goneawayworld | Babadon't Room Crawl

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Babadon't Room Crawl

[OOC: Please tag in to the assigned room. There will be at least one NPC tag to the thread per day. Remember that your characters can still use the network to communicate findings or questions to those still in the living quarters.]

Once word is out that the victim was dragged to the Rewards Lounge, the hires who’ve been cleared head are given permission to enter that rare knock-off paradise. Somewhere along the line, someone suggests splitting into groups, an idea that gets all the more appealing when they see that the Rewards Lounge has at least five suites to investigate, perhaps in case Corporate ever decided to enlist a stable of bootlickers and snitches to feed them intel on the other hires in exchange for feather beds and middle-shelf scotch.

It becomes clear that the intelligence they got was likely correct: there are streaks of black goo along to doorframe to the lobby room between all the suites.

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[ South frowns as she looks around the closet, pushing the uniforms aside with her good hand to get a proper look and see if there's anything hiding.

It's not her who notices that one of the uniforms seems to be missing. It's Delta, who projects his hologram in front of the relevant section and informs her: ]

There is an irregular number of medium-sized uniforms compared to the other sizes. It appears that one such uniform has been taken.

...huh. Okay. That's—

[ She hears Kerrigan's voice from the bathroom and picks up her own comm. just in time to catch her report in an echo. That's... ew. Monster gunk. She's glad Kerrigan called the bathroom.

When she's done, she sighs and turns her video on too. ]

Yeah, so, there's also a uniform missing. Medium, specifically.

Close examination reveals that the lock was less broken on the door than partially removed. With another pin or two, it could go back into working order without any effort at all. It's difficult to tell when it happened, but there are human fingerprints around it.

If they examine, all the other exits except for the one from the lobby to the suite - to the kitchenette, to the hallway, to the window - either lack locks or have necessary pins to the lock removed.

The goo, upon smelling it, smells faintly like some sort of rot, perhaps even a corpse.

[Setsuna's comm is already in hovermode, but she turns back to it as Kerrigan's message interrupts Kokichi's feed on her end, and gives Kokichi an only partially apologetic moue and a shrug before setting her own video feed to broadcast to all New Hires as well.]

[One wonders if this causes any sort of annoying feedback screech or if it's just the regular level of annoying that comes with all three of them being able to hear each other thrice over simultaneously within the same room.]

[She straightens, still irritable, nudging a few pieces of candy aside with her foot.]

There was a locked trunk here. ["Was", being the operative word; the feed shows nothing so much as splintered-open painted wood to either side of where candy still spills.] It's full of ... candy. Nothing but Christmas candies. I'm hoping they were put here by Jorgmund staff in advance of 'rewarding' someone and then simply forgotten about, but under the circumstances, given this creature's preferred victims ... I doubt it.

I'm going to disassemble the bed next, just in case. I don't see anything visibly concerning, but judging by what else we've found here, looks could be deceiving.

[Also, that way, she doesn't have to be looking directly at it when either South or Kerrigan opens the sack and confirms what she already fears might be inside.]

[She moves to the side of the bed, shuffling or kicking candy out of her path, and simply hauls the mattress, sheets, duvet and all, off the bedframe, flipping it as she does so it falls upside down upon the soft duvet, now-untucked sheets falling to either side of it. She leaves the feed to notice anything immediately revealed in the process to the rest of the New Hires, turning her own attention back to the frame instead in case the removal of the mattress has exposed any secrets that might lie hidden beneath.]

[Unfortunately for Kokichi, what he said is loud enough to be picked up and rebroadcast to the New Hires channel in a strange, echo-y reverb.

Kerrigan ignores Kokichi's general Kokichi-ness as she looks through the bathroom cabinets (solely on principle—she doesn't think there are likely to be any clues there), reasoning through the problem aloud.]

Right. "Santa" dumps the candy from the sack, tries to clean it out to reuse for something, gives up, and takes a uniform to change into, maybe not in that order. It didn't do the lock, at least not at the same time. It's not a rush job, and there are fingerprints. Is it that good a mimic?

[Kerrigan huffs. Not enough information.]

