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!

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You're saying it's the same as the robot we just saw, right? ... Yeah, they do seem similar. I've seen ones that kind of look like it too, a couple of times.

[ But that's a long conversation, and Yosuke's hitting buttons. Were he more put together he'd probably whoop and congratulate him... that kind of energy isn't really happening right now.

He can muster a smile towards that stroke of luck and the responsible jrpg character, before he moves to follow Nico cautiously. ]

That's what I'm saying, yeah. [ She makes a note to pull her memories later so she can be sure, but Clarke gets the feeling they're the same type of robot.

When the door opens, she looks forward to what is presumably the exit, before glancing over her shoulder to the hall they'd just come from. There were still two doors left unopened, and she can't help but wonder if there are answers.

So, while the others start scoping out the potential exit, Clarke's going to start backtracking to check out those wooden doors. ]

[ Yosuke doesn't recognize the robot, though he may wrack his mind for it later. Robots? There are a lot of robots to keep track of around here, it seems. Adrien follows Nico, as one should expect, Clarke goes the other way. Yosuke does a double take, looking back and forth between the groups. ]

Uh--hey.

[ He steps away from the console. ]

Where're you going?

[ The room beyond that door opens up to just stairs, and there's even light at the top of the stairs -- it might very well be an exit.

Clarke, on the other hand, is backtracking now, and when she opens one of the wooden doors, she'll find that it opens to a small room that has a desk with controls. It might control the other parts of the building, it might control that room they were in.

It might control something else entirely.

But it is on and functioning. ]

[Now that they hopefully have found a way out, Nico glances back when he hears Yosuke asking something. Seeing Clarke walk off and not wanting the group to get split up, he follows after her.

Once he sees that there is only more controls behind the door, he again leaves that to the others. Computers aren't his strong suit. He glances down the hall at the other wooden door on the opposite side, wondering if it's another control room of some sort, but he stays to see if anyone messes around with the controls in this one, wanting to be present if it shows something like the other one.

[ ... Oh, gods. Backtracking is definitely something that a horror movie protagonist with no sense of survival would do, especially with the exit right in front of them, but... to be honest, he feels Clarke's need to check what they've left unchecked. So he looks backwards in slight surprise, looking to Yosuke: ]

... The stuff we didn't check. The other doors, I mean. There's stairs with light at the end up there, too. [ ... ] Come on, let's stick together.

[ That's what he offers, as he follows the group out into the hallway (and he tries his best not to remember what happened here shortly before). With the exit so close, maybe there is no harm in checking everything else. Especially when he peeks into the wooden door and sees the desk with controls.

He could go into the other wooden door and try to save time, but that's probably feeling recklessly safe where they're not. Safe, that is. ]

What do you think this one's for?

[ We definitely need our master hacker Yosuke Hanamura. ]

Not like it comes with an instruction manual. [ ...well. Unless it does.

Clarke's going to sit down in the chair and start looting around for anything that might resemble an instruction manual or directions of some kind. Just in case a nice robot or other sentient being decided to be thoughtful and leave one behind for the next operator.

While she continues looking over the desk and surrounding area, she also takes a moment to type a quick > MENU command into the keyboard. One of those things might work, right? ]

Someone should probably keep an eye at the door in case we need to leave. [ Should probably take appropriate precautions, right? ]

[ Here's Yosuke.

Here's Yosuke looking back and forth between what is hopefully the exit and what is definitely going backwards. Are they--seriously? ]

Guys...

[ He even peeks out the door. There's light! There's a light! He starts walking back to the rest of the group, hands on his hips. ]

Hey, that might actually be the way out--

[ And then notices the screens. ]

Er...Yeah, sure.

[ He rubs the back of his neck, glancing over to where Nico had wandered, but decides to stand between the two doors at the entrance of the original room. Should he call his Persona just in case? ]

You think there's another computer in the other one? Maybe one of those controlled the dogbots.

[ No instruction manual, no directions! Thoughtful robots clearly don't exist in this place, there are only rude ones.

The computer lights up, but the command isn't accepted; instead, the screen displays little more than a blinking cursor.

There's also the ominous noise of the door that leads towards the light swinging shut, and the door across the way locking with a click. ]

[Nico frowns when he hears the locks closing. If the way up those stairs does lead to an exit, he could probably manage to shadow travel the other three to safety if they can't get it open again. He'd probably immediately pass out for a good awhile due to the effort, but if it's passing out and getting to safety or dying, there's no decision to think about.

And even if the door across the way did lock, well... Between the thing Yosuke summoned before and Clarke's strength, he doesn't think a wooden door would stand up very well against them.] Do we want to go take a look at the other door...?

