You're probably woken up by the explosion first. A loud, deafening boom comes from behind the walls of the residential district. When you look outside your window towards the darker, more secretive area of the city, you might see the structure around it... crumbling, the land falling in on itself slowly but surely. That might be what wakes you up first. If it doesn't, you may be awoken instead by the sudden jerking feeling behind your navel pulling you from where you are to somewhere... else.
It's dark. The first thing you notice is that it's dark -- and then come the scrabbling sounds of creatures in the dark, like metal being dragged across metal, a chilling, sharp sound. The first thing that becomes clear, as your vision adjusts, is that you're on a rickety pathway, metal and rusting and frail, above what appears to be yawning blackness. Far, far below, there's the faint sound of rushing water, a ways away.
The second thing that becomes clear is that you are very much not alone. Something is out there with you, and from the screeching metallic noises that come ever closer, it seems to be stalking you.
Thankfully, you're not alone -- right?  ...
...........
................
:)
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PHASE I [ ??? ] It’s drafty here. You’re below ground, that’s for certain from the echoes of the wind in the darkness. If you continue on forwards along the rickety, metal railing that serves as a walkway, the skittering noises of creatures in the dark follow -- but they don’t appear.
It seems everyone has been dumped along this pathway at random; you may be with friends, with enemies or with someone you’ve never met before, but either way, it soon becomes clear. There are only two ways to go along this path: up or down.
If you choose to take the path that follows a gradual slope down, the sounds of water lapping against a surface increase bit by bit, the air growing heavier and danker, until finally, the metallic platform gives way very suddenly (watch your step!) to a muddy bank. Down here, everything is darker, and not far away there’s the water. It’s cold and frigid and there are unfriendly creatures that await if you choose to delve into it. However, if you brave those creatures, and dive deeply enough, there is a mask. It rests half-buried by silt and rocks, but it’s there, and can be found by any intrepid explorers.
Somehow, it feels a little familiar.
And if you carry on in the cave system underground, eventually you will come across what appears to be an altar. There is blood on it -- not fresh, but not more than a month old -- and pieces of trinkets. Old bits of cloth, locks of hair, and some of them may even be familiar. Any dropped character who has a reasonably large amount of spiritual or magical power may have left scraps, such as pieces of clothing, trinkets, hair, or the sort behind at the altar.
Maybe that's why they weren't in the Nexus Code.
PHASE II [ ??? ] If you go up, you will eventually make your way above ground. It takes some time, and some luck -- you’ll have to avoid rusty railing and pathways, the path crumbling under you and that creeping sensation that something is following and watching you -- and then you’ll suddenly be in fresh air.
Well. It’s not so fresh, really.
The landscape is broken down and crumbled. It may have once been part of the city of Cerealia, but now it is in utter disrepair and decay. Buildings have crumbled, and debris is everywhere. There are signs of the same level of technology that Cerealia has -- but it is all broken down and utterly inaccessible.
And you’re not alone.
It seems the technology and metal and broken down destruction has gained sentience over its time sitting alone, waiting. And it is not happy to be disturbed. The creatures are made of pieces of everything around them, and when cut down, they’ll just slowly rebuild themselves from the debris.
It might be time to run.
They aren't happy about being disturbed, and you're in their way.
PHASE III [ ??? ] Above ground, there are a lot of broken down buildings.
Some can’t be accessed at all; some are too broken, too reduced to rubble. For those looking for shelter, they'll be able to find buildings where the doors can be forced open and they can camp out on the inside to various degrees of stability. Though the ceiling may cave in or the floor fall out from under you at a moment's notice, it's better than being out there. Be careful, because none of the architecture here can be trusted anymore.
And other buildings... are even less trustworthy than that.
There is a series of buildings in the midst of the wasteland, somehow still standing. They stand there silently, towering over the rest of the rubble in their two-story glory, and if the doors are forced open, it soon becomes clear that the building itself is full of mirrors.
Once, the mirrors had perhaps covered the walls and ceiling. Once, this building might have been akin to something of a ballet studio, somewhere to express yourself creatively. But now the mirrors are shattered and broken into pieces and the building lacks the joy it might have once held. Shards of mirror cover the floor, some big, some not so big, but they still hang from the walls as well and everywhere you look, you can see yourself.
And then, the reflection changes. From one blink to the next, you see a memory playing in the mirrors. Your memory. You’ll see a glimpse of one of your most traumatic or life-changing moments, broken up but clear in the shards. Blink and look away, and it’s gone, only to show up again in the next mirror a few moments later. Surely it’s just a trick of the light, right?
Except if someone else is with you, they’ll see it too -- and you might end up seeing a bit of their own past as well. Hope you're fond of sharing.
PHASE IV [ ??? ] If you survive the monsters, the crumbling landscape and the untrustworthy buildings, you may eventually find a terminal. It is buried deep among the rubble. One turn around a corner, one stumble into a hole, and you will find it. It sits there, out in the middle of nowhere; the building in which it used to be housed is apparently long gone, reduced to nothing but rubble.
