Scene #4575: The Silver Shroud

Owner	Pose
Danse	After painful and grotesque reminders of what's left of humanities inhumanity to humanity, it would probably be great to wash out that foul taste from one's mouth. While there are few truly bright spots around the Commonwealth, what better way than to visit a comic book store and headquarters? Kent Connolly had provided Elite navigation devices with the coordinates, and though it is a bit of a jog from the Shamrock Taphouse, it's easy to do most of it by backtracing the steps, and so avoid stumbling into anything worse than feral dogs, or other more known but manageable hazards like those Gunners guards. The building itself seems a modest multistory affair that appears, for the most part, intact from the outside, though upon approach something conspicuously out of place would be immediately visible. For one, there is a body strewn right outside the door, having apparently been slain there, and in relatively recent history, if the pooled blood stain is any indication. For another, there is a man in a distinctively styled trenchcoat standing next to the corpse, and appearing to be leafing through a weathered journal. If present and alert, Kyle Katarn would remember that look -- it's the look of a Courser, and in fact it's the same one as before, whether through coincidence or having been informed that the Elites had come to this area to investigate. After apparently fulfilling whatever curiosity or investigative purposes this had, he crouches to place the journal back where he found it, next to the body, and turns to examining the body itself. Of course, given the Institute's reputation, it would be easy to take this for the Courser's own handiwork, but is it? And what is their connection to a comic book store, of all things?
Kyle Katarn	Kyle doesn't hesitate to get the others to stop, raising a fist to halt the team. "Courser. We're not alone out here." He says in a terse whisper, before he looks out at the coat-wearing agent of the INstitute. He calls out first, "What do you want?" Hopefully the Courser won't shoot on sight, but the body besides that android does make Kyle wary.
William Pauwel	Will is here to chew bubblegum and retrieve some comicbook paraphanelia, and he's ALL OUT OF GUM. Unfortunately, there's someone in the way of doing the latter, too. On an ordinary day, Will might be a bit more wary-- but today he's hauling ass in a customized T-45 and just saw a house full of bandits and their human butchery, so he's not exactly in the best of moods. The Chaser's handcannon unfolds from its holster and begins giving off its telltale glow. "I don't know what you're doing here, but y'all look like you just killed that man. I'm thinking y'all should probably start explaining pretty quick-like."
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa stealth gear was under repair from a fight the other day heck Kotone was a bit banged up and one might see some signs of repair work on her right arm. While it's patched up she's yet to have the synth skin repaired. It might be a bit unsettling to her allies with the Brotherhood? Yet she's been open and honest about what she is from the get go. Her smart clothing looked a bit out of place here but it was better than showing up in something else. Given the Institute's reputation Kotone wary of them but she's not run into this being so far as she knows. "You heard what my friend said, you better have a good explantion for this..." She does have her hand on a pistol right now but she's not raised it fully yet.
Evangeline	Just floating along quietly is the little Neuroi known as Evangeline. She wasn't sure she should be on this sort of mission, but she could still help her allies so she had joined in nonetheless. The sight of the Courser standing over a dead person puts her on edge, and her natural reaction is to raise her arms and charge her beams. But, she doesn't fire, instead giving her allies a chance to talk things out. If that is possible with an Institute boogeyman.
Danse	Despite the weapons being levelled his way, which his advanced heuristics and heightened senses could sense even without looking, the Courser seems to be taking his time, before rising back to his full height. If nothing else, they do their job thoroughly. "If it isn't the Elites, I believe they call you, over the multidimensional frequencies," he says, in a way that could almost be mistaken for friendly, in that mock villainy kind of way, if it weren't for his almost emotionless, matter-of-fact delivery. He eventually turns completely to face the direction of those cautiously approaching or halted, his eyes and face matching the voice well, "I knew that you had been seen in the area, but to meet you was unlikely. An enormous coincidence." Nonetheless, the accusations coming his way do eventually get addressed, after the pitiful attempts at being cordial. He gives a glance down toward the body, "It seems you have mistaken the situation. I was here to retrieve this unit, M8-43, that we had been monitoring for some time. Unfortunately, I was too late, and he was completely overwhelmed by the local fauna -- 'feral ghouls'. You may inspect the body if you wish; a dead Synth is merely another loose end tied, for us." Those pale eyes travel next to the journal that the person, dressed in slightly tattered but reinforced civilian clothing, the fashion of a local scavenger, had kept. "This unit was given a new identity by the Railroad. It seems he thought there may be useful salvage inside. Chasing a foolish dream... If he had not escaped, he would still be alive and safe." But it seems he's had enough of that. With another glance over with his eyes, of those gathered, and with an especially long one on Evangeline and Kyle, he actually turns to leave, if otherwise left unhindered to do so. "Do be careful not to suffer the same fate," he warns. "The Institute could still have use of all of you." Not bloody likely! Also...the body does indeed have mostly claw and tooth marks, if it's actually closely examined. Not exactly the cold and brutal efficiency that Synths are known for.
Kyle Katarn	Kyle doesn't trust this guy for a second. "Feral Ghouls, huh?" He asks, before he tries to sense around. "How many were there, and how far away are they now? You've been monitoring this zone, right?" TO be fair, they DO have eyes and ears everywhere. R He pauses. "What's this Railroad, anyway? What do they do?"