[While a tiny part of him is curious about what other information they might find, he'd rather get out of here, but he's staying put until everyone's out.

[ ....... Aw, no elite hacking skills here. Adrien makes his way over then, looking over at Clarke. ]

Maybe try typing some of the names we saw in the room? Like... Merui—

[ until he's cut off by that sound, which means Adrien's turning in the direction of the doors, a slight rush of oh running through his mind. Well, add this to the laundry list of mistakes they've made lately. Excuse him as he looks over to Clarke and Nico, then makes his way to the other wooden door.

So, yeah, that's his answer. ]

Yosuke, did the door with the stairs close?

[ Calling that out. This is... seriously exhausting. But just leaving without checking everything is a waste, so he just... shoves everything aside again for a little bit longer. ]

[ Clarke doesn't seem bothered by the closing of doors or clicking of locks, because the screen not responding to her is irritating enough without adding on the current situation change as well. They'll get out, she knows that much.

Her hands hover over the keyboard, tempted to type in Adrien's suggestion, but- But she saw the Drabwurld. She saw it, and her incessant need for answers drives her to typing it in.

First it's > DRABWURLD but that's soon followed after with > ALLAIDH DARACH

If neither of those return anything, > MERUI will be inputted next.

(She wishes that Raven or Monty were there; they would actually be able to figure this out.) ]

Uhhhh...

[ Yosuke winces, stepping back into the long room they'd been in before. The screen is still black and...yeah, the door sure is shut. He cringes. ]

...Yeah. It's closed. I dunno if it was on a timer or something...or did opening the other room close this one off?

[ He goes to the end of the room and--well...hold on a sec. Looking upwards, he waits for a blue light to form around his feet, the Magician tarot card floating down from the ceiling. Calling his Persona, just in case, seems like a good idea. ]

Takehaya Susano-o!

[ Good ol' flameo is back. With his Persona floating behind him, Yosuke decides to reach out and yank on the door to see if it's locked, too. ]

[ Inputting all of those words receives error messages -- it's not until Merui is inputted that the terminal does anything.

Then the computer beeps, and offers up the prompt: ]

Begin Transmission?

[ The door's definitely locked now, Yosuke! ]

[ He really just wants to leave, honestly, but he'll shove it down.

Excuse him as he tries to open the wooden door! ]

Clarke typed something on the keyboard. It might've been that... The other door shut too.

[ Okay. Well. He's here, and they're there, so he crouches down in front of the door and looks back towards Nico and Clarke, along with the room Yosuke is in, before he whispers (assuming the door is locked): ]

Plagg. Sorry... I know you're tired. Can you try and open the door? Just, get out if it turns bad.

[ and that little black cat will come out of his hoodie with a sigh, before disappearing into the door to get that done. ]

[ Of course they come with error messages; she couldn't have expected it to be that easy to see home. But the third option, well- That's different.

While Adrien is busy with the door, Clarke stares for only a moment before she hits the > Y input, though she has the thought to dig out her Cerevice and stick it on record before she taps the enter key, because why would she ever consult those around her as to if she should or not? She fully realizes that transmission could mean any number of things, but hey, escape plans can be made on the fly, right? ]

[ Damn. Yosuke gives a grated sigh. ]

Yeah, it's locked good! I'm gonna....

[ He looks down the long room, back towards the console. The screens are out, but...could he start them back up again by playing with the keyboard all over? Then again, that creepy robot face had, uh, graced them just before cutting out.

Is it worth it?

He actually looks up to his Persona for a second opinion. His Persona shrugs. ]

How's it going on your end, guys?

[ He walks back to the console, trying to see if he can work the same magic again. After all, he's had a pretty good run with the electronics thus far, right?

He presses the enter key to see if the screen will come back to life, and then > ESCAPE ]

[ Plagg's going to be totally unsuccessful in opening that door -- and Yosuke's going to find that the same trick doesn't work again. The door doesn't open.

But even more worryingly, Clarke's going to get.....captcha'd.

Are you human?, the screen displays, and then it checks.

It removes the air in the room and hallway, because after all, robots don't need air. If the robot can continue, then clearly it isn't human. It's a robotic captcha.

But the others are going to have all of about two or three minutes before they no longer have enough air to function. ]

[Nico watches as Clarke types, looking through the door down the hallway at the others every so often just to make sure they're still there.

When the air starts getting removed though, Nico decides it is time to go, expression looking grim.]

Adrien, Yosuke, get in here now!

[ Not working. Plagg comes out of the door with a shake of the head, retreating back to Adrien's hoodie. This definitely doesn't sound good, and he can put why that didn't work to the back of his mind as he moves back to the room. He doesn't feel the oxygen deprivation or anything just yet... but he's not about to test anything.

