5221/PETA: The Animist Chambers

PETA: The Animist Chambers
Date of Scene:	25 April 2017
Location:	The Quilt
Synopsis:	Paladins, Watch, and League descend on the Animist Chambers, a historic building with a rather dark present...
Cast of Characters:	Eryl Fairfax, Lexicon, Yang Xiao Long, Kotone Yamakawa, Jonathan Joestar, Sir Gawain, 1084

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Eryl Fairfax has posed:
    "The Animist Chambers," Joey the Nose had said from his holding cell on the Ad Coelum. "That's what those freaks mentioned. I swear, that's all I know." It's not much to go on, honestly. Documents list the building as a heritage site, a classical structure now framed by more modern designs, a shout from the past in the city's modern centre.

    Due to the lack of any real evidence regarding serious threats, the Paladins did not receive clearance to storm the building. However, they have been given permission to investigate. But... word from somewhere has been leaked to the Watch. A frantic phonecall, late at night. Mentioning this place, and 'the coming titan' before being cut off by screams. As for the League? Routine measurements of ambient energies in the city have revealed several anomalies. It's suffusing the buildings, the streets the sewers... and right now, it's all concentrating on the Animist Chamber. Needless to say, someone needs to check it out.

    The place is rarely used these days, expect for maybe the occasional fundraiser or meeting. The handsome, three-storey building with the domed roof stands before them... where to start?

    The first floor is a museum of sorts, open to the public. It details the history of this place. Founded by a Masonic society, used as a bit of an old boys club. Survived an earthquake and a couple of snowstorms until it hit heritage status. At that point, the owners turned it over to the city.

    The second floor is open and barren, typically used for whatever it's needed for. Folded tables and chairs dominate the far wall, away from the windows. The walls bristle with hooks for whatever needs to be hung up.

    The third floor consists of some limited office space. A couple of desks with shut down ancient computers have been set up. Some ancient coat that someone forgot to take home hangs from a coat rack. A kitchenette that looks clean but unused stands adjacent, with a dinosaur of a microwave and expired tea bags and coffee. Thankfully, the fridge is empty, else there might be expired milk.

Lexicon has posed:
    This appears to be the place.

    Lexicon lowers her S-Gear (Basically the System version of a smartphone), comparing the photograph of the building's facade with the actual structure. It certainly does stand out due to the age of the architecture, something she confirms inwardly as she tucks the device into the inside pocket of her coat. While she's aware there are other Paladin agents present, she's opted to work separate from them for now, arriving on her own to see what's going on with this place that has their informant so skittish.

    As she's not out to draw attention to herself (yet), the DCC opts for the most clear and public entrance available-- the first floor's museum exhibit. Once inside, she folds her arms behind her back, her hands disappearing inside her sleeves with the gesture, and strolls right in amidst the exibits. If it's a historical location, knowing its past may be important for discerning its current relevance.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang Xiao Long. Huntress in Training and member of The Watch, though not exactly known outright to the rest of the Multiverse just yet. She would have come storming up on Bumblebee and made a big show of it all... but her dad talked her out of it, and so instead she shows up wearing her Hunter outfit, like it would let the striking blonde fit in any better than her normal outfit, or even her Beacon Uniform. Striding along the street, aviators on the bridge of her nose to obscure her eyes and shield the lilac hues from the daytime sun.

    Yang pulls her Scroll out, checking the information she managed to look up about the place, then nods to herself. "That's the place alright... lets go take a look." Yang's a straight-forward girl, and so she just strolls right in the front door, not far off the coattails of Lexicon, as it turns out. The Blonde is a very loud person both auditory and visually, so she probably stands out like a sore thumb in such a place. Taking off her sunglasses inside and tucking them into the top hem of her jacket, she turns and starts looking around the place.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa had the information on the case on her personal Hud which she was looking over as she pulled up on her motorcycle. She paused as it stopped pulled off her helmet. Then pulled the jacks from the craft, letting the cables snap back into her neck's housing for them before she moved to join up with the rest of the Paladins. She's not in stealth gear, but the sort of smart clothing she's become very fond of in the multiverse.

The Talk of a Masonic soceity being involved in this place orginally? She's a bit wary due to her history in the multiverse early on. Running into a giant mess made by a Cabal on an alternate earth which /still/ hasn't been cleaned up yet.

Kotone will be heading for the third floor to check out the computers in the officers there might be something there after all and she was qell suited to that sort of work.

Jonathan Joestar has posed:
A leather boot steps out of a horsedrawn carriage.

The bumpyness felt familiar. Jonathan was honestly much more comfortable in this..mishmash than he was in Paragon City, some time ago. His associates in the League had described to him an odd spiritual disturbance in the area; some kind of energy suffusing the surroundings. While it didn't sound like something caused by the Stone Mask, you could never be too sure; and besides that, Jonathan would be remiss if he didn't try to quell whatever plague was beginning to broil. At the very least, he should determine what's going on.

