« 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

[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. ]

[unpreparer]

I honestly don't care.

[And he crosses his arms and waits for the humans to make their decision. As much as he hated it, he couldn't really go anywhere without one of them leading.]

[feytality]

[Thank you, Han Solo.... she's now back on the ground!!]

[Maya pouts right back at Athena, but she isn't arguing further, so, when the topic of investigation comes up, Maya pumps a fist into the air and grins, reinvigorated]

Yeah! Let's investigate! We've got a light [From Lillydan] and I can be his eyes, so between the four of us, I'm sure we'll dig up some awesome clues!

[Maya please don't be so excited about their potential death]

[notsosolo]

[Han nods]

We've never been able to reach this place before, it only makes sense to take a look around.

[Let's do the thing]

How are you kids if there turns out to be a defense system?

[psycholawgy]

I'm tougher than I look! I know self-defense.

[ she walks back to the path that's dark... then looks back at the group. ]

Let's go, then.

[ INTO THE DARKNESS!!!! she'll even lead the way, expecting mr lillydan and the rest to follow suit. ]

▶ CHECKPOINT ONE.SAV

[reparator]

. . . NEW FILE CREATED . . . CHECKPOINT #001.SAV . . .
. . . CONTINUING ESCAPE.EXE. . .

---

[ They'll be traveling through the dark for a little while -- but it won't last for long. Soon, there's a soft glow of light up ahead, and they'll come into what appears to be a library.

It's quiet, and it's a little run-down; part of the ceiling seems to have caved in.

But there are also shelves upon shelves of books that are clearly not in the Cerealian library. ]

[unpreparer]

[Well, guess who has two thumbs and is the most useless person in the group for this discovery. This guy. Right here.

At the very least he could tell they were in a room rather than the winding halls.]

The surroundings have changed...

[And he'll hope someone will elaborate on that for him, because he's above just asking for help.]

[feytality]

Me too! If any flabbymines try to give us trouble, I'll send them all packing!

[Pipes up the five foot nothing stray cat. Surely this instills confidence in the three of them]

[But don't worry, Lillydan, your small harpy friend has your back. As they hot the library, Maya describes their surroundings with gusto]

Hey, I'm pretty sure this was a library! There are tons of books.... but it looks like no one's been here in a long time.

[psycholawgy]

[ athena curls her hand into a fist and hits her opposite palm. IT'S TIME TO EXAMINE EVERY NOOK AND CRANNY. ]

No time like the present to start investigating. Let's do this!

[ oh, but-- ] Mr. Illidan, if you could just keep watch in case we're attacked.

[ to han and to maya: ] You guys check that side over there, and I'll go here. [ and with that, she's off to one corner of the library, checking out the books and even pulling out one or two to see what exactly is in there. ]

[unpreparer]

[Illidan cast a scowl at the little brat who actually had the nerve to start giving him orders.]

I do not take orders from you, child.

[So just to be difficult and do the opposite of what he was told to, he's going to go walk around and "look" at books. Maybe there will be some magic tome or spell book like back home, like normal libraries should have.]

[notsosolo]

You got a different way of telling things about the books?

[His tone makes it clear he finds that entirely possible. He couldn't have when he lost his eyesight, but he also couldn't act as a human glow rod.

All the same, he starts looking at books in the indicated direction. It's as good a place to start as any.]

[reparator]

[ No magic here! Everything is normal, boring old books.

And every last one of them is information on Flamines. It looks as though they were all stuffed down here in a hurry, as if they used to be elsewhere and are now here. ]

[feytality]

Oh! Oh! Flambes!!

[But okay... if Lillydan wants to be contrary... maybe he's going through his rebellious phase. Anyway, Maya's far more interested in checking out the books, so she immediately starts rifling through the nearest one]

These books are all about the flannel guys!

[is she allergic to saying "Flamines" right?]

[psycholawgy]

[ yeah... these books are going into the court record. she's definitely taking around three or four too. ]

It's all Flamines here too. This is amazing! [ she exclaims, so that everybody on the other side can hear. ] I have a feeling that these don't belong in this room, though...

Look around to see if there's anything out of the ordrinary!

[ bossy, thy name is athena cykes. she's definitely walking around some more now, even going so far as to take pictures of the place using her necklace. ]

[reparator]

[ There are a few things out of the ordinary -- first, there's a desk in the far corner. While it's clean on top, there are locked drawers.

Secondly, Illidan will be able to feel that there's suddenly very much another presence in there with them; it's invisible but magical.

Everything else is just books and documents though. And one single door in the back. ]

[unpreparer]

You there, shrieking harpy-girl, if this place is filled with books on the Flammines, find me one with the location of their homeworld.

[Illidan stalked among the shelves, refusing to follow any of the orders given like the petulant brat he is. Even if he couldn't see anythi-

oh wait, there was something. Not any of the books, no, those were all but useless to him. There was something else he would be quite interested in investigating. However he couldn't leave the goon squad behind him without warning, so he makes his way back towards the group.]

Keep your wits about you, mortals, we are not alone.

[feytality]

You have to be a little more specific, Mr. Stormrage, don't you call everyone that?

[regardless she is also pilfering -- I mean adding-- books to the Court Record and browsing through them for any information]

[She blinks over at him, though. She couldn't see anyone else, but maybe she could sense something, if it had spiritual powers or connection?]

What do you mean?

[psycholawgy]

I'm not a shrieking harpy-girl! [ she yells out. WHY YOU GOTTA BE SO RUDE, LILLYDAN??? ] If anything, you should call me a beautiful singing canary!

[ but yeah, okay. when illidan notices that they aren't alone, she stops in her tracks, breathing in deep. she hopes to god it's not a ghost. she doesn't need any more murderous ghosts right now... ]

What's- Who's there?

[reparator]

[ This is there.

Where it comes from, it's hard to say. One second there's nothing, and then it's there, appearing from between the shelves.

It's going to go ahead and just stroll right up to Athena, reaching out with that claw. ]