« 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

[shroudedinsecrecy]

[Completely oblivious to any such flirting, Iris breathed a small, inaudible sigh of relief. No one seemed to be blaming her for her uselessness. One even offered to help her. In such a way that...she didn't feel like much of a burden.]

[She turned to Raven and offered a grateful bow.]

Thank you. I am ever so grateful for your kindness.

Oh! And I'm Sister Iris. In different circumstances, it would have been a pleasure to meet you. All of you.

[bloodbiter]

[She takes a step towards Togami, before Iris' introduction reminds her, and she glances towards the rest of the group.]

My name is Adelina. I'm certain I will see you all shortly once more, and I wish you luck as you explore.

[And then, she turns to head towards the room Togami indicated.]

[fishyoldman]

The pleasure's all mine, Iris honey!

[Raven beams as she bows. She's not only cute, but polite, too. He's pretty much hit the jackpot given the circumstances. Everyone being gross and smelly isn't enough to distract him from a lady.]

Right. Everyone be careful! [And once they split off, Raven heads towards one of the remaining rooms.] All right, here goes nothin'. If ya get scared, Iris, ya can cling on to me all you like.

[naturae]

[ She will go ahead and introduce herself before she leaves then. ]

Then I'm Sapphire, and this here's my Blaziken, Chic! [ Because it is very much a part of this group too and she's not going to leave it out of this. Especially after Raven was rude. (And now he's being weird and she's not sure what she thinks of him.)

But she will turn on her heel and stalk right off to her chosen room afterwards, Blaziken in tow. She'll show him who's a pet — ]

[reparator]

[ Splitting up into three rooms, this should be fine.

Raven and Iris are going to find that their room shows further signs of heavy abandonment; there are desks and chairs, which would imply that it was once an office; there are a bunch of papers on the desks, which are otherwise heavily coated in dust. Otherwise, the room is empty, and there are no other entrances or exits besides the one they came through.

Adelina and Togami will find a similar room, though filled with far more concerning things. It's equally dusty and there is a desk with a single clipboard on it; it seems it was used to keep some sort of notes. But the most concerning part about the room is undoubtedly the giant cage in the middle of it, with reinforced metal bars and a locked door. It's empty, probably due to the side bars, which have rusted and been broken away. The dust looks like it's been recently disturbed by something with a lot of legs.

As for Sapphire, well, as soon as she steps into her room, the door swings shut behind her. And locks. The room itself appears to be some sort of central hub; this room has two other doors as exits, one directly ahead, and one to the right, as well as what appears to be a map. Unfortunately, said map has been worn away by time, and now can't be read. ]

Adelina & Togami

[succeeder]

Byakuya Togami.

[ That's all the introduction he bothers doing before he follows Adelina into their room. It's exploring time!!

He's... cautious, seeing the state of that cage. But he walks quietly over to the desk, picking up the clipboard and blowing any dust off of it to read. He's just going to trust that Adelina can also pick up on the unsettling implications of this room, and is prepared for whatever might happen. ]

[bloodbiter]

[As soon as she sees the cage broken open, she's instantly on edge. She glances around the area quickly, including the ceiling, to make certain that whatever broke out of that encasement isn't still nearby. Even if she doesn't detect any trace of it, she keeps a hand on the hilt of her sword, wary. She doesn't like this.

She wanders over to him once she's satisfied, but she keeps glancing around the room (just in case) instead of reading over his shoulder. She figures he'll let her know what is says once he's done reading it.]

[reparator]

[ It's not immediately nearby; the tracks would indicate that it stalked its way out of the room, but who knows where it went from there?

As for the clipboard, it has a list of very shorthand information -- it begins with a smudged out date that simply says Native shows no signs of changes of any sort. and remains along those lines until a date about 3/4ths of the way down. That entry says Changes occurring.

And then, a quickly written, almost alarmed entry of Reacted too strongly to catalyst.

There's nothing else on the clipboard, except for a rust-colored stain in the bottom corner. ]

[succeeder]

[ Hmm. Once he finishes reading, he just hands the clipboard over to her. He's never been one for helpful reading aloud of clues, and he wants to start investigating instead of catching other people up. ]

I suppose the implication is that whatever was in that cage was a "native" that overreacted to some catalyst... But the catalyst took a very long time to take effect, and it was very rapid after that. I wonder if it was some second catalyst that actually caused a change.

