[backdated to the beginning of the event, I had a big paper due so I couldn't do this right off the bat, sob.]

Claire was trying to catch up on things she'd missed while stuck in GLaDOS's mazes when the ship went dark. It didn't even take her as long as it took SHODAN to cackle about domination over the speakers for her to be up and moving around her office. She always kept a flashlight in the top drawer of her desk, just in case. Never know when you're going to need a flashlight, and since the wiring in the school was probably extremely old it was a good idea on its own.

( Is that the way you like it? )

It felt good to finally do something productive, even if the project Steve had been spending all his time on wasn't exactly useful. Not for the ship at large, anyway... though he did know somebody who would appreciate it.

So when he finally finished tinkering and messing around with it, he wasted no time in hunting Claire down and dragging her to Engineering to get a look at it.

"It's really not all that great. I didn't do very much to it, but-- but I still hope you'll think it's cool," he murmured, as he pushed open the doors to the Engineering department and headed towards his tiny corner of the work area. "Just promise you won't laugh at it, okay?"

After Lirath, Miku had tried her best to keep from being too far underfoot. So, she'd retreated to the Meiji Shrine. Sitting on the steps, and turning her hairpin in her hands, an abandoned broom at her side, Miku tried to think of ways to be more useful. She even had prayed a bit, but it seemed as if the Emperor and Empress were concerned with more pressing things than how to make a single, pious young woman more worthy to return the help she was given.

She wasn't much of a fighter - as her poor attempts at practicing had quickly shown. She had always been someone's support. But even Steve was more helpful than she was, and he only spent time in Engineering when he wanted. Which is where Miku was fairly sure he was at now, though she hadn't actually bothered to check.

Miku sighed and flipped her long, dark hair from her shoulders with a hand. It was already getting too long and heavy for her tastes, and Stacy was warm and humid. Miku stood with a sigh and picked up her abandoned broom, tucking her hairpin away in her skirt pocket.

There was plenty to clean at the Shrine, after all.


((As a special note, if you get Miku, you will likely also get a Steve! That's two, two, two CRs for the price of one! (Shipping and Handling not included)))

The Bleed looked a lot the same whether you were looking at it upside down or right side up. Good to know.

Steve was sitting on one of the chairs in the obs deck... slouching, really, a typical teenage slouch, his head tilted off to the side and his hair hanging in his face as he stared out the window. He was fighting off the end of one of his dizzy spells, the ones that always hit about an hour after his weekly treatments in medbay. He looked a little more pale than usual, and a close inspection would notice the greenish veins trailing up his left arm towards his tattoo, but the spell was finally passing and he'd be back on his feet in a little bit.

He already knew from past experience that there was little point in trying to exert himself until it was over... otherwise they might find him unconscious in the middle of the mess hall again. That had stirred up a few conspiracies about what was really in the food, and was really more trouble than it was worth. He didn't want to freak out Kaylee, either, particularly when she'd been so nice in helping get him situated in the Engineering department.

Yes... for once, Steve didn't have a whole lot to be cynical about.

Hell, it might even be safe to make some small talk with him.

Even if it made Miku suffer heart palpitations, Steve always found the comfort of his house's usual clutter very relaxing. Even if it was just a sensorium projection, and even if he could warp it clean with a mere thought, it was kind of nice to see the laundry sitting half-folded on the couch, or his dad's coat having fallen off the coatrack, or the stack of dishes in the sink that Steve had at some point neglected to do, probably in favor of video games or riding his motorcycle around the block.

He was trying to tidy up a bit here and there, though, if only for Miku's sake. And if only because she had promised to make him pudding to make him feel better after another of his weekly shots. He still looked a bit pale and looking too closely at his arm would show sickly greenish veins near his elbow, but he had so far kept it covered with the sleeve of his flannel shirt.

"Sugar... sugar... here it is," he said, reaching up on a high shelf and pulling down a bag of sugar to hand down to Miku. That was his other job while she was cooking-- fetching stuff off the high shelves.

