Event Log - Level One

[lucetimods]

Who: Everybody
What: Lucetians reverted back to level one!
When: Well. Now. Right away. It ends on the 25th, so chop chop.
Where: In Luceti. You think you guys are getting out of here after that stunt you just pulled?
Summary: Well. So sometimes the Malnosso actually do legitimate experiments that aren't heaped in heavy plot. This is one of those times. Look, just go read the mod post, would you?
Rating: P for Prologue-licious.

Remember to tag with your character like so: [canon] character name

ALSO, all the journals will be completely wiped clean for the duration of this event. Nothing prior to this log will appear on the journals until after the 25th. So good luck figuring things out!

Comments

[semper_cogitans]

[Even that outline alone stabs at Robert's chest. It's easy to see how thin Don is now - so small, so undernourished...

... And so short. Though the Turtle's muscles are as obvious as ever (are they moreso? He can't tell...) he's so shortened that he's actually shorter than the man himself. That is definitely a strange feeling.

Robert brushes it off and begins his explanation.]

... This compound, Luceti, is... one of many s-similar compounds run by the M-Malnosso. Individuals like ourselves... are d-drawn into the greater world surrounding these compounds by poorly-understood f-forces. Experiments on us are... an a-attempt to control and reverse these forces; the Malnosso themselves were taken from their homes by the s-same process, and wish to reverse it...

We have both been here... s-several years; I, on the twenty-first of January t-two years ago... you, on the twelfth of F-February three years prior. By the time I arrived, you... h-had already settled into Luceti, and... what I know of that time stems from what I have been told by y-yourself and others...

... Normally, I... would be able to give you the journals - c-communication devices of Luceti - as r-reference for my statements. However... [He places his journal on the floor slowly, in full view of the Turtle, and turns the pages. They're all blank.] ... It seems that the Malnosso p-pre-empted us. So I must... r-resort to other measures...

[i_speak_softly]

[A whole book full of blank pages? That's a rare and valuable find.]

[But more to the point.]

I think you've got a few things wrong. This island is inhabited by the Manhattanites, who are drawn here by delusions of wild success in the big city. Poor transportation infrastructure makes escape nearly impossible.

I've lived here my whole life; you've just arrived. The lights and noise can be disorienting that way, but you'll get used to it. [He points to the journal.] Do you want me to draw you a map?

[semper_cogitans]

[Robert blinks slowly, uncertain how to respond, before frowning over at Don.]

Er... have you not r-realized that this area contains nothing like your N-New York City...? The closest that Luceti possesses is a simulation... one you b-built yourself...

[Look, Don, Robert really understands that this is kind of a lot to take in, but blatantly denying reality doesn't help anyone. (Not that he honestly has a lot of evidence as to explaining this reality properly. But nobody does.)]

[i_speak_softly]

[... He didn't mention the name of the city.]

You're confused, Professor.

[semper_cogitans]

[It's a good thing Robert doesn't have to lie, right?]

Confused about... what? [He's the one trying to explain things to you. He doesn't have the leeway to be confused.]

[i_speak_softly]

[Damn it, cornered.]

Let's say I believe you. What have I been doing here for the past three years?

[semper_cogitans]

What you generally could not do at h-home. [A small smile.] Researching as much as the l-library here allows... building your engineered inventions both l-large and small with what is available... sh-sharing your intelligence with others. At one point you attended Luceti's school... [His voice trails off, cracks a little, and the man visibly has to compose himself.]

... Sometimes there have been... d-drafts, involuntary taking of the population for wars the M-Malnosso wage. You have fought in those. And... so have I.

... And always the e-experiments. Approximately once a m-month. Those... are often interesting. [He says it in an irritable sort of way.]

[i_speak_softly]

[He could go to the library? And school? Don's excitement at this news might be evident even in the dim lighting, but it's replaced by a dark anger at the next part.]

What kind of experiments?

[semper_cogitans]

Ones just like this. The Malnosso... e-edit us, edit the compound; their methodology is such that I cannot explain it, and neither can a-any of the brightest minds here... they tell us l-little, I suppose to prevent us from manipulating it to our advantage...

... I have had my b-body and mind altered in various ways many times over the c-course of my stay here. Sometimes the changes are s-subtle... but sometimes they are quite... striking. [A pause.] The Malnosso... made me a Trachemys scripta elegans, mutatens once.

[He lets that idea hang, for a moment.]

