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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

( Something is going on outside in the other room but like heck Mutsu knows exactly what. By now, he can recognize Bulma's yelling without a problem and when he hears her, he can figure that something went wrong with the water rescue.

Right now, though? Trying to get away from these skittering new friends he never wanted. He'd stay and fight but he can hear some cries. "Monster?!" "Hey! Sword guy!"

You know what Bulma can here from where she is? She might not hear the steal of his sword fighting back to keep the robots away from him but she should definitely be able to hear the shots from his gun. BANG, BANG! )

Augh...! ( He's trying to run back to the other room now. But he doesn't want to bring these guys out too... If they're slow enough, he can try to slam the button to close the room off while he makes his escape? How fast are these things even??? Otherwise... ) Kinda busy here!

( Sorry. Really. )

[Are those gunshots? Those are gunshots. Bulma stares hard at the dark water a moment longer before spinning on her heel. She can't do anything here, but maybe she can help Mutsu. She books it back to the door, throwing her back to the wall before cautiously leaning around to see what's happening in the trash room.

Those look like some kind of robots. Robot fleas? Roaches? Does it matter? No, it doesn't. All that matters is that they're on the offensive, and it looks like maybe he could use a hand.]

Throw me your gun!

[... never mind that she hasn't had to fire a gun in more than a decade. She was a decent shot when she was a kid, though. It's like riding a hoverbike, right? You never forget how to aim?

Yeah, sure.]

Edited (word choices) 2015-06-28 01:31 (UTC)

[ Closing the door works; the skittering robot insects that remain and haven't been shot hit the door, but aren't able to come into the room with the water with them.

Either way, the fin has long since disappeared into the darkness of the water, dragging both Hawke and Athena down with it. It had seemed more intrigued by Athena than anything, but now that Hawke has jumped onto its back like a crazy person, the fish flails itself deeper into the water, dragging them both down with it. ]

( The doors are closing and Mutsu manages to squeeze on by. He's just outside the doors next to Bulma, scanning the room for... what is he even looking for? There was trouble but he doesn't see anything. He also doesn't see Athena or Hawke. What he does notice is the settling waves in the water...

Turning towards her, he's already shoving his gun in her hands. It's an old model-- an original Smith & Wesson with six shots. Something's going on and right now, she's the unarmed one. Next, he's running over to the water's edge. )

What happened? Where're the others?

( Are they in there? He's beginning to sheathe his sword in case he has to dive now. )

[ meanwhile, down in the deep blue sea, hawke's still trying to hold onto this insane fish. she isn't able to see much because duh, underwater but she feels around enough to claw her way up the back of the fish using its spines. when she gets to the end of them, that's when she swings that stupidly heavily armored foot straight up into (what she hopes) is the stomach of the fish. she'll do again if it doesn't let go of athena the first time. she's going to keep doing this over and over and might even bring in a hand to start punching the thing.

seriously, fish. let go of her! ]

[ There's not much Athena can do given the situation, but she's kicking as much as she can, if she's even able. At the same time, she's struggling to swim up, not really caring about what else could be around them.

Seriously. What kind of incinerator room has something like this?! And what kind of TOUR... She actually had faith in the new CEO and Mosley, and yet!!!!! ]

Uh-- [Bulma isn't expecting him to pass her the gun how that the immediate danger is past, and she fumbles it before getting a grip. Older than she expected, and heavier, too--the weight is reassuring, and she joins him at the water's edge.]

I don't know! Hawke shouted "monster" and dove after the kid! [Sorry Athena.] They haven't come back up... she's wearing all that heavy armor...

[She swallows, heart in her throat.] You don't think... [They'd better not die down there! She doesn't have the Dragon Balls to wish them back!]

They're gonna be okay.

( Monster. Lake. Hawke and Athena. Bulma isn't even finished speaking when he begins to take his clothes off. It's all loose clothing so it comes off easily enough. Red top comes off, revealing a smaller black vest underneath. Shoulder guard drops down to the ground, and he starts to untie his belt, settling one of the sword mysteries: it is not a real tail.

Lastly, he hands her his sword. )

Keep this safe. ( It's his one absolute. Everything else is unimportant. And turning towards the water, ) If we're not up in 10, start looking for a way out.

