I Play It The Company Way

After roughly an hour of wandering through the fourth floor, Charlie realized he was, once again, completely lost. He attempted to backtrack his way to a more familiar part of the office, with nothing he passed ringing any bells. He began to focus less on finding his way back, and more on exploring the new space he found himself in. He raised a hand to the closest door- 404- and gave it a few gentle knocks. “Anyone in there?” -employee-126

@employee-126

“Cripes!” A yell rings out as a mild thud is heard from inside the room. The sound of other objects, presumably falling off a surface and onto the carpet follows, as the shifting of fabric and lowered curses moves through the office, rising up and down as new, more deliberate klunks can be heard. Papers rustle about- and the loudest thud so far resonates from inside. “Ah, balls,” a strained voice utters as a couple more objects are seemingly set around, including the sound of hollow glass being shoved into a file cabinet- before the door finally creaks open a crack.

404 sticks his head out the door, a little bit of suspicious liquid still on his face as he quickly wipes his eyes under his glasses and adjusts his tie. He exhales sharply, looking the person who knocked up and down, and his face rests into a tired, yet confused expression.

“If you have papers for me, you can always just slide them under the door. You’re only supposed to knock for urgent events. That being said, what do you need me for, that you couldn’t just use the phone system for?

employee-404

Stepping into the newly opened corridor- 404 glances back at Charlie as he says that name again.

“Pardon me? You’re really going to give that credit to someone else, to 427? Someone who isn’t here?” He rolls his eyes as 126 comments for him to forget that. “Whatever you say,” he dryly remarks before entering the lift and reluctantly pushing the button to send them down.

As they descend, 404 can’t help but feel… off. The bars on the lift begin to fade and fuzz once again, and he feels almost as if he isn’t moving, though he is. He shuts his eyes and walks to the corner of the lift, pulling out his flask from his pocket, attempting to hide a sip from Charlie.

Charlie folded his arms, following 404 into the elevator. “Look, like I said, it’s really complicated. That’s all I want to say, for now.” He didn’t want to leave it at that, he knew he was raising more questions than he was answering, but, for 404’s sake, he had to. One life-altering revelation at a time, that was the best way to address everything.

As they descend, Charlie’s gaze drifted from the platforms and walkways they passed to his… ‘friend’ now standing in the corner. He reached a hand out, but stopped himself right before he could make contact. “Are you…?” What was he going to ask? ‘Are you okay?’ It was an obvious no. 'Do we need to stop? Go back?’ As the gate rose, Charlie realized he still didn’t know how to leave this section of the world, short of restarting. Then again, he had never explored it for too long….

He slowly stepped into a long, dark hall, surrounded by pipes and vents. “It’s not much further, don’t worry.”

#employee-126 #not another parable #e404 rp

404 draws in a sharp breath and turns back around, holding still to the walls of the elevator just in case. "I'm fine, I am fine." He shoves his flask back away and leaves the lift, taking note of his surroundings and blinking away the fog.

"Wh... where are we, exactly? Where are you taking me. I sure do hope this isn't some, er, treacherous murder basement. I do think I'm worth more alive and functional than I am in pieces."

404 sighs and glances at the sign, before looking back at Jun.

"I suppose there's only one way to find out." He leans off of the railing and begins to walk toward the door, processing both Jun's words and the information given to him on the tape even further.

Eleven years of his life gone, maybe more- could it have been because of this facility? Mind control definitely sounds related to the erasure of people's memories, so would there be more of the equipment used to erase him here. It would make sense for MI5, a secretive government organization, to have such devices, after all.

"Er, 429, about MI5," 404 starts. "You've worked here too, do you remember anything about the government? I certainly don't. I can't recall anything related to that- and maybe it's the memory wipe- cripes, I can't believe I'm saying that- but if, er, the tricks, the tricks my mind plays on me are my memories, and in those fragments I don't see anything like this... what do you think are the chances that this place isn't a government facility?"

He steps onto the catwalk of the room, observing the size of the darkness around them, before he stops in his tracks, going over a few more details in his head.

Prompt subject... prompt subject...

"Something tells me you're onto something, Law," Slater says, his eyes cast in Jun's direction. He holds a hand to his glasses temple and continues. "It would seem like some sort of, er, breach of protocol to have just one person operate that machine, especially on their own. The parts he-I read from the operations manual seemed to imply some sort of two-party situation, perhaps an operator and a subject. I mean, this is a spy agency, for lack of any better words, and I can only assumed they'd use such a device on individuals against their will."

"I definitely knew what that machine could do. I voluntarily put myself there to erase my own memories. But why, why alone, why not without a separate operator? Is that not allowed for a man? Voluntary memory erasure?" 404 waves a hand about as he speaks, his tone becoming increasingly frustrated. "I don't... I can't know these things. Maybe they're here, or on the tapes. Let's just keep on, shall we?"

orderly-chaotic

Watching Slater step forward, Jun follows with a small nod to himself in agreement. Yes, whatever was going on... perhaps this run would tell them more than any other he'd been through.

