[Halloween-B] Gameboard [Diesel/Gremlin/Cala]

[Indigo_Plateau]

Intro

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Destiny City is a large place, with a large population. It’s not uncommon to find a lost item here or there. Maybe a keychain, an earring, a book.

But, a six sided die? That’s different.

While traveling through Destiny City, you find a strange little object. It looks like old, stained wood, but something shiny in it catches your eye. How could you resist picking it up? It looks like a normal die in terms of shape, and each side has a gilded number, one through six, carved into it. The most interesting part of it all is that the dice seems to be made of old, stained wood with fossilized opal throughout the whole piece. Something about it called to you, and while you are investigating it, a harsh wind slams into you. Darkness falls all around you–and then, slowly, a path illuminates. It’s black all around you; there’s no light, but you can see clearly marked spaces.

A line of squares unwind in front of you, each clearly marked.

You can’t see anything around you, can’t feel anything else–just the gameboard.

You don’t recognize the game, but you don’t really need instructions to know how to play–you have a die, and you have a path. In the distance, you can barely make out a dark wooden platform at the end of the path, but it seems to have the same fossilized opal inlay as the die–and pretty golden symbols along the rim.

You can’t step out of your square. Trying to leave the gameboard results in you walking to an invisible barrier and it feels like slamming into a glass wall. You cannot leave your space–unless the die says you can. If you want to get out of here, you’re going to have to roll your way there–but it isn’t so easy.

Strange gold markings differ from one square to the next. There’s no telling what they mean–you’re going to have to land on them to find out.

Though, judging by the tension in the air, it’s probably not going to be anything good.

"I hate going out with Calaverite," Gremlin groused from his perch on Diesel's shoulder, as he stared icy blue eyes down the path he expected the other corrupt to eventually appear on. But Calaverite was unreliable as all hell and unpredictable, besides. It didn't matter that he could teleport to them instantly; if he didn't wanna show up, he wouldn't.

And Rakovanite 'trusted' him to some undefined degree. Bullshit ridiculous.

It wasn't that Diesel didn't understand his Mauvian's reluctance. Cala could be a lot of high-key emotions that he wasn't sure anyone knew how to control, and when he was slighted even the tiniest little bit, he had no qualms sinking his nails or teeth into anyone who posed an issue. Honestly, most of Diesel's interactions with Calaverite were on the more combative side, and he wouldn't be shocked if tonight went the same... "Well, he likes you a lot," Diesel reminded his companion with a shrug.

That'd probably been the only time Diesel had seen Cala be so sweet to anything, was when he was begging Gremlin to let Cala fetch him whatever snacks he wanted. He was allegedly very fixated and invested in Rakovanite's commands too, but Diesel had never witnessed that first-hand.

"As if there was any human I'd be less interested in 'liking me' than that little monster!" Gremlin spat. "Ugh, I said it was a bad idea to just let him roam freely, but no one listens to 'ole Gremlin. No one thinks a Mauvian's words of wisdom are that wise."

"You didn't really have to come, if you-"

"I didn't want to!" Gremlin interjected loudly and hotly. But he didn't trust Calaverite either, even regardless of whatever tolerance Diesel and Rakovanite had for him. He didn't trust that Calaverite wouldn't get Gremlin's senshi killed out on some basic routine patrol just because he couldn't- or wouldn't- control himself.

He could see it so plainly that Cala's impetuousness would rile up Diesel's own, and they would start a fight with someone they couldn't finish it with. Pride wouldn't let Diesel run if Cala insisted on throwing himself at an enemy over and over again, and it would get Diesel killed, as if he wasn't enough of a danger to himself, already.

And then Gremlin would have one less place to sleep at night.

This whole situation was vile. It felt like a lose-lose no matter what he did. Let Diesel die with that monster without Gremlin there to mediate him, or suffer through an awful encounter with the Senshi of Carrion. They both sucked. But if Gremlin dampened their auras, at least they'd probably only have to protect themselves from Calaverite and his stupidity. Gremlin huffed and kneaded his wrinkly paws anxiously into Diesel's shoulder.

"Ah, you get all worked up over nothing," Diesel said with a cluck of his tongue. He knew he wasn't always welcome to try and soothe Gremlin with a few gentle pets, but he was getting better at figuring out when was appropriate. Now, when no one else was around to see the Mauvian softening seemed like the most ideal time.

He scritched two fingers to the back of Gremlin's svelte-y head and knew when to retreat before his Guardian got a hold of himself again. "I'm sure it'll be fine," Diesel assured.  

[EchosSweet]

Space 6

You hear a shrill, humming noise; it sounds almost like something is firing past you–and sometimes, you even feel a sharp burst of air, like something has just missed you. Maybe, even, it does get a slice out of you. Sharp, bladelike threads seem to string up around you; you’d best be careful not to get cut on any of them between now and your next dice roll.

Calaverite did his best to keep himself under control. Even though he could go anywhere he wanted at any time he wanted with his new teleportation ability, his General had said he was scared for him to be wandering around alone. He should only teleport out of Negaspace when someone could be with him, so that they could protect each other. Rakovanite was scared for Calaverite! It was a silly fear, but endearing in its own way. Cala had never had anyone who was afraid for him, before...

He loved when his general paid him mind, so he was happy to nurture the older man's ridiculous concerns of thinking Cala was some damsel in the hopes that Rakovanite would be the one to keep him from wandering around alone, but that wasn't always the case. It seemed more likely that it would be Weissite, who definitely couldn't do more to protect Cala than Cala could do for himself, or Diesel, who was at least fun, but also pretty stupid.

Calaverite doubted either of them were more valuable to Rakovanite than he was. So the situation must be that it was actually Calaverite who needed to protect them. He was certainly fierce and dangerous, a worthy adversary for anyone who would try and hurt one of Rakovanite's recruits or his little brother. And when Cala ruined the enemy, Rakovanite would praise him and want him.

That had to be it. Nothing else made as much sense, and he must have been told otherwise just so as to not shame the other two, with their particularly fragile mental constitutions.

Diesel especially probably couldn't handle being told that he needed Calaverite to look after him.

Cala had vowed to himself that he would dutifully fulfill his obligations of protecting Rakovanite's team (just for Rakovanite. It was what Rakovanite wanted, and in doing that, Rak would give Cala what he wanted right back), and he definitely wouldn't try to claw out Diesel's eyes or bite out his throat if the other senshi upset him again. Because he had to be the one doing the protecting, this time.

When he landed in the street where they were to meet (feeling only a little dizzy from the jarring scenery change between Negaspace and Earth), Calaverite was instantly delighted to see that Diesel wasn't alone.

"You brought Kitty!" He beamed gleefully, smile all teeth and widened eyes displaying perhaps too much white as he reached unflinchingly to smear his palm against Gremlin's head. Good. Kitty certainly needed protecting, too, even more than Diesel probably. Bonus points for him if neither of them were hurt on patrol. ...But it would be a very boring patrol if nothing actually happened and no White Moon senshi came out to fight.

He would occupy himself in other ways, he supposed.

For the first little while, it was with the sweet treats that Rakovanite provided him with every so often. Chocolate cupcakes were a decent distraction until something interesting happened (though he absolutely didn't offer to share with his allies). And when he got bored of those, as he often did with food), he peeked through the windows of the stores they passed, making comments about things he would definitely come back for when no one was looking (and he wouldn't forget, thank you!).

But eventually, they were on a pretty empty street with no people to drain, no shop windows to look through. Just big buildings on every side in the downtown area. Very... construction-y. Quiet and dusty.

It was among some debris that something glinted. A new trinket for Calaverite to inspect, and he went at it eagerly. Starseeds were the most glittery. He liked collecting the different colors of those. But they weren't usually made of wood and stone.

"Look!" He proclaimed to Diesel, though he was careful to keep his new thing out of the other's reach. "It's a dice! I bet we can play a game with this!"

Because games between them often went so well and definitely never became murdery.

The die must have agreed with Calaverite, because the wind picked up, the world dropped away, and it suddenly looked like a gameboard was laid out before them! Like- they were the pieces and everything! It must be like Monopoly! Or Sorry! Roll the dice and walk the spaces! Well, it was Calaverite's die, so he would go first, and maybe he wouldn't even let Diesel go at all.

"I bet it's a race! So probably more like Sorry! than Monopoly. I'm good at Sorry! though. I bet you never got to play, since your brother didn't like you."

Not that Cala had had a brother to play with either, just other kids in the halfway house. Either way, he was gonna beat Diesel.

And he sure freaking was! A six that was the best you could get, so Calaverite very boldly and fearlessly traversed the spaces on the board. He thought he would just keep going (it wasn't like Diesel would know from way back there), but some force stopped him from moving any further, and when he went to complain about the game for cheating on him, something flew by his arm, making a soft whistling sound. Something flew by his leg, by his face. A cut split the bared skin of his shoulder, and Calaverite gasped softly.

Oh. So it didn't like he trying to cheat. In the wake of those somethings that whizzed by, thin wires had also strung themselves up through the space, as if to further impede him.

It absolutely wouldn't impede him, even if they sliced his arms off, but he guessed he couldn't go forward until Diesel-

Oooooh, yeah, he was supposed to be the one protecting Diesel. Which he might fail at if the other senshi ended up in a situation like this and got all cut up. "Hey, hey!" Calaverite screamed back. "You have to go so I can keep going, but you gotta be careful! The wires- they'll cut you up!"