video

[ex_elude798]

[Suzaku dials up the network from his phone, attention clearly fixed on something in front of him. His focus lies there, phone bobbing along as he walks. It's unclear exactly what he's doing until a loud pop rings through the air, and he abruptly drops the phone]

Damn-

[He clamps a hand over his shoulder, blood welling up between his fingers, and turns around. He's just in time for a pair of men dressed up in Blood Key attire to drag him offscreen, curses and threats belted about as he goes.

The sounds of struggle a short distance away are obvious. One voice remarks that the guy doesn't go down easily, and Suzaku's profanities fluctuate between English and Japanese as time drags on.

Eventually, silence settles in. It's a long, heavy silence, followed by footfalls and nothing more.

At least, until Suzaku's voice drifts over the air, weakly]

I...have to live...

[There's some scraping and shuffling, followed by a surprised cry. The sound of gunfire erupts, interspersed with thumps, thuds, and cracks. Electrical crackling joins the violent chorus, and a lone Blood Key stumbles within view of the phone's tiny screen.

He backs up one step, then another, and begins to take a third.

That's when a dark blur darts right at him, slamming into the man, the impact sending him sailing out of view. The blur stills with the scrape of boots against pavement, resolving to Suzaku's familiar form. Distantly, a crash follows.

For several long moments, Suzaku stands there, utterly still. His expression is blank. If he's aware that he's bleeding from no small number of gashes and at least one gunshot wound, he doesn't show it. Far from it, he just stands there.

Then, abruptly, he wavers, struggling to stand. He glances around wide-eyed, as though he's not quite sure where he is]

Wh-what the hell-?

[Electricity crackles and pops somewhere offscreen, and he braces in an attempt to stay on his feet. With the amount of blood on his clothes alone, it's obvious why he inevitably sinks to his knees on the pavement]

What is this...?

04; video --> text

[seabeast]

[ A video feed of a ferret sitting very primly in a pet bed, surrounded by a variety of snacks. There's a scrap of what appears to be silk right on her paws. She stares into the camera down her nose, her head held high, then she snakes forward to turn the feed off.

(She is expecting everyone to be so jealous of her Christmas haul. It has not quite struck her that this gesture might have made ZERO SENSE.

A text message is right below the video window:]

christmas gets a pass this year
praps i judjed it too quick

anyone heard of an island called sampetra
warm sandy lots o green
full to the brim with lizards and other filth

[ ... at least she gets to the point? ]

action;

[alilyinthemoonslight]

Who: Lily, Cherry
What: A completely, totally, coincidental run-in that one party didn't try to incite at all. Nope.
When: Friday, December 27th, mid-day
Where: A flower shop that totally isn't the third one Lily's been to that day, nope.
Warnings: Terrible awkwardness.

( Lily really needs to work on echoing back that suave and cool thing. Seriously. )

Text

[canofthebuttwhoop]

Newbie checking in. Call me Vic.

A friend already briefed me on what the heck is going on here, but she seems to think that "I have too much to live for" and that I "need to get out of town right now."

We'll, I've never taken to getting bossed around well, so I'm staying right here. My first "echo" was pretty cool, though. So who wants a sonic blaster?

01 ✭ text; typed

[darkinferno]

It's during his cursory skype call with his parents that Dante accesses the network for the first time, typing the numbers in while he's got no other escape. He can't help the look of surprise that crosses his face when the network appears before him, but they either don't notice or don't question, and he doesn't offer any information as to what's distracting him the rest of the call. But his parents do try to keep involved in his life, and it's almost a full half-hour later before Dante finally disconnects.

By this point he's read enough. He flexes his fingers over the keyboard, half-habit, half-hesitation, then types into what he feels like must be the abyss, but appears to be much less expansive.]

Numbers, huh? Numbers, aliens, gardeners, and conspiracies.

You know, if you're trying to convince people that all of this is for real, you're doing a piss-poor job of it. Whatever happened to easing into it, instead of throwing newcomers into the deep end?

[His text sounds a lot more casual than he really is. Dante doesn't necessarily believe all this nonsense about the Secret Numbers Club and all that, but damn if it isn't an intricate piece of work. He pauses before adding anything more. Is he really planning on drinking this kool-aid?

...Shit. He wasn't going to ask. But he read the FAQ posts a little more carefully than he did when he was skimming while skyping, and it's been niggling at him for some reason. He's going to ask. He has no idea why he's humoring all this.]

Has anyone found out what happens if a Vermini infects one of... you guys?

written.

[blackcrystal]

[ he considers using video. typing on a cracked phone screen isn't particularly fun or engaging, but you never know who could be watching or if this bizarre thing is legitimate. there's no way he's risking the wrong eyes seeing him... and he's pretty sure turning his phone on is just a bad idea with police looking for him.

Writing, though. Is pretty much untraceable. His handwriting is pretty damn flowery and neat.]

Well. I've just proven the legitimacy of this for myself. I just have two questions for you all.

1. These pulses. Is there a way to get them yourself? It seems to be a common thought. I want to know if anyone has been successful in willingly getting one.

2. Are you people the reason this city has gone to hell so quickly?

[Voice]

[espigeonage]

Two questions, Numbers Club. [As ever, he sounds breezy and upbeat.]

We're all up on how getting near one of the Blood Keys gets you a pulse, right? Does anyone know if you get more from being around different members, later? I mean I've been in proximity to several but that was one long basic... encounter, hah. [that's not a laugh.]

Second question, can I get anyone who reads Japanese to do some translating for me? Nothing fancy or word-for-word, like, the gist is fine! I got a surprise present the other day ago. It's a locker full of packages of candy and things. Now, I took Japanese freshman year and I pieced together the name on the locker, but past that I'm pretty lost. I can throw in a packet of chocolate-covered coffee beans if you want one! They're pretty good.