[Transmission 05][Video][UN: A_Wesker013][Omni Malfunction]

[subject_013]

[CW: Mild violence, tentacle activity]

[The device fuzzes with static, then clicks on, showing a Sleeper Membrane leaning against the drawers on one side of the leg hole of an oak desk. The reddish orange eyes which cover it peer around, the slit pupils constricted. The hem of a lab coat peeps from beneath the edge of the membrane, along with the toe of one black boot. Gaze on this sight and study the shape long enough, one realizes the Sleeper within had dropped into an awkward posture, somewhat on his knees.]

[Time passes, indicated by the light from the windows shifting in the background, slanting at times through the glassware arranged on the worktop in view, casting prismatic arcs that slide slowly across the floor.]

[At times, a tall, thin young woman with brown hair pulled back from her nervous face and peering through steel-rimmed glasses comes into view. She kneels before the membrane, speaking softly to it.]

[At least until the eyes all focus on the interloper. Then a tentacle whips out of the membrane and thrashes at her. She scampers out of frame. The tentacle retracts. She peers back into frame.]

Oh, is this thing on?

[She clears her throat.]

Hey, I'm Leiermann, the scribe for Dr. Winters, who you might know as Dr. Wesker. I regret to say if you have an appointment with him, he won't be available to honor it for the time being. [A glance at the Membrane] He's rather indisposed.

[She ducks out of sight. The feed continues, the room slowly going dark. Leiermann returns with a lunar lamp, accompanied by a stocky personage in a tan lab coat, puttering about the glassware, dismantling it and taking it away. Leiermann leaves. The eyes follow the two figures, guardedly, and the tip of the tentacle might protrude, protectively but not flailing at either.]

[More time passes, and the same assistant returns with the now clean glassware, setting it up again. The tentacle slides out, but makes no move to attack. The assistant departs.]

[More time passes, the light comes and goes in the windows. The assistant and the scribe pass through, keeping an eye on the membrane, which keeps its eyes on the personages who pass through.]

[One night, a small red-haired woman in a green gown approaches, kneeling before the membrane. The eyes all turn as one toward her, their gaze softening, the pupils slowly widening. She sits on the floor before it, speaking softly, too low for the device to pick up. Reaching out, she gently strokes the membrane between the eyes. The tentacle slips out and gently lays itself on her arm, not stopping her, but moving with her hand, the tip winding about her wrist. She stops and the tentacle releases her.]

Rest well, Albert.

[She withdraws and steps out of frame. The membrane shifts slightly.]

((OOC: Sleepers can either comment on what they're seeing, or they can venture to the Lumenarium and see if they can awaken the Sleeper. Be warned, the Membrane Tentacle is every but as irascible as the Sleeper within and very protective, but much less polite. - EDITED TO ADD - What the heck, HTML??))

Comments

Action

[onerthes]

[Vira-Lorr sent word to make sure she was expected. She shelved any projects that they currently had going the moment she'd gotten word he was in a cocoon, but she still wanted to check in on him from time to time. On one of those days, the first in fact, she made her way over to the room in question and settled herself out at the distance she'd been told the tentacles couldn't quite reach.

Best not to assume, not with the possibilities involved in him.]

Mmmm, Albert. Performing a pupal phase, I see...

Re: Action

[subject_013]

[The tentacle might lift itself from the membrane as the eyes swivel and focus on her, taking her in, then refocusing on tracking about the room. The tentacle lingers, almost protectively or even hesitantly, as if it would reach to her, but she's out of its range.]

[The door opens behind her and the scribe enters, pulling back.]

Oh, Vira-Lorr. Shall I leave you alone with him?

[The tentacle might lift up but she's well out of its reach, the eyes looking to her, some rolling, some dropping their gaze, some narrowing at her.]

[onerthes]

[She tilted her head while one hand reached up to graze the edge of the tentacle, brushing it with the lightest of touches as she smiled, grinning over at him out of the corner of her lips before she talked to his assistant.]

I think it is safe to leave me with my friend. I know to keep distance if instinct kicks in, and otherwise I imagine he knows me even now...

A little bit alone would be appreciated, yes.

[subject_013]

[The tentacle may go still a moment, before, if allowed, it gently encircles her wrist and holds it.]

I can do that. [The scribe retreats into the hallway, but pointedly leaves the door open, staying out of sight of it.]

[The membrane may shift a bit, leaning slightly closer toward her, as if the Sleeper within senses her presence, even in his dream state. The eyes shift toward the door, some rolling upward as if in exasperation before, as one, they focus on Vira, softening a bit.]

[onerthes]

[She laughed softly after the perception of a little eyeroll, one thumb running over one of those tendrils. the lack of hostility allowed her to shift in a little bit closer, her tone measured and calm, soothing even.]

Now, now. He's just doing his due diligence. we wouldn't want our doctor to become a problem patient in the process. That's far too typical for you.

It is good to see you are, more or less, intact. I wonder what may change in rising from this crysallis.

