Chapter Three
White Fire
January 28th, 5328
It's been three weeks now since the incident at Keypoint. Aegis and Epoch alike have spent this time recovering, grieving. Searching for answers. Scrounging up leads wherever we could find them. It's been eerily silent, though. The Greasers haven't pulled any stunts. For a while, it starts to feel like maybe it's over. Maybe that was the worst of it. Maybe all the Greasers wanted was to show us the true horrors of Keypoint.
Of course, the only people who really believe that are the citizens and reporters who'd prefer to keep their heads buried in the sand.
On the 27th, they're all proven wrong.
Reports start coming in to Aegis, from the early hours of the morning through the rest of the day. Seven founding and retired members of Aegis have turned up dead overnight.
The Cavalier
Felix Fellebrook of the First Bastion is found in his home, strung up to the ceiling by his arms. His body is surrounded by element suppressant pills, scattered and crushed across the floor.
Cyclone
Hunter Abbey, veteran of the War of the Gods, founding member of Aegis, Dolores Espina's ex-wife, is found dead in her living room. Her body is surrounded by neatly arranged newspaper clippings that detail Cyclone's highlights as an Alias. Photos of her with Dolores. Articles detailing their divorce, and her disappearance from the public eye.
Vanguard
Aaron Rutherford's body is found strung up in his home by his legs. Like Felix, he is surrounded by pills that have been crushed across the ground - copious amounts of pain medication. His wife has been admitted to the hospital for minor radiation sickness, but did not witness the incident. A stack of unsent letters found in his home are relinquished to Anastasius Valentika.
The Potter
Minho Im is found tied to the floor of his living room. His body weighed down by heavy boat dock lines and a carefully positioned bookshelf, his mouth and nose covered tightly with four layers of white fabric. His wife and daughters are currently hospitalized, being treated for minor symptoms due to radiation exposure. None of them witnessed the Potter's murder.
Briar
Adelina Rutherford's body is found slumped over in a recliner inside her home, surrounded by trashed furniture and broken dishes. An article clipping from an old Trench journalist is found in her lap, detailing Aegis' abandonment of the Bronze District.
The Empire
Santiago De la Rosa's body is found in his bed, his passing seemingly the most peaceful. Pills are scattered across his blanket and the floor. While they have yet to be officially identified, investigators suspect it to be the Blue. Additionally, a note that reads 'It was a matter of time' is found on his bedstand, written over a sheet of medical records.
Vulcan
Danyl Mori's body is found in the Mori estate, strung from the ceiling in the main entrance by his arms and legs. He is surrounded by silver coins, strewn about haphazardly, and photographs from news articles featuring him. His face has been neatly cut from each one.
With each body, a word is found, written in blood. When put together, Aegis agents are able to assemble this message.
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Aegis has kept the exact details of the murders under tight wraps, out of respect for the victims and fear of glorifying the killer. However, investigators have confirmed that the victims were likely killed by radiation poisoning, and that the level of radiation found in their homes was severe.
That isn't all, though.
Citizens and aliases alike who live in Hero’s Edge have slowly trickled in and out of the hospital, presenting with an unknown illness for the past week. Cases started January 21st, with patients presenting with severe symptoms initially and then improving days later.
Lana Hughes, the first patient to have contracted the illness, died suddenly on the 27th - the day after she reported feeling better. Doctors are concerned this might happen with other patients as well, and the sick are to be watched over for longer periods of time.
Radiation seems to be a potential cause, as slightly higher than normal traces have been found in each patient’s body. However, Hero’s Edge itself doesn’t appear to be irradiated at all.
We have solid reason to believe that after a month of silence since his escape, Luca Benini is
actively targetting and murdering Aliases.
Specifically, founding members, and those who
were around for the organization's most influential
years.
Despite our best efforts at keeping the people calm, the deaths make headline news by the 28th. Some citizens have taken to protesting around headquarters, demanding action before more lives are taken.
The incident at Keypoint is still fresh in our minds. We know that the Greasers were behind it, but there's still one question. Is Luca Benini affiliated with them? Did they help him to escape? An interview with Rian Laisren offers some insight, and gives us our first lead.
