THE MOMENT
It was unquestionably the end of the world. Across the Earth, everyone rebelled against the triffid-like monsters that invaded; but, not one of them was fighting for survival. No one was under the illusion that the Earth could be saved, but none of them were going to let it end without a fight. People from all walks of life joined the battle together. In the midst of all the chaos, in a small town park in the middle of the afternoon, two girls were enjoying the sun and destroying any of the plant-creatures they came across.
"Yeah, I guess they're getting stronger...," Liberty, a blue-haired teen, nodded as she stood from their latest kill. The rabid shrub decayed and disintegrated into dust moments after its death, as she was checking for anything left behind. "I still one-shot them, so it's kind of hard to tell," she giggled.
"That's what everyone said," Penelope nodded. "It feels like we have enough answers now," she added. "But, I'm not in a hurry if you want to make double sure." The two of them had been friends for months now. They were close, but they were still learning each other's habits. As Penelope asked her question, she was surveying the park for any nearby danger, and Liberty was finally able to spot the intention. She first assumed Penelope was in a hurry to leave, but that didn't seem like her friend. She'd never complain like that for herself, but she would put other people first. She was confident she understood the situation, and she sent a discreet Whisper to her boss.
"INCOMING!" Penelope suddenly tapped Liberty's shoulder and pointed her attention to a menacing rose bush wandering by. It wasn't headed in their direction initially, until Penelope shouted to attract its attention. They could've avoided the danger altogether, but Penelope drew it to them and confirmed Liberty's assumption. She didn't hesitate to charge forward and engage the dangerous, otherwordly flora.
[Assassinate] A deep voice filled the air as Liberty vanished, then reappeared behind the deadly hedge. It let out an echoing, whining groan of pain, then fell to the ground dead. Liberty knelt instantly to check what it dropped as the corpse disintegrated. Now that she was paying attention, it was even more obvious.
"Nothing good again, just the same 'Triffid Heart' they all drop. You still want it?" she asked. It was claimed instantly as Penelope nodded.
"Thank you," she said.
"Hey girls, what'd we learn?" A sudden voice startled them, and they turned to see Lyra. She wasn't directly Liberty's boss, but she was in charge for that particular mission.
"Oh, Hi!" Penelope was instantly bummed, and she overcompensated her excitement. Lyra gave her a puzzled smile, and nodded.
"Hi, Penelope," she said, then looked at Liberty.
"Everyone thought the apocalypse would happen due to anything from nuclear disaster to zombie virus. Everyone was pleasantly surprised when it was triggered by a meteor, and then they were further delighted when it released the virus that mutated the plants. The general vibe is: it was a creative way to end the server, and a lot of people especially like the increasing challenge with the triffids becoming stronger."
"Fantastic work, girls," Lyra nodded. "That's all I needed today, thanks for all your help," she said. "Helios doesn't have the patience to sit around monitoring global chat on every server, so I hope you don't think this is just busywork to push onto interns."
"Not at all!" Penelope said. "I'm having fun." As she made the comment, Lyra and Liberty exchanged a look, while Liberty Whispered her for a favor. Lyra giggled.
"Actually, it's a good thing you're having so much fun," she said suddenly. "I was going to ask you to come back in a couple of days to check the chatter once we start the second phase. But, thinking about it, it would be useful to have as much information as we can for each phase. I know I just said that was all I needed today; but, can I take that back and ask you to keep at it another few days?"
"Yes!" Penelope answered before she could think about it. Then, she tried to recover after she thought about it. "I mean, I'm available. But, Liberty's the Sharp Development Intern, so I guess it's up to her," she said.
"Okay," Liberty nodded. "I was only going to stay if Penelope could, and she can. We'll do it," she said.
"Thanks," Lyra smiled.
"Oh, but...," Penelope started. "I mean, just to make sure. I don't want to get anyone in trouble...," she hesitated before getting it out. "It's okay to take the triffid hearts off this Earth, right? They won't disappear or anything?
"Oh," Lyra shook her head as she everything fell into place for her. Now she knew why Penelope wanted to stay, which was why Liberty wanted to stay. "Actually, no," she said. Penelope's eyes widened, and Lyra kept talking. "However, you've given me a great idea. The Triffid Hearts were a placeholder item, and the crafts they make were meant to only be useful here at the end of the world. But, it seems like the players like this event, so we'll likely use it again and incorporate it into the usual apocalpyse rotation. If that's the case, it'd make more sense for the Triffid Hearts to be useful in other contexts."
"Really?" Penelope asked.
"Sure," Lyra smiled. "Keep collecting them. We'll have something in place to make them useful by the time the event finishes. Except, it hadn't occurred to me before. So, I don't know what the final system might look like. Are there any recipes you really like and want to keep functional?"
"The Unicorn Stir-fry, please," Penelope nodded.
"No promises, but I'll see what I can do," Lyra nodded. "Thanks again, girls. I'll check on you again as we move to phase 2. Have fun," she waved and walked into a portal to disappear. Liberty watched her leave, and by the time she turned her attention back to Penelope, the girl was setting up her cooking surface on a picnic table.
"You're cooking, now?" Liberty giggled. They'd been there for most of the day already and not once had she made buffs for them. They weren't needed of course, which made it stand out even more.
"Well, since we're going to be here longer, I feel a little freer to test them out properly."