Sunlgiht glints off of polished iron shoulder pauldrons as the giant of an Englishman fully disembarks from his transport. The horsemaster gave him an uncomfortable but firm nod as he cracked his whip, causing the horses to begin moving once more. Jonathan felt somewhat out of place in his favored battle wear, sans his sword of Luck & Pluck. Unlike his previous escapade at the docks, Jonathan approached the museum fully expecting a fight to occur before he left.

It was just the kind of feeling he got. No doubt, he received a variety of confused stares at his manner of dress. Blue leather mixed with the occasional piece of iron armor and knee high boots, with his buldging musculature made him stick out like a sore thumb as he entered the museum from its front entrance.

Jonathan stops to admire one of the exhibits, depicting the history of the masonic society. As an archaeologist, he was fascinated, but quickly returned to the original reason he came here, and that was getting a feel for what was happening.

"With so many people here, I might not be able to sense the disturbances with my Hamon.."

Placing one hand over his face in thought, Jonathan glanced off to the side. Would it have been better to wait for nightfall?

Sir Gawain has posed:
Gawain was there with Joey the Nose when random objects began attacking, trying to kill him. Something strange was going on, and it definitely needed to be checked out. For that reason, the Paladin Warden was leading the investigation into the Animist Chambers, his Tomoyo-made outfit mixed with pieces of his armor summoned over it. As the Paladins arrive, Gawain's orders are relayed to everyone. "Alright, everyone! If you're splitting up, keep in constant radio contact. If you see or hear anything, alert us immediately, as well as to your location." The Knight himself was considering on where to go, when he spotted (and heard) Yang Xiao Long. He knew roughly who she was, so he approached, with a cheery smile.

"Yang Xiao Long! May I ask why you're here? The Paladins are currently undergoing an investigation, so..." And then the knight spotted Jonathan, who Gawain didn't recognize at all. "Hello, sir! I'm sorry, but there's a Paladin investigation going on. I can look for a schedule of when this place will be free to visitors, though!" That cheery smile is still there, and Gawain's tone expresses that he feels bad for probably inconveniencing Jonathan.

Seras Victoria (1084) has posed:
The best place to start is, of course, usually the main entrance. Seras Victoria is trained for searching and sweeping buildings, though one cannot exactly say she's had much experience doing so.

    "What are we expecting to find here? They only mentioned the place, right? Might be nothing here at all..." Seras' speech is kept on the quiet and polite side, but in no way does she sound doubtful that they SHOULD search the place. Oh no. By all means they should!

    She's carrying a Paladin standard short rifle and a flashlight, nothing terribly fancy. The rifle's not even loaded right now. She's not expecting any real trouble. Naturally though, she's wearing her Hellsing Uniform which now sports a proud Paladin patch on both front and back.

    One thing leads to another though. As she rounds the bend of a hallway near the entrance, this brings her into plain view of a person she totally doesn't recognize. Jonathan Joestar.

    "... I thought this building was supposed to be closed off to the public right now..." Since Gawain takes charge of that, she says no more and sidesteps to let the Knight handle things... while still looking the martial artist over rather curiously. At least, that is what she assumes that getup is about. And the muscles. FAR too big of muscles to be normal.

    "I'll--I'll keep sweeping the first floor." The Draculina states, slightly intimidated. And indeed she goes to do just that. Not just with her eyes, but ears and nose and everything she can bring to bear...

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang glances over at Gawain, and returns the smile with a slightly cocky kant and a gesture out to the sides with her palms raised to the ceiling. "I got a tip off that something was going down here, so I came to check it out." she replies, opening one eye to peek at the Servant with that cheeky little smirk on her lips. "Whatchya gonna do, arrest me?"

Jonathan Joestar has posed:
Jonathan's gloved hand awkwardly moves behind his head to rub it in a physical tic of his embarassment. "Ah...I'm sorry, that's not actually why I'm here...the exhibit fascinated me, but I actually came here to investigate a disturbance in the area, I was sent by the League."

Jonathan's bulky arm manuevered with surprising grace to his tiny leather pack, retrieving proper identification in the form of a laminated card. Gawain's cheery grin is returned with a polite smile. "My name is Jonathan Joestar, I hope we can work together to resolve the disturbance."

..This area was supposed to be sealed off? ..Jonathan may have mistaken the people here for civillians when they were in all actuality, 'Paladins'. That made him feel all the more sheepish for barging in the front door. His blue eyes opened fully, however, to track the blonde haired woman as she quickly left to perform an area search. For some reason, he felt disturbed by her presence, but he couldn't tell why. He liked to think it wasn't something as arbitrary as blonde hair that set off his instinct, but ultimately, he supposed it had to have been paranoia. He'd been practically jumping at shadows ever since he found himself in this greater 'multiverse' after all..

Jonathan's hand is extended for a shake before he looked at Yang Xiao Long in confusion. Arrest? He didn't understand, was she breaking the law?

