Scene #3053: EoB: Penny off a Dead Man

Owner	Pose
Nathan Hall	A phonecall is received, but the speaker says nothing for themself. There's the sound of breathing, confused, almost a frustrated sort of breathing, and the sound of audio equipment being fumbled with. Dials are turned, tapes are arranged. Static can be heard as lines are plugged and unplugged. Multiple radio authentication keys go off, signaling nearby radios to identify frequencies as broadcasting even when they aren't... Even when they can't. <J-IC-Moderated> No. 9 says, "I need to talk to you--" FFWD <J-IC-Moderated> Psyber says, "--wanna meet with you in person about something I need your help with--" RWND <Union-IC> Elliana Fairchild says, "Sir Psyber--" FFWD <X-Confed-Chatter> No. 9 says, "Number Nine--" FFWD <X-Union-Chatter> Psyber says, "--George--" RWND <X-Union-Chatter> Whoosh! The Salty Gale says, "--The Salty Gale who Loves Creation--" FFWD <X-Union-Chatter> Elliana Fairchild says, "Fairchild. Elliana Fairchild." RWND <X-Confed-Chatter> 3-Of No. 9 says, "--All the rest of you--" RWND <J-IC-Moderated> Elliana Fairchild says, "--those of you who helped me achieve--" FFWD <J-IC-Moderated> No. 9 says, "--I'm going to do it again." RWND <X-Union-Chatter> George says, "The last time--" FFWD <X-Union-Chatter> Psyber says, "And you'll never have to do it again." RWND The operator on the other end of the phone line makes a heavy, inarticulate grunting noise, a sound like stress. His breathing gets more tense and rushed. <Union-IC> Elliana Fairchild says, "--just like last time." RWND <J-IC-Moderated> Utsuho Reiuji says, "--need help with what--" FFWD <X-Union-Chatter> Whoosh! The Salty Gale says, "--I'm planning--" FFWD <X-Union-Chatter> George says, "The last time--" FFWD <X-Union-Chatter> Elliana Fairchild says, "--serving a higher purpose is far more rewarding." FFWD <J-IC-Moderated> No. 9 says, "--The rewards are worth it--" RWND <Union-IC> Elliana Fairchild says, "--just like last time." FFWD <J-IC-Moderated> George says, "--Better for you--" FFWD <J-IC-Moderated> Psyber says, "--wanna meet with you in person--" CLICK ... The audio goes silent, but the operator on the other end of the phone continues, making one or two incoherent frustrated noises as cords are audibly fumbled for. There's a heavy staticky rumble as one last plug is slammed in with clumsy force. <Numbers-Station> A Lady says, "Fourty two degrees. Twenty one minutes. Thirty two point five seconds. North." ding <Numbers-Station> A Gentleman says, "Seventy degrees. Fifty minutes. Two point six seconds. West." ding And then a short series of chiming musical tones... http://tinyurl.com/signature-of-sound ... CLICK The line goes dead.
Nathan Hall	The call was received at various locations. Not only Psyber's phone at Heaven or Hell, but oddly enough, Amalthea's own line at the Fortress. The coordinates, of course, are easy to interpret. They lead to an unassuming part of the north Atlantic ocean, off the coast of Massachusetts, and it shouldn't take more than an hour or two, maybe, to get there. It's not tough to see the shore from there. Here, one can find a small recreational craft, unassumingly sitting out here, a great distance from the coast. It looks like it hasn't been maintained since the mid 80s, crusted with decay. The idea that it's still floating is almost absurd by nature. It's a mid-sized yacht, the kind you buy to say you have a yacht without really being able to afford a yacht's operation. Can't be more than a couple rooms in there, and not too tough to just sort of get aboard. It would look like random debris, if it weren't for the fact that something like this would have been washed ashore somewhere years ago, cleaned up after being reported by passing craft, or similar. That's not the most unusual part of it, though. The most unusual part of it is that the boat itself, and a chunk of the water it floats on, is completely frozen in space, as if unaffected by the causality of interaction with the surrounding ocean. It also appears to be lit from an entirely different angle than the rest of the ocean. While the sun is just getting ready to start setting, the boat itself seems lit from a sunrise. There is something very wrong with this craft.
Guest Psyber	Psyber deals with a lot of weird bullshit in a day, but even by his standards that was some pretty weird phone messages. Psyber can generally parse out the message, though: 'I need to talk with you in person. You've helped me, I need your help again, and this is the last time.' Coupled with messages about serving a higher purpose, rewards that are worth it, and mysterious directions. And so Psyber had used rank to get himself a helicopter, as he so often does, to take him to the new location. The look on his face is of utmost seriousness and he's got at least a couple handguns on him for this meeting. The pilot, trained as he is, pulls in just above the deck of the ship. He hovers low, giving the Elites the chance to hop out onto the deck below where he can't land. Psyber takes one such opportunity, dropping boots to the deck of the ship and looking around. "If this weren't so close to Boston, I'd call it a trap. It might still be," He says aloud to no one in particular. Mostly his goal is obvious: Check out the area.