"I- no, I was never once told we had anything to do with the government," he responds with a shake of his head. "Just your run of the mill company. I manage- managed most of the outdated network around here. If they had anything suspicious, I would have thought I'd have seen something."

That is, unless he had been locked out of the actual systems to help disguise the underlying secret. He'd never had any reason to suspect this place was anything more than a boring business with more money than sense... but with everything going on here, perhaps it was worth scrutinizing his own memories a little further.

Deep in thought, he blinks a little as Slater spoke again, cutting through his thoughts. "Hm? Oh- right," he says slowly. "So you think you must've done this without approval then?"

He nods, looking over at him. "Yes, that makes more sense. Though it does make me wonder. If they have such a powerful tool in their hands, why didn't they make more use of it?"

Come to think of it, if they had a memory erasing device... then who's to say they couldn't make a mind control facility?

As Jun hits the buttons to bring up the monitor feed, he seriously considers the idea there might be some truth in the Narrator's story for the first time.

But one thing at a time.

"I have no doubt working for MI5 would be traumatizing but do you think there might be something more that you're trying to hide from yourself?" he asks, a frown furrowing his brow. "Something that might tell us why you- why there's this Narrator- this other voice from the recordings- that sounds like you?"

Obliging his companion's request, Jun calls the elevator to take them up to the control room.

#aw does he care #e404 rp #orderlychaos

404 leans his arms over the railing of the elevator as it slowly rises upward, towering over the sea of blue light from the monitors below them. He sighs deeply and rests his head in his arms with a frustrated, yet tired scoff. His glasses reflect the screens moving below, his weary eyes cast down toward them.

"I honestly can't say. For your sake, I really do wish to keep connecting the dots and speculating, but I have no idea of any other leads. I can't even trust myself- my own head in knowing what I'd want to keep away," he says, keeping his chin in his arms and facing away from his companion. The red light atop the lift washes over them a couple times as Slater keeps silent for a few moments. "I just hope that wherever this lift is taking us, it's a place with answers.

As the elevator made a halt at the end of its path, 404 steps out and through the doors into the large room filled with buttons and desks, his head moving about to scan the room to its fullest in search of... anything, really. He turns back toward Jun.

"And... you. You have all the time in the world, sure, with the stopped clock... but you bothered to stick around and not, oh, I don't know, grab me by the legs and toss me over a railing after all this time. Lest, oh, you're planning to do that now," he remarks with a chuckle at the end of the sentence, but before that, he sounds strangely earnest. "But! I do suppose not everyone gets to spend more than a moment with the fabled 404, the best employee in this building... or something like that." He looks aside. "Thanks for the cigarettes, oh, and your company, Law. Junwei." He smiles warmly (and a little awkwardly) at Jun- before wincing and moving to lean against a desk. "Augh, old habits..."

He takes a sip from his flask once more, but then notices the buttons on the desk and pushes one. "Any clue what these buttons do?"

❣️ - What are their love languages?

Slater's love languages are definitely words and actions, obviously the man never shuts up, but if he does find he can trust someone enough to love them, he'd never stop talking about them and how much he loves them. Besides talking- should he be unable to muster up the words to say anything (which is a possibility, especially if it's the early stages of a relationship, before the three words, so to speak) he very much is the type for thoughtful actions, like buying someone a trinket that made him think of them, or writing them a story, or singing them a questionable rendition of their favorite song. Maybe this isn't all right- I don't know if I fully understand love languages, but that's how I see 404.

This is slightly off topic, but I'm reminded of something my friend said about Slater early on, something along the lines of him finally having the motivation to better himself to make his partner proud or happy.

> hed melt to the floor, throw out all his alcohol, organize his office, wash all of his ties, brush his hair, apologize to evrryone he has wronged, own up to his mistakes, stop lying, be humble, stop buying new jackets that look the exact same, become based

This is an exaggeration- but I think there is some truth to Slater being willing to change with care.