Sir Gawain has posed:
"Not at all, Miss Long. You're certainly capable, and we need all the help we can get. Please just keep your radio on to the public broadband and if you see or hear anything, let us know so we can assist. There's been some sort of supernatural force threatening people, and it may be connected to this location." Gawain turns to Yang to reply, pretty much ignoring her cheekiness as he continues to smile at her. He's very bad at not letting other people hear him, and Jonathan can make it out perfectly.

And then, Jonathan himself introduces himself, his affiliation, and offers to help. Gawain looks over his identification briefly before nodding. "Ah! Well then, Mr. Joestar, we'd be happy to allow you to assist as well. Please keep in contact and let us know if you find anything! I'm Sir Gawain, Paladin Warden." The knight briefly holds up his badge before accepting the handshake, shaking it firmly, as he glances back towards the wider museum. "While you've seen the first floor, I can tell you a bit more about the second and third. The third used to be an office space, while the second is rather empty, and is used for different things, depending on who is using this building. All three floors are likely useful!"

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    "Probably a good idea to go check the office upstairs... might be some files or something up there." suggests Yang, glancing over at Jonathan as both eyes open. She can kind of sense his power. But it's fuzzy and hard to grasp, so she doesn't try to 'look' too long. Instead, she turns, and proceeds through the lower floor to the back, presumably where the stairs leading to the upper floors are located, and starts climbing up to the third floor to begin investigating up there.

Jonathan Joestar has posed:
The physical contact with Gawain sent shivers up his spine. He wasn't an expert at detecting energies like Zeppeli was, but he could feel that this man had vast amounts of energy in his body. No, it was more like his body was in and of itself, an incredible mass of it. He had to consciously stop the flow of his Hamon to his arm to prevent an eruption of sparks at their contact. With the conclusion of a handshake, Jonathan returned to a proper poise with his back straightened.

From the way that little girl carried herself, it was safe to assume she was a martial artist, as well. While that didn't sit well with his ethos, he had to push that aside; if this Gawain said she could handle herself, then surely, this was the case.

"I see..routine checks on the ambient energies present in the city, according to the professors within the League, have been showing abnormalities for some time now. In the sewers, in the streets, filling up buildings -- right now, its all coalescing here, at this Museum."

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
    The first floor museum is open-plan, with a few displays on the building blueprints, pictures from its history and a model of how it looked before all the modernization. It mentions the original designer and owner of the place, one Mister Lance Arbast, only once though. How the building changed hands through its 138 years is not mentioned until it was given to the government. Maybe it's time to look him up online?

    Meanwhile, Kotone checks the upstairs computers. After the several eternities it takes for them to boot up, one presents her with a desktop bearing schedule spreadsheets, a few text documents and one of those email programmes no one actually uses. The other is actually password protected.

    At this point, Yang appears! She starts going through the physical files. The pickings are slim, honestly. This place is so rarely used, and when it is, it's just for some other place or department. As such, a lot of the 'files' are just receipts for catering or something. Although... there is a consistent discrepancy here. The costs listed on the caterer's receipt, and the costs listed in the government records always differ. The latter always has a couple hundred dollars more. Is someone doing small-time embezzlement?

    Meanwhile, back on the first floor, Seras stretches all her senses to try and glen anything. She hears the gurgling of the ancient pipes, sees every fleck of dust on the ground... smells blood. Blood has been shed here somewhere. It's not coming from upstairs... but it's nowhere on the first floor either.

Lexicon has posed:
    The name of a former owner isn't, by itself, an interesting tidbit. Lexicon files the name away in her memory as she drifts amidst the displays and cases. However, something feels amiss and it takes her a few more plaques and displayed newspaper clippings to put her finger on it. This 'Lance Arbast' is the only person even /mentioned/ as owning the building in the past century-plus. She frowns when her brain makes this connection. The lack of any other owner listed in the building's timeline...

    Stopping, she produces her S-Gear again and flips over to the browser. Quickly, Lexicon taps in the name, matching spelling with the articles she's been browsing. Man, phones like this sure are convenient. She doesn't even have to know about those dinosaurian computers upstairs, much less try getting one to work.

    While waiting on the search engine to work, Lexicon glances back towards the entrance and the commotion caused by Yang and Jonathan's arrival. When Gawain sorts it out and the two join the investigation, though, the DCC returns her attention to her phone's tiny screen, picking through articles of interest related to the propreiter's name, Lance Arbast.

Sir Gawain has posed:
Gawain nods at Yang, before glancing at Jonathan. He turns his head slightly at the man after the handshake but quickly moves to looking at the stairs. "Well, it seems no one has started investigating the second floor, yet. I'll be heading up there now, but feel free to check out any floor, Mr. Joestar. If you find anything, let us know - your findings are very frightening, after all, and if there's some sort of energy buildup, we need to discover what's causing it!"

And then, Gawain will head up the stairs - if anyone offers to go with him, he accepts, and the knight is immediately poking around the barren space. The first thing he investigates? The hooks. What are they used for? Coats, or something else?

