Everything is normal today during the early hours of the morning. There's really no hint, no way of knowing, no anything that could indicate that CERES -- and thus Cerealia -- is about to irrevocably change. There would be birds chirping, if there were birds, but since there aren't any, there's just the constant sounds of a city in motion, humming with technology even that early in the morning.
And then, regardless of where you are or what you're doing or how early it is, everyone's CereVices flicker on to show a perhaps-familiar, perhaps-unfamiliar face.
Bellona Recreare, the business owner of Cerealia and CEO of CERES, stares at everyone with a flat, cold look. She doesn't seem happy.
(When is she ever?)  It has come to my attention that there has been industrial espionage and corporate sabotage in CERES' personnel. Such a thing will not be tolerated.
Due to this, Mosley's employment with CERES has been terminated. Please now direct any public relations questions to 1-800-7322934844444.
Good day.
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PHASE I [ 6 00 ] Bright and early, not long after that sudden announcement by Bellona, you may decide to go back to sleep, or you may decide to get up and go about your day (or you may not have woken up at all).
Either way, it doesn't matter.
Because your apartment is broken.
The entire apartment. The door is locked shut (and that sucker is solid metal so it might be time to try a window), the HOLO(gm) is flickering wildly between settings, and the blender is out for your blood. Anything technological in any way (that is CERES-brand or has been tampered with by CERES) will be malfunctioning in a way that comes across as... oddly malicious.
Now's a bad time for the late sleepers to realize that the beds, too, have auto-control tech functionality. Hope you enjoy that electroshock wake up call, or the fact that the bed could fling you totally across the room.
PHASE II [ 1000 ] The rest of the city isn't faring so well either.
The trains are completely out of commission; even if the doors do open, it's probably not a good idea to get on. If you do, it looks like the doors will slam shut behind you, and the train will go hurtling forward at dangerous speeds with sudden stops. Many of the shops can't be accessed at all, automated doors refusing to open, and worst of all, every single last piece of tech in Cerealia now seems to have the sole goal of Making Your Life Hard.
The Pleasure District is flooded now that the spas are broken, but hey -- at least the perfume ensures that water smells good, and it's pretty warm. That's good, right? Maybe go for a nice swim.
The CERES police bots are out of control, chasing people down to arrest them for imagined crimes (What do you mean you aren't a closet voyeur?), and heaven forbid you're around any of the auto shops when everything goes totally wrong. The auto-drive feature in many of CERES's cars seem to be a little... finicky today. It doesn't seem like anywhere in the city is exempt from this. Good luck.
And towards the end of the second day of this insanity, the train, with whatever unfortunate passengers are on it, will derail. It crashes into part of the shopping district, leveling buildings and leaving the wrecked overturn husk of a train resting there uselessly.
Suddenly, things don't seem so harmless anymore.
PHASE III [ 1100 ] Of course... you're CERES-owned too.
Your code, rather, is made and owned by CERES, and it's inevitable with the craziness going on that it would soon affect everyone's code as well. So as the hour approaches noon, a few unlucky souls may start to notice that things are just Not Quite Right with them. Their powers may be on the fritz, functioning entirely wrong or not at all, or even stranger -- fire powers turning into water, ice into flame, electricity brings mud. Your clothing might suddenly change when your coding glitches, or it might be gone entirely. You may suddenly have an uncontrollable urge to start singing, or frolicking. You may suddenly be wildly in love with the first person (or robot or mirror) that you see, unable to stop it until the odd glitching wears off.
And then, just like that, you're back to normal, if a bit more tired than before. How troublesome.
There are also moments where what appears to be an ID number appears on the back of your neck in glowing light blue numbers. Each of these codes is a 7 digit number, with an E at the front of the number. It appears that the longer you've been in Cerealia, the lower the number is -- like a brand of some sort. You may not be able to see it yourself with it on the back of your neck like that, but everyone else sure can.
PHASE IV [ 1645 ] And, just like that, on the last day of this madness, the city goes dark. The lights cut out. The technology shuts off. Every last robot in Cerealia is completely and totally down, and can no longer be booted up. Even when the lights come back on in a few hours... the robots remain dead.
Cerealia's a lot harder to function in without those handy dandy robots running the place. It's also a lot more desolate, and rather quiet.
Slowly but surely, the rest of the technology will boot itself back up towards the end of the last day. But the robots remain broken, and cannot be fixed. In fact, opening them up will reveal that nothing's wrong with them at all... they just won't wake up.
As time ticks by, it doesn't look like Bellona will address anything on the network about the events and all people are left to do now is... learn how to function again. Without any help.