Hey, uh, Cure Passion [oh god why is this happening] how much would you say that candy weighs?

[ South rolls her eyes at Kokichi, but she bites her tongue rather than snap at him as she's tempted to. ]

Yeah, and the uniform's size is fuckin' important, too. If the thing's taken it to wear then whoever it's mimicking can't be someone who needs large and up. Might rule out some people.

[ South does a final sweep of the closet before figuring she's found all there is to find, then heads back out into the rest of the room. After a brief pause to blink at the mess Setsuna's made now that she's seeing it in person, she heads to check the perimeter of the room and the other doors. ]

Uh, yeah, so, looks like the other locks in here are all fucked up too.

[Setsuna's answer is immediate, and certain.] Heavy enough they'd have to be very strong to carry all of it for long without strain. It looks to be almost twenty kilograms' worth of candy, if not more.

... a little over a third of the weight of the average adult human body weight, at best.

[Don't everyone thank Cure Passion for that extremely helpful but extremely morbidly concerning fact all at once, now.]

[She frowns, invisible to the feed, as she's facing the candy, not her comm.] Does that even help us at all?

[Kerrigan knows what a kilogram is, Setsuna. And what hauling a dead body is like.]

It means the thing knew the sack would at least hold a child. It's a lot easier to explain a bag over your shoulder than an unconscious kid. It scrapped that plan when it couldn't get out the suspicious stains.

[She holds said suspicious stains up to the camera. Everybody look at the gross goo!]

The black stuff smells rotten. [Wait.] I mean literally rotten, not just bad.

[It reminds her somewhat of the zerg Creep...but she'd prefer not to think about that, and instead she addresses the people waiting in the dorms.]

We still have to search the kitchette, but is there anything you guys want us to take a second look at?

Edited 2021-01-20 00:03 (UTC)

[ South's coming to the end of a second sweep of the perimeter and doors when Kokichi pipes up again and she groans, stopping and leaning against a wall to think. ]

Right. It was other shit in-between. Almost forgot about that. Fuck, that's a good point then...

Whatever. Keep it in mind, I guess. We don't know exactly what this thing's been doing, it could have been back here multiple times. There's something fuckin' weird going on in here.

[ She shakes her head and stops addressing Kokichi, calling to the others: ]

I'll take point with the kitchenette if you're waiting on other or looking at other shit.

There aren't any objects in the bed, but there is a streak of black goo.

In the kitchenette, which connects to the mini bar, is a small fridge, a coffee machine, a sink, a trash can, and cupboards and cabinets - and the same smell of rot as the black goo. The sponge by the sink is soaked in water and black goo, even though the sink itself is clean.

Shout out if anything in the refrigerator's turned into a fungusmonster from residual evil corruption at this "Babadon't"'s hands, I wouldn't mind facing a comfortably familiar threat, for once.

[Setsuna nods, respectfully but business-like, to the two soldiers, then turns her head, comm feed following her gaze, towards the door leading out to the gardens.]

I'll see whether there's a lady, or a tiger, beyond this door.

[Some logic puzzles are the same across all worlds, it seems. Setsuna opens the door - by punching the doorknob off, if it isn't easily or already unlocked - and strides through, making her way towards the gardens, braced to pull herself up short in case she faces any obstructions.]

[On her way to the kitchenette, Kerrigan swings by the remains of the chest and helps herself to a handful, popping a peppermint into her mouth. As she turns away she steps on a chocolate Santa, and oops, wouldn't you know it, pivoting on that foot to turn around crushes chocolate into the carpet. Gosh, how careless of her.

She idly offers her candy-filled hand to South as she heads in to rummage through cupboards for clues, and maybe for a really big container to fill with candy. She's not even particularly enthused about sugar, but she is all in on any sort of petty revenge on Jorgmund.]

Dirty sponge, clean sink.

[Her voice is a little indistinct around the mint.]

Who wants to do the trash can?

Edited 2021-01-22 03:45 (UTC)

[ South snickers and gladly takes a few pieces of the candy, popping some into her pocket and one into her mouth, just because, before joining in searching through the kitchenette. ]

Maybe it used the sponge in the bathroom? Or... I don’t know.

