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.
|
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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no subject
I had no idea. [ And it sobers her somewhat to hear as much. Resuming her task, she's quiet for a moment or two, clearly trying to collect herself as she finishes pulling the article of clothing into place. (The jacket is too big for her. She shifts it around to try to find a comfortable position but is still swimming in it. All the better - she folds her arms around her midsection, holding it closed against her to hide at least part of her state of undress, though her feet remain conspicuously bare. There are a few minor irritations on her knees and other places; she's probably going to have bruises from her earlier rough landing.) ] But I should have known. This wouldn't be happening if it didn't have to do with CERES.
[ Or so she assumes, but it seems like a reasonable guess. More importantly, ] Were any of you hurt?
no subject
It's definitely something to do with CERES. It's all their technology that's malfunctioning.
[ Yu shakes his head. ] No, thankfully. We'll have to keep being careful as long as this lasts.
[ Of course, there's the matter of his Shadow... all the Investigation Team's Shadows, potentially. But he doesn't mention that. No point in scaring her. ]
no subject
Is there anything in the city that isn't their technology?
[ It occurs to her faster than she might have expected; it's never sat well with her how many things they have their hands in. There's a sinking feeling in her stomach that at least finds some marginal relief in his answer. Exhaling, she nods, face still grim. ]
I'm glad to hear it. I guess we can only hope everyone else will be as lucky.
[ She casts a brief glance up at the building. Surely there are others having similar experiences as they speak, but it'd be hard to know where for sure. Besides, there are other concerns. Remembering herself, she looks back at him, expression softening slightly with the faintest hint of guilt. ]
Thank you, by the way. For the jacket. [ And she would have said it earlier if she hadn't been in such a state. (Should have said it earlier.) ]
no subject
[ Yu's mouth stays a little pinched as he watches her. She has no shoes, and now that scrape on her face is becoming apparent... she's not badly hurt, but she's still hurt and with little to her name.
He immediately shakes his head when she thanks him. ]
It's the least I can do. Actually, I can heal you, too. As long as you're alright with it.
no subject
Heal me?
[ Perhaps it's not truly surprising; she remembers, after all, the seemingly magical appearance of his Persona. How far that ability stretched into other realms of spellcasting she wasn't sure at the time, but it leaves her more prepared now. ]
I'm alright with it. [ That he's proven himself worthy of some measure of trust is suggested by the fact that she says that before she asks, ] But what kind of healing do you mean?
no subject
[ That spinning blue tarot card appears before him, and unlike when they met, this time Yu crushes it with his hand. An elegant figure appears, her smile coolly mysterious. For now she does nothing except to gesture one of her feathered arms in a small twirl. ]
... to Isis.
no subject
Another one of your friends...!
[ The note of delight is unmistakable. Naminé offers an inclination of her head, half nod and half bow. ]
It's very nice to meet you.
[ To Yu; her eyes linger on Isis for a moment before flicking back to him. ]
She's lovely.
no subject
Another of his friends, huh... his expression warms in a nostalgic way at that. ]
Yeah. She is. [ A friend. Even if the source of this Persona - the woman who made its existence possible - isn't here. But his bonds won't be severed by distance, he knows.
He nods when Namine says she's lovely; it's a bit of an objective thing, isn't it? It's not pride, simply acknowledgement that his bond with Margaret created something beautiful. ]
Just hold on for a second, okay?
[ He'll look at Isis and tilt his head slightly. Whatever mental command he's given her is enough for the Persona to understand, as she spreads one feathered arm. A light and warm healing glow will spread over Namine, rapidly healing her injuries and taking away her pain until she's as good as new. Once her job is done, Isis will dissolve into shards of blue light and leave them alone again. ]
There. How's that?
no subject
[ So she's put a little more at ease than she was before despite the unknown nature of the assistance being provided to her, and she nods readily enough when asked to hold on. Curious, she looks between Yu and his Persona a couple of times before the glow takes hold of both her and her attention. Distracted, she looks up in time to manages only a quick, ]
Thank you--!
[ before Isis departs. Looking (at least physically and aside from her state of dress) right as rain again, she smiles a fraction more widely than before. ]
Much better. Nothing hurts anymore. I wasn't expecting--
[ For it to be that effective, but she shakes her head and discards the thought. ]
Thank you. [ Since, you know, he's the one who got the ball rolling there. ] You've been so generous with me. I... hardly know how to repay you.
no subject
Yu can't help the way his smile warms when she thanks his Persona. That's ... rare. No one really thinks to do that. Personas are ... extensions of the user. But Namine treats them like they're their own beings. Which ... in a way, isn't inaccurate. It's a good reminder of what helped him create all his Personas: all the people he knew and cared for in Inaba.
When she cuts herself off curiosity briefly flickers in his expression, but he won't pursue it. Just shake his head slowly. ]
You don't need to thank me for things like this. We're friends, right? [ Warmly. ] It's no trouble.
no subject
Friends?
[ Blinking, she almost breathes the word out in spite of how close she comes to startling. For a moment she stares, the part to her lips becoming more pronounced - and then she turns her rising, almost sheepish smile toward the ground. ]
Yes, I suppose we are, aren't we?
[ There's a note of surprise that lingers in her voice. By now she has been granted the title on a few occasions by a few people, and yet she still never thinks to take it for herself. As she considers it, though - isn't the feeling she gets whenever their paths cross how friendship is intended to be? She always feels safer with Yu around. ]
That's funny. I've never thought about it that way before.
no subject
It tugs on his heart in a way that draws him to her. Yes, this girl is his friend, and he'd do a lot to protect her gentle kindness. There's a quiet fondness touching his features and making them a little softer. ]
Thought about it that way? [ He tilts his head. He thinks he sees what she's driving at, but... could that really be it?
Combined with her surprise...
... has she ... never had many friends? ]
What do you mean?
no subject
Well... not many people have said anything like that to me. Called me a 'friend', that is.
[ Her shoulders move in what's almost a shrug but doesn't quite make it there, because it's about then that she realizes how that must sound and wilts slightly, blinking as she tries to regroup. Her arms shift around her midsection, though she stops short of shuffling her feet. She looks very mildly embarrassed, although her candor keeps her from giving in entirely to that sentiment. Her voice lowers slightly in volume, though she doesn't say it for her own benefit when she adds, ]
I guess I just-- didn't expect you to feel that way, that's all.
[ Nor did she realize that she did, as a matter of fact, because her own feelings have never seemed to her to be of much consequence, and she rarely has cause to attempt to put names to them. (Being of the opinion that they didn't exist for most of her life kind of put a damper on that.) ]