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa watches them boot up she stares at how long this is, there's an abject look of horror on her face. How old are these things? Seriously howld are these things? She'll start to look over the files and she files a request to crack passwords if she needs to. Obviously unrelated data to the case or crimes is not going to be reported on. With that she gets to work and she starts going over the files on the open once but once she's dong that she's going to pull out one of her cable jacks, plug an adapter and will jack into the other computer to get working with it. She should hopefully be able to handle something like this.

Seras Victoria (1084) has posed:
"Blood...?" Seras' nostrils twitch a few times as she half-rounds the hallway walking away from Gawain. "... That's definitely blood! Where's it coming from...?" Innerly Seras is disgruntled. SMelling blood everywhere as the main thing she can contribute feels somehow... unprofessional and unskilled.

    But it's the main lead she has. So for now she sniffs around. Walls. The floor. She takes several steps here and there, stops, sniffs... and repeats, trying to track down where it's strongest. Where it's COMING from.

    It all looks rather odd, and the police girl can't quite suppress the sheepish embarassment she's feeling from spreading across her face, even as her brow furrows in concentration...

Jonathan Joestar has posed:
Everyone was dispersing..

Then that made this the best opportunity he had. When Zeppeli taught him the principles of Hamon, one of its many functions was to sense living things and energy. He was unfortunately, not suited to trickier methods like that even if his control over his body and energy was impressive to Tonpetti, the grandmaster of Hamon. "I'll let you know on this..'bluetooth radio' device I was given, yes!"

Waving the knight off, Jonathan crouched down on the floor, placing his hand down onto the wooden surface. Good, even though it was dead now, trees were living things; wood was an organic material. That made transmitting his ripple through it would be easy and painless. "Koooooooh...."

He breathed in, deeply. Warm waves of light gently lolled off of his skin as small, infantile golden sparks crackled like rolling tides across the wood, in circular patterns. It generated a glow all around as he sent pulses of ripples through his fingertips; this was Sendo. If his Hamon came into contact with untowards energies, he'd know, even if not precisely where. It'd cause a disturbance in the ripples he was sending out, like a rock thrown in a still river, though his radius was only the first floor and, if such a thing existed, perhaps the basement.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang rifles through the files, and finds some reciepts. There's a few copies left carelessly that were sent to the government, and frowns. She opens her Scroll, and takes some pictures, then sends them off to her Watch contacts, and to the Paladins too. "Can someone double check the government records of these receipts... there's some duplicates here and none of them match up. Might be something."

Seras Victoria (1084) has posed:
WHOOOOOOOOOSH! The floor has gotten TINGLY in some HIGHLY UNCOMFORTABLE ways. Seras, obviously, is quickly unnerved by this and leaps for the nearest bench in the museum floor there is. or something ELSE she can stand on that isn't an exhibit... ANYTHING that's not the floor. "What in the world?" Looking through a door nearby of course, reveals nothing because she's halfway across the first floor by now.

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
    Lexicon resorts to the internet, as people do when physical media fails them. Right away, she is able to find an entry on Mister Arbast on a certain online encyclopaedia... boy, it is sparse. It just mentions him as a city founder and vaguely mentions that he spearheaded many construction projects. Said page doesn't even have the notification that it is a stub, even though it clearly qualifies as one. Checking the edit history reveals that there have been many attempts to improve the page, but each one has been slapped down by another editor. Reasons include 'insufficient sources' even when the source was the city's approved centennial history book. Any links to the sources have expired also. This is... a very complete blocking of information on Lance Arbast.

    Meanwhile, Gawain investigates the hooks! They're multipurpose ones, made to be very strong. Perhaps to hang art for galleries or sale, hang banners or Christmas lights, or even coats! Although there's something strange... there is one hook right in the corner, partially obscured by a pulled curtain. It's equally distant from the others... maybe someone screwed up their measurements and decided to put it in anyway, even though it would be hard to hang anything on it? Poking and prodding at them all seems to do nothing.

    Kotone checks the open computer while she waits for confirmation to crack the password. Nothing of too much interest, but she finds the digital files replicate the same issues that Yang has found in the physical. This could imply deliberate misinformation. But once she gets authorization to crack the password, she has no trouble at all. As it turns out, the password was 'p455w0rd.' Credit where credit is due, they tried. Checking through this one finds duplicates of the data on the first computer... and an ominous Notepad message. It reads;

The one that doesn't belong.

The hideous splotch.

The master's face.

    Meanwhile, Yang puts out a call. The Paladins are efficient when they want to be, as it doesn't take too long for City Hall to double-check their information. Indeed, the costs listed on their records are accurate, which means that someone has been siphoning money from event funds. Small amounts at a time, but this goes back decades. Summed up, it comes to $50,000. A tidy sum indeed.

    But at that moment, the cyborg and the hunter hear a loud click coming from one of the kitchenette cabinets. Investigating reveals... nothing. Just the backboard, with a dark splotch on it. Checking in with the others would reveal it came about the same time Gawain was investigating the out-of-place hook.

