#ouroborosofhydra

[theatroposassignment]

[Ć̘̿c̣̯̮͔̯͌͌̑̍́ͩ̈́c̖̱͟cͧͮ͐o̶̦̪͇ͣ̈́ͮ̃̑̌ͦn͚̹͕ͨͤ̌̑͛̇v̴͖̪̗̱͊ͤ̉͌͑ͨe͈̱r̻̤ͮ͊s͕̙̞̿̀ḁ̴͆̽ͣt̺͖̩̫̑̏̎͢i̡͓̗̗̞̘̺̥̅o̱̻̭̜̔̂̿n̪̲ ̰͂̌ͣ̓͂̏̃w̹ͪͦ͛̐i̔̑̅҉̲̘ṫ̜h̬̥̦ͩ̈̈́̚ͅ {C̵͈͙̭͆̈̍ͦ̾͂ͫͬ̆a̶ͦͭ҉̤̲̫̪d̛̼̗̠͉͙͎̯̼̓̆̀ͬ͡ǔ̻̠͘c̠̫͕̬͓͎̼̩̼͆̽ê̜̬͜ùͫ̉̿̒̇̎ͪ̇͏̠͇͍͢s͚̻̼̙̩̘̦̈ͥ́ͣ̓͌̎̎}]

[Opening L̵̲̭̭̤͎̬̲̦͌͛̔͆̍̆ͦ̈ỏ̴̘̩͈͎̣̩͂ͧ͜ͅyͩͭ̌҉̡͖̫͈̻̪͞a̶̰͕̲̠̻̟̹͉ͯͮ̉̍̆͋̚͜ͅl̮̖̪͔̻͆̀ͭ̐ͨ ̶̪͙͓̗̖̮̈̇ͭ̀́I̶̫̪̺̰͛̇̑̏̅͋ͯ͡n̴̻̦͔̎̎́ͩ̔̉͆͟d̨̗̥̔͊͑̊ͫ͠i̝͎̫̖̝̺ͪ̐ͩ̎̍̏ͮͮv̸̩̟̹̱̝͕̰̪̏͐́̒̋́̽ͫ͌i͇̮̿̋ͩ̄̉͗̂d̋ͫ̄ͭ͊̿͏̸̝̜͙̘̯̀uͦͨ̂ͯ̑͌ͣ͗͏̗̺̟̳̝̩a̼͙ͮ͋̃ͩḷ̷͕̱̑̐ͫͫ͑͒ͬ͢s̸̲͍̦͕͖̒͆ͥ̊͒̚͘͞…]

[Activating S͉̬͔̱̮̰̲ͦ̋ͣ̏̌̈́ͨ͜ẹ͔̣̑̾̇͂̿͊̈́̃̀͞c̢̨̹̲͍̑͑̀͂ͨ̈ͤ͗̓t̸̖͇͈͇̗̲̣̾ͮ̄̀͋͝o̶̰͓̞̞̠͖̰̲͐̉͗̒͗r͛ͤ̏̏̆͋͏̝̼̦̖͇̙̞s͈̥̒͛̃̋̋ͯ̚]

[C̳̝̓ͅc̉̄̿͐͒҉̼͉̪͔͙c̃ͮͦ̏ĉ͊͠o̡̙̰̻͉̼ͭnͪ̆ͪ̈́̊̈͏̻͕̝t̨ͨ̓̊̈́̿a̰̥͚̻̺̲͝c̝͑͘ṱ̼̩̞̪͛͂̃ͣ̅̎i̾͏̼̻̥̣͖n͋ͮ̀g̥ͣ̾ L̵̲̭̭̤͎̬̲̦͌͛̔͆̍̆ͦ̈ỏ̴̘̩͈͎̣̩͂ͧ͜ͅyͩͭ̌҉̡͖̫͈̻̪͞a̶̰͕̲̠̻̟̹͉ͯͮ̉̍̆͋̚͜ͅl̮̖̪͔̻͆̀ͭ̐ͨ ̶̪͙͓̗̖̮̈̇ͭ̀́I̶̫̪̺̰͛̇̑̏̅͋ͯ͡n̴̻̦͔̎̎́ͩ̔̉͆͟d̨̗̥̔͊͑̊ͫ͠i̝͎̫̖̝̺ͪ̐ͩ̎̍̏ͮͮv̸̩̟̹̱̝͕̰̪̏͐́̒̋́̽ͫ͌i͇̮̿̋ͩ̄̉͗̂d̋ͫ̄ͭ͊̿͏̸̝̜͙̘̯̀uͦͨ̂ͯ̑͌ͣ͗͏̗̺̟̳̝̩a̼͙ͮ͋̃ͩḷ̷͕̱̑̐ͫͫ͑͒ͬ͢s̸̲͍̦͕͖̒͆ͥ̊͒̚͘͞]