#e404 ask meme

magnolias-court

Misc. Ask Meme

❣️ - What are their love languages? 🌙 - What’s their sleep schedule like? 🎁 - How do they feel about their birthday/birthdays in general? 🧑‍🦰 - Have they ever dyed their hair? Ever cut it themself? 🍷- How do they feel about alcohol? 🗣️ - How do they handle public speaking? 🎮 - What’s their favorite game? 💓 - What are some signs they’ve fallen for someone? How do they show their affection? 🤡 - What’s something dumb they’re embarrassed about? 🌱 - Do they have a green thumb or are they a plant killer? 📱 - What social media do they use the most? 👪 - What’s their relationship with their parents like? 🐒 - What’s their favorite animal? 🧳 - What countries have they been to? 🤔 - What’s something they’ll never understand? 🎨 - What’s their favorite color? ☂️ - How do they feel about rain? 🎶 - What’s a song they really like? 🖌️ - Do they have any hobbies? 💤 - What do they absolutely need to have to fall asleep? 🎢 - Do they like amusement parks? What’s their favorite ride? 🗺️ - What languages do they speak? 🍳 - How well can they cook? 🍪 - How well can they bake? 💘 - What do they find attractive about their partner(s)? 👗 - How comfortable would they be wearing a skirt or dress? 💝 - What gestures do they really appreciate? How do you get on their good side? ☕ - Coffee or tea? 💀 - How do they feel about horror movies? 🧸 - Do they have any stuffed animals? If so, are they decorative or do they sleep with them? 💖 - How and how often do they try to impress their partner(s)? How and how often do their partner(s) impress them? 🍽️ - What’s their favorite food? 🧑‍🍼 - How do they feel about kids? 🐾 - Do they have any pets? 💬 - What are some filler/buffer words they use? (Like, um, etc.) 🏳️‍🌈 - What do they identify as? What are their pronouns? 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 - Do they have any siblings? 🥰 - What pet names do their partner(s) use for them? How flustered do they get by them? 🌳 - What’s their extended family like? 🎲 - Pick a random question to answer from this list.

#ask meme

GT note: I may have accidentally retconned 404's hair color from dark dark brown to brown

#haha consistency who????#continuity what???#ooc

// OOC, GT Speaking.

I'm going to start reblogging ask memes! As I can get busy and slow with responses, and my art ability can wane, I think it's a great idea to allow these smaller interactions. Feel free to drop in some prompts!

#e404 misc #ooc

fourtyfaregates

Been kind of wonky as of late, but here's 404 and 040 plus some PASWG vibes.

#e404 art

“Oh another Employee… I thought everyone other then Stanley was gone… are you ok?” @omnitheplayer

The new voice slowly fades into 404's recognition as he becomes conscious. While the words barely set in for him, he realizes a few sudden facts.

He's on the floor of his office.

He smells like booze.

Someone is talking to him, in his office, which currently smells like alcohol, as he's laying on the floor.

404 scrambles to get up, rushing clumsily onto his chair as he wipes his face. A couple coffee cans previously strewn about the floor jostle around.

"I'm working, I'm working! Just taking a little, er, break for preventative measures around here, yes yes," he says, sitting up in his chair with a half-sheepish smile. Glancing to the reflection in his empty computer screen, he notices his hair is a mess and his glasses are askew, and pats his head a couple times, pushes up his glasses, and grins a little winder in hopes of saving face. "Would you believe that some people here have been talking about mice in the office? Yes, mice. I wasn't sure if I heard them myself- well not to imply I'm not sure of myself but- I just had to get down and ensure there weren't any visitors in here, no. The boss won't be pleased if there were trespassers on company property, hmm?"

Omni signed seeming exhausted from watching the two.

“I-I know nothing about you…. honest, I only know about the characters in my story… I’m not omniscient- it’s all an act” Nathaniel admitted seeming flustered.

Omni chuckled “well of course Omni is my name not yours” she joked, Nathaniel gave her a disapproving glance.

"So. You're a fraud," 404 states simply, without any tone.

He couldn't lie- he was sorely disappointed that Nathaniel knew nothing about him, his past, or anything that he was searching for regarding himself. He would not remain disappointed for long, however.

"If you know nothing about me- and the range of your knowledge only pertains to your story, then why the hell am I here?" 404 throws his hands up in frustration as he rants. "Oh, let me guess- you also don't know anything about that- despite the obvious reality that this place is yours yet I'm here! Can't you see how nonsensical that is? Make it make sense, or I'll make you make sense," 404 spits out, waving his hand in a swipe. He sneers at Nathaniel, holding the side of his head with his hand.

Nathaniel looked towards Omni for help seeming overwhelmed from being taken out of his element.

“Help me… please” he whispered to her.

“Eh- well, Nathaniel doesn’t actually have that much control of this place, he’s probably not the one who brought you here.” Added Omni quickly wanting to help despite not really knowing much more about the situation than Nathaniel.

“Maybe we can figure out how you got here- and that might help, do you remember anything from before waking up here, anything at all?’ Alice asked hopefully.

"If I had any recollection of that, I wouldn't have even asked in the first place," 404 says, waving a hand. "I'm not so much of an idiot that I can't piece things together myself. What I'm asking from you are the pieces themselves- which now I can't even know that you'll possess for sure." He pushes air harshly through his teeth before swiping a hand behind his ear in frustration. He sighs to calm himself for a moment before speaking up again. "You're an observer of sorts, right? Have you not any, oh, records of anything? At least tapes of old footage, or maybe paper records of the individuals here?"

“Oh- I guess your right I was just hoping you had something to work of as it’ll make this a lot easier” replied Omni sheepishly.