( Because he has no idea how long they've been under but humans can only hold their breath for so long, right?

With a splash, he dives in after Hawke and Athena. )

[ Hawke's kicking and punching seems to have done something -- it's offended the creature, that was really just interested in Athena's bright orange hair and now feels incredibly hurt. You've hurt its feelings, Hawke.

Either way, it lets go of Athena, swimming away rapidly with the fish-monster equivalent of a huff. Unfortunately for both Hawke and Athena, they're both dropped right on top of a rather harsh underwater current, so unless they are incredibly talented swimmers, they're both going to be swept away.

Mutsu might catch a glimpse of them as they are swept away rather quickly. It's dark down here, but thankfully there's some red light coming from behind him, illuminating things for him.

Handy! ]

( He sees the monster that grabbed Athena and Hawke swimming away and is able to follow it's path back to the two women. Kicking faster, he tries to catch up with them, an arm reaching out but he doesn't make it. They're pulled away too quickly and he has to stop himself from getting pulled into the current too. He makes a note of the direction of the current and becomes aware of this light--

The sea isn't supposed to be red. The water was dark when he dived in. There's a large serpent coming towards him and he immediately kicks up, trying to reach the surface. It isn't so much a race to escape but more of one to just put space between them while getting as close to the surface as possible.

He isn't going to leave Bulma alone up there. Focusing on his vessel-- the sword on the surface--he'll try to demanifest and return to Mutsunokami up above. Of course, he's still a person underwater, out of his element, and this is a fish very much in its element so if it's fast it could probably still catch him before he can make a full return. )

Ah! What are you doing!? There's no time for that!

[Seriously, what is he thinking, stripping down all of a sudden like that--oh. Her eyes widen in understanding and she nods, holding the sword close. It must be important. Swords usually are to the people that wield them, in her admittedly limited experience.] Okay... be careful down there!

[A splash and he's gone, leaving Bulma on the surface holding a gun and a sword and looking down at the water, completely at a loss. Now what. Ten minutes might be pushing it, she thinks, but she's going to hold out hope until time is up.

She turns away from the water, tucking the sword beneath her arm, and retrieves her jacket. There must be something useful she can do... maybe there's a blanket or something laying around? Probably not, and with the door closed it's too dark to poke around.

Luck was on her side once. Maybe, just maybe, she can find a light switch if she searches the wall with her one free hand.

This is going to be the longest ten minutes of her life.]

[ If Bulma searches the wall for long enough, she will indeed find a switch. And should she press it, a small compartment above her will open up, and it will drop a bucketload of floatation devices on her head.

They might help with the swim!

As for Mutsu, unfortunately the monstrosity of a fish is significantly faster than him...but fortunately, it doesn't bother to chew, instead opting to swallow him whole. It's a rather large fish, too, so there's quite a lot of space in there.

And that's when it goes after Hawke and Athena to swallow them too, moving along with the current easily.

Look, the crew's all together now. Mostly. ]

[ ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

when they get trapped in the current, hawke's going to swim ahead as fast as she can (WHICH ISN'T FAST. BECAUSE ARMOR.) but eventually she'll be pushed far enough to grab onto athena's wrist. she'll hold on for dear life as they get stuck on it, not really sure where or when they'll meet the surface again.

so she's sort of out of it by the time the MASSIVE FISH FROM HELL comes out of nowhere and swallows them. she'll probably let go of athena then and slams into the side of the fish in... whatever gross space they're in.

but you know what's great about that armor suddenly? the spikes. which means as she scrapes across the inner walls of the fish, both her sword (which is miraculously still attached to her back) and the spikes of her armor cut up the insides of it. when hawke risks opening her eyes a little, she notices the blood from the scrapes and will ball up her fist to do the best thing hawke knows how to do -- which is punch it.

yeah, hawke's gonna weakly throw a punch at the inner walls of the fish's body until it reacts. she's gotta help them somehow...! ]

( Wow, thank goodness for small miracles. No, really, being chewed sounds significantly worse than being chewed up alive and honestly, being swallowed whole and going down this fish's mouth is less gross than the trash fiasco. What he knows is that he needs to get out though. But how? If he goes out through the mouth, the fish is just going to swallow him whole again. He'll have to fight his way out from inside...

