secret tunnel thru the mountain

[thalassino]

Characters: vatheon + an eventual mystery guest star
Location: island + new area
Time: all week starting monday
Style: any
Status: open - threadhop & theadjack away

[ after the kicked up damage wrought by yami in the south forest quadrant settles down and becomes surveyable by monday, characters are in for a little— or, well, a big surprise that is the secret research facility. the entrance of it is easy enough to find, thanks to the destruction— although a lot of the research facility itself is destroyed as well. the power still works, at least! although whatever network it had seemingly been hooked up to is currently (and likely permanently) offline.

near the ENTRANCE of the facility, characters will likely find a very large chart on one of the walls— it resembles a map with handwritten annotations and will undoubtedly prove useful in further exploration. there's nothing else interesting near the entrance, sans for a few empty desks and a trash bin full of what appears to be torn up employee information of some sort. the other areas that can be found will be as follows:

DORMS

↪ pretty self-explanatory, although they are extremely minimalistic and completely abandoned. it's likely that the scientists made use of these— some of the beds seem a bit unkempt, as though they were recently used; whereas some rooms have full garbage bins with various papers. many of them are unuseful or flat-out irrelevant, others appear to be outdated schedule data— the dates on most of the papers seem to be from a little over a year ago. basically, the bins are filled with what they were made for— trash.

VARIOUS LABS

↪ deeper into the facility, it's obvious that quite a lot of research had been being conducted within— multiple rooms seem to be arranged for just that purpose. most of the rooms are empty or have a lot of strewn tools within them as though they were emptied in a hurry. although one room in particular was left as it was; it's both locked and blocked off though, and might take a little force in order to get into. once inside, a completely white room will be found that might feel familiar to people who had been directly involved in a strange event that had happened quite a while ago... the room is slightly less white than any "experiments" might remember, however. in fact, there seems to be quite a bit of dried blood about the place. the blood can be found on nearly everything in the room— the table accompanied with surgical tools, the cabinet filled with both syringes and old vials of a blue fluid, and a prominent list visible on one of the walls.

MAIN LAB

↪ one lab in particular found further within the facility appears to be bigger and better than all the others— it's also the only lab with a multitude of computers. due to the power being on, computers will be responsive— although because whatever network they once runned on is no longer online, the only data accessible is offline data found within any harddrives or memory devices.

and there is plenty of that. however, any data found is heavily encrypted and unlike anything ever seen before, so even a normally excellent hacker will have a problem getting past the security walls; and the only file that can be opened immediately seems to make no sense whatsoever:

w3spEvU3

furthermore, nearly everything resembling paper evidence has been torn or shredded, as evident by the completely empty and ajar file cabinets— not to mention the fact that there are plenty of scraps of unreadable paper strewn across some parts of the floor.

SUBMARINE EXIT

↪ in the deepest part of the lab is a peculair hallway that seems to drop downward— which is curious, since the facility is located so closely on the edge of the island itself. although everything becomes clear should one reach the room near the end of the lowering hallway— a majority of the equipment is damaged, but it is indeed a submarine exit of some sort. could this be how all of the scientists left so suddenly..? in fact, most of the submarines are missing— sans for one, but it's quite old and probably nonfunctional in its current state. you're fully allowed to try and fix it, but it will take both a team of people and several weeks.

CONTAINMENT UNIT

↪ also in the deeper part of the facility, although closer to the main lab than the submarine exit, is a completely closed off area— mechanical doors and a digital lock that seems to be online block all from entering. the door seems to open automatically for a keycard, but there's also an emergency override function— that activates via a password. blinking in an almost mocking fashion, it prompts you:

enter password: |

Comments

☣ VARIOUS LABS

[thalassino]

[ what were these even used for? more importantly, what's that blocked off room— ]

open

[ravenly]

[Once the dust has cleared from the fight with Yami, Rue finds herself curious as to just how much damage was done. Judging on the network post by one of the Defense Force leaders, it was quite dangerous, so she hadn't thought to come up; but now that it's over, she can't help herself.

