[open] this ae night, this ae night

[psycholawgy]

Who: People who went to the tower, and then people who want to hear about what happened in the tower!
When: 8/25-8/26.
Where: The CERES Tower, and then the Sanctuary
What: A catch-all log for the CERES Tower Exploration, and then a discussion of it!
Rating/Warning: Will edit when needed.

---

THE TOWER
[ As per the mod post:

All groups will find that the tower is deserted, and all technology is shut off. Through some fiddling, some of CERES’ databases can be accessed, but only in the most basic of safe modes. Hacking will just get everything to shut off again, as it takes too much power from whatever emergency power source allows the systems to turn on.

There are no dangers, but even so, the characters won’t have long in the tower before their code starts to warp strangely. If they stay too long, they will be glitched right out of existence -- and then right outside of the tower. They will find that for the next three ic days, all food tastes burnt and sleeping is extremely unsatisfying, to the point that they don’t even feel like they need it, before they go back to normal. Characters will have a maximum of 3 IC hours in the tower before that point.

Feel free to thread out characters meeting up before the exploration, or bumping into each other in the rather big tower, amongst other shenanigans! ]


THE SANCTUARY
[ there isn't much of a preparation for this, but there will be a text blast alerting everybody to go to the sanctuary if they so please to discuss what people have found in the tower.

as usual, a variety of flavours of pizza is being served. there may not be pizza for everybody however, as athena is rather broke. (sweats) remember to leave your cerevices in the basket by the entrance! ]

Comments

[psycholawgy]

A: FANCY MEETING YOU HERE
[ athena's done a bit of trespassing in the past, but this is the first time she's actually aware that she's risking her neck. she knows that something bad could happen, which is why she's prepared herself for it.

people who may know her might not recognise her right away by the ceres tower entrance. she's wearing a loose black buttoned-down shirt with long sleeves, as well as black pants, and black boots. what happened to all her yellow? oh! let's not forget: she's wearing a hooded cape, and looks more suspicious than anything.. why does she do this?

when she spots someone nearby, she speaks, lowering her voice a bit: ]

What's the password?

[ THIS IS NO TIME FOR JOKES BUT YOU DO YOU, ATHENA. ]


B: I AM SO SORRY...
[ she's with her group now and they're off checking out other things, and she offered to stand guard by one of the doors. she's rather prepared for this excursion which is why she isn't even all that afraid of being caught. she'll be able to fight whatever comes her way!

which is why when a shadow (you) passes her and enters the room, she immediately jumps on it and covers its nose with a cloth wet with chloroform.

feel free to fight it, of course. ]

I've got you now!


C: HELLO, ALONE
[ athena has managed to break away from her group and is now exploring some floor by herself. if anybody from her group's decided to follow her, she sure as hell is unaware.

in any case, she's by a rather large terminal, clicking on some buttons and getting it to work. it doesn't work right away, however, so she decides to kick a machine. finally, the terminal starts up. it's on safe mode. ]

This is no help. How am I supposed to travel this way?

[ there's got to be a reason why she's doing this alone, right? ]


D: THE SANCTUARY
[ it's been a day since the tower exploration and she hasn't heard much from the others who went in with her. hopefully they found more helpful things compared to what her group found! it just wouldn't be right if all fifty-plus of them found nothing of importance…

things just can't move this way.

they're wasting time, too. they need to find mosley as soon as possible. she's even considered going to the gods for help. while she may have had a bad experience with occidi, maybe ardeo might not be as mean. she is his, after all.

it's why she's seated on one of the sofas looking absolutely anxious. she doesn't bite her nails or anything, but she's tapping her foot, then her index finger on her knee. every now and then, she gets up and paces around the sofa, too. ]

D

[sunnymerc]

( Soleil came along to help out Athena and to keep her out of trouble, so it's only appropriate she checks up on her friend once the adventure is over. She strolls over to the sofa. It isn't hard for her to tell Athena is nervous and has a good idea why. But... )

Heeey, what are you doing?

( As always, Soleil is smiling. In fact, she may be smiling more than usual. She points to her smile and looks Athena in the face. )

Where's your S-M-I-L-E?

[magicburst]

A) Meetups & Explorations
[Jessica shows up ready and willing to get down to business. There's no use slacking off anyhow now that she's getting an idea of what she's supposed to be here for. The conclusion to her original journey had been a scattershot hunt but Arba had been much more clearly defined. It seemed like here was a little more muddled again but exploring the tower seems the easiest way to figure out what's really going on. And the redhead is more than eager to have some direction for this particular journey.