January 28th, 5328
10:00 AM
All aliases, investigators, and scientists interested in assisting the investigation into Luca Benini and the Greasers, please report to the command center.
You made your choice
Do you regret it?
Our spies in Aegis have told us everything that we need to know about the investigation into Luca Benini. On the flipside, we've got a clue of our own. It's not much, but it's enough to get started.
Gianni Benini, a nuclear researcher and former alchemist at Keypoint. Who is he? How does he fit into this all? And what exactly will we learn when we connect the dots?
People above ground are dying, but we've seen pain and ruin in the undercity, too. Aegis isn't going to help the Trench - so it's up to us.
Maybe we don't have the kind of budget that Aegis does, but we have our own advantages. Born and raised in the criminal underground, we know just where to look.
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January 28th, 5328
11:00 AM
Report to the Loop. We'll discuss our next steps in the war room.
DIFFICULTY LEVEL:
1st Half: EASY
2nd Half: HARD
LOADED DICE:
UNAFFECTED
Draw or write about your ocs participating in the event for an event bonus of
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It all just falls apart
Aegis and Epoch set off on different paths, investigating Luca Benini as their only prime suspect in connection to the Greasers. They each have a handful of leads, and a handful of people they can turn to in hopes of piecing the puzzle together.
Everything points to Scorpion Cove as an influential part of Luca's history. Particularly, a specific location dubbed the Viper Pit -- an underground lab built from the abandoned subway tunnels beneath the Cove.
Investigating the Viper Pit leads to a series of disturbing discoveries. Everything is turned upside down. Truths are questioned and facts become uncertain, with Epoch and Aegis eventually coming face to face with the aftermath of the horrors suffered in the laboratory where Luca spent his formative years.
Clues from Keypoint and word around the Trench lead Epoch to split into three groups in order to search for leads on Luca Benini. They venture to Deadweight, a fight club on the second level of the Trench, the Sandbox in the Black Market, and to Death's Head island.
After conversations with Brutus at Deadweight, Clyde at the Sandbox, and Midas at Death's Head, Epoch begins to gleam a picture of Luca's life before Claw Island. A scrappy no-good kid, potentially involved in one cold case in particular that resulted in the death of several Aegis agents.
Everything points them to the Haven Apartments in the Bronze District, where Luca supposedly used to live. Through the building owner, Seven, they learn that Luca was close to Frankie Inque. They grew up in the apartments together, and supposedly were involved in a toxic relationship with each other.
Luca used to talk about the Viper Pit, a mysterious location in Scorpion Cove that he crawled out of at ten years old.
With special suits provided by Midas, Epoch enters the radioactive wasteland in search of Luca -- or whatever answers they might find about his past, connection to the Greasers, and their plan.
Following radiation signatures in the Cove, Epoch eventually finds themself at the Scorpion Cove Central Station. A once-grand building that was the source of the radiation that ended in the Cove's evacuation so many years ago. Inside, they find that the subway system beneath the Cove has been modified into a giant laboratory.
Several of Epoch's time elementals catch glimpses of the Viper Pit's horrors through visions of torture and experimentation. Recurring images of a stained vault door cross their minds, and eventually, Epoch is face to face with it.
Beyond the vault, they come face to face with the Greasers. For unknown reasons, they have entered the Viper Pit in search of something. Their ringleader, Kennedy Matsuda, splits Epoch up by setting off an explosion that causes the tunnel to cave in.
While one group faces off with the Greasers on the subway tracks, the other group finds themselves in a small office filled with research papers, voice recordings, and a map. They're also attacked by a group of tar, flesh, and fungus creatures held together by an unknown source of magic.
The group on the tracks witnesses Kennedy escaping with a suspicious black case. A truce is made with Eclipse, one of the Greasers, when he promises they don't have any reason to shoot each other.
The exploration of the intricate system of tunnels eventually leads to a research lab filled with old testing apparatus, radioactive materials, and shelves and cases of ransacked equipment and data.
They find two curious instruments. Injector guns meant to be fitted with various vials found around the labs.
There are hundreds of blood samples. Notes and recordings reveal that Luca's father, Gianni Benini, used the Viper Pit to conduct horrific experiments on kidnapped sex workers and other vulnerable people from the Bronze District. He was hellbent on creating a new element with radiation, even going as far as experimenting on his own son when he was brought into his life.