Especially not after hearing the ruckus and strange screeching noise she heard.

She wouldn't normally come alone, of course, though she's hardly the only one curious about it, is she? Especially with this new area she's just stumbled across. How it had remained invisible to her and everyone else until now is a mystery, but she's walking. And she's peeking in all of the rooms that haven't been destroyed out of curiosity, although when she comes across the white room, she stops.

She stops for two reasons-- one being a very strange feeling of deja vu once she walks in.

...]

Have... I been here before?

[But no, that's not possible. She's never seen this place until today...has she?

And second-- there's the list she spots on the wall.

She lets out a gasp upon seeing her name.

Why is it there?]

[aspiring]

[Even if Billy doesn't like to draw attention to himself in this place, he can't resist the opportunity to investigate, as creepy as this place is.

So 'sup, Rue. Have one (1) Billy Iketani standing nearby, also looking at the list.]

... You know, it figures that jerk's name would be at the top.

[He sounds nonchalant enough, though really, it's easy to hide out he honestly feels.]

1/2

[ravenly]

[Oh.

Wow, Rue didn't even realize anyone was coming up behind her. Which might be obvious by the way she kind of jumps. She recovers quickly, but it's probably obvious she's still on her guard.

She turns back to the list when Billy mentions it, realizing she hadn't really gone over it that carefully...

Her name just jumped out at her.]

Jerk...?

[ravenly]

[...Ha.

She sees now. And you know, she really can't blame him for thinking that, based on the many times he's just waltzed into her life and then left her to her own devices.

Not that she minded it, but still. It could come off as rude.]

Perhaps. He can actually be quite the gentleman when he wants to be, though.

[Her tone is a bit lighthearted now, though she's still pretty concerned about the list itself...]

MAYBE I SHOULDN'T TAG ON 3 HOURS SLEEP TBH

[redcloakedthief]

Yeah, you have.

You and me both.

[He drops out of the shadows, eying that list with something that can only be cold scorn. It's rather different from his usual expression.]

PSHH best time to tag! Also Cal in my inbox again kya ;w;

[ravenly]

[Whether he meant to startle her or not, Rue does jump. But she recovers quickly and simply stares at him-- that expression that she hasn't quite seen before, that cold look...

...]

I don't remember...

[She frowns. This bothers her more than it should. It's almost like it was just a dream--

Or maybe a nightmare.]

open

[xthecorvus]

[ He's quietly sorting through the lab, making sure keep his prodding around to a minimum but enough to leaf through papers. Go figure Team Phantomhive would be here, nosing about like they usually do. There isn't anything noteworthy about the tools, nothing much from the typical things one would find about a lab but-- hello. What was this?

His eyes are now trained on the list tacked on the wall. The names are familiar to him. Some of them, at least. The numbers are strange. However, he stops seeing his master's name on the list. Curious. Turning on one heel, he makes his way toward his master ]

...My lord? I've found something that needs your immediate attention.

[pactum]

[ well, Ciel is the Queen's Watchdog, after all. it's his sworn duty to nose around. he's examining some of the lab equipment (having little idea what any of it is) when Sebastian approaches him. he's glad to put the strange instruments out of his mind for a moment. ]

What is it?

[ he doesn't like the way Sebastian says 'immediate.' if it's truly so pressing, it must be something concerning them--or him, rather. ]

[xthecorvus]

It seems they've been rather vigilant in my apparent absence.

[ And that's all the says, choosing to turn back instead to face the direction of the note tacked on the wall. Best to show rather that tell, after all. If this isn't telling then, who knows what is. ]

[redcloakedthief]

Terrible, isn't it?

[There's a thief lounging against one of the desks, though his glance is drawn on occasion to that list.

First name there.

Funny, really.]

[xthecorvus]

[ Head turned in Matthew's direction, one brow raised in curiosity. ]

...Does this list mean anything to you?