She turns a glance to hear nearest companion.]

Well then, we may as well get started.

B) Splitting Up?
[Inside the tower there really isn't that much threat. Jessica still urges caution - particularly in Chihiro's case - but she doesn't seem too reticent about splitting up to search through files and such.

Of course she's absolutely no help with the computers. The ones that do want to function don't function like the one in her apartment and so she's left furrowing her brow at it for a few moments.

She will take a moment to admire the view of Cerealia though from here at the top. Peering out the windows, she smiles a little.]

This reminds me of the view from the Stonecloud. It's awfully easy to forget what shape the city is still in from up here, isn't it.

C) The Sanctuary
[And like the meetup day, Jessica is there not long after the text alert. And she's completely ready to get down to business. Her hands are settled on her hips and she looks among the rest of the group.]

So where shall we start?

D) Wildcard
[If I missed a prompt or you have one in mind, feel free to tag in!]

B!

[playboyknight]

[Angelo finds himself at Jessica's side as he's worried for her, so he approaches her from behind with a grin.]

You're not wrong, darling. Although, what is the Stonecloud? Was that something you experienced on your adventure with Yangus?

b!

[onethousen]

[ Chihiro isn't a computer whiz, but she does know how to use them. To an extent. She hasn't had to deal with things in safe mode that often, but she can still read Cerealian through whatever weirdness was put in her code that also lets her speak it (she's still not sure how that works), so navigating the menus isn't so bad. ]

Hm?

[ Jessica's comment prompts her into looking up, toward the windows. She glances at the screen, considers what to do, then heads over to join Jessica for the moment. ]

What was Stonecloud like?

C!

[moribound]

[Minato's made haste to the Sanctuary as well, even if he doesn't look particularly impatient after tearing his attention away from the pizzas spread out on the table to look at Jessica.]

You and Ogino-san are new, right? I don't mind answering any questions the both of you might have...it's a lot to think about. [He has his questions regarding the blacked-out contract with the so-called 'DC' too, but Minato feels it's his responsibility as the most senior member of their group to keep them informed while he looks out for anyone who might have something new to add.]

[pure_havoc]

Sanctuary only

[Given his post the other day on the network basically demanding cooperation, Cao Pi would be a fool not to participate. But his jaunt through the tower with Edgeworth and some excitable girl proved absolutely useless. Thus, he might still be in a snit when he shows up to swap information.

Might? No he's definitely in a snit. The lingering headache doesn't help. When not actively stalking people he knows to be competent and useful, he's sitting in the darkest corner he can find with a hand over his eyes.]

Did anyone find anything? Aside from confirmation that CERES has abandoned us...

[maidhem]

And besides those robot things too.

[Felicia just sighed, feeling very disappointed and frustrated in how useless she was in all this. Although she didn't nearly understand as much about this place as she knew she should, she wanted to try to do something that would help the others.

After all, not only was she Soliel's self-appointed guardian here, she was also one of Dr. Zeigler's assistants...

And she just wouldn't feel right unless she tried.

Feeling somewhat uncertain (and very tired) in all of this, she found a bottle of that iced tea that everyone seemed so fond of in this city and held it out to the stoic Lord who had joined her and Edgeworth in the exploration.]

I'm sorry things didn't work out like we wanted. Mister Cao Pi, [she said, everything from her tone to her body language betraying her sincerity with these words.] But...maybe we can try again in the future?

sanctuary voice

[forceofnature]

Hi, Chow Pee!

[:)]

You're looking excited and well-rested after a no-doubt successful foray into enemy territory! So how was the tower?

[if he shoots her no one would blame him]

[onethousen]

[ IT'S THE MAN FROM THE NETWORK! And the player with partly finished or unfinished threads sobs Chihiro makes her way toward him when he doesn't look busy talking with other people; so most likely a moment of solitude. As. Much as one gets those in here. ]

Hello, sir. I thought you might want to know that I'd left offering for the spirits the day before everyone went into the tower.

[ Of which uh.................... well. Maris did bring something up? So did Ardeo... Caeli so far has liked the different offerings... Occidi is incommunicado BUT HOW FAR CAN WE STRETCH THIS ]

[faceplate]

SANCTUARY, after the tower exploration.

[ unfriendly and untalkative as zer0 might be to strangers, they want to get information out there. during the time mosley brought them and many others to the tower, they'd found contracts, paper copies of which they've kept with their groupmate chrollo.

one describes the sale of cerealia from julius vincere to bellona recreare. a second is a contract between CERES and the flamines, where CERES pays the flamines to destroy worlds.

the last is between CERES and dii consentes; the latter party is contracted to pay CERES money in exchange for spiritual energy.

the papers are laid out on a table surface. zer0 is standing by them, hovering over them, almost, with their arms crossed and facemask implacably blank until someone speaks to them. ]

[pure_havoc]

[at least Cao Pi knows who this is, and that they can be useful.

