[While most are getting ready for the prom, Ed has decided to be more mischievous and complete the misson that had been set out for her in previous days. The mission? To infiltrate the processing plant and escape with as much scrap metal as possible for the construction of the Ein-bot. So for anyone out and about in Sector one feel free to notice a child running around in bicycle shorts, no shoes that seems to be running from bush to bush and then stalking around the outside of the mysterious black building.]

Almost there~

[The training the previous day with Ryo and Touma had only left him feeling both set back and determined. The armors were gone for them--for now, possibly, the thought stays, but Seiji doesn't focus on it--but the power is there. He can feel it.

The butterfly pavilion is quiet, peaceful, soothing, and he sits neatly on the ground, tuning into the loudness of the silence. The flapping of the fragile, gossamer wings. The inhalation of air into his own lungs. The sound of his heart beating. He lets the world fall away and reaches inside of himself for the power that is there, blocked--disconnected.

But he cannot stop trying.

Unbeknownst to Seiji, his body has begun to glow, ever so lightly, the kanji for "spirit" glowing on his brow. It's as if his skin has been covered with a gentle ambiance of light with no source. It is all that he can achieve, but it's also something that may attract attention.]

{OOC: Nothing flashy, since Seiji doesn't have that kind of power himself, but he'll keep trying anyway.}

[Touma's on his own near the Athletic field. It's an open space with very few people around, so it would be perfect for some practice. Now, for the other two to get here... He waited, rather impatiently, on the bleachers.]

[It's been a while since Conrad's been in a library, but if he finds what he's seeking it's well worth the time spent. He browses idly though the short story section, looking for anything that might catch his eye.]

[A colorful book catches his eye, and quickly he removes it from the shelf to flip through it. A few lines later and he's laughing, a bit louder than he meant to. Diva would like this story, certainly.]

[One never knows when they may be caught, particularly when they lead a pirate's life. And even one such as Emeraldas, who can command fear with her name and whispers of her deeds, is only human in the end. And ever human must fall at some point, no matter what their strength.

So Emeraldas had dealt with this imprisonment with ample grace and little complaint, after a preliminary scuffle with guards and such at the start. Now that that had been dealt with, she had taken her time wandering this oddly plush prison and finally paused a moment to look over the communicator device given to her.

There was one aspect that weighed heavily on her mind. Aside from the idea of prison, of being underwater or any other one of the myriads of details.]

What has been done with my ship.


[OOC: Emeraldas, hailing from the OVA series Queen Emeraldas and a hodge-podge of other series. Here's some info.]

[Having ignored the strange device for now, Gabrielle can be found wandering about Sector 5, confused. Her staff is gone, which bothers her immensely, and she's alone, which doesn't bother her quite as much, but enough, because she wasn't alone before whatever it was that happened... well, happened.

She watches everyone carefully, the alertness of a warrior now trained into her during her time traveling with Xena and learning the skills of an Amazon princess.]

===========

[now with voice... Everyone can now listen in on what she's saying and possibly hear a little bit of Seiji's part of the conversation until otherwise noted.]

You mean like this?

===========

[And another voice a little while later...]

Uh... hello? Yeah. If there's someone out there named Xena... a bit less than a head taller than me, long dark hair, wears battle armor... can someone help her figure out this [And she stumbles a little on the word, but gets it.] c o m m u n i c a t o r... and have her get in touch with me? Tell her Gabrielle's looking for her.

Thanks!

[Akito can't sleep tonight. He's already woken up three times due to nightmares. Somehow his other hasn't picked up on them, so the light leaves him to rest, dragging a spare blanket out and settling on the couch, blanket wrapped around himself to keep warm.

After a moment he flicks on his communicator, quiet just in case someone's sleeping close enough to their own comm to be accidentally woken up by it]

What do you do when you can't sleep? [He's curious. Maybe there's something he can do to try and make himself sleep...the music isn't helping tonight]


((OOC: Action open to H/Alle))

[Yuki woke up about 25% of the way outside...in the park. He was mostly irked because it was hot, but didn't wake up completely. So he's now sleepily wandering in the direction of his house... He bumps into things along the way and eventually activates his communicator. The picture is of a scrawny, sleepy teenage boy who does not look at all happy. Or sad really. Just blank. He also groggily mutters things occasionally.

Well, he finally bumps into a wall, the wall is cool on his forehead so he stays there. Inevitably his eyes close and his breathing steadies. He falls asleep against that wall.]

Mnn...

[Well! Feel free to bother him. Be careful about being violent with him though~ ♥ Also, if you knew him before, he's been gone for about a couple days now! He's back!]

[ If by perchance you are to enter the library, you will possibly spot a brooding young man.