The hallway just outside the med-bay was a pretty convenient place to be dropped. Doc would have wanted to go there anyway given the state he was in when GLaDOS finally spit him out, still smoking, in an unceremonious heap on the floor. He sat up slowly, looking himself over, patting a few places to be sure they were out before finally slumping against the wall opposite the one he'd fallen through, a slightly hysteric grin on his face beneath the mask. After a moment's stunned silence he began to laugh. "Hah...haha.... ROBOTS CAN'T CATCH YOU IF YOU'RE ON FIRE EITHER!!!" he finally shouted, throwing his arms up over his head in victory and then promptly flipping the bird at the wall. "SUCK ON THAT ANGRY TESTING LADY!"

Next to the Mall Hotel, a large bazaar sprawled out through the streets. Food stalls, jewelery stalls, plastic surgery stalls...might want to stay away from that last one. But since the bizaar was close by, it served as a good place for the crew to meet up and start their exploration of XaXing.

[[ooc: This is just a general mingling post guys, so jump in and start threads, tag into other people's, whatever you want!]]

Once Domalai made sure the crew was fully informed of what was expected of them in the upcoming rituals, he showed them over to where the Rituals of Judgement and Joining would be performed.

As they neared the gate that led into the city of Orongo, they could see many other people milling about, waiting for their turn to undergo the rituals themselves. The crew, of course, being a special case, are moved to the front of the line. Thankfully, everyone seems to be in a good enough mood that no one puts up a fuss about it.

The first area they were brought to had a simple stone circle, around which were three smaller circles. Two Moai priests were waiting there as they approached, and Domalai moved over to join them before speaking up.

[ooc: wait for subthreads to go up]

[ooc2: Ready! Tag away!]

Claire hadn't been up to much lately, and while that wasn't entirely a bad thing, it was a little dull. Still, it gave her time to get ahead on lesson plans, and work on training Boon to behave himself a little better.

At the moment she's sitting in the lounge, trying to get some work done, but as the dog (not so much a puppy anymore, though he still wasn't quite full-grown) kept on sneaking up and making off with her data pad, it wasn't easy. Anyone walking into the area would likely observe Claire standing with one finger pointed sharply at the floor next to her as she attempted to get the dog to comply.

"Boon! Come back here with that!"

Somewhere on Stacy, a fleshy wall opened and ejected four people. Sherry turned and kicked the wall as it closed.

“I hope this isn’t another stupid test,” she grumbled and pushed her hair from her eyes.

“I don’t think it is, that... thing did thank us,” Namira patted the little girl’s shoulder. “So, I imagine that our testing is over, for the moment.”

[Not a moment too soon.] Nehaalista signed as she stalked off towards where she hoped the Hub was.

“I’ll take Sherry-chan back to her parents,” Miku offered. “I imagine they’re worried.” Especially if they only just realized their child had been missing for two weeks or so. Namira nodded and Sherry frowned. “With her permission, of course.” She looked back at the little girl, who seemed a bit annoyed that she was being talked over (so to speak, as she was nearly the same height as the petite Japanese girl).

“I can find my way on my own, but fine.” Sherry crossed her arms. “Can we get going? I don’t want GLaDOS to change her mind.”

“Absolutely. I have a mabari to find, myself. Goodbye, you two. I’m sure we’ll see one another soon.” Namira smiled and hurried off to care for Hakkar.

“Alright, Sherry-chan. I think it’s... this way,” Miku put her hand on Sherry’s shoulder and led her down the hallway.

((ooc note: If you want to interact with anyone, just put their name in the subject line. Miku and Sherry are available together (before Sherry is delivered back to her parents) and apart (after Sherry’s been delivered), just let me know. :3))

It was a long, thoughtful walk to the Shrine. The odd, high-pitched whine of something Wrong had faded just as soon as she'd entered Religion Row, and Miku spent the rest of her time rubbing her ears to remove the tickle. It was hard to explain to other people the exact feelings that came with her ability.

But Cargn... understood. To a point, she supposed (considering, of course, that he didn't have eyes and hers were still very much attached). But even that point was much more than someone who had never experienced that plummet of heart and stomach, the loss of color from the world, or the shrill, lingering whine of getting closer and closer to something that shouldn't have been there in the first place. Miku sighed as she entered the Shrine of the Aquila and started looking for her sensei, and his little, strange helper.

