Bliss Stage (IC)

[Amaril]

It's amazing how quickly nature can reclaim a city when there's no one working to keep it out. Where the paved, even streets of Boston ran seven years ago, plantlife now flourishes in the cracks between the crumbling blocks of asphalt, creeping up the walls of buildings and through the rusted-out shells of cars. Birdsong fills the air on sunny days, and more animals can be seen roaming the ruins every year.

It would be beautiful if not for the apartment block-sized remote weapon advancing down the street, each titanic footfall shaking the ground, leaving plants and road alike trampled and smashed.

[Soundtrack] (https://youtu.be/stCfKcu_pnw)

Jess cautiously pokes her head around the broken-down wall that hides her squad. Even at an unhurried pace, the drone's huge stride eats up distance. The details of its form are hard to make out, concealed by the same cloud of dark smoke that follows all the alien weapons, but she can see its blurry silhouette, bipedal with overlong, stretched-looking limbs and hunched shoulders. "We've got ten steps," the ranger barks to her subordinates. "Get ready to move."

"What the hell is going on?" says Melissa, panic creeping into her voice. "It's totally ignoring us! It's like it knows!"

"You're asking me?" Jess snaps.

The drone draws closer, the ground shaking harder. Stitch's knuckles whiten on the grip of his rifle, his face twisting into a snarl. "Goddammit, what the f*** are we even doing out here?"

In a second, he's on his feet. "You idiot, stay down!" Jess protests, but before she can grab him, he's already gone, charging out of cover and into the drone's path.

"HEY! A**HOLE!" Raising his gun, he fires a burst into the smoke, at the spot where its face would be. "I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME!"

As its next footfall lands, the grinding, metallic sounds of the drone's movements fade, its advance slowing to a halt. Then, from the spot Stitch shot at, there's a blinding flash of red light, and a deafening blast of noise. When it fades, there's nothing left of the ranger but a scorch mark on the pavement. The ground begins to shake again as the weapon grinds back into motion, still heading in the same direction.

"STITCH!" Melissa scrambles to her feet, but before she can raise her gun, Jess tackles her, pulling her back down.

"You wanna end up like him?" the squad leader snarls; the fight drains out of Melissa, her shoulders slumping. As tears start to run down her cheeks, Jess unhooks her radio and raises it to her ear. "HQ, this is Ranger 4. Code Orange. All attempts to divert the remote weapon have failed, it's heading straight for your position. Repeat, Code Orange, diversionary tactics have failed. Please advise, over."

The response is slow in coming, static filling the air. When it does, it's not a radio operator's voice Jess hears on the other end, but that of Dr. Shaw herself. "Roger that. You've done enough, rangers. Disengage and avoid further losses. Over."

Jess does a double-take. "Doc, did you hear me? It's heading straight for you! If we don't--"

"I heard you, Jess," comes the response. "Get out of there. That's an order. Over."

Protests rise in Jess' throat; she forces them down. "Roger that. Over and out." Stowing the radio, she gestures to her squad. "We're pulling out. Move!"

***

In the hospital admin office, the organizers and operators exchange fearful looks. Takumi ignores them, glaring at the doctor. "You're making a mistake. They're not ready."

"We haven't had a critical failure in four months," Shaw replies, her tone carefully composed.

"That's tests," Takumi counters, shaking his head. "It's different. You know that."

"There has to be a first time. This is what we built them for."

She's right, and Takumi knows it, but that doesn't make it easy. "And what if it doesn't work, huh? Then what do we do?"

She hasn't met his eyes all this time, but now she suddenly rounds on him, returning his glare. "What do you want me to say, Takumi?" she snaps, the composure suddenly gone, replaced by frustration. "If it doesn't work, we'll probably all die. But we're out of options, here. If we don't take this shot, we're dead either way."

Takumi holds her stare for a moment, hands curling into fists at his sides. Then he sighs and hangs his head. "I'll call them in."

Returning to his seat, he picks up the phone and hits the intercom button.



Bliss Stage
[Opening] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAPF6NND70w)
Episode 1: Awake On Foreign Shores

[Soundtrack] (https://youtu.be/lVwp328Nmps)

Sirens blare through the hospital as the intercom crackles to life. "Attention, everyone. This is a Code Orange alert. All ANIMa personnel, report to the creche immediately.
Everyone else, please find your emergency leaders and follow their instructions. This is not a drill. Repeat, Code Orange alert. All ANIMa personnel, report to the creche immediately. This is not a drill."

As the message ends, the sirens are joined by the sounds of the youngest children crying, while everyone else drops what they're doing and scrambles to follow instructions. Everyone knows what Code Orange means, but this is the first time it's happened. The group leaders immediately have their hands full getting everyone organized and heading for shelter; even they sound terrified.

You have a different job to do. The fact that the ground hasn't started to shake means you have some time, but not much. The creche is in one of the underground parking garages. You need to hurry.

Okay, here's where you tell us what your pilot's been doing, and narrate them arriving at the briefing. Once everyone's there, we'll start the briefing action proper.

[Phobia]

Die.

The air was thick with the sound of punches in the gym, the bag straining against the onslaught of the slender girl training there. Her eyes were glazed over in obvious concentration, the many hours that had passed since she started obvious only to her by the tenderness in her arms.

DIE!