“I guess you could describe me that way my role isn’t quite that passive but I guess that’s what I’m doing most of the time” Alice replied awkwardly.

“I should have some old recordings and data from old playthroughs if that will be of any use?” She asked waving her hand to summon a blue holographic screen as she starts scrolling through a menu seeming to look for something.

404 perks up at Omni's screen, fascinated by how she just seemed to pull it from thin air.

"Is that... some sort of display?" He looks it over, inspecting how he could see through it, yet Omni could scroll through it.

"Any data that you can find- pertaining to me or at least tangentially related ought to be helpful."

“Yes, it’s a holographic screen, it connects to the computer in real life I was uploaded to it’s not the easiest to use as it’s not solid” added Omni with a small laugh as she waved her hand through the display to demonstrate.

“Alright, I’ll see if I can find anything although o doubt I’ll have anything directly relevant as the only data on employees I have is related to Stanley or employee 432- I haven’t manged to find much on the past employees of this place. It almost appeared like The information disappeared with the employees” commented Omni with a shrug.

“Maybe we can find some paper records or something about you- they’re probably more likely to still be here, ah there’s something showing up with your employee number. Seems to be a peer review document to do you want me to open it?” Alice asked turning to 404

Computer in "real life"? Right, video game. 404 hadn't quite yet become accustomed to that fact. He peers over at Omni as she scrolls through information on her near-ghostly display, squinting at things he wasn't able to understand.

404 perks up at the mention of something with his number.

"Yes, yes, please! We must open it, if it's all that we can get, it must have something. Peer reviews? I do hope they're at least stellar ones."

#omnitheplayer #e404 rp

After roughly an hour of wandering through the fourth floor, Charlie realized he was, once again, completely lost. He attempted to backtrack his way to a more familiar part of the office, with nothing he passed ringing any bells. He began to focus less on finding his way back, and more on exploring the new space he found himself in. He raised a hand to the closest door- 404- and gave it a few gentle knocks. “Anyone in there?” -employee-126

@employee-126

“Cripes!” A yell rings out as a mild thud is heard from inside the room. The sound of other objects, presumably falling off a surface and onto the carpet follows, as the shifting of fabric and lowered curses moves through the office, rising up and down as new, more deliberate klunks can be heard. Papers rustle about- and the loudest thud so far resonates from inside. “Ah, balls,” a strained voice utters as a couple more objects are seemingly set around, including the sound of hollow glass being shoved into a file cabinet- before the door finally creaks open a crack.

404 sticks his head out the door, a little bit of suspicious liquid still on his face as he quickly wipes his eyes under his glasses and adjusts his tie. He exhales sharply, looking the person who knocked up and down, and his face rests into a tired, yet confused expression.

“If you have papers for me, you can always just slide them under the door. You’re only supposed to knock for urgent events. That being said, what do you need me for, that you couldn’t just use the phone system for?

employee-404

404 arches an eyebrow at the way Charlie was unable to press the keys on the keypad, squinting at his attempts to push the buttons. That’s not… how that was supposed to work, yet 126 was still prevented from causing input.

“Yes, yes, of course. Everyone around here asks me to do things. I can’t blame them, but cripes, even with just one other employee, some things never change,” he remarks, shaking his head lightly.

At Charlie’s suggestion, he steps over to the buttons and hovers his hand over them- but flinches as he takes his hand down, his head stinging as the world around them took on a fuzzy, sterile paint job, like varnish and velvet filling his vision before he shook it off and returned the boss’ office to its usual state. He pushes the buttons in order, 2-4-5-8, but to no success as the screen flashes red. This doesn’t stop him, as he then inputs the next combination that came to mind, 8-4-5-2, which also proved unsuccessful. He continues at it, 5-4-8-2, 8-4-2-5, and so on.

“You know, it’d be really quite frustrating if this keypad had some kind of lockout system to prevent against brute-forcing,” 404 says as he inputs another code. This time, he pushes 2-8-4-5 into the chunky keys on the wall, and the display flashes green.

“Aha! And that’s how it’s done.”

“Look, I- I’d do it myself, if I could.” Charlie grumbled, hardly audible. “It’s… really complicated, I’ll tell you later.” When he saw 404 retract his hand, however, he couldn’t help but feel concerned. Was something in the game preventing him from acting, too…? No, just a second later, he was able to insert… a code.

As the screen flashed red, Charlie crossed out the set of numbers on the page, and he jotted down and crossed off every subsequent code he had tried. All except the last one, which caused the room to go dark, and the fireplace to disappear into the walls and ceiling. A bright light came into the room from a newly revealed passageway, and Charlie’s wide smile was visible in what light it provided to them.

“That’s it! You’re a genius,–” Stanley! His mind moved faster than his mouth, and he soon kicked himself for having actually said that to 404. He sighed, turning to the grey corridor. “I– look, don’t think about that for too long, alright?”