Evangeline	Evangeline slowly lowers her arms/guns as the Courser walks away from them, then floats over to confirm his story. Seeing that the marks do suggest animalistic attack, she looks to the others. "...he would seem to be telling the truth..." she says, then looks down at the man. Is he really a machine? He doesn't look like a robot, and has certainly bled like a human. She is confused by all of this. "...why do the feral ghouls attack people..? ..if it is for hunger...why did they not eat..?"
William Pauwel	The Institute? Didn't he remember Danse mentioning... something about these guys? And the synths. But nothing about this 'railroad.' Will's lips draw into a thin line behind his visor. This guy does seem to be telling the truth, but... But. "What do y'all even want with us, anyway?" Will mutters, moving towards the fallen synth. He kneels alongside Evangeline, and carefully investigates the... corpse. Is it truly a machine? If it is, then... "...Maybe they couldn't eat him," he suggests to the Neuroi. "Or maybe they've got enough food for now, and they're just killing to have something to snack on later. These don't look like old wounds." "Probably still lurkin' inside, waitin'. We should be ready."
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa does not pull her weapon any further she doesn't realy want to spoil for a fight after yesterday. She lisens to the man her eyes narrowing a bit but she listens to teh story. "A recovery op wait your saying that was a synth?" That soret of thing leaves her uncomfortable and it wouldbe cler to the man? Kotone's partially synthic herself fromt he looks of her if not all of her. "So you say." Still if to use a term from her world regarding the synths? If they were gaining ghosts...that would make things very dark here, very dark indeed. "We'll keep our wits about us...thank you for the heads up."
Rory White	"Quite honestly. Where is the logic in engaging a being like a Courser with emotional pleas? We've already established they are highly-trained agents who favor efficiency over ethics. In the same light, it's inefficient, wasteful, and attention-getting to casually murder. Self defense or a mission only." Rory White's quick to point out in an exasperated tone. The scary thing might be that she can almost instantly interface with that kind of mentality... She produces an Ecto - a small PDA - and offers it to the Courser while passing by. "Speaking of 'having use,' I'd like to open diplomatic efforts with the Institue, but your organization's reclusive nature makes that more than a little difficult. This Ecto has all the communications protocols information needed to open a secure channel to the Weston plant's private line. I have no doubt this will be stripped down and scanned to the barest centimeter, but noting ahead of time there are no surprises on it."
Kutsuuko Shiratori	So, someone here (Kutsuuko) may have missed this whole business about an Institute, and Coursers, and 'Units', and whatever the hell else everyone is talking about. She mostly gets to stand around, looking as tough as her body type can look, with half a belt of depleted ammunition and a big gun, and pretend like she has any clue what's going on. 'Synth' is something obvious. She's from far enough into the future of basic Earth, and she can tell by the corpse anyways, even if only after a third glance. It's enough context to put some stuff together, but she doesn't seem as eager to point her gun at the guy as everyone else. "Okay, I'll trade you a trip to the Institute for that corpse there." Kutsuuko then, boldly and illogically asserts. "If the loose end is tied up already, it's not like you should care, right?" She doesn't flinch from meeting those eyes with her own; a red a little too lurid to chalk up to the meta of anime influence. She doesn't ask about the ghouls, taking advantage of the fact that everyone else already is to appear more informed than she really is, intent on keeping up the way she projects that she belongs here, despite clear access to things like showers and health care. "Railroad sounds obvious to me. Ever heard of the old Underground Railroad? Ferries slaves, prisoners, refugees; that kind of thing. People who want out; usually run by the same kind of people."
Danse	There is a pause in the Courser's footsteps. There's no need for him to hide information like this, really. "Though an accurate count is difficult, as the heavily irradiated humans are prone to enter crawlspaces and flooring, I would estimate fourteen." The topic of the Railroad seems to get a little bit more of a strained reply, possibly the closest thing to an emote that Kyle would have seen. "Idealist interlopers that believe they are freeing Synths from 'slavery'. I have personally had to clean up several of their messes and failed projects. They have only grown more dangerous as they have become more desperate. I would suggest avoiding them." Well, of course an Institute person would warn you away. Neuroi Girl somewhat fascinates the Courser. She seems to get a more genuinely direct response from him, though he does pause for Will's guesswork. "My expertise lies in tracking and retrieving Synths, though I have gone through the Biological Research Division's notes. The theories before the FEV lab closed focused on some form of rudimentary territorial protection and defense. They also do not seem as likely to attack heavily irradiated humans that have not had as serious central nervous system atrophies." So maybe it's some kind of extreme 'other-ness' instinct that's gone haywire, is what he seems to be getting at, though he never presents it as a science fact. It's likely 'they're insane' is also part of the complicated nature of feral ghouls. "Their metabolism seems to respond to ionizing radiation, rather than food sources. It is unlikely they need to eat." "I am not able to speak on that matter," he responds, on the topic of what his bosses would even want with Elites. "All I will say is that there are interested parties in the Institute, ones that are watching closely." To various bits of skepticism and inquiry about the fallen scavenger's identity, he insures, "The genetic profile is a perfect match for M8-43, even if the Railroad surgically altered his phenotype." Kotone's gratitude, in particular, is...an unusual thing to receive, for a Courser. It even manages to raise one of his eyebrows slightly, before he accepts, "You are welcome." On the body of the Synth scavenger, there are faint traces of surgical scars that would fit cosmetic operations, just as described. But they appear almost completely human. It would take a really deep and possibly unsanitary, invasive inspection, absent any super advanced medical equipment, but there is something 'slightly' off about the central nervous system, if they dare go that far. Rory's possibly the most daring of them all. For what it is worth, the Courser does not pull a weapon in response to receiving the Ecto, even if it does seem to be handled with an extreme level of care. Said mysterious bosses will be interested in it and its contents, so damaging it even accidentally would be unthinkable. He seems to be quite serious as he informs, "I will see that it is delivered, or die in the process of safeguarding it." Kutsuuko's offer is taken at face value, no matter how it was actually intended. "I must decline. Perhaps if this information leads to some agreements, you may be granted some limited access to what the Institute has to offer. Until that time, however, I will be serving as your liaison." Great, this cold cut with a facial scar, that has as much warmth as aforementioned meat. With this, he begins walking further away, eventually vanishing down an alley. This leaves the body, its journal, which would describe various adventures and misadventure in the scrapping business, as well as this current lead to potential memoribilia in this very building days before the likely fatal encounter. There's also, of course, the comic shop itself, which is unlocked and unbarred to entry, though that smell wafting out of some of the broken store front windows...ugh.
