more. If you're especially unlucky, you can find upwards of ten of them at a time. They have two claw-like "hands" that can shoot a jolt of electricity or scratch at you - and be careful, because they hurt! That jolt of electricity can even leave a burn if you're unlucky.
But surely if you stick together you won't have to fight them... right?
SHARDS
The strange gemstone imbedded in the back of your dominant hand almost hums when you're in danger. It fills you with confidence, with the knowledge that you can do something - though what exactly that something is varies from person to person. You might be lucky enough that you innately recognize your power and know how to use it. You might not be that lucky and you might have to manifest it in combat to defend yourself. Regardless, it will manifest - and you now have access to a power all your own.
It's not going to be easy to control it. This power is new to you, and you'll need to practice to have a hope of utilizing it in full. But right now, you have the means to defend yourself, and if those spider robots get particularly bold, you can stop them. After all, what better way to put your power to use than by testing it on fairly weak robots?
Let's hope that you can aim your power well enough, however. While the builders may not care about you at any point in time, if an attack goes wide and hits them or they're otherwise in the path of an ability, they will turn their full attention on you. You really don't want that. Builders are relentless in their pursuit of you - and they have massive steel beams they will swing at you, or they'll try to crush you with their giant hands and fists. There are only two ways to stop a builder: the first is to run far, far away. They cannot chase you, as they are connected to the building itself, after all. The other way is to destroy the joints of the arms or wrists, rendering the builder incapable of doing anything. Better hope you don't anger any of the ones near your base!
DOWNTIME
Aside from exploring, mastering the power of your shard, and getting to know one another... there really isn't much to do here. So how are you going to spend the time? After all, it's just you, your fellow shardbearers, and some robots that probably aren't sentient. Settle in, it looks like you've got a long week ahead of you.
ENEMIES
This week's enemies are described above: spider robots and builders. If you have an enemy idea you'd like to have your character encounter, let me know and we can discuss it!
Spider robots are three feet tall, silver metal spider-like robots that look vaguely like this. They have a core in the center of their body that can be taken, but it isn't particularly useful outside of being cool to look at. Even you tech nerds won't be able to get much out of it, as it seems impossible to find a way to dismantle it further. Spider robots come with two "hands" that have sharp claws on them; they're capable of creating electric zaps with these hands, which really hurt if they connect! Spider robots are very fast and will skitter away the moment there's danger... unless there's three or more of them, then they get bold. They will attack anyone sleeping, especially if they're alone. They're fairly weak enemies, and can be fended off even if you don't have a great grasp on your powers just yet.
The builders are a different story. Massive, structure-spanning robots that are nearly impossible to tell apart from the building itself, the only real part of them that you can identify are their dark metal arms. They are likewise massive, with one hand being large and strong enough to flatten five of you if you aren't careful. Though the builders are non-hostile and will go about their business of building this never-ending structure, they will turn their attention on you if you hit them with any sort of ability... even if that ability isn't an attack. They can swing giant metal beams or just go for the option of trying to crush you with their hands. They're slow-moving, but very powerful; though they can't pursue you so at least there's that. If you anger one near the base, watch out - as you will have to defeat it.
[Michael glances the guy over with narrowed eyes. He's not great at distinguishing human age on sight, but he's still very sure this one isn't elderly or anything.]
I talked to them a little, too. They did seem alright. [...hm. He's not sure how to ask about that. He'll just go in for a handshake, then.] I'm Michael.
[One could set up a Neighborhood like anything, and strip his powers before shoving him in. It doesn't necessarily have to be something made by humans.]
So - what, then, you're some kind of demon head honcho? [that does not sound Ideal]
On humans? Well, I don't exactly see the best of them. Ruling over Hell means I mostly saw them at their worst. So I decided to leave and open up a nightclub in Los Angeles!
[He says brightly. But then that cheerfulness fades.]
A former worker of mine was murdered last year, and I decided I needed to change tactics. I joined the police as a consultant to track down the person who decided he needed to snuff out her life, and I've been working with a detective since.
To protect my mother, I used a holy blade to tear a hole in reality. She's safe, there. But I'll never see her again. I texted my brother about the situation, called Chloe. And the next thing I remember, I woke up here.
