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Priscilla     Entering through the whispering void of the Nothingness, to the fourth visible point of light in its odd texture, you're hit directly with another total palette change. For those who had returned from the Purified Zone 1, it might be welcome, or might seem garish and unnatural, for everything solid is a shade of glaring industrial orange, paths lightened to the colour of road lines in the midst of tangerine metal. Here, the metal underfoot is much harder than that of Zone 2's, and more level and firmly shaped than Zone 1's. It feels like walking on solid metal plates, shaped for industry.

    That seems to be exactly what they are, though. Walking a skinny and completely disused pathway between two halves of an endless ocean of sloshing white liquid plastic to either side, what rises up ahead of you is a looming wall of industrial edifice --not a mine or quarry or farm or anything that produces, but a square and spartan and gigantic tapestry of factory that consumes and spits out something new. You can scarcely see anything before the biggest, squarest building directly at the end of the path --though transport lines stretch off to both horizons-- save for towering smoke stacks in the distance. The kind that belong to a power plant, more than a factory. They do indeed belch smoke as well. Not the mostly-transparent, stale and slightly bitter smoke you breathe in just by being here, but strong, black, full bodied smog.

    The only door in leads to an inside area that is once again and almost-but-not-quite contrasting colour and atmosphere to that outside, this time an almost-but-not-quite soothing green halfway between 'forest' and 'hospital'. Distantly, you can hear the chug of machinery and hiss of pipes, far down many halls, but it appears to be some sort of reception or another, with teeny tiny squared windows near the ceiling at the far end, letting in a bit of sunlight.

    There is only a single desk though, and it is currently empty, with a note left on top. The floor is patterned with some sort of hatching that looks like train tracks or hopscotch, leading west, to a larger hatched square saying A1 before a door, and east, to a set of stairs going down that says M inside another square. There is a poster on the back wall, for some reason. You don't hear any footsteps from either direction. Just faint, whirring factory sounds.
August Kohler August Kohler is here, having stayed out of the Pure Zones due to a lack of interest and wanting to respect the Batter - who had no interest himself. As the group walks through the pathway between plastic oceans and heads towards the factory building, he's quiet, dressed in a thick jacket concealing his knife and revolver, with a mirrored bracelet on his wrist.

"We're in some sort of factory....but I guess that's stating the obvious. Doesn't look like any Elsen here, yet, though." August moves to grab and read the note, placing it back down for the others when he's done, before heading to glance at the poster. He'll pick a direction after he's found some idea of where they are, first.
Starbound Flotilla     Like before, George was not in the void. Like before, you can find him waiting here already. George is outside the door, taking what appears to be a smoke break, as if he works here or something. Despite his smoking habit always cropping up in times of stress, he seems more at ease here than any of the other zones. He follows August in. "Yeah, weird shifts, huh? Must be some wonky management."
Yuuki Kuran A new Zone! A new MESSED UP PLACE to explore with GARISH COLORS and WEIRD NEW FRIENDS and horrible new monsters to offend you with how awfully horrible they are. Hooray! Fun happy times!

Yuuki is bac, once again, and once again is BOTHERING GEORGE.

"George, you know the others don't know you're here. I tried not to give away you've been helping us this whole time, but..."

Yuuki wears an expression of concern for George, and his predicament. "Are you certain you want to stick with us? I promise, if you decide not to, I'll still see things through."
Tina Natsumi The hideous orangeyness and return of the liquid plastic is strangely reassuring to Tina. Reality being what it is and the Purified Zone being as normal(ish) as it was, coming back to this thoroughly unnatural production area reminds the Persona user of what the Zones had been like prior to their meddling.

"I'm curious if they got smoke stacks here that let out regular air or somethin'. Bein' all.. Reverse-like and whatnot." Tina chuckles lightly while tipping her hat back to get a better look at that note after August is done with it, turning it over once to take a quick peek before heading over to check the poster more closely. She tries peeling it off the wall, too, to get a look at the back as well.

"Wonky management's a nice way to put it, gramps." Tina laughs and shakes her head, glancing over at George and Yuuki afterwards. "Hey, did either y'all see our boy around?"
Doctor Strange      Doctor Strange is here--simply here, without much ado about portals or any of his other flashy entrances. There's a reason for that. Since his discovery of the true nature of this world, he's notably more grave. The constant haze of bitter smoke that saturates the air doesn't do much for his disposition, either.

     He doesn't make a move to grab the note or huddle around anyone's shoulder. Grave though he might be, he's still the Sorcerer Supreme. The next person to grab the note after August will read it with some company--a small glyph resembling an open eye. The 'pupil' reads over the note as would a real eye, beckoned by Strange's hand gestures.

