sub-quest two | silent server

[bbqchim]

CHARACTERS | any curious or brave adventurers!
DATE | August 5th~7th
RATING | PG
SUMMARY | The Omega server has been 're-opened' to the public. Come explore...?

LOG |

Comments

[headphonerookie]

A new server and a deleted post sounded like a great place to search for answers. Spin contacted Hakuren, and they met to explore together.

The silence overwhelmed Spin the moment he left the Gate.

It was like his nightmares had come to life in a warped, twisted form with all the decay and fragmentation. Some nights, Spin dreamed of a glowing purple eye would pierce through the darkness, and silence would fill everything. Or a vibrant purple light would fill his vision as he made out his family before him, turning to stone one by one. Their melodies growing quieter and quieter as the bright light faded to darkness. Or even just silence, pure silence... if the chant "EBA" didn't soon ring out from that silence (Some nights it didn't)... Spin would wake and shake in bed. Though someone was always up to hear that something had jolted him awake. Derek usually, the insomniac. And would knock on his door to check up on him...

Though, no one like that was in the World, and no one was waking him up from this.

Spin knew that he might find out something here. That was why he didn't turn back right away. He had a duty to do. As an Agent.

But... this--this is what the world, not the World, his world, would've sounded had the Rhombulans won. Would it had been so dark and decaying too?

"... Hakuren?" Try as he might, Spin couldn't keep the fear out of his voice.

[proclaimedrival]

Shortly after Spin appeared, another person walked through the Gate and stopped short. Hakuren wasn't quite as affected by the silence as Spin... Instead, it was the darkness that drew the apprentice Bishop's attention. It was always a bishop's duty to heal the souls of all people in Barsburg, to save them from the darkness and Verloren's clutches. Then there was the Bishop Exam at the Church, where one had to face their fears and the darkness within their own soul.

Perhaps, if he had not passed the exam, Hakuren would have faltered now.

But instead of retreating, the blond boy stood up straight and took a couple of steps further into the area before he heard the soft (and slightly fearful) call of the Macabre Dancer. He calmly walked over to Spin before simply holding his hand out for the other.

"Don't be afraid. You're not alone," he smiled, remembering something from the time of the exam, "my hand will always reach you."

[headphonerookie]

Not hearing the world, not hearing Hakuren's melody... Spin wanted to cover his ears, like it would somehow keep away the silence. Then Hakuren spoke and held out his hand. It sounded like a gesture or saying from his world. Wherever it came from, it was working. And not being alone... that was something the EBA tried to pass on to their targets. It was easier with someone with you. Spin nodded and followed. He was an Agent, one that helped push back silence to let the Music play one more. He could do this. One step at a time.

"... Hakuren, this..." His voice sounded abnormally quiet, even when he wasn't trying to be. "This isn't right..." Whatever "right" was, he didn't know. But this was something that seemed wrong.

Spin reached for his Relic to try and pull up a map of the area, but everything appeared garbled. He frowned. "I think my Relic's broken."

[proclaimedrival]

Not quite... More of a reassurance from one comrade to another than an actual saying. Despite the darkness pressing on him from all sides, Hakuren felt that this was simply another test from God. If he could not overcome this, then he was not worthy of becoming a bishop.

"..." and that prompts Hakuren to pull out his own Relic and reveal absolutely nothing. Well, other than the warp menu, but even then the only thing that could be selected from the that menu was the other server. "Not completely broken, but we won't be able to call for help," he frowned, "or fight. Our weapons are locked."

He replaced the Relic at his side before he took another look around. There was nothing here... nothing bar two other platforms and the disorienting view.

"Spin," Hakuren started as he turned to face the Agent, "I understand if you wish to return to Mac Anu. I wouldn't want you to force yourself to come here if you feel uncomfortable."

[headphonerookie]

There was no way Spin could say he wasn't uncomfortable in this place, but he wasn't about to leave Hakuren either. He gave his Relic a final glance and put it away.

With a shake of his head, Spin caught up so he was right beside him. "It was my idea, and I'm not going to rewind and go back to Mac Anu." Spin stared out into the darkness. "This place brings up some bad memories. That's all..." That in addition to his fear of silence in general.

"I wondered what happened here? Is it incomplete? Or is this what something looks like after a virus?" It didn't look stable at all.

[proclaimedrival]

At that confirmation that he was going to stay, Hakuren offers Spin another reassuring smile before he turned around and started towards one of the two platforms. The available area was small, so with some luck, they should be able to leave soon. Unlike Teito, Hakuren wasn't sure if Spin was trained to be used to these sorts of places; from what he'd seen, the other man was uncomfortable with the server... But was professional enough to put that aside.

"It looks incomplete," Hakuren points to some of the debris: half-formed pillars that looked like they were in the process of being programmed/built. "But that's simply a guess on my part."

Once they reached the lower platform, a quick survey revealed what appeared to be a closed kiosk and it's stock surrounding it.

"How strange..."

[headphonerookie]

Maybe when Hakuren and Spin returned to Mac Anu, Spin would explain more about why he froze up upon first entering the area. The invasion wasn't classified; the EBA were. Right now, however, Spin didn't want to even think about Rhombulans or how quiet everything was, not just the Music.

"A kiosk?" Out of all the things that would get programmed first in a game landscape, a kiosk wasn't really the first thing that came to mind. A floor would have been the first thing. "... A kiosk with juice containers?"

