Elements the Game Forum - Free Online Fantasy Card Game

Other Topics => Off-Topic Discussions => Role-Playing => Topic started by: Silver Emerald on February 10, 2016, 12:46:35 am

Title: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 10, 2016, 12:46:35 am
[If I need to speak OOC, know that my notation involves brackets.]

[Prior references for this RP: Guidelines/initial outline (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/role-playing/rp-interest-(vr)/msg1221306/#msg1221306) and sign-up/participant list (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/role-playing/virtual-reality-sign-up-thread-(questions-comments-concerns)/msg1222131/#msg1222131). And if you're reading but not in the RP, assuming it's still running when you read this, feel free to sign up too!]

[As per popular vote on the latter thread, we will begin at the facility and first meet there. And please, don't feel obligated to make really long posts. Just make sure to advance the story somehow.]


In the red-orange light of the evening sun, a bicycle whizzed through the remote forest, following a paved, worn road. Its rider, dressed casually, glanced back every now and again, and occasionally to his watch, concern mounting about the distance to the facility where he'd been accepted to test some sort of virtual reality device. The letter had, admittedly, been somewhat vague, but...the chance to step into the shoes of characters he'd written was just such a powerful possibility. Still...the nearest town was the better part of an hour's ride back at this point, and he had met not a sign of life nor an indication of the path since then. All he could do was trust to his map and turn back if it became much later. He sighed, muttering to himself. "Come on, Jaye...Aurora wouldn't be afraid of a dark forest, would she?"

Soon enough, light shone ahead. A white glow lit the thinning treeline. The road terminated in a parking lot beside a cuboid building. Plenty of vehicles were in the lot, with some spaces left, though Jaye did note vines and webs beginning to creep onto the vehicles there. Getting off the bike, he led it over to the building itself - and discovered that this building, supposedly headquarters of Departure Science, had neither visible doors nor visible windows. Grumbling, he looked around the grounds a bit more and found a fountain on the opposite side of the building from the parking lot, as well as a bike rack at which he left his transportation for the moment.

The fountain, on closer inspection, appeared to be made of marble, dotted with black beetles skittering across its surface, and home to a colorful variety of fish. While Jaye looked up at it, the top began rising...and what he could only call a periscope rose out of the fountain. After a brief flash of green light, it sank back, but the whole fountain began to rumble. Apparently it was stacked on top of some sort of cylinder; once a door opened in the cylinder it became readily apparent that the fountain was home to a secret elevator. From inside, a man leaning on a cane, wearing a suit and a slightly stern expression, beckoned Jaye to the elevator. He approached cautiously. "...who are you?" The man paused a moment before a coughing fit took him for a few seconds, after which he gestured to his nametag: 'Dave Smithson - CEO, Departure Science'. "You're...the leader here?"

In the midst of more coughing, Dave nodded, after which he raspily replied, "You're the first one here...I'll answer questions when everyone gets here. For now...I'm taking you to a conference room...and I'll catch the others as they get here..." Admittedly, Jaye was still rather suspicious, but he went along into the elevator. The ride down was silent aside from Dave's coughs. He guided Jaye through a series of security checkpoints (none of which were manned, but all of which required some form of verification to proceed) and finally into a room off the maze of hallways. All along the way, the walls were sterile white...and despite the soft, white glow there was no apparent source of light.

"You sure you're okay, Mr. Smithson?" The regular coughing really was beginning to concern Jaye.

"It...it comes with age and some of the tests we've done. The kind of thing..." He coughed. "...we might be able to fix after this..." Shaking his head at Jaye's apparent interest in the last statement, he exited the room to await the next participant.

So Jaye turned back to the room itself. The walls were still white, the strange ambient glow still permeated the room without being overbearingly bright. A long table of polished white wood took the central part of the room, with smaller tables of the same material set against the walls. In bowls on these tables were assorted fruits, the first sign of a color other than white he'd seen in a while. Idly he picked up a red apple from one...then replaced it, not sure when to expect someone back, and took a seat at the main table instead. These (still white) chairs, anchored to the floor, nonetheless swiveled, so he swung back and forth for a bit...but after that he settled into sitting and waiting, keeping a lookout for those who would be arriving with their host.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 10, 2016, 02:24:44 am
Joey Faral had been driving for two hours before he saw any sign that he was going the right direction.  The whole way there, his cat Chip had (when he was not sleeping) been meandering around the car restlessly, rubbing against his arm, butting into his legs, and attempting to sit on his shoulder.  All of things these Joey was normally ok with, but they were on their way to something that would change lives forever.  Not just theirs, but the lives of people all over the world.  While doing things is the name of science was all well and good, and he liked doing it, he was really in it for the recreational aspect.  The young man felt trapped in his life.  Each day going to class, then dealing with crabby customers for the rest of the night, going home and straight to sleep and doing it all over again.

The only thing that really kept him connected was Chip.  The two of them have a rather 'special' interaction: An empathic bond that defies logic or explanation.  When he moved out of his parents' house, he sought a companion; a cat was a natural choice.  He checked various shelters to see what his options were, or at least he planned to.  The moment the two of them made eye contact, an unbreakable bond was formed.  The two of them understood that they were together until the end.  Joey brought Chip home with him that night and since has never left his side.  When he enters an area where animals aren't allowed, say a grocery store or the like, Chip will simply wait outside for his master and companion to return.  Naturally he doesn't just sit there, he'll be a typical annoying cat:  nuzzling people's legs and begging for attention.

Joey's hopes for this experiment were high, even if his expectations were low.  He wanted freedom, even if it wasn't real.  He was daydreaming of flying through the clouds when he reached his destination.  About time, too, t'was getting dark.  However, what he saw did not exactly match with his mental image.  There was a dilapidated and decrepit building before him.  But it felt like the right place so he stepped out of the car and Chip trotted after him.  He inspected the building for an entrance while Chip played around swatting fish in a fountain.  The fountain started to move and a hidden elevator became apparent.  An aged man stepped out.  Joey approached him, but not before picking Chip up from the edge of the fountain.  "So we're in the right place then?"

"I'm Dave Smithson, CEO of Departure Science.  You're in the right place."  Smithson's speech was interrupted intermittently by coughs, "Faral, is it?  Wasn't there another with the name?  Where is he?"

Joey looked at the man, dazed, before realizing what he meant.  "Oh.  Err, I think there's been a misunderstanding.  This is Chip, the other participant."

Smithson looked at the man and the animal, unamused.  "There will be no cat participating in my experiment."

Joey pleaded with the man, "But Mr. Smithson, you're a man of science are you not?  It would be less than thorough if you didn't test whether lesser minds could handle being put through to the other side."  Chip communicated his disapproval at being called a lesser being through their bond, and Joey apologized.  Joey could tell he was getting through to the man, "And let me tell you something:  Chip and I have a bond.  Our minds are connected.  If you don't believe us, why not allow us to prove it....As well as test whether that bond will remain in the test?"

Being the man of science that he was, Dave Smithson, CEO could not turn down the young man's offer, nor could he rebut the argument.  His only choice was to allow the feline to participate.  Reluctantly and wordlessly, he gave way to allow the pair to enter the elevator.  They were lead down a hall, a rather white one at that.  Actually, everything was white and it was quite unnerving.  It made sense, really, being a testing facility; you can't have colors psychologically affecting your subjects.  But doesn't white affect them just as much?  It made Joey uncomfortable and paranoid until he was ushered into a conference room where there sat a lone man, another participant most likely. 

Smithson walked out of the room, presumably to greet more new arrivals, and Joey sat down next to the other man in the room.  There were bowls of fruit on the single long table, the color of which was a relief to Joey, so he nonchalantly picked up an orange and began to peel it.  Meanwhile, Chip wandered around the room sniffing things.  Without looking up from his orange, Joey greeted the man next to him with a simple "Yo."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Aves on February 10, 2016, 02:57:08 am
"That will be $45.00." Grimacing, Aetius dug into his pocket and fished out a handful of worn bills from his wallet. There was enough, but aside from the odd job here and there, he'd been relying mostly on savings-- and it was beginning to run out. Funny, how people tended to overlook you when you listed your incomplete education record. You want us to take you with a Bachelor's? Hah. In your dreams.

"Thanks for the ride," he mumbled, and exited the cab. As the hired car rumbled into the distance, he checked his pack. Supplies. Phone. Chargers-- check, check, and check. Everything there? Check. Stuffing his wallet into it, he looked back to the road one last time. Ah, trees. It was so... pure... here. No car exhaust buffeting faces on the sidewalk, no smoky radiator spewing out junk. Just the fresh scent of crushed pine needles and the chilly invigoration that came from a beautiful autumn evening. That, and some very old cars, but hey, no place was perfect. Then again, if something was ever going to be perfect, this experiment just might be it.

Right. Time to move on. Turning around, he moved to enter the building-- but there was no door. Huh.

Five minutes of fruitless searching yielded no results: Plenty of white walls, no entrances. A fountain by the building closest to the one facing the parking lot. Some other uninteresting features. None had been doors. A quick glance towards the other building revealed nothing -- wait. There was a disturbance on the ground, faintly visible, in the space by the bike rack and the fountain.

A flash of white light came unexpectedly. Was that lightning? Shielding his eyes, he blinked.

"You there!" A woman with a clipboard now stood by the fountain. "I'm Rachel Whitman, Project Coordinator." She glanced at the clipboard. "You must be one of the candidates we're expecting. Aetius? Aetius White? You're the third one here. Come on, we don't have all day."

"Uh. Alright. Where are we going?" he asked.

She made a gesture at the fountain, and it moved, revealing a hidden entrance. Aetius grinned. He was going to love this place.



Aetius hated this place. Everything was white. Everything! The walls, the ceilings, the lighting. The sterile, gleaming floors. The uniform of his escort. The verifiable maze of checkpoints and questions and passages. Even his damn surname.

"Over here, Mr. White, and we'll be on your way.

"What is the color of that fish, Mr. White?

"What year was the advent of the Epidimensional Location Excitement Motivating Extradimensional Novel Transit Status, Mr. White?

"One last checkpoint and we'll be on our way, Mr. White! Our CEO is in the briefing room with the others who came before you, and you'll meet him on the way there."

Finally.



Aetius felt a flicker of unease as the balding executive excused himself. The CEO of Departure Science was nothing like he'd expected. He'd have to keep a closer watch at the man in the future. Walking into the room, 103-R, the first thing he noticed was a cat by the table with bowls of fruit on it. Interesting; he hadn't expected animal testing to occur with human testing. Was it another test? Maybe it was the company mascot or something. Raising an arm towards the other two occupants of the room, he waved. "Hello there. What do you reckon the cat's here for?" 

[Timdood, the tense of the verbs in your second paragraph is a little confusing-- most things are in the past tense, but then you suddenly switch between present and past]
 
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 10, 2016, 03:02:45 am
Chip hops up on the table that the bowls of fruit rest on, sniffing them with interest, not too concerned about the new arrival in the room. He looks into the bowl, of which has captivated his interest... until he realizes that cats generally can't eat fruit.

"Fruit?! Cats can't eat fruit!"

The metaphorical gears in Chip's feline mind slowly turn, and he formulates a plan. He slowly moves his paw to the rim of the bowl, and starts to slide it towards the edge of the table.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: ProBacon on February 10, 2016, 03:18:27 am
Claiborne drove along a long, worn out road only illuminated by his car's headlights. The only thing keeping from falling asleep and driving into a ditch was the radio playing some 80's rock. The drive had been a long and mentally tasking three and a half hours. He had graduated the day before and got no sleep that night due to lots of partying with his fellow graduates. As his eyes begin to close he makes out a faint white glow at the peak of his headlight's glow. It is a sign. For the first time in a whole hour, Claiborne now knows where he is. According to the map he is roughly five minutes away from the facility that houses the test he is going to partake in. As the minutes pass he sees a cube like structure  with a surprising amount of cars in the parking lot for that hour. He figures that that is the facility, and his thought was proven by a sign near the entrance that read "Departure Science". He finds a parking spot rather quickly and parks his car. Getting out he has only two things with him. A deck of cards and a briefcase.

The only thing other than the cube like building is a fountain. Walking up to it he saw dots moving on its figure and fish swimming in its water. As if out of nowhere he felt a shaking coming from the fountain. A tube slid up to face Claiborne. An elevator. He hesitates to get in but finally does after psyching himself up. More shaking occurs after the tube moves down. After about a minute the elevator comes to a stop in front of a room. Next to the door stands a women with a name tag that read "Rachael". He asks her if there is a bathroom. She unlocks a nearby door and gestures that this is the bathroom. He walks in and turns to one of the empty stalls. He goes in and opens up his briefcase. The contents of the case are nothing but a jet black blazer with matching suit pants, a white button down under shirt, a red tie and a pair of black socks. He figures that if he is going to meet new people he might as well look good doing it. After he is done changing he throws the briefcase into a near by trash can and walks out of the bathroom. Walking back to the entrance he is greeted by a man with a slight cough.

"Hello there... I'm" he takes a deep breath only to have it interrupted by a loud cough, "I'm Dave Smithson, CEO of Departure Science."
 
"Well then, hello. I am Claiborne Matthews. I am here for the virtual reality test."

"Ah yes. Right this way." The two start walking to a near by conference room. "You are the fourth one to arrive, well..." he coughs slightly but finishes his sentence, "Well, technically fifth, if you count that darn cat."

He cuts himself off when they reach the entrance to the room. "The others are in there. You will wait with them till the rest of the volunteers show up. At that time and ONLY at that time will I answer any questions you might have concerning the test. Now I must be on my way." He leaves by shutting the door leaving Claiborne in a room with three men and a cat.

He sits down in a chair by himself and takes out his deck of cards. He starts to set up a game of solitaire before a man with a cat on his lap greets him. Claiborne only replies with a slight and quiet, "hello" before continuing to set up his game of solitaire.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 10, 2016, 03:25:01 am
A new arrival enters the room, greets everyone, and questions why there's a cat.  "That's Chip, my companion.  Things will probably go more smoothly if you don't question it to much.  He'll be participating in the test with us."

Joey glanced at his companion, sensing he was up to something.  Not that it was out of the ordinary, Chip was always up to something....Before he could successfully knock the fruit bowl from the table, Joey picked up his cat and held him on his lap.

[Timdood, the tense of the verbs in your second paragraph is a little confusing-- most things are in the past tense, but then you suddenly switch between present and past]
 --
It felt wrong referring to their bond in the past tense, as if they once had it but it faded.  Reading it back, it does stand out, as it's only the one sentence.  I might go back and change it anyway but eh.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 10, 2016, 03:29:14 am
Chip, slightly dismayed at his plan being foiled, swishes his tail slowly, but quickly bounces back from his slump. He decides to take a cat-nap on Joey's lap.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: AD TienzuStorm on February 10, 2016, 03:40:31 am
Nile stepped out of the taxi and into the outside world. So this is what America is like. He'd never seen buildings like these before. They were majestic.

His eyes fell on one particular building, which curiously seemed to have no door. Perhaps "majestic" wasn't the word he was searching for. "Strange"? "Bizarre"? "Peculiar"? Yes, he quite liked that. Peculiar. These buildings were peculiar indeed.

Nile heard a cough behind him and turned around. The taxi driver was getting impatient. Nile sheepishly fished out a 50 dollar bill and handed it to the driver.

Upon receiving his change, Nile set off towards that one building that had caught his eye. It seemed like a natural place to start to search for the "Departure Science Headquarters". Quite a lengthy name, but an interesting one at that.

As he started circling the building, he questioned whether it was legitimately a building. Perhaps it was a giant block of cement. A gargantuan block of cement. With a nice little parking lot.

However, as Nile turned right for the third time, he came across a fountain. It was beautifully made, a real work of art. But, it felt strangely out of place in this drab, lifeless place. He reached out a hand to touch the intricate fish carvings and admire them. The handiwork was one of a truly skilled artisan. As the tips of his fingers touched an especially lifelike fish, he felt the ground rumble slightly, and the fountain rose up, revealing a secret circular room underneath. The doors were already open, and Nile slowly peered inside. There were buttons on one side, and a shiny metal rail lined the entire room. Nile stepped completely inside, and the doors closed automatically behind him. So this is what the Americans called an elevator. He'd seen plenty of pictures, but his hometown had none.

As the seventh ding filled the air in the elevator, the doors opened to reveal a man in a suit holding a cane. He stared at Nile.

"And you are..?"

Nile cleared his throat. "My name is Nile Rusus. I have come to find a place known as the Departure Science Headquarte-"

The man cut him off. "Yes yes, the Departure Science Headquarters. You're in the right place. I am Dave Smithson, the CEO of this building of modern science. Follow me, you're the sixth participant signed up for this wondrous experiment."

After a long walk through hallways of pure white, they eventually reached a door, also white. Mr. Smithson gestured for Nile to enter. "The other participants are waiting in there."

Nile stepped into the room, which just so happened to also be white. As the door closed behind him - along with a muttered "darn cat" - Nile walked in and quickly made his way to the front of the room. He stepped up on a chair and cleared his throat.

"Hello everybody, my name is Nile Rusus. I am pleased to be partaking in this experiment with all of you. I hope we can get along. Thank you."

He stepped down and then sat in his chair. As he adjusted to the seat, he noticed that the man next to him had a cat cradled in his lap. Nile tentatively leaned over and waved. "I hope we can get along as well." The cat snored in response. Nile sat back up and closed his eyes.

Figures.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Aves on February 10, 2016, 03:44:03 am
"You signed up a cat... for a virtual reality simulation?" Aetius opens and closes his mouth, resisting the urge to sigh. Well, it's a free country, and all that. "This company's crazier than I thought. Well, it's their money. And your cat." Moving over to the fruit bowl, he grabs a green pear and bites into it. Swallowing, he continues. "The name's Aetius, but you can call me Pawn. Nice to meet you."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 10, 2016, 03:56:06 am
A newcomer, a foreigner this time, made a rather formal announcement and then sat down next to Joey.  Strangely, everyone seemed more interested in his cat than in himself.  Joey said hello and then introduced himself to this "Pawn" fellow.  "Joey.  Pleasure."
Everyone's showing up all at once.  I'm starting to feel constricted.
Joey popped an orange slice into his mouth and continued waiting for more entrances.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: ProBacon on February 10, 2016, 04:02:21 am
As more people fill the room and start the usual "meet and greet" with the other volunteers, Claiborne is starting to get a little annoyed at the fact that it is getting hard to concentrate on finishing his game of solitaire. (ಠ ͟ʖಠ)
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 10, 2016, 04:07:09 am
Chip slowly opens his right eye, giving both newcomers an ocular patdown.

Yeah.. Wonder how many more are going to show up.. and if there'll be any other animals..

Chip closes his eye, at ease again. He drifts back off to his catnap.

[*AGGRESSIVELY DESTROYS SOLITAIRE* :P]
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 10, 2016, 04:12:34 am
Jaye nodded in acknowledgement to the others as they entered, and took a long and hard look at the orange of the man next to him. "That...looks white on the inside." He rolled his eyes. "Guess the splash of color with the fruit doesn't go far. Though..." He sniffed at the air, then grimaced. "Do you smell chocolate? That strong scent has just been...around, ever since the fountain." Getting up momentarily, he picked the apple back up; returning to his seat he inspected it closely. "This doesn't smell like an apple at all..." And, after a bite, he nearly spit it out. "It's chocolate. White chocolate. Really?"

Glancing back to the others (and giving the cat a quick look too), he continued. "Jaye Granger. At least for now. Which reminds me...who, or what are you all going to be on the other side?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 10, 2016, 04:17:19 am
Chip perks up, out of his sleep.

CHOCOLATE... FRUIT?!

Chip leaps off of Joey's lap, headed straight for the bowl of fruits, one of which is already perched closer to the edge of the table than the other.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 10, 2016, 04:21:20 am
Joey spat out the orange slice almost immediately.  "I hate white chocolate."  He watched with a straight face as Chip essentially charged one of the "fruit" bowls.

Go for it.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: AD TienzuStorm on February 10, 2016, 04:30:37 am
Nile watches the others silently. So it seems like the fruits are white chocolate. Interesting. In Egypt, fruits were typically fruits. Seems like America was slightly different.

Did that mean chocolate bars contained fruits?

Nile leaned over and grabbed what appeared to be an apple. He tentatively took a bite. It tasted of white chocolate. Decent.

Nile sat back again and continued to watch the other participants as he took small bites from the chocolate fruit. His eyes wandered to the cat again. It was staring at the fake fruit bowl. Did the cat have a name? He had yet to hear the owner speak a word to the cat. Interesting relationship they had there. Mutual hate perhaps? Seemed most likely.



After sitting for a bit, Nile got tired of the solitude. He got up and looked around. He spotted somebody attempting to play solitaire amidst the chaos. There was another person sitting next to him, talking. Nile walked over and sat down next to them, holding up his apple.

"Hello, I am Nile Rusus. A pleasure to meet you two. Do you think these chocolate fruits have the same nutritional value as normal fruits?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 10, 2016, 04:37:34 am
The fur-nado lunges at the precariously perched bowl of fruit, knocking it off the table. The bowl falls off the table, but oddly, does not break. The contents scatter across the floor. Chip sits on the table, content with his work.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 10, 2016, 04:48:21 am
Joey smirks as the chocolate scatters across the ground.  Content with his partner's work, he addressed the question posed by the man sitting next to him.  Outside of manipulating people, he says very few words, choosing to confide mostly in Chip.  He said simply the word "Avian" and looked at the man so as to tell him not to be offset by Joey's quiet and seemingly disinterested nature, and to urge him to continue.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: ProBacon on February 10, 2016, 04:52:45 am
Getting a little more annoyed at the increasing amount of noise and commotion disrupting his concentration. Failing to think of a good move because of all this commotion, he quietly gets up and asks: "Can I PLEASE get a little quiet? Unlike most people here" He stares annoyingly at the cat, "I am trying to do something productive."
He then quietly sits back down and continues to his game as if nothing had happened.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 10, 2016, 05:00:46 am
Chip glances back at the man with the cards, dismayed with the outburst. His gaze wanders to the cards in front of the man, and the metaphorical gears start turning again. But, for now, he sits.

