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Post by Raven8 on Oct 9, 2021 21:03:42 GMT -8
Amid the dense fog and heavy wave-interference of the legendary Bermuda Maze, one decidedly non-wave destination yet remains. Standing tall above the ocean and lost in the fog, a towering structure rises above a man-made, mobile island. Those passing by may wonder what this structure could possibly be, and may see it as the refuge amid the lost haze of this forsaken patch of torn reality, but the truth is revealed in the sight of the bright red insignia that seems to defy the fog; a giant "W". It's been many, many years since any outsiders have walked on these shores...
....but any who do manage to find the lost island of Lynux will realize... that something isn't right.
The sandy shores of the island are now rocky and inhospitable, littered with splinters from the now long-dead palm trees that once thrived in the unnaturally mobile soil. Vermin and insects, scouring the shore for any last chance at survival, scurry across the shore and disappear into the litter like ghosts when disturbed. Further in, a few zombie trees, lifeless and rotting in the blanketing humidity of the Bermuda Maze's fog, point the way to the building itself. The runway that was once walked on by heroes in preparation for the Eternal Endgame is cracked and in disrepair, damaged by the crashing waves and a decade of disrepair. The satellite dishes that once faced in a singular direction ominously are now facing in random directions and overrun by rust, with some now laying lifeless on the ground. The tower itself is a shamble of its former glory, with large chunks of the cement structure lost as a tax to time, and the paint all but torn away by the salty sea air. The glass doors that enter the building are cracked and shattered, laying as shards of sharp, shimmering gems of no worth. Beyond them, the tremendous viewing screen is cracked down the center and half-fallen, with the tell-tale signs of water damage seeping out from beneath it.
...what happened here?
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Post by Warrior on Oct 10, 2021 13:16:19 GMT -8
#s://i~imgur~com/stQVi94~png " Ms. Nymphra, we've arrived. "
Faith's relationship with the Pele family proved resourceful yet again. It so happened that their nameless limousine driver was also a pilot, which went hand in hand with the family's private jet. Despite the difficulties involved with not only finding but even landing on a constantly moving island, this was much more convenient than Faith having to swim here if she hadn't had this connection.
" Thank you for helping me out on such a short notice. And... about Seth? "
" He prefers not to disclose at this time. "
Seth Pele was the father of that family, and Faith's mentor in years passed. Nobody had heard from him in quite some time though, so she was concerned as to why he'd created so much distance between them so suddenly.
" Alright... as long as he's okay. "
That was an issue to address at a later time, though. Exiting from the plane, Faith made her way up the ruined runway; her PET housing Genesis in her hand and an amulet made of pure Magno Metal resting on her chest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
" ... "
Her red scarf biased with the direction of the wind as she made her way all the way into the building, scanning the ominous scenery carefully in a way that telegraphed her discomfort. The place certainly gave her the creeps.
Before making it much further, she spoke to the Navi in her PET as if to get reassurance on trespassing here.
" Remind me, if you would, Genesis. What's our objective here? "
Her eyes didn't stay on the screen for long, as they immediately went back to surveying her surroundings -- very clearly concerned of being caught offguard by the likes of a ghost or phantom, given the atmosphere.
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Post by Genesis on Oct 10, 2021 16:53:39 GMT -8
*He couldn't say that he had experience with this place personally, but this was far from his own expectations at that. He imagined that things had gone sour, but the state of things here made everything appear as though it might have even been difficult for the old man to still be alive here. The W might have been telling enough as it were, but the state of the practical ghost town was more than telling that he had underestimated what happened over all these years just the same.*
"Our purpose this time is intelligence gathering. According to one of my sources, the now impeached Exa Hikari is here. He has information about something that can help with the current situation. But where he is in all of this is difficult to say."