Luca became Gianni's prime subject, and when he learned that other alchemists across the world had already started to develop radiation elementals, he instead focused his efforts on creating a new strain. One much more powerful. He intended to create a super-weapon of Luca.
While in the tunnels, a voice introduced as Aster speaks over Epoch's comms and begs them to set him free. He claims to have been alive in the Viper Pit for the past twenty years, surviving in manners that are left unexplained.
Eventually Epoch reunites in a surveillance room attached to the Main Lab. In here, they find the last few pieces to their puzzle. It's revealed to them through recordings and surveillance footage that Luca killed his father with a potent radioactive explosion and was finally able to escape. The main lab had been sealed up for the past two decades, filled with the bodies of Gianni's hundreds of victims.
After cracking open the door to the lab, Eclipse and the Greasers with him betray Epoch and attempt to stun them all while they make an escape. Most of the group recovers quickly though, and Eclipse is stopped before he can escape. Inside the lab, Epoch runs into Aegis and finally meet Aster, who is actually a mutated fusion of all of Gianni's victims in both spiritual and physical form.
Finding Luca Benini has become imperative after his recent killings of seven former Aliases. Armed with several leads, Aegis agents head out to speak to Luca's arresting agent, a security guard who survived his escape, and Cheese Marconi's father, Vico.
Agents speak to Sloane Bauer, the Claw Island security guard, at the Silver District's biggest hospital. Inside the hospital they're able to see the aftermath of the poisoning of Hero's Edge. Sloane is still incapacitated from Luca's escape. She's able to confirm that Luca escaped alone due to negligence, and shares about abusive and illegal practices the government has been undertaking at the prison. Luca had been on dangerous elemental suppressants to keep him complacent.
Vico Marconi is able to provide insight into Cheese's motivations, and confirms Luca's connection to the Greasers. He isn't able to provide information on Luca's potential whereabouts, but he is able to share that the Greasers are planning something big with Luca. Additionally, he leads them to the Marconi and Cheese Casino.
At the Casino, chaos breaks out when Aegis heads in undercover. The casino is evacuated when a fire alarm is set off and Marconi escapes, but Aegis is able to apprehend Cheese. However, the people of the Bronze District react negatively to the arrest.
Lupine, the Alias who arrested Luca originally, shares what he knows about the events leading up to Luca's arrest. Through him, Aegis gets the idea that there is more to be discovered in the subway tunnel Luca was apprehended in. Apparently, it was never fully investigated due to high radiation levels.
After collecting more information on Luca and the Greasers, Aegis sends a team out to investigate the subway tunnel where Luca was arrested. Inside they're met with a gruesome sight. The walls are bleached, with the shadows of the disintegrated arresting aliases burnt into the stone forever. Radiotrophic fungi grows across the entire tunnel.
Inside, Aegis finds metal remnants of the deceased aliases, and the aether elementals find their spirits stuck in a loop, playing out their deaths over and over again. The spirits are eventually freed, and through them, Aegis learns more about Luca, why he was being arrested, and why he was in the tunnel in the first place.
A cadaver cat, Bonbon, appears and leads the group through a secret tunnel that takes them to a drainage room with a flooded vault door. Aegis is jumped by several fungi creatures when a door is opened. After putting them down, they're able to properly investigate the area and fix the flooding.
Aegis discovers many of the same things as Epoch. A map is found, along with voice recordings left by Gianni Benini that detail his experiments and research into radiation and alchemy. They learn all about the terrible things Luca endured, growing up underground as a test subject.
As they venture deeper into the tunnels, they encounter Randy, who fakes an injury in order to split up and disorient Aegis.
Cassie, a radiation elemental from back at the Casino, is found waiting deeper into the tunnels. After setting off a second explosion to further weaken the subway system's foundation, Cassie escapes through another vault door. He's pursued by half of the team in the tunnels, while the other half deals with Randy after she stabs and poisons MISTRAL.
Needing the expertise of a mercury elemental to save MISTRAL's life, she's rushed to the Timewise Healthcare clinic to be treated by Izzy and Vico.