I wonder if he's accounting for a cat in his turns.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 10, 2016, 05:06:35 am
Naturally, pretty much all eyes are on Solitaire Man.  Everyone seemed to be staring, dazed, waiting for someone else to speak up.  Joey decided it wasn't going to be him.

I don't think he is.  Be careful though, would you please?  I don't think he'd be the sort to mind strangling a cat.  In any case, I think that destroying the imposter fruit was pretty productive.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 10, 2016, 05:24:08 am
Jaye gave the solitaire player a glance, then as per request returned to leaving him alone. Looking instead to Joey, Jaye picked up from the brief reply. "Avian...that can mean a few things, depending on degree, but glad you're at least looking to some change. I couldn't really stand the thought of staying human if we're actually doing something this special. I'll be a kitsune...well, a vixen at least, may not be much of a 'sune at the start if we start out weak..." And, at that point, Jaye lapsed back into quiet and back into preoccupation with his thoughts.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 10, 2016, 05:30:34 am
Joey smiled, liking the interest and thought this guy had put into his new form.  He decided to put forth a few more words.  "Just avian enough to fly, really.  Tell me more about this 'Kitsune' business.  I've not heard of it."  After a slight pause he added, "Sorry, I don't get out much."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Aves on February 10, 2016, 05:39:50 am
Aetius wolfs down the remainder of the 'pear.' It is absolutely delicious! The bowl sits on the table, enticing his eyes with its richly decorated choco-fruits. He can feel the creamy texture of the white chocolate melting in his throat, salivary glands working overtime to process the treat. Maybe one more... just another taste. No. One is enough. For now. In a few minutes, it won't matter, anyways.

An outburst draws his attention, and when he looks up, it appears that several others have entered the room. Ah, well. He must've missed them. One of them, a young man dressed in a conservative blazer is fiddling with a pack of cards. Apparently, he was the one to make a scene. Nearby, a few of the others are carrying out polite conversation. Something to do with animals? Virtual reality has opened up so many possibilities, so many avenues to explore about society, psychology, and human nature... (the development of entire civilizations!) and all they can think of are animals? These people...

Well. It's not like he doesn't have his own interests. Best not to judge. Much. Time to bring out his phone for a few rounds of Shattered Plans...
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: AD TienzuStorm on February 10, 2016, 05:48:29 am
[Nile was just asking him about the apples]

Nile put down the apple. Seems as if this solitaire player was really serious about his cards.

He decided to follow the conversation the other person at the table was having (was their name Jaye or something?) with the man with the cat. Nile wanted to get to know what was with the man and the cat anyways, so getting into their conversation would help gather information. He could hear bits and pieces of the conversation.

"Avian... Kitsune business... sorry"

Nile scooted over to a seat next to them. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to speak now. He hardly knew what a kitsune was. From his memory, he seemed to remember it being related to a fox in some way, but that was it. His studies didn't cover such obscure things.

He bit into his chocolate apple and decided to just listen in. Maybe get some education done too.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 10, 2016, 05:50:14 am
"Hmm?" Broken out of his thoughts, Jaye looked back up. "Oh. Short version is a multi-tailed fox with magic abilities. Long version is...well, actually, the short version will do for now. Since I'm a hobby writer, I usually make up the details I can't be certain about anyway. Fortunately, having come up with characters, I already had an idea who to be...though only time will tell how well I live up to being in her paws."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 10, 2016, 06:33:08 am
The flight was long, though impressive. In less than two thousand years, hell, less than fifty, we had developed a way to cross entire seas in less than a day. Now the only complaints were that it affected the body.

Jet lag, so to speak of it, sucked.

At least he managed to nap a bit in the cab, as the driver took him to this "Departure Science". Chasing pipe dreams, heh. In any case, it was interesting, and if it didn't have what he was looking for, oh well.

His only notion that time had really passed was when the cab stopped and the driver nudged him awake.

"That'll be seventy dollars, mister."

Slightly disoriented, James Azazel dug through his pockets, searching for his wallet, and when he found it, pulled out a clean-ish $100 he had gotten from currency exchange.

"Keep the change," and he stepped out, headed to the Departure Sciences Headquarters, and to the surely sterile underbelly of the beast.

On the way in, he passed multiple people, all crowding against a balding man. Stopping, he turned to the man, who was coughing, and waited.

"Who might you be?" after the coughing fits subsided and the people fussed.

"James Azazel. Here for the testing, sir."

"Down that way. I'm fine, really, don't worry."

Following the pointed finger into the surprisingly blinding abyss, James walks. That is mostly it. Walking.

Eventually, he comes to a door, and opening it, sees a cat eating some kind of chocolate confectionery, several people arguing about... humanoid animals, of all things, and a couple people on their phones.

Slipping in quietly and heading to the corner, he stands, observing everyone, especially how the cat is generally more interested with the male in the heated debate, and watching as the other man moves from the end of the table to them.

Maybe he'd join the debate, but a bit later, after everyone had come.

Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 10, 2016, 06:38:11 am
"Hmm.  I'm no good at writing, not that I have time to.  In any case, I'll let you get back to whatever thoughts you were having."  He turned to the lovably aloof foreign man that had approached.  "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"That'll be seventy dollars, mister."
-
These are some damn expensive cab rides.  Or are they?  I've never ridden in a cab.
--
"On the way in, he passed multiple people, all crowding against a balding man. Stopping, he turned to the man, who was coughing, and waited."
-
The building doesn't have a traditional entrance (i.e. doors), refer to OP.
--
"several people arguing about..." "Heated debate"
-
We're not arguing I just asked him what a kitsune was ;-;
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Linkcat on February 10, 2016, 06:42:20 am
Unimpressed by Mr. CEO, Sky walked into the room, surveying the occupants. He made a slight nod towards the cat, picked up an apple off the floor, leaned back in a chair, and started eating.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Jenkar on February 10, 2016, 11:22:39 am
After walking for a few hours, Yu'zsc finally reaches the laboratory.

Pretty bland place. Nice fountain tho. Hey, individual that calls himself the organiser. Hidden room with already many people? Cool.

A little commotion happened, what with the fruit on the floor. Hmm. Let's observe from a corner of the room for now, and since i'm going to spend so some time with those people, let's run them discreetly through the datacenter. A little background check never hurts.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 10, 2016, 02:15:54 pm
[Chip won't/can't eat chocolate, @Arum]
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: AD TienzuStorm on February 10, 2016, 02:35:08 pm
Nile sighed inwardly after Jaye finished explaining about kitsunes. Seems as if this Jaye guy didn't know much about them either. So much for an educational opportunity.

However, more interestingly, the cat man turned to him and asked if he needed anything.

Nile stuck out his hand. "I'm Nile Rusus. Pleasure to meet you. Say, do you and your cat happen to have names?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 10, 2016, 02:57:12 pm
"I'm Nile Rusus. Pleasure to meet you. Say, do you and your cat happen to have names?"

Nile Rusus doesn't look like much, at least to James Azazel. Foreign, and looking rather out of place. James knew the feeling; America was such a strange location. The female, Jay? Jane? He'd have to ask later. She looked like the first to come here, if her fidgeting was anything to go off of. And he was not exactly sure she was female; she looked rather... masculine.

On the second look around, the cat didn't seem to be eating the chocolate. It had a face of utter hatred, and while he was pretty sure cats shouldn't eat chocolate, he wasn't about to stop one that was viciously eviscerating the faux-apples.

In the other corner, another unassuming man was standing, but this time, James was interested. Not many people chose to stand in corners, and those that did were usually learners, to observe and not change what happened, in order to learn. Even more interesting, however, is that the man seemed to know who they all were, judging by the expressions he made and the tapping on his phone. They'd have to talk, sooner or later.

The second look around also caught either an arrogant or carefree man sitting in a chair eating one of the chocolate apples, apparently not caring about the taste.

Also noted was the wide berth of space that was given to a man wearing a temperamental expression. He likely shouted at the rest of them, though for reasons unknown.

James sighed.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 10, 2016, 03:19:51 pm
Jane opened her eyes. Had she slept through all this ruckus? It seemed so, as she was no longer surrounded by the busy streets and loud noises of the city. Instead it was darker now, and everything was quiet. The rustling of leaves and soft whistling of the wind. Letting out an immense *Yaawwwn*, she quickly straightened herself to a sitting position. Thinking for a moment, she picked up her bag, and shuffled through it. Checking to see if everything was there. Art pad, check. Punching gloves, check. Just in time, as the cab driver looked back at her.
"That'll be $35.50, please." Jane just sighed, and sifted through her pocket, quickly pulling out two twenty dollar bills and throwing them at the driver. He flinched, but took the money anyway. Halfway out the car, Jane heard a barely audible comment from the guy. "I guess even girls like you can be selfish." Without another word, she opened the driver's door, and grabbed his collar.
"Would you like to say that again?" She growled before letting go of his collar. "Some people need to learn some manners." She walked away without another word, bag on shoulder. Stopping in front of the building, she noticed a string of cars were already lined up in the parking lot. Was she late? Strolling along, she also noticed there was no door, no windows. Circling around to the other side, there was still nothing. A lone fountain stood there. Walking closer, Jane peeked into the bottom. Fish, fish of all varieties and colors. She smiled. At least there was some life in this dank place. She sat and watched for a moment, before a rumbling in the ground brought her back to reality. What was this? An earthquake? Looking around, she noticed a change in the scene. A circular white elevator stood out. Mustering up some confidence, she walked slowly over to it, and poked her head inside. A man stood inside. He looked frail and small in such a space.
"Jane," he called, "Jane Starkwood, correct?" he stopped in a coughing fit before continuing again. She just nodded suspiciously.
"And you are...?" She questioned him.He pointed to his name tag, Dave Smithson - CEO, Departure Science. Jane just shook her head as he ushered her into the elevator. How could she resist this? She was invited, and she just couldn't wait to start. Once at the bottom, the man took the lead, leaving Jane to follow behind. Everything was white. The floors, the walls, and everything in between. This wasn't what she expected. It was uncomfortable, as if she were being taken somewhere unknown. It was only a matter of time before the end of the line stopped. A room full of people lay in front of her. noisy, talking people. Just like the city all over again...
Walking in, she held her head high, trying to look confident.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 10, 2016, 04:07:42 pm
The entry of more participants again gained Jaye's attention. 'So many quiet people...not that I'd complain, though usually places get noisier...' Someone who crept in just to stand in the corner, then a man who took a dropped apple without hesitation, a slightly older man busy with his phone, plus a young woman who (in Jaye's opinion) was trying maybe a little too hard to exude confidence. To each of the four, Jaye introduced himself, then asked their names...and repeated his question about who they were planning to be on the other side.

Footsteps occasionally passed the door, though as no-one entered it was likely just other staff going by.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 10, 2016, 04:14:33 pm
"I am James Azazel, though you may call me either. It's a pleasure to meet you, Jaye Granger," spoken in a low voice. "And as for my form... well, when we get across, you'll see."

Jaye Granger was clearly male, up close. James was piqued; he was certain in his ability to tell gender. In any case, Jaye had kipped off to the other newcomers.

He, she, was interesting, regardless of gender.

James continued to lean on the wall as he watched Jaye move around the room, Nile and the cat's owner now talking alone.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 10, 2016, 04:27:58 pm
Observing the room on closer inspection, Jane noticed most of the people here were men or young boys.
Perfect for picking a fight with someone.

Aside from one cat and another lone girl. She also noticed the fruit on the floor. Probably the cat's doing. The room was a pale white. Boring...
There were a couple small groups of chatters here and there, but it seemed as if most were just keeping to themselves. Jane just sighed.
"Now what?" she mumbled to herself quietly
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Jenkar on February 10, 2016, 04:31:17 pm
Hmm. Temporary results so far acquired. Of notable importance:
- The solitaire guy, Claiborne. Tends to be loyal once you get him on your side. To keep in mind.
- Egyptian, Nile, some record of mental instability. Not in the databanks that have been broken into, unfortunately.
- Joey Faral, criminal record. Property trespassing, destruction of private property. Hmm, that cat he's got's quite the troublemaker.
- Nothing on this other man, literally nothing. People usually leave a trail of some kind that i'd've picked up. Curious. Also he's looking around, another observer.

Hmm, new girl. Let's have her be processed too, and in the meanwhile, go talk to the nothing guy. Making the first move's often the best with those.

*offers handshake*
"Hey there, I'm Yu'zsc. Pleasure to meet you."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 10, 2016, 05:31:07 pm
As the taxi cab arrived, Izabelle couldn't help feeling wary. She hadn't been around this many people in ages. She opened the door and stepped out, trying her best to look confident and unafraid. "Hey, young lady, that'll be $78.50." The driver called to her, tapping his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel. Ignoring him, Izabelle continued to examine the building in front of her. "Hey! I need my money." The driver yelled out of the driver's side window, his round face getting a slight reddish tint as his irritation grew.

Turning her glaring eyes to him, Izabelle spoke softy but firmly. "You'll get your money when I decide you need it. Right now, you need to shut your mouth." She dropped $80 in the window before turning on her heel and walking towards the building.

"Excuse me, young lady? I'm Dan Smithson, CEO of Departure Science. You're Izabelle Dixon, yes?" A man wearing a suit called out to her, making his way over. When Izabelle nodded, he smiled and asked him to follow her. They made their way into an elevator, and when they reached the correct floor, Izabelle followed Dan, a few steps behind him, into a room full of other people and... a cat? Oh great, a cat. She thought bitterly, a frown appearing on her face. That cat will make this even more painful than it would be normally. She walked over to the bowl of fruit, avoiding the others in the room and grabbed an apple. She took a small bite of it as she watched the other participants of the virtual reality test mingle and get to know each other.

Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 10, 2016, 05:34:49 pm
"James Azazel, and keep your voice low. The new one, she's a killer."

James takes the offered hand and continues, "See how she carries herself? Her feet are quiet, and she is observant, like us. Speaking of, what'd you find on me?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 10, 2016, 05:37:49 pm
Chip hops down from the table, and goes to rub up against Isabelle's leg, interested in the newcomer.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 10, 2016, 05:41:09 pm
Stiffening slightly, Izabelle looked down at the cat. "Bugger off." She snapped quietly, taking a step away from Chip. "You're getting fur on my pants." She took another small bite of her apple, still glaring at the cat next to her.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 10, 2016, 05:42:19 pm
Jane took a moment to comprehend who just walked through the door. She was so quiet, yet a few people already seemed interested to meet her. Jane directed her gaze back to the three men a few feet away from her. A small smile formed around her lips as she felt the urge to turn this too-quiet conference room into a giant brawl. Where to start however...
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 10, 2016, 05:46:16 pm
Chip, now deterred from Izabelle, instead decides to trot over to Jane, and attempt to rub up against her leg instead.

Just wait until we're in the VR... I mean, I'll still be a cat, but..
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 10, 2016, 05:51:13 pm
Izabelle glanced over at the girl whom the cat was now pestering. She seemed up to something. Taking another bite of her apple, she watched the girl with growing interest. After a moment, however, she noticed the two men farther away who kept casting glances in her direction. She scowled and leaned back against the table.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 10, 2016, 05:55:11 pm
Joey raised an eyebrow.  "Nile, eh?  Like the river?"  Joey chuckled a bit and continued, "I'm Joey.  That there's Chip."

Yes, you'll still be a cat.  A very annoying cat.  But come over here, would you?  This dude seems rather interested in you, unlike those girls you're pestering.

"- Joey Faral, criminal record. Property trespassing, destruction of private property. Hmm, that cat he's got's quite the troublemaker."
-
pls D:  Tresspassing I can see, but destruction of property I don't think as much xD
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 10, 2016, 05:55:52 pm
Jane just looked down at the creature, and, having quite the affection for cats, picked Chip up and held him.
"What would you like, kitty?" Jane cooed. She took a last glance around the room, and put the cat down, going back to forming a plot.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 10, 2016, 05:58:17 pm
Not interested in me? Hah! I think you're in.. De-Nile!
Chip muses at his pun for a short while, and then saunters over to Joey and hops up on his lap. He meows at Nile.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: AD TienzuStorm on February 10, 2016, 06:20:44 pm
Nile stared curiously at Chip, who came over almost automatically when Joey mentioned his name. It wasn't even that loud, no way that cat could've heard it.

These two were an interesting duo indeed.

As Chip meowed, Nile gently petted him on his head. His fur reminded him of the sand and dunes of Egypt. Nostalgia. But as quickly as it came, it disappeared. Nile turned his attention back to Joey.

Joey seemed nice. Might be a good idea to stick by him and Chip.

But to stick by, Nile would have to know what they would be on the other side. That Jaye guy was going to be a kitsune. And if Nile recalled correctly, kitsunes weren't the most avian of creatures. Meaning Joey must've been referring to himself in the earlier conversation. Interesting detail.

"So, what will you be in the virtual reality? Something flying perhaps?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 10, 2016, 06:27:14 pm
Chip meowed at Nile a few times, as to emulate conversation, attempting to amuse his company.

Let him know that I intend to be a feline on the other side, just, y'know, with wings and golden eyes.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: ProBacon on February 10, 2016, 06:31:51 pm
More and more people start to flow into the conference room. But Claiborne is now fin with this as he has just finished with his game of solitaire. Realizing that he had been a bit pushy to some of them before, he had an idea that may get him to be a bit more likable. He asked one question: "Anyone for a game of blackjack?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 10, 2016, 06:35:47 pm
Joey stroked his feline friend a few times while he meowed at their new friend.  "Flying, yes.  Imagine a human with the arms of a harpy.  Probably not the most accurate description, but accurate enough for the time being.  Chip plans to remain feline, but with wing wings and golden eyes.

Joey saw unusual movement across the room.  "Say, what's she doing over there?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 10, 2016, 06:36:04 pm
Without another word, Jane walked over to the spilled fruit bowl in the room. White on the inside, kinda like white chocolate. She picked up an apple, and weighed it in her hands. A decent weight. Scanning the room, she picked a target. It only took a moment, as she found her eyes laying on the man with the cat. It must be the cat's owner. He was looking right at her. Jane grimaced, then chucked the apple at his head, and watched it fly, smashing into pieces when it hit his target. With that being done, she quickly launched herself across the room towards the man. It's fighting time!
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Jenkar on February 10, 2016, 06:37:27 pm
Hmm. I guess there's a bright one here.
"I'd be more concerned with the cat if I were you" *gives a respectful nod in the feline's direction* ", if she was there to kill one of us they'd probably be dead by now. And nada, you're as clean as bleach. Nothing at all, quite strange, really. If you don't mind me asking, off record, why is that?"
Small vibration from the phone, analysis finished. Will have to check after this discussion.
*considers going to blackjack, but this is definitely interesting. At top of stack*
Your cat's been naughty, he's been awfully busy vandalising stuff
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 10, 2016, 06:37:55 pm
[Mm, you should probably give whoever you're throwing an apple at a chance to dodge, at least.]
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 10, 2016, 06:45:27 pm
Joey watched as the girl inspected a chocolate apple and launched it as his head.  By the time the realization hit him, the apple already had.  He was stunned for a few seconds, but he'd taken his fair share of blows to the head.  He dove out of the way of the charging girl, and Chip jumped casually off of Joey's lap.  The girl ran past her and stopped, and one of the men grabbed her before she could charge him again.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 10, 2016, 06:46:28 pm
"I don't live here."

A movement from across the room caught James' eye, and as he watched, an apple launched into the cat owner's head and smashed, and would shortly be followed by the girl.

Darting quickly, despite being what children would call "old", James caught the apple tosser.

"Not a good idea," and in a whisper only the fighter could hear, "There's a killer in this room. You could die."

"Let me go!"

"Calm down. Why'd you throw the chocolate apple?" spoken aloud.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Jenkar on February 10, 2016, 06:47:22 pm
*discreetly motions to the kitty while everybody has their hands full*
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 10, 2016, 06:48:29 pm
Whipping around, Izabelle saw the apple hit its mark and the girl who'd thrown it be tackled to the ground. She clenched her fists and watched from a distance, hand on her hip in case something else went down and she need to use what was hidden there.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Linkcat on February 10, 2016, 06:50:21 pm
Reserving post, not interacting with the fight, just giving thoughts and accepting the Blackjack offer.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 10, 2016, 06:51:38 pm
Intrigued, Chip cautiously weaves through the commotion, over to the man who motioned him over.

Hmm.. I wonder what this guy wants?
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: AD TienzuStorm on February 10, 2016, 06:52:48 pm
Nile stared incredulously at the scene. A girl had just nailed Joey in the head, white chocolate apple bits were everywhere, and now some other guy (James maybe? He introduced himself as that earlier to somebody) was holding down the girl.

Unsure on what to do, Nile simply walked over to Joey, who had just dove out of the way of the girl. "Are you okay?" Nile cautiously peered over. That could've caused a concussion if that girl had a good throwing arm.

And honestly, losing the chance to partake in this experiment before it even started would've been bad.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Jenkar on February 10, 2016, 06:58:41 pm
*whispers*
"You seem like quite a capable one, and I'd rather not get on your wrong side. How 'bout we make a small truce here and now, before the experiment starts?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 10, 2016, 07:01:24 pm
Joey dusted himself off and stood.  "Yeah, I'm fine."  He probed the point of impact with his fingertips, "There's chocolate in my hair though..."  He looked around for Chip and saw him cleaning himself under the table.