Amalthea	That was just about the weirdest fucking thing to hear on the phone at the manse, but it was worth looking into. And learning she wasn't the only one who got the message, there's someone else in the helicopter as well. "Psyber this is like some horror movie bullshit, I swear." Amalthea is here, dressed in her casuals and moving at a snail's pace. She's got her cane for no explicable reason, and is wearing a dark bomber jacket over her favorite tie-dye shirt as she hunkers in a seat on board the helicopter, before hopping out when it lands. She's not unarmed, she just looks it, though, scowling as she shambles after the Half-Angel, muttering of how she could be watching her daughter's WMAT match right now. But this seemed important, if completely strange, and thus she has come.
Setsuko Kaminagi	It's not often that Setsuko gets called in for something so strange. And if the call comes from Psyber, that's even more reason for her to respond. Under ordinary circumstances she might fly alongside the vehicle, but being able to talk to Psyber and the others in the helicopter is probably important at this point; and aside from that, she's still recovering from her tournament match yesterday. Blotches of her arms are still a slightly raw-looking pink, in the shape of what used to be both burns and bullet holes. There's even a bit of the burning on her face, though not as severe. So the chance to be restful for a few moments is welcome. "I have to agree," she says in response to Amalthea. "Even you don't take calls this strange very often." She slides out the side of the chopper and floats down to the deck, only to immediately close her eyes and reach out with her battle senses - if it /is/ a trap, she can at least find out whether it's the kind of trap that involves direct attacks.
Nathan Hall	The deck is rotten. It's not been cleaned or maintained for over twenty years at least, and so it creaks and groans underfoot, complaining constantly about the weight of the people walking on it, especially the mechanically dense weight of the more robotic investigators. This would be entirely expected, if it weren't for the fact that it seems to do so at an erratic delay. The first few steps are quiet, but then five seconds later, the groaning of the deck underfoot can be heard, right where they stepped before. There's no consistency with the delays. Some last even minutes. Some seem negative, almost prefacing a footfall. Thankfully, the grime and rot on the surface itself makes it relatively obvious that someone was here just a few hours ago. This coincides with Setsuko's findings: Her sense of war will be able to detect that there was conflict of a minor sort, maybe a few hours ago, or maybe a few hours in the future...? Feeling for the information is sort of like looking through a house of mirrors. The boat is, very clearly, 'disconnected' from the way things are supposed to be. She can get a sooort of assurance that this probably won't be a fight, though. It's hard to tell if this is intentional spiritual obfuscation, or if this is... Something else. It's as though, when she attempts to link 'combat' to 'combat's aura emitted through time', the connection becomes unreliable. This isn't much of a boat though. There's an upper deck, a lower deck, sure, and maybe two or three cramped rooms in each, but it sure isn't a big luxury deal. Nice deck though, enough to land on, even if various forms of decay have or are ruining it. The upper deck seems like the place where people are expected to be, and the flimsy door inside is unlocked. The lower decks seem to be something the group can address in time, it looks like you have to head to the aft of the boat to get there. The sound of a ringing phone can be heard inside.
Guest Psyber	"Stay on your toes," Psyber says to both women with him, his gun coming out, "Anything with the access logs to pull Fed AND Union-band logs and audio is unsettling from point one," the half-angel decides, lifting his gun up as he looks around. It's only PARTIALLY for the safety of holding a gun, since a moment later he presses the under-barrel attachment to turn on a small, but bright, flashlight. The weird time-delay on steps and problems is vexing for him, since it affects his ability to predict an ambush. Or to judge position. It messes with most of his instinctive reflexes he keeps as a former-hunter. Still, he keeps walking, "This place is... ten kinds of fucked up. If Amal's right and this is some horror movie shit, this is the part wh-" RING RING. "-ere a phone rings." Psyber slowly pushes open the door to head inside, trusting Setsuko and Amalthea to cover him.
Amalthea	Even with a cane in her hand Amalthea doesn't need to be told to keep on her toes. With an affirmative grunt, the way she taps on her jacket says she hasn't come unarmed, in case anything happens. But for the time being she treads carefully on the deck, crusted with time and rot, a look of mild disgust working across the unicorn's features, but she says not a word and endures the sight of time and decay all around her with a stoic grumbling. As the Half-Angel pushes the door open, Amalthea's hand slides into her coat. "If whoever's on the line says anything about 'seven days', it's not for me." Hissed to try and relieve the mounting tension.
Setsuko Kaminagi	"...time is strange here," Setsuko murmurs, thinking out loud as her eyes open. "If we needed confirmation of that to begin with, I have it. I feel a minor fight, but I can't tell whether it already happened or will happen soon. That's normally easy for me to sense." She falls in just behind Psyber, keeping her left hand on Zanjintou's scabbard and the right on the blade itself, listening and watching. She stops right beside the door, giving Psyber a silent nod, a wordless 'I've got your back.'
Pegasus	Pegasus was visiting Amalthea when the call came in, so there's no reason why she shouldn't check this out as well. She's a little worried about the condition of the boat... Amalthea and her aren't the lightest of creatures, really. She's also cautious enough that she has her shield out, though not her lance. "Nnn... this isn't really the sort of thing I'm good at," she admits. "All this stalking around and poking at strange things."
Eleanor Lamb	Well if you wanted an expert on 'creepy shit in the water' Eleanor's pretty good about that. Though, she's a little slow to get here herself. The Sister is somewhere back behind Pegasus, looking more than a little antsy about... a lot of things. The boat, the phone call, the spooky, all of it. She's got her Stiff Upper Lip on, though. "If it helps anything, Pegasus, I could have you over for Mystery Movie night some time. Might get you some practice."
