The Black Order Mission

[quit_ur_kiniching]

WHO: The Black Order's Kaisou Team
WHERE: Hyrule Hole
WHEN: Month of June
WHAT: The team has been given the mission to investigate and deal with the corruption surrounding the Hyrule Hole.
WARNINGS: Violence, mild horror LoZ monster, and Shadow Ganon

The Black Order: June Mission
※

The Black Order has been receiving reports from Hyrule that requires their attention. Their mission is to investigate what's going on, and then see what actions they can take to either mitigate the damage or solve the problem before it becomes a bigger one in the future.

Mission: Prologue

♪- Main Theme (Tears of the Kingdom OST)

Near the Hyrule Hole, there have been reports of a strange black and red substance that the denizens have called, "the Gloom." When a living being touches this substance, their life quickly drains out of them. It's best not to get it on you if possible, but there seems to be a short amount of time for you to get out of it before it claims your life. There are also reports of horrifying hands being made out of that substance that will attack once they see you.

Yes, you heard that right. These hands can apparently see. Some report an eye in the middle of these hands' palm. The people have aptly called these things, "Gloom Hands."

The first order of business is to check out the site of this Gloom corruption. Upon reaching the survey site, you'll find that the dangerous substance has almost completely surrounded this cavernous hole. It almost looks like an infection of the land. Particularly unlucky Guardians may already spot those Gloom Hands mentioned in the reports.

After some discussion about the situation, the team has decided that sealing this disaster-in-the-making isn't safe enough for the people living in Hyrule. They have to carve out this infection by the root.

Mission: Sundelion, Sundelion, Sundelion Aaaa~

♪- High Altitude

Considering that they will be dealing with a highly dangerous substance, it would make sense to see if there's anything around that could either give you more time or cure it completely if you're trapped in the Gloom. Hyrule's ground level is as explored as it can be for natural resources, and none of them are capable of combating the Gloom. Thus, your eyes turn... upwards to the floating islands. The islands are the only things that haven't been explored since their sudden appearance. The only way to get up there would be to fly on their own power, get the help of a Flying Pokémon, or use a flying contraption.

Whatever way you use to get up there, it's time to do some exploring. Various robots can be found free roaming the islands, and most of them will attack the second they see you. Most of them shouldn't prove too much of a challenge, but there are some that can utilize flamethrowers, so perhaps one shouldn't get too cocky.

However, there are some steward constructs that are friendly to people. Should you help them out with some of their problems, you might endear yourself enough to these robots that they'll help you find what you're looking for. Or, if you would rather not bother with potentially menial tasks, there's always just setting out on your own.

Eventually, you will come across a flower that's unlike anything you've seen previously: a sundelion. While eating it raw or putting it on an open fire will do nothing except kill the plant, if you use it to cook with or create a potion, you'll find that it has a very interesting effect. Damage caused by the Gloom can be healed by using this flower as a component.

Mission: Down the Rabbit Hole

♪- The Demon King's Phantom Saboteur

Into the hole you go, then. The question is, how? The hole is quite deep and cavernous. When you drop a stone down there to see how far, it takes about 30 seconds before someone with good enough hearing can hear it hit the bottom. Perhaps you jump down because you're immune to fall damage as a Wind elemental user. Perhaps you simply fly or teleport down. Maybe you have a grappling hook. Or maybe you just jump in like a lunatic with no plan on how to get out if you survive the fall.

Maybe you find someone who can just craft a dirigible that can go up and down the hole!

Either way, once you survive the fall in some manner, you will quickly come upon the source of the Gloom. A shadowy, dried up husk of a man made entirely out of Gloom. The "man" will raise up a slightly curved sword and rush to attack the Guardians. This is going to be a fierce and difficult fight, so they had best be light on their toes. His abilities are able to infect characters with Gloom, but using the Sundelion potions or food hat they've created in preparation will surely come in handy. If those preparations have been made, anyway. If not, good luck Dark Souls-ing it!

Mission: Complete

♪- Mipha Court

After coming out of the fight victorious, though most likely still battered, bruised, and injured, much of the Gloom dissipates. Not all of it, though. Casting a look around, the Guardians will soon find a giant root that glows in the impenetrable dark. On taking a closer examination, just a touch from someone's hand will activate the lightroot. It glows far more brightly, and its radiance completely destroys the remaining Gloom.

With that, it's a successful Mission Complete for the team.

OOC Notes

Feel free to interact with any part of these prompts or create your own!

Comments

INTO THE HOLE

[burgersplease]

[Anby is standing at the edge of the hole, being careful to avoid the Gloom thats around the place. She's looking over the hole, trying to assess and it's depth. Unable to see the bottom. she'll grab a nearby rock and drop it in the hole.

