May II Event Log

[nashiramods]

Who: Everyone! (That's right, even you)
What: The search for Niangniang ramps up as the enemy closes in. All signs point to the bathhouse...but just where is the ship's cat?
When: May 25 - May 31
Where: Chalra City

🎶 Recommended Listening: Underwater Prom Queens - Omori Soundtrack ♪

may ii event log
EPISODE 2: Bathhouse Blitz! Save the Black Cat and the Golden Butterfly!
May 25 - May 31
TIMELINE
5/25-5/29 Dowsing Machines
5/27 Art Contest
5/28 Investigate: Bathhouse
5/30 Mystery Plot
5/31 Showdown: Vaporpilia & Rescue: Niangniang

The race to find Niangniang has begun! Nautis has given everyone dowsing machines that look like little toys to track Niangniang via magic leak. They beep with increasing frequency when in proximity of the source, which means they're not exactly discreet, but they're the only way the Nova Knights themselves can track Niangniang. Just try to make sure it doesn't get taken away in class! Those who attend Everwave Academy may notice that it beeps a lot at the school, but...there are no cats to be found on campus.

Everwave Academy sends a memo to all faculty, staff, and students' families that the school guidance counselor Optimus Prime has resigned in order to "pursue other professional opportunities", leaving the position temporarily unfilled until they hire another counselor.

On the 27th, final scores from Shelley Lustre's art contest are announced. Maya's little cousin Pearl won first place and Kalim secured third place. Natalia's submission, however, was disqualified.

Even though the Nova Knights' investigation efforts aren't entirely successful, on the 31st, Nautis alerts the whole team with the near-certain knowledge that Niangniang is at the Golden Butterfly and is at risk of being captured by the enemy, and that they've all got to get there quick!

> SOS! SOS! Alert! Alert! We've got a situation!
> I've got a fix on Niangniang's location, but it looks like the enemy does too!
> All Nova Knights, report for action! I'm sending you coordinates now.
> JK, it's the Golden Butterfly Bathhouse ^_^
> The enemy is sure to be sending their strongest monsters to capture our mascot, so be on your guard!
> Normally I'd be kind of OK with letting the enemy get their hands on her, but we kind of need her. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Oh well!
> Which means you all need to get your magical keisters in gear. Duty calls! Time to go supernova!

While Mutsumi arrives a little too late to help, Jamil, Kalim, and Natalia make it to the bathhouse in time to defeat the bathhouse butterfly monster Vaporpilia and save a very drenched black cat. Once the action is over and the steam clears, Niangniang the cat unexpectedly poofs into human form. Niangniang was reincarnated as a human like the rest of them, and her true identity is...Maomao?!

Neither Hope nor Maya made it to the bathhouse, however, nor did they respond to Nautis's messages. Once they've ensured Niangniang's (Maomao's) safety, Nautis tries once again to contact the two Nova Knights who never made it to the battle, only to discover that they're nowhere to be located in Chalra City. Nautis realizes too late that Maya and Hope must have been trapped in the Abyss by the enemy. The situation isn't hopeless, however — unlike Nova Zenith's case, she can still track their magical signatures, even if only faintly, which means they can be saved.

The full mission results can be found here.

Comments

Re: RESCUE: NIANGNIANG

[theriflespiral]

The air... Is different, now. It's heavy. Wet.

Looming.

When the three of them arrived to the emergency call, they hadn't expected things to be quite this bad. They hadn't expected an explosion of chaos almost as soon as they walked in the door.

And they certainly hadn't expected something strange and formless to stalk them through the pipes and the drains.

Now, worse, they've got to save one person, in particular.

Kalim: Did you arrive in Supernova?

[istandwithmycancelledwife]

It's an emergency, of course he showed up in Supernova! And of course he was on board with going to look for Niangniang while the others went to take on the monsters -- sure, the whole sun/moon thing makes for a more intuitive teamup, but Nova Neos really seems like she knows what she's doing. She and Crescent can definitely handle this.