    Meanwhile, Seras seeks the source of blood. The scent gets weaker as she goes up, so it has to be on the first floor. But it's nowhere... and the scent is weak. Does that mean it could be beneath the floorboards? Is the source below ground? This is something Jojo might be able to support. As he sends his Hamon into the building, he is able to detect everyone on all three floors... but it comes into contact with something Else, beneath their feet.

Sir Gawain has posed:
As Gawain pulls the hooks, he thinks nothing of them...until someone reports that something flipped at the same time as he pulled the hook. He steps up to the hook, inspects it again, and then pulls the odd-one-out one more time, to see what happens. He'll wait for a response, and then pull it again if requested, otherwise stepping away to head towards the stairs and approach the first floor.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang spins around at the loud crack, and moves over to the source. She opens the cabinet and looks inside, before calling in her discovery. After an exchange over the radio with Gawain reviels some connection between his investigation on the second floor and the cabinet, she asks him to pull the hook again while she watches the cabinet back, one arm raised to guard in case it's a trap of some kind, her Aura flaring brightly around her like a golden halo.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa unjacks from the pc, removes the adaptor and lets the cable slide back. A thought hits her as she works, when did this become normal for her? She doesn't think too much on it she keeps copies of all the revant files to a thumb drive, as like hell she's putitng it in her head. Given the hints of the occult means somethinc could be in the files, she's learned from her experiances on Rory's Earth and in Kingsmouth.

She'll pause at the sound and she'll make ofr the kitchenett's cabinates to open them from the side, least something spring out at her before she takes a chence to check this out and she'll work with Yang too happily.

"Yang? Good to see you it's been ... a while." 5R
Shen she's go her flare up okay that makes Ko more nervous if yang thinks it's go time? Something likely damn well is up.

Lexicon has posed:
    Thumbing through her phone, Lexicon frowns at the state of the article she finds. Certainly it's a communal encyclopedia that anyone can edit, which has its problems, as can be seen in the edit war apparently underway on this very page. Her other hand cradles her chin in thought as she checks the dead-end links to the sources. The lack of information is something she can accept, but what's concerning is that someone seems to be intentionally making that information scarce.

    Blue eyes narrow slightly as she puzzles it out. Scarce information, only one owner until it was handed off to the city, and someone intentionally deleting any information that's posted online... Mysterious. And moreover, she's hatching a theory as to how this all links together.

Jonathan Joestar has posed:
Jonathan is engages in a heated argument over the League's private channels. No one was in the same room to see, but his expression was far from pleasant. Vampires -- it's no wonder that woman was uncomfortable from his Hamon. It was probably the very argument he'd just had that stopped him from stomping off after her for some fisticuffs interrogation about Dio Brando's whereabouts.

        "Where could the underground be..?"

Knowing that there was in fact a basement meant that he knew there'd need to be an entrance, even if a hidden one. Perhaps it was walled off? Jonathan presses his ear up to various walls and knocks on them, listening for inconsistencies and feeling for the smallest of indentations. If worst came to worst he was probably capable of smashing his way down through the floor, but he would rather not inconvenience the owner with such rude, ungentlemanly behavior.

Seras Victoria (1084) has posed:
Seras hesitantly taps the ground a few times with a foot... then settles back down from the chair she'd vaulted atop. NO MORE ANGRY VIBES from the ground, hooray! She heaves forth a relieved sigh, and continues the search.

    Since things have now turned towards 'find the basement entrance', with no solid leads, Seras pulls out her copy of the floor plans and looks for any rooms on the first floor that look hard to get to - anywhere one could be without being witnessed futzing with a secret passage, really.

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
    Kotone copies the files to a thumb drive. Thankfully, no arcane power instantly corrupts it or anything. Yang and Gawain's quick field test yield some results. As Yang's Aura burns, she hears the click. And thanks to the light spilling from her form, she can actually perceive the splotch on the backboard shimmer for a brief moment as the click occurs. The cabinet radiates a strange feeling... a threatening feeling. One that may inspire the hunter to lash out! And should she do so... her fist touches the splotch with little incident. The feeling passes.

    Meanwhile, Lexicon investigates the dark side of webpage editing. Indeed, as Gawain requests over the radio, past instances of the pages have been archived. Indeed, some of them have even been screenshot by one of the well-meaning editors so it can endure. Thank you slapshotking300! In the prior edits of the page, it goes into some of the unproven rumours concerning Lance Arbast's occult interests. Some say he worshiped 'The Urban Breath' whatever that may be. It also mentions his mysterious death in a house fire, in which the bodies that were found were reduced to ash, making identification all but impossible.

    Meanwhile, Jonathan taps at the walls of the building to try and find any evidence of a secret room. For the most part, his search is fruitless. All the walls sound as they should if they're packed with wires and insulation. However, when it comes to the stairwell... it's such a tiny difference, most wouldn't notice it, or blame it on the acoustics. But someone like he, gifted in things that ripple, would be able to tell. The stairs do not sit 'right' in the building. It's hard to tell how exactly, but they are easily the most suspicious part right now.