Nathan Hall	Inside is what one would assume is the interior recreation space for this boat. It once, presumably, had maybe some chairs, a nice table, some cabinets, maybe it had a TV. Everything's been re-purposed. The table's covered with audio equipment. The cabinets are messily stacked with cassette tapes, though all the tapes are decayed beyond readability. There's wires everywhere. Several worn down husks of generators, stripped for parts to repair each other, rusted with time, are hooked up to a mess of tape decks and transmission equipment. One entire wall is occupied with nothing but artwork. Sheets of paper covered in scribbled, wild drawings. In it, Psyber, Elliana Fairchild, and George Weissman are prominently displayed in an almost reverent way, as are a dozen symbols of historical significance to them. Psyber speaking with Amalthea at his meeting to arrange the conspiracy in Terra Majora is given a religious treatment. Elliana stabbing Nathan is practically drawn the way you'd draw a creation myth. George confronting Nathan in a dark alleyway makes him appear to be some kind of supreme hero. Stray images are given an alternate treatment. A depiction of a confrontation at Elliana's Drasillum where Pegasus is practically demonized; she has the appearance of a snarling hateful beast, where Amalthea's is more favorable, and Eleanor's even moreso. Nathan, oddly, has a completely neutral treatment. The artwork is aged, badly. Exposure to the water vapor on the air has made the images run badly, though the decay seems completely arbitrary, with different kinds of rot affecting them at wildly different rates. Most notably, though, all of it is at least several years old. Back to the phone. It's still ringing. As soon as it's picked up, local radios will be able to tune into the signal easily. It's some ancient DynaTAC-looking thing, ringing on the desk near the audio equipment, made before modern multiversal radios. They will easily get the frequency once anyone picks up the phone, letting them all speak over the radio to them, though whoever's on the other line says nothing yet. There is a motionless person here, sitting at the desk, slumped over the audio equipment. Rather thin, can't have eaten much. They wear a coat that seems like some sort of offbrand knockoff of Psyber's, they have a knife strapped to their side that's designed to look like Elliana's, and some kind of heavy, cheap plastic mask over their head. They won't do anything, even while the group enters.
Guest Psyber	Almost as soon as Psyber spots all the artwork on the wall, Psyber looks around and scowls. He shines the light from the pistol over each drawing, noting numerous elements around them. Particularly their slant towards making the most damaging events in Nathan's life the most revered. This, of course, prompts him to immediately say, "So this is creepy and Nathan related. About par for my life. Let's try not to fuck THIS one up, yeah?" Psyber notes blandly, pressing into the room after he says the comment and looking around. He won't pick up the phone quite yet, but instead let others do that, "Hey you," He shines his light at the figure slumped over the table, "Stand up slowly. Put the knife down on the table."
Amalthea	As soon as Psyber's in the room, Amalthea follows right after on his flank, hand still in her jacket, cobalt eye surveying... The decor... The nearly religious symbolism to each piece of art, eye widening at the sight of a villified Pegasus, and nearly recoiling at the sight of her own image, even if done up 'favorably'. "... This is... Pretty up there on the list of creepy shit I've seen." She agrees on the sentiment. When Psyber shines the slumped figure with his light. "Easy buddy. Hands where we can see 'em." A pause. "... So uh..." "Anybody wanna get that?" She does muse on the ringing phone.
Setsuko Kaminagi	"Look," Setsuko murmurs, carefully stepping in and moving slowly once inside - her destination is the art on the wall. "The people who betrayed or upset Hall are depicted much more favorably than the ones who soothed him." She's not sure the significance of that, but it's the kind of thing that almost certainly /is/ significant, somehow. The phone earns a wary glance, but there are others here better suited to strange phone calls than the demigod.
Eleanor Lamb	Eleanor... just looks at all the art. And all the... time that's been put into this. Every piece of this room. It's overwhelming, nearly, as she takes it in. Time travel still unnerves her, and that's got to be going on here. The others are handling the fellow, and she's walking over to gingerly examine the drawings. Sketches. The raw output of someone's psyche, really. The artwork of her, though, makes her cringe a little bit, with images of her deification back home slamming through her head. She looks over to Setsuko. "I'm not sure... how I feel about that description, but... I did..." She hurt him. Badly. Did she have to, at that point? Did she have to dig that deep?
Pegasus	It's enough of a situation to make even Peg's cheer kind of halfhearted. "Well, at least we know this is the right place, huh?" She eyes the person there, but when they don't seem to move, she takes another look at the artwork. It has her frowning a little, but she isn't the detective here. The whole symbolism, while not lost on her, is something she just can't puzzle out. Maybe she doesn't want to. Since nobody else is getting the phone, she'll reach out pick it up, homing in on the frequency. "Hello?"