[ She makes a ‘whatever’ gesture. Something like that. This kind of stuff never was her job. ]

Sure I’ll regret if but ugh, I’ll check the trash. But then I’m ‘checking’ the mini bar.

[ If she can pilfer more than some candy, she’s not going to miss the opportunity. But anyway, she opens the trash can to take a look for anything this thing might have tossed in there. Do monsters use trash cans? She kinda hopes not. ]

[From the hallway, Setsuna will be able to see a row of windows to the Gardens, with a door in about twenty yards down. Even from the windows, something is strange about the Gardens: all of the lilac and roses, and only the lilac and roses in this section, are dead.

The trash can also yields results: a color printout of all of the faces of the current Hires. All the teenagers and younger, human or otherwise, have circles around them in marker. The following have Xs through their faces:

Guts
Kevin Armstrong
Breq Mianaai
Ronald McDonald
Alia
Dan Sagittarius
Agent Washington
Agent New York
Agent South Dakota
Sarah Kerrigan
Aiden Price
Lavernius Tucker
Carolina
Agent North Dakota
Nora Valkyree
Sam Winchester
Brandon Saint John
Rune Saint John
Garviel Loken
Mackenzie Haynes
Rogue]

[That ... is alarming. Setsuna's eyes narrow: lilacs and roses were symbols of innocence and love, respectively, in flower language. There was no guarantee that was the intended meaning, of course, but it seemed too on the nose - especially to a Cure with a sharp enough memory to remember her juniors' stories of the Desert Apostles and their deliberate goals of making just such flowers within a victim's heart "wilt" - for it to be mere coincidence.]

[Walking the rest of the way is a time risk she might not be able to afford to take; every minute they wasted here was another minute they left the Babadon't to potentially rampage back in the dorms among their clueless friends.]

[She grabs the comm with one hand, and there's a bright, almost blinding flash of red light that fills the feed from her camera, before her hand pulls away and reveals she's now standing in the ruined section of the Gardens, directly, instead of still in the hall. She moves instantly to kneel amongst the dead patches, fingers splaying on the soil as she spreads her hands around, eyes searching for any further warnings ... or clues.]

[See, South, good thing you searched the trash. Kerrigan glances at the list, her own X-ed out face jumping out at her first, before the likely significance hits her.]

Oh, damn. Hold that up to the camera. I think our suspect list just got shorter.

[ South lets out a low whistle, like 'daaamn'. ]

No fucking kidding. This is like, almost everyone out here searching, plus some of the others.

[ Including a lot of people they'd mostly cleared by other means, but if it is what it looks like then it's further confirmation. South has to fumble a little to get her camera back on, with only one good hand, but she manages and holds the list up to address the network.

After, she turns to look at the rest of the room. ]

Okay, so it still stinks over here, so where the fuck's that coming from? Just the sponge, or like... the fridge, or something?

[The smells stays in the kitchen even if the sponge is taken elsewhere, emanating strongly from the sink.

The room otherwise looks pretty well-searched.

There is nothing else in the garden besides the dead flowers.]

Edited 2021-01-23 02:38 (UTC)

[Setsuna grabs hold of the comm in one hand, angling it down on the flowerbeds, just to keep a clear record.]

No natural blight can kill lilacs and roses alone without killing the flowers around them too. But lilacs are innocence in the language of flowers, and roses symbolize love. A monster that preys on both, and thrives as their opposite, can easily make the floral representatives of such delicate emotions wilt in its presence. Such is exactly what's happened here, I'm afraid.

[If anyone - like Kokichi, perhaps - ever doubted she's a real deal magical girl, a speech like that rolling off her tongue as naturally delivered and completely committed as it was should dispel all doubt. No normal person makes declarative monologues that sound like that. She stands up, brushing dirt off her knees.]

There's nothing else here. [And to Kerrigan and South, specifically, though it broadcasts to everyone, of course:] If you two don't find anything else, we might be better suited helping out somewhere else, if we can.