She kicked the bag hard enough to send it swinging wildly as the alarm broke her trance. Hannah reached over and stopped the punching bag's swinging as she breathed deeply. The girl knew she would need all her strength for this. The moment she'd been waiting for. The blond teen walked over and took a quick drink of water before dabbing herself down with a towel, and then she gathered up her things and went to change. She wasn't moving slowly, she was moving methodically, she knew what this was and what she had to do.

Outside of the gym it was, predictably, chaos. Hannah walked through it with a determined look on her face, brushing past those running by in a swift walk. In another life she'd be out there right now, with the Rangers, and she felt a lingering regret. The Rangers were an elite squad that actually went out there and faced those things, and she would have been proud to become one. Like her sister... her late sister.. She had been the best of them all. And Hannah had wanted to be just like her.

Hannah stopped for a brief moment, her resolve weakening. She was alone for the most part now, only essential staff would be this close to the creche. The eager soldier balled up her fist and slammed it against the wall. She couldn't afford to be upset right now. This was IT. This was her chance.

To make them pay for what they'd taken from her. From humanity.

She sprinted the rest of the way.

[CoreBrute23]

"And done." Virat held up the assembled rifle, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow, presenting it to the tall Ranger* in front of him.

"6 minutes." The ranger looked up from his stop watch. "That's just enough time to get killed, along with the rest of your group." Virat lowered his head in shame.

He'd asked the rangers to teach him some skills to help out, especially since it looked like the whole giant robot in dreams plan was going nowhere fast. He'd been field stripping and reassembling this rifle for about 2 hours, but he was still too slow.

"One more time Virat, and this time actually put some effort into-" That's when the alarms went off.

"Oh crap." Virat said, setting the rifle down and ran to the creche, wiping his hands with a napkin, futilely trying to get the oil off.

I was going to make this ranger Janae Washington, but I remembered that Sahe has control over said character so I didn't want to give her a personality Sahe didn't approve of. If it's good so far, I can change it to Janae, otherwise I'll make up a new ranger.

[Sahe]

Lea was lying on the roof staring into a sky of gray and blue watching a lonely bird soaring high up in the wind. A few minutes earlier she had listened into the channel of the Rangers who had been tracking a giant remote, apparently heading directly for their compound. Now her radio was silent as she had turned it off to enjoy some last few moments of silence to prepare herself what was about to come. It was one her favorite places for that. When Emily had still been awake the two of them could've been found up here often. Now this was the place where Lea felt closest to her girlfriend. She knew she could visit her anytime in their "Chamber of Dreams" but seeing her there, hearing her breaths hurt. Up here she could focus on the memories they had made together and forget that the world had gone to ****.

The emergency channel on Lea's radio awoke with a crackling sound, broadcasting Takumi's voice as he issued a "Code Orange" and ordered all Pilots and Anchors down to the creche. Lea sighed deeply and after a long moment got up and made her way down into the basement.

[Amaril]

As you fight against the flow of the crowds, you feel eyes on you, afraid and uncertain. Everyone in the resistance knows who you are by now--the ANIMa project has been the talk of the hospital since Dr. Shaw announced it. The start of a new phase in the war, taking the fight to the aliens and reclaiming this planet. Of course, few of those not directly involved in the program have any real idea of what it involves. When most people imagine fighting the aliens, floating unconscious in a fluid tank isn't how they imagine it looking. For every hopeful look sent your way, two scornful ones follow.

The garage is dark, except for a pool of light surrounding the ANIMa equipment. Along the wall stand the tanks, tangles of cable linking them to the banks of computers and monitors from which the anchors and operators play their parts. A curtained-off section stands ready to offer privacy while you change into your suits.

You arrive to find the doctor waiting, along with Takumi and your anchors. Behind them, the techs bustle about in hushed chaos, bringing the creche online. Dr. Shaw is stony-faced as usual, straight-backed in her white coat, though the dark circles under her eyes look even deeper today. Takumi does his best to look unfazed, though you can tell by the anxious glances he casts at the techs every few seconds that he's hardly at ease.

"Alright, let's keep this short," Shaw announces as soon as you're all present. "We don't have much time. About eight minutes ago, we got word from the rangers that the remote weapon they'd been engaging wasn't falling for the usual diversions. As of our last report, it's heading straight for us here." She looks each of you in the eye significantly. "Our only chance of repelling it is a dreamspace attack. This is gonna be our first test of the ANIMa in live combat. I know it's sudden, but this is what you've all been training for. We're counting on you, here."

"We only have enough power for one tank right now," she explains, gesturing over her shoulder, "but we can't afford to wait, so we're gonna have to send you in one by one. Lea and Robin, you're up first; Virat and Rose, I want you on deck. Your objective is simple: get in there, engage the target, and do as much damage as you can while keeping it from getting any closer to the hospital. Don't take any unnecessary risks--remember, you've got backup waiting, so if you're in over your head, don't be afraid to tag out. Anchors, you've got your panic buttons; remember them. Everybody clear?" She gives everyone one last assessing look, then nods. "Okay. Suit up."

Objectives:

Prevent the remote weapon from reaching the base
Defeat the remote weapon

Lea and Robin are up first, followed by Virat and Rose, and then Hannah and Liam. Sahe and Phobia, go ahead and narrate the process of getting Lea suited up and into the ANIMa. From here,
this is basically your show to run; I'll referee the rules, and Core and I will be ready to introduce nightmare weirdness to the mission, but for the most part, the stage is yours.