The problem is... his look around the bathhouse with Mutsumi really didn't prepare him for searching this place for a cat. By the time Neos catches up with him, he's seriously struggling to hold off a gang of steam caterpillars who have him cornered near the sauna. His sunlight powers at least make it relatively easy to figure out where he is -- the shine streams through the surrounding corridors as if it's pouring through the windows of a greenhouse. But he's just one guy, and he doesn't have any attack powers. Currently he's hoping he can stay out of their reach long enough for the heat of Mirage Flare to evaporate them, but they do keep slipping back into the drains to recuperate...

[theriflespiral]

Neos has been fighting for some time, now. Earlier, she was caught with her pants down, taking a soak in the baths themselves when the call went out to protect Niangniang.

Now, she's making up for lost time and the very near death experience she had fighting off the caterpillars to reach Vaporpilia.

But there's something... different, about the grind of stone on stone that heralds her approach.

She's barely keeping her hands up, defensive out of habit rather than genuine feeling. Where before her outfit was broad white and green jade, now the gems are amythyst and the somewhat heavy armor evoking a shining, polished basalt.

She walks forward. One steam caterpillar strikes, and her eyes flare with fury, and she seizes it. Her hands burn with brilliant purple light and it dissolves into motes, writhing like it can no longer breathe.

Neos... Has an attack spell?

The assembled mass of creepy-crawlies move to attack her as the larger threat.

[istandwithmycancelledwife]

It takes a moment for Nova Sunbeam to even recognise her -- the distinctive outfits they all wear have been doing a lot of heavy lifting for him when it comes to keeping his comrades straight, and at first these new colours have him assuming this must be some new ally he hasn't met yet. After a moment, though, he puts the shapes together...

"Nova Neos--?"

He hurries towards her, clubbing a caterpillar aside with a swing of his staff and a splash but otherwise relying on Mirage Flare to make it hard for them to follow him.

[theriflespiral]

Now several come diving out of the drains, and she backhands one into non-existence, barely pausing her advance. A casual side thrust kick does for another. "Sunbeam."

She snaps a straight right inches from his ear to catch a third, whistling steam and pain as it dissolves. Her contempt for these small-fry wasting her time is plain on her expression, but her eyes dart this way and that, tracking motions. "What news?"

[istandwithmycancelledwife]

"Oh, ah -- I haven't found Niangniang yet but I think we're close! Thanks for the save!" He weaves out of the way of a scalding stream of water and grabs Neos by the arm. "This way! Ah, wait, no -- this way! My bad!"

[wood_sorrel]

Maomao is not having a very good day.

When the monsters bubble up from the water and everyone else flees the baths, Maomao gets stuck hiding in a corner of the bath behind a half-destroyed folding screen, lying low until she can escape. And while Maomao is not the type to freak out, she is nonetheless, kind of freaked out. What The Fuck Is Going On. Why are there giant caterpillars made of water, and why do they seem to be coming for her?

She doesn't really have a lot of time to think about it, though, because as soon as Nova Sunbeam and Nova Neos enter the scene, something strange happens. She hears the whisper of a familiar voice and then, before she knows it, a beam of light shoots out from her forehead and surrounds her in a warm yellow sphere. When it fades, in Maomao's place, there is a small black cat, and in blind confusion, she tries darting away from the one the monsters and lands...right in the bath.

[theriflespiral]

When she hears the splash, sees the caterpillars moving towards the splash, Nova Neos does not even think. She shifts in front of whatever it was.

One bites her in the armored bracer. One gets elbowed and erupts into purple flame. The challenge is obvious: if you want whoever this is, you must get through me.

"I am the strength that will not be abandoned, the Temple that still stands."

Not that the caterpillars pause to consider this.

And yet-- a bit like dandelions. Cut off as many heads as you like, but the root remains...