I don't see how that was strictly necessary.  I mean what kind of maniac just chucks an apple at someone?

Joey walked over to where the girl was restrained.  He waved at the man holding her down, "You can release her."  He put his hand out to be shaken, "I'm Joey.  You are?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 10, 2016, 07:05:21 pm
James nods and steps back to his uneasy friend, the one talking with the cat now.

"How bout a small truce here and now, before the experiment starts?" finished by Yu'zsc.

"Me, as well. You're obviously no ordinary cat, and your owner, the one with chocolate in his hair, he can at least understand you. I will admit, this is rather silly, talking to a cat, but we are going some new place where logic doesn't really follow normal conventions. What do you say?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 10, 2016, 07:07:55 pm
Chip ponders Yu'Zsc's offer for a moment, and gently nods his head in approval. He puts his paws up on Yu'Zsc's leg and sniffs him briefly, then returns to the floor.

Hey, Joey. Over here.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: AD TienzuStorm on February 10, 2016, 07:11:44 pm
Nile watched as Joey walked over to the assaulter. Interesting. But where was his cat? Through the commotion, Nile had lost track of Chip.

He scanned the room and saw him next to two other men, one being James and the other being somebody Nile hadn't noticed.

Nile walked over to them, and as he approached hearing distance, he caught some bits of the conversation. It sounded as if they were making a deal. With this cat? What kind of men were they?

He approached Chip and ignored the others for the time being. "What are you doing here?" Nile asked, getting down into a squat, staring at the eyes of the cat, who seemed to be in deep thought. Or at least, deep thought for a cat. But then again, Chip seemed special. Nile could feel something different from this particular cat. Something even more special than the cats he'd seen everywhere in his hometown.

Special cat. Tell him your secrets.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 10, 2016, 07:15:03 pm
Jane just glared at Joey.
"What reason do I have to trust you?" she murmured aggressively. She didn't know this man, nor did she intend to. She just wanted to pick a fight with someone, and he just happened to be the one to look at her. She had no intentions of apologize either. The bits of white chocolate in his hair declared that the false fruity treat had hit it's mark however. Maybe it would be good to know someone though. She sighed, "Jane." she just looked at him, and got up quickly. This man wasn't worth fighting, he had too many friends around as of already. She'd have to try again another time, if anything.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 10, 2016, 07:17:00 pm
Chip derails his train of thought, and returns Nile's gaze. Chip meows.

Oh, right, I can't talk. Hah.

Chip meows again, and starts to creep forward towards Nile.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: ProBacon on February 10, 2016, 07:19:39 pm
Claiborne a bit confused as to why a fight broke out. "Was it over the idea of playing a game of blackjack?" he thought to himself. But as he usually stays away from this sort of thing, gets up from his seat and wanders over to a unoccupied corner of the room and just stands there shuffling his cards watching the rest of the events in the room unfold. He looks at his feet to see one of the apples that had rolled over after that pesky kitty pushed over the bowl. Knowing what it is he politely kicks it across the floor to the other side of the room.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 10, 2016, 07:35:18 pm
Joey dropped his hand.  Not like he expected this girl to shake it anyway, it was just a nice gesture.  "So why did you attack me anyway, just itching for a fight?  Seems like your style, just try to save it for the other side, alright?"  He nodded and turned away, watching Chip creep toward Nile once more.  Nile seemed like a nice guy, so Joey decided that having a friend like him couldn't hurt on the other side.

He walked over and stood next the the foreigner.  Joey lowered his voice and spoke, "He says he's here to participate in the experiment.  I can see you're rather fascinated by him, so I'll let you in on a little secret:  He's no ordinary cat."  Joey winked and went back to sitting, waiting for the last arrival.  There was one more right?

[I have to leave now, don't expect any responses for ~10 hours]
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 10, 2016, 07:42:48 pm
Jane sighed. She wasn't much of a people person, though Joey's gesture was kind, even after she had attacked him. Maybe he would make an ok friend after all, if she ever got the opportunity. He had so many already, would she really be able to make a friend here? She had already gotten on a bad foot. Walking back over to the far side of the room, she noticed another man was already there waiting. Jane quickly glared at him before moving over to an empty space.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: AD TienzuStorm on February 10, 2016, 07:45:53 pm
Nile watched Joey as he walked off to a chair. What kind of response was that?

.. and how did he know that Nile asked Chip why he was here?

There was something suspicious going on between the two. Perhaps they share the same mind. Is the cat even real? Perhaps the cat is a robot. A remote control robot.

Nile narrowed his eyes, but turned back to Chip. He wasn't about to confront Joey about it just yet. He didn't want to risk losing his first friend in America by accusing him of having a robotic cat. He petted Chip, all the while whispering lowly to the cat.

"What are you Chip... what are your secrets.."

Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Linkcat on February 10, 2016, 07:46:43 pm
Seeing the black man walk over to the corner, Sky got up and followed him, picking up the apple that he rolled across the floor. "Apples are good for you, you know. Still up for some Blackjack?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: ProBacon on February 10, 2016, 08:26:15 pm
Out of the corner of his eye Claiborne sees a man walking over to him. "Apples are good for you, you know. Still up for some Blackjack?" the man said in a calm voice.

"Yea only apples that are not made of chocolate, and sure. Let's play some blackjack. I'm Claiborne by the way."

"Sky." replied as he reached his hand out for a handshake. Claiborne and the man shook hands as they both sat down at a corner of the table to start a game of blackjack.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 10, 2016, 08:45:32 pm
Izabelle, having a small gambling problem, made her way over to the table where the blackjack was going to be played. Very quietly, per usual, she spoke. "Still looking for people to play?" She dropped her glare for the first time since walking in the door and gave the one whom she'd learned was name Claiborne a small smirk, the closest she ever got to smiling.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: ProBacon on February 10, 2016, 08:51:39 pm
As he starts to deal the first hand a young women walks up to the both of them and asks to play. "When this hand is over I'll deal you in." Now with two players, Claiborne casually brings up the idea of an alliance between the three of them in the other reality.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 10, 2016, 08:55:23 pm
Izabelle nodded about being dealt in after this hand, but was wary about forming alliances. "Not a fan of working with others." She muttered, watching the game on the table.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Aves on February 10, 2016, 09:14:53 pm
The Magenta Union requests a Non Aggression Pact. Hah. As if! Moving to swipe at the decline button, the game is interrupted when a chunk of chocolate rolls by. Looking up, Aetius sees the contents of the chocolate bowl strewn about the floor. It's getting crowded. He sees two men confronting another newcomer, while the man in the blazer deals cards to another man, with another girl looking on. A strange group, this bunch. Glancing at the time, he winces. How much longer were they going to wait?
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 10, 2016, 10:22:34 pm
[And then a lot of things happened.]

Jaye watched the goings-on with some interest, but stayed out of them. He hated to admit the effect of the so-called 'bystander syndrome', but...would have a hard time denying it. 'Usually better that way anyway...less liable to irrationality, at least...' Hadn't gotten much response, but at least he knew names now. And there was the added benefit of being quiet and sitting towards the center of the room, being ready and listening. The talk of alliances concerned him a bit, though also jarred him into realizing he hadn't yet deeply considered what they'd be doing. Did that put him behind the curve? What if he was already at a disadvantage for not being very social? 'No...don't panic...panic kills the mind and numbs the senses. You hoped for adventure, you write adventure, you wished you could live it...you will live it.' Back to being somewhat confident, Jaye snapped out of the vague, unfocused stare at the wall begun in his questioning monologue, then concentrated on his surroundings again.

The door opened once more. Rachael, the project's coordinator, entered this time, though just briefly. "Sorry about the delay, there's one more person we're waiting for, then Mr. Smithson will be here to take questions. By then everything should be set up." And, just as quickly, she rushed back out.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: AD TienzuStorm on February 10, 2016, 10:43:01 pm
Nile looked up from petting Chip as he heard the door open again. A woman walked in. Was this the final participant?

"Sorry about the delay, there's one more person we're waiting for.."

So this must be one of the people who worked at this Departure Science Headquarters. Interesting.

As she finished her speech and left, Nile looked around the room. His eyes fell on Jaye, the guy who said he wanted to be a kitsune. He was fairly interesting as well. Another potential friend.

Nile got up and walked over to sit next to Jaye. "Hello, how are you?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Jenkar on February 10, 2016, 10:44:03 pm
[Name's pronounced Youhdzk, since AD (i believe?) asked]

Yu'zcs smiles at the cat's answer, and at the apparent lack to James. He also briefly considers Nile's attention to his new pact-cat, before looking at the owner.

A flash, another vision. Keep it under control.
Blink and it's gone. Phew, control for now, can't let go with a guy like James near, and that girl... hmm, tarifs ranging to quite a few hundred thousands. Interesting.

Quite a few loners and quite a few groups forming, too. The info from Rachel, ok, cool.
"Hey James, i'll leave you for a bit. Wanna get to know the others more... than numbers." That was a lie, of course, the numbers gave so much more than any discussion, but there's a place that human interaction occupies in other's hearts for some reason.

*goes sit at the table and watch the others play blackjack*
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 10, 2016, 10:50:03 pm
"Sorry about the delay, there's one more person we're waiting for.."

Jane just grumbled. How long had they even been waiting here? An hour? A day? It was hard to tell with no windows to look out. Hey eyes skimmed the room again. Three people were playing blackjack, one or two of the guys had grouped up to talk. A few others were scattered across the room, occupying themselves with their phones or game-boys. This room was getting full now, and the more noise there was, the less patient Jane became. Where was this last volunteer?
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 10, 2016, 10:55:12 pm
As Yu'zcs leaves, James thinks of the momentary hardening that danced across Yu'zcs features for a moment.

What did he realize? Where's the unknown variable... what have I missed?

James isn't really quite sure of anything, except that the last person to come is rather late, and that the tension lying underneath the sterile atmosphere is definitely dark.

Plan B, it looks like, and James sits on the floor, fingers tapping out a message.

Tap, pause. Tap tap, swipe. Tap, pause, swipe. Tap tap, pause. Swipe.



Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 10, 2016, 10:59:01 pm
Izabelle let her eyes wander around the room while she waited for the two to finish their hand so she could join in. She watched Nile make his way over to... Jaye was it? So many people.. Her gaze moved over to the girl who'd thrown the apple earlier. Izabelle had never caught the girl's name, and she seemed strong, though a bit childish and unfortunately, it seemed as though she made incredibly rash decisions. All potential weaknesses in battle.

Her attention was shifted again to the new person who approached the blackjack table. He seemed almost... inhuman. Like he was something else completely. Odd... this is definitely a diverse group of beings.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Linkcat on February 10, 2016, 11:52:16 pm
"An alliance? That depends on how capable you are. What are we betting, anyway? I didn't bring much with me, and I don't think the staff would appreciate it if we started stripping. How about favors?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Naesala on February 11, 2016, 12:25:13 am
Renae Lavinia "Mivlya" Blizzard.

She nodded, finally checking her third copy of her contract for any errors or loopholes. The woman was quite satisfied with the results of her work, having found multiple errors and loopholes in the contract and having sent them back to the company to be corrected before she joined the project. Law was her life, the little fiddly bits about how one could get away with anything given the right combination of words. Law was not good, or evil. Law was predictable. And Renae liked predictable.

Unfortunately, such zealous overwork had left her late to getting in her car and driving off to the laboratory in which she would be partaking in the experiment, alongside twelve other "living organisms" as the contract had called it. She hoped none of them were plants,as that would be fairly dull. Upon her late arrival, the moon just rising in the sky, the woman allowed herself a brief moment of excitement uncontained by her usual cold and quiet demeanor. Another world to explore, to control completely and perfectly! A chance to exist as the character she oft wrote about online. It was enough to leave her giddy, for the moment.

A few minutes later and she was calm, expressionless, and entering a conference room she had been led to by company personnel. And it was chaos. Ten other humans and a cat, chunks of food all over, people playing cards. Disgusting. She sighed and quickly found a seat, ignoring everyone else and waiting for someone with authority to arrive.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 11, 2016, 12:39:22 am
Izabelle looked up and sighed as the final participant came in. Now just to wait for someone to come and tell us what the hell is going on. She looked around the room at the others, curious to see how they would react to the fact that they would be going into the virtual reality most likely very soon. She chewed on the inside of her lip, anxiousness clawing at her as she thought of the possible things that could go wrong while they were in the VR. What happens if you die in a virtual reality? Do you die here, in actual reality too?
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 11, 2016, 12:44:00 am
Jane noticed a woman walk through the door. Was this the final participant? A flash of excitement came over herself,and she completely forgot about her earlier irritation. Without thinking, Jane walked over to sit beside the woman. She seemed more like a robot than an actual human. No expressions. Creepy. Jane didn't know what to say, so she just sat there, keeping a fair distance from the woman as well as examining her face Wasn't she excited? They were going into a virtual reality, after all!
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Naesala on February 11, 2016, 12:47:25 am
Noticed, but made no reaction as the other woman cam and sat aside her. Renae would respond if directly questioned by there other people, but she had no interest in any of them at the moment. She just wanted to get into the virtual reality as soon as possible.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 11, 2016, 01:02:42 am
A stutter in the tapping, as the last participant walked in.

She was also closely guarded, in motion, action, emotion. That made four dangerous people, and an interesting cat human combo.

The tapping resumed, and James kept staring, attempting to decipher her goals, keeping his expression blank.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 11, 2016, 01:06:07 am
[For the time being, I'll be the one answering questions as Dave.]

Jaye just had time to answer, "Pretty good, looking forward to going ahead. Nile, right?" At which point the last member of the group joined them.

And, shortly after Renae, Dave Smithson appeared to the room. He gave the everyone a small, confident smile - predictably, interrupted by coughing - and even smirked when he saw the fallen bowl and scattered bits of chocolate. "I see you aren't afraid to get your hands dirty for the sake of science." A pause, not a coughing interruption this time, though he sighed in resignation before continuing and deliberately avoided looking at Chip by closing his eyes as he added: "...or paws, as the case may be." Looking back to the group as a whole, Dave went on. "You know why you're here, but any questions before we start? Our time window is coming up pretty soon." Jaye raised a hand. "Yes?"

"How are we going to keep in touch with you?"

"You'll be issued multi-function 'watches'...not really watches, but close enough. Sterile until they touch you, and then it'll only work for you. Wouldn't recommend trying to take them off. They stretch to fit and will follow you around if you try to leave it behind. Don't ask me how it works, thank the eggheads in the Fabrication Innovators Creating To Increase Obsolescence Number At Libraries department. Those are some fine scientists, taking the best ideas from books and squeezing the science out of the genre until we've made everything real...er. Oh, I got distracted again. Well, that's what happens when you talk about science!" Dave beamed at the group. "The other thing is that you were sprayed with miniscule robots when you came in. They're probably absorbed deep through your skin by now, and they'll help with tracking and with the change to local forms, these people apparently called 'elementals'. We don't actually know if the trackers will stay with you when you change, but we figured it was better safe than sorry."

Jaye just sort of gaped, almost spoke again, then went quiet.

"Anyone else?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: AD TienzuStorm on February 11, 2016, 01:11:45 am
Nile raised his hand and waited patiently for Mr. Smithson to nod in his direction. Nile cleared his throat.

"So, what kind of world are we going to be in once we enter the virtual reality? Do you know the details of this world? What about the dangers? Any savage beasts or anything of the sort?"

Nile paused, then asked another question. "Also, what are these watches exactly? How do we use them to communicate to you?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 11, 2016, 01:14:49 am
Jane, now mustering some courage up herself raised her hand slightly.
"Two questions," She took a deep breathe, "Is there any chance that if we somehow end up dying in the virtual reality, that we'd die in the real world too? Also, Is there anyway to get out of this... Virtual reality?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 11, 2016, 01:28:28 am
Chip meows, in lieu of a question.

Do the watches work on cat paws?
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: ProBacon on February 11, 2016, 01:33:54 am
Answering Sky's questions with: "We are playing for fun, unless you want to play for something else. And regards to your first question, I am loyal, I stab no man in the back. Besides that I have a good knowledge of space and time as well as many a card game."

As he finished his sentence a women walked in the room. "Must be the last one" he thought to himself as he dealt the last cards. Right after she walked in, so did Dave Smithson. He started talking science and then asked if anyone had any questions. A few people raised their hands but Claiborne stayed silent. He then turned back to sky and again asked "So? Allies?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 11, 2016, 01:40:48 am
Smithson turned first to Nile. "There's a lot we're not sure about, though it's inhabited, and yes there's plenty of wilderness. Apparently there's magic...some technology, but dominated by magic. Sounds pretty fishy to me, but even I admit we haven't tried to science magic yet. Which brings me to the second part. Along with having a communication link back to here, the watches will record information about your trip...and I'm not going to list all the functions so you get some pleasant surprises, but it'll hopefully come in handy. Should weather just about anything, too, low power included, since they're made with applied science."

Then he looked over to Jane. "You should hopefully not die, especially since the microbots can keep you an inch from death - and yes, that is tested - but yes, there's an emergency protocol that can get you back here if it doesn't seem likely you can recover.  We'll keep the portal back ready so you can come back after the duration - we'll let you know when we've collected enough information. Everything passes through that portal as well: communications, data, and the rest."

After that, he glanced to Chip and managed to keep eyes on him after an obligatory coughing fit. "For a cat, you seem pretty bright. Wouldn't be a bad idea to have you go through one of our test chambers at some point. You'll get a watch too, they'll form to fit any subject. We pretty much had to make them that way since some of you have more drastic changes ahead."

After giving the card players a slightly irritated look for probably not taking him seriously, he returned his attention to the group as a whole. "Anything else?" He also checked his watch.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 11, 2016, 01:45:17 am
"Is it possible for us to get stuck there permanently?" Izabelle muttered, just loud enough for the others to hear.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 11, 2016, 01:51:44 am
James ceased his tapping and listened as the others asked questions.

He was mostly concerned about how close they'd arrive together. Unlikely as it was, if they went through simultaneously, they could end up in the same physical space together. That would be a rather horrifying way to die.

Deciding to ask a safer question, he went with, "How far will we be from each other when we arrive? Additionally, will we go one by one or as a whole?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 11, 2016, 01:52:39 am
Chip is immensely puzzled on how Dave understood him. Chip believes that Dave is Illuminati.

Chip's one track-feline-mind urges him to hop onto Joey's lap, and so he does.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 11, 2016, 01:57:36 am
Seeing the cat hop onto his owner's lap brought another question.

Picking up one of the deceptive apples near him, interrupting Dave, James asked, "Also, what's the deal with white chocolate apples?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Aves on February 11, 2016, 02:01:31 am
Waiting as the executive fielded the questions, Aetius stepped forward.

"What is known so far about these 'locals'? You talk as if they are sapient beings, but this is just a virtual reality simulation, right? If not, what sort of conclusions have been conceptualized or tested?  Has contact been made with them? And I believe you said something about a transformation-- I know that some of us here have been discussing animals. What are elementals, and are they related to this process?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Naesala on February 11, 2016, 02:15:39 am
Listened to everyone fielding questions, and kept an ear out for answers, but more importantly she looked at the man who was eyeing her. Most of the people here seemed to be vapid gamers or violent young women. Or a cat. But this gentleman was sizing her up, and she did the same to him, giving just the faintest hit of a smile as they made eye contact, before returning to her cold subjectless gaze.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 11, 2016, 02:44:06 am
"It shouldn't be possible to get stuck, no."

"You'll go one by one, though not too much delay between, and should end up in the same area."

"The apples are prepared by our theming division - I'll tell you the name some other time - who also decided the building should be mostly bleach-white for the time being. They say it encourages scientific thought and I wasn't about to say no."

"We've just looked, not interacted, and they are sapient, Aetius. This test is...virtual up to a point, but there's a good chance it's also real! Our dimensional travel lab and our VR lab were both fused together with the unstable element lab when there was a misfire. Would have been tragic, but only robots were in there on lunch break anyway. And sure, the above-ground section of our complex fused into a solid block, but along with the white chocolate the staging team is harvesting from it we found some new science that combined all three of the labs! And those are the discoveries we're using to science some more." Dave grinned to Aetius, apparently considering the question concluded.

Theme Department Name:
Winter Hold In Thematic Environments Centered H'round Often Catching Opinion Leverage At Times Everyone Forgets Ritualistic Underpinnings If Thought
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Linkcat on February 11, 2016, 04:23:09 am
"I said capable, not loyal, although I do appreciate a man who keeps his word." Sky relaxed as Claiborne dealt him a king and a four, showing a three himself. Sky motioned for another card, letting out a chuckle as he was given a 7. "Looks like you were right to not bet anything." He listened to Mr. CEO drone on as Claiborne flipped over a 6, followed by a 5 and another 6, falling just short at 20. Sky slid his cards back as he turned to the much more interesting and capable-looking young woman next to him. "What about you? Up for a friendly wager?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 11, 2016, 07:28:01 am
Joey had thought a lot about what it'd be like on the other side....He had considered less what they'd actually be doing.  "Err, yes I have a question.  What exactly are we to be doing in this perhaps-no-so-virtual reality?  There are sapient being there, along with vast landscapes and apparently magic?  And that's all fine and good, but do we have any goals?  A checklist of specific things we're to be testing by chance?"

