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« 001 ⇢ INTERLUDE001.EXE »

Who: Mosley and these unfortunate souls
When: OOC: 6/27, IC: 1/26
Where: CERES Research Tower
What: Mosley takes a few lucky souls on a tour of the CERES offices.
Rating/Warning: PG-13: Some violence, injuries and possible death.

▶ VIDEO.EXE | IC: 1/25

[ The broadcast comes bright and early for those paying attention to their CereVices; the man who appears on the screen is strikingly pale, white-haired and piercingly blue-eyed. He looks young, no more than nineteen or twenty and he's dressed in a crisp black and white suit. He stares into the screen for a long moment, long enough to be, frankly, just a bit uncomfortable.

And then white eyelashes blink and an awkward, unsure smile spreads across his face. He lifts a hand to fix his tie and speaks. ]

This is Mosley.

[ The smile drops, leaving him with a blank expression once again. ]

CERES has decided in a show of good faith to open our doors to you. I have been given the task of, [ He lifts his hands to emphasize with air quotes. ] "being your tour guide." If that is what I must do, so be it. The lazy worm does not get the apple, after all.

[ He looks down at the tablet on his desk, giving it a few taps and suddenly an icon appears on the bottom right hand of the video. ]

That link will bring you to a listing to make an appointment. You will be given a time. Show up promptly or do not, it is no matter to me. The tour will leave ten minutes after your given time and that will be that. Tours will only last a few hours so you needn't worry about the rest of your day. You will certainly return home in time to catch the latest episode of [ Air quotes again. ] "Banana is the New Black." I hear there's going to be a cliffhanger!

[ A pause and he looks oddly thoughtful. ]

I suppose you could also steal it off the internet? [ Blank again. ] Which would be wrong. Our lawyers will contact you if you do that. Do not.

[ And then another of those awkward smiles before quickly turning into something a bit startled and he taps his tablet again, ending the video. Replies to this feed have been disabled, unfortunately. Seems like someone isn't feeling very chatty. It's a miracle. ]

▶ ACTION.EXE | IC: 1/26

[ The next day, that Monday, those who take Mosley up on his offer will find that him standing there right in front of the main CERES office building, waiting. It’s with that same disconcerting smile that he unlocks the door and ushers them in.

Welcome, all of you, to our lovely CERES!

The group will find themselves standing in a lobby. Clean white walls and floors, a bright blue rug leading towards the elevators on the far wall, and a white reception counter. At the counter are two CERES robots answering calls and directing any visitors (though the lobby seems quite empty today) and on the wall behind them is a hologram of the CERES logo for all to see. Mosley stands in the center of the carpet in his usual suit and claps his hands together, putting on a smile. ]

Welcome to CERES.

[ And then the smile drops. Voice flat, he continues. ]

There has been... talk over the past few months that we at CERES have not been working 24/7 to help you, our clientele, return to your homes safely and soundly. There has also been... talk that we do not do anything. That this entire company is a farce, which is honestly quite hurtful to both me and the other hardworking staff at this company. Mr. Vincere had his way of running this place but Ms. Recreare is fond of a more hands on approach. We want to share that approach with you.

[ He spreads his hands to indicate to the building around them. ]

CERES has many fingers in many jars and they've all been sealed tight for a while. We would like to open those jars. So once again, welcome to CERES and please follow me.

[ After that, Mosley turns and begins to lead the group off. ]

▶ 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
There is no tagging order, so feel free to tag in whatever way works best for you as a group.

The tours will technically last 3 hours icly, but that may change as ic events happen; oocly, the threads will last as long as necessary, though Mosley will come and collect your characters if they are moseying around too long! There will be mod involvement in each of the tours.

If there are any questions, feel free to ask them here. You are welcome to plot with your groupmates by using the ooc top level comments linked above. Thank you!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Mizael scoffs at that suggestion and immediately walks over to help with the doors. Sure, it's probably the smart thing to do, but they'd find out just as easily by just going out there and facing whatever might come of it directly.]

And what will you do if there is something out there? Just stay put?

[He slips his fingers in the crack and does a couple test tugs, although he does stop as soon as the door shifts, since, well, it is a good idea to make sure they're not walking right into something first...]