Kutsuuko Shiratori	Kutsuuko stares at the Courser the entire time he turns to leave, smouldering as if daring him to make a move. The second he vanishes, she immediately breaks character to sigh and mumble something about someone being a "fucking weirdo" while she hesitantly lifts her finger away from the trigger of her weapon. "So, I think I have a pretty good handle on what these guys are like." She says after much private radio bantering/lecturing. "But is there maybe something I should know? Clearly, at least one of you has been screwing around with this before. You knew what he was and where he was from." Oddly enough, only because it was mentioned, she takes a minute to crouch down and analyze the corpse's genetic sequence; something Fenrir has down to such a science that it is both portable and near-instantaneous for very pragmatic reasons in her armlet implant terminal. She saves as much data as she can get for later, though she is no scientist herself. "I hope you know what you're doing." She says to Rory after handing over the ecto; bold, to say the least, after bluffing the guy with the promise of going with him. The God Eater also figures that it doesn't take much manpower to raid a comic shop for a costume, so she pries the journal loose before anyone else can get at it, and flips through it as she walks. It's intel, after all. Grubby, bloodstained intel.
William Pauwel	Will most definitely does NOT start poking around inside of some random dude's skull. Even if he is a robot, there are just lines you do not cross! Maybe if he were a proper beepy, boopy type of machine like the local RobCo designs, but Will has enough issues with even considering hurting actual human beings. Dissecting them for no good reason is just a little beyond him. "Rory," he mutters as the Courser makes its exit. "Y'all sure that's the best idea? Couldn't they use that to... You know, track us down, somehow?" Or get into their radios! Which is probably entirely the point. The Chaser grumbles a little bit and rises from the bloody and battered corpse. "Danse'll probably want to know that they're watchin'." If nothing else, it'll keep him informed of a potential threat. This Institute doesn't seem like it'd be too happy about a new group of uppity foreigners moseying in on their turf. "Well," he huffs, staring up at the edifice of the definitely-infested building ahead of them. "We should probably get what we came here for. I can take point, what with the tin can and all." Ghoul Claws surely can't do much to A FULL SUIT OF POWER ARMOR, right!?
Evangeline	Evangeline turns her head toward the Courser as he provides a possible explanation. "...I see...thank you..." she says to him. She has no experience with the Institute, after all, so has no reason to be discourteous or distrustful. The words of her allies on this world don't provide much substance, so she really only has their opinions to go on. And she prefers to form her own opinions. As the others talk, Evangeline floats to the door and reaches out to open it. If Will is going to take point, then she can open the door for him. "...be careful, everyone..." she says, then raises her other arm to wave a goodbye to the Courser.
Rory White	"You're being overly paraoid, Mr. Pauwel!" Rory replies with another exasperated sigh, a gesture of pure body language since she does't need to breathe to speak. The response obviously covers Kutsuuko's concerns too. "The Institute already knows the Weston plant is oe of our bases. There is nothing on that Ecto that isn't open source common knowledge beyond the communications channel. The endpoint it connects to is also locked down heavily to prevent hacking. Will be very amazed if they get through that without my notice." She starts readying her weapons as the group gets its aim on the comic shop. In this case... a shredder, and a low-ammo riot foam sprayer. She's aware that Feral Ghouls are among the most predictable things in the Commonwealth and geared up accordingly... "All we know for sure about the Institute is that they create these Synths. The Commonwealth fears them becase they are unknown and a few very loud incidents, but I believe that if mass-infiltration of public officials was their goal we would have more than one or two reports and wild rumors. The reputation is based largely on hearsay ad a tiny sample size. As disturbing as their treatment of AGIs is, this group is almost certainly more than it appears to be."
