Code Lyoko: Digital Destiny [[Started // Not Accepting]]

[Vector Nightmare]

Basil coldly eyed the youngster that had addressed him, weighing him with his gaze. His first reaction would have been to bluntly ignore him, obviously - however, quite a few people had already assembled, and they were attracting too much attention.

"As a matter of fact, I was." He said pleasantly, though the sarcasm seeping in his tone was obvious. "Not that I would adhere to any such absurd request, naturally - I am simply here to satisfy my curiosity." He swept his gaze upon the group, examining each individual carefully. Four, all-in-all. That large idiot who tried to make a big deal out of himself. The white-head moron that looked like a wide-eyed child that just found itself into a new environment. The weird girl with the ridiculous blue hair. Compared to them, that strange otaku who tried to play friends with everyone was almost tolerable. He did not tend to pay much attention to others, since they were usually far beneath his notice. But if those four were an example of this school's student body, he should consider applying for a different one.

"Honestly, just seeing a bunch of rejects like you hanging around, actually waiting for that imbecile to appear, might have been worth the trouble coming here." He crossed his hands, smirking slightly, as if expecting the challenge to be responded to. Then again, noone could be [i]that[/i] terrible as to fall for such little, blunt provocation.

[encapturer]

"I do?" Estelle said, shocked that she could even be compared to anyone else. Usually, her strange hair color would stop others from making comparisons, besides to one of the few others who sported strange hair colors. It's a strange recessive trait that only started appearing within the last few hundred years in humans, and some people still haven't gotten over how strange it looked. Even now, Estelle sometimes gets accused of dying her hair.

Because of all that, though, it made Alistair's comparison all the more relevant. "Is... she doing well?" Estelle asked. With her future uncertain, she hoped to get some insight from Alistair on how his sister turned out. Before he got a chance to answer, another student appeared and started talking with him. From what she could gather, he was nervous about Alistair's accepting charity money - then took a bill anyway before running off to the coffee machine. She was stunned at how he couldn't make up his mind.

While watching the student (named Ceodore, as she would later discover), she overheard Cerce's conversation with another student. She couldn't remember if he was one of the ones who were waiting there, but what he said caught her attention. Word for word, he said "Honestly, just seeing a bunch of rejects like you hanging around, actually waiting for that imbecile to appear, might have been worth the trouble coming here," before crossing his arms self-righteously. Deep inside, this caused Estelle to seethe in anger, but it did not show at all on her face and body; a skill she perfected since her brother was excommunicated from her family. Fortunately, the student Ceodore returned and introduced himself, and generally gave her something else to focus on besides the 'ignorant' one.

[Saiba Aisu]

[spoiler=OoC. Just to clarify.]I'm gonna let this slide, but just to be clear, an otaku is defined as someone that is obssessed with manga, anime, or video games. Cerce, of course, does not bother with any of these. Merely studying the Japanese language does not make someone an otaku; otherwise, the world would be full of them.[/spoiler]

Cerce restrained himself from rolling his eyes with great difficulty at the other young man; he wasn't exactly fond of unnecessary rudeness. "Oh please," he said flatly, decidedly unimpressed by Basil's harsh words. His normally bright dark green eyes glanced briefly down the boy's ridiculously formal attire before assuming a cooler cast in the face of his open and unwarranted hostility. "Do me a favor and don't take yourself so seriously. It's pretty amusing that you're calling [i]us[/i] rejects, though; from what I can gather, you've been staring at us creepily for some time now."

Cerce tossed his head slightly, as if Basil were no more than a fly that was annoying him for the time being, soon to be forgotten. "If you're going to get an attitude you might as well leave," he continued. "If you'd rather stay, then you can at least try and behave yourself.. You might give us your name, for starters."

[Vector Nightmare]

[spoiler=OoC. Because it appears I also have to clarify.]IC =/= OOC. I know what an otaku is. Basil just scorns Cerce for his random use of japanese language and attributes him that title in a derogatory manner.[/spoiler]

"Give my name... to you?" It was not often that Basil had to restrain himself from laughter. It seemed that, unlike himself, who had read the entire group at a single glance, his conversational partner could not 'understand' him at all. With such low analytical skills, further conversation was completely pointless. Truthfully, Basil had come here in search of something that could spark his interest. So far, his efforts had gone to waste. This fellow was merely another infidel, and Basil would not waste further time putting him to his place. He merely shook his head, quickly erasing him from his mind. Perhaps - slim as that likelihood might be, that insolent brat that had summoned them here might have something less terrifyingly stupid to inform them of than what he had implied earlier. He plucked the book he had been reading earlier, Oedipus Rex, from his small bag, and instantly opened it in the page he had marked.

