estoria | « 004 ⇢ INTERLUDE004.EXE »

Entry tags:

!event,
!interlude

« 004 ⇢ INTERLUDE004.EXE »

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Aha, so Leon and Homework Girl are the only normal people in this group, huh? Well, Red Girl (the light's good enough that he can see her clothing is red, now, and also, that she's just as hot as he'd thought) hasn't said anything about any magical powers—but she'd also offered immediately to protect everyone else from anything jumping out at them. Probably there's something going on there, right?

Disintegrate the door? He has to agree—]

Yeah, that'd be pretty badass . . .

[Maybe he'll get to see it. And yeah, they don't know what's behind it, but:]

Hey, we don't know what's behind us either, right?

[He even glances behind the group to make sure they haven't missed anything stalking them. Mosley, for instance. Leon hadn't heard anything, but he's not willing to believe that means nothing's down here. For that matter, he's not hearing anything on the other side of the door, either, at least not yet. Pretty even odds, right?

He's the normal one (or one of two, maybe, he can't be sure), but it's a fucking door. He does what normal people do with doors. He walks up to it, lifts his fist, and raps on it hard. Knock knock!]

Edited 2016-05-29 19:07 (UTC)

Do not burden yourself for what may be behind, I have already consulted with you all that I'll handle whatever foe it may be.

( her arms crossed and eyes closed as she allows the others to focus on the door, she placing her full attention on listening to if anything could be approaching. they are within the light and being able to see everyone much clearly does help a little, she does believe that once she lets her emerald eyes to scan the surrounding area around them. )

With the door as our main concern, we could all try something if the simple beat of knuckles hitting against the entrance or exit does not work. The disintegration that he has brought to our attention sounds ideal. ( that's only if they can't get the door open with both leon and usagi's ideas, normally the most simple is the smartest way to get things done but this place doesn't feel like it'd give that easily. perhaps there are a few buttons hiding around or they have to give some sort of sacrifice, but there's also thoughts running through her mind of where would this door lead if they do get it open. ) If need be, I'll even use my sword to attempt a few strikes. Though I do suggest not to stand so close to the door because if you do get it open, who's to know what may be waiting for us on the other side.

( she's been in many situations like this before, glancing at everyone around them to see if they're composure has yet to waver. ) It makes me wonder if we had chosen the other path, would we had also found a door. Curious, yet that is in the past; a bridge we were not meant to cross.

Edited 2016-05-29 19:27 (UTC)

[ Knock knock, who's there.

The door doesn't open, but a control panel does slide open to the side of said door, revealing a number pad.

And a robotic voice speaks: ]

Enter passcode.

Disinte--ehhhh? You could do that?! [Usagi's eyes widen when she reads the Cerevice with Shigeru. There has to be way more to this guy than it looks if he can do something like that? Surely. But then she's listening to the others, their ideas. How about we avoid the sacrifice idea there, Nero.....

Still. She doesn't get a chance to try and push at it before Leon knocks. Another very simple, yet usually effective idea. Which....seems to work and do something? Initially, Usagi does quickly step out of the way to allow him to get closer, if he is intending on using that weapon of his.]

Passcode? What passcode? Did anyone see any numbers on the walls or anything on the way here? Or any near the door?

[It might be hopeful, the idea that there is actually a clue around that might help them figure out the right combination. Usually these things will only let someone try so many times, right?]

[There's a significant pause from Ryuuga after he hears the voice ask for the passcode. Of course it couldn't be this simple. So disintegrating the door probably wouldn't end well, but -

That's when it hits him. It's something he hasn't used in a while, but it's not like it's an ability that he's lost at all.

At least he hopes.]

No, but ... let me try something.

[He steps forward, frowning as he puts a hand gently on the keypad, careful not to actually touch and of the buttons, and concentrates. Maybe he can pull the code off of the lingering memories of someone else who's come through - if anyone's come through, anyway.

It's better than backtracking through the sewers for a code that may or may not be there, at least.]

[ It's been a very, very long while since anyone's passed through here, but nonetheless he'll be able to pull out some numbers -- a 1, and a 3 and a 7.

There's still a number missing in the middle, though. ]

( taking a few steps closer, she raises a brow towards the male as he seems to be in deep thought of what he's doing. with a look towards usagi, the female is curious to see if the blonde is as confused as her but she has to ask to find out. )

Whatever you're doing, did you find something? ( hopefully he did so there won't be any need for sacrifices to get it open. )

Try what? Huh.....?

[She can't help being nosy and trying to watch, curious, as he places a hand at the keyboard of sorts. Usagi isn't quite sure what is going on but she might be able to vaguely guess. Since Ami is good with technology too. But it might not necessarily be something specifically to do with tech, she's not sure what he's doing exactly. But of course, Nero has already asked on if he's managed to figure anything out from.....whatever he is doing. Don't mind her as she tries to peer over Ryuuga's shoulder.]