#employee 404 #employee-126 #not another parable

Stepping into the newly opened corridor- 404 glances back at Charlie as he says that name again.

"Pardon me? You're really going to give that credit to someone else, to 427? Someone who isn't here?" He rolls his eyes as 126 comments for him to forget that. "Whatever you say," he dryly remarks before entering the lift and reluctantly pushing the button to send them down.

As they descend, 404 can't help but feel... off. The bars on the lift begin to fade and fuzz once again, and he feels almost as if he isn't moving, though he is. He shuts his eyes and walks to the corner of the lift, pulling out his flask from his pocket, attempting to hide a sip from Charlie.

“Oh another Employee… I thought everyone other then Stanley was gone… are you ok?” @omnitheplayer

The new voice slowly fades into 404's recognition as he becomes conscious. While the words barely set in for him, he realizes a few sudden facts.

He's on the floor of his office.

He smells like booze.

Someone is talking to him, in his office, which currently smells like alcohol, as he's laying on the floor.

404 scrambles to get up, rushing clumsily onto his chair as he wipes his face. A couple coffee cans previously strewn about the floor jostle around.

"I'm working, I'm working! Just taking a little, er, break for preventative measures around here, yes yes," he says, sitting up in his chair with a half-sheepish smile. Glancing to the reflection in his empty computer screen, he notices his hair is a mess and his glasses are askew, and pats his head a couple times, pushes up his glasses, and grins a little winder in hopes of saving face. "Would you believe that some people here have been talking about mice in the office? Yes, mice. I wasn't sure if I heard them myself- well not to imply I'm not sure of myself but- I just had to get down and ensure there weren't any visitors in here, no. The boss won't be pleased if there were trespassers on company property, hmm?"

Omni signed seeming exhausted from watching the two.

“I-I know nothing about you…. honest, I only know about the characters in my story… I’m not omniscient- it’s all an act” Nathaniel admitted seeming flustered.

Omni chuckled “well of course Omni is my name not yours” she joked, Nathaniel gave her a disapproving glance.

"So. You're a fraud," 404 states simply, without any tone.

He couldn't lie- he was sorely disappointed that Nathaniel knew nothing about him, his past, or anything that he was searching for regarding himself. He would not remain disappointed for long, however.

"If you know nothing about me- and the range of your knowledge only pertains to your story, then why the hell am I here?" 404 throws his hands up in frustration as he rants. "Oh, let me guess- you also don't know anything about that- despite the obvious reality that this place is yours yet I'm here! Can't you see how nonsensical that is? Make it make sense, or I'll make you make sense," 404 spits out, waving his hand in a swipe. He sneers at Nathaniel, holding the side of his head with his hand.

Nathaniel looked towards Omni for help seeming overwhelmed from being taken out of his element.

“Help me… please” he whispered to her.

“Eh- well, Nathaniel doesn’t actually have that much control of this place, he’s probably not the one who brought you here.” Added Omni quickly wanting to help despite not really knowing much more about the situation than Nathaniel.

“Maybe we can figure out how you got here- and that might help, do you remember anything from before waking up here, anything at all?’ Alice asked hopefully.

"If I had any recollection of that, I wouldn't have even asked in the first place," 404 says, waving a hand. "I'm not so much of an idiot that I can't piece things together myself. What I'm asking from you are the pieces themselves- which now I can't even know that you'll possess for sure." He pushes air harshly through his teeth before swiping a hand behind his ear in frustration. He sighs to calm himself for a moment before speaking up again. "You're an observer of sorts, right? Have you not any, oh, records of anything? At least tapes of old footage, or maybe paper records of the individuals here?"

“Oh- I guess your right I was just hoping you had something to work of as it’ll make this a lot easier” replied Omni sheepishly.

“I guess you could describe me that way my role isn’t quite that passive but I guess that’s what I’m doing most of the time” Alice replied awkwardly.

“I should have some old recordings and data from old playthroughs if that will be of any use?” She asked waving her hand to summon a blue holographic screen as she starts scrolling through a menu seeming to look for something.

404 perks up at Omni's screen, fascinated by how she just seemed to pull it from thin air.

"Is that... some sort of display?" He looks it over, inspecting how he could see through it, yet Omni could scroll through it.

"Any data that you can find- pertaining to me or at least tangentially related ought to be helpful."

#omnitheplayer #e404 rp

With a swallow, 404 keeps frozen on the ground for a couple of moments, very obviously creeped out about what the tape had revealed. Something was very wrong- because that was his name, and the origin of his parents, but he had never worked for MI5, had he? He couldn't remember- remember... remember... remember that?

Slater-404 takes the cigarette from Jun and allows him to light it for him, still not saying a word as he takes a breath in.

"...Seems we do," 404 mumbles in response to Jun's first statement.

His memories- wiped his memories?

Reluctantly, he scoots back to the location of the tape recorder and rewinds it, playing the entire recording again from the top.