Back at the Cove, Aegis' pursuit of Cassie leads them into the Viper Pit's main laboratory -- a massive experimentation area built out of a subway junction. Inside, they come face to face with the Astray, and eventually Epoch and Eclipse's group of Greasers, too.
Meanwhile, those who stayed behind to take down Randy find her barricaded in a smaller research lab with Kennedy, who is still in position of the strange case she was seen with earlier.
Efforts are made to break the door down. The room is filled with methane gas, and Aegis has to act quickly to try and prevent Kennedy from setting off a third explosion in the room.
BIG LOVE teleports into the room after searching for Kennedy's location through clairvoyance. Chaos breaks out as they fight each other for the case, and Kennedy is able to set off the explosion just before BIG LOVE teleports her into the Main Lab.
The pursuit of Randy continues then, and eventually, she's apprehended on the surface when Vico hits her with his truck.
As paths converge in the main lab, attempts at conversation are made with the Astray. Attempts at understanding it, and promises of helping it find peace. Ultimately, however, the Astray is provoked, and the fragile spirits making up its mind are thrown into an unsteady rage.
The monster attacks, leaving Aegis and Epoch no choice but to fight back. Various injuries are sustained during the battle as the Astray sheds fungi creatures from its form, and as attempts are made to restrain it.
Two lives are lost as THE PHANTOM ROSE and WIDOW are suffocated in the heat produced by a rain of blazing oil from the Astray's jaws. WIDOW is revived, but THE PHANTOM ROSE remains lost.
After Kennedy sets off an explosion in the research lab, it causes the entire subway system to cave in. The Main Lab begins to buckle beneath its own weight, and it becomes a race against time as Epoch and Aegis fight to get out. The Greasers are subdued, and the Astray is eventually calmed by CONDUCTOR while CARRION picks apart and frees its spirits one by one.
As the lab collapses, few are left behind to suffer the worst of it. QUICKSILVER is injured protecting FARRAJ, while HORNET sacrifices an old mech to save SWAN. ZEPHYR's leg is crushed beneath a metal beam and HELIOS manages to get by with little to no injuries.
Epoch and Aegis finally make it out, and through a final vault door they meet daylight. When RISK goes back to put down the Astray for good, she loses her life. BIG LOVE uses everything he has left in him to bring her back from the brink.
The Viper Pit crumbles entirely. Now that everyone is out, TERRAFORM makes sure it stays buried.
While Luca remains missing, other clues were found in the Viper Pit. Aegis is in possession of what the Greasers seemed to go down there for in the first place. Epoch and Aegis alike managed to secure Greaser prisoners that can be questioned later.
All that's left to do then is go home. And home is abuzz.
In the time you were gone, two things have happened to set the Trench and Aegis headquarters into disarray. Aegis was sent a package filled with pictures, records, and other evidence incriminating Seven as the head of a sex trafficking ring that's plagued Glenys City for years. No one knows where the package came from, but a note was taped to the top.
"Too little too late. Did your job for you."
In the Trench, Epoch finds a gruesome sight.
(CW: Violent death and dismemberment)
The citizens of the underground have flocked to the front of the Hornet's Nest. Seven's body has been made into a spectacle. He's strung up by a rope tied through his mouth and around his head. Every finger he had left has been cut off. His blood pools on the ground beneath him, and the cadaver cat Bonbon is found licking it up. Spraypainted on the wall behind him in bright green neon is a single word. "Zero".
Radiation is thick in the air surrounding him.
Later, Kennedy's case is taken out of evidence by Aegis' science department. All those handling it do so in a protected room wearing protective gear. The radiation levels it exudes rival those of Scorpion Cove. When opened, it hisses softly and cool steam pours out of it. The lid is lifted to reveal hundreds of little bright green vials. Each one is marked "A-26".
R͕̈́̆͟Ę̤̉̍͜͡D̡̬̈̍Å̪C̱̪̓̀T̤̝̳̎͠͡Ė͈͕̔͜͠D̩̑: hyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeelo - testing testing.