[ The dust is bothering him too, though. The tracks seem recent, but there's still been enough time for dust to accumulate, even when these records seem so urgent. ...But he's not sure how to categorize that information in his mind right now, so he sets it aside.

He starts gravitating towards the cage, seeing if he can find any other clues inside of it. ]

[bloodbiter]

[With a frown, she reads over the paperwork. It's obviously detailing something awful, but she can't quite visualize the situation it's describing. For now, she goes to the desk, seeing if there's anything else to be found, any drawers that can be opened. As she checks, she speaks without looking at Togami.]

When we are done, I am going to attempt to find that thing.

[One of the last things she remembers from her home is swearing to find and defeat monsters to ensure the safety of the realm. It isn't terribly different here; she can't imagine forgiving herself if it hurt someone later.]

[succeeder]

That would be wise. At the very least, we should inform the others about it. [ He isn't nearly as resolute, but to him, it just seems practical. The others might be very surprised if they come across a monstrosity without any of the foreshadowing part. ...Maybe not that surprised, seeing how sketchy the general situation already is. ]

[bloodbiter]

Of course. I wouldn't want any of them harmed if they come across it.

[After checking the desk for other papers or anything else that might seem important, she moves to the door and looks out at the ground, trying to see if those tracks are visible in the hallway as well.]

Sapphire (and Chic)

[naturae]

[ ... Well, that's promising. Her first reaction to that is to get on all fours and prepare herself for whatever just locked that door. But when nothing comes, she gets back up. ]

Hey! What's goin' on here?!

[ She very clearly saw the others go to different doors, so she's not going to suspect any of them of some sort of stupid prank (or even worse, being the cause of all this). She's not really one for crazy conspiracy theories against her allies anyway. But her Blaziken is on edge now, as it should be now that they may be in clear danger.

She notices the map after her initial annoyance dies down, picking it up and turning it every which way. Which ... obviously doesn't help with a map that can't be read in general. So she chucks it behind her, before glancing back at the (now locked) door they entered through, and then back between the two she can exit through. ]

Looks like we're on our own now, huh. [ Not a problem, she can do this. And she pumps her fists in the air. ] We ain't gonna be a burden! We'll find our way outta this dumb place! [ DETERMINATION!

And since Sapphire isn't much of a thinker, she puts very minimal thought into which door to choose, before going with the one straight ahead, her Blaziken following closely behind and being her lookout. ]

C'mon, let's try this one!

[reparator]

[ Straight ahead it is! Thanks to Blaziken, she'll be able to see: the room is metal walls and metal flooring, and it's very, very cold.

The reason why will become clear soon enough; there's a generator keeping it that way, so cold that ice and frost is gathering on the metal surfaces.

And, in the middle of the room, there's a very, very large metal container, rectangular in shape. ]

[naturae]

[ Being from Hoenn, a very warm region of her world, she's not so used to the cold. And thus, it's kind of annoying in here. Okay, very annoying. And Sapphire doesn't deal well with that sort of thing. It's not long before she's shivering a little and grabbing at her shoulders to try and stay warm, making a face that shows just how not-here-for-this she is. Not even the heat from her Blaziken is enough to help that much.

But she's not all that good with technology, either, so it takes her a moment to really connect the dots here. And she mostly only does because it's the only thing that even could be causing this. ]

I — I can't even think straight in this cold! S'that the thing that's causin' this?! [ Not that anyone would answer her. ] W-Well — wh-whatever it is, I'm stoppin' it!

D-Double Kick!

[ And off Blaziken goes, aiming to smash it with some kicks. ]

[reparator]

[ Don't hold back or anything, Sapphire.

Blaziken double kicks the hell out of the large metal box in the middle, denting it, and then cracking it open. Well, the room is just as cold as ever, but now she can see inside if she wants to, at least. ]

[naturae]

[ Nope. Holding back right now is stupid and so is that stupid box that didn't stop the cold. Good job making her angry, creepy place.

She waits a moment or two after it's destroyed, but when she realizes the coldness isn't stopping, she turns her attention to the generator. Damn stupid confusing technology. ]

Well if that ain't it, then it's gotta be that one!

[ She points as her Blaziken rushes off to attempt to destroy the generator with another Double Kick.

Sapphire is the opposite kind of person who should be in here. ]

[reparator]

[ Well done, Sapphire, the generator has now exploded. The room will gradually start to thaw and warm up, but also poor Blaziken has probably taken about half its HP from that explosion.

