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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I think it'd be for the best, yes. It's a sushi restaurant. Nothing complicated, but there's not much technology involved. The owner's from some variation of Earth as well, I think.
[There's that small comfort, at least.]
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Though a reminder of home does sound appealing. I can't lie about that.
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I'll treat you, and yes, it's safe. He uses only traditional tools. So, there's nothing electronic in there except for the lights. Which haven't attacked me yet.
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What can she do? What can she do with her mind and emotions in a jumble? Her greatest asset is her intellect, and on the back of having her mind controlled she can hardly think straight.
She reaches up to take Rei's hand in hers.] ...very well. Let's try to not take too long, though.
I'd be an exceptionally poor detective if I ignored the public need.
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[Rei was adamant about finding a sushi place that only did the traditional stuff after Archer left. This was it.
With Naoto's hand now in hers, she curls her fingers up around it and starts to walk, leading the way down the darkening, gloomy sidewalk.]
And I'd be a poor shrine maiden if I didn't do what I could, as well. But for right now, we have a moment.
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Social norms are, as always, a topic that elude her.] So it seems we do. [Naoto says low, and under her breath.]
...you aren't upset?
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Why should I be? I'm upset for you, but not for myself.
[A pause, and she decides to just spit it out.]
I'm physically attracted to girls, more than boys, Naoto-kun. A girl kissing me is hardly new, or grounds to be upset.
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[She casts her gaze back down closer to the ground.] That doesn't bother me, if you're concerned about that. [Boy, are her cheeks feeling hot.] To be frank, I haven't given my own... preferences, such as they are, much thought either way. That you're also a woman doesn't make much of a difference to me; I would likely have reacted in that manner no matter your gender.
[She says just a hair too quickly, betraying her awkwardness.] I received several love letters from female classmates while attending Yasogami High, but I can't say I ever gave them more than a second thought. I had other thoughts on my mind than romance.
[Boy, she's saying way more than she's accustomed to.] Not that you're particularly interested.
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[That's something positive, at least. But she's not going to allow that last statement to lie. No, not when there's an opportunity to both amuse herself and possibly boost Naoto's self esteem.]
And I wouldn't say that I'm not interested, either. You're a lovely girl, with a sharp wit. I admire that and knowing more about you would be nice.
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Naoto's experience with being flirted with is pretty much nil. She reaches up with her free hand to grab the brim of her cap and tug it down almost as a reflex.] I...
...don't really know what to say to that. [Let's be honest here. She is so out of her element.] My appearance is-- it's certainly not something I think much about. At least, not in terms of... what is socially considered typical of women, and... [Naoto. Naoto, stop talking. You aren't actually saying anything.]
I don't mind your company. [Yes.]
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And that reaction, well, that's cute. That's extremely cute. So cute it almost burns, and she giggles. She can't help it.]
It's a good look for you. And I'm glad you don't mind my company.
[By now she's reached the restaurant, and pushes open the door for the very embarrassed detective.]
I'm just telling you that I think you're smart, and I think you're interesting. Don't worry. I don't bite or anything.
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It's not wrong, but she's more flustered than on edge at this point. She steps through the door, and quickly finds a seat. The tables are... low, so she has to kneel. How traditional.
She very much doesn't look up at Rei.] I'm not... very experienced with social interaction. [She mumbles.] That should be obvious.
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It is a little apparent. [A beat, and a nod to the waiter.] Order whatever you'd like, by the way. My treat this time.
[She orders some very simple sashimi before really focusing more attention on Naoto.]
But what I meant to say was, you don't need to be shy. I...had a lot of trouble with people, in the past, myself. I didn't have many friends growing up. [She still doesn't, back home.]
In that, at least, I think we've got common ground.
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She doesn't look back at Rei, until the other girl says what she does-- which gets Naoto to look up and meet her eyes. After a moment, she nods, slowly.] ...your deduction is correct.
Rise-san, Yu-san, and the others... I suppose you could call them the first friends I've ever had, to be honest. Growing up, I was more interested in my prospective career path and following the Shirogane line. [It comes out easily, easily enough to surprise her. She has gotten better at talking about herself, after all.]
I actually... spent most of my recent life disguising myself as a man, if I'm to tell the truth. Other than my grandfather and his staff, they were the first ones to... meet the real me, you could say.
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I...had a similar thing. Makoto, Usagi, Minako, and Ami were the first friends I had before coming to Cerealia. [She huffs a soft laugh.] And when I showed up, I was alone. The first person who ever reached out to me who wasn't one of my...special people...was Yosuke. [Not Hanamura-san, or Yosuke-kun. Just Yosuke.] He's a strange boy, but I like him.