R͕̈́̆͟Ę̤̉̍͜͡D̡̬̈̍Å̪C̱̪̓̀T̤̝̳̎͠͡Ė͈͕̔͜͠D̩̑: Birdie boy! Do me a solid and pass this up to Ms. Big Boss, Head Honcho~
R͕̈́̆͟Ę̤̉̍͜͡D̡̬̈̍Å̪C̱̪̓̀T̤̝̳̎͠͡Ė͈͕̔͜͠D̩̑: [ PAUSE ]
R͕̈́̆͟Ę̤̉̍͜͡D̡̬̈̍Å̪C̱̪̓̀T̤̝̳̎͠͡Ė͈͕̔͜͠D̩̑: Hello from the Trenches, Ol’ Gal
R͕̈́̆͟Ę̤̉̍͜͡D̡̬̈̍Å̪C̱̪̓̀T̤̝̳̎͠͡Ė͈͕̔͜͠D̩̑: You’ve got leaks upon leaks into EPOCH, y’know. Really. Lemme know if y’need a hint in tidying up - I collect in lump sums
R͕̈́̆͟Ę̤̉̍͜͡D̡̬̈̍Å̪C̱̪̓̀T̤̝̳̎͠͡Ė͈͕̔͜͠D̩̑: EPOCH’s visiting a couple POI’s - MIDAS at Death’s Head, CLYDE SANTOS at the Sandbox, and BRUTUS at Deadweight, they’re looking into the who, what’s and where’s of the City’s most famous firecracker
R͕̈́̆͟Ę̤̉̍͜͡D̡̬̈̍Å̪C̱̪̓̀T̤̝̳̎͠͡Ė͈͕̔͜͠D̩̑: Seems like the Greaser’s goal is to ‘Liberate the Unnaturals’. All their members are Unnatural Elementals, kinda like a Nega-Aegis, isn’t that something? Anyway, they’ve been around a looooong time now, it seems. Finally graduating from petty crime, getting their shit together more and more along the way. Oh. If y’see her. KENNEDY MATSUDA’s one of ‘em.
R͕̈́̆͟Ę̤̉̍͜͡D̡̬̈̍Å̪C̱̪̓̀T̤̝̳̎͠͡Ė͈͕̔͜͠D̩̑: Luca’s been running with them for a while and before that - used to run as a street rat with some other poor nameless kid at the Haven Apartments, run by Seven - headed there now so. Thanks for the health insurance- I’ll be putting it to good work.
R͕̈́̆͟Ę̤̉̍͜͡D̡̬̈̍Å̪C̱̪̓̀T̤̝̳̎͠͡Ė͈͕̔͜͠D̩̑: Also. Luca seems to have been involved in some violent crime way back in the day against a guy with two elements in their blood, Oil and Water. Helluva mix. Anythin I should know?
R͕̈́̆͟Ę̤̉̍͜͡D̡̬̈̍Å̪C̱̪̓̀T̤̝̳̎͠͡Ė͈͕̔͜͠D̩̑: Oh, side note. What’ve you got for me on the name ‘Oath’? One of the Council, Radon, named themselves that. Throw a dog a bone.
R͕̈́̆͟Ę̤̉̍͜͡D̡̬̈̍Å̪C̱̪̓̀T̤̝̳̎͠͡Ė͈͕̔͜͠D̩̑: Also a fruit basket would be nice~
Summarized Report by handler
Leaks:
-
no new information
Epoch:
-
An individual of the Council, codenamed Radon, is tied to the name Oath (?)
-
Recently dispatched to find whereabouts of LUCA BENINI; Visiting Midas @ Death’s Head, Clyde Santos @ The Sandbox, and Brutus @ Deadweight
Greasers:
-
Wish to liberate Unnatural Elementals
-
All members are Unnatural Elementals
-
Kennedy Matsuda is confirmed to have ties
-
Has become more organized in recent years - prior to Luca’s escape - could be for a number of reasons
Luca:
-
Was once close with an unidentified individual as children, when registered domicile was Haven Apartments. Seven, the sex trafficker and gas elemental, may have more information, being followed up on now.
-
Confirmed involvement with the Greasers before his arrest
-
Previously involved in an altercation/crime involving the injury and possible casualty of an individual with both Water and Oil elemental traces in their blood.
Burn your fire for no witness; it's the only way it's done
Each oc earns 4 new stat points to distribute how you please! These are allowed over the stat caps, and you can add them to your PHP and EHP! You are all level 3 now!