"The way I see it, you do not even have a notion of why we are here." He deigned to address the boy, seemingly without turning his attention from his reading. "Unrelated as you are, you have the gall to demand my name, and act as if you can determine whether I will stay or leave? And, demonstrating such arrogance, you are complaining about my attitude?"

[Hydra of Ages]

"If we're lodging complaints, here," Devine interrupted when she noticed the guy with the tie was talking, "I'd like to add one on behalf of the entire student body: lose the tie. It makes you look like a tool, which is pretty bad since you're being compared to private school students."

She hopped around and onto the bench, stretching out briefly before looking at the people around her. "So. This guy actually going to show up, or are we all just stupidly waiting for absolutely nothing to happen? Because I'm fine either way."

Devine always felt more casual when people were being arrogant, uppity or otherwise annoying. It was almost a homey-feeling; she knew what to do. Snark flowed naturally, like water from a well, and her skin was thick enough to deal with any retort. Besides, as she knew so much, it was fun to rile people up and watch their reactions. And if nothing else, it shut them up, which was something.

[Yang Xiao-Long]

Alistair quickly became confused with the storm of conversations that were now buzzing on around him. The person he gave a few dollars to, "Ceodore", as he called himself, had come back to give him the money he was just given, only to take one bill for coffee. Ceodore then rushed back and had introduced himself, offering his hand. Alistair shook it, and introduced himself. Estelle wanted to know more about his sister, due to their quite shocking similarity. "She's doing quite well, actually. She may have only graduated from Kadic Academy 2 years ago, but she's now a student at an American University. Although...she does spend quite a lot of time shopping," Alistair added with a genuinely kind smile.

And then came the one part that bugged Alistair: that one "fancy-pants" on the wall. He started going into insults, and when he heard the student say the word "rejects", it stung Alistair like a bee behind the ear. He then snapped.

Almost instantly, Alistair leapt from the bench and approached the student, his footsteps literally thundering. He picked the student up by his fancy shirt's collar, the student's toes being 2 inches off the ground; his book fell to the ground. Alistair lifted him up to his face, but he held him in a way that allowed him to still look down. "Don't call us 'rejects'. You are what you criticize. You think you're the best, and why? Just because you're dressed in a way that makes you too formal? You think you're better than all of us, yet YOU are the one with the arrogance. And you think WE have an attitude. YOU are the one calling us rejects. That also means you're insulting Cerce and his kindness. YOU are the one insulting Estelle for her shyness. And I saw you looking at me earlier with disgust at my height," he said furiously. "For your information, I have Gigantism. I will literally grow to death, but it seems obvious that you don't care about other people and their own personal troubles because you obviously make yourself seem the more important one in your own little world. I despise arrogance. You make me sick."

And with that, Alistair dropped the student, turned around, and walked back to the bench. He smiled. "Sorry about that. I don't like it when people like that push others around like that. It makes me sick when people do it." Alistair noticed the cup of coffee he had placed on the bench. It was still warm. He picked it up and sipped. He sat down on the bench; this time with his feet on the grass, and he started to talk about his Gigantism to Cerce, Estelle, and whoever else wanted to listen.

[---------------]

Awkward. Alistair had flown into a small rage against that crotch-mouth in a suit. For good reason, though. But all the while Ceodore felt a little out of place, seeing as how the only relation between him and these people was Alistairs generosity. And his money. And this coffee. Or rather, the coffee that existed before being consumed without the others noticing. He-- Oh hey! It [i]was[/i] Gigantism! Poor Alistair. He was right; he'll literally grow to death. People suffering from gigantism can grow to such proportions that it becomes harder for the heart to pump blood through the body, resulting in occasional, if not frequent heart attacks. Alistair didn't seem too tall; there was plenty of people who were taller than him, but maybe not for his age.

Despite this knowledge, Ceodore still felt awkward. So he said goodbye to his new acquaintances, and headed back to his dorm. Ah, home at last. Or rather, a substitute home. Time for that Physics home-- or forget it. Time for some Zs.