BONUS [ ???? ] If you were a stupid brave enough soul to log into ViViD during this time (or were unfortunately glitched there, which could happen), you will find that ViViD is in... safe mode. It's struggling to boot up, and even when you finally enter, you'll find yourself wandering through skeleton levels of half-completed scenery and incomplete quests. There are readings in the corner of each level that can be seen now, one about Energy Gain and one about Energy Loss, and just as the gain goes up the longer you are there, the loss, too, rises. At first, it's fascinating, and it isn't particularly dangerous... but then it becomes clear that you can't actually log out.
You can't exit Safe Mode at all.
Slowly, it feels as though you can breathe less and less, that the empty walls of the level are closing in on you... and there's nothing you can do. Unless you are or find a particularly genius hacker and they can access the source code and find the exit buried inside that code within the next few minutes... there's nothing to be done.
And then everything goes dark.
You'll wake up the next IC day, with those same energy readings marked on your wrist like some sort of bright blue digital tattoo. When you wake in the mornings, it will read at 100% and slowly go down during the course of the day until you sleep. It will fade after three IC days.
And from now on, ViViD always has those energy levels in the corner, even when it's fixed. They always seem to be recording you, every time you're in ViViD. Strange.
[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ] |
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III-B
Namine-san?!
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[ At the sound of her name, she flinches. She wasn't moving much before, but now she grows even more still, if that were possible, and then the trees flicker. Just for a second it's somewhere else entirely, a familiar ballroom, and then another blink and it's a forest again, only this time there's a distinct note of the forest in the ViViD level where they first met interspersed with trees that look suspiciously like they'd belong in the area around Konoha. ]
... Rock?
[ Her voice is quiet but tense, just a little bit disbelieving. Planting a hand in the fake grass, she turns to peer at him over her shoulder. She doesn't look happy to see him; there's something almost fearful in her expression. ]
Why are you here--?
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But Namine is his priority, and he focuses his attention on her. The fact that she looks fearful and unhappy does stop him in his tracks, though. He frowns as he looks towards her and speaks hesitantly.]
I- I do not know. I simply... followed a number of odd occurrences, and- and it brought me here.
...Is it alright that I am here?
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[ But that doesn't seem to have left her any happier. Her expression only darkens at his explanation, eyes flicking briefly toward the trail she's left behind her - behind him too, now - and back to him again. They don't linger long before she turns her face away, shoulders rising slightly, guiltily. At his question she pauses, faltering. ]
It's dangerous.
[ Which means 'alright' probably isn't a word that could be used to describe the situation. ]
You shouldn't have come here.
[ Not that she means to say he's at fault; it's not accusatory, it's sad. ]
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Then... I apologize. But, if it is dangerous, then that is all the more reason for me to be here.
[His frowns subtly shifts to a light smile.]
Namine-san, I am here for you against any danger!
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But--
[ There's a tinge of disbelief in her voice that she rethinks the moment after its said, cutting herself off instead. Automatically, she twists to look at him, and there's the incredulity again - because she knew he was the sort to be brave, it's true, but she knows as well the gravity of the threat and it's all too easy to forget that other people don't, and perhaps don't even care. ]
[ He's... smiling. Even now, he smiles, and no matter how lightly, it still takes her aback. More confusing is that she actually feels a little better to see it, and surely there's no cause for that. Her lips part in her surprise and then she presses them firmly together again, brow furrowing as she gives her head a shake. ]
I'm not the one in danger.
[ Actually, that's not entirely true. She's always wondered whether her powers can effect her own memories, if she can be hurt the same way she can hurt others; she's more likely to find out now than she has ever been. But she says it all the same with conviction: ]
You are.
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Then, that is even less of a concern. Namine-san, I was trained in the shinobi way. Dangerous situations are my everyday life!
[He's being as confident as he can for Namine's sake, because even if the danger is just towards him, he doesn't think that it's safe to leave her in this mysterious and wrong-feeling area. Lee slides into a fighting stance to communicate his readiness.]
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This isn't something you can fight...!
[ And while his point may be valid in other situations, she has to remind herself that it isn't quite as much so now. ]
It could destroy you if you aren't careful.
[ By 'careful', she means 'very, very far away'. ]
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Namine-san... I will be very careful, I promise. But I do not understand. What is this danger?
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[ And then he asks what she was hoping he wouldn't - what she knows he has a right to understand. Her face crumples, as though some vain hope has been crushed. This time she doesn't turn away, but for just a moment she allows herself to squeeze her eyes shut, lets herself not tell him, lets herself pretend not to be who she is for one more instant. Then, very quietly, she says, ]
It's me.
[ 'It's always been me,' she doesn't say. Because this has always been what she was, what she could do. The only difference now is that she isn't in control of it anymore. ]
Whatever they've done - it's effecting me, too.
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What...? [He replies quietly, shocked for the moment that Namine could possibly be a 'danger'. But Lee shakes his head.]
If they have done something to you, then I will not leave your side until this has been undone! I am here for you, Namine-san!
