Snow appeared in the lobby suited up in a new outfit. She wore fitted, stretch material black jeans and a snug, woolen black turtleneck with three quarter length sleeves. On her feet were black, leather boots that came just below the knee, with a tall stilleto heel on the sole. Her long, brown hair was tied back into a neat ponytail and her shuriken, which was retractable, remained in it's smallest form, strapped to a tactical belt around her waist. “I'm ready when you are.” She was used to the harsh conditions here in Icicle Village. The few people that knew her joked it was because her blood ran as cold as the snow that fell here. Following Cloud out into the lobby, she was prepared to head towards the Shinra building. “As with all places, people adapt.”
Post edited 3:36 pm – September 13, 2014 by sanarian
“Sooner we've got our answers the better,” Raiden agreed as the group started out the doors, the cold wind suddenly gusting in through the doors and crashing against his face. There was an icy chill in the air, and it made his cheeks sting, but he made no motion to cover his face. As they continued on through the cover of darkness he enjoyed the scent of the frozen mountain air, seemingly less bothered by the freezing environment than his friend. In the northern sky the sun's light was refracted along the horizon; they had a few hours before the sun woke from its slumber, but that was more than enough to find the answers they were after. As they approached the edge of town the silhouette of the Shinra building could be seen in the lamplight, and Raiden felt his heart begin to pound in his chest when he caught sight of it. Unable to control himself he quickened his pace, easily striding past Cloud–he couldn't wait for answers, the fear of what haunted his dreams driving him even now.
As Tsuna left the bar with the group, The cold wind that hit him sent an odd sensation through him. The air sent no feelings of being cold through Tsuna as he had been forced to stay in far colder condition, but he also had the sensation to keep himself warm. For a brief moment, he tucked his suitcoat closer to keep in his warmth and noticed he was doing so, releasing the coat in the process. He looked perplexed as he looked forward towards the ShinRa building that sent jolts of rage through his system.
The bitter cold penetrated his body as the wind cut through his clothing, Cloud ignored this. His eyes were locked on the building ahead, even failing to notice Raiden as he passed. The building was unassuming, it's exterior looking much like all the other structures in Icicle Village, build of sturdy wood with a tall angled roof to keep snow from building up. The building seemed abandoned, no lights present and enough snow build up around the doors and windows from the street to suggest nobody had even approached the place in some time. Cloud trudged through, reaching the door ahead of Raiden, a force pulling him to the knowledge which this building was said to contain. ” Everyone be on guard, we're like magnets for danger after all. ” Cloud said without looking back at the others as he turned the knob, finding the door was unlocked. The air inside was musty, and everything was dark. Very little light from the street lamps pierced the darkness. Out of habit Cloud fumbled around the wall to the right of the door, feeling for a light switch which never manifested itself. He shrugged, taking a step into the darkness, feeling a comfort in it that caused him some worry. ” Did anyone happen to bring a flashlight? ” Cloud asked as he stood immersed in the darkness of the Shinra building.
Snow followed behind the band of three men, feeling a little sheepish about the situaton. Working as part of a team was an entirely new concept and she knew that, at some point, she would have to take things on alone. She just hoped they wouldn't get in her way. For a quick moment, she thought about her younger sister, Avelia. Growing up, they fought all the time, but when their parents went missing and were eventually assumed dead, Snow had to take on a motherly role and raise them both. This created a strong bond between the two. For that moment, she missed her sister. That moment passed as they entered the Shinra building. She was not afraid, instead she was anxious to explore. “Here, I can shine a little light on the place.” Attached to her top was a harness that went under her arms and across her back. On the shoulder was a small, round LED flashligh, which she switched on, illuminating the area ahead.
