applenet | COUNTDOWN: I SEE YOU

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COUNTDOWN: I SEE YOU

Seven days remain.

The warning bells of the Nightly Curfew ring across the city. There's a faint hum from the phone this time before the icon appears. This time it displays a time: 1:00AM

The rest of the night is normal. Perhaps you've cuddled up with family, or you've gone to bed early to wait, but sure enough, time tick by right until 1 in the morning when....

You're back into that application again. A single question before you're even permitted to type anything else. And while it seems to be overwritten by something inside of you, it feels a lot more natural than before. Which is, truthfully...troubling.

But then something happens...

WƎ☹C!ERROR!OMƎ ▒ O ▒ HƎ FIN⟡☹ QUIZ!!ERROR!!ERROR!
⟡nƧwƎ!ERROR!r from ▒ hƎ hƎ⟡r▒ , ▒ hƎ p⟡r▒ of you ▒ !ERROR!h⟡▒ h⟡Ƨ bƎƎn dƎniƎd for f⟡r ▒ oo ☹ong.

Is your ☹ife here ⟡ ☹ie?
YƎƧ | DƎfini▒ Ǝ☹y | ƧurƎ | I'vƎ hd my !ERROR! doub▒ Ƨ bƎforƎ, bu▒ yƎƧ | HƎ☹☹ YƎƧ | ▒ hƎrƎ iƧ no o▒ hƎr conc☹uƧion | I wiƧh I cou☹d dƎny i▒ nd ☹ivƎ hƎrƎ pƎcƎfu☹☹y !ERROR!bu▒ i▒ 'Ƨ ▒ ruƎ.

▒ h⟡nk you...!ERROR!▒ h⟡▒ wi☹☹ bƎ ⟡☹☹. ☹Ǝ▒ uƧ ƧƎƎ wh⟡▒ your hƎ⟡r▒ b☹oo!ERROR!mƧ in▒ o...

I SEE YOU.

What had just happened? Before you can think about it for too much, and as your heart beats faster, the screen returns to normal, and another message flashes.

Well shit. Lets try this again. Answer from the heart, the part of you that has been denied for far too long. DO IT QUICKLY!

Is your life here a lie?
Yes.

Sorry lambs, this time we can't kid around...

Once you are done, you are tossed once more into the main chatroom. Is fear rising? Is your heart beating faster? There's a lot more at stake now it seems. Fortunately, your user names are the names that you wrote down in the last survey, but with all those questions it's....hard not to think of them as your own. Maybe you'll be cursing at this device, but it looks like you're already deep down the rabbit hole by now.

And now...something's might be looking right back.

[OOC: This is one of the final network post before Awakening. ALL Users will now be able to speak of who they are in their AU life without the information being blocked by the application.

Additionally, while speaking, Applenet might spazz out, like above. If this happens, a random painful memory will hit both Awakened and Unawakened (please warn if the visions are graphic for other players). They might find themselves writing down things afterwards regarding the memory (for example, getting shot, they might write down the pain they are felling, etc) and regretting it. This can happen up to 5 times per user.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

No. If we run away, this doesn't stop. It just becomes someone else's problem.

Sure does. That's the point.

[Is he seriously reading that right? Mr. Wrecks-Shit would rather throw in the towel than throw down the gauntlet?]

You know what? Go ahead. At least then you won't be in the way.

[Kouyuki will abide by a lot, but cowardice and the selfish endangerment of other people aren't among those things.]