He'll peek into the room Yosuke's in before he makes his way back to Nico and Clarke.

He can't do anything but— ]

Yosuke!

[ They can't die, not all of them, not now. ]

[ Well that's inconvenient.

You know what? That was rude, and even Clarke without her humanity thinks it was, because hey, she isn't human, but oxygen is still a requirement here!!! ]

Wait. There's no way I'm leaving yet.

[ Because just for that she's going to start breaking things. Not just anything, but very carefully rifling through or breaking open the equipment in the room until she can find a hard drive, disk, or other electronic storage; even just paperwork that seems important. She's bent set on finding something that she knows will contain information; she doesn't seem to mind about the whole oxygen thing, if only because she's fully aware that if she suffocates from the thinning air, she'll just revive back and have a couple minutes before she suffocates again.

May as well see if she can get something out of it in the process.

(If she doesn't find anything in this room, she'll return to the original one and begin tearing through it as well. Clearly if she's going to die, she wants to make sure it's worth it.) ]

[ Yosuke doesn't register what's happening immediately. There is the sound of something and he looks up and around. Vents? He notices vents for the first time. Why are they suddenly activated? The computer doesn't respond, though. Damn. And then Nico and Adrien are shouting for him. ]

Okay!

[ He spares the door one last look before trotting down to the end of the long room. His Persona follows, though it flickers. ]

I can't get the door open. The computer isn't responding anymore.

[ And flickers again. ]

What's going on?

[ He's starting to feel kind of light-headed. The fact that coming back means he has to look at Jaune's dead body isn't very comforting either. ]

[Nico follows after Clarke, telling the others firmly:] Stick close to me. I can do something to get us out of here fast but you have to be holding on to me. [If they start running out of time, he'll grab them and dive for the nearest shadow, hoping that if he yells at Clarke to grab him, she'll stop searching and do so.

He just hopes his shadow traveling will work. It's a one time only trick until he's able to rest and recover for a bit because he's likely to pass out shortly after he does so for a good while due to shadow traveling with multiple people. Hopefully they won't land in more trouble if he's able to pull it off; he doesn't want to end up being dead weight for the others to carry around if they do, but if it's a choice between 'I'm pretty sure we are going to die if we don't get out of here soon' or 'We might end up in trouble and I will probably be passed out for it,' he's going with the latter.]

Edited 2016-06-06 04:58 (UTC)

[ Clarke will be able to wreck some havoc, and grab a few things that look technologically important, but then Nico will shadow travel them all out (unless Clarke doesn't go).

If she doesn't go with them, she'll die; it's inevitable with how all of the oxygen is gone. If she does, she will wake up 3 IC days later in the park, and will occasionally find herself to be short of breath for 2 IC days. All other effects from the interlude will have been reset by her death.

Regardless, those that do shadow travel with Nico will be able to get out, and it will take them right out and away to safety -- presuming he takes them to the original door they managed to open with Yosuke's "Escape" command.

They will be deposited into a room which will reveal itself to be the basement of an empty building in the Entertainment District. When they get themselves out there, they will be light-headed from a lack of oxygen, but otherwise fine. They won't be able to go back from where they came from, even by shadow traveling; it's as if the path is now gone.

The pieces of tech that Clarke managed to salvage are unfortunately mostly junk, but one single one of the pieces will be of value if someone is able to decode it. It will take some time and effort even for a talented hacker, but eventually they will be able to pull from it a single picture with the file name DC.png ]

[ It's getting hard to think. He jumps when he sees Clarke just start going at things, but what really gets him off kilter is what Nico says. Yosuke does a double take, inhaling sharply through his nose, though it feels too shallow. ]

...What'dya mean you've got something that can get us out of here fast?

[ He's almost in disbelief. He doesn't really know any of these people well, but he would assumed if someone had a trump card in their pocket, they would have brought it out, you know...right after they were kidnapped and stuck in a sewer?? It's a very visible change in Yosuke's demeanor, his concern and curiosity changing to something far more expressive and, frankly, upset.

His Persona flickers again behind him, as if it's having trouble staying manifested. ]

Are you saying you could've gotten us outta here this entire time?

[ Because, what? SERIOUSLY? He throws his arms up. ]

Are you frickin' serious? What the hell, man!? Someone died! [ He motions to Jaune's body behind him as he takes in another breath. He's feeling dizzy. His Persona begins to fade. ] This entire fiasco could've been avoided--I can't--

[ He coughs, then gasps, holding at his throat. ]

Why didn't you say som-- [ Gasp. Susano-o disappears entirely and Yosuke holds onto the wall. ] --I can't--

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zombiedude - 2016-06-09 05:21 (UTC) - Expand

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