estoria | « 001 ⇢ INTERLUDE001.EXE »

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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

[He listens quietly to everything that going on, trying his best piece a picture together from everything he's sees, but he doesn't see enough. He looks down the row of tubes, eyeing Pheonix's tubes.]

If those tubes were empty, they shouldn't be labeled at all. So why mark is as "unknown"?

[Could the specimen be too small to see with a human eye or...or could it be out. The hairs on the back of his neck bristle as paranoia sets in.]

Everyone, please stay put for a sec.

[He reaches for his mana and a matter of seconds, releases a large cloud of silver dust which expands over the floor, up the walls, over the tubes, even in-between tiny spaces, cracks and all the likes, before they settle in place. He coated the entire room in his mana, effectively mapping the entire place out in his head. The only thing disrupting the flow of dust would be the people his with, and whatever may or may not be in the room with them.]

[ he shouldn't have doubted you, Kuzuryuu. Of course the hint would be something that stupid. Closing his eyes, Zara sighs tiredly, wandering over to look at the note, as well. ]

I don't know any. [ and he certainly doesn't know anything about butts, whatever that's supposed to mean. All things considered, he probably doesn't want to know.

When Cerberus tells them to stay put, Zara freezes up; when the silver dust is suddenly sprayed everywhere, one hand shoots to cover his mouth. Poison? It wouldn't be the first time that happened, either -- ]

What was that?!

Calm yourself. It's just dust I use to map the room. If there's anything else worth our attention here, I'll find it.

[Also if one of these things is on the loose, he'll find that too but he'll keep it to himself for now.

He looks to Zara, again making his point. If he wanted to hurt you, you would already be hurt.]

As for a password....it's speaking of an event so perhaps trying keywords that relate to it may work.

I don't know any Lukes either. Unless...wasn't that other dead guy's name Lucius? Is Luke a nickname for that? [How do your weird Western nicknames work, he doesn't know.] But even if it is, I doubt this is something any of us would know about. Luke probably isn't the part we should be focusing on.

[So yeah, keywords it is. He's making a point not to acknowledge the fact that Richter said that, which is absolutely because he is already 100% done with being talked down to by the man in question. And there are more important things to be done now than get into it with some weirdo in a mask.]

So...something you'd do to a girl's ass that some immature scientist would find funny? Fucking hell what kind of sick bastard uses something like that as a password...

[Someone who wants to keep prudes out, probably. Which is not a half bad system, judging by how uncomfortable Kuzuryuu seems about this. But he also really wants to see what's on this computer so he's going to give it a shot.]

[How about "spanking"?]

[Someone else really might want to try taking over after that because that's about all he's got. He's too sexually reserved for this. He's never even kissed a girl, let alone done anything to her rear end. This is so inappropriate.]

[Phoenix blinks in surprise as he watches the dust spread throughout the room. Just when I thought we were out of unusual abilities, now we have magical pollination...

After taking a moment to process that, and once again having to employ the "moving right along..." mentality, he turns his attention towards Kuzuryuu's quandaries.]

Luke could be a nickname for Lucius, but it's not one I often hear. And I don't know much of anything about the guy except for his name.

As for... um... an immature act... [His cheeks redden a bit as he tries to think it over.] W-well, anyone have a good list of options in mind?

[...He's in his mid-thirties and is likely not much better off than Kuzuryuu.]

[ this is just a downright nasty situation, between the mysterious stranger with weird fairy dust and the being trapped in a creepy lab full of likely-dead things. He gives Cerberus a narrow-eyed glance, disapproving and suspicious, and he keeps his hand drawn over his mouth as he returns to the task at hand.

The task at hand being, of course, the computer password. Zara may not know how computers work, but he knows what a password is, and they have their hint. That said, he is somewhat amazed by the shyness of the rest of the group concerning said hint... It's immature and tasteless, certainly, but they're in a potentially dangerous situation, aren't they? Not to mention that he's pretty sure they're all adults. Except maybe Kuzuryuu. ]

Spanking, [ offers Zara bluntly in a cool voice. ] Or grabbing, perhaps.

Groping? Copping a feel? Hmmm, if we assume these are scientist who made the password perhaps they used terms more relevant to the field. Perhaps....probing? Gluteus Analysis?

[Someone should probably stop him before he starts having fun with guessing the password. He is so close to just start using sex terms and forgetting the whole point of this.]

Maybe it could be scientific, but the note itself doesn't sound like it was written with that language in mind.

[He pauses, reflecting on the thoughts so far. Even Zara has stepped up with suggestions. Phoenix almost feels ashamed of himself, so he very hesitantly speaks up some more.]

As for the clue, I guess that it could also be... patting. Or... a pinch?

[ Kuzuryuu isn't the only one that's uncomfortable, since Break pointedly does not contribute. He's far too (whipped) well-trained to even consider it, since after spending a decade being looked after by a family with rather fierce women as the heads of the family... He feels a deep fear to even consider speaking of it. The extent of what he might do would be to chat with Reim, but. That's different.

Though it also helps that after everyone gives their input, he doesn't particularly have anything to add either. ]

...Well. Someone is welcome to try any of those.

[He already tried spanking, but assuming that didn't work and he's not faced with a set number of password tries, Kuzuryuu will try putting in all of those suggestions. As well as adding or removing the -ing on all the verbs. Maybe it's just spank or grab instead of spanking or grabbing?]

[How has it come to this.]

[ It's always the last one on you try, huh? When Kuzuryuu eventually gets frustrated enough to try just "butts", the computer will suddenly work. It seems it was way, way simpler than you guys were all thinking. What can you expect from interns though, honestly.

Haha, perverts. ]

Welcome to CERES Labs.

