☣001; VIDEO → VOICE☣

[virogenic]

[ the wearable has been activated with a jitter, the brief flicker of video showing nothing but a shadowed figure. what can be gleaned is that this figure is intimidating in stature and musculature, but no facial features can be seen. and as quickly as that, it shuts off

Comments

not here. 1/2

[dx1118c]

[. . . color him unpleasantly surprised.

browsing the network, as usual, reading and listening on to anything he can, and then he stumbles across this. and suddenly it's like being back on Manhattan, with days and moments filled with rage.

because betrayal.

because Cross, as far as Alex is concerned at least, isn't who he claims to be.

because he's likely about to reveal him to the station.]

voice. private.

[dx1118c]

[and Alex is on his feet in an instant, running towards the closest teleporter, to get to the junkyard where everyone ends up at first-- he's not one hundred percent certain Cross will still be there, but the chances are high. there, or at the very least in the vicinity.

in the meantime, he activates the feed, pretty well encrypted:]

How about you ask the man himself?

[he half seethes, half yells into the wearable. excuse the paranoia, but he's got all the reason to be, in this case.

and hello, do you recognize that voice, Cross? and the sound in the background of glass breaking when he steps on it...

when he speaks next, it's more quiet, but just as tense:]

Doesn't matter. [he'll get to Cross before anyone else.] I'll kill you anyway. [again.]

VOICE; PRIVATE

[virogenic]

[ once the encrypted message reaches his wearable, it takes Cross a good moment to figure out how relay one back with the same level of privacy. and what a task it is, considering who the message was from. his hands are shaking considerably, but not out of fear or anger. just. something he can't quite describe. in cross' mind, if alex is here, that means alex failed.

and until he realized otherwise, he would react as such. finally, he gets a message through, forgoing the voice filter because what was the point with alex? ]

Alex. [ his voice is softer than it had been, but not gentler. cross recognizes that tone all too well and he had hoped he'd never be on the receiving end of it again. spoke too soon. ] I'm going to assume you know where I am already? Then I'll wait for you. [ sounds as though he's already given up, but it's quite the contrary; he knew how alex operated when angry. there was no negotiating at this point. ]

VOICE; PRIVATE

[dx1118c]

[under most normal circumstances, or perhaps if Alex wasn't already "seeing red," so to speak, he'd be thrown off by the tone, by the words. something was definitely off.

but as it was? oh, he's just so glad Cross is making his job so much easier.]

That suits me just fine.

[and he cuts the feed to focus on running.]

audio; encryption 100%; visible to Alex Mercer

[namesnotprowl]

[Someone asking after M? Well, that's bound to be trouble. At least Barricade was already in ultra-paranoid mode. He puts on his vocal filters to sound human and encryptions to keep the conversation - and his location - private. Well, mostly private.]

Similar boat, if not the same. Luckily Hypatia runs a fairly tight ship'n we keep up with each other for the most part.

Think I heard the name, once; been a few months, though.

[He's also going to quietly start heading out, tracking Cross's ID. Wherever you are, there's going to be a problem, he's certain.]

blah blah errythang...

[virogenic]

[ cross blinks at the message; another private one? with... multiple viewers. huh. he's in no mind to mess with things of that nature now. his own voice filter still enabled, he finally returns a message. ]

Noted. I'm not sure I like the sound of that. [ more or less, the dead should stay dead, himself included. he sighs briskly. ]

That's all right. Don't go digging; he's ... not a stable man. [ and the last thing cross wants is more blood on his hands. ] The fact that you recognize the name at all helps more than you know.

it's always better complicated~

[namesnotprowl]

[Barricade prefers playing his cards close to his chassis when he can, and it's better for him to keep people that might contradict him out of this for now. He can deal with whatever comes after, later.]

Oh, it's not so bad. Second chance for some. Get to make amends or make up for things they've done. [What sort of things have you done, Cross?]

[He puts on his best concerned tone. Play the confused and helpful cop.] Is he really that dangerous? He didn't seem all that bad when we spoke. And he hasn't caused any trouble 'round here, t'my knowledge.

the woes of military men...

[virogenic]

... [ those words hit pretty hard, but he fills the silence with a soft bark of laughter. ] This is not how I envisioned Purgatory.

[ that next bit takes him off guard. this time, the silence is more obvious. ] Is that right. [ a statement, not a question. ] That's interesting. I'm very glad to hear that.

[ Audio ]

[rustigedraak]

The hell d'you want with Mercer, Captain?

[ I see you, G-man. Mobster no likey. ]

VOICE

[virogenic]

[ of all the reactions cross expected, this was not one of them. ]

... You-- [ okay, what??? this guy sounds almost angry about it.

time to ease into this as gently as possible. ] If you know anything about Alex, then you'll know why I'm asking.

VOICE

[rustigedraak]

That don't sound too friendly, officer. My guess you ain't out t'buy him a beer, yeah?

VOICE

[virogenic]

I'm not here to be friendly. I'm here to be pragmatic. [ as simple as that. ]

Either way, I only asked if anyone knew of him. And you've answered my question sufficiently. [ in more ways than ladon realizes, perhaps. ]

[video]

[supernova1006]

[Oh dear, military.] Uh, hello sir. Welcome to the station. I'm afraid I personally haven't heard that name, but there's enough people here that I sure don't know everyone.

VOICE

[virogenic]

Thanks, kid. [ his voice is a bit more relaxed-sounding than his initial message, but that voice filter kinda ruins that effect. ] That's fine. I appreciate you taking the time to answer.

VOICE

[supernova1006]

So you, um, just arrived here? Do you have any other questions?

VOICE

[virogenic]

Pretty much. I'm still vaguely disoriented.

[ a pause. ]

...Is it common for the dead to be brought to this place? [ cos uh. from the sounds of things, this isn't purgatory... ]

video;

[moeclaws]

It's nice to meet you, Captain Cross! My name's Nepeta. [she waves at the camera, grinning widely. the tone doesn't really seem to have put her off.]

I haven't hear of that purrson, but you're right in that there's purrlenty of people on the station. If he's not here right now he might come later - we're doing purretty well lately about getting people others know!

And in the meantime there's lots to keep you busy. This is a really fun place, hee hee.

VOICE

[virogenic]

[ he watches this feed with ... reserved curiosity. a little girl (by his standards) waving at him and acting anything but intimidated is not something he's used to. not that he's insulted, but this has sparked his own inquisitive nature. ]

I.... see. [ how does i talk to little girls. ] So, it's a common occurrence, for people to randomly appear in this place? [ that just solidifies his whole "afterlife" theory. ]

[moeclaws]

Yeah, they come and go all the time. Nobody's really figured out a pattern fur it yet, but if you wait long enough even the people who disappear again will eventually come back.

[this isn't exactly true but this is what Nepeta believes because FRIENDS COME BACK D:]

[virogenic]

I don't really understand how that's possible... [ people getting here is one thing, but leaving?? and coming back?? NONSENSE. ]