[You know what? Whatever! It's weird and different and it's not worth getting hung up over.]
I just got finished getting everyone to agree to stop torturing all of humanity for the rest of time, and it was really difficult, and they almost blew up Earth just out of spite or something, and those angels didn't do jack shit the entire time. Like, geez, ever thought about doing your actual job?
In mine, humans damn themselves. Every single soul has a private Hell. They could leave at any moment and ascend to Heaven. All they have to do is open the door and leave.
[...]
Well, I say humans. But celestials can become trapped in a loop, too. I was, for a time.
[We can revisit the rest of that in a moment. Michael's hardly surprised to hear that humans could do that sort of thing to themselves; isn't that what all his arguments have been based on? If they're alone, then of course it would be hard to make their own way out. Still - not all of them, surely?]
I rebelled once already, and instead of being obliterated, I was put in charge of Hell. It's why I decided to start working with the detective. I want to change things while people are still alive.
My family is... [he trails off] ...calling us dysfunctional is putting it lightly.
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I talked to them a little, too. They did seem alright. [...hm. He's not sure how to ask about that. He'll just go in for a handshake, then.] I'm Michael.
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[It genuinely seems to be his name. He's a little too serious for it to come across as some baffling stage name.]
They're in over their heads. Told me there were only two others trying to save the world.
[He's not if they're all alive, though he hopes so. Lives are precious things.]
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[What kind of Satanist deal are humans doing these days? Michael honestly doesn't even know.]
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[He shrugs. He's used to others disbelieving him.]
I am that Lucifer, to be clear. Though the stories of me are largely human invention.
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[That's not actually a thing. Unless...?]
Is this some sort of totally separate dimensional system?
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[One could set up a Neighborhood like anything, and strip his powers before shoving him in. It doesn't necessarily have to be something made by humans.]
So - what, then, you're some kind of demon head honcho? [that does not sound Ideal]
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Being ruler of Hell was a position forced upon me. It wasn't something I chose.
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[He says brightly. But then that cheerfulness fades.]
A former worker of mine was murdered last year, and I decided I needed to change tactics. I joined the police as a consultant to track down the person who decided he needed to snuff out her life, and I've been working with a detective since.
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My best friend and I left together. It was a little awkward, because I had to carry her out of Hell, but she's enjoyed her time on Earth.
[This does, however, leave Hell without any leadership whatsoever.]
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[Baffling, good sir, but okay?]
So - you're not gonna start any shit with the humans here, though.
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[Unless one of them decides to commit a murder??]
I came here to help this world, not make things worse.
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[Can they just be normal about humanity for like five minutes? He learned how to do it!]
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I have.... my own issues with my family.
[He grows serious.]
To protect my mother, I used a holy blade to tear a hole in reality. She's safe, there. But I'll never see her again. I texted my brother about the situation, called Chloe. And the next thing I remember, I woke up here.
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[You know what? Whatever! It's weird and different and it's not worth getting hung up over.]
I just got finished getting everyone to agree to stop torturing all of humanity for the rest of time, and it was really difficult, and they almost blew up Earth just out of spite or something, and those angels didn't do jack shit the entire time. Like, geez, ever thought about doing your actual job?
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We come from... very different realities.
[It's all he can say for a moment.]
In mine, humans damn themselves. Every single soul has a private Hell. They could leave at any moment and ascend to Heaven. All they have to do is open the door and leave.
[...]
Well, I say humans. But celestials can become trapped in a loop, too. I was, for a time.
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[We can revisit the rest of that in a moment. Michael's hardly surprised to hear that humans could do that sort of thing to themselves; isn't that what all his arguments have been based on? If they're alone, then of course it would be hard to make their own way out. Still - not all of them, surely?]
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[It's very sad. Lucifer can acknowledge that much.]
I was able to leave mine because of Mum.
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[jesus fucking christ every single time with these fucking people and the fucking afterlife]
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I rebelled once already, and instead of being obliterated, I was put in charge of Hell. It's why I decided to start working with the detective. I want to change things while people are still alive.
My family is... [he trails off] ...calling us dysfunctional is putting it lightly.