#1 -- It's Not The End Of The World, And I Sure Can't See It From Here

[risingshepard]

Characters: Commander Shepard and YOU CRAZY KIDS.
Setting: Room 3-15, then anywhere around the dorm, I guess. October 13th.
Format: Prose for the post itself, but I'll match you.
Summary: Shepard would like to put a cap in the admins' asses. :|
Warnings: Foul language, but other than that, IDEK. I'll edit as necessary.

Room 3-15

Something didn't sit well this fine morning. Actually, two things.

One, she wasn't in her cabin on the Normandy. She was pretty damn sure she didn't have any ryncol at the Citadel during her brief shore leave...nor did she do anything else that would amount to having a huge hangover when she woke up. What the hell was going on? How did she get sucked into this place? The second thing that was a bother--quite obviously--was the note. Her world was 'destroyed'? Someone 'saved' her? From what, saving her galaxy from the damnable Reaper threat at large?

Well, she isn't having any of that.

"'Let's be happy here', my ass."

Said note was handily crushed and thrown aside.

Bullshit. Pure bullshit.

That was the main thought that was running through her head after only two readings. No, she wasn't going to believe it--she wasn't going to let herself be deceived by this. She was going to go over to whoever 'rescued' her and punch them. This was nonsense of the highest degree. This was like waking up and finding you were brought back to the land of the living by a terrorist organization. It was not pleasant, nor was it her idea of a good time. Suffice to say--she needed answers, and she was going to get them by any means necessary--diplomacy or otherwise. Shepard stands up after a moment, taking some time to cradle the headache that she'd gotten from going over the note. For all intents and purposes, her life was cosmic hell--and she knew it.

No use sitting around here like a stump. I better get a move on.

...It's only then that she notices the trunk her belongings were in; she puts on her uniform, takes out the Phalanx inside, and sets off out of her room--though depending on who's there, she might not get further than a few steps before she runs into someone.

Anywhere else in said Dorms

There is a woman clad in a black Cerberus Officer Uniform with a pistol at her hip passing through the halls. To say she doesn't look happy about her situation is an understatement--maybe she's one of the newcomers? It sounds like it, judging by the occasional muttering of curses towards her 'saviors'...

Approach her?

Comments

dorms!

[chainsawn]

[ Urotsuki looks.. well, a little less friendly than usual, considering she's stuck in a chainsaw serial killer outfit including chainsaw and hockey mask. But she's still just a teenager, so the fact she's pretty short makes it way less intimidating. She's curiously staring (although it's hard to tell with the mask) at the woman, although after a while she's apparently curious enough to speak up. ]

.. Did you say something..? [ The voice is at least obviously a girl in her mid-teens, and it's blank as if it's difficult to even tell the emotion. ]

IT IS SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU COMMANDER /)*A*(\

[dialectics]

[ You don't have very far to go before you see Legion, in the room across the hall, exiting itself. It appears to have been chatting with someone, but it notices Shepard and makes a beeline for the Commander, happy to rejoin her side. ]

Shepard-Commander.

[ The words don't really express how GLAD it is to see you safe. ]

You have arrived. The rest of the crew is not yet here. You are undamaged?

[ There must still be hope then, that the info the Admins gave them were false, if Shepard arrived here AFTER Legion did. Besides, it seriously doubted after that suicide mission anything less than a Reaper itself could take them down. They'd gotten out of there with everyone intact, after all.

If anyone could figure out how the hell to get out of this place and free those stuck inside it, Legion figures it's the Commander. ]

1/2 She can tell!

[risingshepard]

[...Oh, hello there, it's the one Geth she can trust despite all the oddities it's shown since she first encountered it on the derelict. She grins a little.]

Legion.

[Trust her, she's glad to know at least one of her crew's around. ...Sure misses the others, though--especially the quarian and turian that were her vanguard.]

Don't worry about wounds or anything--I'm just fine.

2/2 Also unexpected callbacks to "Shepard-Wrex". Oops?

[risingshepard]

[The fact that they weren't here at all, though, gives her reason to glower a little--if the Reapers really did tear apart their home galaxy, then those idiots handling the rescue operations better have a way to undo the milky paste the crew must be at this point. Otherwise, she'll be really pissed.]

Sounds like we're in a pretty bad spot, though. How long have you been stuck here without the others?

dorm floors-

[pitiedthefool]

[Want to talk about unhappy? Try walking on two thin blades with only the bottom of your 'boots' protecting your feet. Sure, this wouldn't be a problem were he a god like the one in his head... but he really kind of can't hover like him or his headgod's sister.

He had just come to check on his little sister and make sure she had the amount of candy she needed when he saw an older woman exit the same room he knows she was assigned...]

...I take it you just woke up here?