Open

[wavesoakedlegs]

[Mitsuhide is far from one of the first to come into the labs. His mood since the end of the fight has been thoughtful, quiet, but not at all bad. His body still aches a little, but the battle with Yami has done two things:]

[One, restore his faith in his religion, and two, left a new power within him. It is weaker than it was, but still very much there, and its existence leaves him in wonder every time he stops to think about it. For a short while, he had been a kind of 'God,' and that power was a remnant of that time.]

[Nevertheless, he can see the wisdom in looking around this place. Its existence is not really a surprise; they have known for some time they are being experimented upon in some manner. When Mitsuhide steps into the white room (which another has already forced open by the time he arrives), he has to pause and suck in a breath. Because he was one of those who had been kidnapped. The memories of that time are vague, but the room he remembers, and the sorrow... it had filled him completely until Motochika had come to his side.]

[When he finds the list of names, and regards the numbers, the samurai shakes his head. He is on there, along with Gracia, his long-departed friend Rena, and Great Mother Amaterasu. All victims of the kidnapping.]

Odd that they would leave this here...

[One of his arms wraps around his chest. Mitsuhide has come a long way in dealing with his issues, but this place reminds him very vividly of being consumed whole by them.]

[He sighs deeply.]

[kagayakashi]

[ Gracia's exploring of the new facility eventually leads her to the laboratory area. With Futon trailing behind her, she treads with anticipation at what she might find. She keeps herself alert though, as she's learned from past experiences that looking around may stir awake something unwanted. When she arrives at the corridor strewn with white rooms, a tinge of nostalgia nips at her. With even more determination to figure out what was going on, she manages to find the most ominous looking lab room. And as she approaches, the nostalgia turns into something less pleasant -- she knew this place. She knew it quite well, and for the wrong reason. They took her, they did something with her - with a whole bunch of them! The general memory of that kidnapping is still incredibly unclear, but Gracia could remember the room very vividly in comparison.

She frowns, and as if Futon could sense her rising anxiety, barks at her. Gracia shakes her head and enters the room. She spots her Father not before long, and approaches him from behind with a small smile. She's eager to see him, yet she can't help her mood slowly drop from when she first arrived at the facility. Gracia has yet to notice the list of names when she walks to Mitsuhide's side. ]

Father! I didn't know you planned on coming here as well. [ Her expression transitions into seriousness. ] Have you explored? This...this is the room where they took us, isn't it? I...I can't be mistaken.

[ As she stands next to him, her pensive gaze directed at the floor, it's noticeable that portions of her hair aren't braided, and just hang long and loose in layers that reach her collarbone. Instead of her headband, Gracia wears a floral clip on one side of her head. And despite the effort to hide it, a thick white gauze is still visible on her left temple. Besides that, when Gracia raises her right hand to her chin while she thinks, three small wooden splints are taped to three fingers. One on the pointer, the middle, and the ring finger. Wrapped around both her wrists are bandages, to help with the swelling. Her left wrist, though she has yet to reveal it to Mitsuhide's scrutiny, is more swollen and sprained than the right. ]

[wavesoakedlegs]

[Mitsuhide does not immediately turn around when he hears Gracia's voice. First he says, softly:]

Ever since the battle, I planned to, though I had to take a short while to rest first. The battle was a long, tiring one.

[He is about to answer her question regarding the room, but turns before he does so and finds other words coming to his mouth instead.]

[His gaze falls on her hands, first. Judging from his knowledge of her fighting style, and recent events, Mitsuhide suspects his daughter must have punched Yami to do that kind of damage to her hands. He sucks in a breath, trying to hold back the flood of worry, concern and, yes, frustration.]

[He has to give her room to make mistakes. He swore he would do so. So he does not admonish her, though what he is feeling might show in his expression.]

You fought as well, Tama?

[His gaze moves from her hands to her head; Mitsuhide frowns. Was she trying to hide the damage there away?]

Why are you hiding your head injury?

[behisstrength]

What's the matter, Mitsuhide?

[Drawn in by Mitsuhide's reaction, Motochika places a hand upon Mitsuhide's shoulder as he comes to a stop beside the younger samurai. His eyes follow Mitsuhide's gaze, seeking the source of that sigh.

