trash bin PART TWO

[al2955]

the pygmalion. . . ??? OPENING PROGRAM . . . . . . . . . _PROGRAM CRASHED _PROGRAM REBOOT? >N >SCAN PROGRAM . . . _PROGRAM CRASHED . . . >EMERGENCY LEVEL . . . >EMERGENCY LEVEL . . . _EMERGENCY LEVEL LOADING LOADING. . . LOADING. . . LOADING TEXTURE-NIGHT-SKY, TEXTURE-FULL-MOON, TEXTURE-DIRT-PATH, TEXTURE-CAMPFIRE LOADING SOUND-CRICKETS, SOUND-GRAVEL, SOUND-WIND, SOUND-FIRE-CRACKLING UPLOADING USER UPLOADING USER UPLOADING USER UPLOAD SUCCESSFUL TRASH BIN It feels more like an electrical zap than dying. Dying might feel a little bit more like falling asleep, but this is harder, more painful. If you've ever been electrocuted, the feeling might seem familiar; the discovery you make when you open your eyes, too, is likely very familiar. It's the night sky. Stars twinkle, a fire cracks warmly. You sit up and observe the surrounding area, and it's like you've woken up in some sort of canyon. The fire burns brightly, the moon shines beautifully, the crickets sing, and it is ... peaceful. Mostly. You know you're dead. This must be, then, the after life? Or something like it, at least. The horizon stretches on forever, the dirt and gravel seemingly endless. The moon is so big and bright, it's like you could reach out and touch her. There's a shed not too far from the fire, only but a stone's throw away, as if someone else might have made it, and then went inside it. Approaching it, you can see the light glowing inside it through the dusty windows that are littered with fingerprints. A computer screen, so large and wide that it's baffling, sits, waiting. Turning knob reveals that the shed is unlocked, and stepping inside... it doesn't feel any different from the outside. A chair sits in the center of the room, a strange contraption strapped to the head of it. It looks like it would lower itself upon the head of whoever dares to sit on it, and wires from it's bottom curl up towards the machines attached to the screen. Several smaller desktop screens sit beneath the giant monitor. They, too, are hooked up to the machines scattered around the room, to the ominous one perched on top of the medical chair, and they blink, as if fighting to stay alive without use. Pressing the giant monitor on, it lights up, and displays, strangely enough... a security camera feed. You push the button. It switches to another room. Again, another room. Again, another room. So on and forth. You peeping tom! But no one can blame you, in the end. You might as well digitally haunt the rest of the ship until the game ends, and AL-2955 can clean out the trash bin. ...Right? rule book taken characters information cards

Comments

[bloodbiter]

[she doesn't feel right about being here - she suspects he wouldn't want her to be. but in the end, doesn't she owe him at least to break through this illusion? to help him find the strength to embrace the truth? she can't bear to not at least assist in that goal.

the environment itself is incredible to her; she's heard about far off festivals and vast marketplaces, but she hadn't had the desire or courage to travel to any such thing while she was among the living. as she walks through this area, she finds herself regretting that.

still, she didn't come here for enjoyment - she knows what she came here for. she's looking around for the nearest person to ask for machias' whereabouts.]

Excuse me? Might you offer some help?

[tacklefordwhimsy]

[Shelley looks around with some nostalgia. Oh, Machias, she never thought you'd be in a place that involved fun]

I don't hear him hollering, I guess...in his perfect world there'd be no need for him to shout.

[But yes, she's sticking aside while Adelina tries to talk to anyone who could be helpful. Where could you be, Machias?]

[deformity]

[ FOOD.

Forget Machias, Allen goes straight for the food first. By the time Adelina's asking for help, Allen's already on his second helping of Milk Crepes, paid for by boyish charm in lieu of money. This might just be virtual reality, but he'll enjoy it while it lasts. ]

We're looking for a very serious and angry boy. You might recognize him by the way he shouts. It's rather distinctive.

