[TINY CAT PEOPLE] VOID SESSION: ACT 4

[skinstealer]

You say there’s no way to know until you try, and that hope is just the flipside of doubt. Doubt says that you’re not sure things will go well, and hope says that you’re not sure it’ll go badly. The only way you’d say there’s no hope was if you were certain of anything, but you’re not. It may not be the largest chance, it may not be easy, and you’re definitely rolling the dice- but you might win. You just have to put in the effort and keep on believing in each other, and you have no plans to stop that any time soon. The most you can promise aside from that is that no matter what happens, you’ll take responsibility for it. That’s all you can do, really.

But...you know they want particular reasons as well, solid evidence. The truth of it is, you’re pretty confident you can get ahead of Spit, and you’re already finding cracks in her methods. Her way of doing things is self-destructive, and she’s acting against the nature of her TCPs. It’s fragile tactics, and the more you work her grip loose, the more slippery it’s going to get for her. If you could get all of her TCP’s out of her base, away from her influence, and into the unhallowed sanctuary, you’ve basically won. She won’t be able to hurt them anymore or make anything, and you’d have the chance to sway them from her influence. It’s going to require a lot of undoing conditioning, and there’s always the chance that they won’t take well to it...but there’s the chance that they will, and that’s the chance that you’re going to take, no matter what.

At the very, very least...Jasper could try and get Writhe out. Jasper agrees completely, as soon as you say it- it’s clearly being hurt here, all of them are, but Writhe seems the most delicate, at least to your phantom type. You’re going to need its help as well, and if Jasper wanted, they could try and help calm the cage type down before you get to it.

Jasper agrees, and floats over to Writhe.



Writhe can’t stop looking at its stunned teammate, Dana and Dad doing their best to keep it from poking at Raw. Jasper gives it a careful tap on the bars, backing up as the cage swings to face them. They’re surprised to hear Writhe speak, the cage saying hi to them in its low, rattling voice. Jasper says hey back after a moment of hesitation, glad to see that it can understand what they’re saying now. Their name is Jasper, and it’s good to meet them. Again.

Its name is Writhe, says the cage, looking a little shy. It doesn’t really know what to think of its name, it sounds weird, but...Jasper stops it before it can go much further than that, saying that it doesn’t sound weird to them. It’s a cool name. Writhe perks up immediately at the praise, saying that it’s happy Jasper thinks so! That makes it easier, to know someone thinks it’s cool!

Jasper has to calm the cage from bouncing around and making a ton of noise, trying to shush it as politely as possible. Okay, enough of that. Please. Things are still pretty scary right now, and they’re going to need Writhe’s help if they want things to go well. Could Writhe go along with things Jasper asks it to?

Writhe hesitates before asking whether it’ll hurt or not.

Jasper says it won’t, not if they have anything to do about it. They extend a hand for the cage to feel, the large storage type TCP fiddling with the ectoplasm immediately. It’s still weird for Jasper, but it seems to reassure Writhe so easily that they don’t mind, not really.



You thank Jasper for their help, relieved that things are starting to turn towards your favor again. You need them on recon, and they’re going to need to use their abilities to scope out the rest of Spit’s base. The focus should be on extraction, with the end goal of getting everyone out of there- your team, allies, and Spit’s team. Yes, all of them that you can, but especially Writhe. You need a spot where everyone can be rescued, and it’s their job to help find it. 

Jasper takes it in and nods, relaying this to Dad and Dana. Dana says that she’ll fill in the others, and rushes back into the room to talk to Bryce and Jetter. Dad gives Jasper a pat on their side, unable to quite reach up to their back- she’s proud of them-

Jasper swoops Dad into a hug before she can go on a big speech. 

They didn’t know if they’d ever see her again, or any of the others. They thought they were going to die down here. 

Dad is silent for a moment, not sure what to say. She settles on returning the hug as best she can, saying that no matter what, this team is like a family, and Jasper is included in that if they want to be. And if you’ve taught her anything, family sticks together.

Jasper says they know, and that they don’t plan on going anywhere soon. They set Dad down and get back to business, seemingly a little embarrassed at their emotional outburst.