Look at those contracts, huh? The problem is, it's all old information. They knew this. What's the point in proving CERES' faults after they've already escaped?

That last one, though, he picks up to look at, because he hadn't seen spiritual energy specified before.]

Hm.

[faithfulflame]

[Rei doesn't know the man, and honestly right now she only half notices him. The contracts though...they have her full attention. She'd imagined it was real of course, those visions she'd had throughout her time here.

Her lip curls upwards into an ugly sneer, and her voice comes out in a low, almost growl.]

They'll pay for this.

[specialization]

[and guess who will also join them by this table, choosing to sit instead of stand in a chair he pulled from somewhere. but he's still there, glancing to Zero from time to time.]

Do you think someone like yourself took out Julius Vincere?

[a corporate assassin, he means, but that question came from nowhere, Chrollo. nothing to preface it.]

[onethousen]

[ Oh, look! Facemask-san! Chihiro's first time at the Sanctuary is... well, something that has her quiet more than anything else. Part of approaching zer0 is recognising their profile; part of it becomes the lure of those papers. one that has her coming closer as the adults do and are speaking, until she's staring down and reading with a quiet intensity.

Dii Consentes. DC. she glances up at zer0, expression serious and faintly troubled. ]

We saw contracts like this in the tower, up near the top. Only this one was all blacked out.

[ she reaches out to hover her hand over the dii consentes contract. ]

They were calling them DC, too, but I think DC and Dii Consentes might be the same thing. What changed? Why go from saying their name to pretending like they don't exist...

[ she straightens, still trying to think. it doesn't help much. she's not sure what conclusions to reach, outside of "things went wrong." ]

The sale one is new to me too. We saw one that was talking about a contract between CERES and the beings of Tellus, then this one, about contracting with the Flamines to destroy worlds. There was this whole long list of tiny printed names that followed.

[ Which had been a headache at the time, with how being in the tower felt increasingly bad as time wore on. ]

[prosecutory]

[Edgeworth will just park himself at this table, organizer open to an empty page, and he'll begin writing down the details about the contracts, his frown becoming deeper with every word.]

So, this is what goes on behind CERES' closed doors. We're pawns in a much bigger game than we thought.

Team Wrecking Shit + Toku Babysitter

[powertotearer]

1. Exploring

[So they're inside the tower and they've got a specific quest--find the library. But that's not as easy as it looks, given all the rooms.]

Where should we start? I mean, I've got something that might let us search a lot faster, but it kind of wipes me out and if I can save it, I'd rather do that.

[GataKiriBa definitely would be useful here, except probably nobody wants to carry Eiji out of there when he runs out of energy.]

Any ideas?

2. ViViD parlor--OTA

[The ViViD machines are back online, but the parlors are still pretty quiet. That works out fine for Eiji, along with anyone else who's with him, because he's determined to destroy them so they can't harvest any more energy from anyone.

Anyone is welcome to talk him out of it or help him smash.]

1

[freeinghorror]

[What he wouldn't give for having his wife here. As it was, he was grateful that there was at least someone who could understand a few of the more frustrating parts of hanging around heroes all the time, but still, she and her spells would have been useful. At least he had one little trick up his sleeve, or better yet, inside of his vest.

Jinga tugged the glowly blue butterfly from its little hiding spot and blew on it to get it to fly. It chimed back in a way that suggested that it was trying to swear and circled their little group.]

That idiot can go scouting so long as it remembers what its looking for. [There was a sharper chime and Jinga flicked a finger at it.] Go.

2

[wolfpuppy]

[Ryuuga's already drawing his sword, eyes narrowed. There's also the smallest hint that he feels almost proud that he had been avoiding ViViD as much as he had outside when he had been absolutely forced into it.

Let's do this.]

2

[dereban]

Just what do you think you're doing?

[ Annoyance slips in her tone, but there's also a bit of chastising in it as well. ]

Investigation Team + Open Sanctuary

[covenantal]

[ i. let's get this started ]

[ It's time to finally prove some theories.