You're all idiots. Can't you see- WƎ☹C!ERROR!OMƎ ▒ O ▒ HƎ FIN⟡ MEMORY_LOST!!ERROR!!ERROR! {w̵̶͇̖̗̗͇̰̬̻̝̠̕ ͖̰̠̫̖͎̣̩͖̮͠͞ḥ̶̡̟̼̣͔͘ͅ ̀͘҉̰̫͙͈̙̘͎͈̪̲̘̠̲͡a҉͠҉̢̝̠̹͙̞͈̲̻͖̱̟͍t҉̸͟҉̯͓̞͍̞̰̜͓ ̷̧̨̭̝͍̫͇͇̥͇̞̳͉̲͇̬́͝ͅą̼͍̗̠̭͢ ̴̸̷̢͕̼͓̳͓̘̦̙̜̞̬̟̙̹̖͕͘r҉̺͈̳͇̺̲̻̗̲̗͢͡ͅe̠̺̙͖̘̮͍͍̝̘̻͈͘͞ ̶̨͏̹̟̘̫̝̺͇̗̖̖̭̹͖̕y̸̩͖̯̲̰̞͍͍̼͎͉͉̫̰̱̮̞͠͞ờ̸̼̦̩̗̹̫͟ù̴̵̧̺̫̯͠ ̷̵̢̦͇͚̱͕͉͉̟̘̝͝͞f͢͏͏̴͚̝̞̘̣̺̻͖͎̦̤̟̼̮̼̟͉o̷̴̯͓͓͈̼͍̪̠r͏͏̝̺͎̠̣͓͓ͅǵ̼͙̲̝͖̞̥͍̪͈͖͘͟͡ ̶̩̲͓̣͕̳̪͉̳̪̼̙̥͉̹́͟͢͠ͅͅȩ̢̢̦̻̗̫̣̠̤̘̗͓͉͔̱ ̢̹͈̻̙̖͙̯͇̞͖̳͓̖̥͟͞t̞̖̜̠̼͈̳͎̞̤͇̞̩̀͞ͅ ̛̤̻̪̖͔̺̺̦̗̩̳̼̘͉̞̖̯̯͝t̛̹̝͉̩̝̥͉͇̯̬͘ͅͅ ̵̶̶̵̬̦̭͉͕i̛͔̤͔̗̝͚͇͖̻͡͠n҉͇̫͇͈̮̻̺͘̕ ͢҉̫̫̼̯̞̬̖̗̟̝̗̻̘̤̞̗̥͝͞ģ̸͏͉̣̳̺̺̯̺ͅ}

[His body aches, like he's been battered by a hundred stones, a thousand. Dragonslayer lies sweaty in his grip and peaking out of the corner of his eye shows the dizzying drop on either side. Before him stands what was once a man, now twisted into a great angel of stone. The crowd below roars. A fight on the bulwarks, how poetic.

The angel-man, Guts forgets his name, doesn't care for it, extends an arm towards the desperate crowd, penned and terrified by the oily mass of blood and rot that has consumed their city. They remind Guts of penned sheep, ready for the slaughter.

"Can you not hear them." The man booms, flaring great stone wings. The ugly demonic thing covering the city writhes in the holy light of the angel-man and his followers, held back by a tenuous thread of faith. "The voices of supplication. Every person congregated in this place...now desires as one heart, salvation. They are eagerly awaiting the time of gods victory."

The angel bows his head. "Do you mean you care not that tens of thousands of believers...shall lose their lives in exchange for one evil witch."

The ground roars, fists raised, eyes shinning with possessed hope.

Kill her!

Burn her!

Save us, dear lord. Save us! ]

Don't make me laugh. All these people do is pray.

Every last one of them, when things get to hard all they do is bow down and look to someone else to fix it.

Tens and thousands of people shouldn't cling to just a few kids!

[That error...]

It happened to you too just now, didn't it?

[Those visions, whether they're borne of reality or some twisted imaginings, they feel real in the most unspeakable and unrelenting way. Kouyuki's had even even felt real enough this time around that, instead of making him want to hide or pretend none of this was happening, he'd found himself spurred into action.

He sighs on his end, staring at his phone before punching in another message as quickly as his fingers will allow. He might be angry at Guts for wanting to turn his back on this situation, but he doesn't wish him ill. On the contrary, even if his words before had been harsh, they'd come from a good place deep down. If someone didn't want to fight, they shouldn't. They'd only get hurt, or get others hurt. It was better if they stayed far away...

Although, Kouyuki doesn't think for a second they'll be allowed any such luxury. Escape isn't an option.]

Are you alright?

Ugh...

[ He feels like someone rammed through his brain with a truck. ]

If bye it you mean my brain is leaking outta my ears kid, then you're right.

