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

( After receiving no distinct response to his query, Manfred continues to shuffle down the hallway, cane tap-tap-tapping against the ground. He believes he can hear muffled conversation (three-by-three), and heads in the direction it comes from. )

I said if you're here, say something.

( His irritation, frustration and anxiety are definitely starting to leak through in his tone and demeanor. He just wants this little game to be over and done with. )

[He honestly had no idea that Manfred was there until, by chance, he senses that there's another person looking at them, and that's when he glances over. There's some momentary surprise, though on Sousei's face it's just a vaguely arched eyebrow.

If Manfred is saying something, Sousei sure can't hear it, but he can see the irritation and frustration.]

... If you are speaking, I cannot hear you. [Sucks, man.] Are you capable of solving this puzzle? It is a cube that is divided up into colorful squares in 3 by 3 sides.

[Sousei's never seen it before, but he's over this nonsense and wants to go home, okay.]

( Manfred's scowl only depeens, and he waves a hand around in irritation. )

That is a Rubik's cube. A child's toy. How do they expect us to solve it when they've taken my sight and your hearing is beyond me. .

( The notion of 'teamwork' hasn't occurred to him yet and it takes him a bother moment to understand that the man can't respond to anything he just said because he cannot hear him. He lets out a growl of frustration before nodding tersely and reaching out his hand as though saying 'give it to me'. )

[Well this wasn't going anywhere fast, Schrodinger took a seat on the table as they argued over the toy. He was able to at least follow a little of what had been said from the way that the words were formed.]

Don't you at least want to know what colors are where?

[There was a glance towards the scientists while he spoke, looking a little bored a put off by the whole thing.]

[Alright, alright, he's handing it over, irritated but careful as he places it in Manfred's hand. He has no idea what he's saying, but he seems to know how to deal with the cube, which is good enough for Sousei.

Because he wants out of here, honestly.

Sousei glances at Schrodinger, eyes narrowed slightly to try to figure out what he's saying, before he gives up. Lip reading was never a talent of his, but with how much this is happening, perhaps he should learn.]

Here.

Haa... What do you think? The bastards don't care if we're able to solve it or not.

[This is... probably not going to go well at all. Not really, considering they apparently only have two people with eyesight on their side, and neither or them seem like they're going to try their hand at solving the damn thing.

She does try to get acquainted with the notebook and pen while they talk, though, running her hands down the page and trying to figure out what to do with it. She doubts the old guy is going to patiently explain what they heard, so... Please excuse her as she messily writes on the page. Some parts are going to be hecked up for obvious reasons, but she tries her best to keep everything from overlapping before holding it up in their general direction.]

Mosley said we need to solve it but didn't
say what would happen if we didn't

[She should read it out loud for the old guy's benefit, but. Eh. He has his hearing, he should know.]

( Manfred directed a look of disbelief in the girl's general direction. Being unable to read her writing, he could only respond to what she had said aloud. )

Hah! You really believe that? They're clearly undertaking some experiment; are our ailments not proof enough?

( His fingers twist at the cube in frustration. He is having the dawning realization that they are going to do one of the things that he likes least, which is work together. )

Someone who can actually see needs to tell me what colors the tiles are. ( He holds the cube aloft. )

It's not solved.

[Shrodinger had no idea what he had said, so he figured that when the man held it aloft he might have thought that he actually finished it. Why would they give them a test like this when really all it would take would be one person who can see to solve it, they weren't even really all that difficult to solve.]

If we don't then they'll probably just use more of that gas und make us go through the maze. It's pretty big und there are quite a lot of dead ends.

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

[ Eventually, even as they wrestle with the Rubik's Cube, it seems Mosley's gotten bored watching them. The PA system crackles on. ]

I'm starting to think that I overestimated this group's abilities. I suppose "basic communication" isn't one of your natural traits, hm? No matter, this isn't the first time I've had to take matters into my own hands.

[ And with that, a button is pressed and once again, the floor drops out from under them. This time, they're dropped right into what appears to be the space under the labs, all bustling technology, clearly thoroughly in use.

Unfortunately, the walkway they land on is rather narrow and precarious (they might fall, if they're not careful, though they probably want to avoid that -- look at that drop) and it also seems to be... moving? ]

Now, perhaps you'll be quick about this one. This time I will spell it out for you: find a way off the bridge or face the drop. It's up to you.

[You know what's irritating?

It's being deaf and not hearing any of Mosley's announcements, and so being dumped through the floor again is even more of a surprise than it otherwise would've been. Immediately Sousei clutches to the rather narrow platform they're on, getting an eyeful of that drop before he manages to drag himself onto said platform, knuckles almost white from his grip onto it.

They're totally moving, too, this is... well, actually, he has no idea what this is, but it can't be anything good.]

What is going on? [It's said sharply, but...a moment later, he realizes that even if Touka still has the notebook, now's a pretty poor time to try to write messages to each other.

Great.]

[Yeah. This is great. Excellent. Fantastic. Looks like she was right about this group being the most likely to get themselves killed, but that doesn't make her happy. Not at all. She has no idea where they've been dropped, but judging by what she hears around her, it's... not good. Not at all. She doesn't need Mosley's announcement to figure out they're going to meet a terrible fate if they don't get out of here.

Impatient bastards.

She knows at least two of her groupmates have no idea of what Mosley just said, so she can only hope her body language is enough to get her message across. With a thoroughly pissed off look on her face, she violently jabs her thumb in a random direction. She hopes that's an universally understood gesture for let's get the hell out of here.]

( The fall almost gives him a heart attack. His body is not made for this kind of adventuring these days. Through sheer force of luck he manages to land on the platform, but is it just him, or is the ground
unsteady under his feet?