“You don't need to remind us.” Raiden tersely declared, clearly annoyed by his friend's reminder to stay cautious. They hadn't even had a chance to forget that they were in constant danger, and the reminder only served to bring his frustration with their situation to the surface. Over his friend's shoulder he saw very little, the darkness within obscuring the contents of the building from view. What little light did find its way into the building revealed nothing worthwhile; until Snow had stepped forward and turned on a flashlight–illuminating the room for the group. “We should start searching for anything that might hold the answers we're looking for: research notes, or some kind of document, maybe?”
Moving in a slight daze as he tried to understand what had happened, Tsuna followed behind the ground into the ShinRa building. The darkness was not exactly an issue for him, but was aware most others had problems with low light. It was another of the extreme condition training he went through. Glancing around the building, nothing the disuse, he found it not plausible to find anyting useful here. “Ah.” Tsuna let out a low sound of pain as he blocked his eyes for a moment against the light pointing in the opposite direction of him. It took him a moment to regain his compsure, but he noticed that now the building looked extremely dark except for the light. 'Was this how normal people see? What's happening?' Tsuna asked himself, waving off any looks as he continued inward. First the cold being cold and the dark being dark. Normal for most, but Tsuna couldn't even remember experiencing these problems, just the trainings.
Post edited 5:48 am – September 19, 2014 by dystopia
Chapter V: Midnight Sun
The beam of light cut through the darkness, revealing a mostly drab lobby. Bits of dust floated across the stream of light, dancing chaotically as Cloud stirred them. A row of chairs sat to the right of the door, situated around a scratched wood coffee table which at one time must have been nice. Against the far right wall near the chairs was the fireplace, long cold, but once it had warmed this room and likely whatever was on the other side as well. Directly ahead a desk sat piled high with books and folders, piled haphazardly. Behind it a fake plant was green as ever, to the right along the back wall was a lone door, slightly ajar. ” Every Shrina office is the same. ” Cloud muttered, feeling a sense of deja vu as he glanced over the room, shrugging off Raiden's remarks, the sense of duty made him stat the obvious, he felt responsible. ” Probably won't find what we're looking for in here, though maybe check those files? ” Cloud said in response, as he moved slowly towards the cracked door. Cloud pushed the door open slowly, it opened quietly, a wide but dim flood of light entered with him. The room was full of file cabinets, rows of them lined two walls, while the left wall housed stairs that lead up and a small desk near the back. A door was closed to the right, he could make out the words “Basement/Lab” on a small plaque just barely in the dimness.
It was difficult for Snow to position herself as she seemed to be the only person with any source of light. “Perhaps there are some flashlights somewhere around? Or, even better, a light switch.” Heading to the left, Snow decided to head upstairs to the small lobby that housed a desk and some more filing cabinets. On top of the desk was a computer but it wasn't coming on. “I don't think there is any power servicing this place,” she called out to the others, leaning over the small balcony for them to hear her. She turned her attention back to the desk and began to investigate the drawers, looking for anything important. Inside the top drawer, hidden to the naked eye but easily identifiable to herself, was a blue, leather diary. “This should be interesting.” She quickly flipped through the pages for anything worth while and then a small piece of torn paper fell to the ground. She picked it up and eyed it over. It was some kind of code, but the last digit was torn off. Thinking it could come in handy, she pocketed it and then returned downstairs to the others.
Tsuna continued through on his own through the ShinRa building. Away from the light, the darkness was slightly easier to see, but not normal. The building itself had an aura to Tsuna, similar to the lab he was in, but less intense. Moving to some of the paperwork lying around, Tsuna glanced through the paperwork, it only slightly readable, until he came upon an employee file with a picture. The world seemed to freeze as he looked down at the picture attached to the file. Memories flew through his mind as he remained in statis.
CM-3's hand crushed the paper so hard his nails went right through the file. The darkness around him faded away and everything was easy to see. The cold faded to an acceptable temperature. CM-3 questioned none of this as he crumbled the file and threw it to the side and continued through the stack. As soon as he looked at the paper, he tossed it to the side. A photographic memory was vital part of surviving the experiments. They stuck him in a dark room, put a piece of paper in front of him, turned on and off the light quickly. Each time he couldn't repeat the paper exactly they would shock him. This evolved into pictures and map till he could recall anything. “Nothing interesting here.”
