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« 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
▶ RUN.EXE | MOD NOTES
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!
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The door Adrien goes to won't be locked, either, so they'll be able to enter the hall and see that it leads to another three doors (one ahead, one to the right, one to the left) before the blue blood problem...well, kicks in.
Clarke and Chat Noir both are going to find that very suddenly, their powers are just...going to go awry. For Chat Noir, it will be his cataclysm -- and it's going to be used on Jaune (because he has terrible luck anyway), whatever that'll do. For Clarke, she'll find that her vampirism is going to kick in in a very strong way, to the point where she'll have trouble retaining her humanity and emotions. ]
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Yosuke cast some visible suspicion to the robots as they passed them, but he's glad that they were left alone. The urge to steal one of the signs on a matter of principle is there, but he's learned his lesson.
The new area doesn't look anymore welcoming than the last, and, of course, they're presented with a few options. Standing at the apex, Yosuke crosses his arm with a frown. ]
...Looks like we're gonna have to pick a road or split up.
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We don't know what's in here... Sticking together's our safest bet.
[ Rule number one of horror movies? Don't split up. And also don't say "we'll be fine!" which they didn't listen to anyway, so why do they even bother. That "we'll be fine!!" is likely why the following is happening: Adrien can't explain it, but when he stops right beside Jaune, he places a totally reassuring bro hand on his shoulder. And he wants to play off that awkwardness with a "so, uh, hey, so what do you think Jaune?" except it's very hard to when the black ring on that hand suddenly pulses with a dark energy, which then seems to move right into McUnfortunate.
Considering the look that crosses Mister Catsuit then, that's not a good thing.
So, enjoy the pain and feelings that come with rotting from the inside out, Jaune! It's as if he's decomposing, like a corpse, but rather quickly—and Adrien jolts back, leaning against the wall with an expression of absolute horror. He looks at his ring, then at the affected Jaune. From his ring: a quiet, high pitched beeeep
Mirroring the flatlining happening in Adrien's head right now, probably. ]
Wait... Wait, I didn't—
[ Hardly audible. ]
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[ They could totally split up if they wanted to. However, before Jaune can say anything else, he begins coughing a little. It seems like nothing at first, but the coughing intensifies as he falls down to his knees and… vomits. Living up to his name as vomit boy, truly. ]
Ughh… s-sorry guys, I think I’m still kinda grossed out by…
[ He looks down at his puke and it’s… red. That’s not good. What follows after isn’t that great either as starts to feel like he has broken glass inside him. ]
A-Ahggh...
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She can't ignore it now.
It feels a little like the tide, barely pushing against the switch, an ebb of her emotions; it feels like numbness, like nothing in the best way. Missing people from the Drabwurld, from home, missing Jason, worrying about Bellamy and how their relationship might turn out, her upset about her immortality: all of it just falls away. It's brief, though, because as quickly as her humanity left, it returns again, like a jolt from too-cold water.
She's okay, she reminds herself, she's okay. Instead of lingering, she forces herself to answer Yosuke's question.
(There's a brief whisper of split up, of take Yosuke with you, you smelled his blood, you know how good it would be-) ]
Adrien's right, we should stay together. [ Her head is swimming in the worst way, and something smells off, smells rotten, like decay, and when Jaune vomits right near them, it's obvious. It's ruining her appetite, and- No, okay, the smell is concerning, not what sort of effect it's having on her. Focus, Clarke.
The panic that's starting to rise in others doesn't actually reach Clarke. In fact, she's eerily calm about it as she steps closer to him, reaching into the bag at her side as she crouches down at his side. She could just bite into her wrist, but she imagines that she'd have to do some compulsion to get him to drink that, and she's not really looking to have to explain that side of her abilities to anyone. Instead, she pulls out a vial of dark red liquid (it's blood, it's definitely blood) from her bag, a cork stopper holding it shut, and holds it out to Jaune once she uncorks it. ]
You smell like death. Drink this. [ Empty. She feels empty. ] It should keep you alive. [ Should. She makes no promises right now, not when she can feel her humanity switch being toyed with. ]
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As they move on, he also agrees they should stick together and he's about to voice his support for that, but before he can, he frowns and turns back when he hears Jaune getting sick.
He's about to ask if Jaune is okay, but instead he freezes and stares at the blonde, eyes widening as he's startled by how he can feel Jaune's life aura dimming.
Something is very very wrong but Clarke's picked up on it too and she seems to be the most qualified medic of the group, so Nico just stands back and lets her do her work, apprehensive. What caused Jaune to suddenly get so ill?]
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But the next thing he knows Adrien is pulling backwards and Jaune is throwing up. Yosuke jumps a step back. ]
D-Dude, what the hell??
