« 004 ⇢ INTERLUDE004.EXE »

[reparator]

Who: These suckers and E R R O R
When: OOC: 5/29, IC: 7/15
Where: CERES Research Tower and Beyond
What: It seems an old friend has decided the situation is progressing too slowly.
Rating/Warning: PG-13: Violence, injuries and inevitable deaths.

---

▶ ACTION.EXE | IC: 7/15

For those unlucky saps who disappear today, ranging from early in the morning towards the middle of the afternoon, well...they can't be reached by CereVice.

Any attempt to do so will bounce back the message User Currently Occupied.

It's an odd message, and one that's never been used by the CereVice. How strange. It's probably nothing though, right? No contact can be established between groups or from groups to outside people in Cerealia, whether by technology or magic. You're cut off from everyone but those in your groups, now.

Otherwise, all abilities will remain intact.

As for the people who do disappear, well... things get a little hairy really quickly.

---

▶ RUN.EXE | MOD NOTES

This is the event log for these sign-ups! Your groups have been sorted below; here are a few handy links for you:

Group 01 | OOC plotting
Group 02 | OOC plotting
Group 03 | OOC plotting
Group 04 | OOC plotting
Group 05 | OOC plotting
Group 06 | OOC plotting
Group 07 | OOC plotting
Group 08 | OOC plotting
Group 09 | OOC plotting
Group 10 | OOC plotting
Group 11 | OOC plotting
Group 12 | OOC plotting
Group 13 | OOC plotting
Group 14 | OOC plotting
There is no tagging order, so feel free to tag in whatever way works best for you as a group.

The characters should not ICly be gone longer than 5 hours -- if they survive, of course. There will be mod involvement in each of the threads.

If there are any questions, feel free to ask them here. Please try to avoid asking hypothetical questions (such as "What will happen if my character does [action]?") as that's part of the fun and risk of the interlude! You are welcome to plot with your groupmates in this post. Thank you!

Comments

▶ GROUP 13.EXE

[reparator]

. . . LOADING ATHENA CYKES.$$$ . . . LOADING HAN SOLO.$$$ . . .
. . . LOADING ILLIDAN.$$$ . . . LOADING MAYA FEY.$$$ . . .
. . . START ESCAPE.EXE. . .

---

[ There's no rhyme or reason to how it happens. One moment you're walking along, minding your own business (thank you very much), and the next there's a robot standing in front of you. It beckons, and there's something weird that happens to your code; for a moment everything feels fuzzy, and you can no longer feel your fingers, and before you know it, you're walking right along with the robot against your will.

It doesn't matter what you try to do.

You're still going, and you have no choice in the matter -- it seems your code has been overridden.

The robot will lead you to the very edge of the city, to one of the walls...and to what appears to be a hidden door. With an unfriendly smile, it opens the door, and shoves you right on through.

You'll be falling a good ways, because there's no floor beyond that door, just a drop into pitch black darkness. Watch out, someone else is coming a moment later, so they might land on top of you. ]

[psycholawgy]

[ SHE'S FALLIIIIIINGGGG!!! and while doing so, her hairband probably flies away and now her hair's a mess and hopefully whoever's coming from above won't mind a lot of orange hair in their face... athena has a lot of hair. ]

Woah! I feel like I'm Alice in Wonderland right now!

[ that's... until she falls with a loud "OOF" though. . . that's got to hurt. and hey... at least there's a little bit of light coming from her cerevice. ]

[unpreparer]

[Illidan was prepared to the drop, spreading his wings so that he could glide down.

Would have been a wonderful plan if not for the sudden weight that came crashing down right between his shoulder blades, sending him crashing down to the floor like everyone else. He straightens himself up before giving his impromptu passenger a chance to get off, and starts trying to get a look over his shoulder at what was clinging to him.]

What in Elune's name..?!

1/2

[feytality]

Aiieeeeeee!

[If anything, he should recognize Maya's (very loud) scream, because it stops the second she starts to descend and doesn't let up until she's smacked right onto the back of his head, effectively winding her]

[then, the rest of her air comes out in a squeaked gasp, and there's merciful silence (from her, anyway) for about three seconds)

[feytality]

[and then she gasps, and realizes where she is.... continues clinging to him]

We've gotta stop meeting like this....

[At least she's tiny!!!]

[notsosolo]

[You know who isn't tiny? One Han Solo. Who had just been trying to buy groceries but now he's falling into a dark pit thanks to a robot.]

Kriffing hells!

[And then he glances around, trying to figure out if there are any little ears around who aren't supposed to hear language like that]

[reparator]

[ It's going to be real hard to see anything in the darkness -- if they've got a light, that might help, or they can fumble around in the dark.

That might be dangerous, but you know. Needs must.

It's cold, and wet and damp, though, that's for sure. ]

[psycholawgy]

[ worry not, han... that wasn't even a curse in athena's world so yolo.

athena sits up and shakes her head, trying to get a feel of the place. her necklace is on at least and it's giving off a bit of light, but that's definitely not enough. which is why she pulls out her cerevice and waves it around to see where they are. (as if that would help much.)

she can at least hear how many people there are with her even without the light, though, so that's good. three other people.

she gets up slowly, groaning about how wet her clothes are now. ah... it's going to be a bit tough to move around in here. ]

Who's there?

[unpreparer]

[Illidan was delayed in answer, but he was still too busy trying to get the child off his back, but between his bulky torso and wings he wasn't having much luck.

With a growl he turned to Athena, at least he was somewhat visible between the glowing tattoos, and the dim green glow from under his blindfold.]

What is it to you?

[feytality]

[Looks like the youngest two here are teenagers, so Han's safe. Unless Illidan is actually five years old, which would explain a lot.]