And if you turn it on, there is a brief message.
Transmission Broadcasting.
Transmission Connected.
And then, there is a face.
BONUS [ ??? ] For those who have been wearing their masks a little too much, they might also start to notice that there are some strange effects attached, which worsen the more they’ve been wearing said masks. How badly they worsen is up to your discretion.
➝ Broken Mask: An intense feeling of paranoia, focused on whoever your character is with. They might also begin to remember fabricated memories of being betrayed by those people.
➝ Barcode Mask: Everything will begin to have value to them. There will be whispers in the back of their mind of the worth of their friends, the worth of a monster, the worth of everything around them. An intense need to own and consume as much as possible and as quickly as possible.
➝ Dripping Blood Mask: An intense lack of self-worth, a hollow feeling and thoughts of being weak and empty. Feeling as disposable as possible and an intense listless along with it.
➝ :( Mask: A need to prove yourself, to show everyone how strong you are as quickly as possible. You can do things, you can be of worth to everyone around you. Why won't they see that? Why?
➝ Ivy Mask: A choking sort of terror from all things metal and technology based, and a need to lash out against it. An intense distrust for anything that they feel is against the laws of nature.
➝ Grey Mask: More personable than normal, more emotional, more empathetic. An intense feeling of kindness and gratitude to those around you and a renewed love of life.
➝ Feather Mask: A dulled, lack of emotion. A detached feeling to everything around you. A sort of bland curiosity towards things without any empathetic reaction.
➝ Bloody Fingerprints Mask: They'll feel absolutely fine. No change.
The effects of the broken mask can stack on top of the others, if they chose to break their mask after the other effects began to appear. No other effects can be stacked, as no other changes can be stacked.
PENALTY [ ??? ] For characters who die while in the dark parts of the city, things will get... a little strange. They will die as normal, but they will wake up almost immediately after their death -- in the Nexus Code. They will have a few surreal moments to be there, to see their friends who have left Cerealia hanging lifelessly from odd, glimmering strands (though there are some faces, of course, that are missing, anyone who was spiritual, or magical, seems strangely absent) and then --
They’re back to being dead.
When characters revive in Cerealia, anywhere from one IC day to three or four IC days later, they will find that things are… not quite right with their code. They’re glitching, for a lack of a better word. Sometimes, their fingers will phase right through an object, their own limbs registering as cold and lifeless. Sometimes, they will see a face watching them -- but when they turn around to try to see who it is, the face will be gone.
These effects will last an IC week, before slowly things go back to normal.
That was strange.
[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ] |
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"chat noir"
[He can't help but roll his eyes at the response, though he's clearly checking out the baton. He doesn't say anything for a moment, following Chat even as he closely watches what he's taking photos of before delivering a sage nod of understanding.]
Yeah. Tell me about it. I've been doing upgrades for myself, too, for that reason. [He tilts his head, folding his arms over his chest as he appraises Chat once more.]
...pretty appropriate name, Chat. Hiro Hamada. ...there're some other Hiros here. [He rubs the back of his neck nervously even if he's eyeing that baton.] Pretty interesting piece of tech you've got though.
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yeah. his baton might not be the only pretty interesting thing around here, and chat's not making his inquisition on the matter a secret. half his mask raised, like he's got an eyebrow up--and he's coming a little closer to do a bit of appraising of his own.
that doesn't last very long before he's back to a smile, outstretching his hand with the baton towards the boy. not quite giving it to him yet, as he says this: ]
Thanks! I'll let you tinker with it, if you want. [ a press of a button, and that baton's expanding to staff length. chat's smile turns into more of a grin, until he's back to looking inquisitive. ] But actually, I'm curious about those upgrades of yours myself. You sure don't look like a cyborg--
[ haha he's just kidding
but you know what if that's the turn this convo takes he's not surprised at this point. he's just getting that he might not be the only one with an appropriate name here. ]
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...baton that's not quite in his hand, but okay, he can be casual here.]
Really? [Whoops, eager. Dial it back, Hiro.] It's a pretty interesting mechanic. I don't think I've seen a weapon actually implement a camera function before. At least not like that. [He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. Right. Cyborgs. Um...]
I mean...I'm not a cyborg, but my best friend is. Um. A robot, which is totally different from a cyborg since cyborgs are human and machine but you already knew that. [HIRO CALM DOWN.] Most of my upgrades are for him, but lately I've been tweaking my armor and one of the weapons I've built here.
[That enough of a hint, Chat? There's also a crooked smile along with that. He gets it. He really does.]
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so hiro can have his face light up at a nifty weapon, but adrien's face is lighting up with that.
he's so interested oh no. wait, wait, dial it back adrien. ]
It can do more than that. Tracking, video, calls, if you spin it around fast enough it becomes a good shield and, did you know, it can expand to be taller than the Eiffel Tower? [ please think he's cool in turn and be his friend jesus christ even if hiro can't know he's adrien, which he'll find a little lame later on, but for the time being the focus is: superhero buddies.
he gestures that hiro can take the staff from his hands if he wants to right now. ] I've never met a superhero who doesn't wear a mask, Hiro with an e. Especially one with a robot partner--thanks for the cyborg definition by the way. [ but he knew that because he's a giant goddamn nerd. ] Not what I was expecting, but definitely neat.
