open log » ❝ The VR Program ❞

[initiatesnpc]

Date & Time: August 5th, mid morning.
Location: Anywhere characters happen to be/the VR.
Characters: Everyone.
Summary: From August 5th to August 8th, characters are plunged involuntarily into the VR Program.
Warnings: Potential violence within the threads.

When the chance arises, she's quick to take it. The programming is incomplete, she knows; the simulation isn't ready — but she's not likely to get another shot at it. And so she moves, slipping through security codes to input the command. The machines hum to life with nothing but a flicker of a green light in a dark room, and it takes only seconds to establish connections. The signal is sent out; the weapons respond.

In a single pulse, reality drops away.

There will be darkness at first as the mind realigns itself to the signals being sent it. Slowly, the darkness fades, forms take shape. People take shape. The setting is terribly familiar, plucked from the user's own mind. It might feel like a dream at first, with events playing out as if predestined, the would-be dreamer moving through a familiar and unalterable route in them. But as things begin to feel more and more realistic, as more senses more fully connect to the simulation, awareness will change. This is not a dream. This is more than a memory.

Welcome to the VR.

Only 20 minutes later, in some underground quarters, Doctor Sponde is roused from an undignified sprawl. He's hastily briefed and shuttled toward the command center, looking grim. He knows the problem demands an immediate fix, but… well, this is some complex machinery. It could take some time. It could take days. He gets to work.

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[payback]

Rin had hopped from world to world to the point that now she didn't face leaping across universes with surprise so much as a sickly kind of resignation. So, as she straightened up to regard her new surroundings, surprise was a little late in coming.

From the looks of it she'd arrived someplace beautiful, and luxuriously appointed. Gleaming wood floors and subtly opulent surroundings, humidity heavy in the air, and it wasn't but a minute til Rin's stomach dropped out. She knew this place well. She'd worked here, in fact.

(She was holding her sword. That was new. She hadn't been here in ages - she'd never brought her sword here - what was happening? It all felt real -)

Rin stepped back, down the hall towards where the front room was. She was beginning to hyperventilate. It was so sudden. She wasn't in the right place -

A soft footstep tapped on the floor behind her. Of course, there'd be guests, and other attendants, and - she turned, and of course it wasn't either. Rather a pale man with a head's height on Rin with a messy sprawl of black hair down his back, one eye gleaming red, one eye solid-silvery, with the color broken up by black rings. He was carrying a sword, the blade bared. "I'll make this quick," he purred. "Prepare to die."

[healplz]

[ Ashraf has been exploring worlds — dreams? Memories — for some time now. Time is a strange thing here, he's come to notice. For all he knows, it could have been days, but he feels no hunger. He's grim and resigned when he comes into this latest world, but pleasantly surprised by the setting. It's beautiful. He doubts that will last.

Immediately after arriving his eyes fall on Rin, and shortly after, on her attacker. He moves instinctively, without thinking, throwing out a hand. The shield to spring up around her is invisible, but will spark a hard blue against any attacks. Satisfied with that, he next begins a shield for himself. Attacks in these worlds have been known to shift, and there's no sense in leaving himself open to it. ]

[payback]

[Rin's response to Ashraf's spell is a muffled scream, too alarmed at first to register that his move is a helpful one and not some kind of attack from Madara. She's disarrayed but has pulled herself together enough to mount a somewhat clumsy defense against Madara, hindered by the fact that she doesn't even really want to scratch him. He's beating her back but not killing her, fortunately - and Rin glances over at Ashraf with the whites of her eyes showing.]

Wh-what are you doing here?!

[healplz]

[ Ashraf is already striding over, his eyes on Madara. No one he recognizes, but that's not uncommon in these visions. ]

The same thing you are. [ He refreshes her shield, immediately afterward adding that same blessing and spell of agility that he'd used before. ] Are you alright, Rin?

[payback]

[She can't afford to really watch what Ashraf's doing. Madara might be only fighting at maybe one one-hundredth his actual ability, but it's enough to keep Rin occupied and falling back. What's worse, now there are voices sounding from behind them, girlish and masculine in symphony.]

Well - how did you get here? I don't - [Madara scores a strike on her, swords clanging off of each other, and closes in. Rin trips over herself backing away. She can't afford to lock with him.] Stop it!

[healplz]

These are — memories, I think.

[ He's satisfied only when he comes to stand behind and to the side of Rin. He's no use as a fighter, but at least he can lend his support. He casts yet another spell over Rin, designed to increase her speed and skill with a weapon. ]

And he is not your friend, only an apparition. Do not hold back your attack.