[subject_013]

[The scribe witters in agreement, giving away their position just outside the open door. Half of the eyes retain their calm, relaxed look, while the rest dart in the direction of the door. Someone clearly does not enjoy having such a vigilant scribe.]

[The Membrane shifts, almost flexing. A flicker of reddish bioluminescence ticks through the eyes, which dart around, almost nervously.]

[The shape of one hand, then the other, presses against the inside of the membrane, tenting it, pressing up, stretching it. The eyes start to close and vanish...]

[onerthes]

You know... you might just be one of the most fluid in form I've ever seen in this state, though I'm not actually surprised. I think if you'd asked me a full year ago, I might have been disturbed. But time and familiarity... They temper understanding.

Your form, it's the state that it is as much by your will, isn't it old friend/

[She knew he could hear her in there. But this sort of musing was just something that she could get away with because it was him. Anyone else, she guessed, would be far more disturbed. True, deep down she knew that there were a few possibilities in there that were very dangerous.

Still, she had faith it wouldn't come to that this time.]

[subject_013]

[We don't fault her for being wary. No doubt she's seen the possibilities that awaited him in his world of origin, and there's no guarantee they would remain there. The membrane stretches, tenses, then breaks as his hands emerge, pulling the chrysalis in half. He sits back on his haunches, looking like the version of him which she knows, pulling more of the gummy stuff from his naked form. He looks a little diminished, as anyone would who hasn't been able to keep up their physical training regimen.]

This place... plays with me... even when... it grants mercy.

[He looks up at her, then down at himself. He glances away with a modesty borne more of pride and decorum than prudence. The scribe lets out a squeak and snaps the door shut.]

How long have I slept?

[onerthes]

[She blinked and averted her gaze when he began to coallesce into his natural state, waiting patiently until he was fully back. When spoken to, she coughed into her hand as a little color reached her cheeks.]

Ah... yes, it does like to do that doesn't it? [A roguish smirk.] I want to say that it was the better portion of a month...

I'm growing to learn that chrysalis phases like this are usually in that range as a rule. A week, or a month.

(OOC: Having a brain fart. I believe it was a month. Assume she got it right either way.)

[subject_013]

[He pulls one leg up, bracing on the desk edge before pulling himself upright, wavering on his feet. Once he's steadied himself, he peels off the rest of the membrane, gathering it carefully, studying it as he replies.]

I see. And it stopped me for that long in the middle of a project, no less. [He glances about.] I'll need a specimen jar and a towel.

Life went on while I was asleep, no doubt.

((OOC: It was roughly a few weeks, since life caused me to tap out one week into March, so it all tracks.))

[onerthes]

[She rose and went to collect the specimen jar for him from among the supplies in the room while the assistant eventually arrived with a towel. It said a lot about her knowledge of his priorities as to which of those she made sure to grab first and offer.]

More or less. We are having some significant problems with butterflies that are invading the city right now. They're not attacking, but the people are nervous. I don't quite know what to think of them, but they make me very nervous as well.

[Oh man was that going to end up being a thing and a half.]

But otherwise, yes. I think things continue on at a normal pace.

[subject_013]

[He'll deposit the membrane into the jar, pointedly ignoring the assistant as she offers him the towel. He finally accepts it and blots himself off before winding it around his waist, then rummaging in a lower cabinet, pulling out a change of clothes - grey button-down shirt, vest, dress trousers and under-linen - while the assistant tries not to stare at him.]

Always keep a change of clothes stored somewhere at hand, especially in this place. [He says this with the slightest of glances at the assistant, who's turning purplish red.]

[Looking at Vira, he raises one eyebrow.] I was about to ask if they were about the size of a grown adult male, but the fact that they weren't attacking is a tip off that they didn't come from my world of origin. [He doesn't know that a portal has opened in Lumenwood...]

[He looks to the glassware.] I was in the midst of working on a replica of the Antidote. I trust my samples are well stored in my ...indisposition.

[onerthes]

I might have a few stashed around the house for just such a reason. Admittedly, it does not hurt that my work is also my home.

[She was ignoring the blushing too, though more out of a sense of modesty and politeness than anything. She was well aware that Wesker was, in his own cool and calculating fashion, very traditionally attractive. It would not surprise her if his assistant fancied him a little.]

They were actually somewhat larger than a human, similar to the Pthumerian who we encountered in the nightmare, the Moonlit butterfly, which I think has taken the form of Argonaut now. They're not prone to attacking directly.

[The assistant nodded quickly at the question, and Vira-Lorr breathed a sigh of relief.]

Good. We're still in progress then. It will likely take time to fully test. I should like to try and offer samples hopefully in the coming months. For testing. Something about being able to synthesize something that can at least help with corruption symptoms would be an improvement over reliance on only one method.

