Blue Poison: Untouchable

Operator Record Untouchable
The farthest distance is the one from legend to reality. Unlock conditions Raise Blue Poison to Elite 2 Level 1. Have at least 50% Trust with Blue Poison.

Characters
Doctor Ambriel Blue Poison Glaucus
Backgrounds
1 2

“

Blue Poison will soon be deployed on a mission to build a safe house in a place that just happens to be her ancestral homeland that she's never visited. And perhaps the only place in the world where she won't be branded as toxic.

”

<Background 1>
[Glaucus is watching Blue Poison baking a cake.]
Glaucus	How much longer?
Blue Poison	Be patient.
Glaucus	It smells really good, though.
Blue Poison	This is the most enjoyable moment in baking. Watching the batter slowly turn golden and puff up in the oven, until it turns into a soft, fluffy cake... Desserts taste best when you let your imagination run wild, Glau.
Glaucus	I'd rather have one I can put in my mouth. So what's our flavor of the day?
Blue Poison	Hm... It's a new formula. Fresh cream mixed with a jam made from various kinds of berries. That gives it a sort of tropical flavor.
Glaucus	Sure, but its color is as terrifying as ever. Your fashion sense is pretty decent, so how the heck did your sense for food aesthetics end up downright rotten?
Blue Poison	Hm? But I heard brighter colors can help increase appetites.
Glaucus	I think most people would disagree with your definition of bright colors.
Blue Poison	You say that, but you'll still eat it in the end.
Glaucus	That's 'cause it tastes good. Too bad all those self-proclaimed dessert lovers will never know the kind of lusciousness they're missing out on.
Blue Poison	Not everyone's special like you.
Glaucus	It's not like you poison your cakes. *Sigh*... Normally, this break room would be pretty packed around now, but it feels like there have been way less people ever since we arrived.
Blue Poison	Don't say that. I'm not being ostracized or anything. I'm actually very happy with my life here. But the best way to get along with something "toxic" is to stay away from it. I know that, you know that, everyone knows that. On the bright side, how often do you get the whole break room to yourself? Let's try to enjoy this before we head out for our field mission.
Glaucus	I suppose we won't get much of a chance to enjoy a cake in the Sargon Barrenlands anyway.
Blue Poison	I hope the mission goes well.
Glaucus	You say that like you have nothing to do with it. Aren't you the leader of the guerrilla team? True, all we're doing is building a safe house, but we can't let our guard down. I heard it's way off the beaten track. Who knows what we'll run into out there. What was it called again...?
Blue Poison	Kerthun.
Glaucus	Right, Kerthun Valley. Have you ever been there?
Blue Poison	No, never.
Glaucus	Hm, then I guess I'll read over the mission briefing while we eat. First I need to confirm the supply point...
[The oven beeps.]
Glaucus	Oh, sounds like it's done.
Blue Poison	Alright, now to put the cream on it...
[Someone opens the door...]
???	Adnachiel, are you baking another cake behind my back again?!
Glaucus	Oh.
Blue Poison	Ambriel?
[...who is revealed to be Ambriel.]
Ambriel	Sorry, I smelled cake, so I just...
Glaucus	You want some too? It's straight out of the oven.
Ambriel	No, I think I'll... ...... (Gulps) Did Blue Poison make this...? Why can't it ever be easy?
Blue Poison	Please, go ahead and try some if you don't mind. We have tea, too.
Ambriel	Hmm, well, not like I have anything better to do... Guess I can kill some time here. As for the cake, let me prepare myself mentally first.
Blue Poison	Um, if you're worried about poison, you don't need to force yourself...
Ambriel	Nah, that's not it. Isn't, like, the color of that jam kinda creepy?
<Background fades out and in>
[After Ambriel tastes some of Blue Poison's cakes...]
Ambriel	Phew–
Glaucus	Tasty, right?
Ambriel	I've heard about your baking from Gummy, but this is something else. You could drive half of Laterano's dessert shops out of business. The two-bit ones always just load up on sugar, with no idea how to balance flavors. Sweet doesn't have to mean unbearably sweet!
Blue Poison	...Wow. It's an honor to hear that from a bona fide Lateran.
Ambriel	You should feel even prouder then, 'cause praise from an expert like me is worth its weight in gold.
Glaucus	If only more people were willing to give them a shot. I always feel guilty getting the whole cake to myself.
Ambriel	Well, I, for one, am willing to put my life on the line for an exquisite dessert.
Blue Poison	...So you were worried, after all? If so, Medical has an antidote specifically for my toxins. It's kind of embarrassing to say this myself, but if you need it–
Ambriel	Shoot, sorry, I didn't mean it like that!
Glaucus	Watch out, your bag!
[Ambriel drops her bag, causing its contents to fall on the floor.]
Glaucus	These are...