Nathan Hall	Setsuko is actually uniquely suited to this specific situation. A rather unusual sensation will occur here. Once Psyber moves to the man at the table, he doesn't move. But it prompts a shift. Setsuko will be able to detect the battle she detected seem to shift in time itself. It occurred an hour ago, no, half an hour ago, no it was ten minutes ago, no, it's happening right now! Now it's going to happen in ten minutes, it's going to happen in an hour... As this goes on, the man seems to unslump, limply, revealing a gaping gunshot wound applied to some inhuman growth that has formed near the base of his ribcage. As Psyber approaches the man, the pool of blood at his feet becomes apparent, but so too does the fact that the pool of blood is receeding into his body. It isn't long before the man seems to die in reverse, swiftly on his feet. Now that he's no longer slumped, his mask is obvious. It's based on the animalistic Shajem form of Wrathborn, but rendered in cheap, heavy plastics and rubber. The man, now on his feet, seems emaciated once the group can see him properly, like he doesn't just eat very little, but has been starving. He breathes heavily under his mask, and considers Psyber and Amalthea. He does raise his hands, but he shakes his head at Psyber's statement. Wordlessly, he slowly unstraps the holster of the dagger -- though doesn't draw the dagger itself -- and instead tries to present it to Amalthea herself, as if it were a gift. With his free hand, he points to the phone, though Pegasus is getting that now...
Setsuko Kaminagi	The instant the sense of battle begins to move, Setsuko is sudden and solid tension, a spring trap ready to go off. Hand on Zanjintou again, she goes still, stretching out her senses... only for the battle to push itself to the near future. "...that was /unsettling/," she murmurs quietly. Her eyes come up to the standing man who seems to be regenerating, and though she watches him warily, the fact that battle doesn't feel as if it's happening 'now' is enough for her to not take any real action. "I think that I was feeling whatever act of violence killed him. It transitioned from past to future."
Nathan Hall	The sketches go back several years. However, with Eleanor's examination, she can find that most of them feature a rather incredible attention to detail specifically at the eyes. Everything else about the artwork can, and does decay. However, the eyes of the illustrations have suffered absolutely no decay. They are fresh as they were when they first left the hand of the artist.
Eleanor Lamb	That... that shakes Eleanor. She can hear the commotion behind her, and she turns to look at the man Un-Die and start handing out weapons. She bites her lip, and keeps moving through the room, quietly prodding over at the audio tapes and recorders. If he's got artwork of them... from ages ago, long ago... What's on the tapes?
Guest Psyber	"Amalthea, cover me," Psyber comments as he steps forward towards the figure. Psyber's plan, in this instance, is a bold one. While he's not hostile towards the masked figure, he does attempt to reach out and pull his mask off. Hopefully Amalthea will, after she takes the dagger from the figure, be able to give him some cover in case this turns out violently.
Amalthea	Seeing that the man is DEAD, the old puddle of blood and gunshot confirming that makes Amalthea slowly draw her hand free from her jacket. Until the man UN-DIES. In instant she's holding the serratef form of a black dagger, seemingly carved from a sliver of moonlight, loppy ears pin back as her eye widens and--... The mask earns a stare. Especially as the figure displays compliance, and offers the dagger out. A glance over her shoulder is offered as Pegasus reaches for the phone, and with that handled she steps in. Gingerly accepting the blade but keeping herself at the ready as Psyber goes for the unmasking, she pulls the blade from its sheath for a better look.
Nathan Hall	Pegasus can hear the sound of someone on the other end of the line. Like this man, whoever's at the other end isn't speaking. There's heavy breathing, and the sound of audio equipment once more. But the man himself turns to look at her, as if readying himself to speak to her. He starts with gestures that are far more calm than the voice over the radio. <X-Confed-Chatter> [3-Of] No. 9 says, "Why you? Why /now/? I didn't want to get in a fight with you!" RWND <X-Confed-Chatter> No. 9 says, "--didn't help--" RWND <X-Union-Chatter> George says, "--it before--" The man seems dismissing in his gestures to her. He doesn't like that! Instead he gestures to Amalthea, Psyber, and Eleanor. <X-Union-Chatter> [5-SA] Psyber says, "They helped us out with--" FFWD "--problem, in the end." RWND <X-Union-Chatter> [5-SA] Psyber says, "They helped--" RWND <Union-IC> Whoosh! The Salty Gale in a pained voice, "--with that kind of ma--" The man gestures to the wall, much more proudly. His movements seem especially puppetlike; it seems like he might not be entirely here.
Nathan Hall	The mask won't come off. Not because the man resists, but because he appears to have cauterized it to his flesh directly with some sort of high-heat equipment. They'll have to cut it off if they want to do that. Psyber can get a solid look at his face, though, if he sort of fusses with the mouth of the mask where the man can look through. He has performed an operation on himself to remove his eyes and not received appropriate medical care for that in years, and that's all the details we'll discuss about his face, aside from the fact that having the mask over his head permanently has done him no favors for personal hygiene. It's a mess of infection in the flesh. He shouldn't be alive, in more ways than one.
Guest Psyber	Psyber frowns a bit, looking through the mouth of the mask at the man's face. The half-angel is taking a long time to look at things. The burnt out and untreated eyes, the mask fused to his face, the lack of hygeine. The man was obsessed with his project, and everything else suffered for it. There's context clues... the jacket, the knife, the mask. The drawings. They lead Psyber to say one thing: "Nathan. Are you... an alternate Nathan?"
Setsuko Kaminagi	At Psyber's guess, Setsuko turns around, eyes wide. The simple idea of it is more than a little unsettling in its own right.