[Saiba Aisu]

[center][IMG]http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/GXCyber_Ice/XanaSymbolPosts.png[/IMG] [b]GM Post: Kadic Academy[/b] [IMG]http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/GXCyber_Ice/XanaSymbolPosts.png[/IMG][/center]

[spoiler=GM Post: Kadic Academy]Fortunately for the small group of students assembled by the benches of the Student Commons, Dominic Greene chose that moment to appear, putting a temporary halt to the ongoing argument. A dull flash of color from the other end of the small courtyard complex heralded his appearance—as he drew closer with methodical strides, the group was able to make out his pensive and occupied expression. "I'm sorry that I'm so late," he said as he drew up in front of them, shifting his weight almost uncertainly. "To be completely honest," he continued, his dark eyes flashing as he counted the five radically different students, "I wasn't sure that so many of you would show up."

He paused for a moment and took a deep breath; when he was done, he seemed much calmer and self-assured, as if whatever he had thought of had helped steel his resolve in the face of their expectancy. "As you may or may not know, I've asked you to gather here for a reason. And even while everything around this area might seem normal for now, I'm worried that things are going to take a turn for the worse very soon."

Dominic's gaze flickered between Cerce, Basil, Alistair, Devine, and Estelle. He sighed softly. "Everything about this whole mess is so unreliable; there's so much that could go wrong with what I have planned to help protect everyone. I wish I had the luxury of winning your trust and making sure that you're trustworthy—for the the time being, however, I'm just going to have to hope for the best."

He strode over and shrugged off his backpack before alighting on the same bench where Cerce and Alistair were sitting, directly in the heart of the group. The young man's expression was dead serious and his eyes emotionless as he regarded the five students.

"What if I told you that our world was in danger from an evil supercomputer?" he asked softly. "And that I need your help in fighting against it?"[/spoiler]

===

[spoiler=OoC. Please read!]Okay, so we're finally getting things moving at this point. I'm glad that you guys got a chance to interact though, I feel it will help set the tone for further characterization in the early stages of the RP as you work out your differences and form lasting relationships. For the meantime, however, we need to focus on advancing the story to Lyoko; we've taken too long with this already.[/spoiler]

[Yang Xiao-Long]

After Alistair explained his condition to whoever wanted to listen, he noticed the same student from the morning. In those few short moments, Alistair could tell that whatever the situation was, it had to be quite important if this student were to approach a group of random students in the morning before classes.

[i]A turn for the worse?[/i] Alistair thought to himself as he listened intently to this student. After a few moments, he found himself sitting next to this student. Alistair tensed at his presence, but he quickly adjusted to his unfamiliarity.

The Student Commons was dead quiet when this student spoke in a soft voice, "What if I told you that our world was in danger from an evil supercomputer? And that I need your help in fighting against it?" At first, Alistair found himself staring into space, trying to comprehend what he had just heard. A few seconds later, Alistair dragged himself back into reality. "An evil supercomputer? Are you sure about this?" he asked with genuine confusion and curiousity.

He paused for a moment and then got up from the bench. He took a deep breath; the blood rushed down from his head since he had been sitting down for quite some time; his quite imposing figure nearly blocking out the sun from the point of view of anyone who was sitting on the benches. "If what you're saying is true, then I need to see some proof to validate your claim. Is there a place you can take us?" Alistair asked the student he had just been sitting next to a few moments ago, his gaze never wavering. "If you actually need help against this 'supercomputer', then I will help you," he added, his voice unwavering; his tone revealing no fear or shame in what he had just said, for he knew that at least one of the students he was sitting among would look at him like he was insane.

"Might I ask your name? I am Alistair."

[Saiba Aisu]

Dominic relaxed noticeably as he realized that Alistair was taking him seriously; obviously, he had been worried that his statements would be initially dismissed as the ravings of a deranged lunatic. "I'm positive," he replied to him, staring up at the other man's extraordinarily tall figure. "I know it's difficult to believe, but that's exactly what I'm asking you to do—believe me, at least until I can show you some evidence."

He sprang up from the bench in a quick movement and picked up his bookbag, slipping it back on. "I can take you to the supercomputer now if you like, but you have to promise not to say anything to anyone, alright?" An exasperated expression appeared on the young man's features as he recognized his own forgetfulness and social clumsiness. "And I can't believe I forgot to introduce myself," he continued apologetically, "my name is Dominic Greene."