Ambriel	...... Ahaha, I had the antidote prepared in advance. I mean, we *are* going on a field op together in a couple days.
Glaucus	Oh, right, you're part of our team this mission.
Ambriel	Yeah, so we're gonna be fighting side by side, right? It's just a precaution, a precaution. Y'know what they say, better safe than... I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!
Blue Poison	No, please don't apologize. I actually prepared enough antidote for everyone too. It's my responsibility for being toxic. If everyone else is uncomfortable with me being there, then I should be the one apologizing.
Ambriel	Blue Poison... Then, like, can I have another slice?
Blue Poison	Ambriel? Please, I know you're trying to be kind, but you don't have to–
Ambriel	C'mon, what of self-respecting Lateran would force themselves to eat cake? Just gimme another slice.
Glaucus	Huh. I think I'm starting to see you in a new light. Here you go.
Ambriel	Thanks. But man, I wish I could just have complete trust in my friends like you, Glaucus.
Glaucus	Oh, that's because her toxins don't work on me.
Ambriel	*Cough* *cough*!
Glaucus	Slow down! Here, have some antidote.
Ambriel	*Cough*! No, no that, tea, tea–
Glaucus	You sure? This is fruit juice-flavored. I had Dr. Warfarin come up with the formula.
Ambriel	Who cares, just give it!
Blue Poison	Pfff... Hahahaha! Thanks, Ambriel. If only... all my days here at Rhodes Island could be like this.
Ambriel	Pwah–That hits the spot! Sorry, what was that?
Blue Poison	Oh, nothing. Anyway, since you're here, let's read over the mission briefing while we're eating.
Ambriel	Huh? We're really gonna start working, just like that? This is the break room! I came here to slack off! But fine, fine, I'll work overtime, just for you, Bloop. Like, I have to thank you for the cake.
<Background fades out and in>
The Kerthun Valley is situated in a vast rainforest within Sargon's borders. Since time immemorial, it has never been under the direct control of the Sargonian lords ameer. This was the most important factor in Rhodes Island's decision to build a safe house there. There are many reasons for its unique geopolitical position. Data show that the area is abundant with natural resources, and many lords ameer have tried to expand their influence into the region. Yet their efforts were all in vain.
Glaucus	The specific reasons require further investigation, but according to a local guide, it very likely has to do with the indigenous people. Those natives are also the biggest variable in our mission. The guide said they aren't too hard to get along with, but also warned that they possess a terrifying ability. We only have vague descriptions of the phenomenon in question, but based on our analysis, their ability might be an application of some kind of toxic chemical compound...
Ambriel	Whoa, sounds like a huge pain.
Glaucus	Relax. The mission's difficulty rating isn't all that high. We aren't there to pick a fight.
Blue Poison	......
Glaucus	Blue Poison?
Blue Poison	Oh, don't mind me. Go on.
Glaucus	Okay, where was I...
[Glaucus continues explaining the details of her mission.]
Glaucus	We're going to build a safe house there. It will also be used as both a Catastrophe monitoring station and a temporary medical post. Our job will be over once the local employees have moved in.
Ambriel	Yep, about as standard as it gets.
Glaucus	In other words, if all goes well, we'll be back on the landship baking cakes in a couple of months.
Ambriel	What do you mean, 'if all goes well'? You trying to jinx us?!
Glaucus	...Have you considered that you're a little oversensitive?
Ambriel	Still, there's one thing that's kinda bothering me. Those natives... Like, what race are they?
Glaucus	We have no data on it. Supposedly, they don't have any particular distinctive features, but...
Blue Poison	They're Anura. Just like me.
Glaucus	...How do you know?
Blue Poison	Because they're from my tribe. Kerthun is my homeland.
Glaucus	What? Why are you only telling us this now? This is news to me!
Blue Poison	I had no reason to bring it up, Glau. I wasn't lying when I said I'd never been there. I grew up in Iberia. Everything I know about the place, I learned from my grandmother.
Kerthun. That the name of our homeland. Only there are we not treated as outsiders. Only there can we truly live a peaceful life. Only there are we not burdened with being a "poison."
Ambriel	So what's it like?
Blue Poison	Hm, I'm not too sure myself. My grandma told me a lot of stories, but honestly she made it all sound a bit too wonderful, like a fairy tale. My people moved from Sargon to Iberia over a hundred years ago. "Moved," she told me. Even that is something of a euphemism for the bitter truth. We were sold to Iberia as test subjects. Our lives are inseparable from poison from the moment we're born. It's an unfortunate talent, but some people always see things differently. Conspiracies and poison. Two sides of the same coin, don't you think?
Ambriel	Listen, we don't have to talk about this if you don't want to.