[ and hiro has successfully trapped the cat ]
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So yeah. #instantfriendship. He's already very interested in what else Chat has to say and his eyes widen the longer the boy rambles about the baton.] You…do realize the Eiffel Tour's almost a thousand feet tall, right? [That is to say holy crap that's actually really cool?
Also honestly he'd be a little intimidated of Adrien based on first impressions. Dude's a model. This is much better for everybody involved. There's a smirk following shortly after that.]
I don't think a mask would really help me out as much as my helmet does. It's the only way I can really keep my team in line. [Yup. His team. He'll definitely take the staff though, thanks buddy. Let's examine this thing.] The cool thing is that I can make all of my own gear and upgrade it to whatever I wanted. If I wanted a mask? I could probably make it work. [He twirls the staff a bit.] How long have you been doing this anyway?
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also hiro has a team. oh god. he just has ladybug (honestly that's all he needs), but there hiro is with his superhero team and keeping it in line and #squadgoals.
it's... impressive, honestly, especially hearing hiro does the tinkering on his own without magical girl bs. the obvious interest is his eyes and stance is kind of interrupted when he's the one who needs to answer a question. ]
About as long as the akuma have been around... [ that's more for his musing than hiro's, since he knows hiro won't know what those are. ] Maybe half a year, something like that. [ whatever the hell ladybug's timeline is. ] How about you? I guess your gear's your superpower, huh? That's amazing.
[ it's like disney batman. or ironman.
and he's suddenly got an itch to see hiro and his team in action. ]
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He stops fiddling with the staff when Chat brings up the akuma, tilting his head curiously. He recognizes what that word means, suffice to say.] The akuma? Like…real demons? [Not quite those akuma, but hey.] We haven't been doing it for that long…couple of weeks? And then the time I've spent here. [So…he's still basically a rookie and it's embarrassing to admit, but he's still proud of himself.] But yeah! Yeah, you could say that. I wrote up a new chip for Baymax, made gear for me and my friends and we've just been working to keep San Fransokyo safe.
[Considering that Disney now owns Marvel, that's not entirely inaccurate.] I wish they'd given us a warning before dragging us here. Baymax is usually with me.
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also san fran....sokyo? sounds kind of like san francisco and tokyo but he'll chalk it up to. different worlds and such.
... though he will probably ask about that later. right now he's got hero on the mind. baymax has to be the robot, given the whole chip thing. he crosses his arms. ]
Not real demons. Even if they do the possession thing... kinda. [ and some asshole in spandex sends them. it's so complicated. (except it's really not). ] Anyway, between you and me? I'm missing my partner too. [ ladybug, that is. and missing her a lot. again, another thing he won't get into. ] But hey, you'll be fine. Superheroes, adaptable. Especially when that's your origin story.
[ all by yourself, with your own two hands. hiro's smart, he can see that—and adrien's already got a very high opinion of him. ]
And, well, when you've got another superhero to help out. New heroes stick together, right?
[ okay. he's going to raise his hand for a fistbump. rookie schmookie, they'll just learn together, solve the bloody?? altar mystery?? this is actually all very reassuring. ]
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Kinda. I didn't know there was such a thing as being kinda possessed. [But he gets that there are just some complications. There's a more genuine grin at that.] You'll have to tell me about your partner some more sometime. Maybe then you'll get to hear even more of my origin story.
[But not the entire thing, likely. That's something that takes a while to worm out of him. Regardless he appreciates the sentiment and he appreciates that Chat understands. Adaptability. Survival. That fun stuff. It's for that reason he curls his hand into a fist to meet him for that fistbump. Balalalalalala....] Let's do it. [He hands the staff back to Chat and takes out his CereVice to shine extra light on the altar.] Sorry this is sort of your introduction to Cerealia, by the way. Usually there's at least a month or something between murder mysteries.
no subject
there's a smile at the partner thing. it's probably not a good idea to get him started on ladybug, but. you know. for the time being, however... ]
No problem. The schedule back home's a little above that level of hectic. [ new akuma every week at least (paris has a lot of issues), papillon has no chill, etc. etc. ] What're the details on those other mysteries?
[ deet it or beat it, hiro hamada. though the fact there's even more than one is. Kind Of Concerning.
and also not entirely surprising so cerealia™, he's getting used to how this place works (thinking that is his first mistake). ]
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Anybody tell you about Julius Vincere yet? He was the CEO of CERES before Bellona bought the company.
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there's a pause. it isn't that adrien needs to look through his memory to recall whether or not someone mentioned julius, as he's certain no one did — it's just...
he crosses his arms. ]
... Sounds like a pretty high-profile murder mystery right off the bat.
[ you don't really expect the CEO of CERES to be involved in a murder mystery??
that's a "no". ]
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Anyway, a lot of people don't actually believe Vincere's dead. So what does that tell you?