This didn't make any sense.

[proclaimedrival]

Without waiting, Haruken made his way over to one of the boxes with an orange prominently displayed on the front. Looking inside revealed nothing but simple juice containers (in this box's case, cans of juice). Finding something this normal in the middle of such a strange and unnatural location was more upsetting than anything else thus far.

... Well, it doesn't quite compare to the background and lack of audio.

"Perhaps this was meant for player use once everything was finished?" he suggested, taking out one of the cans and weighing it in his hand. It appeared normal enough.

[headphonerookie]

"But why are they the only thing that looks... okay here?" No matter how Spin thought of it, he couldn't think of a reason why these would be okay if the server was being constructed. "Something so simple still existing in this silence is scary."

Spin had plenty of reservations about even touching something that out of place without looking at it more. He tapped the container gently with his finger. It felt as solid as it looked. "An event server maybe?"

With a sigh, the Agent looked back out into the darkness. What would the others be looking for if they were here?

[proclaimedrival]

The bishop simply shrugged. "That's the same as asking how we got here in the first place. The World seems to operate using different rules than what we're used to," Hakuren said as he stood up, a can of orange juice in his hand.

"I wouldn't be surprised. These 'moderators' don't strike me as the reliable type. Though," he paused as he remembered something, "Didn't one of those forum goers mention that this place was shut down? It must have happened before we arrived here...."

"Could this be the reason that it was shut down?"

They'd probably be looking for something suspicious, Spin. Behind a corner of an incomplete building something has moved... Or, perhaps, it is simply a figment of your imagination.

[headphonerookie]

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Spin said to both Hakuren's remarks. They didn't know why they were here, and the GMs didn't seem to know what was going on at times.

As he bent down carefully to pick up a small piece from the crumbling bricks, Spin said, "I think so. It seemed like this place returned from something from what they said." He turned the piece in his hands wishing he could still read the post. Then he gently dropped the brick fragment over the edge to see what would happen. It seemed to disappear into the darkness. Spin doubted he'd hear it hit anything. "Then... maybe it wasn't being built but had been destroyed... Possibly. Yeah."

That was a scary thought either way--What was that? Spin didn't want to be jumping at shadows, but he lowered his stance, moved away a few steps from the edge, and started to look around at the other buildings.

[proclaimedrival]

"Perhaps maintennance," Hakuren suggested as he watched Spin perform his little experiment. "Or a quarantine."

He looked at the can in his hand before Spin's change in posture caught his attention. There was something strange about the item... But for some reason or another, Hakuren couldn't bring himself to do more than pick it up. Not hand it off, not open it, nothing.

"What's wrong?"

The space is as empty as it was before and nothing is moving anymore. The buildings remain suspended in air and the darkness is unmoving.

[headphonerookie]

"... Thought I saw something, but I guess not." Spin sighed. The place must be really getting to him. An Elite Beat Agent in silence did not go well together. "So, what now? There aren't a lot of places to explore here."

Spin guessed he could continue chucking small pieces of brick into the abyss around them, but that really wasn't something he was keen on doing. However, he did look quizzically at Hakuren when he noticed he was still holding the can. "Are you bringing that with you?"

[proclaimedrival]

"I think we've covered everything..." Hakuren agreed before turning to look at the other platform, just visible behind the stairwell. "Unless we go take a look at the other kiosk."

If only he could use his Baculus here. At least then, perhaps, he could confirm if a Wars or something else from his world. Though when Spin mentioned that he had seen something, the bishop couldn't help but take a look at the spot that had caught his comrade's attention.

"Hm? Oh, this?" he held up the can. "I figured that I'd take it to Mac Anu and see if I can find anything else. This darkness isn't really helping my concentration..."

[headphonerookie]

Spin looked toward the kiosk before saying, "Suppose we should be thorough, huh?" Since there were only two areas, it would be a quick look. Also, if Spin had seen something, which he wasn't so sure he had or not, there was a chance of it showing itself again. Or not, which would prove that the Agent was jumping at shadows.

Closing his eyes, Spin strained to hear a single note of something but to no avail. Either this place was messing with his Music Sense--which it had to since he couldn't hear Hakuren's melody--or there really wasn't a tune to this place. Or a mix of both. "It's the silence that's getting to me. You've noticed our voices don't seem as loud. Same with our footsteps too, right?" Or was Spin losing all of his hearing...?

He hooked his thumbs onto his belt and tapped a foot. "I wonder if we should even take something from this place to Mac Anu." A grim thought came to his mind, and Spin frowned. "The juice seems to be the only thing intact here... What if they were part of problem?"

[proclaimedrival]

He tucked the juice container into a pocket of his robes before starting towards the stairs. "The faster we finish taking a look, the sooner we can leave," he said before he gave Spin a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Like we're underwater. It's uncomfortable, which is why we should pick up the pace a little, don't you think?"

The darkness that was pressing in on all sides... It felt like the second part of the Bishop's Exam, right down to how quiet everything was. Hakuren kept expecting a Kor to jump out of the darkness to try and prey on the darkness in their hearts. At Spin's concern, Hakuren's own expression darkened for a moment.

"All the same, I want to be able to examine it..." - a carefree smile - "If they are a part of the problem, then it might provide some answers for us. I'll take that chance."