[payback]

[Madara wouldn't be trying to carve her up if it was really him, Rin is pretty sure. She doesn't protest Ashraf's analysis - which is a good thing, as now Madara is turning towards Ashraf, eyes bowing up in the same friendly smile he gave to Rin. It's at odds with his words:]

I'm going to kill you! [Before he's plunging towards Ashraf with sword raised. Rin dashes after him to make her own strike and the first slave girls appear down the hall. Some of them are emptyhanded, others bear makeshift weapons - teapots filled with boiling water, to splash dangerously and break over heads. Trays that bore food. Not quite as dangerous as Madara, but more numerous.]

[healplz]

[ Well, here's a small issue. His Kyrie Eleison spell really only works against weapons, not serving trays or hot water. One of the trays catches his shoulder as he darts nearer to Rin for protection, but his staff blocks a second from finding his head.

Through gritted teeth: ] You know the layout of this place. Where is the exit?

[payback]

It might not be a good idea to go outside. If it's night - [Madara slashes at Ashraf, though his blade is turned away by the protection spell. Now that Rin is being ignored she takes the opportunity to cut at him in turn and actually scores a hit; she doesn't know enough about Madara's abnormal biology to know otherwise, so the program makes him bleed bright red blood, human and normal-looking. In the meantime other enemies pile up on them, striking for Ashraf. Now that she's being ignored, Rin tries to push through the jumble up in front of him.] There are monsters! At night!

[healplz]

Then— a room we might barricade. We— [ He's interrupted by a pot of hot tea shattering against the back of his head, and wow is that ever getting old. Noted through an almost-swoon as he stumbles forward, of course. ]

Please, go— [ He casts a heal over himself, and the pain at the back of his head fades. ] —I'll follow.

[payback]

[The slave quarters. A snap decision. Rin raises her sword and tries a diagonal slice to hit a client at the juncture of his neck and shoulder and split him part open. She can't quite bring herself to cut at a girl yet.]

Down! Let's go down!

[sacrificar]

[Appearances were deceiving, Halibel knew that all too well. As elegant as her surroundings seemed to be, she did not lower her guard for a moment. This was her newest destination and it would follow the same pattern as the ones before. She noticed the other woman fighting, but Halibel herself wouldn't intervene just yet.

Like so many times before, observation would come first, though she remained in plain sight with Tiburón still in it's sheath. If if came to that, she wouldn't hesitate in drawing her own sword.]

[payback]

[Rin barely glances at Halibel - she's mostly occupied with trying to defend herself. It's been quite a long time when she was actually in a pitched battle, but at least she did practice to the point where she'd built up some muscle memory.

There is the sound of voices coming closer, though - young and girlish ones, and the sounds of older men approaching, both rising in symphony. Madara's the real threat here but the slave girls and customers have numbers on their side and they're coming down the hall from both ways, armed with impromptu weapons. There's just a small pause when they see Halibel and then a flood of young women in traditional robes and men in the same come towards her - carrying teapots full of boiling water, trays once used to carry food, even sandals. One girl has a rolling pin.

They'd be no match for Halibel normally but the programming will have a thing or two to say about that.]

[sacrificar]

[They may be human in appearance, but Halibel knew better than to lower her guard based on that alone. Being now the focus of their attention, it seemed a battle was unavoidable. In such an enclosed space, her options were limited. A cero, while powerful, would be ill-advised while remaining indoors.

She would simply resort to using her weapon to cut down her gathering enemies.

Enemies that were faster, stronger, and more resilient than she would've initially thought.]

Interesting.

[Part of her wondered just how strong these humans could be, especially while also holding the advantage in numbers.]

[payback]

H-hey-!

[The workers, clients and the man menacing Rin are all turning to accept the newcomer in the simulation - and oh, yes, it'll be a fight, as the VR recognizes Halibel's much more formidable skills and trains up its projections to compensate. Suddenly the slave girls are poised like competent fighters. Madara himself is sweeping in with terrifying speed, a cheerful expression still on his face. Rin shrieks.]

Hey, you're that lady!

[... Perhaps it's apparent she's not thinking quite straight at the moment.]

[sacrificar]

Tier Halibel.

[The introduction was kept brief as usual as she shifted her attention back at her enemies. The increase in fighting competency did not go unnoticed by her, still finding it interesting.

If this continued, Halibel might find herself actually trying to defend herself against these opponents.]

You are familiar with all of this?

[She asked as soon as she was able to.]

[payback]

Y-yes - [As the flow of battle changes and attention is directed towards Halibel, Rin is swept her way too. Struggling to dislodge herself from the tide of people, she's pushed against Halibel nevertheless and anything else she might say is put aside as she struggles against the bodies of slaves and maids and customers.]

[sacrificar]

[There was not enough time to ask if she should've been aware of anything else regarding these attackers. Skilled as they may have been, they seemed to be merely human, and that would be enough information for her to act on.

Halibel continued to fight, determined to not only claim victory, but to it that both herself and Rin would survive the encounter.]