Back on the bench, Cerce shifted with sudden recognition at the sound of the name. He eyed Dominic with a little more respect, although he still wasn't entirely certain if he should believe him or not. Evil supercomputers threatening the world—it sounded too fantastical, like something directly out of the cheap science fiction novels that he never bothered with.

"Dominic Greene," he repeated slowly, "I know that name, I've heard it before.. You're the junior class valedictorian, right? You have the best grade point average in the entire school according to what I heard."

[Vector Nightmare]

"Me, personally - I'd say you are clinically insane." Basil responded sarcastically to the young man's statement. Ignoring disdainful looks from the others - indeed, ignoring them completely, as if their existence did not register with him, he approached. "But if, on the off chance, you were on to something - what on Earth possessed you to come to us for a solution? Provided this is not just a figment of your imagination, of course - what is your reasoning for approaching random individuals, rather than address authorities who can actually do something about it? And don't bother with the 'they wouldn't take me seriously' excuse. You mentioned you should be able to provide some proof about your concerns."

As much as he would never admit it, Basil's interest had been slightly perked by the whole deal. Notwithstanding how that oaf seemed to jump at the first opportunity for something more ridiculous than his bloated egocentric personality to occur, the statement concerning Dominic's grades had been worthy of interest. Basil held a grudging respect for those who pursued learning - learning, not for the sake of accomplishing something, but for the sake of learning itself. Students with universally good grades were ones who tended to pursue such goals. That did not speak much in itself, naturally, but it was at least a minor indicator that this person was less deserving of a mental asylum than it initially seemed.

[encapturer]

Estelle kept quiet as Dominic explained the reason why he called them here. It was something to do with supercomputers that were also evil. That couldn't be true, could it? She didn't know much about computers, but shouldn't they be able to unplug the supercomputer if it was evil? Maybe it was alive? She spent the next few moments trying to rationalize to herself how a supercomputer could be evil, can't be turned off, and why she wasn't allowed to get any help.

....

...Nothing. Nothing came to mind. Then, as if on cue, Basil began spouting more drivel; mostly voicing her concerns, but in a way that would cause her to beat his face in if she was able. Instead, she shook her head at his comment and spoke. "I'm sure there is a reason why he came to us for help." Truthfully, she didn't care why Dominic chose her and the others, Estelle was excited to actually help with a task of this magnitude. Stopping evil? Of course!

"And I'd be willing to go, if you really think I can help out somehow," Estelle continued, now smiling not only to put Dominic at ease, but because she was actually looking forward to this. "I mean, if this is true..." Estelle paused for a moment, unsure on where she was going with that sentence. "This is a really big deal..."

[Yang Xiao-Long]

Alistair only looked at Basil with disbelief and slight rage at what he just said. [i]Come on, Basil,[/i] he thought to himself. [i]Stop being arrogant and start looking at the bigger picture.[/i] His attention was averted by Estelle; he could tell she was actually looking forward to this. He also heard Cerce mention that Dominic was the Junior Class Valedictorian. [i]Wait...he's the one person who has higher grades than me? He must really be smart...[/i] Alistair put the thought out of his mind.

Alistair suddenly tensed up at something that just hit him.
"You know...if this is such a big deal in regards to the safety of people world-wide, why are we just sitting here talking? Dominic, didn't you just say you were going to show us something?" he asked with slight concern. "I'm actually looking forward to what you have in store to show us," Alistair said as he put his hands in his pockets as he leaned against a nearby tree to face the others; the weight placed on his shoulder. He patiently waited. He smiled a gentle smile as the wind blew through his hair.

[Hydra of Ages]

"You know," Devine added after a second, "I doubt I'd ever say this often, but I actually agree with Necktie here. I thought you were just using a strange analogy until people started taking you completely literally."

She poked at her collar a little, and moved her hair from her face. This was starting to get really bizarre- but for some reason, she felt almost guilty at the idea of ripping his explanations to pieces before he got them out in full. It made her feel weird, uncomfortable, and like any usual bit of authority, she wanted to defy it as much as physically possible.

"Now that I think about it..." she continued, flicking a red bang behind her shoulder, "Why us? Don't you have any people acquaintances and the like you could have asked to follow you on a wild goose chance instead? Conceivably Necktie might be able to help with a computer running amok if his tech skills are on par with his fashion sense, but otherwise we appear to be-" she glanced around briefly.