[istandwithmycancelledwife]

Nova Sunbeam glances between Nova Neos, the encroaching caterpillars, and the definitely cat-shaped object that just fell into the bath... Okay, he decides. Neos probably doesn't need his help, at least not right away. He throws aside his staff, which disintegrates into sparkles when it hits the ground, and jumps into the water after Niangniang.

It's not very deep, of course, because it's a bath, but it's deep enough for a cat to be in trouble. He scoops her up in one arm and vaults out of the other side.

"Hey, kitty! Don't worry, I've got you!"

Then he holds up his free hand to call his staff back and provide Neos with some backup by disorienting the caterpillars with a blast of dizzying sunlight.

[wood_sorrel]

No!!!

Maomao, confused and a little panicked, tries to wriggle out of Nova Sunbeam's grasp with a yowl. It's not that she can't talk in this form, but it hasn't yet occurred to her to try. Everything is happening way too quickly for her to make sense of the situation. Did this guy's staff just...disappear and reappear?? Hey! What the hell!! Is going on!!!

[theriflespiral]

Neos spares a glance back at the cat, and then smiles, as if at a private little joke. "... Hah! I hope you, friend, are easier to save than Anya."

She feels free to say it; so few people would know what she means by 'Anya', anyway.

Little does she know that one of the very people who would know is the cat in question.

She retreats, briefly, into the mirages, using them to hit and fade as she goes, just as the caterpillars seem to want to re-form in the mist and changing of the light.

[istandwithmycancelledwife]

"Whoah!" Nova Sunbeam tucks his staff into the crook of his arm so he can keep a hold of the cat with both hands. "It's okay, don't freak out! We're here to save you! Oh, wait, I brought some treats--!"

While Nova Neos keeps the caterpillars busy, Sunbeam pats at his pockets and produces a crumpled little package. This is absolutely the expensive shit, but it is absolutely also...cat treats...

[wood_sorrel]

Eugh! No!! Double no!! Maomao wants no part of this, and she does not want to put those treats in her mouth. She's still freaked out about suddenly being in this cat body, but she takes the opportunity to bite Kalim's arm with her sharp little teeth in the hopes that he'll let her go.

[theriflespiral]

Neos has to trust that Nova Sunbeam knows what the hell he's doing, but even that is smashed when all parts of the calming a cat ritual are all done both ass backwards and the cat is trying to bite him.

Okay. Okay FINE. She takes a breath and slips out of the mirages now that the presence has thinned just enough for now to keep the cat safe if she keeps both her body and Sunbeam's between cat and threat. "Please. We're trying to get you to safety but we..."

Even if she could say, 'I need your help', even if it didn't feel like asking to be abandoned, multiple waterpillars choose that moment to attack Neos, silencing her for a second.

It's ... irresponsible. Foolish. But if it collects the cat... she lets the blows rain on her back rather than the other two. "We can't do it without you."

[istandwithmycancelledwife]

Sunbeam grimaces a little when she bites him, but, too bad, Maomao, he just laughs and holds on tighter. "Sorry, little buddy! Hang in there, okay?"

Even Neos turning to address their rescuee much more seriously doesn't seem to clue him in. Kalim is completely incapable of turning off his Talking To Cute Little Animals (and also Large, Medium Sized, and Less Cute Animals) mouth.

"Neos, watch out--!" he cries as the caterpillars bear down on her, dropping cat treats in the water as he fumbles for his staff. A fresh flash of too-bright light makes them recoil for just a moment, so those blows aren't quite as relentless as they might have been. "She's right, kitty! We want to help you and we really need you! For our important mission!"

[wood_sorrel]

Maomao is already having a terrible day, but the guy carrying her is maximum annoying and even as Neos entreats her to cooperate, she doesn't know how, exactly, she's supposed to be helping people. Who are these weird cosplayers. Why is she a cat. What The Fuck Is Happening

"What do you people want from me?!"