    Meanwhile, Seras scours the first floor. Checking under the displays and behind the portraits is a good idea... but ultimately, reveals nothing. Pouring over the floor plans reveals little in the way of potential hidden rooms or doors. But then, the portrait she is standing before clicks, the face of the man depicted shimmering slightly for a brief moment. The same threatening feeling that Yang felt would fill the air. The plaque states that it depicts Lance Arbast himself. This is around the same time Yang would be lashing out at the splotch in the cabinet.

Lexicon has posed:
    The dark side of Wikipedia reveals an effort to cover up evidence-- or at least, rumors-- of a man deeply entrenched in the occult. Worship of an unknown entity called the Urban Breath. Previous attacks involving supernatural phenomenon. And a mysterious death with no actual proof that the man in question perished. Unrecognizable remains. Was it just a sacrifice?

    Lexicon's eyes narrow at the tiny screen on her phone, "He's still alive, isn't he?" she says out loud. The hand cradling her chin is lowered, flashing with digital light as her hammer materializes in her grasp. More for a sense of security than any intention of using it. The weapon is lifted to rest its familiar weight on her shoulder as she at last steps off, moving to rejoin the other first-story explorers.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang's in a defensive mode, but the sudden rush of a sense of bloodlust and danger makes her lash out and smach her fist into the splotch before she can catch herself... it doesn't fire off the shot like normal, but as she pulls her arm back, the chamber cycles a shell into place. But she gets herself under control and calls it in. Maybe there's something to do with that message Kotone found... some kind of sequence to open a door or something. Hmm.

Jonathan Joestar has posed:
His search seemed meaningless.

Almost as if by a stroke of luck, just as he'd intended to give up, Jonathan wound up coming across 'something' that was of use. He recoiled from the staircase, his beck bending and arms coming up defensively on instinct. Almost as if this staircase itself were releasing a tangible, menacing air. "Something about it feels inherently dangerous! ...no, that's not right."

"It's d i f f e r e n t from everything else!"

Jonathan carefully tread around it. He was a very reactive strategist, but even he knew he couldn't tread lightly based on what he felt underneath them earlier. Was there a hidden door? Or perhaps a switch? ..Jonathan took a gamble, and pressed his fingers up against the wooden surface of the staircase, releasing ripples of his Hamon into it.

"If there's something here, at this range, I should be able to feel it!"

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa is going to be on the safe side but the fact the drives are not warping, mutating or trying to fuse with her, is noted. She's got to focus on what she's working on with. She looks at just what's happening now she sees what Yang is doing she doesn't yell no she watches she records and she moves to zoom in on just whats the heck was that.

"Yang?! What is that?"

She knows enough about the arcane to get an idea don't touch the glowy thing, don't sand in runes and the like but cast magic? She likely never will be able to.

Seras Victoria (1084) has posed:
A shimmering portrait snags Seras' attention away from the floor plans. FEAR spreads across her face, she reaches for her unloaded rifle but doesn't quite touch it. Nothing comes out to attack her. But... "Something's not right. There's something HERE..." She murmurs.

    Seras concentrates, focusing her senses in her mind's eye. 'Imagine a third eye on your forehead and aim from there,' her Master once said. This she does again... looking from a thing that isn't there. her pupils shrink slightly... and as they do? They shift from an innocent blue to hellish crimson that's almost aglow from within. She focuses EVERYTHING she has on that painting, examining it with full fervor!

    A spot stands out... she reaches out... and pokes carefully.

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
    Jonathan releases Hamon in the stairs while Seras reaches out and pokes the face of Lance Arbast, the center of that ominous feeling. As she does, that rush of bloodlust spreads through the whole building, putting hairs on end. At that moment, Jojo can feel the ground /beneath/ the stairs starting to shift apart, making room.

    So that the entire stairwell can begin to descend.

    To be clear, it is not a chunk of the building sinking into the ground. It is the stairs themselves lowering, leaving a hollow bit of building behind where it occupied. This will allow everyone on the higher floors to drop down and join it. It goes down the entire length, until the stairs once leading to the third floor join up with the first floor. At the bottom is a door... no doubt, the investigators will make preparations before going in.

    On the other side is eight people in gray hooded robes, standing around a magical circle inscribed in chalk and gravel. They are chanting in an ancient tongue, one that the Language Effect is unable to translate. Placed at key spots on the circle are endangered animal pelts, along with other strange miscellanea. A brick, a pile of nails, a shard of clear glass.

    As everyone comes in, one of the figures looks their way, not breaking the chant. A ghastly voice fills the room, coming from the very concrete walls.

    "F o u r w i l l s u f f i c e. S t o p t h e m."

    Four of the figures break their chant and gesture. The room rumbles, and pipes erupt from the walls, gushing pressurized water at the party!

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    That feeling again. The whole building is radiating that threatening aura, and it's got Yang's back right up. Her eyes shift red, and her aura begins to crackle with mild lightning-like bolts that arc across her form.