Nathan Hall	Eleanor gets a look at the tapes. All of them aren't labelled. Being out at sea for what seems like over twenty years hasn't done anything good for them, and they're an organizational wreck. There's a couple tapes here that haven't decayed into COMPLETE unreadability yet. It's possible that there might be something interesting here, to gather information... Unfortunately, the tape decks here aren't high enough quality to read such decayed work. How's this guy do that?
Nathan Hall	The dagger is clearly a knockoff. They were just trying to buy a knife that was as close as possible to what they wanted as they could get. It's not the same Memento knife that Nathan keeps, and which Amalthea got to get a good look at twice, but it's sort of close. It's certainly designed as some sort of tribute. Oddly, it seems to possess the same temporally unstuck properties as the rest of the boat. Drawing it produces a soft noise at least a second in advance. Who knows what the hell it'll do if you try to actually use it.
Eleanor Lamb	"I..." Eleanor is about to say something about the tapes and 'maybe he's got recordings of all these different frequencies' and 'how did he break the Fed's incryption', before Psyber names his target, names the man, and she just... turns. A little quiet horror crosses her face as she examines the man fully now. "Nathan? It couldn't be, Psyber, there's no way he'd end up-" Wait. Yes he would. "...he'd end up a crazed loner?" The... the similarities to those from back home are spot on. The self abuse. The lack of eating. That mask. All of it. She sniffs. Like, really smells the room now. It's not something she's had to do in a long time. Is there ADAM here?
Amalthea	Blade now in hand, Amalthea is eyeing the dagger. "Close. But not Memento. Feels funny though." Murmured as she glances up. Psyber drops his hypothesis. And the unicorn's eye narrows fractionally. "You think it might be another?" She asides in a hushed tone to the half-angel, ear perking at the recordings at play.
Nathan Hall	<J-IC-Moderated> No. 9 says, "I don't get it." FFWD -<RADIO: 305.19>- Psyber says, "What is that?" RWND <X-Union-Chatter> Elliana Fairchild says, "--ir Nathan Hall as he is now." FFWD <X-Union-Chatter> Psyber says, "--going to need help with that--" The recordings on the phone are disjointed. The masked man himself seems confused. He tilts his head at Psyber, but while Psyber's guess might have been wrong, he's at least clarified that there's some critical gaps here, in knowledge. Or possibly in cognition.
Pegasus	"I don't think he plans on fighting us, anyway," Pegasus says, setting the phone down and tuning her local radio to the band. She'll also radio the frequency to everyone present, so they can hear without her holding the phone. She freezes at Psyber's conjecture... but when it appears to be WRONG, she resumes moving, and lowers her lance to snap it back to baton size, so she can put it away. "More like a cultist who worships Nathan," she reasons.
Guest Psyber	"Tch. Guess I'm wrong," Psyber says as he holsters his gun again and steps back from the man, sighing a bit, "All part of the process." He looks to Pegasus at this point, "Cultist is better. But the question stands of where he managed to get all the logs he has. Some parts of this don't add up cleanly." "Or rather, almost no parts of this make sense, frankly," Psyber comments as he looks around, "Why him?" Psyber asks as he points to a picture of Nathan, "Why me?" He asks, shifting to one of himself, "Tell me why."
Nathan Hall	There is no ADAM for Eleanor to find. However, there is the scent of similar physical mutation. Something has forced the body of the man to become twisted, but it is definitely not biological. A body-mutating effect like ADAM, but sourceless, or perhaps from a source that's external enough that it can't be quite detected here, through this way.
Eleanor Lamb	Eleanor frowns at the lack of ADAM, but the sensation of the... the place just gives her pause. She shelves her intention to start poking through the tapes for any still salvagable ones, to stepping over to the man. "He's been changed. Not just... like this. There's something that changed him." She bites her lip, and steps forward holding out her hands in a non-threatening manner. "Did the... space in this place do this to you? How long have you been here for, sir?" A... respectful tone from the Sister.
Amalthea	"A cultist who worships Nathan and villifies you." Amalthea asides to Pegasus, glancing at the art again. "But why would Nathan end up with a cultist and... I'm wondering what's up with the knife. It feels just as off as the rest of this place."
Nathan Hall	Pegasus gives a suggestion. This is the only time the man himself speaks up. His voice is hoarse, like he's not spoken in years. He manages to creak out, "worship". The motions he make seem to be his own, at least for a moment. He speaks up again, "worship", and then cradles the weird growth at his chest, still covered by his ratty clothes. He holds it for several seconds, muttering briefly, "help", "find", and "eat". It's not the same being as what they've been talking to, though. He seems to go back to 'channeling' whatever he was open to before after he mutters the longest string of coherent words yet, "open the eye". When he does, the weird growth seems to shift, as if assuming more direct influence on things.
Setsuko Kaminagi	Setsuko watches the man silently, listening - both to the strange words of the entity, and to those of the man himself when he speaks and makes it obvious he's separate from whatever else is speaking to them. She doesn't miss the weird growth shifting around on his body, either, and a deepening frown comes to her face. Quietly, she reaches up, murmuring words into her radio.