It will also start to smell pretty bad in here, the longer it warms up.

Now what? ]

[naturae]

[ ... Oh. Oops. She's quick to shield her face from the explosion, and luckily she's far enough away that it doesn't affect her much other than a few scrapes from the debris. But that's nothing to her. Really what she's concerned about is her partner Pokemon, who, once the air clears, she notices is kneeled down on the ground, looking to be in not-so-great shape. So she rushes over to its side. ]

Chic, are ya gonna be alright?!

[ Her Pokemon aren't lightweights, however, so it gives a determined and very serious nod as it slowly stands to its feet. She has other Pokemon with her, but she's not going to recall it for right now, especially since its flames are important in this place.

So she nods right back, before focusing on the rest of the room and its ... smell. It's bad, but it doesn't bother her much, other than being unsure of what's causing it. Maybe it's that box in the middle? It couldn't be anything else ... ] Wait here. I'm gonna check out that box ya broke, then we're gonna get outta here. This place's givin' me the creeps.

[ So over to the large metal box she goes to take a look. ]

Iris & Raven

[shroudedinsecrecy]

N-no, that's...alright. I'm sure I'll be fine.

[There was someone she wished she could cling to right then, but he wasn't here....]

[The room was...dusty. Very dusty. Her eyes stung a little as they traveled further into the room. She saw chairs. And desks. No immediate exit, sadly, but when she crossed the room and saw the papers sitting atop those dusty surfaces--]

[--well, first, she gave a couple tiny sneezes as a cloud of dust was disturbed--]

[But then, she glanced down to see what was written on them.]

[fishyoldman]

[Raven isn't fazed by the rejection in the least, focusing instead on the task at hand. ...Or that was the plan, until Iris sneezed.]

Well, if that isn't the cutest darn sneeze I ever heard!

[He grins and moves over to one of the desks, testing the drawers to see if any of them contain anything useful while Iris reads. Maybe he should be treating this situation a little more seriously, but he's trying to keep her spirits up in his own weird way.]

[reparator]

[ The papers are all accounting documents! Every single last one of them details profit margins and losses, though what they're for is a little harder to pinpoint. The names of the things they're discussing are things like energy output and natural energy and magical output.

Oh, and there's one titled sacrificial energy and one titled native energy, but those are probably fine.

The drawers have all of these cute little stuffed animals in them and also some pens and an ID card that is too dusty to read. ]

[shroudedinsecrecy]

[So many numbers. So many names. Iris took a long moment to stare at them. Eyes slightly wide. She didn't understand precisely what it all meant, but...she knew what "output" meant. And she certainly knew what "sacrificial" meant.]

These are...

[She glanced up over at her current companion, motioning for him to come to her with a shaky hand. Wanting him to see and confirm that she wasn't just imagining all this.]

These papers...they're talking about different kinds of energy. Like...like generators or something.

[It was the "or something" that worried her most; more than once her eyes flickered back to that one word. Sacrificial. Thinking of those who had mysteriously disappeared. That alter underground.]

[fishyoldman]

[Raven is squinting at the ID card, but even after wiping it, it's too dusty to make heads or tails of it. So he puts it back and heads over to where she's looking, leaning forward to read it.]

Hmm... That part about "sacrificial energy" sounds pretty ominous.

[He figured he'd say it, since she didn't, though he hasn't been around long enough for it to carry any real connotations...]

Let's take these with us. Whoever ran this joint won't be missin' 'em. [He picks them up, wrinkling his nose a little at all the dust.] Ya see anythin' else?

[shroudedinsecrecy]

It does. But...I could guess what they might mean by that.

[She nodded at his suggestion to take the papers, collecting up several for herself. For a moment after, however, she wasn't sure what to do. Parts of her clothing were still wet or damp. She didn't want to risk getting the papers wet as well.]

[In the end, she simply folded them into as many small squares as time and energy allowed, then stuck them in the upper portion of her robe. That part wasn't too soaked, and her robes were secured rather rightly. It...should be relatively safe. For now.]

I don't, no.

It's still pretty dark, but my eyes are adjusting. And there's...no other door. Not even a window. Do you suppose we're...underground, perhaps?

[In her experience, rooms without windows were because there was nothing to see outside. Like an underground, basement area.]