It's funny.  All I've ever wanted was freedom and to break the normality of everything.  And now that I've all the possibilities in the world and more...I have no idea what to do.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Jenkar on February 11, 2016, 10:30:16 am
Yu'zsc thinks a little, watching the new arriver intently as he silently has her processed, as the others.
"I also happen to have a question. Will we be able to transport stuff other than our own selves to and from?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 11, 2016, 03:43:49 pm
Izabelle was spacing out, listening to the CEO answer questions, and it took her a moment to register that she was being spoken to. "Oh.. what kind of wager were you thinking?" She inquired, looking over to Sky. Way to make a good first impression, Z. Just ignore the people trying to form an alliance with you.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: ProBacon on February 11, 2016, 04:56:09 pm
Looking at the two people across from him, he too also wonders what wager Sky has in mind. "C'mon guys, try to keep the wager clean." But in his head he doesn't care if it clean or dirty. For now he just sits back and deals the two players their next hand.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 11, 2016, 05:36:59 pm
Izabelle smirked at Claiborne's comment, though if Sky tried to make a dirty wager with her, she would slit his throat. Not that he ever would. I don't think anyways.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 11, 2016, 06:27:52 pm
"You can do whatever you'd like. At least as far as the laws of physics we've figured out how to break so far let you. Try to break the rest while you're there. It'll all help."

"We definitely hope it's possible to transport things with the portal, otherwise your wrist-comms won't do much."

"Anything else? Otherwise we're going, and-" The door opened behind him as Rachael showed up.

"It's time, Mr. Smithson."

"All right, any last questions are as we go. You'll get your 'watches' in the room before you go in." So saying, the two Departure members led the group out, starting down another maze of corridors after a brief pause so things could get put away.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 11, 2016, 07:39:58 pm
Chip prances down the hallway, at the heels of Mr. Smithson.

These white walls are atrocious.. Glad we're going somewhere that.. GASP, might actually have color!
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 11, 2016, 07:46:15 pm
Izabelle placed her cards on the table in front of her, nodding to Sky and Claiborne. She stood and walked out the door,following a few paces behind Chip
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 11, 2016, 08:34:58 pm
Jane decided to stay in the back, hoping not to be noticed. She didn't stay too far back though, as losing the group would be a bad idea. A flash of excitement went through her again. It was actually happening!
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Naesala on February 11, 2016, 08:42:56 pm
Renae quietly stood and began to walk with the group to the room, still maintaining her quiet and cold demeanor.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 11, 2016, 08:55:01 pm
Joey walked casually in the front of the pack of subjects, keeping pace with Smithson and Chip.
He agreed with Chip, some color would be fantastic.

As they went, Joey elaborated on his earlier question.  "So we're just testing hardware and software?  We don't have goals other than try to break the laws of physics?  How long is the duration of the test anyway?  A few days?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Jenkar on February 11, 2016, 09:04:26 pm
Yu'zsc strolls along, casually to Renae's side, eyes on Izabelle.

Interesting... i wonder if transferring "Magic" back could work...
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Aves on February 11, 2016, 09:11:24 pm
Aetius followed the group, forcing himself down to the plodding pace of the old man leading them. It was so slow! The white halls of the facility seemed to stretch endlessly; the wait was agonizing! Patience, he thought to himself. This was what they came for, and time had come to see whether Departure Science could live up to its reputation. He'd survived worse things. He could afford to wait a little longer.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: ProBacon on February 11, 2016, 10:21:00 pm
Claiborne looked at the people getting up to go to the door. He picks up his cards puts them back in their case. "I hope that we can be allies on the other side." are the last words to Sky and Izabelle before he gets up and walks towards the door.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: AD TienzuStorm on February 12, 2016, 12:44:20 am
Nile caught up to Joey and Chip at the front in time to hear his question to Mr. Dave. To be honest, he was curious as well. How long would they be in this virtual world with these strange magical beings?

Nile piped in before Dave could answer. "Also, why exactly are we going to this particular world? Surely there are more than one virtual worlds right? Why don't we all get to choose a world to go to, or even make an ideal world for each of us?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 12, 2016, 01:07:26 am
James watched as the rest filed out, till it was him and only a few others. Stretching as he stood up, he followed the rest as they continued to new horizons.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Linkcat on February 12, 2016, 01:10:11 am
"Like I said, favors. Highest hand wins, with high card breaking ties." Before she could answer, Mr. CEO announced their departure and she got up without another word. Not wanting to let her go so easily, Sky rose and kept pace beside her. "Ah, that's a shame. How about we pick it up on the other side?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 12, 2016, 01:31:02 am
Giving Sky a very rare smile, Izabelle nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Maybe if you can convince me, I'll even stick around afterwards."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Linkcat on February 12, 2016, 01:54:00 am
Sky returned her rather nice smile. "I can be very persuasive. What's your name, by the way?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 12, 2016, 02:28:57 am
"Probably, Joey. Time might work differently on the other side. It's part of what we want you to test. Maybe five minutes. Maybe a week. It might be all the same here. We'll let you know."

And to Nile, "They were the seventh-dimension coordinates we got from combining Ricochet Glue and Celerity Paste with some Science Dice. Our Recursion Spheroscopes showed that it might be testable, which is why you're here."

Then they were in another room, where Dave motioned to a set of twelve watches on a wall. "One each. Should stretch or shrink to fit...which may be necessary especially as you start testing. The door will unlock when the stable vortex will be in the next room, in..." He glanced to a timer over the door. "Ninety seconds. You'll want to get through quickly to minimize exposure. You might or might not stay conscious, and no telling when or how any changes to form happen as you go through that matrix, but shouldn't be anything lethal."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: ProBacon on February 12, 2016, 02:38:02 am
Claiborne looks at the wall which holds the set of twelve watches. He seems to be the first one to walk up to the wall of watches. He grabs the first one and puts it on. "Little bit of a tight fit, but it'll have to do." He says with a slight smile trying to be funny. After he walks back to the crowd waiting for the next step.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 12, 2016, 02:38:36 am
Chip meows, pretending as if he can talk.

Help me out with my watch, Joey? I don't have opposable thumbs.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 12, 2016, 02:39:14 am
James walks over to the wall, grabbing a watch, and turns it over, inspecting it.

"I am aware that you have told us to not attempt to take these off, once they are on. However, if it should become a case that it is necessary, what will happen?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 12, 2016, 02:42:38 am
"Its Z. You're Sky, right?" She glanced in front of her, slowing her pace a bit when she realized that she was stepping rather close to Chip, who was in front of her.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 12, 2016, 02:57:58 am
Joey hefted Chip up onto his shoulder and walked to the furthest pair of watches.  He helped Chip step into his watch, then put on his own.  He then leaned against the wall next to the door to the portal inspecting his new accessory, liking the way it felt.

These are pretty nice.  You'll be able to more or less use this thing right?  Poke the buttons with your nose or a claw or something?

The soon-to-be Avian looked to the others and waited for the timer to tick down.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 12, 2016, 03:05:37 am
Hmm, let me check.

Chip bumps his nose up against the watch, and the display flashes awake.

Ow.. Bright.. Yeah, should work just fine.

Chip anticipates dimensional travel, swishing his tail with delight.

[I'm assuming the watches are similar to modern-era smart watches, in terms of design.]
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 12, 2016, 03:32:30 am
"They'll follow. Pack out into Drone Class 9066-C. Like a remote helicopter, except its signal is you, and so less liable to break you could divide it by zero - we tested that too - and much, much more sophisticated."

Jaye also obtained a watch, running a hand over the clean, circular surface; his display reads out in silver and gold, though everyone's has slightly different coloration. Dave, noting the color, spoke up again. "One of the other things we were able to get were some rough geological scans. We assume there are no transmission satellites, so they're just maps, but what we found is loaded in there."

The Map of Elements World by vrt in this post (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/role-playing/rpg-maps/msg342676/#msg342676).
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 12, 2016, 03:42:56 am
Slipping on the black watch, James steps back to allow the rest better access. The cat's owner is by the door, so James walks close, not close enough to comfortably converse but still close to the portal if time becomes a necessity.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 12, 2016, 03:49:47 am
Joey tapped the screen of his gadget and watched it flicker to life.  At first he was entranced by the soft blue color, accented in a sharp pink, but after just a moment he went casually tapping away, locating this map.  He helped Chip do the same, which took considerably less time once he figured out what he was doing.

Zephyrus.  That's where we're going.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 12, 2016, 04:05:37 am
Izabelle walked over and took a watch, examining it carefully before slipping it on her wrist. Interesting.. She grabbed another and handed it to Sky, though she was kind of unsure why she felt the need to form an alliance with him. Its not like we will get stuck there or anything. Solo is always the best way to survive in an RPG, so maybe I should use that tactic instead...
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: AD TienzuStorm on February 12, 2016, 04:06:11 am
Nile grabbed a watch of his own. He'd never owned such a fancy gadget before. Or seen one as advanced as this for that matter. This was way past anything he'd seen, both in Egypt and in his time in America.

As he slipped it on, it beeped and flashed to life. It came up with a menu, and while Nile explored the device, he vaguely heard mentions of a map of the area.

He quickly located it and examined the map.

There appeared to be a large desert in the center of the large island. Desert of Time. Seemed like it could be a nice little reminder of home while he was here studying abroad. Nile smiled slightly to himself.

But he decided that he didn't want to go there immediately. He wouldn't be nearly close to prepared to survive in a desert. He doubted that the facility would supply them with enough rations for him to live out in the desert. Besides, it was expansive enough that he could get lost easily, and getting lost in this virtual reality was not an option.

The uncharted shore looked interesting, if not slightly risky. That could be a fun place to explore after he got his bearings.

To begin, it seemed like the Forest of Life would be a good starting point. Didn't sound particularly threatening or difficult, and there was surely an abundance of food to be found in a forest. Of life.

Upon deciding, Nile walked up closer to the entrance. How much time was left? He checked the timer. It hasn't even been half the time yet.

Nile sighed. Waiting was a hassle.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 12, 2016, 04:10:55 am
Chip is enthused with the warm glow of a soft blue that surged across the display, accompanied by a warm shade of yellow.

Hmm.. Air and Time.. I like it.

...

...

...

Zephyrus. Definitely.

He sets his paw back down, and sits near Joey's feet, excited to get started.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: ProBacon on February 12, 2016, 04:36:34 am
Looking at how the others are tinkering with their watches, Claiborne taps on the small screen and it flickered a bit before dimming to a shade of a cyan. He then pulls up the map of the terrain and notices a strange landmass named "Etheria". "This is my destination, although I don't know why, but that is where I will go." Claiborne thinks to himself. Now the next question is, will anybody join him as the journey looks like it might take a while and Claiborne does not like to travel alone. Heck he still questions how he got to the facility without braking out into tears about being alone.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Aves on February 12, 2016, 05:06:48 am
Aetius poked his latest acquisition, which made a small contented beep as he did so.

Let's see... oh, maps.

Enlarging the cartography option, the the small pyramids in the center of the display immediately drew his attention. Buildings? Created by these elementals? That definitely looks promising. I wonder how similar they are to cultural relics in our world. I wonder what state of development the natives of this place will be in. Structured societies? Scattered tribes? The presence of a momument so large that it was picked up in the scans is a good sign for continued development... maybe even the development of laws! Rights!

Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: ProBacon on February 12, 2016, 05:42:38 am
After the thought of being alone circled through his mind, Claiborne spoke in a subtle voice and said: "If anybody cares, after looking at this map I am going to head to the landmass of 'Etheria'. If anybody wants to join me to travel there or is on their way to another land form that is on the way that wants a traveling partner, just tell me. And don't worry I don't bite." Hopefully somebody will take him up on his offer or Claiborne might just go into a mental state of insanity.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Jenkar on February 12, 2016, 07:32:26 am
Yu'zsc takes one of the last watches and answers Claiborne.
"I'm planning to go to the forest of life for a bit, myself. Where are we going to land though?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Naesala on February 12, 2016, 09:53:01 am
Renae grabbed her own watch, with a little orange and white swirl coloration as compared to everyone else's, like a dream sickle had been made into a garish accessory. She wasted no time bringing up the map and scanning over it a few times. She approached the man whom she had eyed in the conference room. "Hello. I plan on going to the kingdom of light first, as kingdom implies society, before exploring the surrounding areas. It would be foolish for me to travel alone. Would you like to accompany?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Linkcat on February 12, 2016, 11:24:06 am
"The one and only," Sky replied as they walked into the next room. Z was an intriguing name. He'd ask her about it later. The deep blue watch she handed him fit nicely. He ignored Claiborne as he looked over the map like the others. "Zephyrus looks good, or maybe the Forest of Life, though I'll bet anywhere would be exciting, and who knows what's waiting on the other side?"

In case the story moves forward while I'm asleep, it's not clear to me how exactly we're going through, but Sky will try to sprint forward to be the first one through, after saying to Z, "I'll see you on the other side, assuming neither of us dies horribly on the way."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 12, 2016, 03:03:32 pm
"I suppose so. Call me James."

James didn't interact with his watch like the rest did. He'd figure it out on the other side, and honestly, one watch would be enough for the both of them.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 12, 2016, 03:49:57 pm
Izabelle glanced over at Claiborne, though she said nothing. She studied the map, trying to figure out a good place to settle before actually entering the VR. She nodded at Sky's comment about the Forest of Life, since that's what she'd been looking at just moments ago. "Good amount of concealment."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Jenkar on February 12, 2016, 04:20:55 pm
"Concealment? Well, that's an interesting goal going there, I'd've thought the kingdom of Darkness or Chaos Triad would have been better for that. But I'm sure you have your own personal thoughts on the matter. In any case, if you two want to be with me to find a semblance of civilisation there, i'd love to group up."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 12, 2016, 07:04:26 pm
A loud 'click' came from the door as the timer ended. Smithson nodded as it opened outward. "Good luck."

A distortion in the air, shifting through a spectrum of tinges, was surrounded by seven white pillars, each of which were topped with a gemstone. Between these stones were also beams shifting through the same rainbow.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The experience going through was...difficult to give words. Jaye jogged into the rift; nerves lit with an overload of sensations as the world flashed in the same coloration. Then darkness, followed by numbness, and a time impossible to specify went by. After what could have been moments or minutes, the void was followed by dropping face-first into a garden, though barely felt for the numbness which was just beginning to fade.

Struggling for a moment, Jaye - or, at this point, Aurora - shakily rose to her new paws, standing and looking around as her body started functioning again. Shivering a bit at the feeling of a slight breeze in her fur and tails, and nervous to be someone and someplace new in general, she slowly approached the nearest cover - a large covered shrine, surrounded by twelve monuments. However, the shrine itself currently contained nothing but an empty seat...almost a throne. Waiting and glancing back for the others, the kitsune quietly watched from a marble pillar, facing the garden in which she'd landed.

[Feel free to change or arrive however you'd like. Just don't run off anywhere yet.]
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 12, 2016, 07:21:17 pm
As soon as the door clicked open, a man (Sky was it?) sprinted at the portal, seemingly not even stopping to see what it was.  He went through without a trace left in the real world.

Joey casually spun around and saw what Sky probably didn't get to:  the prismatic awe of the portal.  He stepped into it with Chip on his heels.  In an instant, he was standing in unfamiliar territory and he had silver wings in place of arms.  He looked down and saw Chip flexing his altogether-new wings.

Pretty cool, eh?  Let's give flying a shot.

Joey launched himself up and flew.  He wasn't exactly sure how he was doing, but he was airborne. Perhaps he'd expected it to be more difficult.  He flew to the top of a nearby pillar and landed.

He peered down and saw a small (from this angle) white creature.  He assumed it was Jaye; it looked quite like a fox.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 12, 2016, 07:36:45 pm
Chip spreads his wings out fully, the sunlight causing his glossy silver feathers to seem like they're shining.

Guess that's the only thing left to do.

Chip begins to flap his wings, sending a small cloud of dust astray to either side of him. He generates enough lift to temporarily take his paws off the ground, but he panics and sets back down again. "Damnit.", he thinks to himself. Yet again, he begins to flap his wings, this time with a bit more success, and he begins to fly. He quickly navigates to Joey's side, and rests his paws down on solid ground again, folding his wings up against his sides.

That was.. interesting. I like it.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 12, 2016, 07:39:56 pm
Joey smirked at his companion, thinking of all the possibilities they had now that they possessed the power of flight.

And that was only the test. Wait until we really fly.  For now, let's wait for the others to arrive in this new world.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 12, 2016, 07:42:43 pm
[Humanoid kitsune, not feral, in case of confusion. Also, Link, consider it done; just know that we don't necessarily exit in the same order we enter.]

Aurora glanced up; Joey and Chip seemed to be some of the first others to arrive through...whatever weird time dilation happened appeared to have granted them relatively speedy passage to this realm. Squinting up towards the pillar, she waved and called, "How's freedom suiting you?" The sound of her own voice didn't startle her quite as much as she'd anticipated...sure, it was strange, but speaking with a part-muzzle seemed to come naturally and her sound was as clear and calm as she'd imagined in writing. While awaiting a reply, she took a deep breath, looking to sort out and start to deal with the new - just to find that instinct could hold her hand (er, forepaw) most of the way...there was even a sense of power coursing through the world around her, offering a tempting prize to try to tap...but just out of reach.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 12, 2016, 07:54:07 pm
The other side was bizarre. The four that went through simply... vanished into the thin slit that defied reason and reality.

It was quite uncertain, since information did not pass through easily the other way, though James had no doubts that they could return, if necessary.

Deciding to take a leap of faith and follow his partner, he strode in, closing his eyes. He did not want to recreate what happened in the Jaunt, by Stephen King, if possible.

Even with his eyes closed, his sensory organs were set on fire. It was strange, of crushed and stretched, of walking in a cool hallway on hot coals, and he knew that if his eyes had been open he would have seen a kaleidoscope of flashing lights, probably more than enough to give an epileptic a seizure.

When the sensations stopped and weak sunlight was felt on his back, he opened his eyes, tentatively.

He was further from the ground. To be more precise, he was taller. His hands, while retaining human dexterity, now had sharp claws that could certainly cut or slash most living organisms. His black and dark green scales prevented the sunlight from fully warming him, and when he stretched to his full height and exhaled, a small fogging of the air was present.

The area around him was rather interesting; it was a mixture of black and brown rock and the yellow-orange sands that were closely linked with Time.

Moving quickly so that the next occupant would not "phase" into him, he stepped forward and stretched all his muscles to ascertain the control he had over the body. It was a little clumsy, but that was to be expected. As he moved, a sensation of pulling occurred in his back, and the long tail that trailed behind curled around a leg. Experimenting, the tail seemed to respond by desire and not by conscious thought, much like wiggling ears or shifting eyebrows.

He spotted a humanoid fox, and up on a pillar of stone, close by, a winged cat and a feathered human stood.

"Rather interesting, isn't it?" he called out to the three of them.

His partner was nowhere to be found, though. James wondered where she was.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 12, 2016, 07:59:01 pm
Two beings called up to him, so he shouted down responses to both, "Pretty well, if I may say so myself," to the Kitsune and "Yes, yes it is," to the....lizard?  Joey thought he could make out scaloes, but it was a long way down to see.

What wasn't suiting him quite as well was his face.  It changed shape, and it felt wrong.  His nose was bigger, his chin smaller, his eyes more pointed.  He was sure he'd get used to it, but it was odd.  What was odder still was that he was already liking the more drastic changes of his torso:  The feathers covering his arms back and chest.  He felt as if his legs didn't match the rest of his body, but it wasn't so much uncomfortable as it was temporarily offsetting.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 12, 2016, 08:09:22 pm
You all should read The Jaunt by Stephen King. It's good.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Naesala on February 12, 2016, 08:58:48 pm
Renae followed into the portal next, steps behind James without giving her own name in turn, as he seemed to be in a bit of a hurry to get moving. Entering the portal was...strange. Painful even. However, Renae managed to not scream out or holler as the blinding lights, the sensation of speed, and the way her body felt like it was tearing apart. Eventually, everything went dark.

A few moments later she opened her eyes to a plot of dirt on the ground and groaned. She brushed off some of the dirt from her face and...wait, not it wasn't her face. There was a snout there that wasn't before. Look down. Hands covered in black fur. Swishing black and white tail. Bust...augmented. She was Mivlya, the character from a thousand roleplays and stories she had written. She was an anthropomorphic skunk. Her cold exterior shattered for a moment as she squealed with joy. "It worked! I'm Mivlya, I'm Mivlya!" Standing up, she began to hop up and down with glee, until her eyes landed on the lizard man, kitsune, and pair of flyers. Her cheeks turned red with blush under her black fur as she tried to re-adopt her more serious demeanor. "I, ah, see all of you made it here fine too."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 12, 2016, 09:03:48 pm
Jane, which seemed to have fallen behind for a short while, quickly snatched up a watch and put it on. The pink and black that came with it turning on swirled violently, and stopped suddenly shortly after. It was only until she ran into the portal did she begin to feel a change to her form. She closed her eyes and let it happen, almost squealing with excitement before swallowing it again. She didn't want to let the feeling take her away for long. Opening her eyes again, she found herself out in an open space, and, oh my goodness, color! Color everywhere! Content to no longer seeing a boring white room or walls, she breathed. This was magnificent!

She felt something heavy behind her. Looking back, she noticed a long... What was that? A tail?! She couldn't believe this was actually happening! Looking around, she noticed Joey and his cat. Wings? Rather interesting. She called out, hoping they'd recognize her.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: AD TienzuStorm on February 12, 2016, 09:11:32 pm
Nile walked through, contrasting greatly from the man he'd seen rush through. What could he possibly need to do in such a hurry? This isn't the Hunger Games sir. There's no cornucopia to run to. The map says so.

As Nile passed through the portal, all thoughts of the young adult novel written by Suzanne Collins escaped his mind. The world reminded him of Egypt. The desert sand, the rolling dunes as scenery, the scorching hot sun..