[Says the nearly six-foot tall teenager who is somehow perfectly balanced with those crazy boots as he takes off the mask temporarily, all poker-faced. Welcome to Helltower home of the Hellburger can he take your order?]

This is the best way to be introduced to a bowlcut period. 8|

[risingshepard]

[That's unsurprising. Purse Owner power =/= being able to float like Margaret. 8|

She cradles her head a little, nodding slightly.] Woke up with a damn migraine, yeah. This was the best thing to get out of bed to.

[...And then she actually gets a better look at him, and just. Raises a brow. Bowlcut, what is with that outfit? She'll take a Hellburger filled with ryncol, thank you. 8|]

..... whoops I did not even notice that LOL

[dialectics]

[ The answer is instantaneous, of course. At least Legion will be a decent asset in terms of defense and hacking, as well as calculation and information gathering--its downloaded all that it could find publically from a Terminal on the Network to it's own data banks, so it could help Shepard out with the important information to know, at least. ]

We have been in "Tower" exactly 1 month, or 30 days, 720 hours, 43,200 minutes, and 2,592,000 seconds and counting.

[ You asked... but, it easily hops into step next to Shepard as though she's been here all along. She might notice the Violet Collar Legion's wearing, perhaps. Odd, you wouldn't expect a machine would need a collar for... whatever they're for. ]

The way this facility is run closely resembles Collector operation. However, we have seen no signs that the organics and inorganics taken here are being used in the same way, nor have we seen anything that would suggest an alliance with the Old Machines.

[risingshepard]

[...It takes her all of two seconds to register that there was a kid wandering around like some chainsaw spook. Okay, what the hell? What was she doing with that? Why was she holding onto it in the first place? Did some idiot decide 'oh, I know where to put this chainsaw! Let's leave it in a teenage child's hands!' and do exactly that without a second thought? Freaking morons...

She cradles her head again.] No, I didn't. More importantly, shouldn't you put that down before you slash someone's arm off?

My eyes are set to 'meme', clearly. 8|

[risingshepard]

[And as always, those thousand-something programs in Legion's hard drive never cease to amaze her with how quickly they come up with a consensus. Speaking of which...that's something for her to bring up later, if it doesn't during their conversation.] Give it time, then...they'll come along sooner or later. [She hopes.]

Well, at least we know they're not indoctrinated. [For what that was worth, at this point.] Can't say I trust them at all, regardless.

[The collar doesn't escape her attention, either. Huh...what was that doing there? She didn't see anything like that on it before...she'll motion to it, as if to ask what that's for.]

Thank you, Ruana???? (1/2)

[pitiedthefool]

[Indeed. At least, until it overtakes him... At that point it's anyone's guess.]

You should be able to find some asprin in the infirmary on the second floor.

[He's been there countless times for the headaches he gets occasionally, along with helping another person down there for when his Personae's magic doesn't help. Also, don't think he didn't notice that look.]

It's one of the games those that brought us here enjoy pulling on us. Apparently Halloween is a month-long thing for them.

[Speaking of, he glances toward the room she just came from. Despite his face not changing a bit, a flicker of concern shows in his eyes for a brief moment before-]

[kotodo]

[-the mask snaps back over his face.]

Damn it.

In the most deadpan fashion ever. 8|

[risingshepard]

I'll keep that in-- [...What the heck? No, seriously. What the heck just happened? Did that mask just snap shut on its own? What even--? It didn't even look like it was going to fall back over his face there. What is this ornery horsedung she's seeing?] --mind.

[...Give her a sec. She's facepalming again.] ...Is that a thing for them, too?

ALL PHASERS SET TO "MEME"!!! Firing in 3... 2...

[dialectics]

We are one 99.6 percent certain that indoctrination has not occurred in this facility.

[ At this, it just makes a kind of not-quite-shrug motion. It. It actually has no idea what the hell the collar's for.

As for the admins... ]

We have combed the local network here extensively and gathered what data was able to be decrypted or was public and available. We may be able to answer some of the questions you have about this place, though many subjects still remain unknown at this point in time.

Seems legit. 8|

[kotodo]

[Yes, yes it did. The boy sighs, slowly doing likewise as the mask made his eyes appear to glow yellow due to the lenses within it. How annoying...]

...Yes. If we try to remove a part of the costume, it generally appears on our person again when we aren't paying attention.

[His voice is slightly muffled by the mask, but otherwise he sounds... similar(?) to how he did a moment ago.]

Odd as it is, this isn't the worst I've seen here...yet.

[> You may get the feeling that this strange boy may be able to answer a few questions...]

Doubly legit. 8|

[risingshepard]

Peachy. [It's not hard for her to pick up on how familiar to the ways of this screwed up tower he sounds. Heck, his muffled tone probably sells it--kid's probably been through at least two years here.] You seem pretty adjusted to it, though. Not the first time you've had to deal with these stunts?