Nathan Hall	The man snaps his view back on Psyber and resumes more human-like gestures. They don't seem to correspond anymore with what he's 'saying', though; it seems like it's just sort of trying to go through the motions of what it assumes conversation is like. He responds to Psyber's questions in order. First: Why Nathan? <X-Union-Chatter> George says, "He was there--" FFWD <J-IC-Moderated> No. 9 says, "--I got in--" FFWD <X-Confed-Chatter> [4-Of] No. 9 says, "--nobody else has done this--" RWND <J-IC-Moderated> The Salty Gale says, "--First and only chance to--" FFWD <X-Union-Chatter> Eleanor Lamb says, "--I need him." First time Eleanor showed up on that. Weird. And then the next question...
Nathan Hall	<Confederate-IC> No. 9 says, "--You helped me out that one time--" FFWD <X-Union-Chatter> George says, "--thank you very much--" FFWD <J-IC-Moderated> No. 9 says, "--I'm going to do it again." RWND <J-IC-Moderated> Utsuho Reiuji says, "--need help with--" He assumes a very friendly posture, or rather, the man assumes serveral different incongruous postures that don't inherently make much sense together, but seem to be an attempt to approximate the idea that what they're speaking to considers Psyber a friend and someone helpful to it.
Pegasus	Pegasus narrows her eyes at that. "And why am I shown so poorly?" There's more concern than anger in her voice, even if she's not sure if this being really has Nathan's best interests at heart. "And aside from that, what is it you actually want from us?"
Guest Psyber	And the gun's back out, "Fuck you!" Psyber shouts at the man abruptly, legitimately angry for one of the few moments in his life. "Fuck you if you're asking me to help you with more shit like what I went through over the past months," His gun is out and the barrel is shoved in the figure's face for a few moments, "That shit was a fiasco. A front to back fuckup of nearly everyone I trusted to fix shit. Especially me. Don't EVER thank me for it." Eventually, he backs off and storms away from the figure for a few steps to catch his senses again.
Setsuko Kaminagi	Setsuko listens. She watches. In some ways, it is her nature; she has little ability for active social engagement in a lot of ways, but she's gotten good at watching people, listening and putting together clues. "...You're either someone who wants Nathan Hall to fall, or someone who prefers him as the broken, emotional wreck that he was as a result of all his problems over the past few years. Someone who doesn't like him, or someone who liked him better as an emotionless shell of a man. Am I in the neighborhood?"
Nathan Hall	Eleanor gets a head tilting, almost confused at what she just said. But it seems like she's almost onto something there. <J-IC-Moderated> No. 9 says, "I need to talk to you--" FFWD <J-IC-Moderated> Psyber says, "--wanna meet with you in person about something I need your help with--" RWND <X-Union-Chatter> Whoosh! The Salty Gale says, "--so I--" RWND <J-IC-Moderated> Utsuho Reiuji says, "--made a--" FFWD <J-IC-Moderated> Elliana Fairchild says, "--voice--" FFWD <X-Confed-Chatter> 3-Of No. 9 says, "--I can talk--" FFWD <X-Union-Chatter> George blandly, "--with this, given the months of observati--"
Eleanor Lamb	Eleanor is first very surprised to hear her own voice echoed back. Who did she need at that moment? Who knows, now. If only she had... well, Nathan's memory. The rest of the words though, turn her blood cold. Those eyes narrow and she watches Psyber's... rather surprising reaction. He's not usually one to be pointing guns like that. Well, in that manner. There's a number of questions she's got, but Pegasus and Setsuko covered both of them. The Sister looks mildly uncomfortable and grouchy now. "Why are we even here?"
Amalthea	When Psyber's gun comes out, Amalthea's hand sets on the Half-Angel's. "Psyber, peace. We're here to try and get this shit answered not make him dead... Again." She grouses. Though she eue glowering somewhat at the masked man, it matters little if her expression cannot be seen.
Nathan Hall	Once again, Pegasus is the one that seems to draw the most ire from the man. His movements are more intentionally obvious as a caricature of anger, like someone sort of observed anger and then tried to come up with a vague representation of it. <J-IC-Moderated> Psyber says, "--you won't listen t--" RRWD <J-IC-Moderated> Utsuho Reiuji says, "--I tried--" FFWD <X-Union-Chatter> [5-SA] Psyber says, "--won't help--" RWND <X-Union-Chatter> George says, "--you keep--" FFWD <X-Union-Chatter> George says, "--Not helping--" FFWD <X-Union-Chatter> George says, "--For so long." There's an angry series of tones at the end, frustrated at Pegasus. As for her other question...
Nathan Hall	When it comes down to 'what do they want'... This is where, abruptly, the entity seems to run out of clips. There's a noise like something hitting the end of a reel, and the man flinches, as if straining, in pain. The voice that comes up next is far, far more odd. First, that "signature" of music, the one that came from the odd numbers station that was against-pattern: http://tinyurl.com/signature-of-sound. It seems to be meant to preface the actual message. <Numbers-Station> A Lady says, "Thank you for holding. We are sorry, but all our lines are currently busy. We thank you for your patience. We remain one hundred percent dedicated to your rewards. Please deliver your proof of candidacy to the following location." Ding! <Numbers-Station> A Gentleman says, "Forty two degrees. Twenty two minutes. Two seconds. North. Seventy one degrees. Three minutes. Twenty one point four seconds. West." Ding! And once more, those tones play. The implicit message is obvious. "Take Nathan here." Which, one expects, won't, and shouldn't, happen.