I don't hear anything.

[ The doors open surprisingly easily, as far as Mizael pulls them.

If they sit and listen, there is a complete void of noise; there is a filter of some light through the door, but it seems to be natural light instead of artificial.

Otherwise, nothing happens. ]

Now, now, there's no harm in being cautious, especially after what we've just been through!

[He waits for Mizael to open the door a bit before he leans forward, listening himself. His hearing isn't much better than a human's, but that won't stop him from trying, just in case another set of ears and eyes helps.]

I can't hear or see much, either, but... We're not up against a wall, at least.

[There's still the potential for danger, but at least they're not trapped on that side. They can work with this, hopefully.]

We should be able to open it up and see something, if we try!

Well, let's get them open sooner rather than later, I don't like the look of those cables.

[Mia glances up at the open panel where Mosley disappeared through and squints at what's left of the cables.]

We need to keep this thing balanced so it doesn't go anywhere else while we're working on getting out. The last thing we want is to turn into a pancake after we missed out becoming one the first time.

[She chews her bottom lip thoughtfully.]

This might be a good time to ask if anyone's got a weapon or anything in case we run into something less than friendly down here.

[Nico casts a flat look at Mizael.] If we stay put, there's a chance we might plummet to our deaths, so no.

[In response to Mia's question, he motions towards his sword that's in its scabbard hanging from his chain belt.] I have this. One of us should go out first and keep watch while everyone else gets out, just in case something comes up on us.

The door wasn't difficult to move. We should only need one person to open them.

[As for weapons, Mizael casually raises a hand and lets a bright orb of pink energy form in his palm for a few seconds before letting it dissipate and dropping his hand to his hip.]

I have a few other skills too. [And then he sighs and looks a little annoyed with himself, but he might as well offer...] If you're really worried we could start falling again, I can go last. I shouldn't have a problem getting out of here, and I can help anyone else who didn't get out in time.

Blaster and a vibroknife.

[There were few places Han went unarmed. And creepy company headquarters definitely didn't make the cut.]

I can cover.

Only these, unfortunately.

[He lifts a hand to show his claws more clearly, the points to Mizael.]

He's volunteered to stay, so the rest of us should get off in a way that lets us not rock the elevator as much as possible. At least one of us will have to stand to the back while one gets off, in that case. Whoever the first is will be the lookout, so I suppose it should be him, as he is also volunteering.

[He points at Han, then.]

[Despite everything, Mia has to laugh at how woefully underprepared she is as she holds up Mosley's abandoned shoe.]

I guess I need to start shopping for something to defend myself with if I'm going to make a habit of going on any more guided tours around here. I suppose I can always throw this if anything comes at us.

What are we waiting for? Let's get out of here before anything else happens.

[...yeah she probably shouldn't be saying stuff like that.]

. . . NEW FILE CREATED . . . CHECKPOINT #001.SAV . . .
. . . CONTINUING TOUR.EXE. . .

[ When they pull open the doors of the elevator, they will find themselves in a rather wide, expansive, open space. It's dark, but there are some small sources of light illuminating things, so they are not completely in the pitch-black darkness.

A little ways in the distance, there are two massive doors, somewhat open, showing the way into a room that appears to be utterly trashed and in disuse.

Everything seems to have been untouched for a very long time, judging from the layers of dust and grime and rust. ]

[Han steps out into the hall blaster first, ready for anything. So far so good, but he's not letting his guard down. Once he's sure there's nothing out here but dust he waves the others forward.]

It's clear.

[Mia's only too happy to get out of the elevator, but even so she's none too thrilled with where she's going as she follows Han out into the dusty, abandoned mess of a room.

Talk about a fixer upper.]

I've got a bad feeling about this...

I'm not very fond of this idea, either, but it's still better than staying in the elevator...

[Cynbel moves out next, jostling the carriage very little, since he's the smallest and lightest. He moves to stand close to the other two, because at least Han at a gun, in case something comes at them.]

But there doesn't seem that anyone has been down here for some time, so it isn't likely they're waiting to come after us, either.