Danse	A short while after the Courser departs company completely, there is an incredibly brief, but noticeable for the machine-monitory extra-sensory sorts, burst of radio waves and a pulse of energy from closeby. It's uncertain if it is related to the Courser, himself, but the timing is a bit curious. Regardless of that, yes, the comic store! Hubris Comics, as the logo proudly proclaims, has seen better days for certain. While it was mostly intact from the outside, it quickly becomes clear that there are collapsed portions of the various floors, and the elevator is long out of useability, if one were to even trust such a thing in the Commonwealth. The ground floor, that the front door opens into, seems to have been a proper shop, as most of the floorspace is taken up by decaying wooden shelves. The contents, the comics themselves, are in really bad shape; you'd have to squint to even tell what they originally were, and most of the pages have adhered together with mold, when they don't outright crumble to the touch. The front counter has an old cash register -- with several tens-of-thousands of pre-war dollars in cash still in the drawer, score! But perhaps the most interesting thing on this level is what's behind the counter. A small mini-museum style exhibit to an apparently popular Hubris Comics character, Grognak the Barbarian. Still in a locked case, Grognak's Axe still glistens through the dust on the glass, accompanied by a nearby mannequin, modeling Grognak's signature loin cloth. There also appears to be a still-locked back room, with the ever-popular Employees Only sign immediately next to it, likely a storage area, going by the hole in the wall. While they are easily missed at first glance, seeing how they are almost camoflaged against the dust, debris and decaying comic books, there are also feral ghouls here. They appear to be in some kind of passive state, though it's hard to call it merely resting, as they do not seem to be breathing in this condition, either. From the hole in the ceiling, the legs of another dangle haphazardly. Maybe they'll stay asleep, or whatever you could call it? Though from previous encounters, it doesn't seem like it'd stay this way soon. Perhaps it'd be better to simply take advantage of it while it's possible. These aren't human beings anymore.
William Pauwel	Is it really paranoia when the Institute is literally replacing people with synthetic copies? Will somehow manages to look uncertain even within his intimidatingly heavy suit of armor. "Let's keep moving," he says instead of an actual response, and only stops to give Eva a gentle pat on the head before moving into the delapidated building. It's... Approximately as barren as most places, though clearly with several artifacts that are probably worth a lot of money to the right kind of collector. The Solano's light burns like a tiny stellar torch, illuminating the dim and dingy interior with its crisp, blue-white light. "Look at that display," Will marvels, staring at the COMPLETELY ORDINARY REPLICA AXE in its glass case. "I wager we could find someone who'd really appreciate that stuff too. We should try to take it with us!" You know. Once they find the Shroud. And clear out the ghouls. It doesn't take long for Will to identify a the sleeping horrors. He's only been ALMOST EVISCERATED BY THEM before. "Guys," he whispers, "Anyone pack explosive? Best get them live 'fore I wake them up." To emphasize his point, the Chaser levels his favorite weapon at one of the snoozing Ghouls, finger hovering near the trigger. He'll fire just as soon as the others are set up. Best let the guy in the armor get their attention first.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa says "I admit I am concerned for myself given my cyberentic nature I will at least hear what they have to say id they do want to talk. I make no promises otherwise." She now nods at his reply to he thanks and it's time to get moving in doesn't it and so Kotone is going to get moving. Shes' going to woner about Courser for a while. She moe ahead keeping her pistol ready as she does so. She swore she saw something and she sees the ghouls are resting or at least not moving? She's not sure but she freexes up and whishes her stealth armour was functional today.. <<Any ideas on how to deal with this? Maybe just sneak by...?">>
Evangeline	Evangeline is patted, and continues to hold the door until everyone is inside. Then, she silently floats inside as well. "...Explosives are ill-advised in a structurally-unsound, enclosed area..." she says. She looks around at the 'sleeping' ghouls, then floats silently along to a nearby one. She floats above it, just watching for now. "...sneaking might be advisable..." she adds, talking only over their radios.
Rory White	<<Sneaking by is too risky. The slightest disturbance further in could leave us surrounded. Eradicating the Feral Ghoul infestation floor by floor while we have the element of surprise is better.>> Comes Rory's deduction after running a few scenrios of what's likely to be found further up... "Recommending we keep explosive use to a minimum. They'll draw attention and will damage.... um... the available loot." Which is an odd term for her to be using, but she levels her weapon at some of the Ghouls in sight nonetheless.. and just starts firing nigh-silent metal flechettes at heads!
Danse	Taking the initiative, Rory's shots find their mark very easily against the practically helpless feral ghouls, their only defense being the cluttered shelving they're sprawled around. One, then two, heads don't quite explode from the shots, but the spongey flesh still makes a distinctive sound, before a half-congealed that can only kindly be called blood seeps from the wounds. It's enough to cause them to jerk and their respiratory system to spasm with a rasping sound, but the atrophied central nervous system does still seem to carry a good deal of weight with the beasts, since they don't move anymore aside from that. However, aside from noise and motion, chemical signatures are a powerful force. The scent of wounded ferals causes sounds of stirring, both further into side rooms on this floor and on the one immediately above, as that tell-tale gurgling sound of the zombie-like creatures coming out of that passive state into a more active one fills the air, from practically every direction, like a community organism preparing its defense from sensing some wounded parts. Before long, four more appear, one wandering out of what appears to be the remains of what was the restroom, two others wandering down the stair well, and a third...well, there is a crack in the space between the floor above this one and the shop level, which looks barely large enough for a domestic housecat to fit through -- and still one in tattered clothing is STILL finding a way to contort its body through it! Though, the ones that emerged from the stairs at least gives some direction, in this dimly lit building. It's a sign that there is at least some structurally sound access to the upper levels, without being able to fly. Another point is that Will's bright lighting indeed seems to have them focused primarily on him, as they immediately begin to lunge, after that hoarse, roaring 'call' of theirs. Kutsuuko, meanwhile, is interested in the scavenger's journal. (Sorry!) It's actually about what you would expect, for the most part. Daily logs of shipments and discoveries, as well as tips on spots that are sometimes drawn through with pen or pencil, whichever implement was handy at the time. The dates all conspicuously start about a year ago, local time, in the Fall of 2286. An interesting thing, though, aside from the place he died at, is that he had heard of some place in the Western Commonwealth, that was built into the Earth like something called a Vault, but was designed only to house Boston's mayor and his family. 'Could be an amazing opportunity! Who knows what they took with them down there?'