Nathan Hall	The man seems to be confused at Psyber. The one responsible for responding to him seems honestly baffled at the idea that Psyber won't indulge this. <Confederate-IC> No. 9 says, "--You helped me out that one time--" FFWD <X-Union-Chatter> Elliana Fairchild says, "I don't understand." FFWD -<RADIO: 16.03>- Psyber says, "I don't understand." RWND <X-Union-Chatter> George says, "--I still don't understand bu--" FFWD <Confederate-IC> No. 9 says, "--You helped me out that one time--" The long series of tones it makes seems a bit helplessly frustrated
Guest Psyber	"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Psyber, who had been mostly calming down, snaps again. And this time it is a full on scream that comes out of him as the being tries to goad him into helping him some more in terms of damaging Nathan. His only reaction that he can take, lest he commit overt violence on the masked figure, is to storm outside and onto the deck of the ship to catch his breath.
Pegasus	And there goes Psyber. Pegasus is just sorta... creeping around at this point, edging around toward the side of the desk as if investigating something there. She's pretty bad at this cloak and dagger stuff. But she is at least trying to wait until he's confused and distracted before- POUNCE! Metal and ceramic leaps forward, trying to grab hold of a shoulder and arm to hold the man. While best with a lance, Pegasus is pretty good at unarmed combat too. She's just really bad about trying to be unobtrusive about leaping over a desk.
Nathan Hall	This is where the being seems to get a little defensive. It was previously somewhat trusting of the group, for... Some reason. Aside from Pegasus, anyway. Now, it's a little more guarded when it responds to Setsuko. But it seems like she's at least close to an answer... <X-Union-Chatter> George says, "It doesn't matter--" FFWD <X-Confed-Chatter> [4-Of] No. 9 says, "--you help me--" FFWD <X-Union-Chatter> Elliana Fairchild says, "--far more rewarding."
Setsuko Kaminagi	"No reward is worth what you're asking," Setsuko replies simply. And in a few short steps, she's there to help Pegasus hold the man still, applying that superhuman strength with impressive restraint. Just enough to keep him still, and no more.
Nathan Hall	Audio equipment goes everywhere. All at once, it's like a dozen cassette tapes full of traitor dialogue start going of, creating a chorus of words. This coincides effectively with the way the man reacts to being grabbed by Pegasus, and then by Setsuko. He doesn't move, but his causality seems to move. While the man himself is so starved that he can do little beyond going limp, his timeline reacts much more violently. Whatever entity is influencing him attempts to wrench him violently out of any possible timelines where he is grabbed and into timelines where he is not, which creates a physical struggle that is actually not just impossible for the english language to describe, but actually impossible for human-like minds to cognize. It hurts to look at, and it's more than a bit mentally taxing to combat. But with some determination, they can keep the body in a vulnerable place.
Setsuko Kaminagi	Setsuko is not sure how to react to the strange struggle that begins. It's probably thanks to her divine half that she can even begin to comprehend it in the least, and she's certainly not able to fully conceptualize it. But physically speaking, she is strong, and beyond that... Well, it's a long shot that it will have any effect at all, but if her divinity can do anything whatsoever, perhaps a bit of metaphysical strength is called for as well. For the first time in a good while, Setsuko allows her divine aura to billow out freely, and then pushes it outright, expanding it into a bright, billowing blue stormcloud around her that floods the area with divine power. She's not sure what it will accomplish. She's just hoping that radiating godly power from a half-god will do something or other to loosen the hold on this man.
Amalthea	Amalthea is still twirling that knife in her hands. It has been eating at her this whole time and now she gets to try it out. Despite temporal shenanigans, as Pegasus and Setsuko hold the man down, the unicorn sighs. This is a terrible place for impromptu surgery, but she'll try to rip at the man's clothes to get a better look at the growth, before aiming the blade, tip down. Short of some REALLY weird Time Shit happening, she'll start trying to cut it out. Completely. However deep and large it may be, despite the headache inducing fiasco of timelines fluctuating all around.
Guest Psyber	It takes Psyber a few moments to calm down, because of his own instability lately. Had he tried to restrain the man, it would have been too violent. Too painful. So he let the others take point on his plan for him while he stood up on deck and looked out over the ocean to gather his thoughts. It was as the struggle intensified that Psyber came back inside and rubbed his face, "Holy shit. What is empowering this guy?" He manages to ask as he watches them all struggle. He's unsure if he should help, or if he's capable of it.
Eleanor Lamb	Eleanor... well. They've probably got that handled over there. She looks up at Psyber entering the room, and murmurs. "Think you cna help me? I want to record what he's got in here. Can you seee if any of those tapes or reels can be saved?" She's pulling out her cell phone, holding the proper horisontal direction, and snapping photos of the sketches all over. As many as she can get.