Yu makes sure to show up early to the CERES tower entrance, wanting to be there for his group to arrive while he goes over last minute plans in his head. He's got a sword in his hand, which shouldn't surprise anyone. As people gather around, and the group eventually recruits Dr. Zeigler, Yu will break everyone down into pairs:

Hiro + Dipper
Mercy + Mabel
Yosuke/Naoto + Rise
Himself + Kyoko

With the explicit warning of staying together should something go wrong. Watch out for each other, he says with serious eyes. I'm counting on you.

Otherwise, he lets the group mingle and keeps an eye out for the other groups, noting who is (and isn't) here. ]

All we can hope is that this will be a quiet trip. [ Whether or not he believes it will be is another matter entirely. ]

[ ii. today i learned ]

[ The tower, at least, turns out to actually be as abandoned as it seemed. The Investigation Team will find:

- [There is] no trace of Flamines in the CERES tower. No books, nada, zip, zilch.
- They will, however, be able to find plenty of information on how CERES extracts energy: it’s through ViViD, of course. Every time a character plays a game of ViViD, their energy is drained and basically bottled and sold across the galaxy. CERES is first and foremost an energy business, and Cerealia is the perfect energy farm. This will be found through ledgers showing the sell of energy, energy level charts on the characters who play ViViD most often, and folders regarding the maintenance and care of ViViD, an energy extraction unit.

So what will you do on the way up? Lean into rooms to check them out while quietly humming the Mission Impossible theme? Separate from the group and give Yu a heart attack? Talk amongst yourselves as you all travel? React with outrage at the information they find concerning ViViD? The world is your oyster.

For his part, once they find an obviously abandoned room thick with advanced-looking computer consoles and discover, in the bookshelves that line the walls, the ledgers containing all that critical information about ViViD, Yu will end up muttering: ]

It's exactly what I thought it was. This whole time...

[ After a beat, he'll add: ]

Does anyone have a camera that isn't on their CereVice?

[ iii. meanwhile, back at the sanctuary ]

[ Later on, when all the exploring is done and Athena has sent out the word for everyone to meet at the Sanctuary, Yu will turn up pretty promptly. He's itching to share what they learned, and none too happy about it.

(... and he'll help chip in for the pizza. Athena, please.)

He's outwardly calm, but to those who know him, he seems a little agitated. To anyone from another group not his own, he'll say: ]

We learned some pretty crucial things about ViViD. What did you find out?

[ If anyone from his own group approaches him, he'll offer a mild look that's a blend of wry and exasperated and simply invite them to sit beside him. ]

That was something, wasn't it? I'm just grateful it went so well.

(ooc: please thread freely under this, or make your own top levels! anyone not in the IT is free to hit the first prompt of this top level as well. if you'd like to plot, hit up the comment over here or find me at izanagis!)

I

[zuper]

[Angela came prepared, thankfully. Though the real question is was there ever a time she wasn't prepared? Who knows.

Still, with her Valkyrie suit on, she was decked out in white and looked quite a bit like an angel, complete with a halo around her head. Thankfully, every part served a purpose and, with it on, everyone was now colorcoded in her sight based on their physical condition. Green for good, yellow for a bit hurt, orange for more severe injuries, red for in danger, and those in critical condition were overlayed with a red cross. It was very handy for a battlefield medic.]

As they say, hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

[Considering how many children there were, Angela was definitely prepared for the worst, for certain. She would just have to be prepared to manage things to not be as bad as she thought.]

iii

[prosecutory]

[Edgeworth looks a little disappointed, sitting close by with his arms folded across his chest, his organizer and pen close by. But at least he's in one piece.]

Lord Cao, Felicia and I found nothing about Mosley, but if you remember the last string of incidents here, they were caused by something that was designated only as a "threat".

It may be something other than the spirits, or the Flamines. [His brow furrows.] It seems more players may have joined our game.

[THAT ALMOST SOUNDS META...]

[tiarae]

Meet Ups; Merlin's group:

[Usagi shows up on time for once, at their intended meeting spot. She has already transformed, just in case, but really, nobody else wears their hair the same way so it wouldn't be that hard, if any can tell behind the obligatory shoujo/superhero costume trope.]

Okay, everyone ready? We should all check before going in, right?

[Usagi the group is not five. Great leader skills.]

Explorations:

[Of course it is huge. Like some sort of maze, it feels like, once they get inside. How are they supposed to find their way around in time? Still, they won't find anything without trying somewhere.

Of course, Usagi being Usagi, this still ends up with her at some point freaking out over.....probably nothing. A shadow she thought she saw moving out the corner of her eye. Which thus has her all but clinging to the person closest to her.]

W-what was that?!

[She came here to try help keep everyone safe. No, really. She did....]

Technology - aka how does this work again....?