Evangeline	When all that shuffling starts up, Evangeline rises into the air a bit higher, then moves to the doorway near the stairs. She holds one arm up, then the end starts to glow with that sinister red light of hers. The other follows soon after. And when any ghoul is unlucky enough to poke its head out...she fires a double-shotgun blast of explosive red pellets into the creature. If it is not downed, she follows up after a second of pause, presumably to reload. If it is, she waits for the next one. She might not have been the first to fire, but now that combat has been initiated, Evangeline becomes a deadly weapon of remorseless destruction. She knows that ferals have very little in the way of minds, and will not hesitate to tear them apart. Of course, the flash of those explosive red pellets and the shotguns sounds might draw more to her.
Rory White	Rory's sidled up against a wall, having prepared for the emergence of more Ghouls. Her tactics are her main strong point, since complex physical endeavors in hand to hand would be a serious problem for her! Her tactics are designed to ensure this never comes to pass. The moment that one of the Ghouls emerges from the bathroom... TRIGGER PULL! She aims to riddle its noggin with shredder shards from the side. "This is going to be long and messy!"
William Pauwel	Welp, no explosives, but it looks like holding the bright shiny object did the trick. A veritable murder of ghouls barrels down on the armored Chaser. Fortunately for him, they all make that same terrible noise when they decide to do anything. Also forunate is that he doesn't need to reload. The Solano flares in short bursts, firing clusters of roiling plasma slugs downrange. It pauses between bursts only to belch a crackling energy cloud before firing again. Blue light pours from the armor's visor as the Maestro acquires fresh targets. Will fires with the careful precision of a practiced gunman, but even that can't stop all of these things- especially since they appear to respond to pain in much the same way as a stampede of falling rocks. Inevitably, some get through. Whereupon Will demonstrates that he's also souped up his armor's carrying capacity by flinging a ghoul into a nearby comicbook stand. The T-45 sparks here or there when it's torn into, but the venerable armor just keeps trucking, with Will safely sealed inside. "Just keep shooting till they stop moving!" And he does! More gleaming bolts illuminate the dingy halls. He can keep firing for days!
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone is now ceeping along rying to not bring them into a fight at least just yet. IF she can avoid it. She's going to start. She would start to look around to see if she could find anything of use as she talks to the party over her internal comm. Then the fight gets fully going with Will whose drawing fire and hostility she'll try to see what she can find while he keeps them all busy.
Danse	Indeed, sound and light are equally effective at drawing attention. One that encounters Evangeline, for example, seems almost intent on shambling past at first, focused on the power armored Will as it is, but maybe recognizing the spark of at least some form of life, as well as that signature red Neuroi glow, it pivots sharply and instead lunges at her! It doesn't die immediately from the blast spreads, instead it ends up as essentially a torso and a head with one arm, in the midst of its own detached limbs. After a brief moment of remaining still, it still tries to lurch toward her with that remaining arm, before it is finally put down for good, with a gutteral scratch of a death rattle. The ones that close in on Will receive a plasma-infused greeting in exchange. They are the fast zombie archtype, when they care to be, and are a lot more maneuvearable and nimble than a suit of T-45, even if it is modified. Sadly, their nails and teeth aren't much of a match for even this generation of power armor technology, and the suit also has the advantage of not causing their body's natural radioactivity to seep through with the thousand paper cuts they are subsequently attempting to give out. So narrow-minded they are in attacking, one is fairly easy to heft and throw, satisfyingly, through one of the half-collapsed book shelves, which finally ends its struggling, like it's some saloon brawl. Another succumbs to Will's gunnery, the odd local reactions to its properties seeming to still hold true, as the critical shot causes it to flash-liquefy into a dense, glowing substance, which collapses into a puddle shortly after. Rory's wise choice of firing lines is also advantageous. The ferals that emerge do sometimes clamber over things and twist and contort their bodies in strange ways to try and make things difficult, but there's enough of a space cushion for everyone but Will to react, and that's mostly because he's drawing his lion's share. She would also likely be the first to notice that the footsteps on the floor immediately above have essentially emptied out in this first wave, though that's mostly because... It is soon followed by a handful slightly more resilient ferals, making their way down from above. These ones appear to be...fresher, if that is a term that can be applied to such a beast. Their pitted and leathery flesh is a lot more pliable and damage resistant, and they seem to be wearing scraps of what used to be a raider's sort of body armor, further, if incidentally, reinforcing them. This new generation of ferals, which proves the process is still ongoing, also means their actual muscles and connective tissues are a bit more powerful, should they actually manage to close to melee distance with their claw-like nails and jagged teeth. It does not do a thing for their functional intelligence, though. Regardless, things are slightly less cramped, without quite so many zombies crowding in at once. Continuing on to the next floor shouldn't be too difficult, even if a rare straggler or two from the non-armored variant still seem to be camping in side rooms, or hiding under furniture no human should reasonably be able to fit under/within. This next floor, as Kotone would have already been able to scout ahead in the chaos and distraction, seems to have mostly been for the actual workforce, as there are several desks arranged in an open plan office, as well as a few, more exclusive side offices, for executives. It is within one of these that she would hear a familiar fan whine, from both this world and perhaps a certain other: A functional RobCo Terminal is closeby, and if she follows, she would discover it upon the former CEO's desk. Lightly secured -- old guys just won't heed IT in any world or timeline, it seems -- getting in would be easy. Most of the entries seem to be trying to keep their shakey company afloat, amid staff rebellions and defections, the government trying to make them a propaganda arm, and most recently as of the bombs, trying to deal with satisfying