"Viginti-san? Cargn-sensei? I'm here," Miku called, and her voice echoed oddly in the Shrine. No, she was never going to get used to how creepy that was.

Miku didn't like the observation deck anymore. Ever since the Punishment had occurred, she couldn't stay very long without hearing things that had been past days ago. She figured it was probably worse because it was "newer" than the events that had already happened on the ship.

Regardless, the moment she heard Stacy's voice quietly admonishing Big Zero for her actions in that cold voice of hers, Miku started to hurry across the deck like someone had lit her on fire.

Anywhere would be better than hearing or seeing this. Anywhere at all. She pointedly kept her eyes on her the ground to avoid seeing any of the Punishment again. Once was enough. Once was more than enough.

It took a few moments for any thoughts to register for Steve when he opened his eyes. He recognized the inside of a quarantine bubble, that was for sure, but it took him longer to recognize the medical equipment hooked up to him, an IV in his arm and bandages wrapped around his bare shoulder and in a few other spots.

It didn't take long to recognize the feeling of having been run over by a truck, either. Every bone in his body ached, and even the slightest movement made him want to groan. It felt like he'd been asleep for a month-- a dreamless sleep, preceded by blurry, disconnected memories of what felt like a dream.

Memories of something he desperately, desperately hoped was just a dream. He had a sinking feeling it wasn't and part of him knew it to be the truth. But desperately hoping was the only way he could keep himself from screaming, which would hurt, so he'd keep on with that desperate hope anyway.

Steve lay awake and stared at the ceiling. Maybe if he stayed quiet they'd think he was still asleep, and he could put the truth and all the fear and sorrow that came with it off a while longer.

The streets of Religion Row were stained with bloody scorch marks, leading in a gruesome trail through the maze of temples and shrines. The stains seemed to lessen the further the trail was followed, and the last splotch of blood led to the steps of the Vatican.

The door of St. Peter's Cathedral had been knocked open and inside, the cavernous chapel seemed empty. This place still showed signs of the last battle here, the struggle against many of Veronica's relatives and the innocent people they had infected.

Deep within the chapel, he lurked.

His heavy footsteps were obvious, but the echo made it impossible to tell where he was. Heavy breathing, edged by growls, was audible from the somewhere in the darkness.

He heard them approaching, and he waited.

[ooc: PLOT POST IS HERE! Read it!]

He stalked through the hallways like a shadow, moving too quickly for anyone to keep a bead on him for long. There almost seemed to be a purpose in his movement as he made his way through the dark corridors of the ship, though it was impossible to tell where he was headed. Perhaps the young man whose body had been hijacked was exerting some kind of control, or perhaps Veronica was doing the driving.

Whatever the case, the Tyrant made his way to the City.

He emerged from the tunnels and into the wide open space, at last free of the cramped hallway. He took a few steps into the streets and sniffed the air, smelling human blood. He roared, a horrible and twisted noise, then headed into the streets.

She demanded they all bow to her. They were little more than prey for the Queen in the grand scale of things. These thoughts rang hollow in a primal mind, though, but he knew what he had to do.

They would all die.

[OOC: FURIOUS MUNCEST ALERT. This log is the precursor to THE STEVENING, which starts tomorrow! More details will be up later this evening.]

Veronica was getting worse, slowly tightening its grip on Steve's body to the point where he was only coherent half the time. He still felt like he was fighting through a hazy fog, and clear thoughts were hard to come by. The fever was rolling off him in waves of heat and he looked like hell, pale and sweating and clearly sick.

There was one hope, a treatment the Science staff had come up with. It wasn't a cure, but if it worked, it would effectively neutralize the virus to the point where it wouldn't be a concern anymore. It had been tested. It had been simulated. It had been run on a virtual him a hundred times and each time, it turned out.

That was, understandably, not enough to make him feel comfortable with the idea.

From the moment he laid down and they strapped his wrists down (for safety) he was shaking like a leaf... though that also might have been the fever kicking itself up again. He closed his eyes and tried not to listen to Luis shuffling around and preparing in the background.