[ That's what the read-out flashes, and then there is a typical, normal desktop. There appear to be only three documents on the screen: Bestiary, Flora/Fauna Register and Elementals ]

[Let's all take a moment and pretend we're surprised that this particular group completely over thought this and made it more complicated than necessary.]

[Moving on.]

[Kuzuryuu definitely gets more and more frustrated with each failed password, pounding on the keays a little harder than strictly necessary. But even though he looks like he's about five seconds away from an aneurysm the whole time, he keeps trucking a long and trying whatever suggestions the others give or whatever pops into his mind. He almost can't believe it when he finally gets in on an offhand guess.]

...fucking incredible. [Interns.] Alright, we're in. Miraculously. Doesn't look like there's much here, we've got...Bestiary, Flora/Fauna Register, and something called "Elementals". Any objections to finding out what that means?

[Because that one seems the most interesting to him. Mostly because he has no idea what it means. He's moving the mouse pointer towards the icon, speak now or forever hold your peace if you want to look at something else first, guys.]

Edited 2015-07-01 01:20 (UTC)

.....

...Sorry, force of habit. I actually don't have any problem with checking that out.

[The first two don't sound too particularly interesting... or at least they sound like they're more about the planet than about CEREs. Whatever these 'elementals' are, it sounds more likely to be something vital.]

[ why ]

[ just why ]

...Was that really necessary?

[ Which is said to Phoenix, then Break sighs as he directs his gaze nowhere in particular, since as long as they're focused on the computer, he's personally at a bit of a loss to be helpful. ]

"Elementals" seems as good a place to start as any, so we may as well.

What the hell, Wright...

[At least he's nothing if not used to people yelling. His family can get...pretty loud.]

[But alright, Elementals it is! Just going to double click that icon and see what this is all about.]

Edited 2015-07-01 02:14 (UTC)

[ Clicking that icon brings up what appears to be an interactive document of sorts. Compared to the password, this is professionally done. It reads:

Water: Impossible to find, though we have heard of their existence. We know they are capable of breathing underwater, so perhaps that is where they live.

Fire: Troublesome. The easiest to find to negotiate with, but they do not seem to want any of the things we have to offer. Occasionally breathe fire when excited/angered.

Air: Necessary for the atmosphere, which is not breathable. They seem to live to the North of here, though they have been difficult to find to negotiate with.

Earth: The easiest to negotiate with thus far. They seem to be pliant to new ideas when suggested in the right way. They seem to have an unerring sense of direction in locating things.

The document continues on, if he should choose to scroll.

Behind them, there's an odd thud noise, muffled as if covered up or in the distance. ]

[Phoenix was shifting uncomfortably at the responses to his outburst.]

I know, I know, I'm sorry... [He murmured as Kuzuryuu did his clicking. You'd think none of these people have ever been in a real courtroom before.

Then, as the screen pulls up, Phoenix walks over to peer over Kuzyuryuu's sholder at the screen.]

It seems to be different kind of groups. Of people maybe? ...Who breathe fire... [He blinks, wondering if he just heard something in the distance. Maybe it was his imagination?]

[Kuzuryuu pulls his Cerevice out of his pocket, snapping pictures of the text on the screen as he reads it outloud for Break's benefit. There's probably a much better way to transfer the information but he is not nearly tech savvy enough for something like that. So pictures it is.]

Weird. I wonder what-- [The thud tears his attention away from the screen momentarily. He looks around the room, as though trying to locate the source of the sound.] What the hell was that?

[If whatever made that noise doesn't immediately make itself apparent, however, he's going to go back to scrolling and snapshotting. That's not nearly enough info and if the thing isn't in the room with them yet, they've got time.]

[ zara will be peering over Kuzuryuu's head, as well. He's not really sure what an 'elemental' is, though he knows what the four elements are, of course. At least the information written about them is fairly clear. ]

... People connected to the elements, perhaps? I have heard of people with magic like that. It seems CERES is looking for them, [ he guesses, sounding contemplative.

The sound behind them steals his attention immediately, however; his ears are sensitive, and they pick up the noise easily. He whips around, eyes darting around to try and find the source. ]

[A lawyer. He should have guessed. He listens quietly as the description of elementals. Not quiet what he was expecting to find but it's certainly something worth investigating in the future.]

Maybe those empty tubes are for them.

[His attention is immediately divided when he hears the sound, instinctively commanding the could of dust around the room to form up infront of all the people there and create a metal wolf to defend them.]

Someone open up the computer and rip the hard drive out.

[He wants that data, and he's not about to let....whatever is there to keep him from it.]

Yeah, because that's not potentially a really stupid thing to do that could lose the data forever or anything. If it comes to that, fine, but not till we're out of time and need to get out of here.

[They've barely started looking at the data, and doing something like ripping open a computer could damage the data and lose it forever. Better to save that for a last resort. Though it does give him a different idea.] Quick, Wright, see if you can find a flashdrive in the console.

[Sure, he rummaged through it earlier but he was looking for something completely different at the time. Maybe he missed it. (Note to self: start carrying around a flashdrive after this) In the meantime, he'll keep scrolling through the elementals document to try and commit as much of it to memory/photograph as possible. Apparently they've got a wolf guard now so they're probably fine for a while.]

I'm on it.

[Why am I the one taking orders suddenly? But there's on time for complaints. He feels around the area, trying to find any kind of flash drive. He thinks he remembers what one looks like.]

[ There's a second thud as they search, and for those who are looking, there's suddenly a shadowy shape in the test tube that Phoenix had once been looking into, which had been empty.

It's not empty anymore.

A few more hard cracks of clawed hands against the glass, and it shatters, spilling noxious green fluid over the floor and letting the creature out as well.

It hisses, staring at them with wide eyes. ]

« 001 ⇢ INTERLUDE001.EXE »

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▶ END TOUR.EXE