Event: Emergency Repairs, Part Three

[snowblindmods]

EMERGENCY REPAIRS

All energy collected is transferred to the administrator. One by one, as the groups down below the surface agree, they pass out. The network doesn't cut off--in fact, it finally merges with the network everyone is used to. All event network threads are visible to everyone now. It may not be obvious just yet, but symptoms begin to stabilize. Over the course of the remainder of the day, they will fade to nothing. Those below are unconscious for one hour. During that hour, the video feed begins to distort more and more, filling up with static and tearing, until, just as those below begin to stir, the feed cuts out. Ten, twenty, thirty seconds--then it's back, and things look different. Everyone is in a break room--the same break room. Perhaps they were always entering the break rooms together, even if they couldn't see one another. For those above and those below, the scenery beneath has changed. Each room is a dizzyingly high area filled with wires and machinery, cobbled together from who knows what. No, wait--is that a piece of a personal computer? Yes, certainly, and there's the door of an oven, and there's the armor Haurchefant abandoned, being welded by a glimmering metal spider to cover a gaping hole of exposed circuitry. Perhaps you'll recognize some of pieces of the items you expected to have with you but found missing, if they're made of metal and electronics. From a room just off camera, there's a tumbling roar like an impossibly large washing machine, slowly winding down. Then something crawls out. Everyone who looks at it will see someone different: someone familiar to them, someone they left behind at home, whether it's someone they miss or not. Then there's another, and another--a pool of congealed flesh and solid static, rolling and twisting on the floor, trying to form, trying, trying--a hand, slick with what might be blood, forms and reaches out of the puddle, stretching toward those trapped underground. The puddle burbles and boils and forms liquid words. "W̸̴̸͚̤̻̯̬͈̹̰̠̏̾̑͌ͧ̽͘͡h̴̵̨͙͙̫͍̯͔̖͚̰̹̲̫͙̹̫͍ͤ͑ͯ̓ͧ͂ͫ̇̅́͌͜ͅy̷̡̗̙͉̼̤̞͇̼͚̭ͦͧ͒ͪ͒͗ͦͭ̓͋̓ͩ̾̚ ͤ̂ͫ̂̄̏̔͘͏̶̟̲͙͕̮̙̘̗̥͉̰̫̞͙͉͝d̡̺̼̝̳̯̜͚̦̐ͦ̏̀͜͡i̴̛̞̱̗͉̭̩͎͔ͬͣͭͪͤͥͫ͛̓͗̋͠d̴̸̪̻̯͙̲ͣ̽̏ͭ̿̇̐̃ͨ͊͂̐ͫ̑͢͝ ͐͊̓ͧ͛̌͒̈̍̿͋̏̀̏̈̑̽̃͏̴̡̢͔͙̫̩̪̺͍͎̫̻̪̪͕͞Y̵̧̦̥̪̦̮̤̗̩̫̫ͤͤ̔̋̋̂̕͢͡O̸̜̠̻͇̦͙̣͎̠̭͑͐ͮ̊ͧ̔̿͌ͭ͐ͪ͞U̶̮̠͇̺͍̗̣͇̞̖̻̫͕͎͈̎̾ͥͨͫ͒̋̉̑̇ͬͯ͐̐͡ ̸̜͔̖͖̩͚̝̘̯̠ͯ͐͑̇ͨͫ̚͜w̨̤̳̹͕̞̥̮̥̘͗ͨͮ̄͊ͫ̋͗͌̒̓̉̾ͫ̌̈́ͮ̑̕͢͞h̷̨̛͖̫͕̫̩̺̥̱͇̾̅̒͛̒ͯ̆̋͂ͯ͗̐́y̴̨̡̠̩̟̬͕̦̘͕̼͉̱̳̩̝͎̱̓̇ͫ ͥ̒̑ͯ̅ͨ̒ͤ͆̐̆̅ͪ͑̃͗҉̡̨̺̻͎̱̯̜͖̗͕͍͈̥̻̱̹n̴̢̧͍̮̤̖͖͚̞͓̤̟̾̌͗ͥ͋̊ͩ̋͢͝ơ̡̰̩̫͙͕ͮ͐͆̽́͟͡t̵̢̢͗͆̀ͪ̍͋̋̉̆ͩ̆́͗ͭ̚͝͏̣͉̪̹̯̰̫̖͚͎̞̟̱̥ ̷̢͓̼̻͕̫̞̖͇͖͙̘͔̮̲͈̮̈́̊͒͑̅͆͒̔́͢͜ͅM̵̡̛̞̪̣̲͈̺̮̯̤̤̖̓͛ͬ̎̐ͦͧͫ̾̑͗̌͋ͮͧ́Ȩ̱͎̣̮̜̠̠̥̯͖̲̟̞͖͉͙̓ͫ̀̂̀̋͟͠ ̄ͬͥ̐ͦͨ̊̆҉̰͖̻̣͔̗͜͢͢T̴̶̖̹̝̗̠͚̊̋̅ͬͩ̂͐̋ͪͮͤͧͧ͋̋ͨ̐̚Ḩ̡̺̩͎̹̙͉̪͈̰̦̙̏̆͛̃̋ͧ̈́͊̈́͛́͝Ę̯͕̖͙͍̬͇͇̺̘̘͖͓̖̼̗̖͗ͥ̀ͥ͑̐̂͒͂̊̆̀͗̒̚ ̶͍͍̼̟͙̩̂ͬ͌ͨ̂̂̏̅́͢S̶͚̣̝͉̪̫̞͓̩͖̪͖͙̹̖̘̯ͣ͂ͪ̉̆͑ͯ͆̈͆͐̎̊ͣͮ̕͢ͅA̮̤͓̺̣̼̗̮̻̲͎͍̗͓̲̖̍͋ͫ̉͊̒ͦ͟͡M̶͋̎̈́͂͛̕͜͠҉͍̼̬͕̖E͚̞͍̠͔̲̬͚̅ͣ̉̋͋ͪ͐ͭ̾̔͛͒́́̚͢ ̵̨̤͓͔̬͎͙͎͉̬̫̞̄͌̆͆̂̈́̆͌̊̏ͭ̿̾ͫ͂ͯ̅̚͡ͅT̷̙̺͍͈̙͎̞̖̼̤̘̪̦͕̝͐͌̆͛́̚͟͢H̵̝̗̱͎͔̳̙̼͓͉ͪͦ̍̒͋͗̽̆̋͆̌̕͟Ẽ͐̀̎ͪ҉̨͉͓̗̫̝̦̲̟̩͇̣͖̪͍̝͜ͅ ̴̧̤͚̳͎̮̪̗̲̠͙͙̙͐̔̐̋̈́̅ͪ̎̋ͫ̏̅́͗̏ͪͨ͠͝S̸̷͖̩̺̝̗̼̠̜̗͊ͤ̎͑ͨ̓̃̑̍̀͘À̫̗̯̙͖͙̄̽͋̉ͭ̇̇̎̄̉ͥ͆ͩͫ̊͊͘̕͢M̒ͬͣͪͪ̊̈͒ͧ͑͐͗҉̞̼͍̱̻̘̭͢ͅEͨ́͂ͧ̒͛̌͛̽̾ͥ̎̓͏͚̲̯͖͖̭̟̻̖̠͇̗͜ ̡̱̣̮̺̩̩̦͚̦̬̓̑̀ͣͣ͛̉̕͝͠͠Ņ̸̯͎̻̞͉̠̜̺̼͖̗̼͍̼͇͈̘͆̍ͣ̿̽̈́͗̄͑ͨ͐ͧ͑Ō͖̙̜̬͈̻̺͖͍͉͍̳̱̹̥̮͗̑ͤ̊̃͂ͮ̋͋́ͬ̎͋͛̚͜ͅT̡̯̝̫̫̗͛ͧ̂͂̓́ͅ ̛̠̻̖̦̳̞̘̞͕̳̝͂ͩ̿̔̎͛̍̌̾́͘F̣̩̠͇͙͉͙̦̹͉̔̔̊̊͆̌̍̇̔̅̉̀́͡ͅǍ̸̢ͨ̒̽͑̅̑̂͑ͫ̇̑̾ͨ̚҉̡͚̭͙͖̻̦͔̬̯͔̙̣̬̣̬͜I̢̼̝͉͉̲ͣ͑̀̆̕R̢̛̪̱͇͕̖͖̙̬͖͚͈̲͈̞͎̯̙̻̿͒ͩ͐̔ͭͧ͑ͪ̅̃̿͂͆̏̇̏ͅ ̢͕̭͕̱̯̱̰̞̺̳̟͎̗̹ͥ̓͑̍ͦ̽ͨ̽͢N̶̸̴̬̟̖͇̞͎͚ͬ̊̌͗́ͥͩ̈̓ͤ͊̈ͯ̇̽Ō̸̸̘͕̯̟̤̹͙̤̗ͨͦ́̽̈́͌͒͗ͅT̵̵̸̸͔͍͎̺̪̤̟͔̤̪̝͈̲̄̆̐̋̓ͪͮ͒ͬͮ̄͐ͦ̇̾̚͞ͅ ̨͙̺͚̿̐͑ͣͧͦ̀͢F̶̛̫̻̼͎ͦ̃̒̀̎͂̽͂͊́A̐̆ͯͨ̈́͒̽͑ͨͩ͊ͮ̅ͧ̃ͣ͜͞͏̣̤̼̫̘̠̩͔͖Ǐ̏ͥ̿̽̉̎͌̔ͭ̐̆̽̂ͥ͗ͭ͋ͪ͏̸̶̧̱͖̪̱̰͖̼̙͜R̨͍͖̦̱͖̙̹͙̗̭̂ͯͣͪ̀ ̤̗̭̭̘̝̺̮̝̻͔̩͉̲̖͙̘͛ͣͦ̏̒͠͝ͅṄ̑̄̈̐͆ͣͭͮͧ̑̐̅̀͝͏̼̠͕̼̻̝̣̟͎̩̙̫̻͔̩̟̺͜Ŏ̸̥͍̱͓̰̤̖̠͚̼͙̩͙͛̋̍̽ͫ́͟͟͞T̵̡͎̜͓̺͔͚̝̥̀̓̈́̿ͦͯ̒ͣ̍͋̆̋̿ͧ̓̀͡͠ ̷̢̘̠͇͇̲͓͚̫ͤͦ̄͟F͖͕̬̙̙̈͗ͨͧ̌͞͠A̛ͨͣ̀̿̐͢͏̙̙̰̖̹̪͕͚̜̠̦̤̻͉̹̞̤Ĩ̮̩̲̯̻̼̝̦̮̤̟͖̩̔ͩ̅̔̅̔͗͑̿͐̈́̓͛͊̕̕R̨͋͒̈́̾̈̂ͯͣ̄̅̈́ͮ̾ͧ̚͘̕͢͏̹͈̟̪̹̫̰̮͙͈͔̗͓̝ͅ" Those below can't see the path out--they can't see the way back, through the winding corridors and confusing circuits and wires. Those above, though--they have the bird's eye view they always have. They can lead the characters back, and away from the formless, forming anomaly. Run.