You ask if there’s any way to get Raw into Writhe’s cage, but Jasper immediately nixes that idea- there’s no room in that cage for another big body type, not with all the spikes. Marvel’s barely fitting in there as is, and it doesn’t look like those spikes are easy to remove either. 
 

VOIDSY: Hey, Eastwood?
EASTWOOD: Yeah?
VOIDSY: Sorry for the radio silence, Jasper needed our help...we’re not going to use that healing fluid.
EASTWOOD: Why not?! I said it was safe!
VOIDSY: There just, there has to be some catch. It’s Spit we’re talking about.
EASTWOOD: It’s just straight up healing potion, same as what you’ve got back at base pretty much. Literally no difference.
VOIDSY: We’ll discuss it later, just...send some jelly instead.
EASTWOOD: Fine, but we’re running low.

 
Jasper gets a double-sized fistful of jelly from the bag, once again revulsed by the texture...but this was more important than their comfort. They float back over to Marvel and Writhe, the cage type allowing its door to be opened. Marvel’s still out cold, but as Jasper presses the jelly against his hand, he begins to stir.

Marvel’s health is now SUFFERING. 



He pulls himself into a sitting position, swaying from side to side. Jasper is immediately taken aback, his calm monotone replaced with a shaky, almost stuttering voice. He asks where he is, and Jasper says that they’re in Spit’s base, and that the scouting mission failed. It takes him a moment to realize what Jasper’s talking about, giving a slow nod. Right. The scouting mission. He had forgotten about that.

He takes a look at his hands, noting the massive holes going straight through. The brain type says nothing, Jasper reaching out and giving his shoulder a shake. Is he alright? Like, obviously he’s not alright, but…

Marvel says that he’s sure he’ll be fine, it’s just. Hard. It’s hard to think straight, everything feels all scrambled and- He can’t find the word, something that means not all there. Incomplete, Jasper suggests, and he nods. Scrambled and incomplete. It doesn’t feel right. 

Jasper says that whatever happened, they’ll find a way to fix it. Marvel gives another slow nod, looking around. Jasper says they can catch him up on everything, but it’s going to take some explaining.


 

VOIDSY: Miller, could you tell us about Bryce’s ability, and his weight gun? We have an idea.
MILLER: Well, sure! Bryce can turn things into driftwood and control it, but he can also make objects lighter thanks to his synergy bonus.
VOIDSY: How about living things?
MILLER: Well...yes, he can do that, but it isn’t reversible. That’s what the weight gun is for. 
MILLER: The weight gun can make things heavier or lighter, but by switching the weight of the user with the target. This means it’s only really effective on a single target at a time, BUT, testing shows that you can daisy chain it a bit if you’re careful. 
EASTWOOD: ...what the fuck?
EASTWOOD: You didn’t think to mention something that potentially broken?!
MILLER: No one asked!
VOIDSY: Mind if we try a thing, then?
MILLER: Go ahead, just be careful.
VOIDSY: Okay...we want to try making Writhe lighter. Those stairs are way too big for it to get out, and if we can make it lighter-
MILLER: Ooh! Jasper could just float it out, couldn’t they?
VOIDSY: Exactly.
MILLER: I love it! I’ll go get Bryce in on it immediately, and we’ll give it a test. 

 
It takes a moment or two, but Bryce wanders over to your group just as Marvel’s being helped out of the cage. You tell Jasper that you’ll need Marvel to sit on the sideline for a second, and you’d need their help with something. When they ask what, you say that you’re going to help Writhe get out of here, and relay the plan. Jasper passes this on to Writhe, who looks shocked. Is it even possible? It’s so deep here, and the stairs- Jasper shushes the cage, saying that they’re sure that you’ve figured it all out.

Bryce steps forward with the weight gun, bracing himself for impact as he fires at Writhe. Sure enough, he staggers, falling over as soon as the bolt hits. Writhe on the other hand, hops around almost gracefully from foot to foot, delighted. 
 

MILLER: Success!
 

Jasper sneaks over, trying to get Writhe to stay put before getting underneath it, picking it up with relative ease. It’s a little unwieldy to hold something so big, but with Bryce’s weight, the cage is no problem. Writhe tries not to wiggle too much, but from the sound of its giggle-like clangs, it’s having a blast.



They peek up from underneath Writhe, trying to get a good look at what hangs above them.