forum From the Ashes//open//group

Started September 24, 2019 by @StarkSpangledMayflower_Mad_Elder

tune

Caleb went and sat in the chair behind all the screens. "I'm not the best, but I could probably figure it out." He looked to the main computer and saw it had many files. Nothing was named, it only had dates, so it would take a while to see if there were any clues for them to go on. "Well, let's start with the day before Esmae was taken." He clicked on the file and a large amount of video footage popped up, way more than he thought there was going to be. "This might take a while."

Esmae rolled her eyes. Who is this person I'm fighting? It must be someone good, Thalia probably just wants to humiliate her, like she did her. "How much time do I have to get ready for this fight?" She wanted to warm her body up a bit before going straight into a fight. Plus her legs were killing her from the running this morning.

"Should we keep guard? What happens if they come back? They've been watching us from here, haven't they?" Vida questioned, her voice rising in pitch.

Cassius huffed softly.
"Throwing her in already? You know I don't agree with this," he murmured, "Whatever, it's not like any of you buffoons care enough to listen to me."

Thalia pulled Cassius back and gestured to the doctors and machines in the room. "It'll be a simulation. We will put her in the simulation but tell her that the medicine in the syringe is to monitor her. Nik wanted her to go against level 3 experiments but I told her to try this." She explained in a hushed voice, watching Esmae go ahead and look into the room. Level 3 experiment its were dangerous half-finished from the first test stage. Extremely dangerous and only controlled by a chip in their AI system, these things were harmless unless activated by an agent at the Dark Gemini corporation of a level-8 purple, the highest level before a CEO or manager, or the mastermind herself.

Nathan shook his head. "It seems as though the came only for Esmae, I doubt they'll come back."

"Mhm," Cassius replied, "Alright, then. That's fair enough."
He kept an eye on Esmae, but had his gaze tilted just slightly in Thalia's direction.

Katya bit her lip before she finally muttered out, "Ireallyhopeso."

Esmae walked down the hall, wondering what this thing she is fighting going to be. Honestly, even though she's been here a few days, she knows nothing about what's going on. Maybe they even changed animals and are going to put her against some weird creature they created. She was so lost in thought that she almost ran into a wall, thank goodness she caught it before she did.

"I agree," Caled said as he searched the videos, "I think they were only after Esmae, so I don't think they will be back. Well… at least not anytime soon." His eyes lit up when he saw that there was a live feed in Uriah's house. When did someone put that there? Dragging it he put it up on on of the screens. Slowly but surely, some sound came through and they could hear them talk. "Look at this." Surprisingly the camera and mic were really good. It was a clear picture, so he could see everything. They must have been watching her from here. If there is a camera here, then there is definitely one in the gym. "Theres a hidden camera in your house Katya." As he listened he continued to look through past videos.

Uriah sat down with a sigh. "First we need to figure out how these random people found us in the first place." Taking a sip of his coffee, Uriah sat back in his seat, thinking of any ideas on how they can find his daughter.

Katya shuttered and went quiet. They had a camera in her house? She hated that. It, it was, it was so fucked up.

Luna bit her lip as she though. She didn't want to entertain the notion that maybe they had been watched, but she voiced the thought anyway, "Do you think they might have been watching us?"

Sparrow looked from beside Cyrus and frowned. "It is a possibility. We have been bugged before so if that's what happened, I'm honestly not surprised. The question is, how did they bug us?"

"If it was with physical devices, we could try to find them," Cyrus said, "But… who would've put them there?"
He pushed back his hair a bit. It was clear he was becoming more and more distressed about the whole situation.

Vida shook her head. "I'd think they would've turned the feeds off if they were done here. What if they want more from us?"

"I dont know, but I do know that if they were mo itoring the gym, we could get more info on their vehicle and hear their voices." Nathan spoke up

Katya nodded and looked to Caleb, "Can you find that out?"

Luna started to hold herself and stopped herself from shaking. She looked at them and winced slightly as she stuttered, "I-it had to be someone we t-trusted."

"That's what I was afraid of," Cyrus sighed, "How closely do you think we've been monitored? Is there anyone that comes to mind?"

"I-I," Luna swallowed and shook her head trying to get the stutter to go away, "I can't think of anything,"

"Well, if anyone does think of anything, don't be afraid to speak up. This is confidential, so even if you say something controversial, it stays between us," Cyrus said, "To be honest, I'm drawing a bit of a blank right now too."

Sparrow sighed and looked outside. "I'm gonna head home. Maybe going home will clear my mind enough to notice something that we cant see right now." She smiled softly in Luna and Uriah's direction before whistling for Mali to come. The small monkey jumped onto her shoulders with a small whimper as she walked towards the door.

Luna gave Sparrow a slight smile in return. She tried to hold back her stuttered, “Alright. Safe travels.”

Cyrus stood up and put a hand on Sparrow's shoulder.
"Alright, let's go."
He glanced over to Luna. "I promise we'll find her one way or another."

Luna gave him a smile as well. Although it was more a tired one than a grateful one, "I know we will."

Sparrow sighed and walked out to her bike, putting her helmet on. "I'm gonna go by the lake." She told Cyrus as she tried to find her keys.

Back at the guild, while Caleb and the others were looking at the recordings, Nathan quietly slipped out of the room and looked for clues elsewhere.

Vida caught Nathan leaving in the corner of her eye. She crept after him.
"What are you doing?" she whispered, "You can't go alone."

"Mind if I tag along? I'm starting to get nervous at the idea of any of us being left alone. Even us adults," Cyrus admitted, "I don't… I don't want anything to happen to you."