[i_speak_softly]

... What?

[Not "what does that mean" but "what did you just say".]

[semper_cogitans]

A Trachemys scripta elegans, mutatens. [He repeats it, a little flatly but not unkindly.] To this day, I am entirely uncertain how it was m-managed so efficiently and so effectively...

... And it is not even the only time my s-species has been altered. [Though not usually so dramatically.]

[i_speak_softly]

[Don comes forward, just a little, so that the light shows the color of his skin and shell.]

Do the letters 'TCRI' mean anything to you?

[semper_cogitans]

[What a sight for sore eyes. Robert tries to restrain his overt feelings, but the relief on his face is palpable anyway.]

Yes. I have been... t-told about this aspect of your life before. [But not by you-you, Past Don.]

[i_speak_softly]

[Don is just baffled at that reaction. This is not at all what he expected his first conversation with a human to be like.]

[He inches another step into the light.]

You're not afraid of me.

[semper_cogitans]

I could never be afraid of you. [Oh, that he could hold Don's hands and tell him everything was alright... but realistically that gesture would just be confusing right now.]

[i_speak_softly]

Tell me why those letters are important.

[Since your first answer was not really an answer.]

[semper_cogitans]

[As you wish, Don.]

The letters "TCRI" are an a-abbreviation of the name "Techno-Cosmic R-Research Institute". This... institute is the producer of the substance that... l-led to your alteration...

You told me yourself about its p-properties. [He can still remember that conversation quite vividly.]

[i_speak_softly]

[In one second, Don has vanished into the shadows. In the next, he's grabbed Robert's collar and shoved him against the wall, leaning up into the taller man's face.]

[He wants this human to be afraid of him. At least then he'll have a frame of reference he can understand.]

I've spent my whole life researching those letters, and I've never been able to find out what they meant. Who are you, really, and how do you know about my past?

[semper_cogitans]

[Pain blooms through Robert's back as his wings are slammed against the wall along with his body. The power in Don's grip is unmistakable - despite the hunger in his body, he's strong, possibly even stronger than the much-older Don he knows. The thought is somewhat chilling, and Robert's expression falters as the Turtle pulls him up, enough for his feet to actually leave the ground. He takes a deep, shaky breath to calm himself but he can feel his heart hammering intensely anyway.]

... I p-previously informed you that I have been here... for s-several years. The only reason I know anything is... b-because you told me.

[He stares earnestly into Don's face even as part of him anticipates further pain to come. Please, believe him. Or at least, believe him enough so he won't be harmed.]

[i_speak_softly]

[Don narrows his eyes, studying the astrobiologist's face as with his free hand he frisks the strange human. As he recovers objects, he studies them and tucks them into his own belt. His search doesn't turn up any weapons.]

I couldn't have told you that. I didn't know.

[semper_cogitans]

Because this e-experiment has forced you to forget everything. In fact... [- and this is easy to tell now that Robert's being pinned by Don...] ... you are not even ph-physically the same. You are... younger than the D-Donatello I know...

[But you're not a different one. The experiment doesn't seem to be bringing in totally-different people... just younger versions of the people that already exist...]

[i_speak_softly]

[He didn't tell you his name, either.]

[Don drops Robert, and backs up a pace.]

Tell me, then, if you "remember" and I don't: Where's my family?

[semper_cogitans]

[He hates to say this, but lying would be awful.]

They... u-used to be here... there are still signs of their p-presence at our home. But... as is typical for this place, they have been taken back to their own w-worlds, now. It... happens frequently... and for no discernible reason. And as I said, the... Malnosso s-study us, to try to find out why.

... I have lost many f-friends in the same way. But it is... n-not the same, not so great as y-yours is.

[In a small voice:] If... if I could b-bring them back here, I would...

[i_speak_softly]

[Finally, Don is beginning to believe, and something in him is moved at this human's understanding of what his family means to him. He studies the professor head to toe, while sifting through his words. One thing stands out from the rest; it doesn't fit with the story.]

"Our" home?

[semper_cogitans]

Yes. I... have been living in the h-house that your family once lived in. At the time, it was... to p-protect me.

[He falters a little. This enemy is someone Don probably hasn't heard of yet.]

... Most of the i-individuals in Luceti are... kind, and accepting... but s-sometimes, dangerous people also are taken here, from the many multiverses that exist. In this case... it was a d-dangerous person from your own w-world...

... And... I b-became that person's target, in lieu of your family.