White cat ears poke out of her hair as she listens, listening carefully and mentally timing the time it takes to hear a thud.

Except instead she's left waiting....

and waiting....

And....waiting.]

... That's a bad sign.

[blueeyeswhitedoppelganger]

[Noa peers down, his own ears...unperkable. A human head means no kitty ears to perk, shame on him. But he's up on his haunches and doing his best to crane his neck over without looking down and...

...

Ah. His wings join the rest of him in a full body shudder.]

...Ah. Not good at all.

...I can definitely fly with these, but I wouldn't count on the bottom not being covered in...

[Long stare at the Gloom...]

Whatever this is.

[burgersplease]

Gloom. That's what the locals were calling.

[She says so in her typical monotone voice.]

There's a 83.56% chance the gloom will be where we land. But I think Kinich and some of the others went to go look into a proper treatment for it.

[blueeyeswhitedoppelganger]

Seems underwhelming, [Is the smart reply, though it's delivered with a fair bit of flatness itself.]

...Treatment is good. Definitely wise. But we should sort out a way to safely stand among this Gloom at all.

Otherwise it'll be like putting a bandaid on an amputation.

NOA KAIBA

[blueeyeswhitedoppelganger]

[Monchy Monchy Sundelion]

[All things considered, it's not that hard for Noa to get up to one of those flying islands. He sure can't carry anyone and expect to make it, mind you, but once he's up there it's...well it's very nice for a bit, actually. Robots aside these places are very peaceful, and he even considers sunbathing before remembering he's on the job.

...And then he sees it.

The Sundelion.

....]

....

[nyarmf-]

[ALMOST Into The Rabbit Hole]

[For the same reason it wouldn't work going up, Noa can't carry anyone down, which...Sucks. Sucks a lot!

But, he's sure he has an idea, or so he tells at least one cohort. With his handy dandy Vision device, up comes a boat from the earth! And, slowly sailing it into the gloom...

....

...Itttttt turns entirely gloomy and crumbles.]

Hm.

[hm.]

I honestly thought that would work.

Almost..............

[loupmorque]

[ ....he does. Almost. Feel bad. Because it really was an inspired idea, but... watching it fall to pieces, there's a sort of click to the back of the Duke's teeth. One ear twitches. He wants to laugh--but this really isn't a laughing matter. He can't fly or anything either, so getting down was ...vexing. ]

I was actually hoping that'd work too.
This black stuff really is a huge problem.

And what with how deep this hole goes, I'm betting it's just more goop the furthur down you go.

pour one out...

[blueeyeswhitedoppelganger]

Gloom, [He finds himself automatically correcting. Thanks Anby!]

And yes, it is. A little over 80% chance it'll be waiting right at the bottom, frankly. [THANKS ANBY!]

There must be some solution though...the sunlight clearly isn't enough to get rid of this, but if any material at all proves resistant we could have a platform to stand on.

[A pause, and he adds-] And travel on, preferably.

the gloom will just eat it

[loupmorque]

Gloom. Fitting name for the stuff. [ It smells awful, and it's making a sound that only the Duke's very sensitive ears can pick up. It's like a very light crispy crackling as it eats away at the air itself, in a way. ]

80%? I'm not sure where you got those odds, but I don't exactly like the sound of it. I'd not throw myself into a hole on a 20% likelihood that it's clear.

...

A solution....
A rope going down isn't a good idea. If it touches the gloom, we'll fall anyway.

Maybe there's a way to.... fly down there. I don't have that capability myself, but...

Ivan

[myblacksorrow]

[I. hands]

[ The corruption was what he noticed before the hands. The strange dark filth that crawled out of the hole and up onto the glass like a wound. The gloom hands came second, Ivan locking eyes? Eye? It moved across the grass as if it belonged there, Ivan breaking eye contact first. They could both act like the moment never happened.

Unfortunately, there was no such luck, it was already advancing. In retaliation, Ivan backs up, throwing his hand forward to erect an ice barrier he knew wasn't going to hold. It just had to work until he figures out how to get out of this situation. ]

[II. down the hole]

[ Under normal circumstances, he would not be throwing himself down the hole. He didn't have the ability naturally to survive a drop that far, and he preferred not to draw attention to himself. Throwing himself into a hole with no plan was just not going to cut it.

Luckily, or unluckily, that cursed second hand store gave him just the thing he needed, and he still wasn't certain if he was thankful for it or not. Still, a palisman was a palisman, even if the creature it was adorned with had far too many legs to be acceptable in polite company.