[ What made him spew all of a sudden? Nico maybe be able to sense that something is horribly off, but Yosuke's decidedly in the dark. His gaze snaps back from Jaune to Adrien, who looks pale and..."I didn't" what? And what in the world is Clarke giving him? It's a dark red vial and, maybe because he's seen so much of his recently, his eyes widen when it clicks. ]
--Is that blood?
[ Okay, this just went from "No thank you this place is weird" to "Oh HELL no". Adrien looks shocked and Jaune is sick out of no where and despite her magical healing powers Clarke is turning all occult on them? What is even going on?
Everything is happening so much.Yosuke shakes his head and takes a few steps away, holdings his hands in the air as he backs up towards the entrance of the center door, putting some distance between himself and the others for a second. What if Jauen's infected with something?? ]Okay, hold up! What just happened? [ His gaze shifts to Adrien, frowning. ] You flipped out! You know what's going on, don't you?
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Jaune knows that look of guilt that he sees on Adrien, it's the same one Pyrrha had when she lost control of her powers and nearly killed Jaune. Worse yet, she eventually ended someone's life due to outside forces interfering with her mind and abilities. Jaune has to wonder if the same thing is happening here, and if it is, then he needs Adrien (and the group) to know that this isn't the boy's fault. ]
--it's fine. I-I'm fine. I'm not... it's not contagious, so don't worry.
[ That's all he'll say. There's a sharp pain in Jaune's insides as he pushes himself up, quietly realizing that he's probably on borrowed time for the rest of this trip, unless they miraculously find a hospital here. He might not make it out alive, but he's going to make damn sure that his friends do. So, he keeps it to himself as he staggers forward, just sort of choosing the middle door by default. ]
C'mon, we need to keep moving...
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He won't make it much further than that, though.
The effects of everything are just too much of a toll on his body; before they make it to the next door, Jaune will fall, Aura unable to fix his broken insides any longer.
He'll wake up in 3 IC days in the Cerealian hospital with a robot hovering over him, trying to poke at his stomach, but he'll at least be good as new, and in fact feel better than he has in weeks, as far as his energy levels are concerned. Weird!
Everyone else can continue to carry right along. ]
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[ Jaune's breathing slows down as he collapses again. No, maybe Pyrrha was right, there is such thing as destiny and nobody can escape it. ]
Looks like I'll be seeing you sooner than I thought, heh...
[ As every breath and action becomes more painful, Jaune takes out his Cerevice and offers it to the group. It has photos after all, but more importantly... ]
Please find Shiho Sannomiya and give this to her. She'll know what to do with it...
[ She'll know everything that happened here as soon as she touches it. Hopefully Adrien won't touch it first!!!
It looks like Jaune is about to say something else, but... that's as much as he could get out before he passes. ]
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Adrien definitely felt some slivers of relief when Clarke offered her solution (the deathly calmness in which she offered it not registering as anything in the middle of his frenzied mind), Jaune stood, and he almost offered a hand in assistance until he drew it back (considering the cause of this entire debacle...). But even all of that wasn't really enough to settle what had just happened into Adrien's mind, because he didn't know what happened. That's why Yosuke's question is met with an uncertain glance. ]
I... I don't know— I mean, I do, but—
[ He hadn't activated his abilities, and he'd never use them on a person. He never would. Yet he just had, and Jaune had almost died, and considering how many times he's seen metal rust away, or stone crumble, he can't imagine the effects there were cotton candy and kitten whiskers.
So as Jaune stumbles away, Adrien's bumbling explanation is cut off in favor of: ]
Wait, Jaune—
[ He should at least take a second to rest, or take a breath, not that that even matters as it escalates into Jaune collapsing as they move forward.
There's the Heroic BSOD! ]
Jaune!
[ He's not dead, I didn't, he's not dead, I didn't—repeats in Adrien's head over and over as a mantra as he rushes to Jaune's body, his transformation peeling away with a bit of light as he sinks beside Jaune's body, shaking him lightly (and hesitating for the slightest second, until he realizes that as a regular weenie, he can't hurt anyone. And that's what he did, he hurt someone). Like that'd help, like that'd get a response. He's fifteen and he just somehow murdered a dude, give him a break.
The only things left behind from that transformation are regular Adrien, a little floating black cat slightly behind him (looking rather exhausted, at that), and an extremely deep sense of guilt, a complete lack of understanding.
Ah, yeah.
Someone else take Jaune's stuff and mug his body. ]
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It's a sharp reality that they might not be the only people down there. That Grell and Hiro and Bellamy- Her chest aches and her her eyes grow wide and the worry over Bellamy is a crushing weight to her chest.
