(it's so embarrassing doing an oc rp im so sorry)
a strange, freckled figure is observing joseph from afar. she reaches in her back pocket before pulling out a folded piece of paper. they unfold the note and read it carefully before putting it back and approaching him.
"excuse me, i don't mean to intrude, but... are you mr. oda?"
(no it's not embarrassing at all! just have fun with it!)
hearing his name, Joseph turned around, looking down at the woman standing behind him. he had a small notebook in his hand.
"thats me. what can I help you with?"
he asked her, expression calm with a tone in his voice that portrayed it.
(thank you🥹🥹)
she sat down in front of him, cautiously moving her body into the chair. she glanced to the side hesitantly before speaking,
"my name is june brockton, ms. kidman and i are acquainted and she sent me your way. i tried to get ahold of mr. castellanos, but he wanted nothing to with anything i had to say. now, i... understand that this must be a bit of a sensitive question, but i want to assure you that i am in no way your enemy. however, it is to my understanding that you were one of the survivors of the 2014 STEM experiments, correct?"
classic Sebastian... always brutish and not very cooperative...
STEM was a sore subject for Joseph... but he's learned to push it aside. no matter where he went, he'd be asked about it regardless. it's not something he can just cut out of his life.
giving a soft nod to her question, he confirmed it.
"I did survive that whole.. STEM ordeal, yes. but it wasn't easy-"
he gave a half-attempt chuckle to lighten the subject.
june nodded their head in understanding.
"i see. i understand completely. i, ah, used to be a researcher in that kind of field." she looked behind joseph before leaning in. "as a matter of fact, have you ever met a man named leslie withers?"
Joseph's eyes widened just a bit. that name certainly did ring a bell...
"Leslie's alive? from what I've heard, he just.. disappeared out of nowhere.. Sebastian last saw him walking away from the scene.."
his brow furrowed slightly, tapping his thumb against the tiny notebook he had.
"something didn't seem right when he left though... he was walking differently.."
"well, that's exactly what i'm trying to find out."
june sighed, adjusting their glasses. "you see, there were previous STEM studies before yours. leslie was no stranger to the simulation when he was with you but i accompanied him during his first experience as a form of guardian."
she avoided eye contact. she was absolutely expecting joseph to hold contempt for even thinking about working for those bastards at MOBIUS.
"i tried to get him away, but the company would have killed me. so, i slinked away. i asked my ex-coworker about him everyday with no response. i emailed her about a week ago and she told me about the situation and to speak to either you or sebastian."
"so... i'm here. and now i'm somehow even more worried to hear that he may be alive."
thats... not what Joseph wanted to hear... regardless, he kept professional about it. as he often did with most things.
"right... worst case scenario, huh?"
he gave a soft sigh, leaning back in his chair he was sitting in. trying to figure out how to go about the situation.
"I can try, but I can't promise I'll be much help. i didn't spend much time with Leslie in STEM. I just know that something was off when he got out."
june could tell exactly how he felt just by his body language. working in neuroscience tends to teach you the minds secrets pretty quickly.
they rested their head in the palm of their hand, keeping it up with her elbow sitting on the table.
"do you think that ruben got ahold of him? juli told me about his obsession with him. he wasn't like that when i met him, he must have just learned about his neurological similarities with him after the first experiment."
Joseph's features grew more.. cautious. not of June. but of the situation in general.
"it's... definitely a possibility..."
he admitted, pulling out some journals from the drawer at his desk, setting them in front of June.
"even though Seb got rid of the brain, I.. strongly doubt Ruben is gone. he had hosts for a reason-"
he turned the pages of the journals. various notes about STEM, Ruvik and his hosts, his plans, etc.
"and if Leslie was his successor... well.. what Seb saw after the case would explain it all."
june raised her head to look over the journals. she read each page carefully, raising her brows with every word she saw. joseph definitely seemed to have done his homework.
"jesus christ. this is horrendous." they leaned back in their chair and looked off into the distance in thought. 'i should have just risked it for him,' they thought to themself, 'this could have been avoided if i...' they shook their head.
"is there anything we can do? find him? somehow get leslie back into his own body?"
"I'm sure there is a way.. but it won't be easy."
*he rubbed the back of his neck with a gloved hand. looking rather unsure about the situation. not knowing how to go about it.*
"and I'm sure Ruvik isn't exactly up for visitations.."
june furrowed her brow.
"maybe i could lure him out somehow. make him believe that i think he's leslie and take him in. he'll probably think it would be the perfect entry to torture someone."
their brain circled back to their painful memories back in STEM. the things ruvik would say. 'leslie will harm you,' 'leslie can't control himself,' 'leslie isn't incapable of such a thing.' he wouldn't be able to resist taking such a horrible opportunity.
Joseph didn't disagree... but he didn't completely agree either. his expression turning to one more of.. suspicion? not of June. but of Ruvik.
"Ruvik is a complex being... I don't think simple lures will do anything good, unfortunately."
he sighed through his nose. turning through the pages of his notes.
