balance_rpg | video; un: akapassionata

[When this message gets sent out, it's around one in the morning. Kaede has clearly been exerting herself, her breath coming hard through her nose, her normally-cheerful expression pale with a sick worry. It took her several minutes to calm down enough to even begin to figure out what she wants to say, and it doesn't feel like enough.]

A-Arisato-kun is missing. He was right here with me like always, but-!

[No, wait, back up. That doesn't make sense. She's standing in what looks like an ordinary employee breakroom, empty save for a soullessly cheerful "ACHIEVE! aim higher!" poster meant for decoration.]

We... we were trying to figure out where the employees all go, because this breakroom is always empty, even when we follow someone in. He tried running his gem into the red, 'cause that's how a lot of the people working here end up working here, but now he's gone!

[Her bracer-less hand goes to her heart, clutching tightly at her armor as her other hand gestures frantically around to pan over the completely empty breakroom. Her voice pitches higher.]

I can feel him with my Paladin's Oath, but he's not here! Please, we have to find him before something terrible happens!

Threaded | Flat

Kaede-san!

Just hold on! I'll come to you and then we can find him together.

[Shit. Shit.]

We'll find him, Kaede.

[She sounds much more calm than she actually feels, thanks to years of practice, but god, it was only a matter of time until something like this happened, wasn't it?]

How do I get to you?

Kaede-chan, where are you right now? Are you at work?

[ It's audio only, but by the sound of things, Honoka's already running full pelt. ]

I'm coming right now! I'll help you look for him! Is there any way I can get to you?

[Shuichi had been sleeping peacefully enough, only to awaken in a jolt of inexplicable panic and distress. He's disoriented and confused for only a moment before recognizing what's happening. It's Kaede's Oath again, it has to be. Something happened. Something bad.]

[He doesn't think to check the network, instead he jumps out of bed and pulls on his shoes, dashing out the door and across the park. He can feel her presence, of course (noting with relief that there's no pain to accompany it this time), but that can only get him so far. He's not an employee, after all. So it's only once he's inside the casino that he finally uses his bracer to send Kaede a message:]

Akamatsu-san? What's wrong? What happened?
I'm in the casino...

He's probably on a different layer of reality overlapping this one. You're in the same place as him, more or less, but you can't perceive each other. There's definitely stuff like that happening here.

[Which is, uh, not that helpful.

He knows that. This wouldn't help if it were him and Eleanor. Most of his own elves have red gems - not deeply in the red, but in debt. Always in debt.]

They took some of the elves recently, too. Totally gone. Most of them have red gems, that's how they keep them on the hook...

Have you tried reporting him missing? We have accounts hooked up to our gems, maybe a Roland can get him for you or something?

[He knows it's a long shot, and he knows it's asking a lot of an animatronic bear to be like. Useful and not, "Oh maybe someone murdered him let's start a trial!" But it's the best suggestion he's got.]

Edited 2019-09-14 23:28 (UTC)

[... oh...]

Kaede... are you able to answer a question for me? What exactly did he do to turn his gem red?

[What did Lucretia say about you guys trying to game the system! Sans isn't great at comfort, but he can try to problem solve.]

Can you talk to him? Dunno if Message would work if you can't actually see him... [Does Oath count as sight, we just don't know.] Did you try the bracers? He should still have his. [If not that's probably extra bad.]

We'll find him, Kaede, no matter what!

[ on that note..... ]

I don't know if this helps, but I've been looking for Henrik..... I have an amulet that lets me sense gnomes and it's been starting to go off but then getting confused.... like he's kind of here, and kind of not? Maybe it's like that, but with Minato.

There was a room that Shinjiro and I couldn't get into, in the theater..... My amulet led me there.

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audio; un: steelsamayarai