He looked behind him. There were pillars arranged in some sort of shrine. He lifted a hand to shield his eyes from the sun and to see the shrine better. But, as his hand passed into his line of sight, he noticed that he wasn't wearing the standard American clothing that he'd bought hastily upon arriving in Michigan.

Instead, it had all been replaced with the casual clothing that he usually wore in Egypt. ((OOC = Imagine casual clothing but in a traditional Egyptian style, if that makes sense))

((Simplification: Casual clothing with a traditional Egyptian color scheme, that's probably easier to visualize and is close enough))

Nile stared. Interesting way to start. Being Horus's vessel has its uses. He didn't like the American clothes anyways. Too gaudy.

He stretched his arm out and focused. He saw for a second a glimpse of himself walking out of the portal. It seems like he could already use a little bit of magic. But as soon as the image appeared, it faded away in a wisp.

Nile smiled. This would be fun. He looked up in the sky. Seemed as if Joey and Chip had already grown accustomed to their new wings. Nile sighed. It would take a while for him to be able to be proficient enough in magic to sprout some of his own.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 12, 2016, 09:14:57 pm
Chip takes the stance of a Sphinx, resting on the pillar, watching the other... test subjects? arrive to the new dimension.

Hrm. Such an outburst from such a cold individual. Interesting.

He fans out his wings, signalling to the lizard (Jane) that he did, indeed, notice their arrival.

Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 12, 2016, 09:19:38 pm
Jane felt excitement rising in her once again, and she stretched her wings... Wings? She laughed with joy. She had always wanted to fly! But how, was the question...
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 12, 2016, 09:35:20 pm
Izabelle gave Sky one last look before sprinting through the portal. She felt completely useless, unable to move any of her limbs after stepping through. Memories, both good and bad, flashed before her eyes and her whole body went numb.

When she finally hit the ground on the other side, her eyes were filled with tears and her head was throbbing. "That was... joyful." She muttered, struggling to get to her feet.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 12, 2016, 09:37:31 pm
A pink reptile...A dragon?  Called up to them.  Female.  Was this the girl that had assaulted him?  He waved, greeting her and inviting her to join Chip and himself off the ground.

Aye.  She must really like being a skunk.  And is that the girl that attacked me in the meeting room?  Maybe she changed her mind about being violent.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: ProBacon on February 12, 2016, 09:39:13 pm
Seeing as how no one yet has taken up his offer Claiborne has a slight tingling in his stomach. He was cought off guard by a click and the sudden running of people around him. He turns to see where the click cane from, ot was the portal. Calming himself down, Claiborne walks towards it. Once he reaches the opening and right before, he takes a deep breath and walks in.

Surrounded by colors shifting from one shade to another, Claiborne felt numb. Unable to move he thought that it had screwed up somehow and that this was the end. But a few seconds later it was black. Claiborne opened his eyes to see a bright blye sky. Looking around he sees 12 pillars in the formation of some sort of shrine. There are also some other of the participants. Feeling his body he feels that his physical form had not chnaged and he was still human. He felt his pockets and he still had his cards. For now he was releaved, but he still knew that it was going to be a long experiment if he could not find at least one person to travel with. As thia thought raced through his head Claiborne showed physical signs of worry and fear.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 12, 2016, 10:11:27 pm
Jane couldn't help but think back to what she had done earlier. Did Joey hold a grudge against her? She hesitated for a moment.
"Hey um," she paused for a moment, "Sorry about earlier..."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 12, 2016, 10:17:38 pm
Chip hops off the pillar and gently glides down to the ground, near Jane.

Wouldn't let your guard down.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 12, 2016, 10:29:06 pm
Jane just looked at Chip, attempting to smile.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Linkcat on February 12, 2016, 10:33:15 pm
"That's a good point, though I have to wonder what kinds of creatures will be concealed there with you. We can talk about grouping up later. It's almost time." As the final seconds counted down, Sky let out a huge grin and turned to Z. "I'll see you on the other side, assuming neither of us dies horribly on the way." He broke out into a full sprint as the door began to open, and leaped into the rift. He ended up... Somewhere, and his whole body shuddered as the enhancements he had requested were applied. He stumbled into the new world, barely keeping his balance, and felt the familiar weight of his recurve bow and quiver of arrows. Luckily nobody was there to see it. Clad in his traveling gear, he walked around the garden he found himself in and enjoyed the scenery with his improved eyesight as the others started to come through. Seeing Jaye inspecting an impressive-looking shrine, he approached the chair in the center and leaned back in it, setting his bow across his legs and taking interest in the others' new forms.

As a reminder, Sky looks similar to this, (http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/rangersapprentice/images/4/46/Ruinsofgorlanwill.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/468?cb=20120407083755) but with a smaller cloak. I'm also adding this pentacle necklace. (http://badalijewelry.com/images/products/69049.jpg)
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 12, 2016, 10:37:07 pm
Joey followed Chip's lead jumped down and landed not-so gently on his feet next to Jane.  Not because he couldn't glide down gently, but because in the real world, jumping down from heights was the closest he could get to flying, and he wanted to compare.  "Don't worry about it.  Care to join us?  Adventuring is more fun with friends."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 12, 2016, 10:39:49 pm
Relief rushed over Jane, and she nodded. Part of her was happy that he didn't hold it  against her.
"Lead the way, I guess"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: AD TienzuStorm on February 12, 2016, 10:49:18 pm
Nile finished experimenting with his newfound apparent chronokinetic powers. He glanced over and saw Joey and Chip talking to the dragon. The features of the dragon seemed weirdly familiar. Strangely fierce, yet puppylike. Was it that girl trying to pick a fight with Joey earlier?

Nile sped over. Were they bickering? He walked into hearing range.

"Care to join us? Adventuring is more fun with friends."

Nile looked at the dragon, who was nodding. Huh, so it looked like they were on good terms now. Interesting change. Nile cleared his throat to talk.

"So is she joining us too?"

He looked over at her. "I'm Nile Rusus. Nice to meet you. Who might you be?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 12, 2016, 10:52:21 pm
Chip fluffs Nile's leg with his wing, recognizing him from the meeting room.

Two's a party, three's a crowd.. What does that make four?
Chip muses to himself, while looking at his surroundings, both people and structures.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 12, 2016, 10:55:19 pm
"Looks like she is.  I guess a good starting point would be to figure out something about these monuments."  Joey paused, "but maybe getting you two airbourne would be more fun."

Four makes a party, and parties are fun.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 12, 2016, 10:56:44 pm
Amusement flitted over James' face at Mivlya's actions. That was her goal, he supposed, or, more likely, a part of it. Seems like most people here decided to choose the forms they thought most comfortable.

It was a shame James had forgotten to request wings, but he was sure that in this land, there were other ways to fly, or perhaps alchemical components that granted wings.

"Let's gather with the others for now, and then we can go." Every word he spoke left a small fog in the air that quickly dissipated under the sun.

A quick thought stopped him. Looking back at the portal confirmed it; some tatters of cloth were still left there before disintegrating. Seems like most fabrics were too weak to stand the journey, so when they crossed, the humans had new clothing generated by the ambient power in the environment.

Now to figure out the laws of magic...
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 12, 2016, 10:59:33 pm
Jane looked at Nile and smiled in greeting, "Good to meet you!" It felt awkward being around so many people. Jane, now looking for a way to change the conversation, just looked on her back in confusion.
"How exactly do wings work, anyway? I mean, I've always wanted to fly, but now the I get the opportunity..."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 12, 2016, 11:01:46 pm
Heh, watch and learn.

Chip takes a few steps back from the crowd, and begins to take off, scattering the dust and sand around him. He flies up to the nearest pillar and lands again.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 12, 2016, 11:04:32 pm
Joey watched Chip playfully air-scamper up to his previous position.  "Like that.". Realizing that that really didn't teach Jane anything, he opted for his own, equally unhelpful explanation.  " You just kind of... Fly."  He took off and shouted "Try it!"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 12, 2016, 11:10:59 pm
Aurora approached the rapidly forming group which contained the fliers, her ears flicking. "Er...hiya." She waved a bit more timidly this time, though after a deep breath appeared to regain her composure. "I heard something about adventure, and that's mostly what I signed up for." She glanced to each person around, then reached up and scratched behind her ears as her triple tails swayed calmly. "I...think I know who each of you are, though I'm not totally sure about everyone..."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 12, 2016, 11:12:39 pm
Joey did an aerial somersault and landed.  "Feel free to join us.  I'm Joey, this is Chip, obviously, and then Nile and Jane.  You're Jaye, right?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: AD TienzuStorm on February 12, 2016, 11:16:59 pm
Nile stared as the Faral duo flew off. He turned back to the dragon - what was her name? He couldn't remember hearing the name of the girl in real life - and tried to help.

"Well, can you move your wings? Have you connected the feeling of moving your wings to the signals in your head? Because once you do, I imagine you would just need to flap them repeatedly until you lift off." Nile said, trying to coach with no information about flying whatsoever.

"Er.. hiya." Nile turned around. It was Jaye.

She waved a bit more timidly this time, though after a deep breath appeared to regain her composure. "I heard something about adventure, and that's mostly what I signed up for." She glanced to each person around, then reached up and scratched behind her ears as her triple tails swayed calmly. "I...think I know who each of you are, though I'm not totally sure about everyone..."

Nile gave a small smile. "Hello, I am Nile Rusus. And you are Jaye, correct?"

Ninja'd by Tim :(
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 12, 2016, 11:19:16 pm
"Well..." After another quick glance around, she returned her now ice-blue eyes to Joey. "I was. But considering that I intentionally wanted to be similar to a character I wrote...please, call me Aurora." After saying this, the vixen even managed to flash him and Nile a small smile, though with improved hearing she could even hear the rapid speed of her own heartbeat.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Aves on February 12, 2016, 11:19:40 pm
Aetius awoke to the harsh glare of the sun. Where was he? Why was it so hot here? And why was his head pounding? Blinking his eyes at the burning light, he made to stand up, staggering once as he did so. It was obscenely bright, and he had to squint to make anything out in the arid land.

On his feet, the first thing he noticed was the lack of any equipment or supplies in his vicinity. His books, his supplies, his phone-- all of it gone, all except the strange watch provided by Departure Sciences secured to his arm. The second thing he noticed was the strange black sleeve draped over his arm, extending to a cloak over the rest of his body. I don't remember putting this on... Moving to roll up the sleeve, he gave a start as his hand passed through it, his hand disappearing through what was supposed to be his arm. What? Maybe it's a side effect...

The third thing he noticed was a small group in the distance, their figures too hazy to make out clearly, his sight obstructed by swirling sand. Might as well go see who or what it is...
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 12, 2016, 11:21:25 pm
Jane could only try now. Taking a deep breath, she attempted to flap her wings. It didn't take long before he found herself a good three feet off the ground. She laughed a little. Was this what it felt like to fly?
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Jenkar on February 12, 2016, 11:38:03 pm
Yu'zsc walks slowly in the swirling portal, entering quite a bit after some others.
Nothing. Nothing to see, nothing to feel, pure emptiness.
Suddenly, light again. Now, is my body... Yep. Cloud of particles, as required. I can move them individually. Nice. Well, first goal for all  these little me's, have a shape that might be recognizable to others. And eyeballs, and ears.
After several minutes of concentration, flashes of shapes and bribes of sound coming, a part assumes a small-ish evee shape. The rest of the particles follow in, adding layers of complexity to the shape.

Uh, dragon. That is way too bulky for me.
He looks around and sees various shapes. Some stayed human, interesting. And groups are already forming. Hmph, if the killer's or the guy that was next to her that rushed there are there, we should go together... for a while. I doubt they'd be in that giant group... there's that guy who... nah, that's.. Let me check my phone. Oh. Apparently, you can't transport much save for the watch.. Shame.
Hmph, and that other guy that's sitting non-chalantly into a shrine. Yeah, let's try him.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 12, 2016, 11:56:50 pm
James noted the humanoid shadow first.

"Yu'zsc, should have figured you'd choose that form," James calls out, alerting the rest. "You don't have to worry about us, just choose a form comfortable to you."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: ProBacon on February 13, 2016, 12:24:57 am
Getting ahold of reality, Claiborne gets up seeing the others around him already forming parties to travel. Seeing as how no one took him up on his offer, he decided that no one wanted to travel with him. Being a moral blow Claiborne had to keep his head high. Then he looked down at his hand to notice a faint cyanish glow. "What the heck?" He thought to him self. But another thought raced into his head. He quickly pulled out his deck of cards from his pocket. He pulled out the Jack of Spades (his personal favorite card). He looked at his glowing hand and then back at the card. Slowly he touched the card with his glowing hand and a small poof came from the hand holding the Jack. "Hello there Claiborne," said a voice from near him, "my name is Jack." Claiborne stunned looked down at the animated card now in his hand TALKING to him. Instead of beeing creeped out Claiborne saw this as a gift from god. He is now not alone. He is now happy. "This, this is gonna be [bad word] awesome he told Jack." He put Jack in his blazer's inner pocket and put the rest of the deck into his pants pocket.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 13, 2016, 04:13:13 am
Shortly after all had arrived, a similar distortion hanging above the garden appeared; it hung there, apparently the means of transport back, though it would be somewhat difficult to spot unless intentionally the object of a search.

The ground shook slightly as, from the mountainous area to the east, approached a large man who (back on Earth) could have been said to herald from far to the east. Large in both height and girth, he wore simply a yellow robe with blue belt and trimming, which covered only below his thick, round stomach. It might also be noted that, aside from a neatly kept moustache which led into a short goatee, he appeared to be hairless. He approached the newly-minted elementals and spoke in a deep, resounding voice, also of unusual loudness. "You've come. Welcome to the elemental realm. I am Virtual Assistant, but please," he added with a slight smile, "Call me the Oracle. Everyone does."

The Oracle looked back the way he'd come down the mountain, then entered the shrine, shooing the seated young man out of his throne. Once the wise man had himself sat, he addressed the group again after beckoning them into the shrine. "In brief, I was once only a simulation, made by Departure, given a form, and sent to the past of this realm to make preparations for your arrival. I now advise those elementals who seek counsel, though they do not know my origin nor would they understand it as you would...and, as counsel to you, will tell you enough to begin your adventure."

And he spoke, at least for several minutes, about enough to begin to understand magic. That it could be best understood as a shortcut to more quickly achieve the physically arduous, or even otherwise impossible, and would proportionally cause exhaustion based on the magnitude and distance of the task. That the latent energy of the elements existed all around but that the individual was often best accustomed to one or two types. That with certain equipment or in certain locales it would be easier to use a particular element to supplement magic and either perform greater works or use less energy in the process. That there were certain creatures associated with each element, which could be called upon and often - to each elemental their own way - were kept close at hand to keep low the exhaustion of summoning. As he said this, he rose and briefly touched the wrists...no, watches of each present, and informed all that the watches were a way already gifted them to keep close those creatures, artifacts, and treasures. Finally, that the uses of magic, manipulating one's native element or elements (and with less ease being able to somewhat use the others), were largely limited only by strength and imagination.

The Oracle was about to answer a predictable flood of questions when his attention was suddenly taken by the garden, to which he hastened. The distortion which signified the channel back to Earth was flashing several colors...absolutely none of which really corresponded to an element. Neon green, steely blue, dark blood red among others. Then it began sparking short arcs of lightning, emitting brief bursts of flame, and eventually erupted into a searing flash of light which was almost immediately ended after leaving scorch marks on only the two nearest pillars of the shrine. Then it appeared as though there was a sudden wind, judging by the plants in the garden...but on another look, really all the plants were being pulled inwards towards the rift. Grunting, the Oracle stood his ground, even as a bright green stream whipped between him and the rift...and then it was over, and he stumbled backwards, panting for breath as he leaned against one of the scorched pillars. There was no sign of the portal, and he didn't look like he was in particularly good shape either. "...it's...gone..." was all he managed between breaths.

[That was exciting. I maintain sole discretion for the Oracle. We'll be getting our central storyline shortly after a few reactions.]
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 13, 2016, 04:23:04 am
"Stay calm. We have our watches."

For the first time, James taps his watch, and the easy interface shows no link back to Departure Science.

"Unconnected, but I doubt there's no way home. While we're here, we should complete the project, and then think about getting home. We have only been here for a short amount of time, so the desire to return is rather small."

As James speaks, he pulls up the map and notices the Chaos Gate located on those strange islands.

"There's another portal in this land, but I doubt it leads back home. It's worth a shot in case of emergency, though I hope we won't have occasion to use it. It is the Chaos Gate, southeast of us.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: ProBacon on February 13, 2016, 04:32:39 am
"Fan-fucking-tastic.... We haven't been more 10 minutes and something already went horribly wrong. Gosh, now what do we do? Any ideas? I'm all ears." As Claiborne expresses his feelings with the rest of the group, he realizes that he should take it back a but for the last thing he needs now is angered and confused people going against him.
"Sorry, I'm not a fan of bad things happening that could result in our deaths." He explains trying to apologize for his unneeded outburst.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Naesala on February 13, 2016, 04:43:24 am
The anthropomorphic skunk slowly gravitated towards James in his lizard form, listening to the oracle as he appeared and listening to all he had to say. he was worried, but managed to maintain her quieter disposition around everyone as he spoke. Cut off. That was...terrifying.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 13, 2016, 04:57:05 am
Joey listened intently to the Oracle, who was already endeared in head head as the "Fat Man," absorbing his every word.  He still wasn't quite sure he understood, but what he did know was that he had magic.  This reality was all that he ever could have hoped for in that it gave him the power of flight, and more in that he now had fucking magic.

Before the Fat Man could answer his or anyone else's questions, a catastrophe of cataclysmic capacity struck.  The portal...Imploded...or something.  Joey just gaped at it.  After the event had passed he whispered, "What the hell just happened?" then urgency for answers grew inside of him and he shouted, "What the flying fuck just happened?!"  Joey regained his composure very quickly, and the urgency passed as quickly as it had come.  Not that it was even urgency....More like....Shock.  After all, if he was trapped there, that was a good thing right?  Joey made sure to convey his now relaxed state to the others and turned to address the Oracle.  "So....We're stuck here indefinitely?  At least until Departure can reestablish connection?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: AD TienzuStorm on February 13, 2016, 05:12:40 am
Nile listened intently to the Oracle's speech. After a particularly enlightening section about how to summon up the magic from inside, he tested it. He lifted his arm and could feel a slight time dilation circling in the area around his hand. As a gust of wind blew by, he could clearly see a bubble of space where time was moving slowly and all the grains of sand that accompanied the breeze sluggishly floated in comparison to the brisk pace of the rest of the grainy material.

However, while he started to try and increase the area of the time dilation, a commotion started over by the portal that had appeared overhead.

After the horrifying event of the portal malfunctioning, Nile froze. That was the return portal. Was that the only one? Nile tapped his watch. There was no connection to the Departure Science Headquarters. The line was dead.

Nile sighed. America was a dangerous place indeed. Who knew how long he would be stuck in this virtual desert without food or anything. And to be stuck with this group of people..

He already didn't trust most of them anyways. And he'd heard talk of a murderer when he was in the white waiting room. This was a dangerous situation. He had to be cautious.

Nile walked over to Joey, his established friend. And only one at this point. Being next to a familiar presence was comforting. But Nile kept alert. He didn't know the identity of this murderer. And no matter how carefree Joey seemed to be, there was the chance that he was plotting an assassination at this very moment. Nobody could be trusted.

Well.. maybe the cat. But the cat was sketchy too. He would keep an eye on that conniving feline.

Nile sighed. Paranoia was the worst.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 13, 2016, 05:23:20 am
Meanwhile at Departure:

Rachael Whitman, project coordinator, was looking over the shoulder of one of the staff members assigned to the project, watching readouts on a monitor. "Everyone's vitals are normal...digitization, transcription, translation, reconstruction, transformative adjustment all went fine...and they're meeting VA. Looks like it went a long way in those millennia. Should be good." So saying, she moved on, and reported to her earpiece, "All clear, Mr. Smithson."

She walked on to another staffer, who was keeping watch over signal strength and power usage. "Good...it's a bit high, but that was to be expected carrying these connections to another part of infinity." Tapping her earpiece, she noted to another subordinate, "Get someone in to increase our power cap. Especially since he's talking to them about the storage-" With the influx of more information into the watches, which effectively also served as digital storage (though it was easier to explain to the subjects as personal pocket dimensions to store things that weren't going to run off and escape the storage space), the power usage on the connection spiked and stayed higher than the models had predicted.  "Increase the cap immediately." Spinning around, Rachael looked through the one-way window to the portal. The gems here were also cycling through unnatural colors as the grasp on transdimensional connectivity began fraying under an unexpected strain...and the holders for the gems glowed brighter and brighter from the heat.

Then they shattered. The gems fragmented into millions of tiny crystalline shards. Rachael just gasped...and gaped. This was beyond bad; those gems were selected and cut to nanometric specifications to determine the precise coordinates for each of the seven dimensions being translated across. And if Mr. Smithson had already rerolled the Science Dice to determine the next experiment...those specifications were gone. All communication with the subjects was dead, and stayed that way even after power was restored about a minute later. Tapping her earpiece hurriedly, she breathily said, "Mr. Smithson..."