"A giant with a hero complex," she muttered, waving a hand at Alistair, "A wallflower," she pointed at Estelle, "A jerk with a big mouth," without any pointing at all, "And... I actually have no clue who you are," she admitted, looking at Cerce. "But my point still stands. We're a ragtag bunch of misfits, which might be a boon if we happened to be in a movie, but otherwise our lack of specialization makes us bad for anything but bickering."

She paused. "But that's just my opinion. If you don't like it, I've got a dozen more I could give you instead."

[Saiba Aisu]

[spoiler=OoC. Just to clarify.]I adore you guys; seriously. I love how well you're all working with this particular portion of the RP. There's lots of wit and playful banter, it's actually quite entertaining to read. Also Hydra, if I had to classify Cerce it would be somewhere between "jock" or "goody two shoes." Lmao. Keep up the good work![/spoiler]

"Well then," Dominic replied coolly to Basil's unnecessarily aggressive tone, "it's fortunate that you're not a psychiatrist, and therefore, unable to pronounce me 'clinically insane.'" His demeanor softened somewhat as he answered the boy's other question—after all, he did raise a valid point.

"I can't explain all of it to you in detail right now," he said, "but I can give you the basics. There are several reasons I can't approach the authorities on this issue—for starters, the supercomputer's potential as a tool to neutralize technological threats and assume complete control of foreign networks is immense. In the wrong hands, it could easily cause some serious damage; even though our government is dedicated to upholding integrity and peace, there's no way they'd pass up the opportunity to appropriate such a powerful weapon and put it to their own purposes."

Dominic's gaze hardened as he continued, "I won't be responsible for providing this government—or any other, for that matter—with something so deadly. Then there's the fact that they wouldn't know how to deal with the supercomputer even if they did manage to resist the temptation to use it; merely turning it off or destroying it won't eliminate the artificial intellect that's taken residence within it. And then there's the fact that someone's life depends on the supercomputer; if it's forcefully destroyed, then..."

His voice trailed off momentarily before he turned towards Estelle and Alistair, nodding in agreement with their remarks. "I wouldn't jeopardize my academic reputation or credibility over something like this," he said to them. "I promise you I'm telling the truth, we can go right now if you want."

He glanced over at Devine, who remained stubbornly skeptical of the entire situation, and for the first time since he'd started explaining the situation, something close to embarrassment appeared on his serious features. "As for why I came to a group of strangers for help... I don't really socialize much, so there's not many people I can trust with something like this. You're the best chance we have."

[Yang Xiao-Long]

Alistair glanced at Devine blankly. He then turned to Dominic. "If this supercomputer is so dangerous, and you didn't want to go to the authorities, then why would you go to us? As Devine just told you blankly, we're a bunch of 'misfits'," he said as he made quotation marks with his fingers as he said the word "misfits". "Even this 'giant with a hero complex' agrees." He glanced at Devine blankly.

"Also, I can sort of see where you're coming from. People with abnormally high grades usually don't socialize well, but in your case regarding an issue like this, you could've just told us right out what was so important."

Alistair was becoming quite eager to go to the place where Dominic said he'd take them to. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in both of his legs. He almost fell down at the moment he registered the pain. He quickly slid down the tree's bark until he found himself sitting at the base of the tree trunk, silently gasping as the pain persisted for a few seconds and then passed. He could feel the stares of everyone around him. "Sorry," he said as he struggled to get back up, but couldn't. He decided to remain sitting. "Growing pains again." He rubbed his legs. "So...when can you show us this 'supercomputer'?" Alistair, after all, was still quite eager to go.

[Saiba Aisu]

Cerce crossed his arms at Devine's words—sure, she had a valid point, but there was no need for her to be so bitter. What was it with most of these kids? Alistair and perhaps Estelle barred, they all appeared to be serious headcases. He sighed slightly as she then began attempting to classify them according to her own labels; gazing at her own bizarre appearance, he could almost hear Jae's smug tones in his head: [i]And[/i] this[i], Cerce, is why you don't associate with people outside of your social group. They're all losers[/i].

He shook his head slightly in defiance of that mindset; there was no way he was going to disregard Dominic's unusual claims—especially considering the fact that he was Junior Class Valedictorian and was willing to provide evidence to support his claims—just because he wasn't what most people would call popular. "I'm Jack the Ripper," he said coolly in reply to her failure to successfully classify him, "and I'm also the Varsity Gymnastics Captain—I can see why you'd have difficulty labeling that particular combination. Maybe if you managed to clear some of that unnecessary hair from your eyes, you'd realize that we have Japanese class together."