    The blonde drops down the empty hole where the stairs used to be, landing at the top landing on the first floor, then heads on down them to link up with the others. What she sees, and what that voice says gets the blonde's hackles right up, and as the pipes erupt from the walls... well, they get explosive bolts hurled at them with the resounding sound of shotgun blasts.

    She then gets smacked by a stream of pressurized water and pinned to the wall... for all of a few seconds before she explodes with Auric force, disrupting the flor enough to get clear of it and go for one of the attacking figures! "I'm gonna cave your Grimm-spawned face in!"

Jonathan Joestar has posed:
"What on earth..?"

Strafing to the front, Jonathan stared as the stairs descended, and...he felt on edge. This killing intent, it was the same kind of blood thirsty aura that enveloped Dio's Castle. Even so, he had no choice here but to advance. He had to fight for everyone's sake, how could he face his true enemy if he were scared off by something like this? Jonathan breathed deeply, causing his diaphram to expand in an abnormal manner. Warm, powerful light rolled off of his body in waves as he descended the stairs with purpose, glowing like the sun itself. "What are you doing?!"

        "Gh?!"

His arms raised defensively, bone breaking force applied from pressurized blasts of water. It was only because of the healing properties of his Hamon that his arms weren't rendered instantly useless as he was forced onto his back, painfully crashing into the bottom most steps. Never one to be put down for long, Jonathan rebounded and made for one of them like a freight train. "As Zeppeli said: Own your fear!"

        "Kooooh...!"
        "Zoom Punch!"

Jonathan's arm dislodged itself from its joints as it show it like a blur, an organic battery ram powered by Hamon to nail one of the hooded figures in its face, from a distance it wasn't expecting.

Lexicon has posed:
    As the stairwell actually starts moving and descending, Lexicon raises her free hand to shield her face from whatever might come rushing out and up to greet them. When nothing does so, she clicks her phone's flashlight function on and uses it to light the way down... into a room with freaky chanting cultists.

    As someone who's often referred to as a 'goddess' in her own realm, this is a sight Lexicon wishes she wasn't familiar with. Her expression immediately tenses when a disembodied voice commands the seance to split up and 'deal' with the intruders.

    Her phone is clicked off and tucked into her coat. When she pulls her hand free, there's a flash of digital particles which produces a long gem-topped staff in her hand, opposite the hammer she already carries.

    "You would be Lance Arbast, right?" She's addressing the voice directly, rather than the cultists who broke off that Jonathan is already engaging. The Relay is jammed into the floor beside her, left to stand there, "I don't expect an answer but I'll ask anyway. What is it you're trying to do here?"

    Her voice is tense, but Lexicon is at least trying to follow protocol. Seriously, one would be surprised how many villains are willing to spout their entire plan when asked politely.

Sir Gawain has posed:
They've found a passage, though there's a terrible feeling going with it. Gawain moves instinctively into defensive position, but as it passes over, he takes a breath, and jumps down the stairwell to the basement area, landing on both feet without even being forced into a crouch. As the group arrives at the bottom and heads for the door, he nods to them all. "Be ready for anything!"

And then, there's a spooky cult. Slight frown, as Gawain draws his badge and has the suspicions he didn't want confirmed, confirmed. "Paladins, you're under arrest!" In an instant, Gawain's outfit is covered by majestic armor that manifests over it, with a floral pattern. In the hand not holding the badge, a shining blade appears...

And then Gawain is smacked dead in the face by a burst of water. The knight is sent back about a foot, but quickly gains control due to Numeral of the Saint giving him impressive durability, forcing his body /back/ against the water. And that's when he gets an idea, as he glances at the magical circle. The badge is put away and the arm is held up to shield himself from the pressurized water, as he turns towards the others. "Those with conductive abilities...channel them through this water!"

It's at that moment that Gawain pushes his sword upwards and angles it against the pressurized water, trying to deflect it straight at the magical circle and the items placed around. Water itself probably wouldn't do much...but with electricity and sunlight superpowers? They might just be able to tamper with the ritual! Though since Gawain's sword is conductive...this will likely be harmful to him as well.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa is now a very wet Cyborg, her clothing will be fine but she is pushed somewhat. Given her mass and strengt5h the water does not have enough of the power to stagger her for long. She waitys on Gawain as he moves she'll follow the round table Knight as he moves to make his actions. The cultist didn't wnat to stand down, so here she goes. She moves rapidly with flat out inhuman speed her arms start to discharge the eelware built into herbody into the water as Gawain has directed, she even gets infected a bit by the Knight.

Who knew Kotone could do some ham on the spot but it seems to work Kotone just is able to not /fry/ herself with it hopefully this works...

Seras Victoria (1084) has posed:
"From an animal rights investigation to... is this seriously a magic cult?" Seras is utterly disbelieving in what just happened. Her voice quivers with hints of fear and worry despite the disapproving grouch in the tone...

    When the stairs THEMSELVES start moving, she loads her rifle and readies for battle. Hopefully it won't be needed?