[ Of course, he didn't just get some for himself. There's also a Royal Crepe and a Gorgeous Crepe, should Shelley and Adelina accept when he offers the items to them. ]

[tacklefordwhimsy]

[You're a peach, Allen. She takes the crepe]

[thanatosincarnate]

{ Allen... please-- Shelley, you two. Arumat will just be hanging back, observing his surroundings while the kids indulge in some food over there and Adelina's doing her thing. He doesn't have any other better ideas on how to approach the situation as of yet, after all. }

...

[deformity]

[ This is why Arumat doesn't get a crepe. Party pooper!! ]

[breakshot]

[ Looks like the people Adelina approached aren't students at all. It's an older middle-aged man in a suit, and forest green hair. He's wearing glasses. Accompanying him is a younger woman with short, blonde hair and in a simple dress. The older man turns to the group, his tone pleasant and with an overall sense of amicability. ]

"Haha… I’d be happy to, but I’m afraid we just got here ourselves."

[ The young woman beside him greets them with a smile, before glancing back to a sheet of paper in her hand. ]

"We’re just a bit early, seems like. Still, according to the pamphlet... They'll be performing in the auditorium, right here." [ She'll tap to the pamphlet she's holding, with a map of the school campus on the back. ] "It'll be a fun performance for sure. Let's see, we're supposed to meet in the main building."

"Well then, let's not keep him waiting." [ He turns back towards Adelina and the others, smiling. ] "I'm afraid we have to go. However if you've lost someone, I'd try the asking the student council over there. They're a bunch of hard workers - I can assure you they'd be more than happy to help you with anything you need."

[ The older man gestures to another stand close to the main building and indeed, a bunch of students are close by. On the table is a stack of the same pamphlets. Examine? Follow the two strangers inside? Eat more crepes?! The choice is yours! ]

[tacklefordwhimsy]

A performance? Like theater or a talent show?

[Shelley is taking one of the pamphlets]

[bloodbiter]

[she's approaching the student council with a smile.]

Hello. I'm looking for someone named Machias Regnitz - would you be able to assist me?

[thanatosincarnate]

{ ...Arumat tries to sneakily take a crepe since the other two put forth the questions. Look, it's a good thing he's not talking yet because he's bad with words, ok. }

[deformity]

[ Allen's choice is crepes and he grudgingly shares the rest of his with Arumat.

But really, he looks attentive enough as Adelina speaks to the student council. ]

[breakshot]

[ Looks like that got their attention! The student looks up, before making a slight pondering noise as she carefully thinks the question over. ]

"I think I might have saw him heading into the main building. Are you here for the chess club's event? If so, that's being held over at the student union building. I can show you the way, if you like."

[ Two other students glance over, flashing a slightly disbelieving look. ]

"Seriously? They can't find Regnitz?"

"Right? They really ought to get their ears checked if they’re having a hard time tracking him down."

[ Looks like Machias doesn't even get a break back home about his yelling. Shelley will find that the pamphlet indeed contains information about each of the events. It seems the performance could refer to two things: an operetta put on by Class I, or a concert by the students of Class VII. Checking the info on Class I's event will reveal nothing too out of place, with its time listed in plain sight. It's tonight.

However, when flipping to the page containing information about Class VII's concert, there's nothing there. Instead, all they'll find is a single sentence: "Look for me in a maze of verdure, beneath a perennial blanket of lights." ]

[deformity]

Wait -- he's a part of the chess club? Do you play it with yelling and guns here?

[ 'Cause, uh, where Allen comes from, they play it with concentration and silence. ]

So we're to head to the main building?

[bloodbiter]

I think so.

[she's leaning over shelley's shoulder, though, curious.]

A maze...?

[tacklefordwhimsy]

Maybe we should separate in groups. Some go to the chess club thing, the others go to the maze.

Dibs on the maze!

[thanatosincarnate]

...The chess club for me, then.

{ He'll mutter, and prepare to go off whenever everyone's all set. }

[bloodbiter]

I'll go with Shelley to the maze, I think, if that's acceptable.

[deformity]

Right. Chess club it is. Stay safe, ladies.

[ ok, it's supposed to be a paradise, but let's not forget Kazuma's Cradle... #EvilLivesMatterApparently ]