Letting the staff float in the air, Ivan reluctantly sat on the flying object with both of his legs to one side. It didn't tremble, holding him aloft in the air, Ivan's blank expression losing a bit of unseen tension. This might be the first time he's trying it out. ]

I can take one person with me down the hole.

[ Just don't look at the frightening bug on the end behind him. ]

[III. Complete]

[ The battle was over and Ivan was tired, among other things. There was still more to do, the scratching feeling at the back of his neck told him. His mind had already drifted to how much of a hassle it was going to be going back up the hole and how much he was not looking forward to that.

Rubbing his eyes and wiping the blood and dirt from his brow and reaching further up to push his hair back into place, he got to his feet and looked around in the endless dark, his night vision making the task a bit easier. ]

I'm going to take a tentative look around.

hands

[loupmorque]

[ it's horrifying to see those things rise out of the glowing red muck, the way they moved and the sound they made was enough to send shocks up anyone's spine. Wriothesley had been giving the things a carefully wide berth for a bit now--but upon seeing someone else get a bit too close--well. The Duke's habits are predictable, if nothing else.

As that ice barrier goes up, the Duke--in his hellhound form, a huge, 15 foot beast of a creature comes racing across the plains, a fog like an icy mist lifting past its teeth as he dashes behind the barrier. ]

Grab onto my back. now that they've seen you, they won't stop chasing.

Do you have any means of fighting?

[ the duke could serve as something of a mount for the man, but fighting in this form wasn't exactly his forte. He could keep them moving for now, at least, as soon as the other jumped on his back. ]

[myblacksorrow]

[ Ivan doesn't hesitate, approaching quickly. He reached up and grabbed onto his back. He could tell the hands were going to keep coming. The ice barrier was a time-saving measure while he tried to figure out what options he had. He could feel them pressing against it and breaking down it's magic quickly. The Duke's quick thinking was much appreciated. ]

I can fight [ He says, throwing his hand out to the side. The shadows swirl and grow, taking the form of a collection of arrows floating in the air above them. His shadow manipulation would be good enough, so long as they could keep away from the hands themselves. The tips gleamed in the shadow of the barrier as it chipped and cracked, sheets of ice falling to the ground as the gloom hands broke through.

Ivan's barrage sliced through the air, piercing at the gloom hands, but they were hearty, continuing their endless advance.

Throwing a leg over Wriothesley's back to mount his steed, Ivan leaned in to his fur, holding on while throwing his hand up, forming a spear of shadows in his casting hand. ]

[loupmorque]

[ later, when they're not being aggressed by a bunch of hands, he'll likely praise Ivan for being so quick to action despite the dangerous situation--suddenly having a giant hound appear as a makeshift steed isn't exactly your normal situation.

The other's hands will find chains hidden among the huge hound's fur as he holds on as well--warm to the touch despite how the beast seems to leave icy footprints on the ground as it races away from the shattering ice barrier. The ice destroyed now, it allows for those hands to continue their path forward. ...if only for a moment, as the doglike beast gives a harsh growl, and the ice starts to shift and move as if it has a life of its own.

While Ivan takes position to attack the hands, Wriothesley can at least use his power to manipulate the conveniently already-placed ice to try to trap and entomb the thing so the other can get clear, easy shots of those bulbous glowing yellow eyes that stare at them with nothing but pure malice and violence in them. ]

You're thinking what I'm thinking, right?

Leave the movement to me.
I'll keep running it in circles, pinning it down.

See if you can't stab the thing's eyes out.

Complete;

[qilinzuo]

[ Well, Childe more or less enjoyed himself.

That probably hasn't been all that much surprising, considering the type of person that he is. Then, he hears this dude speak up all of a sudden... ]

Look around for what? More potential enemies?

[ ...Perking up despite the rough battle just a moment or so ago, it's fine. ]

[myblacksorrow]

[ Ivan looked at Childe and then out into the darkness. As far as he could see, there wasn't anything around, but the spots of gloom still lingering in the darkness told him that it wouldn't remain that way if they left things the way they were. ]

The corruption hasn't fully disappeared. I wondered if there was something we were missing.

More enemies might show up if we take too long, but I doubt they'll be as strong as the last guy.

[qilinzuo]

[ In a beacon full of doom and gloom, Childe can't help but be surprisingly cheerful. So refreshing to deal with such a strong enemy - disappointing that he doesn't doubt that Ivan would be correct in such an opinion. Regarding that it is likely that there won't be someone like that guy - at least so soon.

Maybe if they linger around long enough, something else accordingly most dreadful would appear! Or so he hopes. Nothing like an unexpected life or death battle to end the day. ]

Well, we could always try to figure it out by continuing on doing some joint-extensive walking around.