Danse	Regardless, things are slightly less cramped, without quite so many zombies crowding in at once. Continuing on to the next floor shouldn't be too difficult, even if a rare straggler or two from the non-armored variant still seem to be camping in side rooms, or hiding under furniture no human should reasonably be able to fit under/within. This next floor, as Kotone would have already been able to scout ahead in the chaos and distraction, seems to have mostly been for the actual workforce, as there are several desks arranged in an open plan office, as well as a few, more exclusive side offices, for executives. It is within one of these that she would hear a familiar fan whine, from both this world and perhaps a certain other: A functional RobCo Terminal is closeby, and if she follows, she would discover it upon the former CEO's desk. Lightly secured -- old guys just won't heed IT in any world or timeline, it seems -- getting in would be easy. Most of the entries seem to be trying to keep their shakey company afloat, amid staff rebellions and defections, the government trying to make them a propaganda arm, and most recently as of the bombs, trying to deal with satisfying the investors and the fans of the Silver Shroud with the controversial decision to cast a popular young starlet in the role of the Mistress of Mystery; a role well known to be a woman well into her thirties. They even got the hair color wrong! What it does povide, though, is through inventory digests, confirmation that the items Kent Connolly requested should still be on site, on the third and final floor up from here, as well as a few items of modest value in the company safes, and combinations to unlock them. Otherwise, aside from searching for salvage, and memorabilia (which there is some of that, in a display case, including an autographed photo from the Silver Shroud(*) himself!), this floor seems to have been emptied out. There are still sounds coming from the next floor up, though, and for some reason...a faint, greenish glow. Nothing good ever glows green, wastelanders would know.
Evangeline	Evangeline actually pauses a few moments as the ghoul keeps fighting despite having only one arm and no legs. Once it is dealt with, she makes her way up the stairs after Kotone. She moves silently by nature, but she makes sure to clear each room she encounters. She is surprised by the armor-wearing ghouls, and her shotgun blasts take a few more hits to take one down, but she is on a mission and determined to complete it. And clearing the building seems like a good way to make sure the mission goes off without any fatalities (other than the ghouls). It might take a while, but the Neuroi is nothing if not thorough. And her defenses are top notch, so she isn't worried about being hurt by the ghouls. That energy shield she has should deflect any melee blows from these creatures, and even if it doesn't, her body can regenerate rapidly.
Rory White	DOWN go the Ghouls... but yet more arrive. And these ones are faster and tougher! Rory's respose is alike though! Pulling down the trigger on her shredder. This time, instead of a handful of metal shards it sends a FLURRY of the, like a machine-gun and shotgun fused ito one weapon! THUMP THUMP THUMP! Ghouls go down, though a few get DANGEROUSLY close and one forces her to ackpedal. Another gets so close that it manages to rip a gash into her upraised arm - but she jams the weapon against its chest and FIRES PLENTY during the opening. Sparks fly and a weird fluid drips from the gouge on her arm... but she apparently doesn't feel pain. The arm's lowered, although it now responds sluggishly... "Ghouls... such tenacious creatures. If only more retained their intelligece..." Now her attention's drawn to cracks in the floor, and that freaky green glow. She's seen enough on her sensor sweeps to know that this glow is usually bad wherever it appears, particuarly the glowing sea... "Chances are high that whatever's up there on the third floor is EXTREMELY dangerous. But we must be mindful of the battlefield and not destroy the things we're here to retrieve, too!"
Kutsuuko Shiratori	Kutsuuko marks her hypothetical world map with that one. She, in fact, pockets in a hard case at her belt for field samples, so it can be scanned fully and committed to data files back home. She can only memorize so much of the text, and there has to be tons of context and reference in there that will come in handy later. After the first time she had barged in on an ambush waiting for the group, she had gotten shot a few times for her trouble. Absurdly durable as she is, the pipe guns hadn't left much more than some marks and bruises, but it makes her less eager to kool-aid in a second time when all that gunfire starts; especially considering how one-sided it sounds. Only once it stops does she flip the book closed, pocket it, roll her eyes quietly, and march in, taking looks here and there at the scorched and bullet riddled corpses, and making sure to get nothing on her boots. Of course, she can't possibly fail to notice the classically radioactive glow, but since the others have pulled her weight, she feels as if she may as well do hers. The God Eater opens one of the cylindrical carry canisters on her belt, producing some kind of auto-injector the size of a chocolate bar, twirling it between her fingers as if it weren't expensive at all, and then jamming it into the port in her bracelet implant. The speed at which the content indicator goes down should probably rupture blood vessels, but she doesn't so much as seem to feel it, only withdrawing it with a single spot of blood and slotting it back in her belt. With her Oracle Cells activated for even further toughness and energy screening, she marches on up those stairs, apparently unconcerned with whatever amount of rads to the face lie up them; at least for a few minutes.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa is going to owe Will a beer b ut for now she's going to see what she cna find and that's when kotone gets lucky? She finds a terminal and it's on the old CEO's desc. Kotone will attmpt to log in or jack in as needed. She's thankful she knows roboco code in the end and gets to work on it she'll even sit in the chair if she's bale to while she works awya. The clatter of her fingers upon the keyboard is the only one she'll make. <<Found a intact terminal with power, I'm logging on to see what I can dig up in here. Maybe some have and we only seen the ones who didn't...Hey Evangeline you hanging in there all right?>> She's thankful there's quite a few fightes along today better than her self.