Blue Poison	I'm fine. But thanks for worrying about me. Truth is, I've only heard about these experiments secondhand. Ever since the disaster, Iberia's been too busy sorting out its own mess to deal with outcasts like us. That cruel past is now nothing more than stories passed down by the older generation, and Kerthun itself is even more of a legend to us. My grandma always started off like, "A long time ago, when we were still in faraway Kerthun..." You've all heard stories like that too, right?
Glaucus	"A long time ago, when the Ægir still lived under the sea..."
Ambriel	"A long time ago, before Laterano was completed..."
Blue Poison	Hehe, see? All legends start the same.
Ambriel	Yeah... I don't think I could laugh that off.
Blue Poison	It was those legends of beautiful Kerthun that kept my family going, from one generation to the next. It was a paradise. A place where no one would fear or scorn us as "toxic." My grandma always said our life of ostracization and fear was just a trial for us to endure. Once we were back in Kerthun, everything would be better. This might sound funny, but it was only on her deathbed that she finally told me that she'd never even been there either. And she was the oldest in our family. All those stories she'd loved telling us were made up, based on the stories *she'd* heard growing up, and her own imagination. She didn't even know where it was.
Glaucus	But now we do.
Blue Poison	Yeah. And I never imagined I'd find out like this.
Ambriel	Great! Like, now you get a chance to go back home! Does it really count as home, though...?
Glaucus	Speaking from experience, you should keep your expectations in check. The actual Kerthun might be nothing like the legends.
[Glaucus looks nervous.]
Glaucus	(Uneasy) And you'd still rather stay at Rhodes Island, right?
Only there are we not burdened with being a "poison."
Glaucus	Blue Poison?
Blue Poison	...... Yeah, perhaps. But if that's the only place where I can be myself...
[Someone opens the door.]
Blue Poison	Doctor?
Doctor	I smelled cake. / I'm here for a snack break.
Ambriel	Phew, don't scare me like that. I'm not slacking off, okay?!
Glaucus	Doctor, want to try some cake that Blue Poison baked? It's fresh out of the oven.
Blue Poison	B-But...
Doctor	May I, Blue Poison?
Blue Poison	U-Um, if you don't mind, I have some antidotes prepared... No, wait, your situation is a little unique. Let me get Dr. Kal'tsit first–
Doctor	(Munches) Delish. / (Continues munching) / The berries, plantains, and nuts make it so good.
Blue Poison	Um... Are you really okay?
Glaucus	You've had two people trying out your cake today. That's a new record.
Blue Poison	Yep, a new record.
Glaucus	Don't overthink it, Blue. You've always belonged here.
Blue Poison	Thanks, Ambriel, Glaucus. And thank you, Doctor. If... If I can really... No, never mind. Please forget I said anything. See you at the meeting, Doctor.
<Background 2>
Doctor	Have you all read up on the mission?
Blue Poison	Yes, we're quite familiar with the details. But I would like to repeat my request to be removed as team captain. I'm not the right person to lead a team in an operation. Everybody knows that my toxins could harm others...
Doctor	You're our best candidate. / I trust you.
Blue Poison	Really...?
Glaucus	That's right. We're counting on you, Captain.
Ambriel	'Sides, we've got, like, tons of antidotes.
Glaucus	Apple-flavored, too.
Blue Poison	Haha... I guess.
Doctor	Can I leave this to you, Captain Blue Poison?
Blue Poison	I will give it my all.
<Background fades out and in>
Glaucus	Okay, off we go now.
Blue Poison	Yep, see you in a little. Let me help you clean up your files, Doctor.
[Blue Poison touches the Doctor's hands.]
Blue Poison	(Did our hands... just touch?!) I'm so sorry I touched you! Please come with me. We need to head to Medical to get it cleaned up! If not... If not...
Doctor	It's okay. I've checked, minor contact isn't a problem.
Blue Poison	But...!
Doctor	Relax, Blue Poison.
Blue Poison	But I... I'm "toxic." Anything that touches me is in danger.
Doctor	You're a member of Rhodes Island.
Blue Poison	Am I really allowed to be?
Doctor	Of course.
Blue Poison	–Phew. In that case, I'd like to remove an application from that stack of documents. I actually submitted a transfer request not too long ago. I was hoping to be stationed at the Kerthun safe house after the mission. When I was a kid, my grandmother told me that Kerthun was the only place where we could ever live without being branded "toxic." And I believed her. But I'm the only one who can decide who I am, aren't I? I'm a member of Rhodes Island, and I like my life here. So please, let me withdraw that application before anyone reads it.
[Blue Poison leaves as the Doctor turns away, but she returns and pats their shoulder.]
Blue Poison	Oh, and one other thing, Doctor... I have an idea for a new dessert. Would you like to try it later, if you have time?