     When he's finished, he gives the poster a brief examination. He isn't /not/ expecting to find something, but his mind isn't really on what's in directly front of him. No, his thoughts focus more on the future of this world, and how he can secure one that's better than the options already presented. Elsen looks and seems human, if a bit of a caricature of one. If he is, that would put him at odds with some pretty powerful beings. "Don't worry," says Strange to Yuuki. "By the time we see Pavo again, it'll be too late for her to do anything about him helping us."

     They're going to have to revisit the Purified Zone. But they'll have to go there last, unless someone else has the same idea. He can't risk this getting pulled six different ways. If they knew what each one could do... "By the way," says Strange conversationally, to anyone who'll listen. "What is it you guys are hoping to accomplish here? What's your best case scenario?"
Zero Kiryu Zero came here with Yuuki. He always comes here with Yuuki. The change in footing in the new Zone immediately catches his attention. It strikes him as strange, for a fleeting instant, before he reminds himself that this place is nothing if not nonsensical and that he really shouldn't read too much in to the particulars. The orange is more than a little garish to his eyes, though not so blinding as the aggressively loud LIGHT of the purified zones.

His thoughts drift, distantly, to the Secretaries being transported elsewhere by the Flotilla.

His attention is called back to the present by Yuuki's words towards George, which immediately calls something to mind.

"Do you know if Moonfin is still operating in this world, or did he decide to depart when he lost that book?" He asks.
Zero Kiryu "None. My primary charge in these circumstances is to attend to Yuuki's safety." Zero replies to Dr. Strange, dully.
Starbound Flotilla     "Yep." George replies to Yuuki. "Mostly, I never got a /real/ tour of the Zones! Gotta see what that's all about, you know? Mostly I've just heard the chatter and visited the Queen with the rest of the gang, I wanna see what it's all like from the bottom up still." He evades discussion of the actual relationships afoot here, but he /does/ seem genuine about the curiosity. No show of the root of his certainty.
Starbound Flotilla     "Our boy, you mean the Guardian? Eh, we'll run into 'em sooner or later, you know. After all, we're kinda part of their hell too, you know?" George says, to Tina, seeming at peace with the lack of ya boy so to speak.
Starbound Flotilla     "Oh, Pavo heard? Haha, well, jig's up there. You /know/ I'm not fighting her -- we used to have beef, but these days we've made peace enough with each other that I'm not gonna throw down with her." Geroge somehow manages to /almost/ sound honest when he says that, to Strange's commentary. "She didn't know I was here, but yeah, I'm kinda... It's not that I'm not /allowed/ to be here, it's that I'm not /supposed/ to be here. Really, I'm pretty much always like that, wherever I am. There's complicated stuff going."
Starbound Flotilla     "Moonie? Uh..." George rubs the back of his head, pondering Zero's question in that special way that makes it clear that the answer is somehow Complicated. "Dunno what you think about our healing tech, but I don't think you'll run into him. Guy's still pretty beat up, on account of you guys only took him out, what, maybe eight hours ago? Twelve? I don't really keep track, something like that. Unless we're in a bad spot, it usually takes at least a day to kinda get back into fighting shape. Don't think you'll see him all swords out unless shit gets /really/ bad, 'cause he's all bandages right about now."
Priscilla     Picking up the note, there is simply scribbled on it: "I'll be back in a minute."

    They aren't back in a minute.

    The poster appears to be a sort of stamp sheet, filled with many more hatched squares, spaced around in a loose grid. Someone has used black marker to scribble in a one through eight in certain squares, like a really shitty connect the dots, or an impossible hop scotch. Someone else has added a two to nine in green, and an a six to nine in red, leading up to a circled zero. It says "Vesper A1" in the corner.

    The stairs down past the hatched M lead to a full turn of right angled staircases, with a distant sort of locomotive chug echoing up from them. The door past the A1 leads back outside again for a moment, to an elbow causeway over the plastic, near a massive pipeline the likes of which usually carries oil, or other industrial things of high value that should be sealed in heavy steel. It dips back inside almost immediately, but there's an Elsen sat by the edge, leaning back, feet kicking almost in the plastic.

    "The plastic is beautiful today . . ." the Elsen remarks to the Batter standing behind him and looking out into the same view over his head.
    "Sure." says the Batter, apparently not seeing the same beauty in the view.

    The Elsen sounds weirdly relaxed. Not *really* relaxed, but less harried and overworked than Zone 1, and less critically anxious and fearful than Zone 2. Kind of resigned and tired.
Zero Kiryu "So he won't return for a little while yet, if at all. Hm." Zero replies to George, with a faint nod.