Comments

QUESTIONS

[snowblindmods]

Re: QUESTIONS

[0thingsonmymind]

can you please translate those glithcy words, i can't quite make them out ^^;

Above ground people!

[swatsflies]

If you would like to help out those underground, then please respond to this.

[brokethefirst]

Luna will, immediately.

[swatsflies]

Zell will \o/

[jumpthegun]

"Why did YOU why not ME THE SAME THE SAME NOT FAIR NOT FAIR NOT FAIR"

[heroproceeding]

Zack definitely will!

[rubikscomplex]

House will help.

[bywolves]

Royce will. What, he can be a team player sometimes.

[harlequinofhate]

...Define "help".

Joker might try to purposefully lead one or two people astray while honestly guiding others, though it would be a trick and a half.

Iiiif anyone wants to play with that, of course.

Otherwise, he will actually help guide people while being passive aggressive about it.

[0thingsonmymind]

thank you!

i found it in plurk right after I asked, lol

[canyouhandlethismany]

Leon will be there to help too, he is in the ice caves.

[ecks]

Ecks will help and will probably describe the anomaly behind them in waaay too much seemingly unperturbed detail if given any indication whatsoever that they want to know what it is. Also, brutal honesty about how much of a lead they have.

Edit: After Watson ordered the above-grounders to pick someone from their original teams to guide, Ecks has adopted Charlie.

[meteorrains]

Cloud will help as well!

Re: Above ground people!

[rattlingthestars]

Yep.

Re: QUESTIONS

[0thingsonmymind]

okay a real question: are the people above ground still locked in?

and also how much of the Thing can be made out over the tablets?

Re: Above ground people!

[advanced]

Bucky and Al will help.

[snowblindmods]

1) The people above ground are still locked in.

2) They should be able to see all of it!

[0thingsonmymind]

is it distorted at all? cause brian's gonna be studying it as closely as possible. (and rewatching it once he's not sick)

[snowblindmods]

There's no distortion.

Re: QUESTIONS

[devoutish]

Just to clarify, the people belowground are seeing the people-turned-anomaly as people they recognize too, right? Or is that just the people aboveground?

[snowblindmods]

Everyone will see people they recognize! It's overlayed over what the anomaly actually looks like.

[devoutish]

Second question: do all the old network functionalities (i.e. filters) work again now?

Re: Above ground people!

[equal_shots]

Kid will help!

[0thingsonmymind]

will the "everyone sees someone they know" effect stay when played back later?

[inruins]

Toriel will help!

[snowblindmods]

Yup!

[snowblindmods]

No, they'll only see the actual anomaly.

[seekthelight]

Sora would like to!

[silverfuller]

So the big, dumb elf's instinct is do the thing.

He intends to lag behind the group and annoy the monster into chasing him down instead of chasing anyone else. If he can get it to pursue him he will run down hallways away from the rest of the group. Any time it seems to drift away he'll try to get its attention on him again.

He will look ahead and if he sees a dead end will try to dodge back and keep running (he'd also have someone guiding him). He intends to keep doing this until he hears word that everyone is safe then he will try to get out of the maze himself.

Or he will die in a corner. But if he keeps the monster off everyone else he would consider his job a success even if he died doing it.

So this is dependent on

A) the monster having "an aggro table" (he is able to keep it chasing him)
B) it not being so big it can't leave that first room
C) it not being so slow that he'd quickly decide this is unnecessary (he'd be watching its movements in that first room to determine this)

Would the huge elf be successful?

[heavensreader]

Kesara definitely helps! Beckett helps if there is sufficient mess and shouting to wake him up the poor sod.

[deus_ex_phs]

Kunsel definitely will. Maps and directions for everyone!

[coyoteking]

Charles will help if he's lucid. He'll try to anyway if he's not.

[starsandtights]

Steve will help, what a good boy.

[snowblindmods]

The monster responds easily to goading--it seems quite upset at everyone, but not especially clever, so it doesn't seem to stop at all to consider any reason for one person to stand out as more aggravating than another, instead chasing after Haurchefant. It moves quickly, easily slipping out of the first room. It doesn't seem to have any bones, and its shape is quite malleable, so it can twist through corridors and doorways with no trouble. It chases him doggedly, not stopping, tireless--and inevitably, Haurchefant's path will end in a dead end. The monster takes up the whole of the corridor leading up to the dead end. The anomaly reaches for him, grabs him--he falls unconscious, as always happens in the case of an anomaly attack. Then, after perhaps five minutes, Haurchefant's body begins to melt. Flesh and muscle slide off of bone, and even bone crumbles to dust. Everything melds with the anomaly except for the clothes and items Haurchefant has with him, which are dragged along with the rest of the anomaly puddle.

He has bought the others a great deal of time. While they can't afford to dawdle, if they keep up their pace, they shouldn't have any trouble keeping far from the anomaly. He's saved lives at the expense, temporarily, of his own.

[deus_ex_phs]

Alakdsjfa oh man. D:

Wait, was this visible to the people watching from above?

[snowblindmods]

Yes, the people above ground would see it. Those below wouldn't be able to see it, since it happens in a different area of the room.

[spoileralert]

Steph will... have... helped... in an alternate universe where I kept up with this and wasn't hospitalized.