[Oh...kay. That may have been the dumbest thing she's ever heard, and she's spent the last decade hanging around with marines. Kerrigan decides to ignore it.]

I think something got washed down the drain. The smell's really strong here.

[Kerrigan's leaning over the sink, not enjoying the mixed odor of peppermint and rot.]

Might have to break into the plumbing and see if anything got caught.

[Ordinarily she wouldn't be relishing the prospect, but hey, plausible deniability for flooding the suite.]

Edited 2021-01-23 19:04 (UTC)

Eugh. Gross. [ she pulls a face ] You do that, I'll check the mini-bar and then walk around, let Delta do a proper scan of the place, see if there's anything we missed.

[ Delta's capabilities are somewhat limited from his puck, but not entirely, and he's still inherently quicker-minded than the non-AIs.

She does check the mini-bar in earnest, not just to quietly pocket a couple little things (though she does do that), and tells Delta to start his scan whilst she does. If she finds nothing of interest she then starts to walk him around the room. ]

[Inside the garbage disposal, Kerrigan will find a ton of the clumpy black goo, what looks like some human teeth, and a silver key on a ring. There's a laminated label on the key that says FILES in marker.

Neither Delta nor South will find anything interesting from the intruder in the room or mini-bar, but South will find some surprisingly high-end cognac.]

[There's another flash of red light, and ~~Setsuna~~ Cure Passion lands, crouching, atop the sink near where Kerrigan's comm screen is pointing, nodding as she takes in the sights with a thoughtful frown. She feels like there's just something at the edge of her awareness about all this, but she can't put her finger on what. Her frown turns more nauseated as she gets a closer look at the clumps Kerrigan kicked out of the garbage disposal.]

.... oh god, that's horrifying. I really hope those teeth didn't belong to an actual person ...

[She turns her head away and makes the quick hop down, before rooting around in the kitchen area for some sort of garbage bag. Then she starts shoveling candy into it, aggressively calm, silent and studious in her motions, as a distraction, the disquiet and bemusement still evident on her face.]

... you two do good work. I hope we'll get to work together again sometime ... on something less horrifying, preferably. Be safe. But if you're ever in danger, don't be afraid to call for Cure Passion. I'm always ready to help.

[She switches off her comm from broadcasting to all the New Hires, then, and reopens the direct, locked feed to Kokichi, a determined, close-mouthed grin on her face, before standing and turning in the direction of the hall.

[Halfway through a step, red light flares around her like a bursting star, and then she's gone.]

Edited 2021-01-24 01:51 (UTC)

[After kicking the garbage disposal off its mounts, Kerrigan investigates the contents. The room smells distinctly more like rot now that she's exposed more of monster goo to the air.

She watches Setsuna, relieved that the girl didn't say anything about the key, which she palms while "Cure Passion" makes a farewell speech.]

Uh...sure.

[After Setsuna is safely away, Kerrigan looks at South, and no one needs to be a telepath to pick up her "WTF?" mood. But then she shrugs and goes back to sorting through the gunk from the garbage disposal.]

Anyway, like she said.

[Kerrigan holds up her hand, dripping black gunk and holding, yep, teeth.]

Hair and teeth don't prove someone's dead...but everybody be on the lookout for bone fragments.

[ After carefully pocketing her spoils and finishing her loop around the room, South does return to Kerrigan, hovering back away from the sink with her nose scrunched up in disgust, just in time to watch Setsuna appear. At her departure, South blinks and meets Kerrigan's 'WTF' look with her own before just shaking her head. Guess she's off... somewhere. ]

This is fucking disgusting. I've seen some gnarly shit but, this? Yuck.

[ She pulls a face. ]

Anyway, Delta found fuck all around the rest of this place and if he didn't spot shit, I'm definitely not going to.

I've seen worse.

[The zerg are bad, okay.

Kerrigan gets back up, leaving the floor a mess, and proceeds to leave more black smudges on cabinets as she looks for a baggie or small container for the teeth. Someone might want to run the DNA.]

The weirdo had a point. If we're clear here we should split up and help with the other rooms.

Babadon't Room Crawl

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