CM-3 followed Cloud deeper into the building. He looked to the right and saw the door and only seeing the word lab. His body pulsed as he walked with steady, strong steps till he was within range. He kicked through the door, destroying it in his fury without fear of anyone hear. If there was anyone to hear it, they were going to wish they didn't.
Cloud moved away from the others in the darkness, moving past the lobby into the large room full of file cabinets. It was dark but he knew much information would be located in a place like this, they would have gain illumination of one kind before they could gain that of another. Surveying the room in darkness he came to a stop on a small box bolted the the south wall. Upon it the familiar picture of a bolt of lightning was drawn. Cloud moved across the room, placing his hands on the box, unlatching and opening it. Inside an array of switches were all turned off. ” I found the fuse— ” Cloud started to speak before the raucous sound of the Basement/Lab door exploding rocked jarred him. ” Box ” He muttered as he turned to Tsuna standing in front of the shattered wood frame, his back to Cloud. Cloud stood silent for a moment, feeling his friends frustration, before switching the array of switches in the box to on. The slow dim flicker of lights warming up cast an ominous hue inside the Shinra building, a chaotic manifestation of the emotions which swirled within the men.
Post edited 5:59 am – September 25, 2014 by clerith
Snow waited up on the open lobby as Cloud seemed to be finding a way to turn on the power. She noticed CM-3 suddenly stop and change direction, before smashing through a door downstairs. Startled a little, Snow called down, “Everything okay down there?” Just then, the lights came on and illuminated the entire room. “Ahh, brilliant.” She turned back to the computer console and pressed the power switch. Within seconds, the monitor was asking her for a login and password. “Hmmm…” She relocated the diary, finding a name inside. L King. She entered that into the username and then used the small piece of torn paper for the password. It was only 4 digits, and she had 3, so had to guess the last. After two attemps, she got in. “Bingo. Right, let's see what I can find…” Her fingers danced across the keys as she scanned through the various information.
Raiden trailed just after Cloud, whistling sharply when they entered into the next room. Despite the lack of light it was fairly obvious that the room was full of file cabinets; there was likely a wealth of knowledge to be obtained from them, perhaps even a clue that could lead them further in their journey. “I doubt they'll have anything about us in here, but maybe they'll have something on our favorite stalkers?” Raiden pondered while leaning comfortably against the wall to the left of the doorway–Cloud appeared to have the situation with the power under control after all. Raiden idly gazed over toward Tsuna, just as he lashed out at the door and reduced it to little more than firewood with a single brutal motion. “It's fine! I think Tsuna just killed a door, though!” he called out in response to Snow's query. When the lights came on he moved from the wall, heading toward the nearest file cabinet. “Let's get to work.”
CM-3 stood staring down at the piece of the door that held the sign. His lips pulled back in a snarl, showing his fangs. After a few brief seconds, he crushed the sign under his foot and began down the stairs, “This room is mine.” CM-3 did not shout when he spoke, but his voice was stern, travelled far, and left no room for arguement. His grip on his sword tightened as each of his steps were slower than usual with focused determination.
The computer screen flickered on, taking over a minute for the monitor to completely warm up. Just enough time for Cloud to make his way around. He watched as Snow quickly gained access to the computer and the network which linked it to all of Shinra's own computers. He knew instantly it was a risk, while they would likely now find whatever they wanted to know they almost surely telegraphed their exact location to Shinra in the process. ” We might be on a time schedule now. ” Cloud spoke up, loud enough for Raiden and Tsuna to hear, as he leaned over Snow's shoulders. ” Search for Sephiroth, and Genesis. ” Cloud said, taking note of Raiden's suggestion. Meanwhile, the stairs leading to the basement lab were dark, even as the electricity had been return. Light penetrated this darkness sending a shaft of illumination towards the bottom in a narrowly growing line that lite the floor of the lab. The shimmer of metallic table legs danced for the first time in years.