[Nico climbs out wordlessly after the others and once he's out of the elevator, he takes in a slow breath to get his bearings before pulling out his black Stygian iron sword. The blade glows with a dim purple light, and Nico uses it to try and help see better.]

[And last to walk out is Mizael, as promised and right on the heels of the boy with the sword. And he...just keeps going. He's going to walk around and look around the room a little bit, on a roundabout trip to the doors.]

[ There is indeed nobody else down here with them. It's utterly silent, almost eerily so, aside from the vague presence of spirits a fair distance away that Nico may still be able to sense. They are definitely in the direction of the open doors.

Mizael's path will take him along the walls, which are extremely run down and rusty, missing parts of them and overall in utter disrepair. There are no other doors, windows or exits, however.

Seems there's only one way to go. ]

[Still clutching the shoe, Mia walks hesitantly into the gloom, pausing to check out the size of the place before she whistles.]

Would you look at the size of this place, what do you suppose they used it for?

Storage, maybe. This far down, probably something they didn't want people stumbling across.

[Han continues down the hall, looking from side to side. No doors.]

Doesn't look like they were using it recently though.

[He does not want to be left behind, so Cynbel keeps on walking behind Han.]

If it's storage, perhaps the previous runners of the company have left something worth seeing down here that the new one's haven't found yet.

[Mosley wouldn't have sent them down here on purpose, he thinks, so they've got a decent shot.]

It might be worth looking around while we try to find our way out.

[Nico, on the other hand, starts to wonder if the elevator stopped on this floor on purpose, given that the only direction to go in is the direction he's sensing all those spirits. His earth abilities are nowhere near Hazel's level, so he can't tell if there are any nearby tunnels to try and get to. Thinking about his sister just makes him miss her more, but there's no time for that now. If there's only one way to go and that's towards the spirits, hopefully he can do something to keep them at bay if they can't find a way to just bypass them completely.

He makes his way to the massive doors and glances back at the others to make sure they're all there before he pushes the doors open enough to slip through.] I'll scout out ahead.

. . . OLD FILE OVERWRITTEN . . . CHECKPOINT #002.SAV . . .
. . . CONTINUING TOUR.EXE. . .

[ When Nico slips through, he'll find it to be lit in the hall, if dimly. It's a little worn down and a little overgrown, much like the place they just came from. However, walking a few more paces in, he may find some read streaks on the floor, leading to the only remaining door in the hallway.

There's blood on the floor, but it's old and not fresh at all.

And there are still no sounds around them aside from their own steps and breathing. ]

[Nico's a very observant person, so he does eventually spot the blood. He's been in enough battles to tell it's not new, and returns to the door grim-faced.]

It's clear, but keep your guards up. There's blood on the floor; it's old, but something definitely happened here.

[Then he goes back to the blood and bends down to inspect it further, trying to see if he can figure out what occurred. Did someone get dragged down the hallway? Or are the streaks more along the lines of something such as a big bloody hand of some kind of monster?]

Edited 2015-07-06 00:39 (UTC)

[Welp, there's nothing here of interest and only one door leading onward, so. Following sword boy again it is.

Though Mizael does make a faint annoyed sound when he walks through the doors and there still isn't much of interest on the other side. Other than the blood on the floor which the boy is already checking out. He pauses just long enough to look over the marks before moving on, heading toward the other door.]

Well, it doesn't seem like we'll be running into whatever did that...

[Although he'll be uncrossing his arms now just in case.]

[Did he say blood? That's not good, but they don't have much choice other than following behind Nico.]

I suppose it makes much more sense to have locked this place up and left it, if they were hiding a crime.

[He'll just be carefully avoiding the stains on the floor, thanks. Dried or not, that's still gross and potentially dangerous, if it's remnants of some weird magic ritual. You never know.

Instead, he looks up and around them, at the walls and ceiling. Maybe there's some other hint of what happened here.]

[Han isn't planning on holstering his blaster any time soon. Of course, even now, he didn't, as a general rule]

Maybe not whatever did that. But if they're covering something up, there's likely to be alarms.

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▶ CHECKPOINT ONE.SAV

Re: ▶ CHECKPOINT ONE.SAV

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Hope it's okay to jump in again so Nico can report back, not intending to be rude and skip, promise!

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