I'm raring to go for another round against any strong guy who pops up, so I'll just cover you while you do your thing. Even if it's just some weaker guys who manage to come around or whatever. Sound good to you?

INTO THE HOLE

[switchaxe]

i

[Ash is here for two things: muscle and beating the shit out of whatever is causing the corruption. Of course, there is one small--or large, rather--problem.

He looks between the hole and his Hector, sighing.]

Hey! Anyone able to help me get this thing down there? Fuckin' pits of doom...

[Sigh.]

ii

[In the mech or not in the mech, Ash is looking around the hole warily.]

Nothin' about this is good. I'll cover our back, someone else cover the front and sides. Don't get separated, because I dunno that we'll be able to find you again.

ii;

[qilinzuo]

'Cover the front and sides'?

[ Being something like a Vanguard has suited him well enough. ]

Lucky for you, I'm here.

If we do get separated, don't worry too much about me. I'll make it out just fine, know what I mean?

[ Someone's confident, as always. ]

[switchaxe]

Man, how the hell have you not gotten your ass beat before?

[Cocky bastard. Says the guy who is kind of prone to the same thing.]

I ain't explaining to the docs why we let you wander off and get gooped, Childe.

[blossominghopes]

Prologue
Well, that's. Hm.

[Immediately, Lia can already tell she does not like this one bit.]

I dunno about the rest of you, but I feel like it's probably best if we, uh... deal with the problem at the source? The fact that it looks like an infection screams "this'll get worse if we decide sealing it is good enough".

Sundelion Cooking
[Well, once the Sundelions are confirmed Safe To Consume, Lia... gets it into her head to try cooking with them. They all ought to eat to keep their strength up while they're here anyway, and it's a distinct possibility that not everyone brought snacks.

Or at least, that's the intent. She'd gathered up the ingredients for a meat and rice bowl, plus a Sundelion-- as she was leaning over a cooking pot to get some idea of what she needed to do with it, she... lost her grip on the ingredients and they tumbled down into the pot.

Imagine her surprise when seconds later, a finished dish sits in front of her.]

I-- I didn't even prepare anything for actual cooking, what the hell--

Sundelion Cooking

[blueeyeswhitedoppelganger]

[Honestly he was looking forward to perhaps taste testing that. Or trying a pan-bread recipe and offering a trade. All kinds of things. Imagine it! Sundelion bread!

...

What the fuck just happened.]

Hah?

[Hold on while he looks over this- by sitting up on his haunches, and peering the way he did a great big hole earlier. Yes. Yes that's a rice bowl. It...even smells faintly like sundelion.]

All you did was drop them. All of the ingredients should take entirely separate methods, I was ready for us to clean the bowl between rounds...

...

...is this why the bread recipe was just wheat and salt...

prologue

[twofoldfury]

[There are curses of death that carry less foreboding than this corruption. And indeed, they have the man-power by this point that finding a method to cleanse is better than the shaky method of sealing away.]

I agree. While the risk is great, the reward will outweigh it if the plan is sound. However...

[For Diarmuid specifically, the risk is much greater.]

[blossominghopes]

But that's still pretty high risk.

[And it might be higher risk for some than others.]

We probably should have at least one or two folks on the perimeter, come to think of it. [She grimaces.] Divert the people who are definitely too curious for their own good and all. [A beat.] And perhaps to help tend to people if we have to get anyone out of there in a hurry.

Sundelion Cooking

[burgersplease]

[Anby knows nothing about cooking. Her version of cooking is using the oven to heat up some frozen dinner entries.

So to see Lia cook like this? It doesn't even occur to her that something weird is afoot]

Wow Lia. You're so good you make cooking look like magic.

[blossominghopes]

... I think it might've actually been magic, honestly. Normally this process, uh... takes a lot longer?

I didn't even properly prepare the ingredients beforehand.

[But the bowl... looks okay?]

Nephrite

[keterclass]

[Prologue]

[Nephrite can be found staring at the spreading Gloom with a distant expression - like he's seeing something else in his mind's eye. When he notices someone draw close enough to speak, he'll quickly snap back to the present, offering a wry smile.]

What a shame we can't just leave this to future generations, but in my experience things like this tend to find their way past seals. We could always turn back to that plan and make this a study site, see how long it takes the local flora and fauna to start mutating.

[He's probably not serious.]

[Down the hole]

[Everyone's got their methods of movement. Neph, for his part, seems to have acquired wind-based flight which is fluttering his hair and uniform rather dramatically as he takes off to make his descent, spear in hand.]

Remember, I can only bring one of you back, so take your time going down!