Danse	The ferals...well, they are ferals. While a few do manage to get through to Rory, her physiology isn't exactly endangered by the ferals, more than the physical damage. Even the armored ones, a bit tougher nuts to crack, aren't going to last long under the hail of fire Elites can manage. Will, attracting an undue amount of attention, is basically the perfect tank for this, and presumably is staying behind to mop things up as Evangeline is doing, though cautiously avoiding the stairs. Steps that are solid enough for the human-mass and hovering people, maybe not as much for someone in power armor. No matter, at least the first and second floors are their oysters, and through various investigations, pilferings, and the information Kotone could have obtained, things the locals find valuable could be found. Golden pocket watches (long since stopped), packs of cigarettes (a life necessity!), even a few stimpaks and other medical supplies in a few first aid boxes. But the most ominous thing remains that glow, and climbing to the third floor, where the terminal entries stated the desired items would be, the source would soon become apparent. The studio set where they filmed the Silver Shroud is right down the hall, and the stage lights are still lit, even after all this time. But more than that, that uncomfortably greenish aura is there, emanating from the body of one particular feral ghoul. This feral's body seems to be quite similar to the others, except that its veins and nerves were so intensely receptive to radiation, that it has become radioactive, in turn. Geiger counters and similar devices would sense that it is actively irradiating its environment. It seems to simply be crouched on the floor of the studio, near the stage, for the moment, but it soon begins sniffing at the air, and lets out an enormous howl. That's not so much different than the normal feral ghouls, at this point -- except that a blast of more intense radiation follows in a wave, from its body. In its wake, other nearby ferals, thought to have already been swept and dealt with, also begin to faintly glow, and their body's simple metabolic machinery churns back to life, overriding their internal logic that they should be 'dead'. All but the most damaged are soon crawling or shambling to try and catch up with the group, as the Glowing One charges, seemingly more intent on using its body's own intense radiation as a level, than the usual clawing and biting -- though those are also mixed in, for flavor. The good news is, the re-animated zombies seem to not have regenerated lost limbs, and they are also significantly squishier than before, since they're in some kind of last resort mode. The bad news is it's still an unwanted back pressure.
Evangeline	Evangeline floats up the second set of stairs just as that howl is heard and that wave of radiation bursts outward. Evangeline pauses, peeking just over the top floor from the stairs. When she sees the Glowing One, she starts to engage. But then, that howl is echoed by the ghouls down below. As the Glowing One is only one target, Evangeline floats back down quickly. She starts unloading more shotgun blasts on the reanimated ghouls. She aims for the head this time, no doubt sending formerly grey matter splattering over the walls and flooring. She positions herself on the stairs again, taking out as many as she can. And she can take out a lot. The walls are no doubt perforated by the explosive pellets as she downs the very ghouls she already downed once. "...almost like fighting Neuroi..." she says softly.
Kutsuuko Shiratori	Kutsuuko has no particular use for watches, or need for the money they'd bring in, and an overabundance of medical supplies working for Fenrir, but she does pocket a few of the cigs; not for herself, but as a souvenir for a certain someone back home. It appears to be the third of things she was prepared for today. How did she know the green glow would be radiation even without encountering it here before? Duh. Everyone knows radiation is green. The ghoul does, at least, answer Rory's question from earlier. It seems like this one might actually be feeding the others just by being here, or at least allowing them to remain in that state of suspended animation more or less indefinitely. The following events further demonstrate that it is essentially the lynchpin to this hive, and well, it's right in front of her, isn't it? She doesn't go for the gun though. It is right there and all, slung across her back, but drawing it within this range is a little bit of a gamble, she doesn't know how many bullets it took for the others to kill the things, and she'd like to let them deal with all the double zombies without calling them all to her. Instead, she pulls back her left hand -- the one covered in ballistic black -- as if she intends to deliver the world's most awkward punch, and the palm of her glove begins to glow with what appears to be heat, though that would mean the skin underneath would have to be the temperature of molten metal if it was coming from inside. The space a few inches out from her loosely curled fingers sparks and then ignites like magnesium, and flames from nowhere inexplicably flow and spiral together into the flat, pointed shape of a blade, simply emanating from her hand, now flanked by six small 'leaves' of fire arranged in a circle. She intends to use it before needing to give an explanation, striking out with the same speed that had pulverized squishy human organs before, though this time she leverages it into a lightning fast spear hand thrust into the ghoul's lower left abdomen, and follows it with a slashing motion towards its opposite shoulder in a straight line that crosses its entire torso, almost like the flick of a conductor's baton. It goes to say that the extremely short range corresponds with extremely high, localized power.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone looks over the data and starts moving to grab all the data, it doesnt seem like much but she does find that the items that Kent are after? Are still where they should be there may be a few other things. She's somehow amused at the fact old guys really don't listen to their IT people. This is a bane of things on her world as well when it comes to information security. She move to grab the data that she can before she'll log out. Some of it's interesting more parts sound like comic book movies or TV shows always seem to have an issue one way or another. She'll also loot what other misc items she can find. She does score one of the pocket watches and debates having it fixed so long as it's not some fission powered thing. Once that's done she makes ready to go but here comes ghouls and he's even getting a rad warning. Sure her brain case is protected but this means she's going to have to burn/clean everything she has on her and she moves to start shooting it with her pistol as she tries to keep back as some of the dead rise. "Oh God actual Zombies?" She keeps shooting now and trying to keep out of melee when she can.
