Hey there! Did you know that yearly check-ups are the best preventative medicine you can give to your darling CYbuddy? Their health is of the utmost importance and from the Pomeranian to the Velociraptor, it's so very necessary to give your CYbuddy what he or she needs to be as happy and healthy as can be. After all, CYbuddies are the first and last defense in the war against loneliness, so you must do your best to protect the ones you have! You wouldn't want to be a friendless CYbuddy-less loser, would you? Through thick and thin, rain or shine, your CYbuddy will love you forever. And ever. And ever. Do not disappoint your CYbuddy.
You blink and suddenly find yourself in what looks like a doctor's waiting room, completely alone aside from the robot receptionist. Posters line the walls in various degrees of friendliness. Actually, is this the vet? It kind of looks like the vet. In fact, when you look down towards your lap, there will be a creature snoozing comfortably on you. Really, how did you not notice? The creature's collar names him Fluffy. (That's a dumb name, why did you name your pet Fluffy? Be more creative!) If you decide to call out to the receptionist, they will ignore you, but soon after you will hear clacking of sharp nails on the floor as someone -- or something -- comes out of the back room.
No worries, it's just the doctor.
 Greetings! My name is Thelonious T-Bone the Third and I will be Fluffy's doctor today. I will take good care of your dear Fluffy and be right back to you with him or her in a jiffy. You can, of course, completely trust me for I am the best in the business! No other Velociraptor can treat and heal pets as well as I, most certainly. But there is one tiny little thing, you see. My nurse is out sick today and my hands are too small and dangerous to work well without accidentally killing your poor pet. So, to make up for this, I will need you to be my nurse today. Do you think you can handle that?
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PHASE I [ 09 00 ] Welcome to ViViD's state of the art pet care simulator. It looks like everyone is ready and willing to get started -- maybe a little too eager to get started. There seems to have been a minor misunderstanding actually and Dr. T-Bone seems to think that... well, that you're the pet. Didn't he see Fluffy's collar? (Still, such a dumb name!)
If you don't think fast, you're likely to be shoved into a kennel or forced into getting really uncomfortable shots (to prevent rabies, you see; side effects include dizziness, nausea, sprouting animal ears for a few hours and the increased desire to bite people). At least you'll have company since it looks like this mistake is happening to everyone. Might as well get cozy and get to know the people stuck in the kennels next to you while you're here.
PHASE II [ 1200 ] It's time to actually be the nurse! And time to treat one of Dr. T-Bone's most prominent clients. You will be led to, well, a dinosaur -- a T-Rex to be exact. And you will be told that your job is to take care of its teeth.
That's right. Someone has to clean all of those teeth. And it looks like you're the lucky sap who got the job. Don't worry, the Tyrannosaurus Rex's name tag proclaims it to be vegan (and to go by the name of Sir Gadzooks) so it should be perfectly safe to reach into that gaping maw and start cleaning those teeth.
Alternatively, you could make your dental assistant do it; looks like you weren't the only one to get dragged into this farce. The question is, which one is handling the sharp pointy objects, and which one is sticking their hand into that mouth?
Also, it's not really a vegan dinosaur, that was a great big lie. And it's very, very hungry -- now might be a good time to run.
PHASE III [ 1300 ] Hope you weren't doing anything important (like sticking your hand into the mouth of a dinosaur), because someone is now throwing a blindfold over your eyes and hustling you right into the basement. A couple of twists and turns later, and you're being shoved into what appears to be an underground... peacock fighting ring? With a jaunty peacock headband on and none of your weapons on you, it seems as though you've been mistaken for a particularly ugly peacock and have been tossed into the ring.
Look out though. Those peacocks look mean. They'll go straight for the eyes if they get the chance, and will peck away merrily at your head. Of course, the walls aren't that high all things considered (they're peacocks), so it probably wouldn't be that hard to escape the ring.
(Or, if you manage to find your way down there yourself, you can always join in on the ludicrously outlandish betting pool. It might be a good way to get some cash -- if you bet on the right peacock.
Actually, is that Mr. T-Bone in the crowd too? Someone get the quack out of here!)
PHASE IV [ 1600 ] There's someone whispering.
It's a quiet, throaty whisper, and no matter where you are in the ViViD level, you can hear it. Sometimes, it's clearer than others. Sometimes, it can barely be heard at all. But it's always there, whispering, "Come closer. Come closer. Come closer."
If you should gather up your courage and follow those whispers, they will lead you to a... bird. Upon seeing you, the bird will begin to speak again in that throaty whisper, this time detailing the destruction of your world, down to the tiniest of details, such as the look on your best friend's face as they died, or the last words of your most important person. It's almost hypnotic, so much so that you can't pull away --
And just like that, the bird squawks, and it's over. What was that about? Hopefully nobody else heard all of that.
BONUS [ xxxx ] You go to speak with the vet, whether to complain about your treatment at the hands of the others, the fact that you had to play dino dentistry or to let him know that there's an illegal peacock fighting ring below his practice, and before you know it there's talk of "just to be safe" and "you never know what someone with an attitude like that will do" -- which, what? All of a sudden Dr. T-Bone and his receptionist are shoving you into a cone of shame. How embarrassing! And no matter what you do, it just won't come off.
In fact, if nothing else, it seems magnetically attracted to the walls and anyone else wearing one. If one of those poor fools happen to be within a ten foot radius of you, prepare yourselves for a massive collision. What a pain, right? It seems like the cones won't come off until you (and your magnetic partner) get out of this confounded level. If only you could find the exit (and Fluffy too -- where'd he get off to?)
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[Nothing to do but figure it out. BUt right now he has a peacock to chase off. ...and then they have another problem. Quatre frowns, and for just a moment he considers making a stand because this isn't right! And these people shouldn't do this to other people, or to these birds.
But well. They are outnumbered, so maybe retreating isn't a bad idea.] I'd rather not. I don't think it's really my calling.
[So then he inclines his head to the left.] This way! [Looks like a hallway. Hallways have doors. Maybe.]
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I'd say to report them to the police when we're out of here, but I'm not actually sure how useful the police are... [ She seems to be thinking even as she's keeping pace with the younger boy, trying to consider the possibilities. ]
We're going to bust out of this joint either way, but how would you feel about busting up this joint on our way out?
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[He's a pacifist at heart, after all. He's willing to fight for that ideal, but maybe not peacocks. That seems unnecessary. And unkind to the peacocks. ...including him. He should really ditch that headband, but right now he's busy escaping.
He frowns at her assessment.] That's not a good sign... [About the police. And he's already wondering about the people running this entire place. He glances over, lifting an eyebrow at that.]
Busting it up? [Well... considering what they're doing here? It's not exactly like taking out an Oz base, but the principle is basically the same right? So Quatre nods.] Any place running this sort of organization can't be doing any good. [He's totally in.]
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Over here! [ She turns the first corner they see and ducks into the next open room, locking the door behind her. It seems to be some kind of doctor's office. At least they take care of their peacocks? ]
Alright. We're safe for a while, so let's gather ourselves and come up with a plan. First: I'm Nanoha, Takamachi Nanoha. If we're fighting together, we should know each other's names, right?
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[Slow down, Quat. It's a peacock fighting ring, not a war. But his point stands.
Once they're behind a locked door, he's happy for introductions.] Quatre Raberba Winner. [And for once he's quite sure his family name doesn't carry the connotations it usually does.] It's good to meet you. [Another smile.] And thank you, for helping me out back there. [So now yes. About that plan.]
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We should probably work to get the peacocks out. Just freeing them can lead to its own problems, but it's better than having them fight to the death here, probably. But more importantly, we should get evidence of the illegal activity and the ringleaders themselves. If we can throw both at the police here, they may be bad, but they aren't corrupt, so they'll have to toss them in jail. [ Nanoha didn't approve of just crippling them so they could never work again, though that was probably actually the easiest option. ]
As for the actual plan of action, there's only one door so we either smash out way out guns blazing, or... Use the air vents? I could just blast through the walls too, if that's too difficult.
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But now they have business to attend. Admittedly he's not used to involving the authorities but in this case he thinks it's a good idea. After all, it is only the two of them.]
Considering we're only two people, a full on assault might not get us as far as a little stealth might. I vote the air vents. We can circle back and start closer to the fighting ring. That's where the peacocks will be right? And any evidence we could easily grab.
[A sheepish laugh,] This isn't like the missions I'm used to.
what is this deus ex?
I'm more used to going in guns blazing, but it's not always the smartest way to do things. We don't want them to be on high alert and bring everyone in, it'd end up causing way too much damage. [ To them, probably, but even so. ] Or worse, they could all end up just running away.
Ahaha. Maybe.
Once he's settled, he turns towards her to offer a hand to help her up. Quatre is nothing if not polite.] I have friends who favor that method. But this time around... mm. It's better if no one starts running. And better if no one gets hurt.
[Hopefully anyway. But Quatre figures they'll do what they have to.]
Talking like that... are you a soldier?
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Hmm. I was a soldier, but that was before Cerealia. I was a combat instructor too, raising combat magi was actually my main job! Nowadays I'm just a bodyguard-for-hire.
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But he can't think on that just now. It'll paralyze him, and he needs to keep moving forward right now.]
Combat magi?
[Not a term he's heard before. Conversation as they crawl through ducts. Hmm. He stops at another grate though, peering down. Looks like hallway to him, and he doesn't see or hear anything. Hmm.] We can slip out here?
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[ She follows along, trying to take note of the various turns they were taking and marking the direction of the arena they were trying to get back to. ]
Let's get back on our feet then, all this crawling around in dusty areas can't be any good for our health.
