[Massive Infiltration Plot] || [Semi-Open]

[great_king_of_evil]

Characters: All the characters who signed up for this infiltration, too many to write them all here. Characters who stay behind and do not infiltrate can tag into the mingle thread.
Setting: The Cafeteria, then the Elevator's Shaft and finally the Administrative Floors. The 29th of July, in the morning.
Format: Action most likely.

Summary: A month ago Ganondorf planned an infiltration to go and pay a visit to Riki's floor-- Given what has happened these last weeks, the 'Evil Alliance' has accepted to allow Enoch and the people he gathered to use the infiltration in order to do their own thing. Namely, retrieve scientific instruments from Jason's laboratory, so as to study the Collar Fluid. The infiltration will begin on the 1st floor, the Cafeteria.

The first thread is a traditional mingle thread, happening before the infiltration and briefing begin; anyone can tag into it. The second thread is a quick briefing before the infiltration starts, where Enoch and Ganondorf will explain to everyone what to do and what to expect in case they don't already know. Then there are the seven group threads, one for each individual team infiltrating.

The OOC post is here for more information. If you have signed-up but didn't pick a group yet, please do so here. While the infiltration takes place, the villains who stayed behind are unleashing a distraction on the tower and those who don't go.

Warnings: Administrative floors, danger, death, horror. Anyone tagging here is probably going to die, or at the very least meet with a terrible fate.

Mingle || Briefing || Meanwhile, in the Cafeteria...

Group 00 (Ganondorf, Sephiroth [OU], Veigar, Ocelot and Jin)
Group 01 (Enoch, Lancer [AU3], Patrick Dawn, Tohko, Raven and Ryoji)
Group 02 (Xion, Fon Master Ion, Yu Narukami, Asch, Luke, Jonouchi Katsuya, Dark Pit and Sheba)
Group 03 (Nesir Aeser, Zett Takajo, Kain Highwind, Solas and Minato Arisato)
Group 04 (Kyoko Sakura, Amelia, Shepard, Homura Akemi, Terra, Sephiroth [AU2] and Labrys)
Group 05 (John Egbert, Rose Lalonde, Naoya Toudou, Dave Strider, Riki [AU3], Sora and Riku [OU])
Group 06 (Zelda, Ruler [AU1] and Saber [AU5])

Comments

[alae]

[Dark Pit looks suddenly awkward.]

I... can't fly.

[His wings flatten against his back.]

[bloodyashes]

Neither can the rest of us.

[That's about all the feel goods he's going to get out of Asch, though. The redhead is still scrutinizing the drop, specifically looking at the place where the cables connect.

How much do you want to break today, guys?]

...We'll take it slow. That way we can pull back if we have to.

[seekinganswers]

[Sheba turns so that her back is to the open elevator shaft. She takes a step back, then another - almost looking like she's just going to allow herself to fall backwards into it.

Her feet leave the ground, and she enters the shaft, but she doesn't fall. She's floating, and looking quite content, too.]

Speak for yourself, Asch. So, how are we going to do this? Who's going to take who?

[ambassadorasshat]

Can't we can take the elevator down? It'll crush all of us if it descends while we're below it.

[Side-eying your hovering abilities, sorry Sheba.]

[attheclocktower]

[While Xion had been staring horrified as Sheba walked out onto thin air, Luke's question makes her face fall into something a lot colder. Almost detached.]

We can't.

[Her voice is flat.]

The last time we tried we got trapped in there. It didn't go well and we didn't get anywhere.

[And that was only two weeks ago. Suffice to say she doubts that two weeks have changed that. Softening a little, she looks at Luke. He's not the same one she met before, but she still remembers that they'd gotten along okay, even if they rarely saw each other.]

Besides, this elevator mainly goes to the residential floors, right? It's the one we use. So once we get below this floor, it probably won't come down any further.

[pitiedthefool]

She's right.

[Even without experience, Yu knows that much. He looks up the shaft, not really that phased by Sheba's sudden floating in the air.]

Sheba-chan, can you levitate others with your magic? [educated guesses, gooo. though he's not opposed to cutting the cable for rope, either.]