So....this is one of their computer things? How does it work?

[Because if anyone expects her to know much if anything about computers. Well. She doesn't. But she at least recognizes it? That is a start, okay. Usagi steps forward, peering at it.]

....Is it even on?

Sanctuary:

I'm beat. And starved! I'm glad there's still some pizza left!

[Clearly the picture of a princess, elegant and poise etc as she grabs for a slice. Or, you know. Actually the complete opposite, because this is Usagi and she adores her food. But hey. She is here. And willing to chat about what she found. Or ask others.]

bless you for making a toplevel!! there is a plotting comment in the plotty post jsyk, also!

[manolia]

[Ah. Computers.]

[Chibi takes a closer look, drawing a finger over its case. It could be a useful computer, or it could be junk; it could also be entirely broken, just like everything else CERES-made is now.] If I had to guess, judging from the state of all the rest, it is... [He gives its power button (or what he assumes is its power button) a little press. The screen flickers to life:]

ß̹̲͙̩̤̗r͎̘͉͞v̧ͅÝz͚͇͎̥t͇̠̫̻̗̗̜͘ű̵͓ṟ̸§̞̬͚ ̀t́Ř̤̜ķ̙̙̯̞̹̙÷͔̳̣͝ͅr̥͕f͙̰̪˙͖̟͚͈̥̞̗r҉̗̹̞͙̫̘͕ˇ̨̙̤͍g̥̖͉Ứ̰p̼̖̤ v2.6
SAFE MODE
ENTER COMMAND

[Chibi takes a look, raises both eyebrows, and turns back to the group.] Ah... Yes. That. Perhaps it is easier to sniff around their physical records?

Sanctuary, open;

[moribound]

I. Teammates/Open

[Exploring the tower had been uneventful, and after the sort of hijinks one could end up with in Tartarus Minato's honestly glad for it, not the least as he was still aching from his injuries.

He arrives at the Sanctuary pretty quickly, looking around for the people who had been with him on the trip. Angelo he knows, and Jessica appeared to be from his world too...then there was Chihiro, who he'd decided to keep an eye out for just in case the tower had a surprise or two lying in wait. They'd made a good team all things considering, and he doesn't mind answering some questions if they have any.

There's also pizza lying in wait however, and he's going to make a beeline for it soon enough while striking up a conversation at the table after helping himself to three slices of pizza.]

This pizza's good. [Pause.] Did you find anything interesting at the tower?

II. Findings

[Minato's ready to present what his group has found now that he's well-fed, spreading out the contracts between the Flamines, the beings of Tellus and DC on a table. Separate from the three are a contract detailing how the Flamines were used to destroy their worlds and another contract relating to land being bought on Tellus.

Though disturbed by the confirmation that his world is gone Minato's keeping calm well enough, reminding himself that he's not alone in his worry. His tone is level, very much suited to the matter-of-fact way in which he's detailing their findings.]

I was with Angelo, Jessica and Ogino-san during the trip and we decided to go to the top of the tower. This is what we found...there was also proof that the Flamines tried to contact CERES from some phone logs, but none of the phone calls were taken. Aside from that I had been looking for Mosley, but there doesn't seem to be any trace of him left.

[Now he moves to the right, placing a hand beside the contract with DC that's completely been blackened out.]

This contract seems to be the most interesting out of the ones we've found. The agreement was between CERES and a group only known as DC, and we couldn't read anything else from it. It must be very important if CERES took the trouble to erase the details...and if the Flamines are getting impatient, it's possible that Mosley might have tried to warn us about them through ViViD.

[The last part is said softly; even if he was wrong about the reason Minato feels that Mosley wouldn't have been erased unless he was doing something to help them.]

That's all I have to say. Feel free to ask if you have any questions.

I

[onethousen]

[ Chihiro has been lost amoung the adults depending on where she's stood, short enough, and slight enough, that she can tuck herself away and quietly listen when she's feeling that children shouldn't be heard or seen hitting closer to home. No one says it, and she's glad for that; but she listens more than speaks anyway. There's much for her to learn, and less for her to offer unless asked, or hearing something she can contribute to in the first place.

So she pops up near Minato at the table with the pizza, reaching out for a slice with a curious look in her eyes. Huh, free warm hot food?

... Okay, she's been waiting for someone she knows to help themselves before approaching. Thank you, Minato! ]

Really? I'll have to try some.

[ One piece to start with, ferreted away onto a plate. She licks one finger that gets greased in the process, looking back over her shoulder toward zer0. ]

Minato-san, have you looked at the papers that Facemask-san brought with them?