♦ ♦ 1st Contract

[mortemscintilla]

[Text/Public]

####

qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm

frivolous fat fannie fried fresh fish furiously

[Video/Public]

Um... e-excuse me.

[ An unsure voice. A moment of fumbling. As if the newcomer has just arrived - and is confused by his Network Device. Few would realize he's been in the City for six hours now. That he's ducked at the earliest chance in an alley. Tried (unsuccessfully) to contact his team via his communication wire. Or that, casual and nondescript, he's scouted the area. Searching for escape routes. ]

[ Only after finding none - weighing the pros and cons - does he use the device. ]

[ No choice. ]

[ Despite trying everything - electrocution, crushing, dismantling - he can't get rid of it. ]

Er - hello?

[ A young man appears. All rumpled hair and nervous smiles. One hand rubs the back of his neck. ]

I'm not sure what's going on. I-I was heading to work a minute ago. But - I think I'm lost now.

[ Li's mannerisms. Harmless. Easy to trust. Perfect camouflage for a calculating killer. ]

...What is this place, exactly? Can anyone tell me? I don't ... I don't think I'm in Tokyo anymore.


(OOC: Just a note! Hei is totally and utterly faking it. He'll offer his alias - 'Li' - to anyone who asks. And act like a total derp as he goes about gathering more info on the City. Until a curse reveals his powers and identity in a hideous way. Also, he doesn't exactly have a wide range of 'emotions', so apologies if he comes off as :| )

Comments

[pratful]

[ aha! Another man just like him without a clue. He's finds strange comfort in these little exchanges, and in the knowledge that Arthur can and has adapted to this new, strange environment. ]

I'm afraid it's simply called "The City" and unless things change, there's no returning from whence you came. We're all stuck here.

[mortemscintilla]

...But how did I get here?

It's like something out of a sci-fi movie.

[pratful]

Sci-fi... [ no, he shall not be distracted! ]

[ ahem ] That, I'm afraid, is a secret. Was it up to me, I'd swear it was done by naught else but sorcery.

1/2

[mortemscintilla]

Secret...?

[ Now he's distracted. Or at least doing a good job of pretending to be. ]

[mortemscintilla]

Heheh...

This is a joke, right? Someone's pulling a prank?

[ That's the most illogical explanation he's ever heard. ]

[pratful]

[ Arthur solemnly shakes his head no ] Would that I could, but I cannot. I'm afraid you've been thoroughly trapped just as the rest of us have.

voice;

[dignity_misery]

Excited executioner exercising his excising powers excessively.

[Drrryly.]

1/2

[mortemscintilla]

...B-But I can't be stuck here!

I'm going to get fired from my job!

[ Priorities. ]

Permavideo

[doeswhathewants]

Ah! You are from Tokyo?

Have you ever experienced a Godzilla attack? Tentacle monsters? Masked vigilantes that fight by the moonlight?

[mortemscintilla]

[ Voice dropping confidentially. ]

...This is some sort of mass kidnapping ring, right? Like you read about in the papers?

Who's behind it?

voice;

[mortemscintilla]

...Um, hello to you too?

Permavideo 1/2

[mortemscintilla]

[ asdfghjkl! ]

...Er, no.

Not really.

[ Although Masked Vigilantes? Hoo yeah. ]

Permavideo

[mortemscintilla]

Wait...

Is that what goes on in this place? Godzilla attacks? Tentacle monsters?

[ Derp Derp Derp ]

voice;

[dignity_misery]

[She's sure all the little lost boys like to try out tongue twisters before saying hello.]

I heard you the first time.

voice;

[mortemscintilla]

[ They do if they're spies. And checking for bugs on mysterious machinery ]

...Would you happen to know where I am?

I haven't gotten really good answers so far...

voice;

[dignity_misery]

[ Fun fact: Zinc did the same thing when he got to Promenade. This line of logic is easy for her to follow. ]

I don't know, did you manage not to fall in the fountain?

Permavideo

[doeswhathewants]

Not that I have experienced.

But... it could happen. It might have already happened.

voice;

[mortemscintilla]

[ He will deny it was anything but an experiment ]

I might've soaked myself a little.

[ He's seen the Fountain. Seen a 'New Arrival' tumble into it out of nowhere. While he didn't fall into it himself, he will lie to appear as clumsy and out-of-depth as possible. ]

voice;

[dignity_misery]

[ Lying sack of shit. ]

Then you landed right in the middle of town.

Permavideo 1/2

[mortemscintilla]

You're not serious.

[ One bewildering explanation, he could brush off. But another? The strategic part of his mind is whirring on overdrive. Maintaining a facade of confusion - while he plans and plans. ]

Permavideo 2/2

[mortemscintilla]

What is this place?

Were you kidnapped too?

[pratful]

[ Arthur raises an eyebrow. Truly, whispering? Over a phone? When anyone can look in on it? ]

There is truly nothing to be done. All attempts to leave are brought to end when you find yourself returned to the City's center. [ and Arthur's tried. More than once. But... ] I am not aware of what you speak of, exactly, but it does not sound implausible. You can rest assured however, that if I knew who was behind this madness, he would not be a threat any longer.

voice;

[mortemscintilla]

[ Best in the business ]

...But what town? What country?

Have I really been kidnapped?

voice;

[dignity_misery]

[ We like it we like it. ]

This place is inter-dimensional, and I suppose you could call it a kidnapping.

1/2

[mortemscintilla]

[ The dumber and more harmless he appears, the better. ]

Returned? Like how? With magic?

[ His first assumption is that this might be the work of another Contractor. A punishment meted out by the Syndicate, perhaps? ]