*Would they be better off taking an approach where they both investigated the area? That carried its own risks, but at this point he supposed worrying about those risks with the potential of putting Faith at risk already and in essence his only way out now to begin with would make him less concerned about those risks. That and they would need to find a way for him to jack in to begin with.*
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Post by Warrior on Oct 10, 2021 21:36:49 GMT -8
#s://i~imgur~com/stQVi94~png " Alright. I guess I'll start looking around. "
She instinctively looked for a jack-in port on the monitor before thinking how badly damaged it was. Even if there was a port, the water damage alone probably ruined it. But she'd keep an eye out for ports going forward nonetheless -- there was likely a lot more information on the network than there was lying around in this wreck of a building, but Genesis' sources were usually pretty valid up until now, so there was no doubt they'd at least find a lead to the former-president Hikari in all of this.
Without anymore delays, but with all the same caution as before, Faith made her way through the ground level -- or at least as much of it that she would be able to access for the time being.
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Post by Raven8 on Oct 11, 2021 12:19:30 GMT -8
Passing by the graveyard of communications equipment, Faith's steps splash and slosh quietly through the puddles on the tile floor of the WWW HQ main lobby, all formed from the condensation of the oppressive fog. Searching the room, she finds it to be rather simple in design; while large, it's not as grand in size as one would expect of the HQ of an organization like World 3. Roughly 100-200 people could comfortably fit in the lobby, but not many more. Walking farther into the decrepit tower, Faith would note stairs on either side of the broken monitor, each leading to a platform behind it with a single elevator in the center.
Investigations prove fruitful, as Faith would discover a full line of jack-in ports along the bottom of the monitor, and would also spy a few jack-in ports beside the elevator. On top of all of this, she'd also notice a protected wireless network available to her PET. It's weak, but it is definitely there.
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Post by Warrior on Oct 11, 2021 12:49:43 GMT -8
#s://i~imgur~com/stQVi94~png Having already made it to the elevator, Faith figured that was the best spot to jack into. She giggled audibly at how silly she felt doing it.
" This is nostalgic, hmm? If you'd like, I can scream this out like in ancient times. "
There'd be none of that as she jacked Genesis into the network, but her tease at least helped to ease her own anxiety. Harmony between humans and navis was "how things should be", in her mind's eye -- helping one another to overcome obstacles the other could not -- so having him work one end while she worked the other struck a good chord with her.
Of course, she didn't want to press that too much, knowing his stance on matters. But she showed enough that it was clear she was enjoying this in, as she said, a nostalgic sort of way.
" I'm hoping you can access the whole network from there, so I can jack you out from anywhere else if we need to. Meanwhile, we can still keep comms through the wireless network while I press on ahead. "
She pulled the chord when she was finished and waited for the elevator, preemptively regretting having to search each floor one by one until they found a more specific lead on where to go.
" Stay safe in there. "
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Post by Genesis on Oct 11, 2021 13:02:15 GMT -8
*For some of the jack-in ports to still be accessible meant that they could be used to operate the facility. Or rather, that there had to be at least one Navi who very likely had been accessing the facility. One way to look at it was that it was Gate who was doing so given the exclusive W that was here. But he couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing here. Perhaps because of the literal air in the space, he knew for a fact that something was off here. And it was something that his informat was likely unaware of just the same.*
"What was the cause of their falling out?"
*Could it have been because he had no further use at the end of the License System? But that had never been quite the cause of the falling outs before, had it? In fact, there was a key question that he should ask later about one falling out that a certain tactical field operative had with the criminal mastermind. The reasons for it were never quite explained in detail as much as the event took place. But what disagreement had they had that caused him to be taken off of the board, but only put on ice rather than deleted and discarded? Why the contrast here, then? He was ripped from his thoughts with a light chuckle however at Faith's tease. Truly, they did need to lighten the mood occasionally these days as he would find himself within the network now.*
"There is no need to shout it out. Though it would paint quite the image, right out of legend itself. Just the same, you stay safe out there. We are in this together."
