[hr][center][sub][color=cecece]DAY 1[/color] [color=af4052]《》[/color] [color=cecece]RD-PRS [Research Wing][/color] [color=af4052]《》[/color] [color=cecece]After Noon[/color] [color=af4052]《》[/color][@Aeolian][/sub][/center][hr][table][row][/row][row][cell][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5383406][img]https://i.imgur.com/2mFln3x.png[/img][/url][color=2e2c2c]▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇[/color][/cell][cell][quote][color=dimgray]
	It was that light again. The light Emilia had seen in the forest earlier [i]did[/i] come from Peter. She half suspected it, now the mystery was solved. [color=3c5f7d][i]Huh...Aether[/i][/color]. Emilia thought to herself. It had been ages since Emilia had tried to heal herself or anything else. However, that light was different from what Peter was producing. [color=3c5f7d][i]I haven't seen that before... I wonder what that is.[/i][/color] There was no doubt that Emilia had a general interest in Aeon and what they could do, but it was all mostly surface-level and nowhere near the detailed expertise of some of those present in the research wing. Regardless, Errikos seemed to keep an ever-watchful eye on everything, so Emilia could focus on the bizarre Stigma issue.

	Isolde certainly displayed who the real authority was around this place. She had the seniority both in age and rank, a wealth of knowledge and research behind her, and a rather frightening expression of the spirits within that would humble most Aeon. Emilia had no intention of ever telling this woman what to do or not do. Not even the careerist pigs within the UDF could keep her on a leash like they did everyone else. To top it all off, general McMahon had been polite to her and he rarely took a knee for anyone. The more Emilia thought about it, the more she straightened her own spine out and stood properly while listening to Isolde speak.

	[color=3c5f7d][i]Of course it's connected to Ben. Why wouldn't it be? Everything else revolves around him. The entire fucking world revolves around him for some reason.[/i][/color] Emilia scolded the former flame of her life, as Isolde mentioned him by name. As the buzzing of notifications in cellphones faintly sounded among those present, Emilia reached for the back pocket of her pants out of habit and hardcoded muscle memory. A hint of panic struck her facial expression, followed by rolling eyes as Emilia realized that she had tossed her phone off of a roof early this morning. [color=3c5f7d][i]I'll just listen more carefully, instead.[/i][/color] She thought along with a modest sigh escaping her frame. Although, Isolde's praise of Eunji managed to get a warm smirk out of Emilia, which was somewhat rare during missions and times of strife.

	"[color=6598c4]Zombies? Like in the movies?[/color]" Emilia lightly chuckled, a lazy puff of air at most, flaunting its sarcastic aroma—after Isolde's comment about the ants. It was an outrageous statement to call something 'undead' or 'zombie'. Then again, they were fighting literal monsters and demons out of a horrible nightmare on a daily basis, so it was not as reaching as one could assume.

	Isolde sounded more like a mad scientist the longer she talked. There was a fine line between being a genius and insane. She was going to conduct some personal experiment on Ben? Emilia certainly felt a bit of a punch in the stomach after hearing those ramblings about blood and a cure come out of the authority's mouth. It was as if that classified part of the Research Division had brainwashed Isolde's soul to a pulp. Or rather, Isolde was probably the one that did the brainwashing. It was difficult to tell whether these lunatic scientists of ResDiv were more out of touch than the night-crawling weirdos of IntDiv. Emilia did not take to the overall suggestion very well, but she kept her mouth shut.

	That ice-cold stare from the woman did not help. Isolde did not have to say or do anything more, Emilia could feel a sick sense of pleasure in the woman from a mile away—she actually enjoyed this, just as she enjoyed stepping over these poor people's corpses like they were trash in the street. UDF High Command would eventually know about this development, and they would probably side with Isolde. Emilia figured that they would also change their minds about a thousand times before the group even got close to Ben, so it was not over yet. Regardless, there was no use in speculating. Emilia tried her best to control the somewhat disturbing train of emotions going through her facial expressions each second, but it proved to be more difficult than usual.

	"[color=6598c4]Well...[/color]" Emilia began, trying to equalize her tone as much as she could, erasing any trace of an open book to her heart and soul. "[color=6598c4]I'm sure you'll convince McMahon and High Command of that. I don't know what we're supposed to do with him other than find him, so any practical direction would be nice, for a change. All I know is that we have to get into that city and find out why he basically destroyed it.[/color]" Emilia paused and looked at the BlackRock operator. "[color=6598c4]Christina here saw an Archon in the city earlier, which is obviously Ben. He was close to achieving [i]transcendence[/i] years ago, so it's not much of a stretch to assume that he has now. But, if these, eh, [i]things[/i] have Ben's DNA in them, is it really him or is it [i]Bahamut[/i]? I mean, they're not entirely the same thing, right? So, the question is whether you need Ben or Bahamut alive. I'm only asking because depending on the answer, the mission drastically changes in difficulty.[/color]" She said and leaned her back against a somewhat clean wall.
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[color=99945e][b]Summary[/b][/color][hr][color=99945e]Emilia ponders about Peter's light and how it seems different from the Aether element. She listens to Isolde's speech. Emilia finally asks about the distinction between Benjamin himself and his Archon form, which one of them that is important here, and how it can change the difficulty of the mission.[/color]

[color=7e557c][b]Quest Steps[/b][hr]The team has to ready up and head into the city. If there is no interaction to be had, characters can leave the Research Wing and rally by the entrance to the PRS.
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