And I'm fine. Just a headache. I already _got_ all these memories back...so I don't get why its shaking up the nasty ones.

[All of them...

Then, does that mean there's more than what he's already seen? That notion shakes Kouyuki down to his core, but he tries his hardest not to let it show when, after a few minutes, he finally types back his reply.]

I'm glad. Except for the headache. I'm sorry about that.

[It was his fault, wasn't it? Something they were talking about must have triggered it, and even if that's not why it happened, it still happened while talking with him. He can't help feeling partly responsible.]

Don't be. Its this damn apps fault. Luci must have ruined somethin again.

Besides, a few headaches are the least of our problems. Sucks that pain meds don't work on em though, this one feels like a kicker.

Mm.

[It isn't any of his business and he shouldn't ask, but he's never demonstrated the same kind of restraint as Michi...]

I don't know what you saw, but it's fine with me. This is. If people need help and I can do something, I think that I should.

Because this wouldn't be happening at all if it weren't for us...right?

We're the only ones who can see the app and speak with Luci. We're the ones "the enemy" is trying to find.

I shouldn't have yelled at you. But I can't help but think...it'll be a lot harder if we're divided.

What I saw wasn't for kids. I ain't talking.

[He smells ur curiosity over there dammit. ]

Things like "fault" are irrelevant.

What matters is we have entered a battlefield with unknown players and someone using us for his own agenda.

I have no interest in dying here. Anyone who uses kids as soldiers ain't got my respect and 'sides, I've remembered I have other things to do then fight other peoples battles.

I'm not a kid.

[Yes you are, Kouyuki.]

But it's fine. You don't have to say. Those things...they're hard to talk about.

I don't care what Luci's motives are, though. They don't matter. This is my fight because

[He stops. He doesn't dare say what's at stake. It's enough to know something is. Something that he cherishes. Which is, in this instance, his family. If he doesn't fight, who will protect them?

He won't have his home wind up another incident reported in the news for people to gawk at and spread rumors about.]

Never mind.

Whatever you do, good luck.

Haha! Sorry kiddo, Luci ratted you out already.

[ Guts pauses at this quiet admission, waiting. When nothing comes, he sighs. Intense. He probably shouldn't push it. ]

If you have something to protect hold onto it, kid. Fight as hard as you got against anything thats gonna take that away. I can't fault that.

I didn't think that you of all people would believe everything Luci says. But I guess that doesn't matter, either. Not really.

I'll fight. I have to. I don't really know what or who against...but I know who it's for. That's enough. It has to be.

But don't you have...never mind.

It isn't safe to say. And if you did, you probably wouldn't think of leaving, right?

Motherfucker is a lot of things, but he ain't a liar.

[Swear jar. ]

Have people I wanna protect? 'Course, I do. I'm getting my brother out while I still can. Ain't no way I'm letting Kris stick around the city when things are getting like this.

...That...wasn't censored?

Be careful what you say!

[This is absolutely not said in reference to Guts' swearing, but rather his reckless mentioning of his brother's name.]

Can you delete it?

[Before "they" or "it" sees. Whatever is watching them that's got Luci spooked.]

[Theres a few minetes of frantic silence.]

Tch, No! Usually that asshole censors everything I didn't think. Goddamit. Goddamit. I need to go make sure he's ok.

....Wait if the censors are down does that mean I can warn you about [INFORMATION REDACTED]

[Warn him about what? Why was that blocked? Why was that blocked?!

This useless app! How are they supposed to protect anyone if they don't know anything!]

Of course you can't. That would actually be helpful.

Goddammit. Sorry kid.

[He can't just say that and then not give the kid some advice though. ]

Ok. Just know that that countdown up there is for something. And, Ah hell fuck it. If you wanna protect people stock up on the stuff in Lazers Pawnshop. Draw a sheep on some paper and slip it to him. He'll know what it means.

Your welcome to any of my stuff after I go too. I'll leave some around Green Valley if you want it.

NO!

if you leave your things behind you won't have anything to protect yourself and your brother with! don't be dumb, hold onto that stuff just in case! you need to take it with you if you go!

you need to

besides

i won't take from other people to protect myself or anyone else. i'm not that desperate.