What's the worst that could happen? he kept reminding himself. I die?

Like I've never done that before.

I've been waiting for you all this time.

Why do you fight when you know you can't win?

Come play with me, Mister 267. And through you, I'll finally become queen...

Alexia's laughter was still echoing in his ears when he'd woken up, shaking and sweating. He'd tried to go about his business as usual but it was hard to concentrate past the fire burning through his veins, throbbing with pain. He'd told Miku he would go to the medical bay if his symptoms remained or got any worse.

Is that why he was standing here in the hallway? He couldn't quite remember. It sounded like someone was blasting radio static in his head, and it was hard to separate his thoughts from the static.

This is not good, he managed to reason, but it got lost in more of that obnoxious, childish giggling. "God, will you shut up already?"

Steve let out a heavy breath and reached up to brush his hair out of his face, stuck to his forehead with sweat. He was going to be fine. This was just a bad fever, nothing to be concerned about.

"Steve..." He felt a gentle hand on his back and he immediately spun around to find the voice it belonged to, though there was nobody there. He backed up against the wall, his eyes wide with some emotion even he couldn't discern.

"Steve... why won't you look at me?"

How was it coming from behind him? He turned to look at the wall, reached out and touched it, and there she was.

"I've missed you so much, Steve...""

There was the hand on his back again.

"Mom...?"

Miku had gone into the city, to take the time to appreciate the Meiji Shrine that lay nestled in a far corner of Religion Row. It had, miraculously, managed to remain intact. The torii gates stood tall and even, and Miku bowed once before she entered through them.

The trees that once had been planted evenly were thickly overgrown without anyone watching their care, and darkened the path ominously. Miku hurried down the walk, pointedly ignoring the feeling of being watched from all sides. Once she reached the temple complex proper, the feeling of being watched intensified, roiling around inside her until it felt like it was rippling along her skin.

Still, she'd had a broom, several dust rags, and a look of severe determination on her face. As a Japanese citizen, she felt a sudden jolt of duty to clean the huge temple complex up.

So, that morning, she'd told Steve where he could find her if he wanted her and set off. After purifying herself (and to a lesser extent the broom), Miku started towards the first shrine building, sweeping a path through the dead leaves.

I will make you great.

I will make you powerful.

Steve woke up in a cold sweat, but it was only cold for a moment. Then his body filled with heat, pulsing and surging and roaring in his head. He exhaled a breath he couldn't remember holding, then gasped for more.

The walls of his room were closing in on him. The lights were flickering and the air grew thicker and thicker. He stumbled to his feet and headed towards the door, clutching a hand to his forehead.

You are lucky to bask in my presence. You are lucky to have survived. You will be the one to carry on my legacy.

His head pounded as he stumbled down the hall. The whole crew quarters hallway was getting smaller now, smaller and darker, hotter and hotter. He had to get out before she reached him. He could hear her getting louder until it sounded like she was echoing in his ear, that voice that sent chills down his spine and made him grit his teeth. "Shut up, you bitch... shut up!"

I will raise you above the level of the slime who populate this world. I will give you the purpose you were born to fulfill.

I will give you the privilege of serving me, Mister 267.

Her laughter rang out and he was trapped in that cell again, stumbling up against the cold brick wall. He yelled out in shock and slammed his fists against the door hard enough to sting. "No! NO! NOO!"

Of course, as soon as he'd likely woken anybody sleeping behind the door he was banging on, it all faded and he was left staring blankly down the crew quarter hallway.

[ooc: Whose door is it? I don't know, but whoever you are, you've been awoken by a sleepwalking delirious teenager. Whoops. So much for a good night's sleep...]

The disease spread through the City, and through the City, to the crew. Those who came in contact with the invisible killer would slowly begin to exhibit many of the symptoms of a common flu: nausea, chills, and fever.

But they would not feel lethargic. No, quite the opposite. Their energy and their activity would only increase. And now, so would their aggression and pent-up rage...

...and it would increase very, very quickly. So quickly, that you might almost lose your mind.