Turn it off. It's a whisper this time, a suggestion; the switch isn't being pushed against anymore, and it isn't like she's being forced, but the way it twists in her head makes it sound like the best idea that's ever been given to her. Flipping that switch? Well that would be the greatest thing she could possibly do, it would solve all her problems. Worry about Bellamy? Not an issue. Getting everyone out alive? Not something she has to deal with. That lingering pain over Jason, over Lexa and Lauralae? Wouldn't it be so nice to just not care about that anymore, to not deal with the pain, to walk away from it in a way she never could before?
She's hesitating, staring at Jaune's body, lips pursed tight.
Just turn it off. It sounds like her mom, and she'd never lead her astray, right? It's her mom. Turn it off, Clarke.
She does, and the quietness inside of her that's left behind is incredible.
Clarke ignores Jaune's request and Adrien's reaction -- someone else will deal with that, right? -- and instead begins walking towards the three doors to decide which one she wants to take. If the others want to follow her, she won't stop them, but Clarke finds that she just doesn't care about anyone's survival but her own now. ]
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Wh--...is he...? Did he really just--?
[ Eyes wide, Yosuke's hands lower, shaking a bit. For all the Investigation Team did to solve the murders in Inaba, actually seeing someone die in front of him is a new experience. Knowing that Saki-senpai had been strewn up on that telephone pole was awful enough, yet... ]
What the hell is going on?
[ Adrien seems to be in too much shock, and watching his retransformation, Yosuke has to wonder. He knows, but he doesn't? Yosuke's got know idea how it's possible, but the look on Adrien's face is unmistakable: guilt. Something happened and, somehow, it's connected to Adrien. He feels like he had a hand in it. He steps forward, hesitating to reach out when so does Clarke. It makes sense, she seems like the oldest (sorry, Nico, he doesn't know) and the most responsible of the group. She'll handle things well. Except--
--she just walks right on like nothing happened. ]
H-Hey, hold on a sec. Shouldn't we do something about this?
[ He looks a little frantically between all the members of his party. ]
Dammit--
[ As much as he doesn't want to, Yosuke moves over to kneel next to Jaune's body, carefully taking his CereVice from his grip. The way his fingers just...lay there only confirms what happened. Shit. Just in case, Yosuke reaches out and presses his fingers against Jaune's wrist, checking for a pulse.
...Yeah. Nothing.
This turned from bad to the worst imaginable. Good thing he didn't say that out loud. ]
...C'mon.
[ He speaks to Adrien, now, putting a hand on his shoulder, urging him to stand up. ]
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Clarke's got all day to decide which she wants to take; nothing seems to be bothering them now. ]
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Nico has seen plenty of death after living through two wars but it's never easy seeing someone die. For a moment, he just stands there, stunned as he tries to put together what exactly just happened. Clarke walking away spurs him into action though.]
Clarke, wait. Wait!
[If she does wait or not, he doesn't pay attention, focusing on Adrien and Yosuke now. Clarke seems like the most equipped to take care of herself out of all of them so he's more worried about the other two making it out of here alive after what just happened.
He's never been good at consoling people, but Adrien doesn't look too good and Yosuke looks shaken. He reaches out and puts a hand on Adrien's other shoulder, speaking quietly but firmly too.]
Adrien... There's nothing more we can do. Death isn't permanent here; he'll come back, in time. We should keep going, find a way out. [And if Adrien doesn't get up, Nico has no qualms about throwing him over his shoulders and forcibly carrying him out if he has to - whatever the case, he's not going to leave him here.]
no subject
Honestly, however, there really isn't much getting to Adrien at the moment. At least, not at first. Clarke completely walking past the situation doesn't register, the final thought of: Jaune is dead and it was his responsibility but he doesn't know why control suddenly slipped away from him jumping into the forefront of his mind.
Even Plagg floating to zip back into his hoodie isn't noticed, but Yosuke and Nico are. The sudden weight on his shoulders jolts him back into their current predicament, and while the words offered don't do much to alleviate the really heavy rock in his stomach, he knows they've got a point. ]
I'm sorry... It was my fault. [ It's the only explanation he can offer, and a useless apology to Jaune, muttered dully as he wipes at his eyes with the back of his hand. He thought to Steven's death, and how he knew things weren't permanent based on that, but it didn't make the events any better. Were this anywhere else...
Well. He stands, shakily, so there is that, but his mind is still stuck back to a few moments ago. That's obvious. ] —Sorry. I mean... Thanks, I'm— [ Hm. Fine? Can he even say that? ] Where are we going?
[ Just... move ahead, only option. He's reminded, again, that things here are very real, that each and every single time he fails he doesn't have the luxury to dwell on it. That last thing he wanted to be was a burden to them, or the reason that more of them didn't make it out.