"Thank you."

His attention roams as they go. The strange plastic-water of this world is something that he's grown accustomed to, enough so that he doesn't really think much of it until the Elsen draws attention to it. Zero looks down into the substance that the Elsen is kicking at.

The hunter shuts his eyes and concentrates.

Among the numerous transformations he has undergone physically, Zero's psychic presence has expanded. He hasn't put it much to the test yet, but he has noticed... noises. Sounds that weren't there, impulses that weren't his. Not intrusive, but noteworthy all the same.

He turns that presence -- that perceptiveness -- on Elsen, feeling out what's really is on its mind. What it's really feeling.

Then, slowly, Zero swings his attention around towards the Batter. That one is ever-elusive, and his intentions shrouded in... a combination of smugness and seemingly a detachedness that rivals Zero's own.

While there's something distinctly "of this place" prompting him, Zero wants to see if he can figure the Batter out a little.
Doctor Strange      "I dunno," says Strange to Zero. It /is/ true. He doesn't technically know whether Moonfin left or not. There's a reason not to postulate, however. So he doesn't. Sure enough, George has the whole story. Or at least appears to. George doesn't get a response from Strange when he mentions how he's not 'supposed' to be here. He does, however, get a knowing look.

     He very clearly /doesn't/ know anything about the stamp sheet. The A1 is the only thing on it that seems familiar. Even then, only because it's a symbol above one of the two routes available. So... maybe it's a map? If it is, perhaps both paths wind around--the stairs go back up after going down, or the hallway goes down... or there's an elevator, maybe. Strange shakes his head dismissively. Doesn't matter, he can go wherever he wants.

     Having spent enough time reading notes and poring over posters, Strange decides on a path--A1. If the door is locked, or otherwise barred, anyone here can probably guess what he's going to try.
Tina Natsumi That's the one. Yeah, he'll find us if we don't find him sooner or later. Or we'll find..." Tina snaps her fingers a few times, having trouble coming up with Moonfin's name until George says it out loud. "Yeah, him. He's really into the Queen's... Whatever the plan is, huh? Wish I knew what the heck I was even doin' besides soakin' in all the weird sights."

Tina laughs again, then turns her phone around to face her. "But don't worry, folks! This ain't gonna cut down on my normal times, so keep on watchin' and see if you can figure it out back home!" That phone goes back into her jacket's breast pocket, and then she starts following the numbered lines on the poster. She starts with the black squares first, then the green, and finally the red before grunting in frustration. "The heck's this even supposed to be?" She shrugs lightly and takes the poster with her if Doctor Strange doesn't. After that, she takes the M stairs down and chuckles when she sees that familiar figure staring out the window.

"There's our guy!" Tina smiles broadly as she approaches the Batter and the Elsen, holding up her hand in a broad wave. "Howdy. So! Whatcha got goin' on over in this neck of the... Zone... Woods?"
August Kohler August just squints at the poster. What the hell is this? As Strange heads for A1, August follows him, having also determined it's more important, and not caring to deal with mroe Elsen. "I don't understand this world enough." August replies to Strange. "So I guess what I want is to accomplish is the Batter's mission. Purify the zones. Best-case scenario...whatever this world came from becomes healthy, even if it's all white and pure, and no longer has spectres and murderous creatures and exploding salarymen."

If the door is locked and Strange can't portal through, August will speak up, suggesting to use Dietrich to destroy the door, like it erased parts of Albert's gunship.
Starbound Flotilla     "I'll go with 'at all'." George answers Zero pretty effectively as they move on. "That's just my bet, but... y'know, much as he wanted to control the narrative, this isn't really his story to begin with." He stops near the poster, thinks, and sighs. "Never could solve these Sudokus."

    He gets to the Batter, who seems to be one that George especially likes. "Hey, bats! Glad seeing you again. Any leads on the big G of Three, or you just taking in the sights until something turns up to give you a good idea of things?"
Yuuki Kuran Yuuki smiles serenly as Zero relates why HE's here, the straight line path from 'why' to 'cuz that useless girl over there'. It's reassuring in its consistency. But Stephen asked her too! This question consumes Yuuki's near-undivided attention as she considers.

The pitter-patter of plastic rain fills her nose with the distant smell of Mint-In-Box action figures and laminate.

"Why I'm here..."

Something catches her attention from George. "Was it really that long ago...? But it was..."

She trails off. Time is so funny in this strange dream. Was it so long ago? Was it minutes, or hours? Well, George said it, so it's probably true.

Brushing her fingertips along the stamp card, Yuuki traces the black numbers with a feather-light touch. "They're like little cubicles. But we already were at the business place...?"

Strange's question is finally answerd. "At first, I was here to play a role - a little game to pass the time. That's all."

Her hand shifts to indicitvely gesture at George. "But that changed when my dear friend asked me for help - when he told me with complete certainty that this was not only the right path, but what needed to be done. I was content to play along, before, but now I won't be satisfied until things are completed."

She beams a bright smile, her blindfold having been discarded so her red-brown eyes twinkle radiantly. "It's as simple as that. Because a friend asked me, it has to be done."
Priscilla     Zero finds that the Elsen's head isn't filled with much. Accompanying his manner of speech, his thoughts are tired and slow; he has the sort of feeling about him as a man taking a smoke break at the 10th hour of an exhausting overtime shift. He seems to be looking forward to dinner. Specifically dessert. He isn't thinking about much more than the view and dessert later. It kind of feels like a third of someone's normal thought process, but compared to the other two Zones, there doesn't seem to be much negative on his mind except being vaguely bored and tired of work.

    Turning it on the Batter is strange. His thoughts are just as hard to read as his expressions, and don't feel entirely human. Zero gets the sense that the Batter is utterly calm in the sense that someone waiting for the train is --someone who has taken the train at that exact time every single day and has utterly unthinking, rote faith it'll arrive at that time. Pure surety describes much of the feeling he gets. Unshakeable faith, in the classic sense of the word, even if commonly expressed pseudo-religiously. He seems to be sort of awaiting something or other, and in the meantime, expressing displeasure at the smoke stacks, and thinking about a specific person Zero can't quite pin down.

    There's also a blurry, indistinct sort of second presence, like someone else partially in his head. The Batter seems to be aware of its existence, but not of what it's thinking.

    He feels a sort of alert, analytical vigilance, suited for taking in a new environment and putting complicated thoughts together. It's coloured by shades of indistinct misgivings and unease, which are losing out to an intense, addictive fascination. It seems at least partially aware of the conversation, having half-thoughts about George, then Yuuki and himself, and then there's a recursive loop of perceptions that don't fit his that just hurt his brain even to skim the surface of, somehow completely incompatible with his own perspective.

    "It's break time." the Elsen replies to Tina, not looking away from the plastic ocean. "It'll be over soon, and then I'll have to go back to work." That is indeed what a break is.

    Strange continues along the path, with August, and A1 turns out to pretty simply mean 'Area 1'. They can't call it a zone, after all. The start of it appears to be a cafeteria of sorts, stacked high along the walls with crates and boxes, but with fairly simple green plastic chairs and tables laid out in rows, with a pair of counters at the north end divided by a wall, and two doors that lead into different back rooms. The floor hatching patterns are kind of ramshackle and poorly painted, as if someone did a bit of a sloppy and inconsistent job on them. There is a memo on the wall right next to him that says "Your lunch break must not exceed two hours. Be careful." A couple of Elsens are still loitering around the room. There is no sign of any food.
Tina Natsumi "Break time, eh? I could use a break for sure, but I'm still on the clock. You know how it is, right, bud?" Tina grins as she steps closer to the window to get a look at that same ocean, glancing over at the Elsen and the Batter for a moment before running a finger over the window for that annoying squeaky noise. "What kinda work do ya do here, anyway? I mean you specifically in here. Not.. Like. This whole factory-setup ya got here." She turns to the Batter afterwards, trying to follow his gaze to assess whatever it is he's thinking about.

Alas, she's not a mind reader, and all she can work with is his stated displeasure. "You'd think they'd wanna turn those things inwards somewhere, right? If they're minin' the smoke, then letting it out just seems kinda... Wasteful. Unless it's a different kinda smoke y'all use." That last part is directed more to the Elsen than the Batter, but she keeps her gaze going between the two.

"Say. Is your boss around somewhere?"
Doctor Strange      Strange listens to Yuuki's answer. She probably won't go for it, if she thinks that George's way is the absolute best. Zero's under the same column, probably. It goes without saying that George won't. But what about August? Strange waits until the two of them are out of earshot of anyone in the lobby to ask.

     "Just a hypothetical," says Strange. "I know we don't, but... if you had a... third option," ponders the sorcerer with a look over his shoulder at George and the Batter, "What would that be?" He does try to stay within earshot of August while they figure the room out. He's not sure what to make of the floor patterns--and he's not so far from any idea what to do as to risk looking like a fool playing hopscotch between the hatched squares.

     Instead, he chats up the Elsen. "Hey guys," says Strange in his best middle management voice. "Hope you haven't eaten yet. Just got off the horn with management." He makes finger guns at each of them in succession. "They said you're doing fine, and they wanted me to drop off some food, compliments of... management," he says after an awkward pause. These guys are known to explode at the slightest bit of uncertainty or discomfort, so 'fine' is the word to use. Also, the 'food' he gives (read: conjures) for them is as uninteresting as he can make it.

     Slices of bread and water.
August Kohler "I don't know. I don't know enough of the problem." August replies, as he walks forward with Strange, but he ends up replying a few seconds later anyways. "The Elsen are some sort of organism, right? And they don't appear to be in the Pure Zones, from what I've heard. So if I had a choice, a third option, there'd be a pure world, and they'd be healthy and happy in it. They'd be pure, too. Somewhere they can just be, without exploding into monsters. But there's no way to grant that. The world doesn't work that way, where we always get the perfect happy ending." August exhales, as he watches Strange interact with the Elsen.

"So I'm going to be a great member of the Choir. That's my role, right? Help the Batter, stop the others."

Unlike Doctor Strange, August is totally willing to try playing hopscotch. This place is weird, it might give him benefits or something.
Zero Kiryu "Hunh."

Zero opens his eyes, and considers what he just learned. Elsen isn't terribly out of the ordinary for this place, but he does seem better adjusted. Might that be because of the purifying of some of the zones? Or is it something else? He supposes there's no way to know. The Batter, on the other hand... the second presence there is more than a little ominous. That he isn't quite the same sort of mind as the rest of them doesn't surprise him much. He's too...

He isn't quite certain how to quantify it. But there is something that is 'too much' for an ordinary person. Perhaps it's simply the faith.

He falls in close to Yuuki, his voice falling to a murmur, "Elsen seems healthier than they normally do. The Batter is strange. He has a ride-along of some kind that I can't quite get a fix on."
Yuuki Kuran With Stephen Strange off in the hallway with his delicious wizard blood plotting Third Answers to the group's odd little trolley problem, and his distant voice speaking about 'something something hypothetically something something', Yuuki gives the wizard some space. It is due to him, certainly, because he is trying very hard. Instead, Yuuki dithers by the window, and the batter - or follows the enigmatic baseballer about at her own laconic pace.

"Batter, I have a few questions."

Zero fills her in, so she murmurs back to her bodyguard. "Ah. Maybe that's the Puppeteer? Or _____? I forget the term. Anyway, is it so strange that there's 'another presence' about someone?"

She shoves Zero's shoulder with a childish 'oh you'.

"I had two, as well, before everyone helped me. You had Three, and don't say 'what, no!' becuase you totally did."

Yuuki brings a finger up to tap at her lower lip. "Trust me."

As for the Batter, Yuuki returns to her questions. "When you--" she swings her arms like she has a phantom bat. "--purify a spectre, they spray out blood, but it's not really blood, is it? And why is it only when you do it? I'm pretty good at--" more swinging, like batting practice. "--and things just seem to get worse. Like that time I accidentally used Artemis."

"And... We learned this was a cycle. Has your quest ever failed?"
Priscilla     "I work on the pipes." the Elsen says to Tina, kicking his feet up and down very slighglt. "Um . . . that is, I make sure the pipes work." he adds unhelpfully. "It's important that the pipes not leak." he concludes "The shift manager is always around. I don't think he leaves. Where else would he go? Zone 3 is the best place in the whole world.". The Elsen barely startles at all when Strange drops bread and water off on him (as opposed to exploding), looking at it with an "Oh. Erm, okay." and then staring at the bread like he has no idea what to do with it. Water is simple enough at least.

    The Batter, in the midst of peering out, seems willing to humour a couple more of Yuuki's questions. He seems to have grown that way thusfar. The more progress they make the less guarded he is about his answers --or perhaps it's simply that he didn't care enough about the others to bother answering them before. "The Spectres are manifestations of a corrupt spirit. Attacking them is only destroying the evidence of sin. Striking at the root of sin takes striking at the sinner." he states, about three quarters of the way through explaining it adequately. "'If you cut me, do I not bleed?' Bleeding red is the sign of humanity. A mere ghost can't be judged or forgiven in a human's stead."

    He then slowly shakes his head, and turns to the cafeteria to follow after August. "This is the first time I've existed. That itself means my Mission is necessary."

    August will probably feel incredibly stupid jumping on cafeteria floor squares based on a pattern of shitty stamp marks. The fact that nothing happens to him is either evidence that there was no point, or that he's doing it flawlessly. Kind of the problem with doing things right. At least the couple of loitering Elsens seem to be on the same path. When he goes past one, the Elsen turns towards him, and gravely asks "Are you aware that the patterns made by the leftovers on your plate means something?"

    There are memos plastered over the walls here too. Reminders not to exceed two hours of lunch again (rather generous), but also things like: "Memo: Chew your meat well or you will not get any dessert." The black path takes him into the kitchen back room on the right.

    The cook on duty appears to be Zacharie. Specifically, Zacharie wearing a mask that is equally as shittily drawn as his usual, scribbled awfully in black marker to resemble a cat with a huge mouth full of grinning teeth. "Mieow." he greets August, in a terrible attempt at a cat noise. "Good day, dear reckless accomplice! I've somewhat changed, anatomically speaking . . . But you have obviously recognized me at first glance! I'm your friend, the Judge!"
Doctor Strange      The Sorcerer Supreme edges away from the Elsen before he responds to August. He doesn't wantr them hearing this, if he can help it. Maybe he can change August's mind. "From what I heard, he's one guy," says Strange. "This place is some kinda personal hell for him. He's been trapped here for..." The sorcerer scratches the back of his head. "God knows how long. The two options we have are 'pull the plug' and 'hit the reset button.' Hitting that button doesn't mean it's gonna work, either. This... wouldn't be the first time it's been tried."

     "But, I dunno how I feel about pulling the plug, either," he says. "If there was a way to give it to him, I'd wanna give this guy a second chance. An... actual second chance, not the chance to win one through dumb luck." He doesn't even bother calling Zacharie out. In fact, he leans into it. "So, Judge, you'd know more about this than I would... being a judge, and all. What'd Elsen do to deserve all this?" Zacharie seems like the one guy in this world that isn't stuck on a rail. Or if he is, it's a really bendy, hard-to-follow one.

     The arrival of the Batter is noted by Strange with suspicion. He clams up noticeably when the Batter arrives.
Tina Natsumi "That so? What's in these pipes, anyway? More smoke, or somethin' more..." Crap. What's a word that won't set the guy off? "... Edible?" Close enough. Tina taps her chin lightly as the Elsen brings up the shift manager, glancing over and holding a hand up in greeting at Strange and August when the wizard doctor leaves that gift of food and water.

Time to listen to the Batter. Yuuki's question in particular gets an interesting answer from the Batter, but it's clear from the trying-too-hard stare and quiet 'I getcha's from Tina that she still doesn't really get why. August's question and that answer makes a smidge more sense to Tina, at least, even if she doesn't vocalize it.

Or especially because she doesn't. Following the Batter following August, Tina pauses when she hears Zacharie speaking and snickers after a moment when he makes that cat-adjacent noise. "Meowdy, pardner. Fancy seein' you right in the thick o' things here. You got a new scoop for us, or..." She pauses, glancing around the cafeteria for a second. "... Anyone give you trouble on the way in? Hell, do they care?"
August Kohler August feels like a fool. But it's for science, so. As he passes by the Elsen, August squints at him. "What? What does it mean?" Whether or not the guy answers, August ends up continuing, and makes it into the kitchen.

And there's the Judg- no, wait, that's very obviously Zacharie. August stares right at him, with an expression of 'what the hell is going on'. And then, after clearing his throat and taking a moment, August speaks up. "...hello, 'Judge'. Do you have any new information for us, in a cryptic fashion, like usual?"

August is humoring Zacharie. His tone is so forced that it's clear he doesn't actually believe this is the Judge whatsoever and never did.

Regarding Strange's speaking, August is about to speak up, when he notices the others arrive, and Strange clamming up. Obviously, Strange doesn't want to talk about it publically, and won't give him any answers here. So August glances to him. "I'll talk to you about it later." Though he won't probably get the impression, based off facial expressions, that August's mind has been changed. August, internally, isn't much of a third answer man...but it's food for thought. And he'll have an important clarifying question for Strange before he can answer him.
Starbound Flotilla     George comments to Yuuki. "See, Bats here is what kinda..." He gestures vaguely after the man, walking along with him. "Well, he's why this is supposed to be the last time around, you know? Because of..." He taps his chin. "There's a partnership, kinda. A sympathy, if that makes sense. He's here because something else new got put into the cycle. There's two new things, and that means this is the end. See if you can keep an eye out for the other one."

    They reach Zacharie. "Hey, J! Good seein' ya. Thought you might'a needed to take five after that business with Valerie. What's good? We're lookin' for the big guy around here, got a hint and cryptic cat bullshit for us?"
Yuuki Kuran Yuuki considers this as they walk to the cafeteria.