Though I have to warn you all - when those of us who infiltrated last February came down, powers were suddenly nullified after a point in the elevator after we left the admin's rooms.

[Who knows if they'll have that problem again, but it's best to be ready for what likely will happen sooner or later.]

[fragileprophet]

[Ion listens in quiet consideration as the others discuss the possible methods of descending. The general consensus seems to be that they need someone to go down first to make sure it's safe to cross the gap between cables...and nobody seems terribly eager to go first.

He takes a step forward from where he had been stationed so passively.]

Um...I don't mind going down first. That is, if we still haven't decided on an order.

[Better the weakest link be sacrificed, right? He looks embarrassed.]

Although I'm not confident I'd be able to get very far alone.

[Even if he ended up being levitated instead of carried, Ion assumes the caster would still have to stay within range of him.]

[seekinganswers]

[Xion does a good enough job explaining to Luke why simply taking the elevator down isn't feasible - there's no reason for her to jump in there. When Yu addresses her, though, that is reason to speak up. She smiles a bit and nods in answer.]

I can. [The confirmation comes easily.] Lifting people is no problem. I've lifted bigger.

[She looks puzzled at his warning, though, and her brows furrowed.]

They were? I don't remember-- Oh... that must have been after I-- [Died. She fidgets a little in midair and tries to decide on a more euphemistic way of saying it.] ...um, got knocked out. But I got knocked out in Jason's laboratory and that's where we're going, right? So... it should be okay...

[She's lost in her thoughts, trying to think of what it might mean - Jason's security had been pretty tough as it was, and getting past the retrieval units and the monsters had been hard for the survivors even with powers. She hopes their powers will at least be intact when they get there.

Ion speaks up and it draws her out of her thoughts. She looks at the Fon Master curiously - but, who is she to say yes or no? He's taller than she is, and if she's just levitating him, his frailty can't be too much of a liability. They'd just be scouting, after all.] If you can't get down on your own, I can take you, easily. But what about the rest of you?

[invisible_friendship]

It's problematic when the elevator cables end.

[That was his only problem. Climbing wasn't that difficult.]

[ambassadorasshat]

Oh. That sucks.

[He would argue with Xion if Yu hadn't chimed in. People with experience, even he can't really argue with that. So he huffs instead, glancing at Sheba.]

So you can levitate all of us at once?

[He steps to the edge, right in front of where Sheba is hovering.]

How about you keep us from falling where there's nothing to hold onto, and we use the cables to climb down if we have to?

[seekinganswers]

[Sheba nods to Jonouchi - yes, it is, but that's what working out the levitation thing is for. Then her gaze settles on Luke and she shifts a little to roll over in midair before settling her chin on her hands.]

I just said that, yes. I can. But if you'd like a demonstration -

[She smiles pleasantly, and then there's a roar of wind right at Luke's back. If he manages to catch his balance or grab onto something, he should be alright; if he's caught by surprise, though, the wind will blow him right into the open shaft of the elevator.

He'll fall a few feet down before abruptly stopping, cradled by the wind.]

See? I'm holding you just fine.

[bloodyashes]

[This is Asch being forever amused by Luke's misfortune. Still, he trusts Sheba enough to approach the edge without too much concern.]

The cables don't look like they go very far. A slow drift down is probably the best way.

[And on that note - it's not particularly nerve-wracking for Asch to jump off ledges like this, as long as he's not thinking about how far down it goes. He's jumped off plenty of buildings in his time. The sensation of being buoyed up by the wind is actually stranger than the fall.]

No point waiting.

[alae]

[Dark Pit stares at them for a moment, before spreading his wings and leaping into the wind. They catch the air, and he floats easily above the others.]

[fragileprophet]

[Ion can't help but sigh as it seems his sentiment was more-or-less overlooked. He didn't dote on it long, anyway. Not when it seemed as if everyone had come to the idea that it would simply be best to go all at once and hope things worked out.]

I agree. I doubt hesitation will serve us much purpose in this case.

[So, taking a cue from the redheads, Ion steps out onto the empty shaft--staggering slightly as he reorients himself against the support of Sheba's magic.]

[invisible_friendship]

Here goes nothing!