    Those hopes are dashed when they all get down the stairs and...

    Cultists. Evil voices. AND WATER, WATER EVERYWHER!

    "Huuuuuawaaaawagh!" Seras ends up bowled over by the sudden jets, tumbling and sidewinding like a ragdoll. But she is much, MUCH stronger than she looks. After tumbling a dozen feet she slams both feet into the ground and DIGS IN. From there... even the fire hose-like pressure can only serve to slow her down, not stop her.

    She doesn't have any CONDUCTIVE abilities, but as she finds refuge from the sprays thanks to Gawain... she lowers her rifle and starts FIRING at the cultists!

    ... Thankfully, it's rubber bullets. Which will hurt. They might break bones even, and will leave serious bruises. But they're not going to kill with proper aiming from HER.

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
    The battle begins! Yang is pinned to the wall by the powerful water, but blasts it clear! The cultist she's gunning for doesn't even react in time before her fist finds their face, launching them across the room to impact on the far wall. Based on the cracking in the concrete and the vicious snapping that came from their form, they did not take that blow well. Evidentially, these cultists are not empowered.

    Jonathan's Zoom Punch clashes with the water, and eventually blasts through. A telescoping punch like that is highly unexpected indeed, as another one of the cultists staggers back and falls into one of their comrades around the circle. They do not flinch in the slightest, however.

    Gawain tanks the majority of the force, and deflects it to pool around the feet of the cultists. This works for the most part. But whatever power is flowing into the circle keeps the water from intruding on it, keeping the chalk safe and the symbols intact.

    At least, until Seras opens fire with her rifle.

    Those chanting cry out in pain, disrupting the ritual. This allows the power to falter, the water to intrude and ruin the circle. And then Kotone discharges electricity into the water, stunning them all. The ritual has been halted.

    While all this is happening, Lexicon does the most diplomatic thing; addressing the voice from the walls. There is a long pause before it responds.

"C l e v e r g i r l. B u t I a m s o m u c h m o r e n o w."

    In the time for that one sentence to creak out, the ritual has been broken. An intense feeling of dread eminates from the circle before dissipating. A low growl comes from the walls, and the voice of whatever Lance Arbast became speaks anew.

    "I w i l l n o t f o r g e t t h i s."

    The presence leaves, leaving the party with eight arrests to make.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang skids forwards a couple of feet after sending the cultist flying... and smashing into the wall in a crumpled heap of pain and very likely broken bones. She might have even killed the poor sod, but the red eyes are not ones of mercy. She stares down at the crumpled cultist, as the rest of the group mop up and disrupt the ritual. "That it?" she snarls, then flips her hair and folds her arms, the vambrace-like gauntlets folding back into their bracelet standby forms. "Tch, hardly worth my time."

    Yang looks over at Jonathan. She got a better 'look' at his power when it was more overtly used... "He's almost like a Huntsman..." she muses to herself quietly. Paladins will sort this out, she just needs to get her report back to the Watch so they know what's going on with some creepy ghost master thing.

Lexicon has posed:
    The fangs surrounding the gem on Lexicon's staff spread open, and the gem begins to glow. Her expression turns into a glower, splattered with water mostly deflected by the front-line fighters who charged headlong into it. The DCC stays in the back, apparently doing most of the legwork with her words rather than her hammer. It's pretty clear to her what's happened to this man, at this point.

    And then he leaves with an ominous threat and his followers are soundly defeated by overwhelming force. After a moment, Lexicon wrenches her Relay free and dismisses it in a spray of pixellated light, "Sheesh..." Her hammer, likewise, disappears so that the DCC can fold her arms and glower at the downed cultist chanters, "We probably won't get much but interrogating these losers might get a lead, at least. That voice, that was Lance Arbast, the guy I've been trying to find info on. Looks like his occult research found something. We're probably dealing with a spirit now. Or something similar."

Jonathan Joestar has posed:
Jonathan's glove is torn and damp with red liquid. Punching through the pressure blaster had sheared away his protective wear and the skin of his fist, but the pain was dulled by his rhythmic breathing. It wouldn't be long before such a minor injury faded. "I...suppose I'll leave the rest of this to you all, then."

With the situation resolved, he wouldn't be much good in the clean-up. Whatever research into the occult he could glean here was washed away with the summoning circle. His eyes linger on Seras one more time, almost as if assessing a threat. Ultimately, he only had one question before he went back up stairs.

        "Did you use it?"
        "That wretched stone mask?"

Seras Victoria (1084) has posed:
DOWN go the cultists. The water's thankfully stopped... and Seras lowers the rifle. The voice has her shivering, but she tries to stay brave and not show it too much. MUCH.

    This fails utterly when Jonathan turns on her and fixes her with that gaze. That gets her gulping. But she steels her spirit and answers...

    "What... stone mask? What are you talking about?"

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa is soaked and now will help make sure every one of the cultists are restrained she look up to Jojo and Sera for a momenet blinking at the pair for a moment. "Stone mask? what are you talking about sir?"