"after what Dr. Marcelo Jimenez did.. hes not exactly the most trusting. hes a one man kind of party. y'know?"
june rolled her lips, looking off to the side.
"of course. i guess i'm underestimating him. you have to hand it to the man, he is extremely, and unfortunately, intelligent."
they sat both of their elbows on the table and curled their fingers into their hair.
"we have to find a way to capture him without harming leslie's body — speaking of which, how do we know exactly where his consciousness is? is it somehow lost within STEM? i hope it wasn't destroyed when sebastian took care of ruben's brain."
she suddenly chuckled to herself.
"i'm so clueless. you'd think MOBIUS would tell me these things. all they said was practically, 'here, go into this simulation we made and take these patients with you.'"
Joseph gave a soft chuckle. sharing the same frustration of the situation. but sometimes all you could do was laugh it off.
"unfortunately, MOBIUS was never exactly known for being crystal clear with their work. always hiding motifs.."
he reached, grabbing a folder and looking through it. he was thinking hard... about Rubens brain, Leslie, it was a lot.
"I don't think what Sebastian did to Rubens brain ended anything.... there has to be some kind of back-up of some sorts.."
he raised his eyes, looking at June through his glasses. he paused.
"this isn't exactly an easy topic.... how did you get involved? other than Leslie... if you don't mind me asking."
june huffed.
"well, if you mean in MOBIUS in general, i didn't have a great record and my performance in school was mediocre, if not downright terrible. i was rejected everywhere else as any form of scientist and the company ended up picking me up like a stray kitten on the side of the road. i really didn't have any other options, so i accepted anything they told me."
quickly realizing how awful that must sound, she picked her head up and looked at him reassuringly.
"but — ah, obviously i left the company after what i saw they were doing to innocent people. especially psychiatric patients."
Joseph looked at June. she was right- didn't sound the best. but if there was any ill intention..this would've been more professional.
"right... well- I'm sorry your schooling didn't go well."
he sat up a little straighter, folding his hands in his lap.
"I guess the first step would be to track down Leslie.. but even then, we don't know what Ruvik has in mind."
"well, more than that — " she paused when she realized she was heading in the wrong and certainly less important direction. "right. i don't know where he could have possibly gone."
june rubbed her chin, squinting her eyes in thought.
"he could have renamed himself, could've erased leslie's whole past identity. it's most likely that he's hiding, though. just enjoying what it feels like to be a physical human being again." they scoffed.
Joseph sat in thought.. thinking of June's words carefully.
"so... he to in Leslie, completely erased him and make him someone else?is that what you're saying?"
he grabbed his notebook, jotting down the ideas.
(too bad we don't have a ruvik rp blog to invite .. sometimes i hate how niche the evil within can be GUH.)
june shrugged. "it's a possibility. maybe he wanted to continue his research under a new identity, or maybe he was planning revenge on MOBIUS before juli went haywire on them. could be both, could be neither. for all we know, the man could have gotten a job at the cirus," they spoke half-jokingly.
(I know!!! I love Ruvik💔 hes so interesting)
Joseph scoffed gently, smiling softly at the half-joke June made. giving a shake of his head.
"if Ruvik doesn't want to be found, it'll be almost impossible to find him..."
he tapped his pen against the leather bound book.
"but I suppose.. if we found him once, we'll do it again."
(he certainly grew on me!!)
"he's a sneaky bastard. we would be lucky just to get some sort of lead."
june bit the skin of their lip, showing off her overcrowded bottom front teeth. biting too deep, she winced in pain and pressed her finger against the small new wound. looking over, blood. that was it.
their lips quirked into a slight smile as they spoke, "murders. we should check out if there are any clusters of murders or missing people nearby."
(loved his poor posture ass from day one💀)
Joseph took note of the blood... but he didn't say anything. he was more focused on her suggestion. looking unsure.
"I.. dont think Ruvik would be so careless like that.."
he paused briefly before continuing.
"he'd only leave evidence if he had plans to be found."
(I NEVER NOTICED HOW BAD HIS POSTURE WAS UNTIL RECENTLY)
june cocked her head to the side as he spoke. she smiled, rolling her eyes in a lighthearted manner. "you're plenty skeptical, huh? like i said, we could check for missing people too."
they crossed their arms and glazed their tongue over one of their canine teeth. "we should keep our options open. we should be careful, but people aren't two-dimensional figures. afterall, ruben has his disadvantages. he's just as disabled as leslie is, that's the reason why he was able to transfer his consciousness to him."
(IT'S SO BAD-)
"well- forgive me for being skeptical.. being stuck in that hell hole wasn't exactly an amusement park."
he admitted. as much as he wished he could drop this case.. he knew it would just follow him until an end was put to it. that was the not so fun part.
sighing lightly through his nose, his finger tapped against his chair.
"if only I could get Seb in on this.. but he wants nothing to do with STEM again. and quite frankly, neither do i-... but someone's gotta step up to stop it.."
she raised her hands up defensively.