[Following the examples of those before him, Jonouchi freely leaped off into the elevator, expecting to be caught before he could gain any momentum.]

[ambassadorasshat]

[Don't mind Luke down here, he's only slightly traumatized at being pushed into an apparently bottomless pit...but not dying. He failed to regain his balance after being pushed and fell, trying to grab for Sheba as he did.

He's pretty much stayed in the same position as everyone else joined him and Sheba, partially curled into a ball.]

H-hey, don't do that again without warning me!

handwaving Yu's following with Twi's permission

[attheclocktower]

[After Yu, Xion's the last one left to jump. She glances towards the stairs briefly, then behind and around at the assembled people left. She'd been able to mostly push the matter mentally aside while they'd discussed it, but not any longer. Shion still hadn't turned up, and they couldn't afford to wait any more.

Biting her lip miserably, hoping that he was all right and would just be mad at her for leaving him behind, Xion steps out after the others.

It's kind of terrifying, standing on nothing but wind. She turns to Sheba.]

Like I said, I can drift down myself, if it'll help conserve energy... We'll probably need it later.

[Unless Yu was right and their powers would be disabled. But still... If Sheba does let her go, Xion'll catch herself after a few startled seconds and begin drifting down slowly, as if she were sinking through water, otherwise she'll wait, ready to follow the others' lead]

[animusnpcs]

[The gap in the cables goes down some way--soon the cafeteria entrance vanishes completely, swallowed up by darkness. There is a glowing red light beneath them partway down the elevator shaft, though there are no cables near it.]

[alae]

Sheba.

[Dark Pit speaks up as they descend.]

Can you make it so there's a stream of air long enough for me to float down there?

[seekinganswers]

[Luke's hand snags Sheba's cloak and she makes a strangled sound as he pulls her a few feet down - but her control over the wind never wavers, even as she struggles to either loosen his grip or loosen the cloak from around her neck, and none of the others entering the elevator plummet to their deaths.]

Ow! Let go and I'll warn you next time, promise! ...sorry about that...

[She nods to Xion - it'll help conserve a little bit of energy if she lets Xion descend under her own power, and so she releases the other girl from her Psynergy's hold.] Alright... if you're sure. Let me know if you want me to take you again. [And then, to Dark Pit, she nods again.] I can do that, no problem! [She focuses, then - down the shaft they go, Sheba carefully directing the flow of the wind in the confined space to keep them aloft and to allow Dark Pit to float. She frowns as she sees the red light a ways ahead of them.]

What is that...?

[alae]

[Dark Pit dives down until he catches a good stream of air and spreads his wings as wide as they can go in the confined space. Hopefully he'll see something before the others do.]

[bloodyashes]

[If it were possible to slow himself as they approach the red lights, Asch would. As it is, he drifts down with the others, since Sheba is controlling their airflow.]

Looks like some kind of boundary lights. Slow us there.

[and with that he'll drift to the wall - nothing to grip here, but at least worth taking a look at.]

It's probably the division between the administrator levels and ours.

[attheclocktower]

[As they get closer to the red lights, and Xion hears Asch's comment about slowing. Slightly distracted, she wobbles a little uncertainly in the air. Float required focus after all.]

Sheba, can you catch me? I can't... stop myself from falling.

[Even if it is slower, and she isn't eager to go diving through that ring before they've got a good look at it.]

[seekinganswers]

I've got you, Xion. And... slowing, Asch. I'll hold us here. Let me know if you want to take a closer look.

[Sheba expands the flow of air to include Xion as she slows the group and then brings them to a stop, hovering above the red lights. She looks down at them, curious - but conscious of how she's responsible for the seven lives aside from her own, she doesn't try to get any closer.

Instead, she addresses Dark Pit -]

Say the word and I'll pull you back in, too. Be careful.

[fragileprophet]

Can you see anything?

[His question, like Sheba's warning, is also directed at Dark Pit. From where Ion's suspended, he can't very well tell what may or may not lie beyond the lights: he's simply hoping that the winged boy might be able to clarify from his lower position.

The more they stand in the tunnel, the more apprehensive Ion begins to feel. He tries not to look down--as safe as he is right now, that's a long...long way to fall.]