Mystery Skulls Animated (Universe)

Mission One
Date: March 11th, 2021

Mission Objective: Destroy Shiromori!

Bonus Objective: Don't let her drink any more Kitsune blood!

Mission Status: Complete!

Bonus Status: Complete!

Mission Type: Holographic

Attendees: Amelian, Camellia, Codell, Pace

Summary
Upon entry to the world, Vivi appears to be one of two survivors, soon to be the only survivor, of a battle with Shiromori - Lewis is fading fast, Arthur is dead amongst rubble, and Mystery is mutilated and deceased at his side. Additionally, the group is unable to speak, or even hear through psionic links or otherwise, overrun with ambient music instead. With no time to even process the scene, battle ensues with Shiromori immediately targeting the next Kitsune, Ame, who very narrowly avoids being damaged on her first turn. Ame spends his turn landing only one out of four strikes, and temporarily restraining the Tree Demon as Codell attempts to heal Lewis, but is only able to buy the ghost time and not fully stabilize him. Pace is then able to take the opportunity to strike an immobile target, landing a pair of heavy strikes with JohnHammer while DaveSword lands a stab of his own, shortly before Shiromori manages to begin healing her wounds and launches an AOE attack, ensnaring the entire group successfully and beginning to drag all but Ame down to suffocate in the earth.

Ame resolves the situation by casting a Wish to reverse the timeline to before the point Shiromori's damage here was done, setting the universe back on the Alpha Timeline where Lewis' Ghost is intact, Arthur and Mystery are alive, and Vivi kills Shiromori herself by knocking her heart out of her body. Pace appears to be the only person besides Amelian himself to have been able to witness the reversal of the timeline. With that, the mission ends, the group returning home unharmed.

EXP REWARDS
LVL 0: 1000% OR 1D1600

LVL 1-5: 800% OR 1D1300

LVL 6-10: 600% OR 1D1000

LVL 11-15: 400% OR 1D650

LVL 16-20: 250% OR 1D400

LVL 21-25: 140% OR 1D230

LVL 26-30: 75% OR 1D125

LVL 31-35: 35% OR 1D60

LVL 36-40: 15% OR 1D25

LVL 41-45: 8% OR 1D13

LVL 46-50: 3% OR 1D5

PAGE REWARD
25,000 + 10,000 = 35,000 PAGES

ITEM REWARDS:
Vivi's Bat - WEAPON - +2 Robustness, +2 Deftness, A bat that chills you to the very core when it makes contact. This bat's attacks are elementally aligned with ice.

White Bonsai Tree - Other - A beautiful bonsai tree with snow white leaves. Something good might happen if you plant it. Or not. You can guarantee it'll grow.

Ghostly EMP Grenade (x3) - Explosive - A grenade filled with the spectral energy of a vengeful spirit. This can completely short out technology in the blast radius for 1d2+1 turns!

BONUS REWARD (EVERYONE GETS THIS):

A Locket - Accessory - +2 Appeal, +1 Luck, A locket ready for the placement of any picture. If you place a picture of someone within the locket, your hearts become linked. You'll always be aware of where they are and can psionically communicate in the same universe no matter the distance!

Universal Rewards
Groovin' - Pace - +2 Appeal, Being in a world full of music has really put you in touch with your inner DJ.

Hammer Time - Pace - You've begun to walk the path of the hammer with your imaginary friend John. You gain a +4 to hammer-related rolls!

Synchronicity - Pace - You've now used both of your powerful magical weapons to full effect, and they seem to resonate with power when they're wielded in tandem. As long as you have The Fractured Timeblade and The Hammer of Zillyhoo both equipped, you may perform double basic melee attacks (one with each weapon)!

Intense Training (Bonus) - Pace - +2 to a physical stat of your choice, Those weights are pretty goddamn heavy. However, it seems like your effort is being rewarded!

Mission Two
Date: May 15th, 2021

Mission Objective: Hunt the main ghost!

Bonus Objective: Help Cheer get a promotion!

Mission Status: Complete

Bonus Status: Complete

Mission Type: Holographic

Attendees: Alexander, Amelian, Codell, Nicolai, Report

Summary
Entering the world, the group finds themselves in front of a spectral mansion, that being specifically Lewis' mansion. This mission takes place either in an alternate timeline, or simply an earlier, now altered point of the timeline engaged with on the initial mission. Upon entry, the group immediately loses track of Report, to the point even Cody's locket (mission reward from previous engagement) cannot allow the two to communicate, only telling them that their companion is somewhere deeper in the mansion. They also notice the soft, ambient sound of Hotel California.. The entire group rushes forward, stopping at the beginning of an empty hall that stretches into seemingly infinite blackness, where Lewis hovers, silent and appearing to be in a state of damage and repressed agony as the deadbeats around him bear broken skulls decorated with syringes impaled into them. He only tells the group to run when Cody attempts to ask him where their friend is and communicate that none of them are here to mean any harm. Cody narrowly pushes back against an overwhelming sense of dread that only seems to affect them and the ghost of the mansion (due to all metaphysical senses perceiving them as a ghost), followed by Amelian and Alexander playing the Song of Healing in an attempt to bring comfort and rest to the specter before them. Lewis begins bawling hysterically, at which point the group notices the darkness of the hall has encroached upon them, Lewis telling them he warned them to run - and they all fall into nothingness.