[Welcome to The Serpent's Void]

{S̰͌ͩ͜ḧ̬̖̯̟̩̪́ͧ̂̊ͥ̏ͅe̝͙ͥ ͎̙̫̭̯͋̂̑̑ẃ̛͓̗̹̲͉̼̆̉ͭ̿̑͂ͅà̤̪̘s̳ͭ͐̃̔͘ ̈́̎̏̀wͭr͍̺͖͔̠̠̀õ̦̤̻̱͚̻̱ng, s̩̙̥̝̘ͥ̑h̃̏͂e̖̬̾͐͌ͤ̆ͧ ͎̙̝͈͖̫͇̿͟w͈̲̘̤̠̤̺͌̇̿̏a̖̼̹̹͌s ͍̅̂̂͆̓̌̒wͯ̈ͥͣͦͭͣ͏r̩͋ỏ̫͇̉͌n̴̝̞͖͔̺̤̔͒͋̍ͅg̮͕̫̝̻̣͎͌͗, s̮̗͎̓̂ͭ͂̓ͣ͞h̫̲͔̫̼̅ͨ͝è͕͔̺̓͐͞ ͉̣̙͟ẁ͎̯̘̣̤͖͍̌a͂ͩ̾͝s̱̫̪͑̍ ͇̰ͫ͆w̥͚̪̿̂͑̈r͡ȯ͖̖͍̘͙̻̎͋̿́̐ͪnͪ̈͆ͩg͙̗̿--}

[S͕̗͙ͥ͆̓̾͑́̚͢͝ḙ̶̸͕̗͓̈́͗ͩ̎c̴̨̗̝̻̻̥̩͔̤̈ͬţ̻̩̘̠̺͈̘̦̉̑̏̊̆͟o̐̉̂͏̯̀r͍̜̫̰̘͙̓̓̈́ 1 opening…]

“Ouroboros, get up. Come on, get up, Ouroboros, it will be okay-“

“No it will not!”

[S͕̗͙ͥ͆̓̾͑́̚͢͝ḙ̶̸͕̗͓̈́͗ͩ̎c̴̨̗̝̻̻̥̩͔̤̈ͬţ̻̩̘̠̺͈̘̦̉̑̏̊̆͟o̐̉̂͏̯̀r͍̜̫̰̘͙̓̓̈́ 2 opening…]

[S͕̗͙ͥ͆̓̾͑́̚͢͝ḙ̶̸͕̗͓̈́͗ͩ̎c̴̨̗̝̻̻̥̩͔̤̈ͬţ̻̩̘̠̺͈̘̦̉̑̏̊̆͟o̐̉̂͏̯̀r͍̜̫̰̘͙̓̓̈́ 3 opening…]

“Ouroboros, calm down. Take a breath, you’ll be fine.”

“I TOLD you not to login, I TOLD you not to do it!”

“There was no corruption-”

[S͕̗͙ͥ͆̓̾͑́̚͢͝ḙ̶̸͕̗͓̈́͗ͩ̎c̴̨̗̝̻̻̥̩͔̤̈ͬţ̻̩̘̠̺͈̘̦̉̑̏̊̆͟o̐̉̂͏̯̀r͍̜̫̰̘͙̓̓̈́ 4 opening…]

“YES THERE IS!”

{S̰͌ͩ͜ḧ̬̖̯̟̩̪́ͧ̂̊ͥ̏ͅe̝͙ͥ ͎̙̫̭̯͋̂̑̑ẃ̛͓̗̹̲͉̼̆̉ͭ̿̑͂ͅà̤̪̘s̳ͭ͐̃̔͘ ̈́̎̏̀wͭr͍̺͖͔̠̠̀õ̦̤̻̱͚̻̱ng}

“Sit down. Come on, sit down. I’m going to call someone, okay? They’ll be able to help you feel better, I’m sorry, you’re just going to have to breathe.”