[And even if he is, Michi would never let him hear the end of it if he did that. And rightfully so.

No...if he was going to do this, he was going to do this the right way. Lazers Pawnshop was a good place to start. He'd already started looking into a weapon to have on hand, something he could pass off as an item he'd be using over the summer for neighborhood landscaping or something. It wasn't as if he could pick up a new sport during break when all the school clubs were closed, after all.

But at least that would be his own and he wouldn't be stripping anyone else of their means to defend themselves or others.]

Selfless idiot.

I can't take everything you know. Besides I got some useful stuff. Lotta painkillers bro would kill me if I took. I'll leave em by the big tree in the courtyard. Some money too...I won't need it where we're going and I doubt brats like you get huge allowances.

[ His Dad Instincts(TM) will not let him leave behind this child unless he's sure he at least has some tools to survive with. ]

[He's not going to listen. Kouyuki realizes that, and knows in that instant that arguing won't get him anywhere. Not here, at least. But maybe he can still win this by doing what he does best...

If he can figure out which tree and courtyard Guts means, as well as when he intends to be there, then Kouyuki can meet him there and try to "talk" some sense into him. Honestly...leaving supplies and money just lying around, especially when you've got someone to take care of! This guy...]

How am I supposed to know where that is or when to even check for it? Did you even think about that?

[If the kid wants to talk face to face he could just ask. But Guts instead considers his sechdule and types down a guileless answer]

You know Green Valley School right?

Right out in front there's that orchard and then the main courtyard. There's a big oak tree there they forgot to dig up while planting.

[Its also where Guts often stops the track team to rest, but he wouldn't know Fubuki knew about that. ]

I'll get some stuff there by tomorrow. There's a hallow in it about halfway up where I could stuff a plastic bag.

[Kouyuki? Ask?

Hah!

That'd just slow him down. The whole operation will run more quickly and smoothly if he plays along, and besides...this way he stands a better chance at meeting this guy face-to-face rather than being shrugged off or dodged.]

Mm. I think I know the place.

[He'd suspected at first that it was at his school, but that confirms it.

Strange...that so much seems to center around that place. But he doesn't have time now to think about it. Considering the hour, he...he should try to sleep, but he knows he won't be able to. So what he needs to do instead is make sure he knows tomorrow what to say to this person. And that he doesn't show up unarmed in case anything happens.

After all...if whatever is watching them can pinpoint that location, there could be trouble.]

I'll at least make sure nobody steals that stuff and that it goes to someone who really needs it.

[The following day, the skies were as heavy with clouds as the streets were wet with rain. Fortunately, rain had never stopped Kouyuki from training before, and so his aunt and uncle hadn't questioned him when he said he was going out for a run. He was reminded to wear his jacket and take an umbrella, which he did, opting for a small collapsible one that wouldn't impede his speed but could also double as a means to defend himself if...something happened.

He wasn't sure how long it would take "Guts" to get to the school, but living in Green Valley, he arrived quickly enough at the tree. With his umbrella opened finally to keep the rain at bay, he considered why the person on the app would have chosen this spot. Was it important to them? Was it just because it stood out? There were other noteworthy places across the Green Valley campus, but...

Well, he'd find out soon enough.]

[Kooyuki might have expected Guts to emerge from one of the main buildings or a road from the main street but instead a dark figure runs out from the orchard. Guts had forgotten to check the weather broadcast last night, so he arrives drenched, hood pulled all the way up to try and protect his face. He carries a purse (he'd insist it was a bookbag but we all kno the truth) close to his side. He didn't sleep well last night but he gotten the time to prepare a bit more then promised.

But when he sees Kouyuki in front of the tree he skids to a hault, doing one, two almost three takes before pulling down a hood to reveal his face. ]

Kouyuki? [His fellow captain sounds honestly concerned. ] What are you doing out here so early? You're going to get sick.

Shirou Fubuki ⚔ Marchosias

Guts ⚔ GLASYA-LABOLAS

Shirou Fubuki ⚔ Marchosias

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1/2 - APP

2/2 - ACTION

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