Ah, a rush of water... the fish just swallowed something else. Ah, he can vaguely make out something coming at him, ah-- )

Ah!

( And he rolls away, just in time to at least dodge... was that Hawke? Athena? And a lot of blood... is it from them or the fish? HE CAN'T TELL HE'S NEVER BEEN SWALLOWED BY A FISH BEFORE HOW HE IS SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHAT'S NORMAL HERE.

Okay, Hawke seems fine but what about Athena? )

[ This was not how she wanted to die...

Athena coughs loudly, trying to take in as much oxygen as she can. And also, she just swallowed a ton of salt water. Gross. It takes a while for her to realise what just happened, especially since it all happened in a flash. When she realises what it is she's sitting on, she immediately scrambles back until she hits a wall, letting out a shriek at the same time. ]

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh-- [ Her heart is racing, and she's totally freaking out. WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THEM NOW??? What about Bulma? She's all alone up (?) there.... Hopefully, she's safe. And all those thoughts occur right at the same time as she keeps whispering "oh my gosh" loudly. It sounds like she's chanting at this point. ]

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

[ The fish was not expecting to swallow something spiky that was trying to punch it back, that's for sure. Getting punched multiple times from the inside has a perhaps expectable outcome; the fish writhes in place for a moment, and then proceeds to hack up the three intrepid trash explorers.

Thankfully for their air supply, they were in shallower waters then, and near enough to hear waves lapping against what sounds to be metal not far from them, when they break the surface.

There's a dock. It seems to be abandoned, from how dark it is, completely different from the rest of Cerealia, which is lit up at almost all times. No, this is completely dark and shadowed, all metal, looming shapes and in the far distance, the lights of the city of Cerealia. ]

[ when hawke finally washes up on shore, she's just going to spend a few minutes on all fours vomiting up a bunch of disgusting fish gut water. hack, hack, hack. when it all finally comes out, she'll pull her sword off her back and throw it to the side. then, she sits up on her knees and starts desperately unclasping at her armor to shove it off her too. the chainmail goes afterward and it leaves hawke in a wet t-shirt and her metal lower half.

she flops over onto her back after that, pulling in desperate gulps of air and pressing her palms into her eyes as she tries to get her shit together. she knows the other two are near her, and definitely in hearing range, so when she pulls in enough air, well.

hawke's gonna yell. ]

THE MOMENT I AM FINISHED NEARLY DYING, I AM GOING TO GET UP AND PUNCH THE YELLOW WOMAN IN THE FACE. DO YOU HEAR THAT, YELLOW WOMAN? MY FIST. YOUR FACE. THEY'RE GOING TO BE WELL ACQUAINTED.

[ hack hack, cough cough. hawke curls on her side and groans pathetically.

but seriously though, athena? you are so fucked. ]

( He never signed up for this. What the heck kind of tour is this. Some day, later, once he's had a moment to process everything that has happened, it'll hit him that maybe he should thank Hawke for being so hard to swallow. But for now, he taking in gulps of air, coughing, and trying to get a feel for where they are.

They're outside... this outside... and Hawke is here and Athena and-- )

Bulma-san! Wait a second! ( Before you hit Athena (which he isn't going to allow) if the way he just... steps closer to Athena means anything. ) We gotta get Bulma-san...!

( But how? Where is she? The city is all the way over there and they're all the out here.... how far did they travel in the water? Ah, his sword. She still has his sword. If he can focus on his sword maybe he can at least get a sense of which direction Bulma is in. )

[ Athena would usually have something smart (translation: stupid) to say to defend herself from Hawke, but what just happened was yet another near death experience, and something she's totally afraid of now. She remains quiet, and doesn't bother to even look at Mutsu or Hawke.

When she's done gasping for breath and spitting out whatever salt water (and whatever else) she can, she still doesn't say anything. Instead, she squeezes out the water from her dress, then her hair.

This tour is officially The Worst, and she'll honestly take getting punched over being lost in this place and risking death. ]

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▶ CHECKPOINT TWO.SAV

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