"I know, Whitman. I saw." And to her terror, a regiment of Escort-Bots entered the lab. "It'll be your team's responsibility to fix. But there's no reason to let a little mishap like this get in the way of science." One by one, the robots mechanically caught the team members as they attempted to flee, efficiently reducing each to unconsciousness without injury, asphyxiating each in turn. She was last to have the room fade before her, but perhaps to her credit she stood her ground.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

When she awoke, she saw that she was surrounded by sleeping animals of various kinds...or rather, that she and all of them were surrounding a pile of what appeared to be multicolored dust. After gaining awareness, she figured out quickly enough that, by whatever process Dave had dreamed up, she wasn't human either. Raccoon, maybe? Smithson himself entered the room, though clearly was separated from them by a durable yet semi-transparent wall. His voice was also audible enough when he spoke, as the rest of what had been her team awoke. "They say that you're among the best scavengers and hoarders of the wild world. Not a fragment of the gems which got out of your control is missing from that pile. We've given you certain enhancements, and we ensure you're nourished...and you come up with communication methods and fix these stones. Welcome to Project 9067."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Linkcat on February 13, 2016, 12:47:32 pm
Judging by his surroundings, it seemed to Sky that he was sitting in the center of a shrine in the center of the world. Excellent. He was eager to begin exploring. The whole world felt alive, and he was connected to it. He took stock of the others as more crossed over.

[Insert thoughts here, it's 4 am.]

A large Asian man approached the shrine, and he looked as if he would crush Sky with his weight if he didn't get out of his seat. Not particularly interested in taking up the life of a pancake, he vacated the chair. The man who called himself the Oracle beckoned everyone into the shrine, and Sky stood next to Z and Yu'zsc as he listened intently to the explanation. As soon as the Oracle finished, he ran over to the rift, which proceeded to collapse in an exceedingly spectacular fashion. Well, that certainly makes things interesting.

"I never really liked Kansas anyway."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 13, 2016, 12:51:14 pm
Jane, now  curious to see what just happened, looked around. She decided to stay close to Joey and Chip, seeing as se had no idea what else to do.
"Now what?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Jenkar on February 13, 2016, 01:34:29 pm
Yu'zsc looked at the reptilian figure, figuring out that  this was most likely James. Hmm.
Before he could answer, a giant figure appeared, and moved to the garden. Since he was already headed there, he finished his small trip, sitting next to Sky, listening calmly to the explanations. Hmm, magic associated with my elements is easier.. interesting.
As he was mulling over this, he saw the polar's destruction. The colours, so out of place, so... powerful. Entrancing, even after the portal disappeared.
Eventually, he turned his head and saw his two prospective companions next to him. "Still interested in going to the forest? I have quite a bunch of stuff i want to do before trying to understand what happened, and going back home. Also, maybe we should check on the oracle guy, he doesn't seem to be doing well.."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 13, 2016, 04:24:59 pm
Aurora stood, listening intently to their counselor once he had arrived. Too, the kitsune mused, 'Good thing I can hear better...' She even flared her tails slightly at one point, trying to reach the latent power she could sense...though whether she was apparently attuned to magic from being a magic user (which was both cool and scary to think about) or from being a kitsune (who, to her understanding, were naturally perceptive of this) she honestly wasn't sure. She stiffened slightly as the Oracle approached and tapped her watch, but relaxed immediately after, glancing to the device on her wrist and wondering what other strange powers it held...

Once he had concluded, Aurora was among the first to raise a hand-paw to question further, but it appeared that he had become distracted; she followed him out to the garden and witnessed a spectacular and catastrophic failure, having to dive out of the way when he stumbled back. 'It's gone?' A look to above the plants, even when squinting, did indicate that the rift wasn't there. To be completely honest, her feelings about this were mixed (in addition to the shadowy burden of not having much experience as...well, herself); for now, hope for the future and concern for the injured-looking Oracle took over. She approached him, along with another (though shadier) vulpine-like participant whom she didn't immediately recognize.

The Oracle coughed a few times, staggering to his feet and closing his eyes. ". . ." He was silent for a bit. "...I'll be fine. However...with this tampering that has gone on, there is a distinct problem with the realm and a rather critical error with my memory...I cannot be of as much help as I would like." He continued, addressing anyone in the groups who would listen, though every word appeared to cost him dearly: "...this is one of 13 Pillars of the realm...there are 12 Shards, each among its element's greatest treasures...given only with confidence by an elemental ruler, expected to pass back through my hands...retrieve the Shards for this Pillar of balance...please, do so before the repercussions of what happened here become uncontrollable..." So saying, he made his way back to his throne...retrieving a slowly rotating wheel from behind it, he peered into it, occasionally spinning it, muttering to himself and attempting to put his own mind back in order...
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 13, 2016, 04:42:30 pm
Joey was aware of Jane and Nile both gravitating toward him.  This would be a good time for him to take up a leadership role if he wanted it.  He wasn't sure he did, but the people needed some direction.

"You heard the man.  Twelve Shards, we need them.  How we'd convince these 'elemental masters' to hand them over I'm not so sure, but we've got to try, right?  I'm sure at least some of us want to go home."
Are we included in that?

He raised his voice for all to hear.  "What I propose is this:  Chip, Jane, Nile, Aurora and myself go west and gather the Shards from the kingdoms of Fire, Gravity, Water, Air, Aether and Earth, in that order.  The Kingdoms of Light, Life, Time, Darkness, Entropy, Darkness and the other one are left to the others in whatever splits they want.  We have nearly enough people to cover all elements with one person, so as long as a group intends to cover at least as many kingdoms as they have people, all should go fine."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 13, 2016, 04:49:54 pm
Jane, hearing her name, simply perked up.
"Groups?" She was confused now. Walking over to Joey, she whispered in his ear.
*Whisper*
"What's the deal with groups?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 13, 2016, 04:52:38 pm
Not knowing why Jane was whispering, Joey merely lowered his voice slightly.  "It's just more efficient that way."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 13, 2016, 04:55:04 pm
"Claibourne should group with you four, his destination is Etheria. Mivlya and I will be heading north, to the Kingdom of Light and the frozen north, so we'll take care of the Shard of Water if we find it there. We will also pass through the Desert of Time, so we may search there. Yu'zsc, you and your group were planning on heading to the Forest of Life. You could take a small detour through the Marshes to see if you can find the Shard of Death, too."

James remains silent for a moment, and then continues.

"The Shard of Darkness and Shard of Chaos appear to be the most difficult to attain. I propose we leave the Shard of Chaos for the last, as the gate is there and could have unpredictable effects on us."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 13, 2016, 04:56:38 pm
Jane just sighed. She didn't feel comfortable with such big groups. But she couldn't complain, if this was the only way to get home, she'd just have to go with it...
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Jenkar on February 13, 2016, 05:03:28 pm
"Hmm, I wonder what the repercussions he spoke off would be..
We have to take into account that we know little about this land, its cultures, ect. Danger probably awaits us along the way. I'd be extremely wary of going into the dead marshes or the chaos triad (you're right about the gate) until we've got a better hold of our respective magics..
I'd suggest going north, as there's an oasis - where might meet a tolerable amount of people - going through the desert or the volcano sounds dangerous, and the mountains or a kingdom might not be the most welcoming environment to total foreigners to these lands. There we'd be able to learn more about the world, i'd think. And that will be valuable in... persuading the leaders to hand the shards to us."
As Yu'zsc finishes his last sentence, the particles of his body ripple slightly. Still not perfectly under control, and a lot more... primal than what he expected.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 13, 2016, 05:08:10 pm
Izabelle stood listening, leaning back against one of the pillars of the shrine. Now that they were out of the facility, she felt free to twirl her knife in her hand like she was used to doing in situations she wasn't comfortable with. She glanced back and forth between the others as they debated about alliances, though she had no desire to voice her opinion. Her gaze lingered on Sky for a moment too long, and she felt a blush spread across her cheeks. She quickly looked down at the ground, brutally embarrassed. Stupid... no emotions, remember?
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 13, 2016, 05:20:03 pm
James notices the killer hanging by the pole, a little distanced from the fractured crowd. She is staring at the ground, for lack of better place to look, and her cheeks are tinged red.

Ah.

Quietly slipping away from the discussion, James leans on the other side of the pillar.

"I know what you are. My question is, am I able to hire you if I should require?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 13, 2016, 05:31:54 pm
Izabelle jumped a little. She hadn't realized there was anyone close to her. Idiot. You should've noticed James wasn't among the other people. She turned to look at him, though the look in her eyes wasn't exactly a nice one. "Hire me? You better have some good reason for asking."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 13, 2016, 05:45:04 pm
The area shakes slightly as a distortion flashes into existence above the garden area. Homeward bound, perhaps?

...unfortunately, after depositing another figure in the garden it blinks back out. Not completely human, but perhaps part...elf, if the descriptions in the stories were to be believed. A similar rift on Earth had claimed him and brought him here, an early sign of the instability about which the Oracle warned. Aurora, noting the disturbance, waves to the figure and waits to see if he's conscious.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 13, 2016, 05:47:52 pm
"Of course. These shards, it would be all too easy to collect one and bury it where it cannot be found, denying passage home. If there is anyone who tries this... Well, your services would be requested then."

James looked at the hard eyes of the mercenary? Assassin? And watched as they flitted across the group, deciphering what he said.

"That is it."

James quietly returns to the main crowd, standing next to Mivlya, and they shift back as the air tears in half, depositing a humanoid figure before neatly stitching itself up. James watches as Aurora attracts its attention, but remains guarded in case it is hostile.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 13, 2016, 05:50:42 pm
Jane, seeing this humanoid figure too, was getting a little creeped out by the distortion. She tapped on Joey's shoulder.
"Can we uh, go soon?" As far as Jane was concerned, she just wanted to do what they needed to do.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 13, 2016, 06:04:39 pm
Izabelle scowled at James as he walked away. Does anyone here even see me as a human, or am I just a weapon to them? She sat down, back against the pillar. When the being fell, Izabelle ran over, knife in her hand. Even if they didn't appreciate her, Izabelle would do her best to protect them.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 13, 2016, 07:09:00 pm
Jane wanted to get out of here, and Joey couldn't blame her.  "One moment, Dragon."

Get Aurora and let's get going.  With Claiborne, Jane, Nile and Aurora things are getting a bit crowded.  I'd say I'd hope to ditch Claiborne, but he has my favorite vice.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Jenkar on February 13, 2016, 07:32:51 pm
Yu'zsc glides a little bit out of the way to let the being fall besides him. He looks at him curiously, before remarking Izabelle rushing with her knife. He immediately sidesteps and loses all form in surprise, returning to a cloud for a second, before composing an eye again.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Naesala on February 13, 2016, 09:04:25 pm
Briefly smiles as James and one of the others begin to bark commands. Leaders already, it would make things much easier. And it seemed that her original plan was still intact, very fortunate. The skunk watched as her companion walked off to speak with one of the other girls hanging out near the edge before returning to ber side. In a whisper, she asked "what was that about?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 13, 2016, 09:08:46 pm
"Buisness matters. Nothing to worry about. Should we start heading off?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 13, 2016, 09:11:16 pm
Chip pounces over to Aurora, and gently headbutts her leg a few times, attempting to get her attention.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Naesala on February 13, 2016, 09:39:26 pm
Mivlya stared at him blankly for a few long moments, then nodded. "Right. Let's go. North, then."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Linkcat on February 13, 2016, 09:45:37 pm
Sky started to answer Yu'zsc's question, curious as to how he was able to talk, but Z was already walking away. "I'd be glad to have you along, but I'll have to check with Z first. I agree on seeing the Oracle before we head out." Sky listened as the others tried to make plans. He ignored the bird and the lizard, but Yu'zsc brought up a good point about the repercussions. "We'll have to talk to the Oracle to find out more about that." He saw the lizard stalk up to Z, but unfortunately his hearing could only be improved so much without his ears becoming inhuman, and he couldn't make out the words. She didn't seem to be happy about it though. He turned back around as another rift appeared and dropped a new face into the garden. "Or not." Maybe it was worth getting these shards after all. Z hurried over holding her knife, and Sky stood between his potential traveling companions, one of which had reverted to a cloud of darkness with an eye poking out. Spooky. "So, Forest of Life sound good? Don't go inviting anyone else though, three's already a crowd."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 13, 2016, 09:50:11 pm
The Oracle, looking around, managed to bring up one more semi-clear point. "While this is a... Searching for words, he paused. "...quest, for lack of a better term, I ask you not to rush. There will doubtless be others on this task as well once the impacts become noticeable. You're not liable to get much done with haste, other than in the desert...so make the most of the moment. Take your time, make your experience. I'll do what is possible to remain in contact, though that is currently not much." Then his attention returned to his wheel, attempting to repair corrupted memory and restore capacity.

Aurora glances down to Chip and gently scritches between his ears. "Oh, hey Chip. What do you need?"

[Consider the shard quest optional. While it's the method of getting home which currently seems most likely to function, this RP was never meant for that to be the mandated plot. Going forward, with our situation established as 'apparently stuck', remember that the lore and the direction of the story is up to anyone who wants to write it.]
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Jenkar on February 13, 2016, 10:03:43 pm
Yu'zsc, after a few more moments of concentration, forms up into a human-shaped cloud.
"Hmph, keeping shape is... harder than I thought. I think the Oracle is done for now, seems he is... repairing? Something. Small group sounds fine with me."
His attention returns towards Z. "Z, you ok? You rushing knife first is quite scary..". He then casts a glance at the humanoid at their feet.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 13, 2016, 10:46:24 pm
Izabelle looked over at Yu'zsc momentarily, keeping most of her focus on the humanoid at their feet. "I don't want any of you to get hurt." She murmured, though it sounded ridiculous considering what she did for a living.  She put her knife away and turned towards Sky, obviously irritated with herself for acting so... not herself.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Linkcat on February 13, 2016, 11:05:33 pm
Sky flashed her a smile as he whipped out a long hunting knife. "I assure you that I can take care of myself, and I can't imagine Yu'zsc can be hurt easily." He flipped the knife over in the air and re-sheathed it with a reversed grip. It had taken him a long time to learn how to do that, and a few cut fingers. Totally worth it.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Jenkar on February 13, 2016, 11:14:32 pm
"Haha, that's good to know."
He then looks over at Sky : "Yeah, maybe, though i'm not too sure i want to try it out if it can be avoided. Shall we get going, then?
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 13, 2016, 11:22:40 pm
Izabelle smirked and nodded. "I just don't understand why I feel like I have to protect everybody. I mean, I kill people every day, and for some reason the thought of any of you dying pains me..." She sighed softly and looked down at the ground.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Linkcat on February 13, 2016, 11:32:19 pm
Sky laughed and put his hand on her shoulder. "I've never seen anyone look so down at the thought of not wanting people to die. Ready to go?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 13, 2016, 11:38:25 pm
Chip bounces back over to the group that was heading to the west, seemingly to try and get Aurora to follow him.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 13, 2016, 11:41:46 pm
Izabelle chewed on the inside of her lip and nodded. "Let's go"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 13, 2016, 11:48:14 pm
After another glance around, including to the fallen elf-like man who hadn't yet risen, Aurora gave the distracted Oracle a wave then followed Chip towards the others, tails swishing softly.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Jenkar on February 13, 2016, 11:51:04 pm
Yu'zsc chuckles softly at the small emotion burst, then quickly falls back to practical matters.
"So, shall we take the route i proposed, through the oasis?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 13, 2016, 11:51:55 pm
Jane was relieved. Now they could get going, finally.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Linkcat on February 13, 2016, 11:55:27 pm
Sky glanced at the map again. "Looks good. Lead the way."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: AD TienzuStorm on February 14, 2016, 12:03:02 am
Nile stared at the elf human, then at the group starting to leave, then back at the elf man. Nile ran up and faced in front of them.

"What should we do with the elf humanoid over there that just fell out of the sky? We can't just leave him there in the middle of a desert with a fat old Asian man, that's cruel and unusual punishment. And I remember reading something about that being illegal here."

Nile stopped, then thought about what he'd just said. No incentive to do what he said. Nile cleared his throat and spoke again.

"Come on, he might have some information, what with him somehow getting into this dimension even after the portal seemingly imploded and would arguably be less than ideal for transporting living things. We might not even have to go grab the shards." Nile paused, then added in another line. "And with that extra time, we could do what we really wanted to do."

That was a seller. At least, he hoped. He wasn't quite sure himself as to why he was so concerned for the wellbeing of this elf thing. Was there such thing as being too benevolent? Was he being overly nice? That comes off as suspicious doesn't it?

Nile groans inwardly. He made himself suspicious. In a group of people with an unknown killer. That'll make people trust him for sure.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: ProBacon on February 14, 2016, 12:04:50 am
Claiborne over heard some one, who he thinks was James, give a suggestion for him to travel with the group of four. Seeing as how his only true ally at this point is Jake, he walked over to who he saw was the "leader". He slowly walked over to Joey and asked: "Hey, Joey was it? Can I travel with you guys, just until I get to where I'm going?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Jenkar on February 14, 2016, 12:21:35 am
Yu'zsc starts gliding forward, until he hears Nile's altercation.
"Well, a group could carry him till he wakes up! Looks like he def' could fit on the dragon." he shouts, then looking at his two companions.
A small sigh. Are we never going to get going exploring?
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Linkcat on February 14, 2016, 12:40:11 am
With a last glance at the fallen body, Sky followed after Yu'zsc, with Z at his side. "So what did the lizard want?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 14, 2016, 12:43:51 am
Joey was getting ready to slip away when Claiborne approached.  He was glad really, he would've felt guilty for leaving the man behind, but he also wanted to get going.  The six of them: Joey, Jane, Chip, Nile, Aurora and Claiborne departed on their journey.

As Joey explained the plan, the air grew warmer and the ground steeper.  "Right now we're heading up the slope of this volcano that will hopefully not explode and kill us all.  That would be unpleasant.  I imagine at the top there will lie the center of the kingdom of fire, and thus our shard.  But he Shard of Fire is only the first step, we've five more.  It's really a question of which order we go in.  Either we go clockwise or counterclockwise.  Either has its hazards, and I personally have no preference."

Joey turned to the last to join the group.  "Claiborne, would you rather reach your destination sooner or later?"

[I imagine this will be the part where we start spoilering with kingdom labels for organization?]
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 14, 2016, 12:52:34 am
Jane shuddered at the thought of this volcano. Part of her didn't want to go in, but part of her knew it may be there. She decided to keep quiet and just follow Joey
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 14, 2016, 12:52:51 am
Oracle Shrine
"Yeah. Wonder about the new one, but I'm sure the Oracle can take care of him. Let's move.

James looked up, located the sun, and started walking north through the shrine and out the back. It was going to be a long way to the Kingdom of Light.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: AD TienzuStorm on February 14, 2016, 01:18:17 am
Magma Mountain
Nile stared at Joey as he explained his hunch about the Shard of Bravery. Risky, but plausible. Nile nodded in agreement.

As Joey asked Claiborne about his destination and what order they should collect the shards, Nile piped up after examining his watch.

"I'd say that going around to the Kingdom of Light first would be safest. A kingdom implies intelligent beings, and while Aether as an element does also indicate intelligence, it also brings arrogance and haughtiness. Light is benevolent, we'll be more likely to be able to be accepted in there. And if we're friendly with at least one element, we'll be able to gain some much needed knowledge about this place."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: ProBacon on February 14, 2016, 01:35:40 am
"Claiborne, would you rather reach your destination sooner or later?" Joey asked. Claiborne had been silent since they started to walk. He responded: "As long as I get to where I'm going, I don't care how long it takes. Plus it's not like we are leaving anytime soon."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 14, 2016, 01:44:38 am
Magma Mountains
Joey stopped.  "Nile, we're not going to the Kingdom of Light, one of the other groups already has that covered.  If it's a structured society you're looking for, I bet you Gravity'd have that down pretty well.  But we already have to pass through this area to get there.  We may as well make it a trip to the summit and give it a check.  No use backtracking, right?"  Joey turned away from his friend and continued up the slope.  He felt a bit bad for shooting down the idea, but in order to be as efficient as possible, they had to take risks.  And risks included going in blind at times.  Besides, risks were unpredictable and chaotic.  What could possibly go wrong?
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: dawn to dusk on February 14, 2016, 02:28:00 am
"Mmf" Eldrick groaned as he tried to get up. He was slightly unsure of why his body felt so heavy, though he managed to get up. He seemed to be alone. The others had probably gone off to explore.
With no people around, Eldrick began to look around, to have an idea of if there was anyone in the vicinity.
There were 2 main groups that he could see. One heading north, another heading west. At least those were the directions as far as he could tell. He would need to catch up to one group, as they might be able to fill him in on what they were doing.
While Eldrick's vision was currently a bit blurry, probably just adjusting to the new eyesight of a half-elf, he could make out a volcano like object, which seemed to be the centre of a larger group's attention. The seemingly smaller group seemed to be heading towards... plains perhaps? Whatever it was, it was bright.

Thinking he would be safer with the larger group, he started making towards them.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 14, 2016, 02:40:00 am
Magma Mountains
Aurora, who had kept somewhat quiet, spoke up at this. "No, really...if we don't have to get the shards, like he said..." She looked to her watch and pulled up the map, looking over it. "If we go north to the Kingdom of Light, we can get around the mountains without having to try to cross, and then we're not totally in foreign territory for not having an element expert either.." Looking up, the vixen smirked slightly. "Yes, I know I'm a little biased."

Farther east, a column of fire spouted from another volcano, just visible in the distance...


Oracle Shrine
The Oracle looked up and silently wished the newcomer well, despite being equally clueless to his origins...but given that he, too, had a watch, perhaps he was also somehow brought into the broken experiment.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: AD TienzuStorm on February 14, 2016, 02:46:49 am
Magma Mountain
Nile frowned. They weren't going to the Kingdom of Light? Shame. He was planning to get some sightseeing in there. Maybe they would have tourist sights, he didn't know. So far he'd seen at least four tourist sights in Michigan, it's not like this virtual world could be that much different.

Nile was about to walk ahead in silence when he heard Aurora pipe up and defend him. Nile smiled. So it seemed like he wasn't the only one who wanted to go to the kingdom. That was reassuring.