Report finds himself in a basement - a basement he had previously been kept in during his younger life in captivity, and his previous owner coming at him with a crowbar to shatter his skull. Reliving his worst memory, he attacks, quickly impaling the man on a bone spike, who disappears and re-enters the room again. Every attempt to kill him bears the same result, and attempts to escape lead to the room pushing him only closer, like a nightmare you can't wake up from.

Nicolai finds himself alone, drowning in Tar over and over and over again, also re-living his worst memory as he's sent into the terror of suffocation and the consumption of his very soul. In a desperate attempt to escape, he casts Gateway, tearing open a rift that ends up leading him to the Plane of Addiction as the Aspect of Addiction noticed him and helped him open the portal. Here, he's overwhelmed with dopamine to the point of hysterics as the Aspect of Addiction gives him her spark, sending him on his way to the outside of the mansion where he promptly vomits from the overstimulation of the ordeal.

Alexander is left to fall endlessly, surrounded by visions of his brother Nicolai drowning in the tar. In his own desperate attempt to help his brother, he manages to tear open a rift after several failed attempts, winding up in a basement, though not the same basement as Report.

Amelian and Codell remain together, stood atop a grassy hill overlooking a forest that echoes with the cries of hunting horns, dogs, and marching voidbloods coming to kill them, leading what appears to be a near rabid and feral Gracelyn behind them in her original, much larger therian form, her jaws dripping with the implied blood of Helnyx, their tattered bandanna caught in her teeth. Though Cody is terrified, Amelian activates his Mugenbi No Kitsune transform, assuring them everything will be alright and that this isn't real (Gracelyn is home with the children, and he's well aware she can no longer access a therian of that size) and attempts to wrestle control of the area, and temporarily succeeds, but Cody's fear seems to empower the area. With that not working, Ame takes Cody's hand, and via Spatial Manipulation, warps them away, winding up in a basement, the same as Alexander.

Amelian, Codell, and Alexander find a humanoid figure covered in weeping eyes shackled to the wall, repeatedly being injected with syringes over and over and over, the syringes disappearing after use and re-appearing anew after each infliction. Amelian erases the syringes and un-shackles the man via Reality Manipulation, at which point the group is able to speak with the man briefly, learning he's involved with the Archive as he holds up a tape recorder to Alexander, asking him about his experiences here in the mansion. At this point, Report is released from his repetitive nightmare, which clarifies that this man was either the cause or the conduit for the nightmares. Amelian, Alexander, Codell, and Report return to the real world with the newcomer, Cody quickly able to locate Report once again as in the basement. The group re-unites and exits the mansion, the newcomer leaving before the rest presumably but unconfirmed back to his place in the Archive. During their last 5 seconds, the Varias brothers re-unite, Cody and Report re-unite, and Amelian casts a wish to bring Lewis back to life - the group hears a coffin slam open from the basement briefly.

As the mission ends, Cheer Kid appears, his appearance shifting and his title changing from simply "Cheer Kid" to "The Cheerful Dread" as he becomes no longer an aspect of disease and addiction, but disease, addiction, and dread. He thanks Alexander and Nicolai before vanishing, and the group returns to the Archive as the mission ends.

EXP REWARDS
LVL 0: 1000% OR 1D1600

LVL 1-5: 800% OR 1D1300

LVL 6-10: 600% OR 1D1000

LVL 11-15: 400% OR 1D650

LVL 16-20: 250% OR 1D400

LVL 21-25: 140% OR 1D230

LVL 26-30: 75% OR 1D125

LVL 31-35: 35% OR 1D60

LVL 36-40: 15% OR 1D25

LVL 41-45: 8% OR 1D13

LVL 46-50: 3% OR 1D5

PAGE REWARD
25,000 Pages

ITEM REWARDS
Beating Pants - Pants - +2 Deftness - These purple pants are patterned with a plurality of pulsating pulmonary pieces. In other words they’re covered in hearts that actually beat along to some ethereal tune. While wearing these pants you can attempt to sense the heartbeat of something you can see based off of Deftness.

A totally normal top hat - Helmet - +2 Persp - This is a totally normal hat. When the right frequency is hummed a dead beat will pop out of the top and fire off an astral burst of flame at a target based on persp.

Mystery Skull Tickets - Consumable - These tickets are for a live concert featuring the band Mystery Skulls, or any bands related to them! If you can somehow reasonably connect a band to the mystery skulls this will allow you into the performance! They can also be torn in half for an energy heal!

BONUS REWARD

A Tape Recorder - ??? - That weird guy with the eyes seemed to leave this behind. Something about it seems both appealing, and unnerving. You can choose to tell it an experience you’ve had that had to do with the supernatural, and fear. Something might happen if you do. Or you could just smash it with a mallet.

Nicolai Bonus Reward - Nicolai receives a note from Cheer. “Heard you got invited to the party, thought it might not be your style, seem more like a quiet drinker, if you want some help, you got my number, pal. I’m sure we could work something out!~”

Universal Rewards
N/A