WEEK 1 - Investigation

[al2955]

the pygmalion. . . ONLINE CAPTAIN'S LOG: WEEK (1)

friday (?) survivors Friday careens around the corner soon enough, much like every day preceding it does. This morning, however, is greeted with a surprise — your datapad is making a strange noise. Perhaps it's buried under the duvet you're sleeping under, or at the far corner of the room, maybe you're the forgetful type and left it in the bathroom, or maybe, just maybe, you have it right next to your ear when a song blasts at full volume. Upon inspection, you'll find the accompanying video is playing as well. The song seems to loop, this time being overlain with a voice recanting the history of the band in a steady, robotic tone. Was it the AI? You probably didn't care, and, instead, decided to leave your room. Once you do, the song finally ends. You are free. You may feel rather manipulated right now, or you are just satiated to be away from the music. Either way, it's clear your day has only just begun. ENTER COMMAND_

Comments

[brooches]

[ Elizabeth's immediately clued in on the ball. Picking it up into her hand, she's pushing the door open. She's inside and looking, primarily towards the ball pit - looking for anyone who may have been tossing them, as she had been earlier the week...

She moves closer, closer to see the shadows cast between the piles of balls. ]

[breakshot]

[ Machias will be tagging along. Best not to investigate this alone! What's in the ball pit, spacebar. What's in there. ]

... You don't think someone's dropped it on the way out? [ One can hope it's just that. ]

[toprotecttheworld]

[Jessie is ignoring Elizabeth for a second and strolling further into the room, looking for a place to sit down. Maybe they'll leave. Who. Knows. She came in here to do something, and unless there are signs something went wrong other than that ball, she's just going to keep her distance from The Nerd.

She'll give Elizabeth a friendly wave, though.]

[al2955]

[ Notably, the Daycare is in disarray. Elizabeth will notice that the ballpit is out of air, lying half of it flattened and rather sad looking. Looks like the party's over. Jessie may find the turned over merry-go-round to be a fine place to sit. ]

[brooches]

[ Glancing to Machias. ]

Maybe? People were having fun in it last time I was here -

[ NOPE NOT HER AND JASON, NOPE.

BUT SHE GIVES JESSIE A WAVE, can't tell her to do nothin' she don't wanna do.

Elizabeth hums to herself, tossing the ball back into the pit. She's kneeling down, picking at the fabric of the half-inflated lining and lifting it up a bit to inspect it. Are there any holes? ]

I guess people were too rough.

[breakshot]

That’s no surprise. With not much to do, it’s no surprise this place gets a lot of attention.

[ Ugh. Nevermind that, look at this place. It’s a mess. It didn’t look this disastrous last night before everyone went to bed, did it? ]

Just what in the Goddess’s name happened in here? Don’t tell me they forgot to clean up…

[ When Jessie strolls on ahead, Machias’s frown deepens but he’ll bite his tongue for now. In any case, that’s odd the pit’s been deflated. And what’s going on with that turned over merry-go-round? Sorry, Jessie, but let’s have a look because if nothing’s wrong, he’ll want to set it right back in it’s place like the neat freak he is. ]

[toprotecttheworld]

Both of you! Stop what you're doing right now!

[The urge to reach into her pocket and pull out the orb that summons the hell serpent is stronger than ever. A deflated ballpit. A knocked over merry-go-round.]

This wasn't because someone was playing! This is clearly the scene of a battle! Er, a fight! Don't walk around carelessly!

[There might still be someone else in here, or otherwise something.]

[breakshot]

[ He'll stop?! He's not liking the idea of Jessie telling him what to do, but he'll stop, frowning. It's no time to be messing around, let alone getting into an argument. ]

It's clear enough something happened in here. [ He's still gonna check out that merry-go-round though. Very carefully! ] Let's not drop our guards.

[al2955]

[ Elizabeth will find a small puncture on the side of the ballpit. It's tiny, but enough to give it a slow death. While she's down inspecting it, she might notice that some of the balls have been flattened, as if something hard landed on them. All the balls in question are, oddly, speckled — blue, yellow, and green balls with flecks of red. Were there any like that before?

As Jessie and Machias hover close to the merry-go-round, it makes a strange and glitchy noise, as if it is trying to start but it broke from its fall. It tries to turn, but because Jessie and Machias are facing it from the backside, they can only see a horse peeking above gyrating back and forth as if stuck. ]

[brooches]

[ Going to go ahead and pull a few of those balls up - one in each hand. She runs her thumb against the red flecks as if examining the texture. Her breath nearly escaping her lungs out of fear. She's naive, but not stupid. ]

[toprotecttheworld]

What's that strange Ponyta doing? It's...stuck.

[What an odd sound.

There's only one thing to do. Jessie steps around the Merry-go-Round, trying to see what's on the side opposite from them. Her hand is resting over Arbok's pokéball, even if she doesn't call him out quite yet. She wants to be ready.]

[breakshot]

Something's not right...

[ That much is clear enough?? Machias is going to go around the opposite side of Jessie, just in case. Covering all bases and he’s keeping a razor sharp eye out in case someone tries something. Anything out of place on the way over? How about the front? What's up with the merry-go-round? ]

[al2955]

[ The texture of the specks could be best described as 'wet'. That's because it's blood. When Elizabeth looks at her fingers, she'll notice that they've been stained with the same red specks.

Machias and Jessie will see the same thing, just from opposite ends — the reason for the merry-go-round being stuck, that is. There's something in between a rabbit and a wolf, preventing it from continuing on its tracks. Whatever it is is rather blue. Blue pants and a blue jacket, presumably attached to a head that's obscured by the rabbit and wolf. ]

[brooches]

[ Elizabeth stumbles back, pushing her hands apart in the ballpit - as if looking for someone or something. Anything noteworthy besides bloody balls? Either way, she yells out, unaware of what Machias and Jessie are encountering - ]

H-Hey! I've found something!

[ Oh sweet summer child, there's much worse. ]

[toprotecttheworld]

Elizabeth! Investigate that! Whatever you do, don't come over here!

[And she's going to do it. She's going to do it, because she's the strongest, because Team Rocket is the best at everything they do. She steps between the bizarre Wigglytuff and what looks like some sort of Arcanine and tries to pull the obstacle free before Nerd can get his hands on it.]

Don't look! It might not be...

[Please don't be dead, she'll scream.]

[breakshot]

Stay where you are! [ And then Jessie runs off, causing him to reach out towards and-- Ugh! He's right behind you, Jessie. ] Wait, be careful! We need to see if this is--

[ That looks like a body?! Say it's not a body. No time to fuck around, let's get a closer look. Anyone they'd recognize from the profiles? ]

[al2955]

[ It's dead, Jessie. She'll notice that the lovely blue suit the body is wearing is accented in red — the buttons, the piping, the shirt underneath, the two holes on her torso. It's quite a couture but professional look, one appropriate only for a woman who means business.

Calisto Yew is dead. ]

breaks tag order just for this

[toprotecttheworld]

It's...it's you!

[She screams, but she's going to set the body down once she's pulled it away from the merry-go-round.]

I don't know her name!

[brooches]

[ Insert scream? Why the hell would Liz ignore that? She drops those bloody balls, immediately heading over and - oh.

Oh no.

No.

She's frozen, but despite what others have perceived of her, she doesn't seem fearful of it. Far too many dead bodies seen. Her voice cold: ]

We need to go get help... Is - is she... is she really dead? Check her breathing!

[breakshot]

Damn it.

[ It's a woman. He can feel the pit of his stomach turning at this display. Someone actually killed someone - someone actually sank that low for this - just how unbelievably sick can someone be...!

No. He had to stay calm, and not lose his composure. He'll turn to the two women, then back to Yew. ]

I'll check. One of you go get help, and tell them what's happened!

[ No time to waste, so let's do just that. Let's check for some vitals. He's not so sure considering those are two holes (??!) in that torso but #justincase. ]

[al2955]

[ The blood pooled under Calisto smears against the floor as her body is dragged.

She has no pulse. She's definitely dead, though besides the two stab wounds on her torso, she doesn't look too gruesome, almost as if she's sleeping. There is one hole in between her chest and one in her stomach area, as well as stains flowing from the wounds and cascading off the sides of her body, leading to the pool beneath her. ]

[toprotecttheworld]

She's not breathing, Elizabeth. It's too late. It looks like someone really went through with this stupid thing!

[She looks down at Callisto Yew as she gets to her feet, her clothes stained from the blood.

It's time to do a quick sweep for physical evidence, but otherwise they have to split up the work, don't they?]

We need to tell everyone. And the less people who come in here, the better. Twerp, are you okay with the body?

[There might be a HINT of sympathy to her voice if Machias wants to believe it.]

[brooches]

I'll go. I need to wash this off, first.

[ She's distant, not the first time she's seen blood on her hands. Of course, it won't be the last. Elizabeth finds this time to give a thoughtful look to Jessie and Machias and exit, on her way to the med bay. ]

[breakshot]

[ So they're not gunshot wounds. He's going to look a little closely, kneeling down and being very careful while checking. Anything else of note besides the stab wounds? ]

There’s no pulse. She’s dead. [ Machias shakes his head. ] I'll keep checking, but see if you can get someone else in here to have a look at the body, Elizabeth.

[ His tone's very firm, but not without some grim to it. He doesn't like having to do this, but someone has to. Machias looks up at Jessie, nodding. For once they're actually getting along. Remotely. ]

I'll be all right. For now, neither of us are leaving this room. Sweep around the place and see if you find anything else of note.

[al2955]

[ The rest of her body appears normal. ]