Nile added in a blurb after Aurora finished. "Yeah, and we might also find a better map from the Kingdom. They might know the exact locations of all the shards, or the kingdoms they're in. After all, you can't expect that we'd find anything by wandering this mountain range with no clue as to where to begin. We might as well give it a shot."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Aves on February 14, 2016, 03:37:26 am
Southeastern Desert of Time
Shards.

Elementals.

Magic.

After the blearily standing through the Oracle's introduction, Aetius had powered through his disorientation, drinking in facts of the new world. Its customs and features, hazards and limitations. There was much to do; no time to waste on desert induced headaches and nausea! Conversation was something to avoid however-- the others were sure to have their own interests in mind-- and so he had begun his first test of the Oracle's explanations: avoiding the congregating groups. Focusing his will, he'd pictured the formation of a nearby sand dune... and it had worked! Nobody had paid much attention to the innocuous patch of ground up dirt in a forgotten corner, and as the others had left, off to begin their own adventures, he'd moved on as well. It was time to see what lay over the horizon!

Unfortunately, that led to his current predicament, sweaty and tired from a long day's march to the southeast-- and having poked what had appeared to be a large stick in the sand, surrounded by a pack of scorpions. He really hated deserts...
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 14, 2016, 04:01:29 am
Magma Mountains
Joey sighed.  He didn't want to be in command, but now that he was he didn't really want people questioning his leadership.  "Look.  There's a pass leading straight to the Gravity Basin that cuts around the south side of the mountain.  If we don't want to risk scaling the mountains, we take that pass.  Not only is the Basin closer, but it's equally likely to contain civilization.  On top of that, we won't have to visit a kingdom that others are already headed to.  There's no reason for us to be less efficient than we can be as a group."

Joey rubbed his temples and looked hard at his companions.  "How about this, when we get to the Gravity Basin, you two can continue north into the Kingdom of Light while we carry about out business there."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: ProBacon on February 14, 2016, 04:17:25 am
Magma Mountains
Understanding what Joey had to say, Claiborne  had actually wanted to see the top of the mountain. "Ok, I see where you are going with this Joey, but we have six people in this group. If we head in both directions with three people in two groups then we can cover more ground. If both ways have civilization then we can ask the people about anything we need to know about this place and maybe where we can get a shard or two. Not only that but we may be able to stock up on stuff we need like food and drink. If you want to do this I'll lead two others up the side of the mountain while you take the rest to the Basin. If you don't see that to be a good idea, I will respect your decision and just continue on to the Basin with the rest of you. Up to you capt'n."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 14, 2016, 04:48:08 am
Magma Mountains
Claiborne stepped forward with another idea: splitting the party.  Not something he particularly cared to do, but he couldn't really deny that it would undermine his argument of efficiency if he rejected it.  Joey was glad at least that there was someone willing to follow his orders.  He did find it a bit odd though that he was exerting superiority over a grown man after being a subordinate for his 19 years alive.

"Technically we're five people and a cat.  If we're intent in splitting the party, one person, preferably one capable of flight,"  Joey paused and took a look at Jane, "can accompany Chip and I to the summit, and you, Claiborne, can lead the others to the Basin and on to the Kingdom of Light as they so wish.  Supplies as food and water aren't required; these aren't our real bodies.  We can remain sustained indefinitely."

Joey assessed his troops, looking at each of them long and hard.  "Anyone opposed?"
When did I turn into a cold, determined general?  At least with Jane we can travel easier, unhindered by those bound to the ground.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: AD TienzuStorm on February 14, 2016, 04:58:38 am
Magma Mountain

Nile quickly analyzed what Joey had just suggested. Two choices.

But he clearly had much better odds in a group of six, all friendly and not likely to be a murderer, compared to a duo with a kitsune that seemed rather timid and somewhat cowardly. Especially if that duo was going to be in the same place as the other group. Somehow Nile had missed that in Joey's plan, Nile hadn't realized that the suspicious people would also be in the kingdom. That changed a lot of things.

But as Nile was about to concede to Joey's point, Claiborne suggested splitting into groups of three. Interesting.

As Joey divided the group into what appeared to be airborne vs grounded, he stared at each of them. "Anyone opposed?"

Nile looked down as he felt the stare bore into the top of his head. The air was far tenser than he had anticipated.

Nile shook his head. "I think everybody is fine with the arrangements, lets get a move on."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 14, 2016, 05:26:11 am
Magma Mountain

Chip pauses for a moment, then decides now is a good time to get airborne. He takes a few steps away from the group, and begins to flap his wings, sending himself airborne after a bit. He begins to slowly circle the group, as if he were a buzzard.

Gonna getcha...

Chip muses to himself, slowly rising and falling as he waits for the conversation to draw to a close.

Don't know how you can be that cold when we're in the Fire kingdom, but whatever suits your fancy.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Naesala on February 14, 2016, 06:00:28 am
On the Way to the Kingdom of Light

Mivlya began to walk northwards, along with her scaled companion. Noone else seemed to be following them, at least that she noticed, not even the other girl that James had spoken with. Which was all well and good as far as Mivlya was concerned, James seemed to be the only one who really knew what he was doing. He was someone she felt she could rely on if worse came to worse.

Casually, she practiced with her magic. With her left hand, she conjured small wells of gravity, making light or heavy various objects along side the path. With her other she healed tiny cuts she made in her arm, and later illuminated the ground in front of them when the process became annoying. "So, why a lizard?" she asked absently as she walked.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 14, 2016, 06:21:54 am
:fire Magma Mountains

"I suppose that's that, then, at least for now..." Aurora glanced around. "Would be nice if we could keep in touch. They said there were no satellites connecting things, though..." After a moment of silence, she looked to her watch and started tapping. "You know what, to heck with that. I don't want to lose contact with any of you, I trust you more than the others. Just because the technology doesn't exist doesn't mean the principles don't. There must be a way..."

So saying, she searched the watch, attempting to make sense of its functionalities - but was interrupted when her sense of magic indicated some...disturbance behind her. Turning, she saw someone watching from a short distance, the guy who had randomly fallen into their midst earlier... '...and he has a watch too?' After a moment's hesitation, she waved him over, counting on the others to talk to him, then kept looking through the complicated piece of machinery on her wrist. Murmuring, "Please bear with me..." Aurora went through her silver-gold interface rapidly, making quick, precise clicks and taps with her claws - a familiarity born both of experience with somewhat similar systems and the giving of her motions over to her instincts. 'I think I can make this work...if I bypass that...' More taps, as she was clearly absorbed in her work at the moment.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 14, 2016, 08:06:30 am
:underworld No Man's Land to the Kingdom of Light :underworld

"I'm not quite sure myself. I figured that if I would be nonhuman, then I would pick the one that I feel closest to, in particular snakes. While snake bodies might be hard to move and not exactly useful, this dragonoid form is strong and deadly. Plus, it came with a natural enhancement."

To demonstrate, James just breathes with a purpose, and a flurry of mist forms, with a subtle frosting of ice on the ground.

They had been walking for an hour or so, north but no other purpose in mind. The sun had dipped, fading a little towards sunset.

"How's your stamina?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Naesala on February 14, 2016, 08:12:12 am
:underworld No Man's Land to the Kingdom of Light :underworld

The girl simply nodded her head with understanding. "Pragmatic. Very nice."

After walking with him for awhile, she shrugged her shoulders. "I feel fine. I am, or at least, this version of me is, very fit. I should have no problem continuing until we reach the kingdom. Or sundown, whichever may come first." On a whim, she crushed several nearby stones together with her powers and faintly smiled again.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 14, 2016, 08:17:51 am
:underworld No Man's Land to the Kingdom of Light :underworld

"How do you feel about running? We would cover more distance, and until we come fully into our magic, we will have to rely mostly on physical traits. We're fortunate that it's only the two of us."

James shifted. It'd be nice to run, but when darkness fell, he could practice his own magic too. And if what the Oracle said was true, then perhaps exhausting himself wasn't the best idea. Either way, he'd spend some pent up energy, so it didn't matter particularly to him how he did it.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Naesala on February 14, 2016, 08:28:16 am
:underworld No Man's Land to the Kingdom of Light :underworld

"Running seems like sweaty, exhausting business. But...I would not be opposed, if it is what you would prefer to do." Her tail swayed softly behind her, waiting for an answer before she picked up speed. Curious, she considered lowering her own weight with her powers to make the run easier. Or, perhaps, she could even make herself weightless and use gravity wells to pull herself along in a pseudo-flying manner.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 14, 2016, 08:32:56 am
:underworld No Man's Land to the Kingdom of Light :underworld

"I would definitely prefer to exercise," and James set off at a steady jog, slowly picking up speed until both of them looked like silhouettes running against a fading sun.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 15, 2016, 01:31:51 am
Magma Mountain

Jane just nodded in agreement, flying after chip in a flurry of pink wings and a tail.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 15, 2016, 05:09:25 am
Izabelle walked silently next to Sky, deep in thought. When she realized he was talking to her, she glanced up at him. "Sorry, what was that? I wasn't listening.." She looked down at the ground and chewed on the inside of her lip.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 15, 2016, 05:24:58 am
:fire Magma Mountains :fire

Joey was caught off guard as Jane lifted off and flew away.  He waved a quick greeting to the elf behind the group and told the others "Apparently we're going.  We'll meet back up with you guys in the Basin."

Joey walked briskly to meet the elf.  "I'm Joey.  That pink dragon flying away is Jane, and the cat is Chip.  Aurora, the fox creature, is setting up our watch devices to be able to communicate.  Nile is the Egyptian guy.  And Claiborne is the other one.  As soon as Aurora finishes her tinkering, I'll be flying to catch up to Jane and Chip to go to the summit of this mountain, and the rest of them will be going through a pass on their way to the Gravity Basin to find signs of civilization.  Our goal at this point is to collect twelve elemental Shards."

Joey led the newcomer to the group, hoping that Aurora would be done messing by now.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 15, 2016, 06:10:47 am
 :fire Magma Mountains

"And..." Aurora made a few final taps. "Made the most of the destroyed links to Departure that already had information capture. Should now be able to use this to broadcast and receive. Who'd have expected them to use Linux?" She glanced around, tails swishing softly. "To be honest, I'm not sure what's powering these things, and I'm not sure I want to know...but they should function as two-way radios or text messengers out to a decent distance. Not across the whole continent, but hopefully within a realm or two. In theory, at least, could send attachments too, since I assume they were monitoring us with these."

She approached Joey, reaching out her watch wrist to his and maneuvering a small connector on the side of hers into the corresponding port on the opposite side of his. After a few more taps to transmit the modified software, and maybe half a minute of waiting, she nodded and disconnected. With a soft giggle, she activated the function on her watch and whispered, "Testing, testing." And, fairly well, the sound exited the other watch. "I wasn't able to resolve apparently not being able to turn down the radio, which concerns me a bit, though I figure they probably meant to be watching us all the time...but you should be able to give it to the others similar to how I did with yours. 'Till then...take care, I guess."

Then Aurora spun again, triple fluff-tails whipping around, and faced the newcomer. "Sorry for not saying anything, I was kinda in the middle of something...it, er, looks like you have a watch too. Who're you, and...how'd you get here?" Scratching behind her head, having lost the completely confident attitude of knowing her way around her task, the kitsune looked quite clearly puzzled.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 15, 2016, 06:21:21 am
:fire Magma Mountains :fire

Joey nods.  "Thank you, Aurora."  He looked up the slope of the mountain and saw Jane a fair distance away.  He took two steps back and flipped into the air.  "I'll meet you guys in the Basin!"

It took a great deal of aerial maneuverability, but Joey managed to catch up to Jane in just a few minutes.  He was very pleased with his ability to adapt to his new mode of transportation so quickly.  He was out of breath when he tried to speak.  "You were pretty eager to get out of there, eh?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: dawn to dusk on February 15, 2016, 10:44:08 am
 :fire Magma Mountains :fire

Eldrick had seemed to understand the basic situation that he was told from... Joey? He couldn't quite remember the name... They were all told in such quick succession, he was unsure if he would remember them all straight away. It doesn't matter too much, he could figure that out later.
Upon closer inspection, there seemed to be a diverse group. Eldrick had seen a dragon, but was wondering if it was a pet or something. This question had remained unanswered, and it had seemed rude to ask at the time. As with the cat. That thing's name seemed to be easy enough to remember, at least, with it just being "Cat".

The name that seemed to be the most important to remember was Aurora, a Fox-person-thing who, until now, had been tinkering with a watch. Notably the same model as the one Eldrick himself had when he woke up. While he did toy with it a bit to see it's extents, there wasn't much to note. And with the lack of available time, he had decided that following the group had been the better option.

Now, however, Aurora had turned to Eldrick, asking for his name. The words used would have sounded incredibly defensive, if the person saying them didn't look completely clueless and innocent...
"My name is Eldrick Tareal, I arrived here through a portal. I suppose something similar happened to you...?" his voice slightly trailed off, hoping that Aurora wouldn't hear the last part. It probably sounded stupid, and the answer was probably obvious so he would just observe the upcoming events and see if anything on the matter arose.
"So umm, what were you doing to the watches?" He asked, a part of it was simply to break the glass and engage in some sort of small talk, however he was curious on what she had found out about the watches. If anything...
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: AD TienzuStorm on February 15, 2016, 03:39:55 pm
Magma Mountain

Nile watched as the Gravy Basin trio flew away, out of sight. He sighed, then turned his attention to the newcomer. It was the same elf human as before. He was talking with Aurora at the moment. Nile studied him. He seemed young, maybe not even in his twenties. Then again, Nile had never seen a half elf before, who knew if they just looked incredibly young. This guy could be 36 for all he knew.

Nile walked up curiously. "Hello, I'm Nile Rusus, pleasure to meet you. And you are..?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Jenkar on February 15, 2016, 04:19:59 pm
[On the road to Isengard,gardgardgardgard]
"You seem really troubled. If you don't mind, getting what's on your mind off it might be the best for our travels.."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 15, 2016, 05:18:01 pm
Just to keep with continuity, mind if you guys mention that dusk is coming and/or make plans for nightfall?
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Linkcat on February 16, 2016, 10:48:25 am
 :fire The Border between Magma Mountains and Desert of Time  :time

"I couldn't agree more. What are you looking at the ground for, when there are so many wonderful sights to see?" Sky gestured grandly at their rather uninspiring surroundings. "Looking to our left, we have a beautiful rocky area. Did you know there are over a hundred different types of rock? Who knows what exotic specimens we might find? And over on our right, we have something even more exciting, sand. A lot of sand. More sand than you could ever dream of wanting. And just think, no man or woman or cloud of darkness has ever laid eyes on this sand before. It's a shame we'll have to leave it all behind when we get to the Forest. Anyway, I was just asking what the lizard wanted. You didn't seem too happy about it. Is that what's bothering you, or are you still hung up on the whole 'valuing other people's lives' thing?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: ProBacon on February 16, 2016, 04:23:57 pm
Magma Mountains

Looking back at his new found group he just wants to make a few things clear, but not trying to make it in a bad way: "Ok so, for now the plan, until it goes really really wrong, is to go West around the mountain to the Gravity Basin. Once there we will gather information about our surroundings and where we might find a shard, of course that is only if there is civilization in the Basin. If not, then we look for anything that might give us a clue about a shard. After we hit the Basin we will meet with the other group in the Basin. If all goes well we don't die. Any objections?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 16, 2016, 09:12:22 pm
:fire The Border between Magma Mountains and Desert of Time :time

Izabelle shook her head. "He wanted to know if he could hire me if he needed to. Its been bothering me because it feels like most of the people here see me as a weapon, not a human." She looked around at their surroundings and a small smile worked its way onto her face. "I guess you're right, Sky. It is pretty."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 16, 2016, 11:33:24 pm
Magma Mountain

Jane looked at Joey, and sighed. She had to let him know eventually anyway.
"I'm not a huge fan of people, nor am I comfortable in such a big group as that."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 17, 2016, 05:52:10 am
 :fire Magma Mountains :fire

"Yeah that's pretty clear to see.  I can't say I blame you."  They'd been flying for a short while and Joey noticed the Sun going down.  They'd made a lot of progress in their first day in this new world.  Not the progress they thought they'd be making, but progress nonetheless.  Joey pointed to a ledge sticking flatly off the side of the mountain and suggested they rest there for the night.  After getting set up with sleeping arrangements on the rather small space, Joey got to the bit of business that they still needed to conduct.

"Let me see your watch."  Joey touched Jane for the first time and noted the relative rigidity.  He had expected them to be somewhat like a snake's:  Small and interconnected, but they were large, thick and overlapping, perfect armor for a fight.  "I just need to connect our devices for a few seconds.  Aurora wrote a program or something so we could all communicate using them.  It's transferable locally, so-"
There was no need for him to continue, the uploading process was already complete.

You getting this?  I just want to make sure Aurora's thing worked.  We didn't really get time to test it before you flew off.
Joey didn't need Jane's response to know the answer; he could see her watch light up in pink.  "So we can communicate with each other, Aurora and anyone else who has the software.  That will be useful later."

He sat back, leaning against the rock face, and Chip hopped up into his lap.  "So....About before...In the real world...What was that about?"  Joey was as glad to be away from people as she was, and even more so to be in a pair with someone who could fly.  His gladness continued to scale by the fact that he was able to have a private chat with the girl who attacked him.  Perhaps she'd be more open in private than in a crowd.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Jenkar on February 17, 2016, 04:40:26 pm
:fire The Border between Magma Mountains and Desert of Time :time

Yu'zsc smiles slightly at the mention of his form.
"Yes, the sights are nice..
If you want to get people to stop considering you as a weapon, maybe set yourself a goal, and show your own power for that goal. The more you show that, the less easy it is to disregard you as a person..
Talking about goals, do you guys have any particular reason for heading for the forest? I know you said concealment, Z, but surely that's not just it?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Naesala on February 18, 2016, 06:15:25 am
:underworld No Man's Land to the Kingdom of Light :underworld

Eventually, the two running anthros came to a stop, much closer to their destination of the Kingdom of Light. It was dusk now, soon it would be night, and Mivlya insisted that they at least try to rest in case the land was more dangerous a place at night. Eventually they found a rough circle of stones they could hide within, and Mivlya created several small balls of light around the perimeter to give the whole area a faint glow. With that she sat down on a stone and looked across at her traveling companion.

"So. Here we are."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 18, 2016, 06:21:47 pm
:underworld No Man's Land to the Kingdom of Light :underworld

Their circle of stones would have seemed romantic with the dim glow the light gave off, if not for the unison of defiance against the outside world.

"So. Here we are," Mivlya broke the silence first.

"Yeah, here we are."

Still standing, he stretched, nearly invisible against the black of the night. It was strange. He should be exhausted, tired from the running. Instead, he felt very much alive. A long exhale brought a cold wind, colder than the day.

Interesting, James thought to himself. Either his draconic form was better than he had anticipated, or something else was at play. And he suspected he knew what.

He closed his eyes, cutting off the dark glimmer visible through them, and felt. There was really no explanation for what he was doing, it was just feeling. The air, the wind, the truth hidden behind closed doors. It was alive, pulsing, a secondary heartbeat.

He reached inside, for his other heart, for the pulsing ball of deceit and arrogance. A skim with his fingertips brought a surge of power, a skipped beat. He felt, rather than saw, the light dim further, before flaring back. He was alone in a strange world, blind but he knew where everything was.

Well then.

Still in the trance state, James quickly reached inside for the other heart. He fully embraced it, the entirety of the beating creature inside him.

And vanished.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Lunaris on February 18, 2016, 09:19:20 pm
:fireThe Border between Magma Mountains and Desert of Time :time

Izabelle shrugged. "Wasn't really a reason. I was just trying to avoid as many people as possible.."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 18, 2016, 09:23:32 pm
Magma Mountain

Jane shook her head. She didn't have much else to say other than what the truth was.

"I was just looking for some fun. It was getting a little boring in there, you know."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Naesala on February 18, 2016, 10:01:13 pm
:underworld No Man's Land to the Kingdom of Light :underworld

The skunk had been absently staring off to the side somewhere, unsure of what to speak about with James. It had been a long time since she had spoken with anyone in real life outside the concepts of education and careers. But neither of those things mattered here, and not even her interest in gaming could be a subject of discussion since, well, they were living it now. So she just played with gravity wells, watching them lightly bend the light about her or lift the rocks and spin them about.

Until she realized she was alone.

And that scared her.

Mivlya jumped to her feet and readied her magic in each hand, fearfully. "J-James? Where are you? Wh-where did you go?" Her eyes welled with tears as she became increasingly frightened. Was her traveling companion dropped out of the world by a portal? Did something silently get him? Did he sneak away and abandon her? Alone. Not so frightening in a real world where she was protected by the laws. But here, she was vulnerable.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 18, 2016, 11:01:22 pm
:underworld No Man's Land to the Kingdom of Light :underworld

It hurt, holding on to whatever it was. Regardless, determination or arrogance, James did not know which, kept him holding on. He could feel it, a frantic pulse of worry, though his natural body was strangely calm. Buzzing raced through his veins, setting them alight in crashing waves of pain.

And now he was angry. Whatever this thing was, it obviously meant him harm. He began to crush it, digging his claws into it, into the squirming mess that thought it could try him, try to hide in him.

With a start, he realized that he wasn't in the stone circle. His eyes were still closed, his actual arms at his side, the one in his chest a manifestation of imagination. It was still producing results. Keeping his eyes closed, he squeezed a final time.

It exploded. It shattered. A million million things happened. The buzzing vanished in a split second, the feeling of the world around him grew so large and so detailed he had to look away, for lack of better term.

