2017-09-29 - Warp Tour Prelude
| Title: Warp Tour Prelude | |
|---|---|
| Summary: In which our hero Steven Universe looks beyond the veil of time and space, and sees unknown dangers. But no one believes him | |
| Who: Garnet, Pearl (NPC), Steven Universe | |
| Where: A far off place. A tunnel carved in space. And the Beach House. | |
| OOC - IC Date: <2017-09-29 - 2015-02-21> | |
<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
Oh boy! Another gem mission! A bit of stellar vision revealed a troubling corrupted gem monster roaming about an old Gem site, and it was time to help it find some peace instead of causing havoc. It was a rather open and shut case! Some teamwork was involved, possibly a snappy comeback or two among those participating in the rodeo of sorts, and the being was successfully bubbled.
There was one problem though. About five minutes after leaving the local Warp pad, Steven has had a /severe/ allergic reaction to whatever flower was blooming in droves in the area. His face was flushed, his nose was running like a spigot, and his eyes were watery and irritated. It was... pretty bad. Bad enough to mostly keep him from fighting, and even struggling to keep up when heading home.
"Wait up... you guys!" he says, doing his best to keep up. He knew it would go away on returning home and having a cup of hot tea or something similar, but for now. It was just awful.
Darn you, shrubbery!
<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.
A gleam of light, star-bearing gauntlets meet the fangs of... something... a hulking creature that resembles an earth spider.. except...
The legs are wrong. The eyes are wrong. The way it moves, the way it sounds, everything about it has an alien otherness that extends to even the way it interacts with the light around it. It doesn't look like a black object, but rather a piece of blackness itself. If it were to step into a patch of shadow, it might disappear completely save for a ghostly white swirl that flows across it like a mist ebbing beneath its "skin".
This seething darkness on the spindle legs of a widow rushes is first unbalanced by a shove and haymaker from the Leader of the Crystal Gems, then is finished by a pair of a softly glowing spears the color of fallen snow that pierce through its darkness for good.
It explodes out in a black miasma, and leaves behind an odd black stone with chaotic white threads across its surface. The stone is picked up, bubbled and sent away, and the battle becomes a memory.
Abruptly a memory, as the sneezing of a very special boy grabs the attention of his caretakers.
They offer him their hands and walk with him onto a circle of cut and polished stone, before a column of light erupts upwards from the disc and they all vanish.
<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
Steven can only be heard sniffling as he approaches the Warp pad. "Sorry I wasn't more help..." he says, though distorted due to a stuffy nose. The boy lets out a loud sneeze, accidentally catching Garnet with it. "Sorry... Garnet..."
He joins the mothers three on the Warp pad as it whisks them off toward home.
The Warp stream never got old for Steven. A scintillating pattern of geometric lighting surrounded them, somehow transporting them across vast distances in mere minutes. He always wondered where all those pads went!
A rather large sneeze comes about, and while he tries to hold it back, he is unable to, and the sneeze, surprisingly propels him in the stream of light! Out to the point of the edge of Warp! His head accidentally pokes out.
What he sees is indescribable. A swirling vortex of clouds and stars and objects foreign, as energy plays across the entire horizon, and lightning strikes scour the far off reaches of what seems to be a void. Other warp streams in the distance go their own paths, as if some sort of network of roads in a city.
The atmosphere outside is hostile. Little to no oxygen is present, and just tries to take his breath away. It is colder than anything he has felt yet. His runny nose freezes in seconds. His eyes hurt and is forced to squint. But, despite all this... he sees something. An object, flying through one of the closer warp columns.
But that made no sense. Aren't the Crystal Gems the only ones capable of using the Warp?! Before he is able to try and discern what it is, he founds himself yanked back inside of the Warp stream.
<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.
The yank is Pearl's. An elegant ivory hand grabs Steven and pulls him back into the pillar of light!
"Careful! It's dangerous to stick your head out of the stream!!" scolds its owner, a look of panic quickly hidden by one of "for your own good" disciplinary parental concern.
"Pearl is right. There's not much air, and it's /very/ cold." Garnet offers in support, and bends down to flick the icicles out from under Steven's nose.
<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
The sudden displacement back into the Warp surprises Steven, but is very welcome. He wasn't sure how he would make it back in on his own! There wasn't anything to push off of. He hears what the others are saying, but his mind is rushing from what he saw, and not the beautiful sight of whatever the Warp zone would be called. Actually, Warp Zone sounds cool. But that can wait!
His nose twitches as the icicles are removed from his nose, and then anxiously lets everyone know! "Guys! I saw something out there!" This could be a problem. Imagine if other things were warping around the world! "It was warping! I dunno where, but I know I saw it!"