So... Doors! He's trying. ]
no subject
So, she reins it in, eases her expression to offer a smile to Adrien when he approaches where she's staring down their options. ] You can't help what happened. All we can do is keep going to make sure no one else is killed. [ Ah- That might not have been as comforting as it should have been. Oh well.
Her attention returns to the doors, two of which appear to not have any locks on their door handles, while the one before them does. Of course it's metal, not easily broken like wood, but hey. What's a little bit of metal to a vampire with super strength?
Yeah, Clarke's about to try and force that door open with all the strength she can muster, because knocking is clearly out of the question. ]
no subject
The idea that death isn't permanent here isn't foreign to him, though it's still a strange thought. If Yu hadn't told him what had happened to him last time...
He shakes his head as he stands, turning towards the doors. He gives Adrien what he hopes is a comforting pat on the back and slides Jaune's CereVice into his pocket. The thought that they're just leaving a dead body there doesn't sit well with him, but he's not sure what else they can do. Carry him along? That seems like it could slow them down, make them easier targets. What would he want them to do if that was his body there?
...
Two of the doors definitely look easier to deal with. ]
...I dunno, guys. Doors one and three are probably the easiest. The last time we broke in t--
[ Or, you know, vampires. ]
--er...
[ Well, Clarke did break apart those dogs with her bare hands. ]
▶ CHECKPOINT TWO.SAV
. . . CONTINUING ESCAPE.EXE. . .
[ That door sure does crumple like a piece of paper under that vampire strength. And then... they're in a quiet, almost reverently solemn room.
It's dark, but as soon as one of them steps in, the floor gently lights up, and then the walls light up to show themselves as screens.
There's a door at the far end of the room, of course. But otherwise, the monitor displays a simple, basic text:
Discover? __
> Y
> N
Seems it's a choice to be made. ]
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Do you think it's talking about the door?
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[ Understatement? Understatement. The entire room fits the more futuristic feel he'd expect from his few days in Cerealia. He follows Nico's gaze to the door at the end the room. ]
Maybe.
[ But what else is going to come out of it?
Well, with Clarke looking a little off and Adrien arguably unsettled, Yosuke pushes past some of his own discomfort as he steps forward. Someone has to
poke the bearspush the buttons, right? ]I'd say "what've we got to lose", but...
[ You know, their lives? Hahaha.
Yosuke steps up to the screen, looking back to the rest of the team with a sense of uncertainty. It could be answers or...what, robot sewer crocs? He's not even sure what to think anymore. Maybe going a little numb would be a help. Turning back to the screen, he swallows and then selects... ]
Here goes nothing.
> Y
[ Sorry Nico, someone has to be here to make the
badimportant decisions. ]no subject
In 3D, they'll see a series of very quick images -- thriving planets suddenly dying, planets suddenly being overrun by aliens in masks -- and then back to thriving planets. A jungle planet, with the label Tellus. A thriving metropolis with the label Merui. A quiet, cloudy planet without a label. And a few more -- their own worlds, earth and various other places they've seen and haven't seen.
It's definitely information overload, and when it's finished, it cuts out very quickly, the hall going dark again.
The monitor lights up with a message. ]
Discovery complete. Remember it.
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........
Sometimes yolo'ing it up isn't such a bad idea! Apparently. Even if it leaves you with things you don't really know what to make of. ]
That wasn't about the door.
[ OBVIOUSLY. But that's all Adrien can really offer, in the midst of everything piling up into a big mesh of ??? and mistakes in his poor cat loving head. ]
no subject
Once it finishes, she types in a few points worth remembering, just in case the video itself doesn't display things clearly enough. As much as she wanted out of this place before, it's even more prominent now; this whole colony is as sketchy as Mount Weather, and she really doesn't want a repeat of that.
Staring at the screen, Clarke looks down to where Yosuke is near the keyboard, debating. ]
Do you think it will take more commands if we type them? [ Clearly she wants more information out of this thing, if it's even possible. ]
no subject
No crocs, yeah, that's probably for the best. When the lights come back on, he raises his brows and looks around, half expecting...something. But, no, it's pretty straight forward. ]
"Remember it".
[ Hmm. He sends a suspicious glance to the screen. ]
The fact that they're even calling it a "discovery" makes it seem like someone planted it here to be found. Would CERES actually do that?
[ He taps his chin. Clarke's idea is a good one, though. ]
I dunno. Why don't we give it a shot?
[ And since he's on a roll...! Yosuke turns back to the command prompt and pushes the enter key a few times, trying to see if he can pull something else up. If that doesn't work, then he tries typing... ]
MENU
[ ? A+ hacker here. ]
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