"alright, i know. i'm sorry. i'm just worried if we speculate too much, we'll lose our chance."
they lowered their hands, slightly flustered with joseph's stubbornness. well, it wasn't like she wasn't guilty of being strong-willed herself.
"yes, sebastian seemed like he wanted to gouge my eyes out even before i mentioned STEM. he's so important to all of this, though..."
Joseph glanced over at Sebastians desk, across the room entirely.
"I suppose I could try to talk to him.. but not promises. he doesn't listen to anyone. will probably yell at me for getting involved again-.."
he murmured the last part. knowing all too well how Sebastian could be.
"cant say I blame him."
(SORRY I HAD SUCH A FREAKING BUSY DAY YESTERDAY)
june looked down at her lap, almost in remorse. "...i know. but, he needs to understand that he can't just ignore a problem like this. ruben could be causing catastrophic damage as we speak and we can't just leave the situation alone."
they pinched the bridge of their nose, then slightly lifted their very-obviously-non-prescription glasses to rub their exhausted eyelids.
"he already blocked my number and i'm sure he would much rather hear it from you. he probably thinks i'm some sort of sick spy."
(that's okay, no worries lol)
Joseph gave a tired nod. knowing exactly how Sebastian can be in situations like this.
"wouldn't be surprised.. I'll talk to him. or at least I'll try to."
pausing for a brief moment.. then continuing.
"once you're involved with STEM once.. you're never not involved with it."
she nodded.
"i know, tell me about it. some nights, i could have sworn i heard ruben — ruvik, taunting me." she corrected herself, a clear preference for his true name.
"i don't know, i've been losing sleep... let's just try to get a hold of sebastian."
"yeah.. that checks out.."
he grabbed his phone from his pocket, pulling up Sebastian's number.
"lets hope he answers"
(ok you know what LET ME TRY post TEW2 seb)
before sebastian got the call, he was out spending time with his newly rescued daughter. the pair had gone to the park and were sitting in front of the duck pond, as requested by lily.
suddenly, his phone rings. his first thought was that there was nothing else more important than spending time with his daughter, but thinking back on the previous call he had gotten from that mysterious stranger, the thought ate at his mind.
when he checked his phone, it was joseph. 'odd,' he thought. sebastian hadn't been in contact with joseph for quite some time. he sighed, and pressed accept.
"joseph, i'm a little caught up right now. whatever you have to say must be important."
jeez.. he sounded grumpy...
Joseph sighed quietly. not amused with Sebastian's attitude
"wow, we don't speak for months and this is how you are? real welcoming, Seb.."
but he moved on.
"we-... i.. need your help."
sebastian huffed, getting up from his spot near the pond. he murmured a "sorry, sweetie" before stepping aside into a more isolated area.
"look, if this has anything to do with that lady that called me earlier, i want nothing to do with it. i have my daughter to take care of now and i'm not gonna risk anything happening to her just because i played into whoever the hell that woman is and your games."
Joseph paused, already feeling guilty about having to call Sebastian about these things... he just got lily back. he doubted Sebastian would want to be anywhere else.
"you're right.. uh-.. sorry, Seb. tell lily I said hi. talk to you later"
he pulled the phone away from his ear, hanging up the call with a heavy sigh.
he looked back to June.
"we'll do this without him."
while joseph was on the phone, june was pacing around the room anxiously. she laughed, "he really doesn't play around, does he?"
they sat back down into their chair, crossing their legs.
"well, we also have juli. she seemed easier to pry when i spoke with her and she's just as strong and intelligent as sebastian is."
Joseph almost tensed up at the mention of Juli. his eyes narrowing slightly without even noticing.
"not quite up for trusting Kidman again yet... not after she shot me."
he admitted with not much hostility. he didn't hate Juli for what she did... just needed some time to forgive.
her brow furrowed and her eyes squinted. "joseph —"
she exhaled slowly through her nose, and out through her mouth. she cupped both of her hands over her face.
"joseph. i'm very sorry that happened, but we have no other choice. juli is trustworthy and she's all we have. she probably knows more than sebastian."
"I know, I know.."
he paused for a moment, looking at June with a small hint of uncertainty.
"but what if she has other motifs again? bullet wounds take a long time to heal as well.."
"she's departed with MOBIUS, there is no reason as to why she would betray us."
june put their hands down, looking over joseph's face to see if there was any sign of giving in.
"if you keep getting your feelings in the way of what we need to do, i have no problem dealing with this by myself."
Joseph sighed quietly. leaning back against his chair.
"no, it's fine.. you came to me so it's my duty to help.. reach out to her, see if you can get her in on this."
(im such a fucking chud bro this got BURIED deep in my notifs .. i checked your acc to see what was up and wondering why you havent responded only to see that you have😭😭)
june raised an eyebrow at his response.
"are you sure? you seem to be very hesitant in all this. i've dealt with this sort of thing even before STEM, and i know you've obviously had your full of all this."
"if you're really sure..." she sighed, reaching for her phone and then hovering her finger over juli's contact information.