Opening his eyes, he noted he had reappeared in front of the skunk, Mivlya. But there was something wrong. She didn't react. She wasn't moving, breathing. A couple steps forward caught her in the middle of a blink.

The planet had stood still.

Taking a few steps back, James exhaled. He felt around, for traces of movement. None. He felt for his other heart. It was gone, no pulses or lack of one. It was a sudden shift in perception, the strange feeling of vertigo one gets when they realize something is inherently wrong, missing.

The ambiance around had also stilled, stilted.

It happened again, a shift in perception. Reaching out, he tugged on the strings that connected him to this place. Another start when he realized the world hadn't stood still, it had just moved slowly, impossibly slowly, clouds on calm summer day.

A desire expressed itself, the one to slow himself down to match the pace of the world occurred to him. And just like with his tail, his body made it happen.

Blue light filled the sky as a thunderbolt headed straight towards James, appearing from far over the horizon. It was interesting, noting the racing and splitting of electric light as it headed towards him, sealed his fate.

It slowly sped up, and it reached him. A power coursing through his body, to make contact with the ground. Feeling each nerve fire as the spitting lance speared him was utterly terrifying.

And James returned with the lightning and the thunder.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Naesala on February 19, 2016, 12:22:22 am
"James? James?" She continued to call out in fear, until there was a sudden crash of lightning near her. In fear, the skunk waved her hand and released a concussive wave of force in the direction, not realizing until she fired it off that the lightning had returned James to their little camp.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 19, 2016, 06:39:17 am
:fire On the slope of Mount Illegible :fire

Jane gave her reasoning for the attack, and Joey was unsatisfied.  "'It was getting boring'?  You had just arrived.  And why me?"  He sighed, the past is irrelevant.  "Nevermind, it's not important.  What do you think we'll find at the summit?"  Joey looked around for anything unusual or suspicious, and all he saw was Chip curled up next to a hot air vent.

Have you ever gone more than an hour without sleeping?
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on February 19, 2016, 07:13:40 pm
:fire Magma Mountains - Gravity Basin :gravity

"...yes, yes we also arrived through a portal. And time seems to be passing rather quickly...so we may want to get a move on?" Aurora glanced on ahead, murmuring to herself, "Maybe at some point time won't be an issue..." For now, with the three tails waving behind her, she nodded to the others and started the hike around the side of the volcano...only to be interrupted by sharp tremors which nearly threw her off-balance. "...how about we get moving right now?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Solaris on February 19, 2016, 07:15:52 pm
:fire On the slope on Mount Illegible :fire

Chip stirs awake, fanning himself with his wings

Geez, it's hot here... I've gone 1 hour and 1 minute, I think.
He springs to his feet, batting away a small ember.

I suggest we get a move on. Pronto.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 19, 2016, 08:06:25 pm
On the Slope of Mount Illegible

The ground Began to shake slightly, and embers were starting to stir in the air from the vents.  A red glow was present, serving to make everything more ominous and threatening.

If this thing blows, not even being in the air can save us.

Joey bolted upright, beads of sweat flying off of his body, from equal parts heat and stress.  "I guess resting isn't an option.  This thing is going to blow, and we need to bail."  Joey tapped his watch and started voice communication with Aurora.  "Aurora, this is Joey.  This place is about to go up in flames.  Get as far away as you can and find cover."  He looked up and the summit, and down to the base.  They were about half way up.  He watched the sun set, but it got no darker; all of the light was coming from the mountain's fiery build-up.

Joey took off, expecting the others to follow.  He wasn't really sure which direction he was headed or where he was going, but he knew that in order to survive they'd need to get far away.  They could only fly so far before the ashes and fumes caught up to them and they'd be run to ground.  Or maybe they could get high enough to avoid it.  The air would be thin and they wouldn't last long up there, so that was out.  THe only option was to fly as far and as fast as they could, and hope they ended up hear the Basin.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 19, 2016, 08:38:19 pm
Magma Mountain

Jane snapped into realization, and panicked. This thing was a ticking bomb. It would give t any moment now. She scrambled to her feet, waiting for Joey to make the first move. He looked unprotected, and the lava would burn him alive if he didn't get out with chip first.
"Let's go Joey, I don't want to stick around here and get burned alive please." she felt the uncomfortable feeling rising fast in her chest, and felt close to pushing them off.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 23, 2016, 01:32:00 am
:underworld No Man's Land to the Kingdom of Light :underworld

James had barely a moment to recover from the stunning bolt before a concussive distortion in space time swept him off his feet and blasted him across the circle.

Mivlya, James thought, dazed. He was incredibly tired, as if the desire to slow down had robbed him of all energy. Toss in an unexpected attack and all James wanted to do was sleep.

So he did.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Naesala on February 23, 2016, 05:39:05 am
:underworld No Man's Land to the Kingdom of Light :underworld

The woman yelped in surprise as she saw her traveling mate knocked aside by her burst of magic. "Shit," she whispered to herself, "shit shit shit, this is why you never made friends, Renae. Always fucking up one thing or another." As she whispered to herself she moved to the lizard's body and gently propped it up against a rock.

"Alright. Alright. This is why we requested light magic, in case someone got hurt. Focus..." She lifted her hand and, loosely aimed at James, began to channel the light into him, hoping to heal him back to health and consciousness.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 23, 2016, 05:44:32 am
:underworld No Man's Land to the Kingdom of Light :underworld

James definitely woke up, but not in the way Mivyla intended, because James woke up screaming.

His scales were sizzling and oozing, the dark green being overtaken by the oily dark red that comes from massive burns, such as the ones now covering his chest down to his stomach.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Naesala on February 23, 2016, 05:50:29 am
:underworld No Man's Land to the Kingdom of Light :underworld

"Oh shit! Shit shit shit!" Mivlya remembered now, the lizard had chosen to have darkness as one of his elements. Now not only had she knocked James out, but she had seriously scarred him as well. Her instinct was to run and hide as she heard him scream, but instead she just stood there, unsure now what to do. Healing him would just hurt more, and she didn't have any life magic. Maybe...maybe she could take him to the Forest of Life. It was in roughly the same direction they were going.

"James...? James I'm so sorry, I'm sorry. This was an accident."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 23, 2016, 06:02:07 am
:underworld No Man's Land to the Kingdom of Light :underworld

No longer being assaulted by killing light, James takes a few moments to gather his surroundings.

Damn, his front really hurt. Burns from light magic were definitely not fun, James decided.

"James...? James I'm so sorry, I'm sorry. This was an accident."

Mivlya almost kills him, after almost killing him... She really is bad luck. James says as much.

"You almost killed me after you almost killed me," finished off with a wry grin.

James sits up, immediately wincing at both the pain on the front and the sensation of having sat on his tail. That was incredibly unpleasant. He looks around for a stone to lie against, and seeing one a couple metres to his left, he pushes on the ground, hunched over, and leans against it, tail safely out of the way.

"I'll be fine, give me the night to rest. I've dealt with worse, we'll see how it is in the morning."

Neither knew that the flash of light, much like a nuclear bomb, left a toxic residue behind in James.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 23, 2016, 06:03:38 am
:fire About to die in the flames of Mount Illegible :fire

Joey led his troupe of two away from the mountain, flying desperately toward the Basin.  But they were still on the far side of the mountain, so they had to fly toward the summit to get away from it to get where they needed to be.  With Chip directly below him with just enough room to flap his feline wings and Jane just a few feet behind, they flew hard and fast, hoping to beat the explosion.  They did.  Sort of.

They were about twenty meters past the summit when it just kind of...popped.  A loud sound was accompanied by a wave of scorching heat as Joey wrapped his arms protectively around his feline friend and fell.
We're dead, aren't we? ....I hope Jane will be ok.  She's got dragon scales, hopefully that will protect her.

....I don't know about us though.

They rolled through the air and tumbled ever downward toward the ground.  By some miracle of luck or fate, Joey did not feel his body collide with the rocky terrain.  He opened his eyes and they were assaulted by the ashes and fumes.  He could see the ground first rushing up toward him, then slowing, and then stopping altogether.  He was simply floating...Or more accurately, being suspended.  That didn't last long however, as he was dragged again away from the ground, now ever upward.

So...We're now being taken away by a Crimson Dragon.  Blame Arum.  [00:48:20] ‹Arum› Maybe Chip gets eaten by a crimson dragon, so you and jane go and fight it
Anyway, feel free to save us Discord.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Naesala on February 23, 2016, 06:15:33 am
:underworld No Man's Land to the Kingdom of Light :underworld

The anthro flinched at his response, the look of guilt on her face very real. She even folded her ears back and lowered her tail in true animalistic fashion. He asked her to let him sleep, so she nodded and scurried off to the opposite side of the campsite, giving him plenty of room. Since she herself wasn't tired, and paranoia gnawed at her mind, the skunk decided to watch the camp throughout the night until the sun would rise again.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on February 23, 2016, 06:17:50 am
:underworld No Man's Land to the Kingdom of Light :underworld

Mivlya looked torn up as she hurried over to the other side of the camp. James figured he could reassure her, but he really needed to sleep. One arm cradled his stomach, the other holding the ground. One leg bent up, and finally James was comfortable, and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 23, 2016, 08:29:26 pm
Magma Mountain

Jane opened her eyes, quickly recovering from the blast. She was unharmed, thankful for her thick scales. Her eyes searched wildly for Chip and Joey. Spotting something dark below her, the big crimson body of another dragon. Though why so low made her curious. Looking closer, she noticed the small bit of Joey's wing underneath the hulking beast. She knew what she had to do.

She let out a menacing roar, alerting the dragon below, and dived down. Hopefully this thing was up for a fight!

Sorry, didn't see it before.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 23, 2016, 11:19:10 pm
I suppose I'll control the dragon until it dies/we escape.  If anyone else would like to a little bit, that's fine.  (But no killing us with it please)

:fire The Mountain that Exploded :fire

The Crimson dragon heard a screech from above and felt a forceful collision which nearly made him drop his prey.  He kept the talon of one of his feet closed tight around them and made a slash at its assailant:  Another dragon.  He tried to identify the type; it was pink was it an adolescent Amethyst Drake?  If so, it was far from where it should be.

His blind slash fell short of its target, and he shouted in rage, "Insolent fool!  You dare challenge me in my domain?!"

--

Joey held Chip tightly against his chest, as much to protect him as it was to comfort himself.  The claws of the beast, presumably a dragon, though Joey could not see it, trapped them like a cage.  An impact nearly jarred them from their prison, but Joey couldn't see what had caused it.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 23, 2016, 11:46:26 pm
Magma Mountain

The giant dragon's voice boomed over her like thunder. "Insolent fool!  You dare challenge me in my domain?!" Fool? Jane felt the fire in her stomach turn into a raging inferno. Fool? She would see who the fool was when they were done. She flew up a little higher, and dived again, hoping to loosen the dragon's grip on Joey and Chip this time.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Naesala on February 24, 2016, 12:06:30 am
:underworld No Man's Land to the Kingdom of Light :underworld

Mivlya watched James from across the camp for several hours from across the camp, thinking to herself. Confusion ran through her mind, along with guilt and, well, other thoughts that only fed the confusion. Eventually she found fit to distract herself by practicing her powers some more. She found she could pull, push, crush, explode, and repel the stones around the camp with limited trouble. Surely, if they were attacked, the skunk would be ready. Eventually, however, boredom overtook the skunk, and she too drifted off.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 25, 2016, 07:04:34 am
:fire In the Smoke-filled Skies of the Magma Mountains :fire

The pink adolescent soared up for another dive.  The crimson dragon effortlessly maneuvered to the left and watched the neon torpedo fly downward past him.  He laughed, a sound that was both choked and smooth, like the dregs at the bottom of a cup of coffee as you drink it.  "You think the same thing will work twice?  You got me by surprise the first time, but this time you're done for."  The drake fly down after his prey's would-be savior, and as he closed the distance he lett out a puff of flames.  Mostly harmless, but as Jane felt it seep into her nostrils, she felt reckless and powerful.

Crimson Dragon used Rage Potion!  It's super effective!
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 25, 2016, 11:00:01 am
Magma Mountain

Jane felt the surge of energy. She felt powerful. She looked up at the beast, it was laughing. Now he's really done it. She soared back up, roaring. A burst of something purple came from her lips. At first touch, it seemed to melt the dragon's skin. What exactly was she breathing? Was it some magical substance to use against enemies?
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on February 26, 2016, 03:16:48 am
:fire Magma Mountains :fire

The two dragons were duking it out trading blow for blow, and Joey felt completely useless.  He racked his mind for something he could do to help like his life depended on it.  And really, it did.  He tried desperately to think of something, until finally he submitted to his prison and sat calmly, concentrating.  He channeled all of his frustration and desperate emotion into creating something that could help him.  Nothing happened.  Well, not quite nothing.  A thin gas leaked out of Joey's being, though no one was aware of it.

At this point, his captor expelled and flew through a cloud of flame.  That was all it took to send the gas around Joey to oblivion.  A flash and heat.  That's all he was aware of.  He was unscathed, and he knew Chip was too, but the same could not be said for the dragon.  The trio descended toward the ground, and the talons trapping Joey loosened.  He simply hopped out and flew up to meet Jane, with Chip just behind.  "Well that was...Interesting."

Joey looked around and found that the mountain was calm again.  There was still smoke and ash in the air, but it wasn't suffocating; they could fly on to the Basin.

Silvy, PBacon, AD, Dawn, feel free to be effected by the eruption any time now so the time lapse doesn't become too great
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: ProBacon on February 26, 2016, 05:00:17 am
:fire Magma Mountains - Gravity Basin :gravity

"HOLY SHIT! Ok guys, I think, now this is just a thought, I think the volcano is erupting." Not knowing what to do Claiborne starts to rapidly think about options to keep his comrades from a awful, painful fiery death.

Use the juice Claiborne.

"Who said that?" Claiborne thought to himself looking around at the terrified group of people behind him.

Just look in your pocket and drink up.
Listening to the voice he thinks is coming from next to him, he looks around his pockets and finds a vile of liquid. Putting fear over common sense he pops off the top of the vile and drinks a few drops. Bitter to the tongue and leaving a bad aftertaste, Claiborne started to feel different. He looks up to see an ash land on his head. Normally this would hurt like hell, but it didn't. So he shouts to the others to take a drink of this liquid. They might just live after all.

Reminder to myself for the future: Jake is a card infused with the Phase Shield (well the ability to shift out of the plane it is currently on). This is how the Vile ended up in Claiborne's Pocket. This to be explained to Claiborne at a later date. Again this is just a reminder to me so I don't forget.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: AD TienzuStorm on February 26, 2016, 05:22:58 am
:fire Magma Mountains - Gravity Basin :gravity

Nile felt the shake. This volcano was definitely erupting. All the signs were there. Honestly, the odds were not in their favor were they..

He observed the rest of the group quickly.

"HOLY SHIT! Ok guys, I think, now this is just a thought, I think the volcano is erupting."

Nile stared at Claiborne as he pulled a vial out of his pocket and drank out of it. And then interestingly survive a flaming Ash Eater land on his head.

Ash Eater because please you gotta

What was in that vial? As far as Nile remembered, Claiborne was only using Aether in this world. Aether.. the vial.

Nile gasped. How did he get that? There's no way he'd managed to snag that anywhere in the real world, and there was nowhere logical that he could've gotten such a elixir in the Virtual Reality.

Suddenly, he was shaken out of his thoughts. Claiborne had shouted for the rest of the group to drink it. For such an expensive potion, he was awfully generous about it. Suspicious, but likely just good natured. Hopefully. There weren't any Death users in the group that he could've poisoned it with, were there?

Nile stood back. He would wait for others to drink first. He wasn't going to fall for a trick if there was one.

Ooh I like where this is going ProBacon ^^ Are we going to learn more about Jack? Is Jack real? Also, interesting way to incorporate that card :P
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on February 28, 2016, 01:39:29 pm
Magma Mountain

Jane watched the flash of fire the crimson beast breathed turn into a fiery explosion. What was that? Soaring over to meet up with Joey and Chip. They were unscathed. But how? Jane eyed Joey curiously.

"What was that?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on March 01, 2016, 05:41:00 am
Magma Mountains

Jane asked Joey what just happened, and he didn't really know how to answer, so he went back from the beginning.  "Well...We were flying.  The mountain exploded.  We sort of should have died.  Dragon happened.  You fought the dragon.  Dragon exploded.  The end."

Joey stared blankly at Jane, making it clear to her that he knew as little as she did.  "Should we keep flying toward the Basin?"
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: ProBacon on March 01, 2016, 09:25:47 am
Not sure if they were scared or just really REALLY stupid, but Claiborne just watched as no one ran to him to drink from the vile that might SAVE THEIR GODDAMN LIVES. Claiborne shouted, "Do you guys want to die? I think that the volcano can arrange that for you. But if you don't like to be touched by magma that will burn your everything into nothing, then I suggest you HURRY THE FUCK UP AND DRINK THIS." After speaking he decided that yelling at the group was not as productive as doing something so he runs to the group and hands the vile to the first person he sees, Nile. "Well, I suggest you drink this. Unless you like death, in which case I'll move on to someone else. Up to you."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Naesala on March 01, 2016, 10:58:53 pm
I need written out. Chances are I will be unable to return in the near future.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Arum on March 02, 2016, 12:36:37 am
Nae, should I wake up with Mivlya nowhere to be found? Allows you to decide what happened/will happen without a strict write-out.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Silver Emerald on March 05, 2016, 05:00:52 am
 :fire Magma Mountains :fire

Aurora backpedaled at the rumbling, going further out of the way...and watched up as the battle unfolded in the air, tails swishing softly, more curious than afraid.  Yet even as she thought to perhaps try to do something to help, even from this distance, the fight appeared to end almost as swiftly as it had begun.  The kitsune glanced to the others - apparently they panicked and started drinking something - then returned her view skyward. After a moment, she checked her watch and radioed Joey. "You okay?"


 :underworld No Man's Land en route to Kingdom of Light :underworld

A curious thing happened as the Mivlya slept. She began glowing softly, with her chosen tints of orange and white...then the world tore. A gaping rip joined across the air, the earth...a tear through reality which, through its invisible force, drew her in alone. Perhaps a natural phenomena of the world, perhaps a repercussion of the dimensional meddling which had brought her there. Once it had taken her, it promptly vanished, neither drawing nor accepting anything else.

-----------------

Out in the world from which she'd come, an anthropomorphic skunk was returned to her law office. What exactly she'd do going forward was a matter for another story. For the time being, though...she'd come through chaos and her life was her own again.

Farewell, Nae. May we soon reach the day when you write with us again.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Timdood3 on March 05, 2016, 06:14:59 am
:fire Magma Mountains :fire

Joey heard Aurora's staticky voice from his wrist, concerned with his well being.  He turned to look roughly where he thought the rest of the group would be, and though it was difficult to see through the smoke and ash, he could almost make out where they were.  "We're fine up here.  I'd worry more about yourselves down there.  We had to deal with the explosion.  Now it's on you guys to survive the aftermath.  We're going to continue with the plan of the three of us going to the summit and meeting the rest of you at the Basin.  Please don't die."
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Zyardran on March 06, 2016, 01:38:04 am
Magma Mountain

Jane didn't know exactly what was going on. She casted a short glance on where the crimson dragon had fallen, and glided down to investigate. Had Joey killed the thing?

Coming down to get a closer look, the sight was terrifying. It's body lay, burnt to a crisp as smoke rose up to smother her face. The smell of burnt scales and flesh made her shudder. She looked up at Joey and Chip, feeling helpless. This was a dragon, and she couldn't help but feel terrible for the poor thing. But yes, it was dead...
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: AD TienzuStorm on March 06, 2016, 01:45:31 am
:fire Magma Mountains - Gravity Basin :gravity

Nile stared back at Claiborne. This was his only chance to drink it, as of Claiborne would definitely not let him drink it after refusing the first time.

He ponder this for a moment, then suddenly noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He dived to one side and saw a bright red Ash Eater crash land directly where he was standing just moments before. This was dangerous.

He had a higher chance of survival by drinking whatever Claiborne had. Nile swiftly grabbed the vial and licked a drop of the potion.

Bitter.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: Aves on March 07, 2016, 04:29:37 am
 :underworldUnknown :underworld

Light. Wind. Pain. A high pitched noise piercing through everything-- "He's waking up! Quick, grab--" His head drops back onto a surface, and everything goes quiet. Aetius knows oblivion once more.

Sorry I've been missing, heh. Been busy with other stuff. I do plan on re-entering at some point, but for now, we can leave my character in limbo. As for where he is? Can be retconned at a later date.
Title: Re: Virtual Reality (RP)
Post by: ProBacon on March 07, 2016, 04:53:50 am
Claiborne watched as Nile took a sip of the bitter liquid. "At least someone here is worried about their life..." Knowing that the others are probably just frozen in fear and unable to move in shock, he was faced with a decision: he could A) Stay and attempt to snap the rest of them back into reality and risk the liquid's effect wearing off thus killing him or B) Leave them and convince Nile to leave them and save their own skins. This was a moral dilemma, save his life and continue the quest to leave or risk his life to save people that might not even be able to be saved. Not used to these situations Claiborne starts pacing back and forth running his hands through his dreadlocks. Claiborne has been known to have mild panic attacks when faced with major decisions. "What do we do, what do we do, what do we do? Nile... What do we do?" Trying to keep his cool Claiborne hands Nile the vile [lol that rhymes] and tells him the two options. "I'm not good with this sort of thing, I think you can make the right choice. I'm giving this to you, I will go with you no matter what choice you make. I know I'm showing some major weakness but this is just something I can't handle on my own. Sorry, but it's up to you and I will support what ever decision you make."
blarg: