Re: Journal of Sociology [S!6] - [Round One: The Pacific Spire]
01-18-2013, 03:43 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by Solaris.
Logically, you would think that the stairs, being outside of any of the offices, being integral to structure of the building, and well, being necessary for movement up and down the spire on the off chance that the elevators were out of commission, would be one of the safer places in the spire. Unfortunately, being logical in the spire usually doesn't work out well.
There was a time where the stairs were a relativity okay place to be, as everyone used them and as damaging them would probably cause horrible structural damage to the entire spire, meaning everyone would lose their job. People just used them and it wasn't really that big of a deal. Then one or two people were petty pricks at each other and as things always do in the Pacific Spire, things escalated.
They escalated a lot.
The stairs started off with constant passive-aggressive "accidents" like when floor 34 spilled all of the coffee in the building, before growing to regular aggression like when two people's fist fight led to them and at least twenty other people falling down the stairs while still fighting. Eventually, the stairs reached the state they were in now, essentially a testing ground for anything that they couldn't get any actual test subjects for.
Suffice to say, even compared to the usual aggression of the spire, the stairs were dangerous. But sometimes you needed to take the stairs and there wasn't a lot you could do about it. And Blake Richards was in such a situation.
As he and Oli climbed up the stairs, avoiding anyone else and dodging the various odds and ends that people on the floors were tossing around, Blake continuously doubted that he would be able to make it up the building in once piece.
*BOOM*
Blake slammed against the wall as some doohickey that he didn't notice exploded. Oli had miraculously stepped aside, and noticed someone with large headphones cursing as he retreated into his floor, lamenting at how the frequency mechanism had failed. The master of disguise helped Blake up and the two continued on their way.
Their ascent went on much like this, with some other similar incidents involving non-working devices blowing up, but nothing else happened until the pair came across another pair.
"Hey Bran, isn't that there the elevator guy?"
"Why Arky, I do think that it is..."
Blake couldn't hear either of the voices in his worried state, but Oli did. As he and Blake slowly ascended, he took quick glances at the duo, noting their full body suits and odd weapons. Their faces were covered, and they looked Important. He was very interested in their suits and what he could do with one of those suits, much more so than whatever the hell they seemed to want with Blake.
Oli looked at Blake's oblivious, then at the pair's slight increase in speed, and then he opted to slip away, into a nearby floor, waiting for the pair to do whatever they wanted to do.
"Grab him!"
Blake turned around in surprise as the pair of wrapped their arms around his, and then knocked him in the head with the butt of their weapon. Unknowingly following Oli's example, Bran and Arky moved into the nearest floor, which for better or worse was dark and empty...
The two looked at each other, both very skeptical to if this was a good idea.
"Oh gee Bran, what happened here?"
"I don't have the slightest clue, Arky, seems to me that we've stumbled upon one of those abandoned floors, come on we gotta move forward."
Against their better judgement, they moved forward.
"Abandoned? That these seems odd."
"Well you know how it is, sometimes a floor goes and loses out on all funding, and well... usually the floor gets hired out to someone else but I don't know what's up here."
"What do you think happened with the workers then?"
"Well usually they get hired up by the next guy, but sometimes they have to leave the spire."
Arky paused for a bit, "Wait a mit, Bran, you can leave the spire?"
Before either could really contemplate how that would work or if it was actually possible they noted that they just dragged Blake over something.
"What was that?"
The pair looked down on the floor, to see what seemed to be a mostly naked body, just lying there. Arky poked the body. It didn't move.
"So uh, Bran, you don't think that this guy..."
"Uh... Let's keep going to try to find something to restrain and question the elevator guy..."
"That... that's probably a good idea."
Stalking behind the duo, decked in a newly acquired powersuit. Well that was lucky, he thought. Upon entering the abandoned floor, Oli was spooked, but didn't see much option once the two followed other than to move forward. Upon walking in front of the elevator shaft, the disguise master was surprised to see another of the powersuited people fall out head first, and then immediately bump their head against the wall. Taking advantage of this accident, he suited himself up and hid himself away when he noted that the duo had decided to move forward once more.
He moved into the shadows and waited for them to pass. As the two moved deeper through the floor, found some restraints, removed Blake's bag from his person, and started up on their questioning, Oli wondered what he was going to do. While it was true that he could just leave, Blake was in the contest and that had to mean he could do something that could potentially be of use to him, right? On the other hand, those two guys seemed to have a much better idea of what they wanted, he noted as they started to rig up an electrocution mechanism.
As Oli was contemplating this quandary, he noticed something roll forward, just a little, out of Blake's bag. It was a blue liquid, glowing, just barely, but beautifully. Maybe there was something more to this Blake after all. As the goons began their tortuous questioning, Oli started to make a move for the bag...
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Blake was shocked awake as powerful electrical pulses were sent through his body. The energy flowed through, causing him intense pain on every pore of his body.
"Alright, looks like that worked right there."
Blake panted, hardly able to breathe against the pain. He looked up at the two helmeted heads holding a weird apparatus that was sparking.
"Mmm, yes, alright then. Elevator guy, I am Bran, this is Arky. Who are you?"
Blake still twitched from the pain and failed to make out a response.
Arky silently gave Blake another shock.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. "
"Arky what did you do?"
"Oh nothing special Bran, just some battery and wire and a plasma cell and a few other things that are probably not legal. It is pretty neat, I think, only shocks if you press this here button."
"Alright, let's try to not kill him, we need to figure out what he did to the elevator," Bran turned to the panting Blake, "Do you hear that Elevator guy?"
Blake started to breath a bit easier, but could only shake, his eye twitching and his teeth chattering. He was in so much pain, but... but at the same time he felt something else. His head started to shake side to side and he let out a great exhale before feeling very, very odd.
Arky silently gave Blake a third shock.
This time Blake didn't scream out, though it was not out of some bravado or other voluntary act. Instead, he gave a loud, long grunt, before looking down at the two once again, his eyes starting to close, but his breathing starting to return to normal.
Under his helmet, Bran had a face of complete confusion at whatever it was that was happening. "...Elevator Guy, how do you feel?"
This time, Blake was able to answer. Unfortunate, he was completely honest. "You... you know, I feel... in pain... but, energized?"
Blake immediately regretted saying that as Arky gave him another shock.
By this time, Oli had sneaked his way to behind the duo, who were engrossed in their "questioning," to his prize. He picked up the blue vial, observing it, and wondering what it was when Bran turned around.
"Ey, who are you?"
Oli was startled, and tossed the potion into the air. Bran and Arky, and Oli looked at the vial, then to each other, then to the vial, frozen, each trying to figure out what it is that they should do. When he noted that the duo was looking at the vial's trajectory, which seemed to be headed towards Blake, he slipped backwards, but not before grabbing Blake's bag.
The fourth shock was a dozy. It was the most painful for Blake so far, but also the most energizing. It was an odd feeling, he was in so much pain but at the same time he felt that he had so much energy. It was a feeling unlike any other he ever had. And it was painful, but it was amazing, almost enlightening.
Then the blue vial shattered over his head, bringing him back down to Earth. From right above Blake's head, suddenly the magic exploded. Water rushed down all over Blake, and all around the room, flowing all over the floor. Both Bran and Arky were covered in the magical water as well. Blake twitched a little, once again struggling to breath under the magical waterfall that appeared over his head.
Darkness overtook him, but not before he heard a pair of screams...
Oli had no clue what the fuck that was, but he sure as hell didn't want to be on the bad side of it. As he tip toed around and over the flowing water, still coming out from where Blake was hit by it, although in a much smaller amount. He wasn't sure what he saw or if he really saw it, but the end result was two goons on the floor and one Blake as the only plausible reason for it.
Oli removed his borrowed helmet and poked Blake's cheek cautiously.
Blake twitched upward, his eyes fully open and his mind not knowing what just happened. He looked at Oli, then at the floor, then at the water all around the floor. He also noted that his restraints broke... somehow.
"What-just-happened? Who-are-you? What-do-you-want? Why-did-you-leave-me? What-is-going-on?"
Oli paused for a moment, as he tried to fabricate up a believable story. The people that had captured him seemed important, he helped him even though they recognized him to some extent. He could not say that he was with the company. But he was no dressed as one of them, which would be suspicious to him after the encounter. Who or what could he be...
That should work.
Oli grabbed Blake's hand and stood him up, "Take one of these suits, I think that you are trustworthy enough to help me." Oli grabbed the unconscious Arky and started to strip him, "You see, I'm not actually a worker for this place," Blake silently stared as he was tossed parts of the powersuit to put on, "I'm an agent, here to better the world."
Blake started to put on the powersuit, engrossed in Oli's insane fabrication, "But how are you going to do that, why are you here?"
"I'm here," Oli gave a dramatic pause and started to turn away, towards the exit, "To destroy the Pacific Spire before it destroys the world."
Logically, you would think that the stairs, being outside of any of the offices, being integral to structure of the building, and well, being necessary for movement up and down the spire on the off chance that the elevators were out of commission, would be one of the safer places in the spire. Unfortunately, being logical in the spire usually doesn't work out well.
There was a time where the stairs were a relativity okay place to be, as everyone used them and as damaging them would probably cause horrible structural damage to the entire spire, meaning everyone would lose their job. People just used them and it wasn't really that big of a deal. Then one or two people were petty pricks at each other and as things always do in the Pacific Spire, things escalated.
They escalated a lot.
The stairs started off with constant passive-aggressive "accidents" like when floor 34 spilled all of the coffee in the building, before growing to regular aggression like when two people's fist fight led to them and at least twenty other people falling down the stairs while still fighting. Eventually, the stairs reached the state they were in now, essentially a testing ground for anything that they couldn't get any actual test subjects for.
Suffice to say, even compared to the usual aggression of the spire, the stairs were dangerous. But sometimes you needed to take the stairs and there wasn't a lot you could do about it. And Blake Richards was in such a situation.
As he and Oli climbed up the stairs, avoiding anyone else and dodging the various odds and ends that people on the floors were tossing around, Blake continuously doubted that he would be able to make it up the building in once piece.
*BOOM*
Blake slammed against the wall as some doohickey that he didn't notice exploded. Oli had miraculously stepped aside, and noticed someone with large headphones cursing as he retreated into his floor, lamenting at how the frequency mechanism had failed. The master of disguise helped Blake up and the two continued on their way.
Their ascent went on much like this, with some other similar incidents involving non-working devices blowing up, but nothing else happened until the pair came across another pair.
"Hey Bran, isn't that there the elevator guy?"
"Why Arky, I do think that it is..."
Blake couldn't hear either of the voices in his worried state, but Oli did. As he and Blake slowly ascended, he took quick glances at the duo, noting their full body suits and odd weapons. Their faces were covered, and they looked Important. He was very interested in their suits and what he could do with one of those suits, much more so than whatever the hell they seemed to want with Blake.
Oli looked at Blake's oblivious, then at the pair's slight increase in speed, and then he opted to slip away, into a nearby floor, waiting for the pair to do whatever they wanted to do.
"Grab him!"
Blake turned around in surprise as the pair of wrapped their arms around his, and then knocked him in the head with the butt of their weapon. Unknowingly following Oli's example, Bran and Arky moved into the nearest floor, which for better or worse was dark and empty...
The two looked at each other, both very skeptical to if this was a good idea.
"Oh gee Bran, what happened here?"
"I don't have the slightest clue, Arky, seems to me that we've stumbled upon one of those abandoned floors, come on we gotta move forward."
Against their better judgement, they moved forward.
"Abandoned? That these seems odd."
"Well you know how it is, sometimes a floor goes and loses out on all funding, and well... usually the floor gets hired out to someone else but I don't know what's up here."
"What do you think happened with the workers then?"
"Well usually they get hired up by the next guy, but sometimes they have to leave the spire."
Arky paused for a bit, "Wait a mit, Bran, you can leave the spire?"
Before either could really contemplate how that would work or if it was actually possible they noted that they just dragged Blake over something.
"What was that?"
The pair looked down on the floor, to see what seemed to be a mostly naked body, just lying there. Arky poked the body. It didn't move.
"So uh, Bran, you don't think that this guy..."
"Uh... Let's keep going to try to find something to restrain and question the elevator guy..."
"That... that's probably a good idea."
Stalking behind the duo, decked in a newly acquired powersuit. Well that was lucky, he thought. Upon entering the abandoned floor, Oli was spooked, but didn't see much option once the two followed other than to move forward. Upon walking in front of the elevator shaft, the disguise master was surprised to see another of the powersuited people fall out head first, and then immediately bump their head against the wall. Taking advantage of this accident, he suited himself up and hid himself away when he noted that the duo had decided to move forward once more.
He moved into the shadows and waited for them to pass. As the two moved deeper through the floor, found some restraints, removed Blake's bag from his person, and started up on their questioning, Oli wondered what he was going to do. While it was true that he could just leave, Blake was in the contest and that had to mean he could do something that could potentially be of use to him, right? On the other hand, those two guys seemed to have a much better idea of what they wanted, he noted as they started to rig up an electrocution mechanism.
As Oli was contemplating this quandary, he noticed something roll forward, just a little, out of Blake's bag. It was a blue liquid, glowing, just barely, but beautifully. Maybe there was something more to this Blake after all. As the goons began their tortuous questioning, Oli started to make a move for the bag...
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Blake was shocked awake as powerful electrical pulses were sent through his body. The energy flowed through, causing him intense pain on every pore of his body.
"Alright, looks like that worked right there."
Blake panted, hardly able to breathe against the pain. He looked up at the two helmeted heads holding a weird apparatus that was sparking.
"Mmm, yes, alright then. Elevator guy, I am Bran, this is Arky. Who are you?"
Blake still twitched from the pain and failed to make out a response.
Arky silently gave Blake another shock.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. "
"Arky what did you do?"
"Oh nothing special Bran, just some battery and wire and a plasma cell and a few other things that are probably not legal. It is pretty neat, I think, only shocks if you press this here button."
"Alright, let's try to not kill him, we need to figure out what he did to the elevator," Bran turned to the panting Blake, "Do you hear that Elevator guy?"
Blake started to breath a bit easier, but could only shake, his eye twitching and his teeth chattering. He was in so much pain, but... but at the same time he felt something else. His head started to shake side to side and he let out a great exhale before feeling very, very odd.
Arky silently gave Blake a third shock.
This time Blake didn't scream out, though it was not out of some bravado or other voluntary act. Instead, he gave a loud, long grunt, before looking down at the two once again, his eyes starting to close, but his breathing starting to return to normal.
Under his helmet, Bran had a face of complete confusion at whatever it was that was happening. "...Elevator Guy, how do you feel?"
This time, Blake was able to answer. Unfortunate, he was completely honest. "You... you know, I feel... in pain... but, energized?"
Blake immediately regretted saying that as Arky gave him another shock.
By this time, Oli had sneaked his way to behind the duo, who were engrossed in their "questioning," to his prize. He picked up the blue vial, observing it, and wondering what it was when Bran turned around.
"Ey, who are you?"
Oli was startled, and tossed the potion into the air. Bran and Arky, and Oli looked at the vial, then to each other, then to the vial, frozen, each trying to figure out what it is that they should do. When he noted that the duo was looking at the vial's trajectory, which seemed to be headed towards Blake, he slipped backwards, but not before grabbing Blake's bag.
The fourth shock was a dozy. It was the most painful for Blake so far, but also the most energizing. It was an odd feeling, he was in so much pain but at the same time he felt that he had so much energy. It was a feeling unlike any other he ever had. And it was painful, but it was amazing, almost enlightening.
Then the blue vial shattered over his head, bringing him back down to Earth. From right above Blake's head, suddenly the magic exploded. Water rushed down all over Blake, and all around the room, flowing all over the floor. Both Bran and Arky were covered in the magical water as well. Blake twitched a little, once again struggling to breath under the magical waterfall that appeared over his head.
Darkness overtook him, but not before he heard a pair of screams...
Oli had no clue what the fuck that was, but he sure as hell didn't want to be on the bad side of it. As he tip toed around and over the flowing water, still coming out from where Blake was hit by it, although in a much smaller amount. He wasn't sure what he saw or if he really saw it, but the end result was two goons on the floor and one Blake as the only plausible reason for it.
Oli removed his borrowed helmet and poked Blake's cheek cautiously.
Blake twitched upward, his eyes fully open and his mind not knowing what just happened. He looked at Oli, then at the floor, then at the water all around the floor. He also noted that his restraints broke... somehow.
"What-just-happened? Who-are-you? What-do-you-want? Why-did-you-leave-me? What-is-going-on?"
Oli paused for a moment, as he tried to fabricate up a believable story. The people that had captured him seemed important, he helped him even though they recognized him to some extent. He could not say that he was with the company. But he was no dressed as one of them, which would be suspicious to him after the encounter. Who or what could he be...
That should work.
Oli grabbed Blake's hand and stood him up, "Take one of these suits, I think that you are trustworthy enough to help me." Oli grabbed the unconscious Arky and started to strip him, "You see, I'm not actually a worker for this place," Blake silently stared as he was tossed parts of the powersuit to put on, "I'm an agent, here to better the world."
Blake started to put on the powersuit, engrossed in Oli's insane fabrication, "But how are you going to do that, why are you here?"
"I'm here," Oli gave a dramatic pause and started to turn away, towards the exit, "To destroy the Pacific Spire before it destroys the world."
Spoiler