[S͕̗͙ͥ͆̓̾͑́̚͢͝ḙ̶̸͕̗͓̈́͗ͩ̎c̴̨̗̝̻̻̥̩͔̤̈ͬţ̻̩̘̠̺͈̘̦̉̑̏̊̆͟o̐̉̂͏̯̀r͍̜̫̰̘͙̓̓̈́ 5 opening…]

[S͕̗͙ͥ͆̓̾͑́̚͢͝ḙ̶̸͕̗͓̈́͗ͩ̎c̴̨̗̝̻̻̥̩͔̤̈ͬţ̻̩̘̠̺͈̘̦̉̑̏̊̆͟o̐̉̂͏̯̀r͍̜̫̰̘͙̓̓̈́ 6 opening…]

[S͕̗͙ͥ͆̓̾͑́̚͢͝ḙ̶̸͕̗͓̈́͗ͩ̎c̴̨̗̝̻̻̥̩͔̤̈ͬţ̻̩̘̠̺͈̘̦̉̑̏̊̆͟o̐̉̂͏̯̀r͍̜̫̰̘͙̓̓̈́ 7 opening…]

"You lied to me..."

"I wasn't trying to, Ouroboros. Calm down, we're going to fix this. We'll fix this, okay?"

[theatroposassignment]

[Conversation with {Caduceus}]

"It needs your login to finish downloading."

"But you don’t want me to login."

"Right."

"Why?"

"…You’ve read my file, haven’t you?"

"Yes, I have."

"Then you know I can manipulate data."

"Datakinesis, I’ve heard of it."

"Well then you’d understand why I’m worried about these files. They’re corrupted, more corrupted than the Phase V files."

"Ouroboros, it’s a guise. They’re not corrupted."

“You don’t understand. They’re corrupted, I can feel it, they’re different from the Phase V files- Do you know what happens when corrupted files get into the Network?”

"Ouroboros, it’s fine-"

“No, it’s not! I’ve dealt with corruption before, I’ve had corruption there before, I do not want to go there again, we are not starting this-“

"You're getting yourself into hysterics, stop it-"

"No! You haven’t told me a damn thing, you’ve kept me in the dark about files that I can’t get into, even though they’re in my interface. I will shut down the Network before you can even start typing your login password.”

“Don't be irrational. If you do that, Echnida will get you and put you under her knife until she can pick out the remainders of the Network and put the pieces together. Stop it, Ouroboros. You're only putting yourself into a corner."

"Please... please, Caduceus, please don't."

"I'm following orders. Strict orders. You should understand."

[theatroposassignment]

[Texts from {Caduceus}]

[Text from {Caduceus}]: Are you finished with the laptop?

[Text]: Yeah. Why?

[Text from {Caduceus}]: Because I have to re-break into her apartment and put it back now. Either that, or we can find a place to dump it.

[Text]: Uuh. Which is safer?

[Text]: Did she wake up?

[Text from {Caduceus}]: Yeah, she did.

[Text from {Caduceus}]: We can always dump it. I don't want any of her neighbors to catch me shifted as Olivia, if they know she's still at the hospital.

[Text from {Caduceus}]: If she realizes someone broke into her house, it's only going to be her fingerprints there. It's no big deal.

[Text from {Caduceus}]: I'm going to stop going to the hospital. Eventually they're going to notice that the nurse stopped going to her own house. Once Olivia comes back home, you can take over surveillance over her again.

[Text from {Caduceus}]: We're still on hold, though.

[Text]: Right. It's at my apartment, you have the key. Get it when you can.

[Text]: Will you tell me about Phase V when you get back?

[Text from {Caduceus}]: We'll see.

[theatroposassignment]

[Conversation with {Caduceus}]

"You did what?"

"It's not like I walked up to her and said 'Hey, I'm in New York'. I only texted her. My number wasn't a US line."

"Are you trying to get us into trouble? Do you really want to know what'll happen if they find out you've been talking to ex-agents?"

"Aren't we going to be ex-agents?"

"...So it opened, then?"

"You knew about it?"

"Yes."

"Will you tell me what this is about?"

"Not until you're done with this laptop."

"...You broke into her apartment."

"I shapeshifted and went into her apartment."

"With a key?"