Eleven- or twelve years at the Security Service, yes. This is what stuck out the most to him, that certainly was a significant amount of time, why would he have no recollection of this? Then the comment about MI6- MI6 was the most well known of the agencies, being the international branch featured often in espionage tales in the public eye- was this the branch 4- Slater would have preferred to be in? The voice on the tape seemed dejected at the mention of being kept in England.

Through all of the words spoken out of the tape, 404 tries his hardest to rack his brain of anything comprehensible to tie it all together- when the voice mentions a detail related to the presumed manual of the memory erasure device.

'Activate blue and yellow'

"...Activate blue, deactivate yellow-"

Slater- he- he fucked up the instructions. A simple switch on the memory machine had gone untouched...

Now it all made sense.

"My memories- the headaches, the h-hallucinations, why I can't be sober- it's all because- because of a bloody switch?!" He turns to Jun, finally speaking. "You- you didn't happen to hear any more of those other tapes, did you? I- You don't know- I-" 404 shuts himself up and takes a drag from the cigarette before leaning back up against the metal frame of the walkway, sputtering in confusion.

orderly-chaotic

Jun just lets Slater replay the tape again. If he couldn't actually remember all of this, it was probably somewhat of a shock for him, to say the least, so he's happy to give the guy any space or time he needs.

"So... if you're a secret agent working for MI5, then this implies this place is some sort of government facility, doesn't it?" he asks, with a small frown. It seems amazing to Jun that the British government even manage to tie their shoelaces with the sort of people in power currently, so the idea of them maintaining something this sophisticated was certainly interesting. "But then- that still doesn't tell us why you sound like the uh, the Narrator. Or what the purpose of this place is at all."

He strokes his chin, thinking about this when Slater blurts out his own revelation. The switch...?

"It's uh- yeah- so your memories are fucked because of a switch?" he repeats, blinking. He was pretty sure that was what he meant. "Actually, why didn't they have someone manage that for you when the point of that machine was that it was going to erase your memories? Seems careless of them, that's-" He laughs a bit in futility of their situation and what he says next. "-that's definitely a breach of health and safety regulations."

He blinked at Slater's question. "Oh uh- nothing about you, no," he says quickly as he gets up with him. "All the things I've heard about are about that guy who sounds like you- the Narrator. I've never even seen those tapes before we uh, busted into Stanley's room."

There's a beat. "But you know- the story- that tape we were playing before, it uh, the culmination is... well. That-" He points up to the sign above that read 'Mind Control Facility'.

He scratches at his neck, his face half-scrunched up in thought. "Do you- do you think there's something here that might help you with that memory problem of yours?"

404 sighs and glances at the sign, before looking back at Jun.

"I suppose there's only one way to find out." He leans off of the railing and begins to walk toward the door, processing both Jun's words and the information given to him on the tape even further.

Eleven years of his life gone, maybe more- could it have been because of this facility? Mind control definitely sounds related to the erasure of people's memories, so would there be more of the equipment used to erase him here. It would make sense for MI5, a secretive government organization, to have such devices, after all.

"Er, 429, about MI5," 404 starts. "You've worked here too, do you remember anything about the government? I certainly don't. I can't recall anything related to that- and maybe it's the memory wipe- cripes, I can't believe I'm saying that- but if, er, the tricks, the tricks my mind plays on me are my memories, and in those fragments I don't see anything like this... what do you think are the chances that this place isn't a government facility?"

He steps onto the catwalk of the room, observing the size of the darkness around them, before he stops in his tracks, going over a few more details in his head.

Prompt subject... prompt subject...

"Something tells me you're onto something, Law," Slater says, his eyes cast in Jun's direction. He holds a hand to his glasses temple and continues. "It would seem like some sort of, er, breach of protocol to have just one person operate that machine, especially on their own. The parts he-I read from the operations manual seemed to imply some sort of two-party situation, perhaps an operator and a subject. I mean, this is a spy agency, for lack of any better words, and I can only assumed they'd use such a device on individuals against their will."

"I definitely knew what that machine could do. I voluntarily put myself there to erase my own memories. But why, why alone, why not without a separate operator? Is that not allowed for a man? Voluntary memory erasure?" 404 waves a hand about as he speaks, his tone becoming increasingly frustrated. "I don't... I can't know these things. Maybe they're here, or on the tapes. Let's just keep on, shall we?"

#e404 rp #orderlychaos

After roughly an hour of wandering through the fourth floor, Charlie realized he was, once again, completely lost. He attempted to backtrack his way to a more familiar part of the office, with nothing he passed ringing any bells. He began to focus less on finding his way back, and more on exploring the new space he found himself in. He raised a hand to the closest door- 404- and gave it a few gentle knocks. “Anyone in there?” -employee-126

@employee-126

“Cripes!” A yell rings out as a mild thud is heard from inside the room. The sound of other objects, presumably falling off a surface and onto the carpet follows, as the shifting of fabric and lowered curses moves through the office, rising up and down as new, more deliberate klunks can be heard. Papers rustle about- and the loudest thud so far resonates from inside. “Ah, balls,” a strained voice utters as a couple more objects are seemingly set around, including the sound of hollow glass being shoved into a file cabinet- before the door finally creaks open a crack.