A blood-splotted list.

Reading it, it doesn't take long for Motochika to understand what it is. He remembers the wristbands that both Mitsuhide and Gracia wore as they roamed the mist-covered forest in extreme distress; three tense days knowing that they were both missing on the island despite what locals said, waiting for the first sign of renewed access to the surface on edge.

That this facility is where they were held -- experimented upon, reduced to such distressed states -- does not sit well with Motochika.

It only heightens his desire to protect them with all he has. His hold grows slightly firmer; he squeezes Mitsuhide's shoulder.]

[wavesoakedlegs]

[Mitsuhide doesn't answer the question; from the squeeze of the other man's hand, it's obvious he has worked it out. Instead, Mitsuhide reaches out and touches the list briefly.]

I am surprised that they would leave this here. It can only be an oversight.

[He drops his hand back down to his side and shakes his head.]

This place... I remember it, vaguely. Not what happened in it, though I feel I ought to be grateful about that.

[Mitsuhide does not like the fact that there is so much dried blood around the room. It is not an encouraging sight.]

open

[contemptibility]

[Guriko is gone.

That alone is enough to put Tiir in a bad mood—enough so that the sore temptation to kill someone is definitely there, though he manages to repress it, thinking of what happened last time.

So instead, he throws himself into distractions. Namely, exploring.

... Unfortunately, this backfires on him once he comes across a certain room. While the memories are vague, he can certainly remember his anger afterwards (and Guriko telling him that he attacked her, damn it). Seeing the list only confirms it all. Though he's always known that they were pawns, having it blatantly there like that only serves to infuriate Tiir.

Damn this all.]

Ha...

[He wants so badly to kill something that it hurts, but as he can't... Well, he'll settle for breaking into quiet laughter instead.]

[tsundyne]

[Yukari why do you always find him when he is in a bad mood......

:|

Well, anyway-- Tiir isn't the only one exploring this area today. It's all rather hard to miss, which is why she's curious how this strange facility suddenly appeared with the sound of that obnoxious screeching and commotion she heard earlier. Maybe Yami had a hand in this before he was defeated, but...

Either way, this isn't what she'd been expecting when she came up to investigate.

Then again, she wasn't quite expecting to hear him laugh like that, either. She just decides approach him from behind, shaking off the creepy, eerie vibe that the laugh is giving her.]

What is it?

[contemptibility]

[Once he hears a voice, his laughter dies down, even if the owner of the voice doesn't register immediately. Afterwards, though, he calmly turns towards Yukari.]

... Ah. It's you.

[There's still a faint smirk on his face, though there's definitely underlying fury as well—not at Yukari, of course, but the situation.]

[messianic]

[of course, he ends up exploring eventually, but when he finds Tiir in this room and finds the list--

He's just left watching sorrowfully for a moment.

He remembers that day, when everyone was brainwashed and he had to fight his own friends. It leaves a bitter taste in his mouth...but he just looks sad.]

...Tiir-san. Are you alright?

[contemptibility]

[... Ah. Minato.

Of course he would manage to find him when he's like this. It's just as well that Tiir didn't give in to the temptation to kill.

The laughter fades, leaving a bitter smirk in its stead.]

I'm fine.

[He always is.]

And you?

Closed

[not_heavens_adam]

[Getting to the new area wasn't all that hard, he'd honestly been expecting more, but the place was abandoned so maybe not. This area made him pause, though. He checked some of the other rooms, letting Sola explore where he wanted, until he came across a door that was closed. Even closed he could make out traces of that familiar scent.]

We have to get in here.

There's blood.

[replicatedcourage]

There's blood and you want to go in there?

[On second thought, that actually makes sense. Someone could be hurt, or there could be clues or a monster to defeat!]

It's locked so we'll have to find a key.

[He turns around to find another route where maybe a chest with said key may lie. So to the west first...]

[not_heavens_adam]

A key, huh?

[Johnny tested the door with his shoulder and then stepped back.]

I've got a key...

[With that his foot connected with the door hard and splintered the lock, knocking the door in.]