[subject_013]

That's a small relief. There was a woman in my world of origin, Alexia Ashford, a brilliant scientist, albeit obsessed with insects and their social structures. She'd tested one experimental virus on common garden moths, making giant mutants of them. Though at least those weren't Pthumerian-level giants. I was concerned for a moment that she might have arrived and brought some of her pets.

[He looks up, frowning a bit, though the look in his odd eyes suggests he's pondering his recall.]

Moonlit butterfly. I suspect that was during my time in the town, but I'm not placing it. It wouldn't surprise me if some of our hosts manifested in Julia's nightmare.

[He reaches to a shelf over the desk, running a hand over the row of notebooks there and selects one, leafing through it.]

I had a live-test level sample almost ready to introduce to a test subject. [The assistant looks up, trying not to look eager. Wesker mostly ignores her, outside of his gaze ticking toward her and away, though he speaks, rather to Vira-Lorr.] We'd need to induce Corruption in them as well as dosing other subjects before they went into a situation likely to trigger Corruption. [Directly at the assistant, he asks.] Please tell me that the sample antidote was correctly stored in cool, dry storage? [The assistant politely averts her gaze, informing him in the affirmative.]

[onerthes]

Nothing of the sort. These were associated with Argonaut. [She shook her head.] If you saw the final vision of the madness and foolishness of Ramona when FEAR made its last stand, before we arrived? The Buttefly was trapped within FEAR's walls before breaking loose. In reality, it was one of the Pthumerians, though of lesser power.

[She glanced back at the assistant, glad to see that they'd been keeping it stored properly.]

I'm concerned about inducing corruption, but so long as the means to cleanse it is on hand and they're willing, it can still be a test. The willing could help a lot of people.

[subject_013]

I glimpsed it when I ventured into Ramona's memory, though only a glimpse: my hands were rather occupied in fending off a hideously mutated version of my sister. [He pauses. What fleeting respect he'd had for Ramona evaporated. The person he'd gone in search of, even before he'd fallen in Deerington, had appeared there in a twisted form.]

[The assistant looks at Vira, the eagerness to be useful back in her eyes.] Well, we have one willing test subject at hand. I'll need to recruit a few more subjects, if you know of anyone who'd wish to take part in it. We'll have back up remedies at hand, in case things go awry.

[onerthes]

[Yeah, there'd been nothing left of respect for her, not for either of them. What had been the girl's best friend and hero had turned out to be a monster just trying to survive, using her dying memories as flotsam in the sea and dragging all of them under. She hated Ramona with a passion.]

You at least knew of its existence. Most do not. [She shook her head and glanced at the assistant before smiling.] Thank you... and I believe Reaper will be willing. Eager, even. He does like putting himself on the line at times for this sort of thing, and I think he rather liked the idea of it as a proposal.

[subject_013]

Hm. I'll keep an eye out for their kinsfolk once I head back out into the city.

[The assistant nods, bowing her head to Vira and blushing a bit, though a hint of apprehension might tick through her eyes.]

Reaper's resilience will work in his favor. I'm not as connected to him as closely as I'd like, however, I know him well enough that I would be honored to work with him. We walked through the door into this world; I've sensed a link between us, as much as either one of us can form such.

[onerthes]

[She nodded as they discussed Reaper.]

Those of us who came over to this world are themselves unique in some ways. All are sleepers, but we have seen things nobody else could see. it changes you, breeds that kinship even when you don't talk much.

Knowing him, he'd probably get far too much of a kick out of testing it.

[subject_013]

[He smirks, his eyes narrowing as well.]

I'd be willing to oblige him then, though I may put him through his paces, as it were - though I have a sense he'd enjoy that as well.

[onerthes]

[She snorted and laughed as she did think about that for a moment.]

He almost certainly would. Let's be very honest about it. He's the sort who would appreciate the pain. Just don't overdo it. he doesn't always know his limits.

[subject_013]

I'll take care not to go too far. I've worked with test subjects with high tolerances before, thus I've had some practice. At times the challenge gratifies them too much.

[onerthes]

At times, at times. But you do understand the particularities here, so I'm not too worried. You'll handle it properly.

[subject_013]

Your votes of confidence are always welcome, Vira.

But, now that I'm back: one good meal and a transfusion should put me right, then back to work. Back to creating a means to hold back Corruption.

[He reaches under the desk, pulling out a spare pair of black combat shoes and pulling them on.]

[onerthes]

Once more unto the breach? That seems exactly as I would expect under the circumstances. [She laughed softly and smiled over at him.] Honestly, that's about what I expected of you. You're not the sort to sit idly by after all.

[subject_013]

[He gives her something between a smirk and a smile, leaning toward the latter.]

A Blood Minister's work is never done in this place, but one can always find the means to reduce the case load.

[He strides to the door, opening it and stepping.]

You're welcome to join me. I know a good place whose proprietor probably wonders where I got to.

((OOC: Shall we end on yours?))

[onerthes]

That sounds positively delightful. That work can wait for just a moment before we continue it. Lead the way, my friend.

(OOC: Yep, I think we're at a perfect point.)