raisetheearth | VIDEO - [Viewable to those who signed up to recieve information.]

[A video post comes online on the Network, but there's something strange about it. For one, it's only viewable to a select group of people, and secondly, all it shows is a silhouette on a screen. When the voice speaks, it sounds distant, almost as if someone were speaking from far away. What's more, there's a strange reverberation on some words.]

Hello. My name is [A garbled noise obscures the sound.]. I am... I am a scientist working for Thunder Corp. I am not a Numbered, but I am contacting you by a means I have created to access your Network. This line of communication only goes one-one-one way, so I am afraid I will not know if this message reached you, or if my full message will even get through at all.

But I have made a terrible-terrible-terrible mistake. Thunder Corp has created a device that allows-allows them to identify wherever Numbered are in the world. They-they... no... we wanted to find a way to find all of you. To make sure that you could never stand up to us again. If they knew where you all were, they could find you one by one. First-First they'd approach you, weed out the ones that were naive enough to listen to them. If that didn't work, they'd hunt you down-down.

But something went wrong. Something-something happened, and it caused those snakes-snakes to reappear. Like out of thin-air, this-this green slime formed and turned into them! Then those dinosaurs in Gateway appeared out of nowhere, and we detected another anomaly in New Zealand. I'm not sure, but my research hints that-that something else is going to happen soon. I don't know where. I don't know WHEN. But something else is going to happen.

We've broken something. You have to warn everyone. I used the device to find you all so I could pass the information on, but I wipe-wiped the records so they'll never know what I did. The others they've already found, their ability to track them is going to run out soon, so I think they've decided to make their move-move. I can show-show you where the device is held... maybe... maybe one of you can destroy it. Maybe you can get this information out to the media, or someone who CAN do something about this. I just don't know...!

...

They've talked about how they've become a different company, that the old corrupt Thunder Corp is gone, but the new leaders... They're the ones that have always been in control. The old leaders were just a front. The ones in charge are the real power now. They-they... they're not going to stop what the tried to do a year ago. I thought... I thought they'd changed. But I've done so many horrible things, I've-

[A loud bang can suddenly be heard, followed by the figure screaming in pain. He lurches forward, and after a moment, seems to press something on some kind of control panel. The image cuts out, and for 10 seconds, a map of Locke can be seen on screen, showing a warehouse in the Phoenix District of Locke City, followed by security footage of some kind of facility, where green slime begins to propagate and form into gigantic stone snakes.

Then it vanishes. The mysterious figure is back, and there's black drops of what appear to be blood.]

Forgive me... for what I've done...

[And the recording finally ends.]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[Jasmine is clearly shaken, and for a while, she just sits there, frowning, hands clasped in front of her. A million thoughts are running through her mind, like how the hell she's going to tell this to the people important to her.

No... now she needs to talk to... whomever the hell else just saw this. She sighs and sits back.]

Is anyone else, besides me, not surprised at all?

[The vampire is not at all surprised. The Numbered should have taken down Thunder Corp when they had the chance, and now they were going to pay for it.

There was only one thing left to do in her mind, and that's to let people know about this.]

We should have done away with Thunder Corp when we had the chance.

Edited 2015-09-26 04:36 (UTC)

[Alexandra has decided it might be best to communicate by text for this one. She feels numb over what she just witnessed but she also has a job to do, she doesn't want to other people seeing her making notes to take her to grandfather at the moment.]

Not at all... The obvious has been confirmed.

You're that new girl. Alexandra.

I'm sorry you had to see something like this so early.

[Saretha just stares at Jasmine for a moment or two.]

Not in the slightest. Sadly, I do not think it is surprise that is important here - the implications are... dire.

Hey, Saretha. They sure picked some of the right people to contact for this.

But you're right. Everything that's happened in the last few months... it goes back to this. The giant wads of snot that appeared one day, the dinosaurs, the fucking ghosts... everything... I mean, I can't think of anything else he'd be talking about that happened in New Zealand...

Edited 2015-09-26 05:00 (UTC)

[That catches her interest. She was for the most part overlooked before she became a numbered.]

You've heard of me?

It's not your fault. ...It's been my luck to get thrown into the deep end of the pool since I got here.

I saw your message. I was pretty busy and I didn't get a chance to answer. Sorry about that.

[Phew. Okay. She was almost worried that she'd developed a reputation. This was easier to deal with.]

That's fine. The question I had at the time was answered. There's nothing wrong with being busy.

[It gave her one less person to have to put up with at the time.]

This looks like one big mess just waiting to happen.

It's pretty much already happening. And now someone is probably dead.

What do you plan on doing with this, then? You're new, so you probably don't know that we try to handle these things together...

Edited 2015-09-26 05:51 (UTC)

[Lazarus stares blankly at what he's just seen. He has seen it and feels like he needs to say something to acknowledge it, even though it's difficult to swallow, much less speak after witnessing what they just did.]

If this is genuine... obviously the device has to be located. How many of us were able to see this?

[There is the sound what is obviously a calming breath before this answer comes.]

I saw it. [He wishes he hadn't. He's seen too much death recently.]

Tsukuy-- [Wait, no. There's too many of those, now.] Jasmine. This is... more than a little disturbing, "right" people or not.

It would certainly seem to be clear cut, but Thunder Corporation rarely is.

[Yes, she is only contacting select people privately, just because that's how she rolls to some degree.]

It could be genuine. It could be a trap.

We've certainly seen enough of both in the past.

[And he's soon got a rather displeased Emilia appearing on her own video feed.]

I did, not to mention the map of Locke this person brought up. It doesn't looked faked...

Oh no, I'm sure they rushed him to a hospital after something like that.

I don't know, I was probably going to leave this to someone who actually has the ability to do something about it. That seems like the smartest choice, anyways.

[She doesn't really want to speak to Lazarus any longer than she has to, so he gets a text instead of video.]

I saw this as well.

It's been a little while, Alexandra. Why do you think it's us, and not some others?

It has. I Wouldn't have minded waiting a while longer though.

...Can't say I have any idea why. I'm certainly not a prominent member of the club here and don't have any abilities that stand out. It could just be random.

[He nods, appearing deep in thought.]

You're probably more familiar with Locke these days than I am. It checks out and looks accurate and up to date, this map?

Yes. I realize that not everyone particularly likes my way of conducting conversation, but at the very least I endeavor to keep a professional and pragmatic approach regardless of personal feelings. I could give you some tips on that front if you're interested. In the meantime, randomness, while certainly a possibility, feels a little too chaotic for the planned-out way Thunder Corp has always tended to do things. It could be that this man contacted the first Numbers he could access quickly; it could be we all have something in common. It could be that we were selected because this person believed that we're the most likely to take it seriously and react. Regardless... I would like to get a list compiled as quickly as possible.

Pass, I don't want or need your help in that regard.

He didn't exactly seem to be "with" Thundercorp at the time he sent this message, so that is a point toward this being a touch random or at least that we were the first he could access quickly.

Otherwise I can't say I know enough about the any of the others here to know if we have something in common or not. You were the expert on people here before, can't you figure out what we all have in common?

My thoughts, exactly. I don't want to jump to either conclusion, but I am working on getting a head count of those who have seen this message. It wasn't everyone and if there's any kind of common thread uniting the ones who were contacted, it's worth considering.

I replied up top, but I'm throwing into the headcount all the same.

As for the device, we need to consider the chance it moved, since they clearly shot that guy.

I'm not saying it isn't. I'm just glad we have someone like you on our side for this one.

And you're right, but... the connections are there, at least.

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