"Anyways," he continued, "even though I'm not really convinced about this entire situation, I still think it's worth looking into, at least for now. Lead the way, Dominic."

[Hydra of Ages]

"I'm aware of that," she said coolly. " 'Jack'. I was [i]going[/i] to say jock, but then I realized you compete in spandex. I'd suggest joining the Drama Team- they're just as flamboyant, and they're used to acting like they believe utter fantasies are real."

She rolled her eyes. Her expectations for the group had never been particularly high, but they were plummeting by the second. Necktie might have some humor in him, but Jack was dry as a rock and Giant Martyr was giving her one too many blank looks for her liking. The Wallflower, true to name, still hadn't bothered to speak. Basically the only interesting one she'd seen was the guy babbling about Hal not opening the pod bay doors, and HE was likely legitimately insane. Wait, likely? Almost certainly. Which, of course, is why she would follow him- with luck, he'd do something nuts like throw his pants at random civilians, or jump off a cliff using a carton of orange juice as a parachute. Or his imaginary GLaDOS could turn out to be real, which if nothing else, would promise her cake.

[encapturer]

"We all want to go see the supercomputer, right?" Estelle said, no longer content with letting everyone else argue among themselves. She looked at everyone there, particulary Devine and Basil, who seemed to almost enjoy being contrary. "Then you all should stop bickering amongst each other already," she added, without skipping a beat. She then turned to Dominic and politely lowered her head. "I apologize that we've held you up," she said, raising her head and looking him in the eyes. "But if this computer is evil, I know for sure that I'm willing to help in any way I can."

Estelle didn't notice that she was being more forceful than normal. Normally she'd just go with the flow. Wait until everyone is ready, then follow along. But her curiosity needed to be satisfied, and if what Dominic says is true.... she will keep her word.

[Saiba Aisu]

[center][IMG]http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/GXCyber_Ice/XanaSymbolPosts.png[/IMG] [b]GM Post: Kadic Academy[/b] [IMG]http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/GXCyber_Ice/XanaSymbolPosts.png[/IMG][/center]

[spoiler=GM Post: Kadic Academy]"Exactly," Dominic asserted in agreement with Estelle's comments, only too pleased to put an end to the pointless argument. "We don't have time for this—right now, you need to put your differences behind you, alright? Every moment we waste is another moment that something could go wrong. Now, let's get a move-on."

Having said so, Dominic turned and began moving towards the western-most edge of the Student Commons, the five students following behind him. The steady sound of their feet on the stone floor soon gave way to a more muffled noise as they moved off the adjoining path that linked the Student Commons with the park and onto the thick green grass. Dominic seemed entirely certain of where he was going—his pace did not slacken and he did not look back once as he passed the regular haunts that made the park so attractive to students in their free time.

Before the other five were entirely certain what was happening, Dominic led them through a thick wall of greenery and into a small clearing where the trees grew close together. The young man knelt down and after a brief struggle, managed to pull aside a manhole covering, revealing a circular opening disappearing into the gloom. "After you," he said with a wry expression, beckoning towards the ladder-rungs of the tunnel.[/spoiler]

===

[spoiler=OoC. Please read!]Alright, so now we're finally moving in the right direction as Dominic leads everyone to the sewers that connect Kadic Academy with the factory. I know it's a stretch but try not to waste too much time arguing with him over this latest development![/spoiler]

[Yang Xiao-Long]

Alistair looked down into the pitch blackness that Dominic had led them to. [i]Woah...[/i] was all he could think at the moment. "I'll go first," he said in a voluntary manner. He grabbed the ladder and began climbing down, deeper into the darkness.

He reached the bottom after a few seconds. Looking up, he could see the light shining down from above. "Next!" he called out. He patiently waited for the others. He looked around. [i]Wait a minute...is this a sewer?[/i] he wondered as he began looking around; his eyes having been adjusted to the darkness of the tunnel. Out of curiousity, he began going down the path. As he reached the end of the path, he found another ladder, which he climbed. After moving the manhole cover at the top with some ease, he climbed out and found himself on a bridge. Looking over the side, he saw a river; behind him, the entrance to an abandoned factory. Staying near the manhole to keep watch for anything, he patiently waited for the others. When the first person other than him had arrived, he helped them out of the manhole.