His hands are uncomfortably empty: not that he can see it, but both his cane and the Rubik's cube have fallen into the abyss. His hands scramble futilely around him for several moments as he tries to find either of them, but he comes up empty.

He answers the spoken question anyway, almost out of reflex. )

We need to get out of here.

( He takes an unsteady step forward. )

[He can get the idea behind Touka's gesture, and also behind Manfred's attempt at taking a step forward, but instantly, Sousei's hand shoots out to grab Manfred's arm in a steely grip.

He doesn't like the man, no.

That doesn't mean he'll let him fall to his death.]

Stop. The walkway is incredibly narrow, and the drop is extremely far. You won't survive it if you fall.

[Sousei did not sign up to be a seeing eye dog, and yet here he is....... what a life. And to Touka--]

We have to get off this walkway quickly, is that right?

[Usually, she's very good at keeping her balance. She needs to be, in order to pull off some of the stunts she does while using her kagune. But, right now? She's gaining a newly found sense of respect for those who are blind, because keeping a steady footing is more frustrating than it should be, without her sense of vision.

She cannot nod quickly enough, to be honest.] Yeah. Without fucking up this time.

[She's going to be so pissed if she dies by falling to her death. That's just not something that should happen to a ghoul.]

[Missing the platform or not, it's a few seconds after the others that Schrodinger's boots hit the ground as he stands behind Sousei looking around the new room. Well narrow platforms had never bothered, not had moving along things that were already in motion. The real question was just which way were they supposed to go.]

Eyes in front and back?

[schrodinger puts a finger up over each eye and then brings them around to the back. One person to see up front and guide, one in the rear to keep the others from stepping off.]

[Thankfully, it doesn't take much for Sousei to understand the general gist of that idea; he had a similar one, after all. And so he nods for Schrodinger's benefit, and responds out loud for the benefit of the other two.]

Yes. I'll go in front, and Schrodinger can handle the back.

[And he gestures around them, miming looking around, even as he speaks, slowly and carefully.]

We will look for a way out. Tell us if you hear anything. And don't move. This walkway is very narrow.

( His instinct is to rip his arm out of the other man's grip, but fortunately he's able to resist the temptation. Such an action could have potentially sent them both tumbling to their deaths, not that he could know how long the drop was. All he could do was take the others' word for it.

Manfred hated absolutely everything about the situation he currently found himself in. He'd never been the type of man who liked to rely on others. He growls, deep and angry, as he takes his position behind his guide. )

Well, lead the way.

( But honestly, why does he bother talking. Who can even hear him? )

[Well... She can hear him. Not that she wouldn't trade her ability to hear him for her sight at this particular moment, because she hates not being able to take a look at her surroundings. It makes her feel helpless and pathetic, which are two sensations she particularly hates. It's pretty jarring to be so used to doing things on her own, and then suddenly needing someone to help her walk.

Ew.

Still, now is no time for whining. She knows they can't hear her, so she settles for nodding while allowing them to settle into position. She's making sure to keep an ear out for any suspicious sounds, but for now, she has nothing aside from what she's been hearing since they dropped in here.]

[ Unfortunately for them, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of a place for them to go. They could try to make a jump from the walkway to either side, but the drop is far, the technological walls are steep, and with two people who can't see a thing, the likelihood that they could make it is slim to none.

If they keep going forward, there is a doorway that eventually they'll be dumped through.

Or they could backtrack to the other doorway, though the conveyor belt-esque walkway is going the other direction from it. ]

[Quite frankly, he doesn't like the look of either doorway.... but somehow, going along with the walkway's path seems like a bad idea. And so, to Schrodinger, he points to the door across the way, clearly trying to say they should go back. Meanwhile, to the two who can hear but can't see:]

We're going to backtrack. There are two exits. One is in the direction this walkway is already taking us in, so I suggest we go the opposite way.

[Well he doubted that the scientists were trying to lead them towards the goal, given that it had been a maze a few moments ago, so it made sense. Though he was rather curious as to where each door lead.

Vanishing for a moment he reappeared behind the others casually walking in place to keep from going too close to the door the conveyor was leading towards.]

We're going the other way, away from my voice.

[With that he'll just slightly poke whoever it was that happened to be just ahead of him now.]

( Manfred makes another noise of frustration, and takes a wobbly step. Not that it'll take him very far, as someone is still gripping his arm. He is running out of patience. )

Will you lot make your minds up already? Bah. They both probably lead to the same place again.

[She gets the feeling that it's the cat guy poking at her, which is just as well, because it's just another reminder of how stupid this whole affair is. Still, she's not very keen on dying right now, so she gingerly takes a step in the direction she's been told.]

Is all you know how to do complain? Shut up already.

[She's never going on another tour in her life.]

[ If Schrodinger pops his head out of that doorway and takes a look wayyy down the drop below, he'll see a pit.

Friendly!

Meanwhile, the others make their way through to the other doorway, which is, naturally, when the walkway will suddenly reverse directions right when they're nearly to the edge, dumping Manfred, Sousei and Touka into what appears to be a vat of some odd, mostly liquidy substance.

It's cake batter. You're in a vat of cake batter, congratulations. ]

[This is not the day he wanted, this is the worst day, Sousei wants to call this stupid tour off and go home...!!

But either way, suddenly being dumped into a vat of some sort of liquidy substance is alarming for most people, and Sousei's not any exception; he sits up immediately, glancing around and looking for some way out.

Oh.

It's...a vat..... Immediately, he stands (if a little soddenly), reaching for the edge. Oh. He can reach. Okay, this may not be so bad, no need to panic, it's just some weird substance and a vat. So. Right. Checking on the others.]

...Are you alright?

« 001 ⇢ INTERLUDE001.EXE »

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▶ CHECKPOINT TWO.SAV

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▶ FINAL CHECKPOINT.SAV

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