"Manifestations of A spirit...?"

And then it hits her.

"Oh. You have the power to strike... at the source. To swing for the fences!" She pantomimes taking another slower baseball bat swing, this one 'following through'. "And when you strike them, you aren't striking the sin, like us, but... the sinner."

Yuuki laughs. "That's convenient. If only I could smack someone and have that ripple all the way up to their boss."

There's an emptiness to her comment, a sort of 'ha ha... haa...' to the whole thing - a deep crack of heavy-sighing brooding moroseness - that taints her Simple Normal Girl Vibes, but the cafeteria is an area with MYSTERIES...

"Wow, two hours lunch break? That's a big chunk of the day! Nice."
Priscilla     "Oh yes, I'll be hunting down obscure clues that I shall take pleasure in revealing to you little by little in the most destructive manner." Zacharie says, still doing a really half-assed Judge impression. "I must ask, are you going for a stroll near the dormitories in the meantime? I've heard that the spectres there are quite active. The dorms are on the upper left of the cafeteria. It's right next door."

    Zacharie then pauses, almost *audibly* considering if that was way too straightforward. ". . . well, you may find some interesting clues. And the Big guy." Zacharie puts weird extra emphasis on that replying to George. ". . . talk to me when you're done."

    The Batter manages to affect an aura of silence that is 'I haven't been specifically compelled to give my piece here, but this is really really dumb' while everyone plays into the ridiculous bit. There was probably a dialogue tree, and like, a whole other puzzle. "One home run doesn't win a game." he says to Yuuki. "The game isn't over until you win each inning separately."

    The Elsen outside shrugs at Tina before she leaves. "Smoke doesn't go in the pipes. If smoke gets into the pipes, it'll be very bad. Very bad. We must take care of the pipes."

    For lack of anything else to do in the cafeteria, more stupid floor tile hopscotch abounds, a circuitous route leading to the door in the northwest corner of the room where a single additional memo is placed.

Memo: The chore of cleaning is assigned to you based your employment number.

    Ducking inside finds less of a dormitory and more of a series of bunks, almost like barracks, with pale hatching on the green floor directing towards the beds. They aren't exactly great, being squishy creaky plastic mattresses on metal mesh frames. There are a couple of Elsens, probably also on break, milling about and talking to each other in weird, stilted tones, oddly tense for being around their quarters, and stiff as if repeated like a mantra. The conversation changes as you pass the bunks, and memos stapled to each hall.

Memo: Work your hours and you will be rewarded.

"I believe Zone 3 is the best place in the whole world."
"I love the cafeteria food."
"Yes I love it a lot. Yes."

Memo: Do not forget to make your bed when you wake up.

"I wasn't hiding anything! Nothing at all!"
"There's no need to fear. No one bears you ill will."
"There must be something wrong with the dessert. My portion was smaller than usual."

Memo: Dream sweet dreams at night.

"Live life with jubilance and you will avoid spectres quite easily."

Memo: If you do not attack the phantoms, they will not attack you.
"The phantoms aren't evil . . ."
"You shouldn't be scared . . ."
"The director said the spectres are nice. It must be true."

Memo: There are no ghosts under the mattresses.

    The very end of the bunk row finds just one Elsen slowly making his bed, straightening out the crappy nylon covers, when that strange, compressed, electric warping noise happens in triplicate, and a pair of hovering ghosts appear over his shoulder, surrounding him, staring their eyeless tares with their empty mouths yawning wide. The Elsen turns around to look at them, and calmly says:

"Are you . . . spectres?"

The ghosts advance on him a little.

"You . . . you're not bad ghosts, right?"

They advance a little further.

"O . . . Of course not . . . You are our friends."

There's a violent tearing sound, and a splatter of blood hits the floor.

"This isn't a serious injury." the Elsen states.
August Kohler "Dormitories. Got it. Thanks." August thumbs-up, and then heads through the dorms. As the memos read out, and the Elsen speak, August's frown towards them increases as they go, especially about the ones that the spectres aren't a problem. "What a load of bullshit..." August mutters to the others, and then they reach the end of the row, with the two ghosts attacking the Elsen. "This is probably going to cause some sort of stupid panic...but Batter, up!"