404 sticks his head out the door, a little bit of suspicious liquid still on his face as he quickly wipes his eyes under his glasses and adjusts his tie. He exhales sharply, looking the person who knocked up and down, and his face rests into a tired, yet confused expression.

“If you have papers for me, you can always just slide them under the door. You’re only supposed to knock for urgent events. That being said, what do you need me for, that you couldn’t just use the phone system for?

employee-404

As 404 steps into the office- a familiar, yet dreaded feeling overcomes him as a small pain creeps up in his head, leading him to pinch the afflicted area with his fingers. Come on, he’d just had a drink. He blinks away the fuzz and swallows, scanning over the office repeatedly to try and cement reality for what it is, rather than what his mind would warp it to be. He blinks and stammers- only now registering what Charlie had said.

“N- h- Right, 427… I see.” Following behind 126, he furrows his brow at Charlie’s frustration, unsure of the situation, but he keeps his eyes on the keypad. He glances at Charlie as he calls for… someone… and looks at him with a confused expression. “I don’t… don’t suppose you’re calling for one of those… Narrators? Look, at this point I would be annoyed if someone couldn’t suspend their disbelief for my stories, so I’ll just humor you from here on out. If they aren’t hearing you, why don’t we just brute-force the keypad, hm? Better yet- examine the keys, see which ones have been pressed most by the degradation of the decal work,” 404 suggests- what a smart idea, had he done this before?

Charlie removed his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. Who knew how long ‘brute-forcing’ it would take, but… wait a minute. He may be on to something, here. Charlie tilted his head at 404′s proposal, then grabbed a paper and pen from the boss’s desk and returned to the keypad. “So, wait, you mean…” He looked over the keys, studying them carefully and copying down the ones that seem to have had the most use- 2, 4, 5, and 8.

Once he was done, he was eager to try plugging various codes into the keypad, but he could only hold his hand out over the buttons. Why couldn’t he just– oh. Right. This wasn’t ‘his’ puzzle to solve. He bit his lip and lowered his hand, glancing to 404. “Uh,… try 2458, maybe?”

#e404 rp #not another parable #employee-126

404 arches an eyebrow at the way Charlie was unable to press the keys on the keypad, squinting at his attempts to push the buttons. That's not... how that was supposed to work, yet 126 was still prevented from causing input.

"Yes, yes, of course. Everyone around here asks me to do things. I can't blame them, but cripes, even with just one other employee, some things never change," he remarks, shaking his head lightly.

At Charlie's suggestion, he steps over to the buttons and hovers his hand over them- but flinches as he takes his hand down, his head stinging as the world around them took on a fuzzy, sterile paint job, like varnish and velvet filling his vision before he shook it off and returned the boss' office to its usual state. He pushes the buttons in order, 2-4-5-8, but to no success as the screen flashes red. This doesn't stop him, as he then inputs the next combination that came to mind, 8-4-5-2, which also proved unsuccessful. He continues at it, 5-4-8-2, 8-4-2-5, and so on.

"You know, it'd be really quite frustrating if this keypad had some kind of lockout system to prevent against brute-forcing," 404 says as he inputs another code. This time, he pushes 2-8-4-5 into the chunky keys on the wall, and the display flashes green.

"Aha! And that's how it's done."

“Oh another Employee… I thought everyone other then Stanley was gone… are you ok?” @omnitheplayer

The new voice slowly fades into 404's recognition as he becomes conscious. While the words barely set in for him, he realizes a few sudden facts.

He's on the floor of his office.

He smells like booze.

Someone is talking to him, in his office, which currently smells like alcohol, as he's laying on the floor.

404 scrambles to get up, rushing clumsily onto his chair as he wipes his face. A couple coffee cans previously strewn about the floor jostle around.

"I'm working, I'm working! Just taking a little, er, break for preventative measures around here, yes yes," he says, sitting up in his chair with a half-sheepish smile. Glancing to the reflection in his empty computer screen, he notices his hair is a mess and his glasses are askew, and pats his head a couple times, pushes up his glasses, and grins a little winder in hopes of saving face. "Would you believe that some people here have been talking about mice in the office? Yes, mice. I wasn't sure if I heard them myself- well not to imply I'm not sure of myself but- I just had to get down and ensure there weren't any visitors in here, no. The boss won't be pleased if there were trespassers on company property, hmm?"

Omni signed seeming exhausted from watching the two.

“I-I know nothing about you…. honest, I only know about the characters in my story… I’m not omniscient- it’s all an act” Nathaniel admitted seeming flustered.