ABIGAIL earns 3 EXP and has 8 CRED
AKISSI earns 2 EXP and has 8 SHIELDS
ALEXEYEV earns 6 EXP and has 7 SHIELDS
ALISTAR earns 3 EXP and has 8 SHIELDS and 1 CRED
ALIYA earns 3 EXP and has 8 SHIELDS
ALVIE earns 3 EXP and has 8 CRED
ANASTASIUS earns 3 EXP and has 8 SHIELDS
ANDREI earns 3 EXP and has 6 CRED and 4 SHIELDS
ARDELIA earns 3 EXP and has 8 CRED
ARMIN earns 3 EXP and has 8 CRED
BELLAMY earns 6 EXP and has 6 CRED and 2 SHIELDS
CELESTE earns 7 EXP and has 8 SHIELDS
CHARLIE earns 3 EXP and has 8 CRED
CLOVER earns 1 EXP and has 4 SHIELDS
CYRUS earns 3 EXP and has 8 SHIELDS and 1 CRED
DANNY earns 3 EXP and has 8 CRED and 1 SHIELD
DEO earns 3 EXP and has 6 CRED and 6 SHIELDS
ELOI earns 0 EXP and has 4 SHIELDS
EVE earns 7 EXP and has 8 SHIELDS
EXCEED earns 2 EXP and has 4 CRED and 5 SHIELDS
FANTIMA earns 3 EXP and has 8 CRED and 1 SHIELD
FARRAJ earns 3 EXP and has 8 CRED and 1 SHIELD
FLETCHER earns 3 EXP and has 8 CRED
GAIUS earns 0 EXP and has 6 CRED
GAINE earns 2 EXP and has 6 CRED
GALE earns 3 EXP and has 8 SHIELDS and 1 CRED
HANA earns 3 EXP and has 8 CRED
HORTENSIA earns 2 EXP and has 8 CRED
IRIS earns 3 EXP and has 8 CRED
JACKSON earns 0 EXP and has 4 CRED
JENNY earns 3 EXP and has 7 SHIELDS and 1 CRED
JIANYU earns 2 EXP and has 8 CRED
JULES earns 7 EXP and has 8 CRED
KATERINA earns 3 EXP and has 8 CRED
KAZIMIR earns 7 EXP and has 7 SHIELDS
KIT earns 3 EXP and has 8 SHIELDS and 1 CRED
KYRAH earns 0 EXP and has 6 CRED
LINUS earns 7 EXP and has 7 CRED
LUDMILA earns 0 EXP and has 5 CRED
LUDO earns 3 EXP and has 7 CRED
MATEUS earns 0 EXP and has 6 SHIELDS
MOONSHINE earns 3 EXP and has 8 CRED
MORGAN earns 0 EXP and has 4 CRED
NOAH earns 0 EXP and has 4 SHIELDS
OBIA earns 3 EXP and has 8 SHIELDS
RADON earns 2 EXP and has 8 CRED
RAMYA earns 0 EXP and has 5 SHIELDS
RAYLEN earns 3 EXP and has 7 CRED
RIVEN earns 3 EXP and has 8 CRED
ROMEO earns 3 EXP and has 8 CRED and 1 SHIELD
ROSEMARY earns 2 EXP and has 8 SHIELDS
SAGAN earns 3 EXP and has 8 CRED and 1 SHIELD
SAMIR earns 0 EXP and has 6 SHIELDS
SIBYLLA earns 2 EXP and has 2 CRED and 5 SHIELDS
SOLIS earns 7 EXP and has 8 CRED and 1 SHIELD
SONNET earns 2 EXP and has 8 CRED
SUNDAY earns 2 EXP and has 7 SHIELDS
TOMMI earns 0 EXP and has 6 CRED
TRISTAN earns 0 EXP and has 4 SHIELDS
VIOLA earns 3 EXP and has 8 SHIELDS
XIUMING 3 EXP and has 6 CRED and 6 SHIELDS
WY earns 3 EXP and has 8 CRED
ZACH earns 3 EXP and has 8 CRED
ZAYNE 3 EXP and has 4 CRED and 6 SHIELDS