On his hands, resting against the surface of the nearest table are a notepad and a pen, items he had brought with him to draw whatever object would pique his interest. Originally, he had intended to draw somewhere at Sector 4, but the rain has forced him to stay indoors.

Even though he is doodling an image of the library's bookshelves, he is notoriously distracted and possibly upset. He can't focus, not when his mind is busily distracting him by replaying the conversation he had with Murata.

He doesn't regret saying what he said, however, he is now feeling doubtful. Of himself and mainly of how he is dealing with Yuuri's security. There are things he wants to say but has been too wary of saying.

After sighing, the blond gathers enough courage to click a sequence of buttons on his communicator. ]

[ Private to Yuuri ]
Good afternoon, Your Majesty. [ as per usual his voice is cold and impersonal. ]

[ Ryo had been figuring out the functions of the communicator and was going through the literature provided in the basket over tea when Touma had made his presence known. It's not that he eavesdropped, but he did catch bits and pieces of the conversations through the network (it made him a tad uneasy, and he can't wait to learn the private functions soon enough.)

He was anxious and restless and took it upon himself to prepare another batch of tea for when Seiji returns with Touma.

... And maybe Touma would like the candy and the rest of the cookies he didn't touch from his basket. ]


(( OOC: Post is backdated a little after Touma Hashiba's arrival. ))

[Touma laid out on the grass of the park. His hands were folded under his head, giving off the impression of him being relaxed. However, as he stared up at the projected sky (which he appreciated the thought of whoever came up with that idea, even if it wasn't quite the same as the real thing), his thoughts churned.

He'd already decided that the welcome basket (good cookies, by the way) and the message from their 'warden' meant that this wasn't another portal problem made up by Mukala. And, seeing as how this really did appear to be an underwater prison after all, he knew he certainly wasn't in Africa anymore. The fact that he had lost Nasti, Jun and Shuu was troubling to say the least, but he couldn't do anything for them now from here. He had to get home first.

And on that thought tangent, where was 'here'? Where were they? Who had created this Acumen? Was there a way to access the programming? Was there access to the outside world at all?

He had studied the small communicator after waking up, fascinated by the technology. It hadn't taken him long to figure it out. With only three buttons, the functions were very simple for him. He clicked it on, deciding to get right to the point with what he wanted to say.]

So this Acumen computer... it's an artificial intelligence , right? A program? Has anyone tried getting it to short-circuit or something to send us all back? Computers can be overloaded, you know.

{OOC: I have icons of Touma in his armor and undergear because, well, they spend most of the series in that, so those make up most of the screencaps out there. However, like Seiji and Ryo, Touma does not have his armor. So, ignore that part and just go with the facial expressions. XD

Also, he's already finished off a good portion of the cookies in the basket. XD}

[ And today's transmission reveals... about 90 minutes of a one [1] restrained young man staring, possibly without blinking.

Suddenly, action, as our fellow approaches the communicator: close-ups to a (left) red eye, fingers tapping the lens ( knock-knock!), a nostril sniffing the device, and finally, a peek of his...teeth and tongue... as they seem intent to bite - no, don't do that, it's unsanitary - phew, he's decided against chomping the lens and in favour of ---

...giving it a tentative lick.

Nom. Nom. Nom.

Sadly, the camera is not delicious enough, and he backs away. ]


...no tea.


[ Yes, okay, you've won the battle, evil not-tea machine. But the war has not yet been fought until both sides of this shiny, shiny card are displayed before the camera! ]

-- gah ?!

[ The flashing lights through his eyelids jolts him awake from a fitful sleep. For a minute, he thinks that a portal has opened again to swallow him, and take him back to the crystal caverns of Tanzania, only to remind himself that he was on the flight home back to Japan.

But last he checked, he was on a plane. In his sleepiness, it took a moment for the prison's welcome message to register, as he was half-expecting a flight attendant to tell them that there was some turbulence and that they had to fasten their seat belts. But the turbulence turned out to be the pounding bass of a dance track, the cushion he was resting on is a leather couch instead of the plane's seats, and the darkness was no emergency light shutdown of a plane, but the flickering strobe lights of a Club.

The welcome message just swam through his eyes. He knew the words, but they do not make sense to him. Not yet. And so fumbling with the buttons, he opens the communication channels -- ]

H-Hello? Shuu? This isn't funny-- Touma? Seiji? Shin?

Damn, don't tell me this is another stunt from --

[ He then rises from his seat, and realizes the presence of the restraint. And more to himself than anyone --]

I have got to get the hell out of here.

[-- who knows if the others were captured into this Marina prison too... ]


(( OOC: Catch him in the Club, or on his way out~ ))

[ Around noon, the robots that had been swarming the beach scatter, leaving a transformed landscape in their wakes. There are volleyball nets set up in the sand, along with colorful umbrellas and blankets beneath them. Part of the water has been sectioned off for water polo, while inflatable rafts in fanciful shapes are ready for use in the open area.