Instead of summoning Dietrich, August draws his revolver and combat knife, and fires at one of the ghosts, before moving in to cut it and try and leverage it in the Batter's direction to slay. If the others don't get to the other one, he'll move to do the same thing, trying to slay the spectres. One-track mind, and all that.
Tina Natsumi Tina laughs at Zacharie's response while she glances over at the door the cat mentions. "As good of a place as any to check out, yeah. But dang, don't give us /all/ yer secrets. You gotta leave somethin' for the theorycraftin' channels." She chuckles, but it's pretty obvious that her mind is set on going to those dormitories between her repeated glances to the doors and leg fidgeting. She still has to be at least somewhat proper, though, while listening to the Elsen tell her about smoke NOT belonging in the pipes.

That just raises more questions about what should be in there.

On the way to the dormitory, Tina finds herself becoming more and more uncomfortable with all the rules laid out and the Elsen's commentary. "Do these folks even have anythin' to look forward to? It's all so... Bleh." She puts on a bright smile, though, and nudges whoever's unlucky enough to be nearby with her elbow.

"Is this what becomin' an adult is like?" Her delivery is stilted to all hell, of course.

When they get to the dorm proper, the sight of the ghosts tearing up that Elsen is enough to get Tina into WORK MODE. Following August's lead, Tina draws her own handgun and unloads a massive-ish amount of bullets into the group. Unlike August, she advances slowly while reloading and firing more, slowly closing the gap and using the rapid noises from her shots to make herself as BIG AND SCARY as possible.
Yuuki Kuran A cryptic answer from the Batter, and a rather funny baseball reference.
Well, that figures.

Zacharie acting as the Judge is...
"Judge, you may want to adjust your whiskers, they seem a bit... droopy. Remember to stay hydrated!" Yuuki offers as an empty platitude, because Zacharie-Judge is much more helpful than the regular Judge, and Yuuki has a commitment to letting helpful turns go and run free in the wild, preferring to be happy most of the time than right all of the time.

Being right all of the time meant you were angry all of the time. It was destructive.

So she spares the batter her inquiries as to why it's not the points at the end of the game that matters, not an inning-by-inning score, as mostly, Yuuki is only vaguely induced into the Mysteries of Baseball.

She is entirely induced into the bludgeoning of spectres.

Tina, however, raises a comment that YUUKI REALLY WANTS TO ANSWER, so, while picking up a folding chair and bludgeoning a spectre, she offers:

"Becoming an adult is being sure, and relying on, your own self to make decisions - and mistakes! A child is one who blames others for their choices."
Zero Kiryu Zero, who zoned out a little bit, falls in at Yuuki's side. He doesn't attack, instead playing defensively and unfurling his vines so that they form a protective zone around the pair of them that will counter-attack anything that attempts to approach. It isn't, in and of itself, terribly aggressive or thick though. It's admitting Yuuki space to move in.

"Hey..."

"What do /you/ get out of this, when the game is won?" He asks the Batter.

In response to Yuuki's prior teasing, he answers, "It is a departure from the baseline. At no point in our lives have we been normal, even when that illusion was draped across our shoulders like a cloak."
Starbound Flotilla     "Worse, this isn't just adulthood, this is 'growing up'." George mutters to Natsumi, speaking a sort of compliment to Yuuki. "See, adulthood means you realize what the problems are, growing up is when you say they're not that bad, or they aren't real." He's got his own bat ready to go when it comes time. "See, the problem is, Elsen's all grown up, right? That means overworked, that means overanxious, and that means complacent." He rushes, moving in a flank alongside the gunfire from Tina, opposite August. His motion is gravity-agnostic, leaping around the dorm beds and using them to bounce for heavy overhead strikes.
Priscilla     Charging in full Elite style on three unaware/busy Spectres is predictably a blood bath. Being the standard variety appeared from the air, focused on the hapless Elsen, they're rapidly riddled with a bazillion shots, smashed by George, and kicked bloodily out the door straight to the Batter. "May salvation be yours, children of the devil." he says, before brutally smashing each one left and right against the dormitory walls, painting them with scraps of white ectoplasm and blots of blood.

    The Elsen looks on uncomprehendingly, clutching a great big red rip down his middle, shaking nervously. "You . . . you shouldn't attack the spectres." he wheezes. "That makes them angry. The spectres are nice if you leave them alone. The director said so. This is how . . . this is how people get hurt." he continues, still refusing to accept, or maybe even comprehend, the danger.

    "People act very strangely around here . . ." says the Batter.

    He then very visibly hesitates before answering Zero. It's so obvious because it isn't a faithful, confident pause where he waits for 'revelation' or guidance, but one where he's turning the gears himself. He looks like a dad whose kid just interrupted his reading the newspaper to ask what happens when people die.

    "There'll be no more fear in those eyes." he concludes, and walks on.