Danse	It's a pincer attack! Fortunately, one of the sides of the claw is already greatly weakened and running on radioactive fumes, while the other is simply a berserker that attacks the closest thing that moves. The newly, but temporarily, revitalized feral ghouls emerge from the stair well, but straight into Evangeline and Kotone's lines of fire. While they are somewhat able to get through and possibly even threaten despite the concentrated attention, the old reliable choke point strategy still works a treat against things with little brain capacity, perhaps even less than usual, since it seems some even more basic instinct has taken them over, now. The stairs may become a bit harder to get back down, now, without removing the heaps of bodies and parts. The Glowing One, itself, is a bit tougher a customer. While the intense radiation of its body would weaken lesser warriors than those gathered, a fact this sort of feral no doubt relies on, it doesn't stop the apparent lack of effectiveness stop if from raking and gnashing at whatever is closest, which would be Kutsuuko. It is a proximity she seems to welcome, with that weaponized hand thrust of hers, gouging deep into the creature's body and wreaking havoc on what remains of internal organs there, if they have any significant function at all. That much is doubtful; what pours out, over her forearm and puddling onto the creaking wood floor, is a semi-fluid concoction that glows that same vibrant green, and is just as dense in radioactivity. Thankfully this kind of feral doesn't possess corrosive blood. That's another sub-species entirely! The heat causes all of this to steam even more than usual, and the smell isn't great either, like overcooked spaghetti. It keeps writhing at that hand's length, for a few more moments, before eventually its movements slow, before stilling, letting out a few last rasps, as the intensity of its radiation begins to subside. This similarly seems to coincide with the last few straggling ferals that were trying to make their way up the stairs slowing, before stopping completely, whatever life force that had been flowing into them from the Glowing One vanishing along with its own. With this, the only sounds are the groaning of a settling and long-neglected building, and the various sounds of surprisingly still-functioning studio equipment, as well as sporadic fire coming from the distance outside, but that's basically a constant in the Commonwealth. In the studio, Kotone would recognize the layout from the files she had accessed. The equipment shelves would indeed, among other costumes and pieces of pre-war casual wear, contain the complete and authentic SILVER SHROUD costume, as well as a submachine gun that has been modified for safety and finished in a distinctive coat, the Silver Shroud's signature SILVER SHOOTER. The studio equipment itself might prove useful for salvage later, too, possessing craftsmanship on lenses and the like that is rare to find native in the Commonwealth now. A motorcycle, that had apparently been used as a prop on the stage, is in apparently good and restorable condition, too, especially compared to the rusted ones you'd have seen along the Commonwealth's roads to date.
Evangeline	With the building now quiet, Evangeline floats back up the stairs to make sure the objective is secure. With Kotone's help, she floats over and collects the items. And, with no way to really carry them, the little Neuroi slips the jacket and hat on, then picks up the submachine gun. Now...she is the CHIBI-SILVER SHROUD! The jacket is much too long for her, the sleeves bunch up around where she is holding the gun, and the hat slides down to obscure much of her face. Of course, she doesn't have facial features anyway, so that might not matter so much. But, it is certain to look like a little kid playing dress-up with a grown-up's clothing. "...objective secured..." she says to the others, then floats out the front door, looking much like a silver spirit thanks to how she floats about almost like a ghost anyway.
Kutsuuko Shiratori	Of the surprisingly numerous living things Kutsuuko has shoved her hands into, that one was probably the most disgusting. She grimaces as the thing thrashes, writhes and growls up to her wrist as she burns through it's innards, before placing her boot against its midsection and kicking it off her once it begins to slump, letting the fire dissipate as she tries her best to shake off her arm. The radiation warning in her amlet bleeps at a constant shrill, causing her to mute it manually. With the number of activated cells now swimming through her bloodstream and sucking up all the ionizing radiation to feed off of later, she doesn't anticipate deleterious health effects by the time the stim wears off, though a quick glance at the geiger reading tells her that it was a very good idea she had injected it. How anything walks around while that radioactive is anyone's guess. Four years ago, she might have been losing hair and puking up blood shortly. Hearing Evangeline over nearby, she echoes "All hostiles neutralized." into the radio with the most even tone she can. She'll be reading the corpse's data as well; both the 'boss' feral and the ones that had reactivated. It's further Greek to her, but some that scientists back home might like, for very obvious reasons.