Nathan Hall	There is a tremendous eyeball growing out of the man's chest. The skin on its surface looks thick and leathery despite its smoothness. It's probably got a toughness like thick animal hide. That particular blade, though, seems to sink around it effectively. Trying to carve it out isn't too difficult, but it's large enough that this guy is gonna be bleeding bad. The knockoff-brand pseudo-Psybercoat is torn up easily, as is the ratty shirt under it. The temporal knife cuts, effectively, through the flesh, though Amalthea needs her machine strength to pull that off. The eye itself seems to be freaking out, darting its vision around. It also swaps, rapidly, between multiple familiar eyes. Psyber's own distinct red, Wrathborn's, Elliana's regenerated wound eye, and even the crystal-like eye of a Device, where George's traitorous personality was trapped. It won't be too long before the disgusting growth pops out of the horrible cavity in the man's chest though, bleeding more than anyone should tastefully describe. As soon as it's disconnected there's a heavy jostling. The entire boat has stopped being disconnected from causality, and settles into the water. The interior, lit by a sunrise, suddenly changes, now abruptly lit by sunset. Setsuko can detect the combat happening now, finally, but the future combat just zooms back into the past where it appears to have authentically happened originally. And the eye... The eye seems to 'close', suddenly covered in an unusual set of stony 'lids' that shut tight over it. The phone disconnects, and soon the frequency only has a dialtone in need of hanging up. The decayed boat settles into the water, and begins slowly sinking from its accumulated rot. The man himself seems barely alive, now that time itself isn't conspiring to keep him alive, but what meager strength he has seems all dedicated to grabbing at that tremendous eye. He barely manages to desperately whisper "no", and "give". Not much left of his mind after spending so much subjective time in a horrible timewarp.
Pegasus	And the boat is now sinking after an EYE was cut out of the man. How... disturbing. It's time to go, though! "Yeah..." She stares at the man moaning and clutching the eye, before hurriedly heading for the door with the others. Hurrying, but not too much. Pegasus is a nice girl now, but she hasn't forgotten her roots in times of stress or need. This is one of the former. Reaching for the rotting doorway, she tears off a piece that is long and slender, whipping it around so the sharpest point can be used. In her hands, anything even vaguely lance-like is deadly. And she's actually kind of ticked off. A quick snap of her arm hurls the 'lance' toward the eyeball. If he wants to cling to it, he can be pinned to it.
Setsuko Kaminagi	Setsuko is careful to lower the man gently to the floor of the cabin, then stands up, looking down towards him with what can only be described as muted pity. She seems to consider something for a moment, before turning to look at Psyber and saying simply, "After all he's endured... drowning is a cruel, frightening way to die." Coming from anyone else, that might seem like a suggestion they save him, but coming from her... Psyber, at least, should know her well enough to know what she's suggesting.
Guest Psyber	Psyber gets a disgusted look on his face at the sight of the eyeball. He... does not stop Pegasus. He actually, quite the opposite, silently approves of her actions. Reaching into his coat, he pulls out the Order Modus and begins flipping through the many things he keeps in it. "Mmnnnnnnn...." Is all he says to anyone at the moment. 'Contingency 321A-#4C' is the page he stops on and tears out. As it comes out, a huge box of tan bricks with kitchen timers on them appears in one of his hands. There's a distant look to him as he doesn't actually... respond to Setsuko. Which is highly abnormal, because he's usually fairly stoic. And it usually amplifies, with the more distressing moments seeing him being all the more stoic and well-maintained. But right now, he's just calmly walking around the room. Or more accurately, shuffling around it. Stopping in front of murals or near equipment to leave a block here or there, stuck to a wall or placed on a table. Nearly two dozen of them in all. "Do what you need. You have twenty minutes. There won't be splinters left to touch the ocean floor," Psyber comments to her finally as he takes out a remote and presses a button. All the bricks in the room immediately light up at the clock face. 20:00
Amalthea	The mere SIGHT of that growth sends a frigid chill through the unicorn. But she does not stop until the eye is full excised. Promptly dropping the bloody knife once she's done. It's not the worst thing she's done to a man by far, but in the context of the events of the evening... It hits near the top to the eeriest things experienced in three centuries. A shudder of revulsion, and she doesn't even look twice at the thing when Pegasus impales it. Amalthea's just... Going to wipe the blood off her hands and take a few steps back to let out the breath she was holding.
Setsuko Kaminagi	Setsuko will wait, until Psyber is done. Until the others have left the cabin, unless any of them specifically choose to remain. When she comes out a short while later, returning Zanjintou to its sheath, she's still wearing that expression of muted pity, mixed with disgust. "...Who, or what he was... That was a cruel thing to do to a man. And he was just a tool to get at Nathan."
Nathan Hall	The man and his tremendous eye are impaled; he dies swiftly, already on the verge of death to begin with, speared right through the cavity that the eye once occupied. Eleanor can get her photos, and gather her evidence. She has time, at least, enough to do that. The group, now seeming to be thoroughly disgusted and unsettled by the exchange, can now leave; soon, the boat will be utterly annihilated. Distantly, noise from the blast reaches a trio of gunmen on the way out, speeding away on their own craft. They report this, just like they reported the incoming helicopter, to their superiors, who are, of course, even farther away, who debate among themselves the possibility that the eye might have made contact. And within Boston itself, at a certain set of coordinats, where a squat, unassuming building that nobody quite noticed suddenly appeared at the site where a graveyard was just a day ago... A dozen, or maybe even two dozen men and women in masks, starved but possessed of an inhuman energy, alternate between scrawling reverent artwork throughout the structure and preparing a complex semi-magical ritual throughout its entire space. But the boat, the man, and the eye are all reduced to a fine mist of dust that drifts down through the water. And that's good progress with no ambiguity or confusion at all.