Oh my gosh the cat can talk. Maomao hadn't realized she had the capacity for speech in this form until the words had popped out of her, but it is a relief that she can use her words. Even though she mostly just wants to bite this guy right now. It's obvious the monsters are targeting her, though, with the aim of capturing her intact, only aiming to harm the Nova Knights.

And Niangniang's voice might sound quite familiar, although there's something preventing you from identifying it...

[theriflespiral]

Knew it. "So you are human. Or. Close enough."

Thank god, really. Imagine the embarrassment of talking to a normal cat like they're a human in public. "As for what we want, we want to get you out of this bath-house, eliminate these monsters hurting people, and maybe to talk to a friend of ours, in that order."

bona fides thus established, she casually back-hands a few more caterpillars in one unholy glowing spinning fist. "But. I am, as they say, flexible."

[istandwithmycancelledwife]

"Whoah, you can talk!" Nova Sunbeam exclaims delightedly. "That's so awesome! I've always wanted – ack!" He's mercifully stopped from finishing that by the encroaching presence of a caterpillar that's slipped past Neos's capable defense. He slams the heavy end of his staff down on it with a flash of light, not destroying it but still leaving it reeling and disoriented.

[wood_sorrel]

Nova Sunbeam so help her God if you were about to say I've always wanted a talking cat she is going to put laxatives in your next drink

She kind of wishes she hadn't talked at all. Maybe then she could have escaped this whole mess and, uh, figured it out on her own?? She wants off this ride. The caterpillar staggers back a few splashing steps, then lurches forward to shoot a blast of hot water at Maomao and Nova Sunbeam. And then something weird happens.

Just as she's thinking I want out of here!, that beam of golden light emerges from her forehead again, and this time, it takes the form of a domed shield in front of her and Kalim just in time to block the hot water attack.

At the same time, Kalim and Natalia both receive texts even though they are most definitely not looking at their cell phones right now: DATA PROTECTION CONTINGENCY ACTIVATED.

[theriflespiral]

Neos casually delivers a thrust kick to the waterpillar in question, disintegrating it. "We are out of time. I'm getting you both out of here."

She ducks down and picks both of them up, Nova Sunbeam, Niangniang, and all, in a fireman's carry, and heads for an exit, careful to use her back to push open the bar and turn so Sunbeam is feet first coming through the door.

She has to bend out of the way of yet another attack, but stands atop the emergency door for half a second before hopping off and kicking it shut hard on the ascending waterpillars, dissipating a few and slowing down the rest.

She sets off towards the arcade, completely unheeding of the fact that she is still carrying Sunbeam and Niangniang. Like a bunch of grapes or something.

[istandwithmycancelledwife]

"Whoah!" Sunbeam says again. Overwhelmed by this sudden display of upper body strength and also fairly accustomed to cooperating politely while people carry him out of danger, he holds still in a bit of a daze while Neos hauls him and Niangniang out of the bathhouse.

It isn't until they're in the street outside that he realises this is no longer necessary.

"Oh, hey! Nova Neos, you, uh, you can put me down now...?"

He's still holding onto Niangniang, though.

[theriflespiral]

"... I will do this, on the condition that you get yourselves to the Nashira as soon as you can." She shifts the burden so Sunbeam is sitting on one shoulder.

[istandwithmycancelledwife]

"Uh," he says, goggling down at her. "I'm not injured or anything!"

[theriflespiral]

Note: She hasn't actually stopped walking. She's moving just fine. They're finishing this mission safely, one way or the other. "Sunbeam. The longer we play around, the longer it takes to bring that friend in your arms to safety, the longer said friend is in danger. Normally I am one to engage in banter as presented but we have lost one person already to lack of basic security precautions and almost lost a second."

She does not yet know about Glimmer and Pandora. These words will sink into her neck like ice later. "I am getting all of us to safety."

Wait. She stops. "... Also. Sunbeam. Stop using fuckweed."

[istandwithmycancelledwife]

He's about to reply to that first, part, but...

"What's... fuckweed?"