If anything, that sudden absolute zero contact he still seems to be reeling from, but he should be okay.
Pearl and Garnet's advice, while not responded to, will definitely be remembered. Probably wouldn't be good to get stuck out there!
<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.
Garnet and Pearl look at each other for a brief moment but don't speak. Pearl looks confused, but is the first to turn back and reply:
"Steven, that's just not possible. Is your vision blurry from the pollen?"
She looks at him with an expression of gentle concern, with only the slightest drop of dismissive pomposity.
<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
They don't believe him.
He can understand some of their skepticism, but he doesn't lie! Well, very much. Not enough for this though. "I-I can see just fine..." he states abruptly, then squints to see who it was talking. His eyes are really messed up right now. "...Pearl!" Had to make sure it was her.
Maybe he was seeing things? No, he is doubting himself now. That was definitely a thing flying through warp. It looked vaguely round, whatever it was.
And there is a Warp pad right in their house! What if it showed up?! Was it good or bad? Did it want something? Oh man...
<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.
"There's nothing out there Steven. There hasn't been anything else for a long, long time." Garnet interjects calmly.
The light of the warp around them fades, and they are home.
<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
Steven can already tell tonight will be a long night. Preparation for bed goes off without a hitch, and the boy dons his pajamas and performs hygienics just as any other night. He goes to bed.
Sleep never comes. The thought of something using Warp to get in the house is too great. Every time he thinks he hears something, or the house slightly shifts, his eyes shoot open to check the Warp pad.
This goes on for hours. It is excruciating. A rumbling comes from his stomach. In his distracted daze from both worry and pollen, he forgot to eat. "Might as well," he says quietly to himself. He isn't getting any sleep anyway.
The boy creeps to the fridge to find something to eat. There is some macaroni mix beside it, and some containers of cheese-- Wait.
There are some EMPTY containers of cheese sauce in the fridge. Thanks /Amethyst/. With nothing else that seems quick, he begins to gather the ingredients to make macaroni. Just macaroni.
<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.
A door opens and closes while Steven works.
When Steven looks away from the fridge, Garnet is standing at the breakfast bar holding a plastic shopping bag with a package of instant cheese sauce poking out of the side.
"I thought you might need some more." and she offers it to him.
"It's going to be okay Steven."
"There can't be anything out there besides us. We're the only ones on Earth who can use the warp pads."
Saying nothing more, she leans against the bar, and observes his Cooking Club skills in action.
<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
A few ingredients begin to assemble on the stove, as Steve readies to make him some mac and... macaroni. It doesn't even occur to him that someone has shown up without his knowledge. "AHHH!" he lets out and shrinks against the stove for a moment. "G-Garnet!" he says in that tone coming from a boy that hasn't had enough sleep. Bags are under his eyes from stress.
"Th... Thanks," he says, accepting the bag of cheese sauce. At least he can have normal mac n' cheese now. He begins to make the dish. Indeed, his cooking skills are improving. He adds a touch of cumin to the sauce. He has found that cumin is really good when added to some dishes!
"Sorry. I can't sleep." Eyes drift to the Warp pad. A loaded squirt gun rests on the counter near Garnet. Not that it would do much of anything in actuality to whatever came through Warp if it existed, but perhaps it provides some comfort to the boy.
Though with Garnet around, he does feel better. Even if she doesn't believe him.
<Pose Tracker> Garnet [None] has posed.
Garnet watches Steven cook. She doesn't know what more she can say to him.
"Nothing on Earth can go through the Warp without one of the Gems." she pauses, then continues: "I'd stay up with you, but I have another mission... Eat your macaroni and get to bed soon." Garnet gives him a small smile. ruffles his hair.
"All that sneezing looked exhausting."
She steps into the warp pad and beams away, leaving the rest of the house, and the warp pad, still and silent as the last of its activation tones fade.
<Pose Tracker> Steven Universe [Juuban Public School (5)] has posed.
It doesn't take long before the macaroni and cheese is done. The smell of the hearty snack wafts through the livign area, and brings a little comfort to Steven. He knows he saw something, but the Gems are sure nothing can use them. It is hard to explain it to him, but his gut tells him he was correct in what he saw.
It is... unnerving.
"Okay, Garnet. Stay safe," he says kindly towards his caretaker. "Heh, it was. It was." A bite to test the meal goes well, and the boy begins to eat as Garnet leaves. But watching her go makes him twitch when the Warp activates.
The boy finishes his meal, and stares at that device. "Know what?" he says to himself. "If they don't believe me, I think it is time I investigate myself!" he says, holding the spoon high. "Well... maybe with a little help."
