Colin's posts

"Good question." Ilias said.

"But at least they're not dead." he said.

"That scrying this does confirm it, yeah." he muttered.

"Still, the fact that it's been happening so quickly is alarming."

"Maybe next vacation." Ilias said.

"Because we really haven't just... gotten away, the two of us." he commented, almost wistfully, before snapping himself back tor reality.

"Anyway. Kaia." he mumbled.

"Hopefully we'll be able to help her." he said further.

"And hopefully those that have gone missing are all okay."

Ilias thought as well for a moment, pondering it as well.

"....ah... yeah." he said.

"Yeah, actually, that's right." he confirmed.

"We've seen a few of her shows since then, but she's always been too busy for a proper meeting or get-together or whatever." he said further.

"So yeah, it's been a bit." he summarised, shaking his head slightly.

"And yeah, that WAS back in France. Damn, we really haven't been there much since then, have we?"

"...that sounds horrifying." Ilias responded.

"I can't even begin to imagine how they're feeling." he admitted.

"Think Kaia will stop by here? As in, the lab?" he asked her.

"Been a while since we've seen her, given how busy she is." he went on.

"...though, granted, it'd be nicer to see her again under better circumstances..."

"Time WAS of the essence, yes." Hal responded.

"For now, if you need anything, feel free to call someone for it." he told her.

"You also have full access to the cafeteria." he then finished, before they said their farewells, and he left.

"...now. To work." he said to himself.

Meanwhile, Ilias and Kiah had just finished up with an experiment, and the former looked towards the latter.

"Hey." he said.

"Everything all right with your sister?" he asked. "You seemed pretty concerned when she called you."

Hal just smiled at her.

"It's what we do." he said.

"For now, I'll leave and let you adjust. I have a team to put together to investigate this." he told her.

"Find out WHAT is happening here." he said further, his tone serious.

"Because I have a strong hunch they're not dead." he revealed. "And that means that they can be brought back. We just need to find out from WHERE." he finished.

Hal chuckled in response.

"Of course." he said.

"If you find you're still having issues with temperature, we'll move you to a dorm where you can be by yourself and have complete control over your temperature." he assured her.

He then finished writing something in the notebook, and stood up.

"Thank you for the information." he said.

"I'll let you settle in."

Hal nodded in response.

"There is." he told her.

"Each room has independent temperature control." he told her.

"The bedrooms, the bathroom, and this larger room here." he went on.

"And the phone is fully functional, as well as can connect to any internal phone here." he continued.

"I know this isn't your home, but we'll try and make you as comfortable as possible."

Hal produced a small notepad out of his pocket, and had written down all Yuki had told him, nodding along as he did so.

"I see, I see." he said.

"Well, I promise you we'll do all we can to find out what happened, what is happening, and we'll see to it you can safely return to your theatre performances." he promised her.

He then told her about the place, where she could safely go, the interactive map, and how the dorms were soundproofed.

"Do you have any questions?" he asked.

They watched Kaia head off to drop stuff off, and Hal sat down in one of the chairs, as Yuki did the same, so they were facing each other.

"So." Hal said.

"Tell me a little about yourself." he told her.

"Which is to say, full name, place of origin, current residence, citisenship, age, things like that." he said further.

"As I said, merely for filing reasons." he then assured her.

"And don't tell me whatever you're genuinely uncomfortable revealing."

Hal nodded in response.

"I understand." he said.

"Miss Yuki, I will need to ask you a few questions about yourself soon." he told Yuki. "Just for filing sake." he assured her further.

"And Kaia, I'll need to talk to you about... everyone else." he then said to Kaia.

"Kiah told me you're the one in charge at the moment, so I'll need to know everything about those that went missing." he told her. "Well... 'everything', 'basic info', really." he corrected himself.

"Just who they are and such."

"All right." Hal responded.

With that, the three of them vanished from where they were, and the next thing Kaia and Yuki knew, they were standing in the dark... somewhere. However, Hal then clapped his hands, and the lights above them turned on, revealed a modest 2-bedroom apartment.

"Feel free to unpack and set whatever you like up." Hal told them.

"There should be card keys in the bedrooms, as well as lanyards with I.D's for the two of you." he continued.

"Ah, and if you don't want to venture out, feel free to give me a grocery list for things to have in the cabinets here." he added.

"The dorms themselves are beneath ground." Hal responded.

"Far enough down that windows are not an option." he told her. "Now, for those that might suffer because of them, we DO provide lightbulbs and such that produce natural light and heat, but that is upon request." he said further.

"But to answer your question, no. Windows are not a thing. Not in the dorms." he continued.

"I called and made sure there is one prepared for the both of you." he then said. "The dorm itself will be like a small 2-bedroom apartment, with kitchenette and bathroom and such." he explained further.

"If either of you have an issue with that, we'll discuss it when we're out of here." he said.

"For now, make sure you have everything you want or need to take with you, and each of you grab my hand."

"I will be waiting right here!" Hal called to them as they left.

He then looked around and narrowed his eyes.

"What happened here?" he asked.

"What is going ON in this building?" he growled, scratching his chin a little.

"I may need to call on my agents of celestial and infernal nature." he said further. "I sense no mana, nor do I feel any real presence here. Not a physical one, anyway..." he continued.

"But WHY do I feel like there are eyes upon me...?"