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[ Because it's touching, really it is, but at the same time, she feels a rush of frustration. Oh, it's his nature, the heroic types are always that way; too good, too kind, too stubborn when it comes to helping. She knows that and respects it and is comforted by it, and yet-- and yet she almost wants to shake him, wants to tell him to stop being an idiot and leave already, even though that isn't actually what she wishes for. ]
Don't you get it--?
[ It's pleading, almost, though what she's pleading for she isn't sure. For him to understand and make his own choice, for him to leave whether he understands or not - all she knows is he's in danger and she can't find it in herself to willingly be selfish without at least fighting the impulse. ]
I might hurt you - or even kill you, and there's nothing either of us can do about it...!
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As possibly expected of such a heroic type, Rock Lee ultimately shakes his head firmly at those claims of hers.]
N-Namine-san... I am sorry to contradict you, but your words ring with falsehoods! I know you, and you would never do something like that! And... no matter how insurmoutable an endeavor may seem, nothing is impossible! [He raises a fist in anticipation.] Whatever this problem may be, we can fight it. We will fight it!
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[ No. When she speaks, when she begs, she doesn't do it loudly. It's quiet, it's desperate, her voice breaks. ]
You don't understand...!
[ There are tears beginning to well up in her eyes that she blinks through without realizing it, mouth trembling. ]
You don't-- [ Her breath rattles with her sharp inhale. ] I can't-- I can't.
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N-Namine-san...! Please, please do not cry! You can. You can, I am sure of it. I believe in you! Please...
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[ But her attempts to compose herself also give her time to think, and the more she does that, the more she comes to recognize her own failings in this. No, he doesn't understand - won't understand, because that's the kind of person he is. She can hardly blame him. But she-- she has always had the obligation of trying to do what's best for the heroes who are too good, and it seems that that duty persists, even now. Exhaling slowly, she swipes at her eyes to free them from the remainder of the saltwater. ]
You know?
[ It's quiet, and maybe if she weren't in the process of experiencing several of her worst fears simultaneously, she'd manage some note of false cheer in that. She doesn't. In the end, all she achieves is a somewhat disconcerting evenness. ]
You're right.
[ Her hands come to rest in her lap, but she doesn't look up at him. ]
Thank you, Rock. ... And I'm sorry.
[ The fingers of one hand curl inward. At first, there is nothing, and then - a strange, roiling Darkness begins to seep out of the ground underneath her. It doesn't reach for him, doesn't spread; it lingers around her and begins to build up from there. If he means to stop her from making her escape, he'd best be quick. ]
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But as he looks towards he, he glances down and sees that darkness pooling. Thinking it is after Namine, he panics.]
Namine-san, look out!!
[With that, Lee will swiftly try to grab her hand and pull her away from the darkness!]
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[ She almost squeaks as she's pulled away. It doesn't take much; she's a tiny thing, after all, more skin and bones than anything else. The darkness lingers for a few moments before slowly dissipating. ]
Rock--
[ Dramatic exit thoroughly ruined, she looks at him with a disbelieving look that verges on a pout. ]
I was trying to--
[ Her breath catches, then huffs out. Thwarted, she's left to frown as guilt overtakes her; she doesn't quite have the heart to tell him that she meant to abscond. ]
....
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It is alright! I apologize for pulling you like that, but I had to save you! From darkness... Do not worry! All should now be well.
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Not everything.
[ Is well, that is. But she's coming to understand that there really is no deterring him - as much as it sits poorly with her to let him put himself in danger, she'd hate to see how he'd react if she did manage to make her escape. ]
But... you're too kind. [ Which is probably both her actual opinion and a way of expressing her gratitude for his supposed rescue. The principle of the thing is worth being grateful for, she supposes. ] Like you always are.
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Ah... Thank you, Namine-san! I try to be as kind as I can. But... You deserve it. You deserve the absolute best kindness, and as your friend I hope to show it to you!
[He pumps a fist in determination.]
But all will still be well. If any other problems remain, I will take them on head-on!
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See?
[ Too kind, just as she said. Her breath catches in what's half sigh and half laugh, mouth quirking once, very briefly. What a fellow this Rock Lee is. If she weren't already familiar with the hero type, she'd be at a loss for how to deal with such persistent optimism. ]
I know you will. [ 'They just aren't the kind you can punch,' she doesn't say, because she imagines it would not deter him. ] But we... probably shouldn't stay here. Not outside like this.
[ If she can't discourage him from sticking around, they can at least move somewhere they're less likely to be accosted by additional parties and/or furious robots. ]
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You are right. We should hide from danger! But... hm... At a time like this, what would the safest building be...?
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Somewhere there aren't a lot of robots. [ A beat. Not quite under her breath, ] Or a lot of people. Somewhere you wouldn't normally think to go, I guess. ... Does that sound like anywhere?
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Perhaps the park! But that is outdoors... or one of those spiritual shrines? They seem to be hard to spot with the naked eye!
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