[Okay, something's better than nothing - so this counts as a win!

Ryuuga's got his eyes closed for another moment or two, honestly he looks almost like he's in a trance. Though in reality, he's committing the numbers to memory before he turns and gives a grin to the others with a nod.]

Sorry, it's something I've been able to do since I was little.

[Though for now he's stepping back and away from the console.]

I wasn't able to get all the numbers from the last time someone went through here - it's apparently been a really long time, the memory was fuzzy. [He sighs, though he's not really surprised.] But I did get the numbers one, three, and seven from it. There's one more missing, but it's a start.

[The actual numbers don't make it through Leon's surprise at the situation right away. What the hell . . . that was pretty impressive. What's with everyone having powers, anyway? He never used to feel "left out" over it before, but the more people he gets to know, the more he feels like the only one who can't magic water, summon demons, disintegrate things, hear people's emotions with his super special hearing, or—whatever this dude just did to that keypad. That was awesome! He got the numbers 1, 3, 7—

Wwwwwwait a second.

As soon as his brain catches up to that, his expression goes from mildly awed and hopeful to tight-lipped and pale, his eyes hard. CERES, you pieces of shit. You fucking assholes.

Maybe it's not. It doesn't have to be like that, right? What are the odds of him finding this thing and that being the code? No, he knows better: they can probably do something to make it like that. Remote control it. Read it off his mind and upload it straight into the lock. Mosley had shoved him down here, so—

This is stupid.

He brushes past magical code guy and up to the keypad, muttering to himself, though tense and too-loud enough to be easily heard:]

Are you fuckin' kidding me . . . ?

[And then walks up to the keypad and punches in]

11037

[ . . . Wait. The guy had said one more missing. Oops? Was it supposed to be 1137? 1037? Or was this all just screwing with his head and it's none of the above?

Well, he already put it in. He hunches up, tense, waiting to see if anything happens.]

. . . If it's four numbers it might be . . . forget it, I dunno.

[ There's a long pause, and then a beep -- but it's not an error beep at all. Rather: ]

Restricted Access Granted.

[ Wasn't it supposed to be four numbers? There's something a little odd about that... but nonetheless Leon's 5-number code works, and the door slides open.

The room beyond looks... like, well, a normal office receptionist room, though it's empty and quiet, and a little dark. ]

[He really wishes that hadn't worked, you fuckers.

Before heading into the room, he hunches his shoulders up even harder and yells out at the ceiling, at no one in particular:]

Yeah, real fuckin' funny!

[And then he stalks into the room, head down, though he's keeping his eyes open.]

( proceeding into the room as someone seems to be a little angry about something, she is growing tired of the dark messing with their perception. ) I grow tired of this but. ( looking towards leon, she speaks up. )

If it wasn't for him ( ryuuga ) and you, who knows if we could have truly gotten that door open. ( she also would have love to see it disintegrate as well but maybe next time! ) Anyway, the numbers that you had quickly put in, do they hold some important meaning that you could tell us about? It seems that they've accomplished getting under your skin.

( it'd be nice to know, wouldn't it? nero moves over in search of desks with anything on it that she could read or something that would just stand out. ) If they were able to toy with you then.. everyone should stay on their guard!

What's funny? It worked, didn't it? Lets take a look!

[Usagi either doesn't understand the problem or implication, or she is choosing to focus on the situation at hand more. Either way, she is quick to try peek inside the room once it unlocks, her pigtail almost dragging to the ground as she tilts her head before straightening up more.]

Nobody here....but there must be a reason it was locked, right?

[ Shigeru will be in the back, watching and listening to the ongoings of the other group. He kinda wants to ask why that code worked, where the other learned of it, but he can see it's a subject best left alone for now. Besides it seems like Nero got to that first anyway. Still he'll look around with a curious glance, eyes darting about to see if there's any sort of objects that stand out, but it's all too normal for him. He types something up for anyone to read on his cerevice. ]

It doesn't look like there's much in here. But it's really weird that they would keep such a normal place behind a security locked door. So maybe there...is something in here that they're trying to hide?

[ Well, it is restricted access. As soon as they're all inside, the door slams shut behind them, and then a small cage drops from the ceiling to land over -- well, just Shigeru, since he's in the back and it's actually pretty small.

As far as security is concerned, it's kind of sadly lacking, but the cage bolts automatically to the ground, so Shigeru's pretty stuck. ]

[ Oh my god?! Shigeru lets out a surprised gasp and very nearly drops his cerevice as that cage drops down from the ceiling. Rude Ceres. What is wrong with these people?! He looks startled and momentarily scared but he immediately backs up towards the center of the cage, trying not to touch any of the bars, in case they're electrified or something else. This is not how he wanted to spend his day...gosh.

