Hacking Punishment

[animusnpcs]

Characters: those who participated in the hacking plot
Setting: the Tower; nighttime
Format: any
Summary: You can't go digging without a cave-in or two.
Warnings: monsters
Note: This post will not be NPCed--please play your own monsters!

[It seems almost as if they got away with their scheme. The day passes without incident, and soon night falls just as innocently. But then, no matter where they are, those who participated in either the distraction or the hacking portions of the ploy will find a floating, film-like computer screen in front of their faces. Riki stares back at them, and he looks annoyed.]

If you're gonna mess with my things, you'll get punished by me no matter whose turn it is. Feel lucky the kid wants me to go easy on you.

[All of the characters will grow dizzy and black out. They awaken on the first floor--the cafeteria. All their abilities, while not gone completely, have been severely dampened and are much more exhausting to use than normal. They cannot teleport, flash step, or otherwise travel great distances using their abilities at all. A strange, blinking light has been attached to all of their collars and cannot be removed.

They will now attract monsters--mostly uncommon and rare ones--to their location. No electronics work for them--the elevators refuse to open and will not move while they are near, even if they try to get someone else to aid them, and the terminals will not turn on and let them call for help.

The only way to get out alive will be to climb up through one hundred and one floors to the dormitory levels, where they will be safe in their rooms. Good luck.]

Comments

[looselips]

[When Shinji comes to, he immediately scrambles to his feet, still disoriented and only half-aware of the situation when he opens his mouth to speak.]

Archer—

[Because, let's face it, no matter what is actually happening, calling for his Servant is the correct first step.]

[bowandblade]

[Archer isn't used to being this dizzy. He mutters as he climbs back to consciousness, lifting his head and immediately pushing himself up onto his elbows. His gold jewelry clatters against each other as he pushes himself to his feet to join Shinji.]

...Not as expected.

[To say the least. Where were they?]

[looselips]

[Immediately, Shinji scrambles to Archer's side, sticking close to his leg. It's only then that he stops to take in their surroundings more closely. The cafeteria...?]

H— Hah, going easy or not, this sure is weak after all that posturing.

[It's just a jump scare and nothing more, Shinji thinks. They can just take the elevator back upstairs.]

[bowandblade]

That was another of the administrators, I take it.

[As Shinji hurries over to him, Archer shifts his attention from their surroundings--the cafeteria, of all things?--to his little Master. His fingers move over to tap at Shinji's collar, eyes attracted to the blinking light that it now emits.]

And that is a new feature as well.

[looselips]

[When his collar is tapped, Shinji automatically tries to look downward at the indicated spot. Of course, being that it's on his neck, he can't. When he looks upward at Archer again, he pays more attention to the details of his appearance—and that's when he notices the flashing light on his collar.]

...Eh?

[terreifying]

...Mm?

[Rei blinks and rubs her eyes, having been called awake by the child's yelling.]

What'cha doin'? Looking for a friend?

[looselips]

[ROLLS HIS EYES because he's Shinji]

My Servant.

[terreifying]

Wow, you've got a personal servant here?

[Don't look at her like that she ain't from the Nasuverse.]

[looselips]

Yeah, if you want to think of it like that, sure.

[He don't even care right now.]

Continuing this here since you guys look like you're having fun one on on.

[no_longer_a_king]

Archer?

[She approaches the blond man she's run into several times in the Tower. By this point, knowing he isn't about to try to make her marry him, she doesn't quite have her hackles raised. She'd seen him around Shinji before, when they were doing their quick regrouping, but they haven't been formally introduced just yet.]

Riki pulled you down here, too?

[bowandblade]

Ah, Saber. [Despite their situation, Archer smiles at her as she approaches. By now, he is familiar enough with the female King of Knights to hold a conversation with her -- at least, short ones pertaining to specific subjects. There's a certain irritation to his eyes as he looks in the direction of the elevator.]

It seems the administrators thought this was a fitting "punishment."

[no_longer_a_king]

[She reaches up and touches her collar, finding an identical light on hers. That can't be good. That can't be good at all.]

There has to be more to this than simply being forced down to the cafeteria, even if Riki is going 'easy' on us.

[immortalia]

[ Everything seems fine for a moment with Sertoria when she initially wakes up, her visor sliding off of her eyes and reconnecting to the top of her head. There are no external or internal injuries she has to worry about, either, so perhaps-- ]

System SPERO suffered a m-minor, unexpected crash. W-Welcome back, CXEV5--

[ The android hefts herself up to her feet, her fingers twitching as well as her hands for a brief moment. She's sure nothing happened to her body, so why are her limbs acting out of control? ]

Damage r-report, please.

System SPERO's externals are running at 99.9% efficiency.

Checking i-internals, please hold...

I-internals show signs of m-malfunctioning. Proceed with c-caution if using any abilit-- abilities.

Understood-- [ A small jolt interrupts her next sentence before she sighs, running a hand through her hair. ]

It would be a bad time for me to mention t-that I am currently running o-on nuclear energy, y-yes? M-My fail-safes could f-fail if I am not repaired or restrained.

[terreifying]

...Yeah, really, very bad.

[Aaaaand Rei is scoching away right now.]