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[Says the boy who occasionally feels other people's emotions, but let's just put that hypocrisy aside for a moment. He's at least not doubting her. His day has been strange enough -- and he's polite enough -- that he wouldn't question it. And he'll see first hand it sounds like.]
Agreed.
[So out they go. He hangs a moment before dropping to land lightly on his feet. All right. So far so good. He's unarmed, but he thinks he'll manage all right.]
newtypes how do they work and is quatre even one
Landing just behind Quatre, Nanoha surveys the area. Times like these, she was glad she took part in that ground combat special course. You couldn't fly around shooting people all the time. ]
The arena's over that way. [ point ] So we should probably be heading there?
shh what plotholes and loose ends
[But he nods, thoughtful.] There'll be quite a crowd there, so we'll have to be quick with whatever we're doing. If our priority is freeing the animals, it might be a good idea for one of us to act as a diversion.
[Right?] Since they seem displeased I got away to begin with, I think I could manage that pretty well.
no such thing duh
[ She was pretty sure she was the better fighter of the pair and more suited to getting chased around by thugs, but Quatre was more likely to draw attention and arguing over assignments would just cost them precious time. ]
Looks like it's about time for me to get serious, too! Raising Heart, set up! [ A bright flash of light and Nanoha was armed and ready, even if the white dress didn't look the part. ] Once you have their attention, I'll make a beeline for the arena and get everything, okay?
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[He's well aware he doesn't look the part, but he is a Gundam pilot when all is said and done. Though he does admit it might help to be not completely unarmed. If Sandrock were here, he could liberate all the peacocks in about thirty seconds, but that'd be overkill in the end.
The sudden flash of light has his attention though and oh. Well. That... magic then? All right. Magic. A quick nod in agreement.] If I can lose them, I'll double back and we can work our way out.
[And with that, well, time for a distraction, right? He offers her one last smile before he makes his way into the arena, waiting for her to slip past as well before putting some distance between them and announcing his presence by toppling over a stack of currently empty-cages, sending them clattering to the ground and bringing every last pair of eyes' attention straight to him. All right. Step one go. Step two... time to run.]
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Once Quatre was out of sight, Nanoha kicks off the ground and flies down the surprisingly complex... well, complex. With most of the guards focused on chasing the boy around, she had more than enough time to bust through the rooms at superhuman speeds. Her side of the mission was, by far, the easy one. What few men there were left were hardly a match for her magic. ]
Now then. [ It's just a matter of time before she's in the pens and offices, birds freed and documents secured. ] I wonder what Quatre is up to?
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When he catches sight of her, he smiles, relieved to see she's fine. He raises a hand to wave at her.]
It looks like you've got all this under control. They're going to eventually realize they're chasing nothing, so we should probably get going.
APPS OPEN JUST MAKING SURE YOU KNOW
Yup! Good job Quatre, I got everything. Now then, if we want to make sure we, and the peacocks can make a clean escape, the only way to go is up!
[ Peacocks can fly, Nanoha can fly, the average gangster can't. It made a lot of sense. The problem was: There was a roof in the way. At least, that's what it'd look like to people who weren't familiar with Nanoha.
Planting both feet tightly on the ground, she pointed her staff upwards, rings with magical inscriptions appearing around it. There was no need for big rituals, just a second of charging and two words: ]
DIVINE BUSTER!
[ And now there was a clear path into the sky. ]
Yesssss I got app number QUAT...orze. SO CLOSE.
Oh! It's like a beam canon. [Is her staff actually a weapon? That's impressive, given its size. The only ones he's seen with that power level are significant pieces of machinery.
Except oh wait. Is it magic? She did mention magic.]
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I'm a mage, and Raising Heart is a mage's staff. It looks and acts like a cannon, but mainly it helps me focus my own energy. It's actually pretty difficult to even fly without Raising Heart to help me.
[ Which doesn't really change the fact that she's basically the Wing Gundam in the form of a young woman, but y'know. ]
Once we land somewhere safe I'd say this is mission complete! Good job, Quatre!
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So this is what you meant by magic. It's really incredible!
[He can admit as much.] It seems like the sort of abilities you could do a lot of good with.
[She's a force for good, right? That's the sense he gets, so he's going with it. A smile finds his features and he nods.] I think you deserve most of the credit really, but I'm glad we managed it. It feels right to have done something. [Instead of just escaping. And much better than getting his eyes pecked out by peacocks.]
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She really loved flying.
She'd eventually land a good distance away, settling down in the park a long way away from the peacock fighting ring which now had to deal with an unplanned skylight installation. ]
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[Quatre has full faith in this really, but that's his nature. He's good at reading people, and wants to believe the best they're capable of, as often as he can anyway.
What's harder to believe is that they're actually flying. He's a pilot of course, but this is a great deal different than flying any machine, and when they set down, it takes him a moment to find his feet.]
That's really amazing... being able to fly like that without anything else. [Like something out of a dream.]
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