[Rei holds her thoughts in for a moment, thinking about what she's been told. Haruka masquerades as a man often enough. She doesn't know why, but it is what it is.]
Your grandfather is your caretaker, too?
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[She folds her hands on the table in front of her.] That's correct. My parents were both killed in a car accident when I was very young... almost too young to remember. My grandfather has done his best to raise me ever since then. He's a remarkable man.
He's the third generation in the line of Shirogane private detectives, which would make me the fifth.
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[She saved him from a ghost on a ferris wheel.
Her face lowers a little, an expression of acknowledgement.]
Sounds...a little like me. My mother died, when I was young. My father is...the head of the Liberal Democratic Party. So, he didn't have time to take care of me, and shipped me off to live with my grandfather. He raised me, taught me to manage the shrine we live at.
I'm the third Onmyoujin in my family line, myself.
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The proprietor puts two cups of tea in front of them, steaming hot. She takes hers in both hands, swirling the water slightly. So her mother died young, and her father was never there for her. A politician.] It's nice that he was there for you, then.
Would that make your grandfather the first and your mother the second, or did it skip a generation?
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[Sort of. He'd been a mess inside.
Rei looks down into the tea, thinking quietly about the question. Silent for a long moment, she shakes her head.]
Mother was psychic, but she let her talent atrophy after a while. Grandfather was the first though, yes. I don't know about his father, but he always called me the third.
Did you decide you wanted to be a detective? Or was it more that you wanted to carry on your family legacy?
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She swirls the tea again before sipping it.] I'm not sure that there's much of a difference between the two, to be honest. When I was young, I would always... try to emulate my grandfather, wherever I could. I would dress up in his old clothes, despite them being far too big for me. I would endlessly review his old case files-- it was all so fascinating for me.
[She says, with a nostalgic smile on her face.] From there, you could say I fell in love with the idea of being a detective as much as the reality. Of solving mysteries, of catching criminals. I read so many novels... [Oops, she's being frank again.]
--that is to say, it wasn't exactly a conscious decision to live up to the Shirogane name at first, but I likely wouldn't have fallen into the profession were my grandfather not the one who had raised me.
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That sounds like fate, then.
[Leaning back and drinking some of her tea, Rei purses her lips and thinks over another question. Only one really springs to mind.]
It was the mysterious deaths in Inaba that drew you to meet with your friends, then?
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The central prefecture police were growing frustrated with the lack of progress made on the Inaba murders. They requested my help. [Another sip of tea.] The local Inaba police weren't very happy. A hot shot kid, just here to play his games... that's what they thought of me at the time, I'm sure.
[It's strange, being able to talk about that sort of thing openly. Before, not being taken seriously because of her age (and gender) had been deeply troubling. Now, she's almost able to laugh about it.] Of course, it wasn't their fault that they couldn't make any headway on the murders, not really. There were things at play that even I couldn't have expected.
[The other world. Personas. Shadows. And that one of the detectives investigating it...]
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[But she can already see different. It doesn't take an empath to feel Naoto's passion and joy and desire to help people. The conversation they'd had about even coming here was reason enough.
That she's struggled due to gender, though, barely registers with Rei. She'd grown up in an occupation traditionally given to women, and her life had taken a vastly different course. Only women could hold a Sailor Crystal, and all of that.]
It wasn't, of course, and that must have stung. But in the end, yeah. I can see why nobody from your world would suspect what was actually going on.
[She huffs a soft laugh.]
Naoto-kun, were you pushed into a television, yourself? Was that what made you believe?
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I'd identified a pattern in the case that the local police had overlooked: The victims had appeared on television before their deaths. There were three others, though, who had similarly appeared on television before going missing-- but had turned up unharmed. Yukiko Amagi, Kanji Tatsumi, and Rise Kujikawa... and all three were now spending time together.
It was a reasonable deduction that whatever had happened to the first two victims had happened to those three, as well, but they had managed to survive. The common factor for all of them was a television appearance. [She sips her tea again.] So I began giving interviews to the news.
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That's...clever. It's also dangerous, but honestly I don't know what else I'd have expected from you.
[She doesn't need to know the rest. What she does now is wave a hand and cause a faint ripple in the air. A spell, one learned from Kael'thas and mastered with practice. Simple but...]
I'm not meaning to alarm you, I've just given us a little privacy because I think it's only fair that I share at least something of my nature with you. My...real...nature.
[She looks squarely at the younger girl, fingers holding tight to the cup.]
If you'll hear me out, of course. I want to, but it's a secret that could be dangerous. Yosuke knows, and so does Yu-kun, but I'd rather tell you myself.
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