[immortalia]

I will not haaaarm y-you. Really! As long as m-my casing r-remains undamaged, I should b-be able to p-prevent a disaster.

[ Another jolt of electricity surges through her body, causing her gunblade to come out and fall to the ground with a loud thud.

Well, that's convenient for later. ]

Is... a-anyone able to repair me?

[terreifying]

...I'm not sure. Are there any scientists around?

[no_longer_a_king]

Arturia came to quickly enough and, once she had done so, quickly summoned Caliburn into her hand.

Only to have it flicker and then disappear.

"What?" Even when her powers were cut off it hadn't done that before. she looked around at the others here and it clicked, partially, just what was going on.

The screen with Riki, this particular group being here. Something was up. They had been caught--not that she hadn't expected it--and this was their punishment. Funny, she hadn't thought Riki would be the sort to dole out punishments like this.

[crouching_sin]

[... Well. Interesting. Once he's determined that the elevators aren't working, he calls out mentally to Avenger.]

'My spells aren't working, the electronics aren't either, and I can hear monsters. I need you to find Asako and get down to the first floor immediately.'

[destructiveprinciple]

[ The response to Naoya's call is slower than normal and sorta annoyed/huffy, but it comes quickly. ]

... Okay, okay! I'll be right on that in a jiffy. [ Avenger, moving rapidly, is already on the move to track down the cousin. ] What the hell happened?

[ So.

Where are you, Asako? ]

[sawthelockdown]

[She is in her dorm and if you show up in there she will scream bloody murder, call you a pervert, and kick you out with extreme prejudice-

Okay, no. That's not actually what's going on, chill.

She's actually on the fifteenth floor, working on a little project of hers - namely, trying to make a cane or a peg leg/prosthetic for herself via woodworking. She is an overlord, that means she's got an image to uphold and having a crutch isn't it. So far, though, she's still learning to just make something that's solid and not falling apart and the right size or length.

That's why she's still got the crutch, unfortunately. Doubly unfortunately, it looks like she lost track of time in there.

Go right ahead and bug her, Avenger.]

[sixbillionsins]

[ It's a good thing Avenger recognizes her face from the Observer's network post or this would have taken him a way lot longer than strictly necessary. Dematerializing makes traveling between floors much, much easier than using his material body so he goes with that.

The invisible presence that drifts down the staircase and makes a beeline for where she's lost in thought over her crutch is laden with darkness, tainted with loathing and such nastiness, but the voice that speaks when it comes to a stop next to Asako is male, teenager-y; ]

Oi, miss! [ Excellent greeting, Avenger! ]

Room 1-01, closed to roommates and Shion, cw for tuberculosis and eventual character death

[attheclocktower]

[Somewhere in the early am hours, with pre-dawn light filtering into the room through the only window, there's a bang on the door of room 1-01, followed by the sound of coughing. A few seconds later, the door opens, and Xion half-falls inside, exhausted and covered with minor injuries, most particularly a long cut on her forearm, as if she'd tried to shield herself from a blade attack with it.

Heedless of the others, she leans back on the door until it shuts, tears still streaming down her face and breathing heavily, until that breathing erupts into another fit of coughing. After a minute or two, the fit dies, though her breathing is still labored and wheezy. She crawls to her bed, pulls herself onto it, and curls up.

She coughs again, a deep painful sound, and puts her hand up to her mouth. When she pulls it away again, there's blood on it. Blood that certainly didn't come from any cuts or scrapes.]

[savedbyasong]

[A few moments later Shion bursts through the door, he had been searching the tower for Xion since she had disappeared from right next to him.

Yet he hadn't found her, and now as he saw some others stumbling into their rooms, monsters prowling away, attacking easier prey he had made his way to where he hoped Xion had gotten back to safely.

He rushed to her side, seeing the blood and silently checking her over for injuries] What happened?

[attheclocktower]

[Xion gasps at Shion right in front of her, which makes her immediately go into another coughing fit. It takes her a long time to come down from that one. in the end, it's more force of will and the fact that she's starting to feel lightheaded from all the explosive coughs she does that makes them ease, and she gulps a little, trying speak, though she wheezes with almost every other word]

Got taken... down the first floor... Couldn't use corridors... [she coughs again, ignoring the blood spraying the palm that comes up to cover it] Had to run up... all the way... with monsters...

[She shivers, curling up more tightly. If Shion were to check her forehead, he would feel the significant fever she has. She coughs a few more times, her breathing still labored.]

Feel... awful.

[savedbyasong]

[His eyes show his worry as he tries to move her onto her side, so she doesn't choke on blood. She was hot to the touch and he frowned, covering her with a thin sheet and going to her trunk to pull out medical supplies, he made sure to have all the basics in both of their rooms.] I will be back in a moment, breathe as calmly as you can.

[He was shaking with anger, why had they taken her? Why do this? Another experiment? But it was Zo's month... had the child become corrupted by the others?

He was back a moment later, towels and cloths from the bathroom, and a bucket of cold water. He dipped the towels and wrung them out before lying one on her forehead.] I think one of your wounds is infected. [Though it shouldn't happen so fast... He lifted her head to put another under her neck and paused at the blinking light on her collar, he frowned and looked closer.]