Omni chuckled “well of course Omni is my name not yours” she joked, Nathaniel gave her a disapproving glance.

"So. You're a fraud," 404 states simply, without any tone.

He couldn't lie- he was sorely disappointed that Nathaniel knew nothing about him, his past, or anything that he was searching for regarding himself. He would not remain disappointed for long, however.

"If you know nothing about me- and the range of your knowledge only pertains to your story, then why the hell am I here?" 404 throws his hands up in frustration as he rants. "Oh, let me guess- you also don't know anything about that- despite the obvious reality that this place is yours yet I'm here! Can't you see how nonsensical that is? Make it make sense, or I'll make you make sense," 404 spits out, waving his hand in a swipe. He sneers at Nathaniel, holding the side of his head with his hand.

Nathaniel looked towards Omni for help seeming overwhelmed from being taken out of his element.

“Help me… please” he whispered to her.

“Eh- well, Nathaniel doesn’t actually have that much control of this place, he’s probably not the one who brought you here.” Added Omni quickly wanting to help despite not really knowing much more about the situation than Nathaniel.

“Maybe we can figure out how you got here- and that might help, do you remember anything from before waking up here, anything at all?’ Alice asked hopefully.

"If I had any recollection of that, I wouldn't have even asked in the first place," 404 says, waving a hand. "I'm not so much of an idiot that I can't piece things together myself. What I'm asking from you are the pieces themselves- which now I can't even know that you'll possess for sure." He pushes air harshly through his teeth before swiping a hand behind his ear in frustration. He sighs to calm himself for a moment before speaking up again. "You're an observer of sorts, right? Have you not any, oh, records of anything? At least tapes of old footage, or maybe paper records of the individuals here?"

#omnitheplayer #e404 rp

After roughly an hour of wandering through the fourth floor, Charlie realized he was, once again, completely lost. He attempted to backtrack his way to a more familiar part of the office, with nothing he passed ringing any bells. He began to focus less on finding his way back, and more on exploring the new space he found himself in. He raised a hand to the closest door- 404- and gave it a few gentle knocks. “Anyone in there?” -employee-126

@employee-126

“Cripes!” A yell rings out as a mild thud is heard from inside the room. The sound of other objects, presumably falling off a surface and onto the carpet follows, as the shifting of fabric and lowered curses moves through the office, rising up and down as new, more deliberate klunks can be heard. Papers rustle about- and the loudest thud so far resonates from inside. “Ah, balls,” a strained voice utters as a couple more objects are seemingly set around, including the sound of hollow glass being shoved into a file cabinet- before the door finally creaks open a crack.

404 sticks his head out the door, a little bit of suspicious liquid still on his face as he quickly wipes his eyes under his glasses and adjusts his tie. He exhales sharply, looking the person who knocked up and down, and his face rests into a tired, yet confused expression.

“If you have papers for me, you can always just slide them under the door. You’re only supposed to knock for urgent events. That being said, what do you need me for, that you couldn’t just use the phone system for?

employee-404

404 raised an eyebrow at 126’s description of the office, making a somewhat disgusted expression at this- was the office like, oh, a flesh being that could warp itself? He shivered at the thought of walking inside some living creature.

“Stanley…? Who? Does he work here, or…? Is that some new hire that wasn’t assigned a number yet?” 404 began his descent up the stairs at Charlie’s remarks about the Narrators- further intrigued. “If these, er, Narrators can change the format of the office, somehow, then is it not obvious that they’re the cause of the office’s… lack of cooperation?” He asks- but lightly scoffs at himself after finishing the sentence. “You’ve got me asking nonsense now, too. Suppose that’s contagious.”

“Ah, um, he’s 427. I think the Narrators that are still around talk to him a lot.” He should’ve known to stick to numbers as opposed to names when speaking with 404; he couldn’t understand why he seemed to prefer it. The two ascended up to the boss’s office, and Charlie held the door open for 404 as he stepped inside.

“You’ll get used to it.” He chuckled. “I’ve considered the Narrators being responsible, but apparently even they can get confused or even lost in the office. I know one of them sticks to a very specific part of the building, but the other… I don’t want to say the office ‘plays tricks’ on him, but– oh, damn.” He cursed under his breath as he stepped into the boss’s office and spotted the keypad across the room. He tentatively approached the keypad, running a hand through his hair. Of course, out of the few times he’d been in here, he never thought to memorize the passcode.

“Great. And we probably can’t call anyone for help right now.” The doors of the office had locked them both inside, so turning around wasn’t an option either. Charlie glanced over to 404, then up above them both. “Um,… James? James, can you hear me? Faith? I found someone new, I’m trying to… show him around.” He called up to the high ceiling, ultimately receiving no response. He sighed, slouching his shoulders. In an instant, he’d done a terrible job helping to prove himself right, and a wonderful job of proving 404′s previous theory that he wasn’t all there.