[u]Above the Surface[/u] [i]Coastal Waters, Tenebrae [color=lightgray]Time: Dawn[/color][/i] [@Shu], [@Blizz] The waters of Tenebrae's shores shuddered, a stream of bubbles rising from the waters at the lighthouse. Causing a crashing of waves and spray of disturbed water, the wind howled, and then died as the explosions deep below the surface subsided. Calm set into the new morning, the majority of Tenebrae's residents blissfully unaware. The Laboratory of Microreactor Technology, prepared for any situation, created their self-destruction mechanism to be completely self-contained. No one would know a lab was there for years to come. And by that time, their vital resources would have been siphoned off and repurposed in another place somewhere far away. A catastrophe perfectly evaded, and with every underwater adventurer accounted for, a new chapter could begin. There was little time to mourn for the heart as sunlight grew stronger, ushering a change that would take all their newfound courage and push it to the limit. An ominous chill crept into the stirring wind. [hr] [u][i][b]BREAKING NEWS[/b][/i][/u] [i]Location: All media outlets, Tenebrae[/i] [I][color=lightgray]Time: 6:00AM[/color][/i] Terrorist attack on City Hall! Last night, City Hall suffered a devastating attack from terrorist metas. City Hall is closed while preparations to restore the building take place, estimating a 5-year project from the city's leading architectures. Reports state that there are five severely injured police officers in the hospital. The police have refused to comment further at this time. [hr] [center] [img]https://i.imgur.com/3ro0Tub.jpg[/img] [h2][u]GAME POINTS[/u][/h2] [@Shu], [@Blizz] [/center] [i]Congratulations! Points have been earned by our protagonists. Ellie kept possession of the heart while in the Laboratory corridor against Triad, snipers, and armed guards. [indent] +2 will points earned. [/indent] Scarlet Shadow refused to give in to the Triad, despite not having the heart. [indent] +1 will point earned. [/indent] [indent] +10 noteriety points earned. [/indent] [indent] +1 experience point earned. [/indent] Dream didn't stop fighting despite being subject to several captures and one hostage situation. [indent] +1 will point earned.[/indent] These points have been applied to your stats. Notoriety points affect the world around you, how [different groups of] people view you, and your infamy. It leads to buffs, conditions, and permanent perks. Will points are critical for the final boss. Experience is gained when a character feels or experiences some type of loss (usually associated with battles or quests). The more experience a character gains, the better the reward. Keep taking action to discover other types of points![/i] [center] [color=lightgray][b]~ * ~[/b][/color] [h1]Chapter Three - A Stalking Chill[/h1] [/center] [u]Takeda's Apartment[/u] [i]Lincoln Park, Tenebrae [color=lightgray]Time: 6:10AM[/color][/i] [@Blizz] His door wasn't opening. Despite furiously banging on the wood for the past five minutes, Takeda wasn't responding. Every minute that passed caused Dream's stomach to tighten more. Maybe she should have realized sooner. The entire mission below ground, they saw no trace of the doctor's presence, no submersible drone to assist them in the depths of their underwater hell. "Take a step back, I'm blasting it open," she said to Ellie. Light slipped from her fingers, darting under through the seams of the door, and, in a wide arc through the suite, pounded back on the steel bolt latch on the other side with a jarring thud. Holding her breath, Dream tried the handle, and the door freely swung open. That was their first mistake. A continuous, high-pitched alarm whined in Takeda's apartment, neglected, emanating from the living room. They crept through the kitchen, Dream's foot skittering broken glass on the floor. There were signs of a struggle. Her heart painfully thumped. "...Doc?" There, slumped against the foot of his computer, sat the motionless doctor. The screens above him blazed red with a striking 'X' across corrupted data. Dream edged forward, kneeling beside the doctor with wide, disbelieving eyes. "D-doc?" She reached for the man's hand, feeling the wrist. Softly keening, she pressed her head into his chest, holding her breath, listening. Her eyes searched Ellie, "He's gone." Dream gazed at the doctor helplessly, "Doc... Doc's gone." The hand she held made a sound like shuffling paper, and she looked to see the crumpled note that had fallen from his limp grasp. Opening it, she saw it in the doc's hurried cursive. [code]It's not safe. They have started the hunt to finish the machine. Get out of Tenebrae as soon as you read this. If they take your powers, they will destroy this world. Don't let them. Please. For Suzy's sake. I'm sorry.[/code] Dream read the note wordlessly, then passed it to Ellie. With a distant look in her eyes, she went to the bedroom. There was a sound of shifting cloth, and she came back with a white bedsheet draped on her arm. Solemnly, she pulled the linen over the doctor, hiding the face that smiled at them only hours before, the hands that fed them, the care they felt before they left him for the last time. Dream held the silence for a few minutes, her face shaped as if it were a glass that had been violently shattered. "Ellie," she softly whispered, "What are we gonna do?" "Doc wasn't safe. Despite being a genius, he couldn't save himself from whoever- [i]whatever[/i] did this. He only had time to leave a vague note. It's not enough to go off of. Who's after us, what are we up against, where will we run?" Her head tilted back, eyes swimming in the growing odds. "...Will running even work?" [hr] [B][u]Boardroom 21, Titan Division[/u][/b] [I]The Loop (Underground), Tenebrae [color=lightgray]Time: Morning[/color][/I] [@Shu] 150 feet below Tenebrae's construction signs and yellow tape marking off crumpled vehicles and mangled choppers, far below the rebuilding of City Hall, lay an underground government division, absent from any legal ledger or public knowledge. Polished steel and clean-cut corners lined with ethereal tubes of light dressed the hallways. Shadows of government administration, officials, and agents flickered along the walls, crossing a doorway marked "Boardroom 21". In Boardroom 21, all lights were off except for a holographic projector illuminating the 12-seat table. Light constructs rose from the table, displaying the coastal edge near the city's Navy Pier. At the press of a button, a red marker illuminated a spot 200 meters out from the port. "They're making their escape as we speak," said a crisp, feminine voice. A woman holding the remote leaned over the map, tapping the red marker, long tresses of dark purple and sea green strands curling at her elbow. "Our intel suggests they're headed to Italy to make arrangements for a multi-chain trade. If they reach their destination, we will never recover that prototype until it's too late." The map expanded, showing the layout of the enemy's yacht, and pinpoints of where the syndicate's men would be positioned. "We've counted between six to ten men on the deck, and four bosses below deck accompanied with an additional ten guards, each heavily armed with automatic weapons." She said. Her face flicked up, revealing thin cheeks, sharp chin, and a small mask of dark gray, covering eyes with an illuminated sheen of light. "We need this syndicate dealt with quickly and quietly with no witnesses, and their cargo recovered before they enter international waters. I'm giving you the option to take a team out with you, or solo this. You'll have your gear ready in the armory room down the hall, and a designated boat waiting at the dock." She paused briefly. "And as per last night, all division exits are being redirected east using the hidden elevator on North State Street." The director stood straight, adjusting her business attire before clasping her hands behind her back. "Do you have any questions, Titan?"