Instead of typing something he'll activate his gate, which springs up from behind him as large, purple and iridescent. It's incorporeal so the cage doesn't do anything to it and it doesn't do anything back. But he'll reach back with a gloved hand and a sword will come out of it. He will activate its power of disintegration as he takes a swipe at the bars then. Hopefully his powers will do something?! ]

[ Well, that worked, sort of.

It disintegrates the bars where it hits, which means that the cage collapses in on itself and on top of him.

Hope you don't mind a bunch of metal bars landing on top of you, Shigeru! At least he'll get out of it with nothing more than some bruising. ]

[Okay, that was a thing.

Even before Ryuuga could try unsheathing his own sword to attempt cutting the bars, Shigeru seems to have everything covered, though at the very least he's going to be trying to help pull him out of the remains of the cage.

To be honest, the reception area they had gotten into (outside the cage, of course) looked almost too normal, and it wasn't exactly giving him a very good feeling about it. In fact, if he had to be perfectly honest, it was reminding him of certain aspects of Vol City.]

. . . Hooooly shit, you okay?!

[A LOT JUST HAPPENED VERY QUICKLY. Leon had still been preoccupied with how best to absolutely refuse to explain the number 11037, and stewing over the fact that it had even come up. And then—sudden cage, sudden magical light show, disintegrating sword—

At least now CERES screwing with his head is the last thing on his mind.

He takes a step towards the wreck of the cage, hands lifted, but it looks like keypad guy's got this one. (It suddenly strikes him that they haven't even introduced themselves yet. Maybe once they get a second of things not happening so much. He's sure not going to just yell his name out now.)

He wants to explore the room a bit—he's absolutely not convinced it's as normal-looking as it might seem—but he'll get to that too once he sees this guy stand up and be okay. That looked like a hell of a crash.]

Edited 2016-05-30 20:20 (UTC)

What a sight to see! Beautiful even! Such benevolence to acquire your blade! I do love to see such beautiful things! You should do that more often!

( nero works off beauty, its something that speaks to her and she finds that it may be one of the many charm — beauty parts that shigeru has. well that happened and it's a good thing that shigeru was able to save himself from such a fate. nero would have been ready and willing to use her own weapon, but she is content with seeing such an ability. perhaps that would have been enough to handle the door if they weren't able to get in. for now, the female nods her head as she wanders off in search of something in the room. it's true, if there's such shoddy security, there must be something hiding within this place. )

Umu! If they work so hard to keep us out, something has to be hiding within this place. A normal office it seems but I wonder if they are attempting to fool our eyes! ( though it would be bad if they triggered another trap. ) We shouldn't just touch anything, who knows what other shoddy traps could be hiding within here.

[ There's plenty to poke around in in this room. Aside from the receptionist desk, there are two doors on the far wall, as well as a door to the left and a small hallway that appears to lead to an elevator on the right.

Shoddy trap aside, nothing else seems to be happening just yet. ]

[ He knew that would happen and he's honestly not all that perturbed by it either. He's definitely suffered worse in his line of work, so this really doesn't shake his resolve any. Minor bruises for him heal within minutes, so he can't honestly say he's worried. He nods his head at Ryuuga and turns to Leon with a shaky, but otherwise natural smile. He'll give a thumbs up to the rest of the group. He is totally okay, even with a metal cage falling on top of him... ]

I'm okay! Most of the bruising is already starting to heal, so you don't have to worry!

[ Shigeru please. Have more concern for your well being here?! Thank god his powers work at least...

He looks at Nero with a sheepish smile. ] I never...really thought of it that way. But, thank you. I agree with you though. We definitely need to be careful now.

[ It was a pretty shoddy defense admittedly but honestly Shigeru doesn't know what else is lurking around this place. ]

Edited 2016-05-31 03:26 (UTC)

[He lets out a breath that he really didn't realize he was holding at first, but nods all the same while turning back to the others as he scans the room again.]

Looks like we've got a couple options for where to go. I'd try the same trick I used on the keypad at the desk, but considering how fuzzy it was before, it might not really show much.

[He frowns slightly, his free hand at the back of his neck. That and the fact that's probably the farthest back he's reached with his psychometry abilities, so he's not even sure how well it would work the next time he attempted it.]

Ryuuga, by the way. Dougai Ryuuga. Figured if we're stuck together, might as well at least introduce myself.

Yeah . . . I'm Kuwata Leon.

[Good timing, probably. They have a moment for a breather here, and to think about what to do. There sure are a lot of options, more than he expected to find in a little room like this.

He glances around the room again, then back at the cage and Shigeru, considering.]

—Hey. Can you, like, cut off one of those metal cage bars for me so I've got somethin' on me? We don't all carry swords around, y'know?

[Just . . . three of us? Wow.

And he does have his knife, but he's more comfortable with things he can swing, anyway.]

We probably oughta check out this whole room and then just pick a door, huh?

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