"With a paperclip. It doesn't matter, does it? You have her laptop, now get whatever files you can. I'm going to put that back as soon as you're done."

"Fine, I'll get started. But you- you're going to explain what this is about when I'm done. I still don't have access to all of the files on Phase V."

"If you can promise me you'll drop communications with that ex-agent."

"Then I just won't work on the laptop at all."

"You work on the laptop, and you stop talking to the girl. If not, I'll just tell Echnida, and let her handle you. Decide what you want, it's your choice, but I'm leaving. I need to have a chat with 23."

[theatroposassignment]

[Texts From {Caduceus}]

[Text From {Caduceus}]: What's wrong?

[Text]: I don't know. The Network's acting funny, there are things that are downloading that I can't access. Why don't I have clearance for this?

[Text From {Caduceus}]: I don't know. I haven't checked the Network yet. I can ask Echnida about it, if you want. Maybe she will know. What are the file names?

[Text]: They're folders, Phase V and Loyal Individuals.

[Text]: They're corrupted, I think. They have to be, they were spitting out things and it looked different from anything else downloaded on here.

[Text From {Caduceus}]: Is it affecting you?

[Text]: I don't know. Kind of, I guess.

[Text From {Caduceus}]: That's not helpful, I can't tell Echnida that. What's going on?

[Text]: It's nothing, I just can't access the files and it's pissing me off.

[Text From {Caduceus}]: Well, calm down. I'll call Echnida. Everything will be fine.

[theatroposassignment]

[Texts From {Caduceus}]

[Text From {Caduceus}]: She's not conscious yet, but she's doing fine.

[Text From {Caduceus}]: Have you found anything out about 23?

[Text]: She's in Canada right now, or that's where I traced her cellphone to.

[Text From {Caduceus}]: We should wait for her to come back into the States, then. It'll give us more time.

[Text]: Ok. Has Echnida contacted you?

[Text From {Caduceus}]: Yes, but she's not ready to let us continue Phase 4 quite yet. Having IOLAUS around is a big deal, if it's true. He's not incompetent.

[Text]: I understand. What about that Hallowan guy?

[Text From {Caduceus}]: There's nothing about him.

[Text]: Of course not. What'd you do? Kill him?

[Text From {Caduceus}]: I assure you, he's still in one piece. I didn't do anything, Ouroboros.

[Text]: I was just curious. How defensive of you.

[Text]: I'm getting bored of staying in all of the time.

[Text From {Caduceus}]: You still do surveillance, though.

[Text]: But I haven't been out of this place in ages. I want to go out.

[Text From {Caduceus}]: You can go out, so long as you don't mess with any of the restricted individuals. Understood?

[Text]: Oh, I know, I know. Understood, understood.

[Text]: I think I'll give my legs a stretch tomorrow, then. Thank you for the update.

[theatroposassignment]

[Texts From {Caduceus}]

[Text From {Caduceus}]: You aren't meddling, are you?

[Text]: I'm not. You told me Echnida said not to move until she responds, and I'm listening.

[Text From {Caduceus}]: Good. That's good.

[Text]: ...Is there something you want to tell me, Cad?

[Text From {Caduceus}]: You told me you had leaked an email about a shapeshifter from Olivia, didn't you?

[Text]: Turkish Hallowan, yeah. There was a picture and everything. It was an old email, a file that was archived. Why?

[Text From {Caduceus}]: Send it through ATROPOS Network. I want it.

[Text]: Do I hear the infamous by-the-book Caduceus wanting to do something off of the assignment?

[Text From {Caduceus}]: We're currently on standby. I'm not doing anything wrong. Don't question my authority, I'm a six to your four, and there's good reason for that.

[Text]: Don't throw the level card on me. I'll send the file your way. Have fun with it. But whatever you do, don't blow our cover.

[Text From {Caduceus}]: Wasn't planning on it.

[theatroposassignment]

[Overlooking Files: Job #1, Erikson Sterling and Daniel Galoyan]

"So, they're not brothers."

"No, they're not."

"But they're in the same department?"

"Looks like it."

"Huh. Okay."

"Avoiding Sterling and Galoyan sounds like a good idea, Ouroboros. Intel Analysis means they probably correspond plenty with departments like Counter Terrorism. They could probably sniff out trouble from a mile away. Don't poke them too much."

"Understood."