Ringing the beach are food stands serving street and festival foods: chin chin, takoyaki and taiyaki, aloo tikki, sabikh, empanada, hot dogs, ice cream and shaved ice, and suchlike. There is one stand where a robot serves an alcoholic punch not completely unlike sangria. Several of the other stands also serve non-alcoholic drinks. Clean up robots zoom from place to place, picking up garbage. ]

( to ami )

--

[Minako's disgruntled face moves into view] You know, if a youma from the Dark Kingdom or an alien from outer space crashed through the window and tackled me right this second - I probably wouldn't be able to kick them off. I used to be the cute and beautiful Sailor Venus, but now I'm just shopping every day and sleeping in the morning and losing all my sharply honed reflexes! [can you see how this distresses her. SHAKES A FIST]

That's it! Acumen, you are officially my enemy. Get ready! Because there's never been a wrath like a girl that has gained weight. [it's her quote don't question it]

[There's a rhythmic roaring and pounding in his head, the occasional whimpering sound, and a weird prickling in his back.]

[Cain groans and shifts, trying to push himself up from the... sand? His whole body feels like it weighs an extra hundred pounds, so he gives up and decides to just lay there for a minute longer. The time is better spent piecing together what brought him to this miserable place feeling as though a Leman Russ ran over him, then backed up and did it again for good measure. His mouth is dry and he feels wholly dehydrated, so he was probably drinking and was foolish and irresponsible about it. The roaring is the waves, which places him at the beach, so that means he was too drunk to even remember what he was up to. With a sense of dread and nausea, he realizes he should probably immediately apologize to everyone. After the world stops spinning and the sky stops being too bright. At least he didn't wake up in a puddle of his own vomit.]

[Eventually, once he feels like he's ready to face the music, he reaches up and smacks his communicator on.]

[Voice]
What the frak happened last night, and do I owe anyone an apology for it?

[While he waits for someone to respond, he decides to give moving around another go. It's only when he tries to push himself up again that he realizes the additional weight isn't a trick of his mind. Eridan is duct taped to his back.]

[That explains the whimpering and the prickly feeling, at least. Before he can summon up something approximating an appropriately loud reaction, however, Gaunt's voice chimes in close enough to be heard on the network, but out of Cain's field of vision.]

"Oh feth... has anyone seen my hat?"

--
((OOC: Gaunt might tag into unfiltered voice threads and can be directly addressed through the network! As stated in the plotting post, please feel free to troll them mercilessly, but check with us before assuming something actually happened.))

[ after waking up in a koi pond, and then simply lying in it for long enough to guess what happened -- which didn't take very long, really; he doesn't remember said pond, but he recognizes the sky of the domed prison well enough -- Murata has begun to suspect Acumen doesn't like him.

oh well... he climbs out of the pond and drips on the grass for a moment before turning on his communicator. ]

[ voice ]

The koi pond is a very nice addition to things, I must say. Though I think the fish might be a little angry with me!

I think I should probably take a bath...

((ooc: Open for both voice and action tags!))

[She’s appalled. She’s read the message carefully, once, twice, three times, has practically torn the welcome basket and brochure apart, and she still doesn’t understand. Oh, she knows what the words are telling her, but it just hasn’t sunk in yet.]

Hello? My name is Chun-Li. I believe there’s been some sort of mistake. [She has to take a slow, deep breath here, forcing herself to keep her composure.]

As an agent of INTERPOL, these crimes that I’m being accused of are unreasonable and frankly, ridiculous. I demand to speak to this Acumen and to be sent back immediately! [Her voice wobbles just barely with anger, but she won’t lose her temper. Not yet, anyway.]

[First, you hear the music. It is soft, but echoes. There are so mistakes, missteps in the tune, but it is calm, peaceful.

You'll open your eyes to the sight of leaves. Trees. Tall bamboo reaching up to the light of the sky shifting with the breeze through the dark leaves. They stretch on forever. The forest is bright, the shade shifting to let the light shine down.

Walk through the forest, follow the music. You'll find a boy sitting in a small clearing, the music weaving through the wind from the bamboo flute he plays. The hakama he wears is dark green and his eyes are closed. Stay, listen, talk to him for a while. He won't mind.

But you may be distracted by the sudden green glow coming from deep in the forest. Do you want to see what it may be? He'll try to stop you, but if you insist he won't stand in your way.

You may not like what you find.]

{OOC: Seiji's dream is peaceful, but if you follow the green light, you'll will find yourself somewhere dark, bloody, and violent. Each character will see something different.}

( scene one: it's a fluffy, shoujo scene forever )


( scene two: silver millennium )