[Vector Nightmare]

"Hmpfh."

Basil had remained silent for most of the ludicrous - and largely pointless - exchange. When Dominic had began to lead them across the academy's grounds, he had simply followed, lagging a little behind the others to carefully memorize the path they took, and register any abnormalities. He watched with relative interest as Dominic uncovered what seemed to be an underground space, by removing a well-concealed cover. Without seemingly any hesitation, Alistair - Basil vaguely attributed the name he had heard to him - jumped in. Without waiting for further developments, he followed, sliding in through the others which had gathered in front of the open hole. With surprising agility, but also careful consideration not to damage his refined clothing, he leapt into the hole. Unlike the foolish one who had took the lead, of course, Basil did not move from his position, intently scrutinizing his surroundings instead. So, when the third person to descend arrived, they'd still find him there, taking meticulous notes of everything around. There wasn't much to see, of course - just gray walls and pitch-black shadows, dancing faintly from the sunlight being shed from above. But Basil intended to wait for Dominic, at least, before proceeding any further.

[Hydra of Ages]

Devine merely quirked an eyebrow when the manhole was removed. She could have said something, but really, what was the point? When she came to a point where she was willingly entering the sewers because last year's Valid Victorian told her to, it was obviously time that logic bowed out.

She held her breath as she entered. If there was one thing she could've said about France, it was that it stunk even more than London did; and London's Thames was basically just an above-ground sewage line.

But then again, now she was going to a [i]below[/i] ground sewage line, so maybe it all evened out. She didn't really have time to ponder the ironies of her own random thoughts.

Making her way down the surprisingly clean (though she still wanted to wash her hands afterwards) ladder rungs, she noticed Basil still hanging around observing the walls. She blinked, examined him from a couple different angles and shook her head. It really DID appear that he didn't have anything to do but stare at a blank wall.

Sparing a look at the corridor, she did notice it didn't smell as much as she expected it to. The path they were on was likely separated from the main line by at least a couple walls, though she did catch a whiff of sewage now and then- though to be honest, she caught a whiff of sewage at pretty much any point on the surface as well.

"Staring at walls, Necktie?" she asked idly, examining the shadowed corridor that was their only exit and taking a small peak outside. The path appeared to be pretty complex, almost labyrinthine- she hoped the kid knew where they were going pretty well, because otherwise, they could be lost for a rather long time.

[Vector Nightmare]

"Observing." Basil replied absent-mindedly. He gave a start, as if surprised at the sound of his own voice, then scowled, chastising himself for speaking to such a person as the erratic girl that had descended after him.

However, his observations had been indeed important. Moss had overgrown onto the walls and floor, indicating a structure of particularly old age - Basil happened to know that the sewer system of Kardic Academy was state-of-the-art and well-maintained, so this underground tunnel couldn't be a part of it. This must have been older than the entire academy, then. And yet it seemed it had been used rather often lately, cleared up to a certain extent so as not to make passage troublesome.

At any rate, it wasn't hard to follow the giant who had walked ahead, as footsteps left quite visible marks on the dust-paved floor. Motioning Devine to follow, if she wished, he tracked down Alistair's path until he reached the stairs that led upwards. Seeing the tracks stop, he paused. There was nothing to distinguish this place from the other parts of the tunnel complex, but something had urged Alistair to decide to climb up here. Shrugging, Basil climbed up the rusty staircase, sneering as he noticed Alistair's stretched hand. He ignored it, instead pushing himself up out of the hole. Without sparing a word for the other student, he glanced around, taking in his new surroundings.

[encapturer]

Estelle was the fourth in line to go down into the sewers. She quickly made her descent, almost slipping near the beginning in her haste. While it was indeed smelly, Estelle paid it no mind, and instead followed after Basil, who decided that now was the time to move. She had no idea why he started to move now, and was frustrated at how he seemed to be taking his time in this situation. As she followed after, she could not help but think about how much easier it would be if she could express her feelings without worrying about some sort of backlash. Fortunately, it wasn't too long before Basil stopped and started climbing a ladder - Estelle figured it was their destination.

At the very least, Alistair was already there. As Estelle climbed up after Basil she noticed that Basil declined Alistair's assistance as if he wasn't even there. She sighed, and tried to not let it go to her; after all, she may actually have to *work* with him, though she hoped that he would decide not to after all.