Y e p . 8|

[kotodo]

[Oh Commander, if only you knew... Oh wait.] It will be seven months in around a week. They tend to spring something once every month, so you learn to adapt and overcome.

[Otherwise, their actions may very well break you... but he has the feeling this newcomer may know that with how she carries herself. He offers a faint nod.]

Yu Narukami. If you have any questions about this tower, I could try to answer.

Now that just leaves how this would've gone if this were Jason month, instead... 8|

[risingshepard]

[Oh, she knows alright. Husks, Reapers, Scions, and Collectors have made the potential horrors she could face in this hellhole that much more tolerable.] Not that different from what I was putting up with back home, then. [Not that she'd explain what that meant, unless asked.]

Commander Alia Shepard of the Normandy. A pleasure. [Just a moment's pause...] You happen to know who our 'saviors' are?

[Because she wants to pistolwhip the whole lot.]

Considering last month... not so different. 8|

[kotodo]

[He'll probably ask once the social link is more developed, but that glint in his eyes said enough: Welcome to the club. ...Wait, 'Commander Shepard'?]

...Ah. You must be the one Legion spoke of so fondly, then. [...For a machine, anyway. It's kind of interesting to hear the faint hint of a smile behind that mask. In that case, he'll answer the best he can. A friend or ally of one of those who helped save many others from what Jason did to them last month is an ally of his.] ...I've met them, yes. In total, there are five... though I'd only be worried about two of them.

[Because no, not the bitty. D:]

Riki's in charge of maintenance. He normally doesn't say much, but when he's in charge things tend to turn into mazes or some kind of puzzle.
Dax is the more humane of the bunch. Can normally tell he's in charge when there's a decent selection of food in the cafeteria, not just the restaurant.

[...and then his gaze turns cold and distant.]

Ruana's the one in charge this month, if my guess is right. She tends to make everything into a game and use seemingly innocent things and turn it into nightmare fuel.
Jason is the one over any medical issues and the one to bring us back if we happen to die, and one of the least kind of the group. If you can think of the stereotypical mad scientist shtick, he probably fits it perfectly. He has a thing for experimenting on those brought here and takes his job seriously. ...also a pretty sore loser, as Legion helped us figure out last month.

[All. The smugness. For at least four seconds.]

...Then there's Zo, the little kid that brought us here... and I mean it. He's only sixteen months old.

[Y e a h . . .]

As for finding them... it's easy. Surviving is another story since they tend to bend reality and the laws of physics.

Why am I not surprised by this--Oh, it's because it's the two nightmares of the tower. Go fig. 8|

[risingshepard]

[Yup, the one and only Commander Shepard, great Paragon to all mankind, alienkind, and geth-kind. She nods in response and quirks her brow again for a split sec, if only slightly less than she did just a while back. She watches him, listening intently to what he has to say, gradually filing off the bits of info that are most relevant to what she needs to know.

...She also suddenly wants to avoid Zo and go straight for Ruana and Jason--wouldn't want to get a bad name by punching a kid... Besides, the latter reminds her of every single goddamn Cerberus Scientist ever. That's saying a ton, considering how big that particular terrorist group is...

Time for a little investigation into each of the noteworthy points, regardless, starting with his familiarity with her Geth friend.] You know one of my crew?

Exactly. 8|

[kotodo]

[Huh. Small universe. He files away the rest for later, nodding.]

It arrived about a month ago. We met during Jason's latest experiment when it was assisting with figuring out how to reverse the damage it caused to the victims.

BLAST 'EM /pewpewpew ALSO I FAIL AT EDITING

[risingshepard]

All the better. Not having to put up with Harbinger suddenly springing at us is always good.

[...Well, that's rare. Even the geth doesn't know what that's for. Speaking of which, what's with that odd feeling around her neck? ...She'll check after she's brought out her omni-tool and gotten Legion's data.] Let's start with the basics then. Where are we?

And this is why I should never be allowed to edit things.

[risingshepard]

I hope it contributed enough, especially if that jackass scientist was involved. Legion is a special brand of Geth.

[Oh, there's a term for later, Yu. Better keep track of it. That is, of course, only if Legion hasn't already told you what it is...]

/patpat

[kotodo]

It was. [...] Geth?

[What is later, you piqued his curiosity now...]

Dorms

[terreifying]

"Heee~ey, what'cha doin'?"

A voice sounds, close behind the woman in black.

[innheritance]

[ There's a young teenager girl stuck in a strange outfit in a hurry. So much so in a rush that she doesn't seem to be paying attention to her surroundings, rushing right into the commander! ]

H-Huh? I'm sorry!