Snow followed Cloud's instructions and managed to find a search option for the entire Shinra database. She entered 'Sephiroth' first. After several seconds of staring at a spinning circle in the centre of the screen, a page of information appeared with a familiar looking silver-haired man in a digitally attached photograph. She allowed Cloud some time to look at this, not knowing who the man was, and then opened up a separate search for Genesis, another term she knew nothing about. “So who is Sephiroth and what is Genesis? You may need to fill in the blanks if I'm too fully understand what this is about.”
Even with CM-3's abnormal night vision, the lab's darkness was almost impossible to penetrate. It was caught off to any light that may come in from the moon or else where. The tiny sliver of light from upstairs was enough for CM-3 to see some of his immediate surroundings. He considered just setting this place ablaze right now without concern for the people upstairs trying to find out information. His rage for any labs ShinRa had was so intense that he didn't even notice that his hand was reaching his die, but something stopped him. What if they had left something he could use to hurt them more? Once he found out if there was any vital information, it was surely burn, but for now he looked around the immediate area he could somewhat see for a light switch of some sort.
Cloud leaned closer to the screen as the pixelated picture of Sephiroth slowly loaded one line at a time followed by several pages of information about him. There was a sense that they were on the cusp of finally knowing their involvement with the most legendary SOLDIER of all time. ” You don't know Sephiroth? He's world famous as the most skilled SOLDIER Shinra ever trained. ” Cloud responded, somewhat dumbfounded that somewhere someone had not heard of Sephiroth. ” Genesis on the other hand, was a SOLDIER, that's all I know. ” Cloud finished speaking, shifting his focus back to the dim flicker of the old PC monitor. He looked at the screen, locked on the picture, memories of the death and pain caused by that man flashing before his eyes. Cloud concentrated, and as the page scrolled down Cloud began to read aloud. ” Top SOLDIER operative, noted for his role in the Wutai War. ” Cloud spoke, summerizing as he read. ” Key figure in the JENOVA Project, wait. ” Cloud stopped, that name resonating with him, he had heard it somewhere before. ” Search the JENOVA Project ” Cloud instructed, hoping to follow the trail of crumbs to the answer they all sought.
Meanwhile the light switch flipped on, the lights warming up from a dim hue which illuminated the basement lab. The room was large, The walls were lined with cork board which were littered with notes and papers, tacked here an left for many years. The far wall was home to a large counter which sported a computer of it's own and many scientific devices which seemed in place in a lab. Beakers and tubes were scattered about the counter and some had fallen to the floor and broken into shards. In the center of the room to empty hospital beds were abandoned, surrounded by racks of instruments and tools that would not be out of place in a hospital. Several file cabinets were spaced around the work space.
As Cloud began to talk about Sephiroth alarm bells started ringing in her ears. Although the name was familiar, she still was not too sure as to who he was. As he told her more, he clearly had thought of something important. “Jenova project?” She initially typed it incorrectly, using a G where the J should go, but soon found some information on the topic. Not knowing what to search for, she allowed Cloud to eye up the information on screen.
Raiden casually made his way over to the broken doorway that Tsuna had left in his wake, carefully stepping over the remains of the door itself before starting down the stairs. A cursory search of one of the cabinets had revealed nothing important; they had contained legitimate files, from what he had seen, and weren't likely to contain anything important to the group. As he reached the bottom of the steps the lights came on, and blinded him momentarily. Raiden lifted up his right arm to cover his eyes until they readjusted, before taking a cursory glance over the room. “Ain't nothin' of interest upstairs, so I figured I'd come down here and lend a hand.” Raiden explained as he stepped into the room, approaching a nearby file cabinet and pulling it open to scour through it.
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