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

[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?

[While falling into a giant vat of cake batter might be a dream come true for some people, for Touka, it's. Uh. Kind of nauseating, really. She only gets a tiny little drop on her tongue, having opened her mouth in surprise when they fell, but that's enough to have her gagging and spitting it out. Alas, she probably would have played it cool if she could see what she's in.

But she can't.

So.]

Ugh— Just fine. [Mostly murderous, tbh.] What the fuck is this shit?

[She knows at least one of them can't hear what she's saying, but she hopes that her huffing, scowling, and angry pointing at whatever they're in will get her an explanation.]

[He'll certainly avoid going with the gators, though he does remain a few steps behind the others, ensuring that the blind don't step off from the path. Though once the direction changes and they fall in the rest fall into the batter he'll simply take a seat off to the side.]

Well I suppose it's better than alligators. Though you still look like you're about to be eaten.

[Though he can't hear, he's still going to wait and try to see if he can't pick up when they get further directions.]

( One more fall might just about kill him. One moment, he's making precarious progress and the next, the floor's disappeared from underneath his feet and he finds himself submerged in some sort of disgusting substance. He scoops up some of it in his hands and feels the vicious substance trickle down between his fingers. )

Whafever it is, it is ruining my suit.

( With that exclamation he begins to trudge forward to the best of his ability, with no care of who or what is in front of him.

Better be careful if you want to avoid Manfred's flailing limbs! )

[Nobody cares about your suit, Manfred. Sousei ducks the flailing limbs, grabs the edge of the vat and levers himself out easily enough, balancing himself on the narrow edge. He's not even going to bother trying to ask Schrodinger to help at this point; he can't hear him anyway, and he'll get the idea of what he's doing. Instead, he reaches down to grab Touka's arm.]

I'm going to pull you out. Hold tightly to me.

[At least he can drag the cake battered group out of the vat, if they work with him.]

. . . OLD FILE OVERWRITTEN . . . CHECKPOINT FINAL.SAV . . .
. . . CONTINUING TOUR.EXE. . .

[ When they pull themselves out of the vat, they'll find themselves in a much larger, and emptier, room. There are no scientists here, but there are rows and rows and rows of experiments. There are strange chemicals in jars or large beakers or glass cases, and the HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS sign also makes it rather obvious.

Also there's no oven or anything, so it seems they're safe when it comes to being baked into a cake. Mosley must have put that there for your convenience and safe landing, isn't he nice. ]

[Good to know they won't be baked and fed to CEO. Not that it makes this whole ordeal any less unpleasant, but, still. Good to know.

Sousei, at least, will have an easy enough time getting Touka out of the vat. She's all too eager to get out of that gross pool of... whatever. She also has no idea that it was cake batter, but she does know that it was gross and that she's going to have to destroy these clothes afterwards. Ugh.

The room they're currently in feels weird, though. In a way that she can't exactly pin down, because it's not like she has the eyesight to confirm it. She waits until she feels that the other three are close enough before turning in what she assumes is their general direction, pointing towards one of her eyes, and then gesturing at their surroundings. She wants to know what they see.]

Where are we?

[Said mostly for the old man's benefit, honestly.]

( Manfred clambers unsteadily of of the vat, panting with exertion. His head whips around in the girl's direction when she asks her question. )

Where are we? Clearly we're still stuck in the underbelly of some useless CERES building.

( He should never have gone on this tour. )

It...appears to be a laboratory of some sort. The signs on the wall say they manufacture "hazardous chemicals" here.

[Sousei frowns, even as he flicks cake batter from his ponytail.]

Be careful not to touch anything. [A beat.] These may be what caused us to lose our hearing and sight in the first place, and worse.

[ There is going to be a large crash off to the side when suddenly Mosley comes flying into the room at a run. He tries to stop in front of the group but is going much too fast and ends up skidding across the floor instead. He slips and lands straight on his face, flying into a table and knocking over a stand of glass beakers. He covers his head as the glass crashes around him and after it settles, finally looks up. He'll stare straight at the group for a moment before he gets up, fixes his suit, and walks right over. His hair is still all over the place though.

You might want to point out that piece of glass sticking out of his forehead. Or might not, it's up to you. A bubble of black liquid coats the edges of it, oddly enough. ]

You are not supposed to be here. My mistake. Instead, have this --

[ He pulls out a stack of brown cards from his suit and shoves them at each group member, right in their chest. There is one for Manfred, Touka, Schrodinger, and Sousei. After all of that, he claps his hands together loudly and starts walking off. ]

Come on already. Come on. Ms. Kirishima, please hold Mr. Schrodinger's hand. He's the one to your left. The same goes for Mr. von Karma and Mr. Abe. Mr. von Karma is on your left. Hurry up.

[ And off they go! ]

[A report card, wait why did he have straight Fs. He actually somewhat helped with the group, and how was he supposed to know that one room had been off limits. Oh well, tossing it aside he just shrugged it off, though seeing the black liquid emerge from the wound of Mosley did remind him of something else.]

You seem to have made a bit of a mess, are you sure you shouldn't clean it up?

[With that entrance they must not be too dangerous of chemicals, and the other seemed alive even after crashing into them. He'll also try to peek over Touka's shoulder to see her grades as well.]

[What the fuck. What the shit. It sounds like someone just crash landed hard, and if it was Mosley as she's assuming, she's extremely disappointed she didn't get to see it. That, and whatever it is that was just shoved at her. This day sucks and she never wants to speak of it again.

Probably.]

Haa... If we're not supposed to be here, then don't dump us here in the first place. [JERKS.

There is also no way in hell that she's grabbing someone's hand like a child, so instead, she'll grunt and reach to grab Schrodinger's wrist. This gives him the perfect opportunity to see her equally as awful grades, if he doesn't mind the fact that (if she successfully grabbed him) she's a twitch away from crushing his wrist. Also, she's totally holding it like she's the one that's going to lead the way. Yeah.]

. . . OLD FILE ERASED . . . END TOUR.EXE. . .
. . . STARTING RESET.EXE. . .

[ Mosley leads the group through the lab without bothering to even wipe away at the weird blackish substance on his face, and as soon as he's made it to an elevator, he shoves them all in and off they go!

To floor 1 and the entrance of the building. And then he shows them out, making sure they have their report cards in hand (except for Schrodinger who threw his aside. Jerk.).

It takes one IC day, but slowly their sight and hearing starts to return, gradually at first and then all at once.

And as soon as they have made it home, all at once, their CereVices will ring and when they're pulled out, each screen will show a certain robot those may remember from the previous event. He stares at them blankly for a while before a slow smile spreads across his face and then screen turns black. A few seconds pass and suddenly, letter by letter, a message is shown on the screen. ]

T H A N K S
[ And then the CereVice goes dead. Unfortunately, it'll still be out of service for the next six hours before turning on again and working just like normal after that. Well, except for the fact that any information on the CereVice recorded during the tour is now gone. Whoops. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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▶ FINAL CHECKPOINT.SAV

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