[In any case, Maya half-clings half-flops against his head, still a little disoriented, and absolutely refuses to budge, because she can't see what's down there]

[And she recognizes two of these voices]

It's me, Athena!! And... Mr. Lillydan! [nailed it]

...But I don't recognize the other voice.

[notsosolo]

Han Solo.

[So far it doesn't sound like anyone is young enough to worry about swearing. POints for that?]

Anyone have a glowrod?

[psycholawgy]

[ not that any of them can see, but athena blinks at that. what in the world is a glowrod? ]

Or, you know, some light would be nice...

[ she's walking around already, though, trying to see if there are any walls which she can touch. this is only to get a better feel of the place... where are they, anyway? ]

[unpreparer]

Illidan. My name is Illidan. And that is not even my surname, I would be Mr. Stormrage, if you are going to address me with your little prefix, at least get it right.

[Since it didn't seem like his little shrieking passenger wasn't getting off his back any time soon, he finally bothered to pay attention to the other two in the room.

Human. Two completely unremarkable humans. This trip kept getting better and better. He heaved a sigh and shook his head.]

Must I do everything?

[Illidan raised his hand, muttering a brief incantation to form a small green ball of fire. Not that he particularly needed it, but for the others to stop whining he'd exert the effort.]

[feytality]

That's what I said!

[No it isn't, Maya. She puts her hands on his horns to center herself, squinting ahead when he lights up the passageway with his magic.]

[Okay, now that she can see, maybe she'll actually climb down. But first, suitably impressed:]

Woooow, that's so cool!

[Sorry for this band of characters, Han...]

[reparator]

[ And now there is light!

Which is good, because it'll given Athena just enough light to see that she was about to stick her hands into some sticky, unfortunate, green-looking goop.

She can still do that if she wants, of course, but at least now she can see it.

As for the rest of their surroundings, barren about covers it. There do appear to be two exits, but otherwise there's a whole lot of nothing. ]

[psycholawgy]

[ thanks for saving her from touching some gross goo, mr lillydan! athena immediately winces when there's light and she sees what's on the walls, then she moves out of the way... eugh.

she's quick to take in her surroundings though, realising that this is some place she has definitely never been before. ]

Where the heck are we? [ though as she says that, she walks around to peer at th left exit, then moving on to the other path to see what may be in store for them. ]

[unpreparer]

[Illidan didn't move at first, waiting for the human girl to walk around first. Concrete wasn't something his vision could detect well if at all, so he had to rely on others to lead him for the moment.

He stopped behind Athena, following her gaze down the exits, seeing if he could see any form of magic or life, even if it was something like a small body or water or natural ground. He would rather not spend this little expedition running into walls.]

I know no more than you, mortal.

[feytality]

[Okay now she's going to try to climb down Lillydan... if only because she thinks he's blind and it'd be pretty bad if she didn't at least try to help guide him.]

[But considering how big he is and the limited light, it's awkward going]

Um... probably somewhere underground and creep---

[well, climbing has become 'falling on her butt', unless Lillydan or some other kind soul helps her descent]

-Aaaah!

[reparator]

[ One path is definitely lighter than the other -- one seems to have a light source ahead, while the other gets darker.

Otherwise, there's no life or magic to be sensed from either of the paths. ]

[notsosolo]

Looks like an access tunnel of some sort.

[The question is really what to.]

If I were to guess, dark end is what it accesses and light end is where it's accessing from.

[psycholawgy]

[ she puts a hand to her ear to try and listen to her surroundings, but the only sounds she can hear are the sounds of the hearts around her. ]

I want answers. [ she says, having gathered her bearings now. ] CERES has probably something to do with this. Remember what that robot said? There's something wrong with our codes.

[ and that strikes a little bit of fear in her. she doesn't want to end up in the nexus, if there really is something wrong. ]

Maybe we'll find answers if we split up.

[ this is a bad idea, but she's more than willing to risk her safety if it means getting more information. besides, the other path had some light. if all four of them agree to split up, then maybe lillydan and somebody else can go through the dark path.

and if things work well, they'll all find themselves again later on. ]

[unpreparer]

[with the little clinging girl slipping down his back he finally managed to reach the scruff of her outfit and pluck her off. He then promptly held her out to Han since he was the second tallest, as though he were handing him some stray cat. Doesn't even say a word about it.]

Do what you will, but the lot of you are so weak, I have little faith in any of your survival without my aide.

[Not that he wanted to give it, but he didn't want people blaming him for their deaths after.]

[feytality]

[She just dangles awkwardly (with surprisingly little protests) in Lillydan's grip like a stray kitten...... Will Han accept the kitten, or not?]

[Otherwise, Maya's rolling her eyes at his declaration, but Athena can probably tell her idea in particular spiked some worry and protectiveness]

--If we're splitting up, I'm going with you!

[but she's not so sure about this idea in the first place]

Besides.... It's pretty dark down here, and Mr. Stormrage [there, she said his weird name right!!] can't see. We should probably stick together.

[notsosolo]

There aren't enough of us to safely split up. If someone got hurt, the other person would have to leave them alone while they went for help.

[He takes the kitten because... well, having her just dangling there is awkward. And then sets her down on the ground because holding a teenager is just awkward.]

[psycholawgy]

Miss Maya, you should stay where it's safe! [ namely with lillydan, but ah... majority wins. she pouts, not getting what she wants but reconsiders. ]

Fine. Then we'll have to decide where to go. The path with the light will obviously take us to the exit, but we can't not investigate the darker parts of this place, too. No nook and cranny goes uninvestigated.

[ yeah!!!! she seems a bit proud of herself for saying something like that. it feels pretty good that she's putting her skills to good use. ]

You guys can decide.

[ she'll just try to go back down here another time and check the other path once they're out... the information or clues they'll be missing out on could be very important. ]