*Even with his stance he understood the harmony that was required here. He needed her and she needed him. Together they would discover what was here and be able to move on to what came next, come what may ideally. Now he would have to see if he couldn't get the elevator working, as he imagined that should be their first step while also looking for any leads to take them in the right direction.*
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Post by Raven8 on Oct 11, 2021 14:29:30 GMT -8
As Faith plugs in her PET, the socket sparks slightly, obviously unused for a substantial amount of time. However, the network does amazingly appear to Faith, and Genesis is able to access it without issue. What they find, though....
Before Genesis is an archaic-style network of platforms over an empty reality. However, this particular network lacks all of the personality that made others truly stand out and unique. The platforms and connections are all flat gray, and the background is flat black. No music, no sound, simply the melody of Genesis' own thoughts to play him through this silent area.
What he finds is a set of simple platforms laid out in a row, ten in all, with jack-in portals on each. The first is alive, the ninth is alive, and all others are black and lifeless. With Genesis jacked in, Faith would also hear the low hum of power restoring to the elevator, as all ten floors of the WWW compound become accessible to she and Genesis.
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Post by Genesis on Oct 11, 2021 14:48:07 GMT -8
*This was the opposite of the grand networks that he usually expected from the WWW. If anything this was bare-bones and denoted that it was here only out of necessity. More than unnerving was the fact he found it once again telling of the situation here. Moving to the platforms and touching down, why was it that one and nine were alive but the rest were all lifeless? Especially since all ten floors became accessible to them as a result, something he would have to communicate to Faith on her end.*
"There is nothing special on my end, which is in itself special. There are simply ten platforms, the first and the ninth alive with the other eight black and lifeless. But the compound itself is accessible now..."
*They could take that as the fact that the ninth floor was where they should search next. But what was with this? Could it have been using its power to maintain something else in the meantime that it no longer needed to support? ...Nothing for it for now then. He would let Faith decide how they would move from here with that information and follow her lead.*
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Post by Warrior on Oct 11, 2021 15:13:16 GMT -8
#s://i~imgur~com/stQVi94~png " Ten floors and ten platforms seems like enough correlation to me, so to the ninth story we go. "
Assuming the power to the elevator would hold out, of course. She'd hate to get stuck halfway up -- all the more reason to match the dots here. Likewise, if it was the only other place she'd be able to jack Genesis back out, then it'd be best to head there until the rest of the jack-out portals became accessible.
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Post by Raven8 on Oct 17, 2021 11:32:11 GMT -8
Faith enters the elevator, and is soon relieved to discover that it does work as intended more-or-less. The doors slide open at a painfully slow rate, showing how little they've been used recently, and shut again in a similar fashion. Soon, the elevator is moving at a snail's pace up the shaft, passing by a floor every 20 seconds or so.
Second floor.
Third floor.
Fourth floor.
Still the elevator chugs along, never slowing and never showing signs of stopping.
Fifth floor.
Sixth floor....
....then the faint sound of a deep, throbbing pulse starts to echo. It's quiet at first, barely audible. But with each passing second it grows louder and louder. As the elevator ascends, the constant, rhythmic sound resonates harder and harder.
Seventh floor... even louder. It becomes obvious now that it's actually a double-pulse, with two beats passing in unison and then a bit of a pause.
Eighth floor... the sound is now clear, ringing out through the silence perfectly. Each passing beat grows louder and louder, and each rhythmic pulse drives the situation home harder and harder. The elevator is slowing now, and the building had no apparent stairwells or fire escapes; Faith is at the mercy of this dilapidated building, and deletion is not a simple matter. This is real danger, and she's getting closer and closer to the source of this ungodly, repetitive sound. Her lone lifeline is this elevator, and who knows how long it will keep working?
Ninth floor. The sound of the pulse is now nearly as loud as a normal speaking voice, and it grows only louder as the doors open. Stepping out, Faith would discover the room to be strangely empty and dark. The tile flooring shows voids where furniture once was, and strange connections across the walls now lie unused. Whatever this room is, someone completely cleared it out at some point.
But the sound... it's from beyond this empty room. The darkness hides much in this poorly lit room, but the sound soon leads Faith to a wall near the back, and it's here that she discovers a door hidden in the shadows. A door that hides whatever this noise is, and perhaps a door that hides the reason for their journey to Lynux Island... but is it worth the risk of finding out what lies on the other side?[
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Post by Warrior on Oct 17, 2021 12:38:26 GMT -8
#s://i~imgur~com/stQVi94~png " This sound is killing me... you hear it too, right? "
To say that she was nervous during the elevator ride was an understatement -- her outside demeanor didn't show it as much this time, but in her mind she was formulating ways to escape if it did finally give out. In all of the movies, they'd climb out of the roof and into the shaft somehow, but there certainly wasn't any trap door above her waiting to be unhinged in an emergency.
Luckily, her anxiety of getting trapped in the elevator would finally pass as she made it to their destination, but her anxiety in general didn't get any better as the sound was louder than ever now, drawing her to a door concealed in darkness.
She looked into her PET again before opening it, being naturally cautious enough to get a second opinion before barging in.
" Last chance to stop me if we're having any doubts here. Any last second warnings or advice? "
Whether or not Genesis saw the door from the PET didn't matter too much for the context, and in the worst case, he'd just ask her if she wanted to save her data before stepping forward, but reassurance never hurt.
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Post by Genesis on Oct 17, 2021 13:51:42 GMT -8
"I hear it, but just try to think of it as your own heartbeat and it may make it easier to deal with."
*He wasn't as used to having to hear a pulse like that, though Faith could no doubt hear it more audibly than he could. And these days it was starting to become a more familiar noise too for different reasons. But getting past the elevator and now to the final room here did make sense that she was willing to second guess here and now. It was foreboding to say the least, but if he had to look at this from a possible point of view, then his take on their situation was a bit different in the end.*
"This is ominous, but I think at this point we need to press onward. If we sprung any trap, we'd have already done so by now. And we've managed through all the traps we've met so far. We can do the same again."
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Post by Warrior on Oct 17, 2021 13:58:53 GMT -8
#s://i~imgur~com/stQVi94~png " Heh. "
Faith chuckled quietly at the surprisingly sound advice regarding the noise. And with Genesis' reassurance, she put her PET away and reached for the door.
" Let's see where the rabbit hole leads, then. "
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Post by Raven8 on Oct 17, 2021 15:19:04 GMT -8
The door creeks open, giving Faith the final increase in volume to the consistent pulsing that she'd been hearing. This was the source, for better or for worse.
The room laid out is small and dimly lit by a single window that looks out to the fog that enshrouds Lynux Island, too high up to even reliably see the small island below, and this room may as well be one solid machine. Devices of unknown use line the room, working constantly at whatever their task may be, but these are not the source of the sound.
Poised in the center of this dimly lit room is a simple, metal bed. On this bed lies the source of the ungodly noise that had plagued Faith; a large, metallic machine of some sort that drapes itself over the upper half of the bed entirely. But it's beyond this strange machine that Faith would see it. Barely lit by the foggy window is a face, and it's looking to her with a grin.
In the bed lies a man, likely in his early-50s, who looks on to Faith. The machine in question entirely covers his chest, and his body seems to move slightly with each pulse. His long, dull, gray hair falls from his head in a disheveled and unkept manner, and his wrinkled, bearded face peers out from above the machine. In response to Faith's presence, he raises a single hand. Across the back of his hand is what appears to be a metallic skeleton that moves in unison with his joints... or perhaps for them. A simple motion requests Faith to walk closer to the old man as his sneering, grinning smile and unblinking eyes look on with a deep and focused intensity.
Exa Hikari: It's been terribly long since my last guest. Please, come in and stay a while.
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