Look at me still talking when there's science to do (Open Post)

[sansational]

Sans is starting to get a handle on this place. Perhaps more to the point, and more potentially useful, is that he's started to get a handle on its inhabitants. There are a few that he keeps a personal eye on on a semi-regular basis, even if they don't always know it. The rest, he's just made note of their passage and their movements. It's all for professional purposes, of course.

And that means that, when he's finally ready to do so, Sans can make contact with every person currently in the castle, either in-person if he knows them by name or by leaving a note somewhere they'll see it if he doesn't yet. Whether by spoken or written word, the message is nevertheless always the same. It's a request to meet him in the ballroom with the cakes table at a certain time and place. From his observations, it seems to be one of the more stable rooms in the castle, so everyone should be able to find it. 

On the stated day, at the stated time, everyone will...still have to wait five minutes for Sans to pull himself together after a nap, remember what he's supposed to be doing, and suddenly appear inside the room, still in the process of hastily smoothing out his notecards. 

"so, uh, yeah," he says, looking from the assembled residents to the cards and back again. "should probably explain what you're all doing here. so. i'm sure you've all noticed that this castle has got some weird things going on, above and beyond the whole, uh...stealing us from across time and space thing. i'm also assuming that most of you want to go home and won't mind helping me figure out a way to get us there." He gestures at the table. "to do that, i'm gonna need to start testing some of these theories. guesswork is fun, but it doesn't get us anywhere. timing how long it takes this place to reset something seems like a good start. and so this particular experiment runs as cleanly as possible, uh...i'm gonna need your help eating everything on that table. like, all of it. just don't choke on any shiny bits." 

Message delivered, Sans crams the notecards back in his pocket, and spreads his arms in silent indication for everyone to dig in. 

((ooc: Post comments for your characters that can be replied to, and mingle as you see fit! Eat, drink, be merry, have food fights, and try to be sick outside!))

Comments

[dr_awesome]

"...Really? You don't know about the great Dr. Lorenzo von Matterhorn?"

Since he's sure this is a weird memory glitch, there's no point in admitting his real name. She's just data. If this really causes a problem, he'll just reset the conversation.

[lostlegacy]

"No."

She doesn't sound the least bit sorry about that either.

[dr_awesome]

"Well, now you do. Be grateful. You're a lucky kid, getting graced with my presence."

He looks around.

"But uh, pretty sure I'm not going to stick around."

[lostlegacy]

"Why not?"

This guy is weird. Who'd leave a party with all-you-can-eat sweets?

[dr_awesome]

"Because I've got work to do. If the memory construct is this distorted, I haven't calibrated the cortex scanners properly. Need to reset and try this again."

He's more talking to himself than to the kid, and in a moment, he tries to forcibly exit the conversation by just... disappearing. One second he's there, the next there's no sign of him but a half-eaten plate of carrot cake on the table.

...Of course, a few seconds after that, the scientist reappears, and when he looks around the setting, he lets out a grunt of disapproval.

"What the hell? I can't unplug myself?"

Stop swearing in front of minors, Watts.

[lostlegacy]

Sophie blinks a few times when he disappears. "Whoa."

...And that's the extent of her reaction. She's seen a lot in her short life.

"That's a bad word," she informs him when he comes back. "You're gonna get in trouble with Toriel."

[dr_awesome]

"I don't know who Toriel is, but I'm pretty sure she's not my boss. Eva's the one who's going to throttle me if I can't get out of this damn construct..."

What happened to his data manipulation abilities? Where is he?

"Kid, do you mind telling me what this weird dreamplace is and why I can't use my override commands?"

[lostlegacy]

She has no idea what half of what he's saying means, but she can at least answer one of those.

"It's the castle. It's not a dream." Pause. "What's that over ride thing?"

[dr_awesome]

"The castle. And how did I get here?"

He rubs his forehead.

"Ugh, why am I even going to bother telling you this, it's not like you're real... my override commands are what I use in data projections of memories. If my experiment worked, I should have gone back within my own memories right now to alter them. But this definitely isn't a memory. I think the data is corrupted, and I'm going to have to recalibrate it... if I can get out of this mess."

[lostlegacy]

She looks insulted. "I'm real. You're weird."

See if she helps you out any more after this, weirdo.

[dr_awesome]

"No, no you're not. You shouldn't be. How is this happening?"

He can't be here. He needs to get out. If he wastes time here... god, how long will he even last?

[lostlegacy]

"...Are you okay?"

She starts looking around for the nearest adult. This really is getting weird.

[dr_awesome]

Okay. Okay, he needs to breathe. He can't fix this if he's panicking. He just needs to... get as much information out of this as he can, and then try his best to solve this.

"I'm fine. Sorry, kid. This is just a lot to take in. So... you're telling me that all this is real, right? How exactly did I get here?"

[lostlegacy]

...He seems to have stopped flipping out. Mostly. She still might need to find an adult to help this guy out. Like Gee Girl. Or Tauriel, if he starts getting really weird.

"I dunno." She shrugs.

[dr_awesome]

He really could use an adult, but the one he's really looking for isn't going to be here. Granted, how could he explain to her how he got in this mess?

"That's... real helpful. You're sure this isn't a memory? This is all real?"

[lostlegacy]

"Yeah."

Actually, maybe she does need an adult. This guy isn't looking so great.

[dr_awesome]

"That... that can't be right. Where's your proof?"

Even if he can't unplug, there's got to be some way to override this.

[lostlegacy]

She gives him a weird look. What do you mean, prove that she's real? She is.

After a pause, she reaches out and smacks his leg--not hard, and not with her eres, but enough for him to feel it.

[dr_awesome]

"Ow! What the hell-"

Neil jerks his leg away, about to go on a rant, and then he quickly realizes... if he was in a memory, that wouldn't have hurt.

"...Heh. Smart, kid. I... guess you were right all along."

He gives a strained grin, even though his mind is reeling with all the questions that revelation opens up.

[lostlegacy]

Sophie looks smug.

"Yeah."

Of course she's right.

[dr_awesome]

"Okay, fine. I'll... I'll accept this. Sure. It's not that weird. Just a weird castle that I suddenly woke up in instead of in my office."

He lets out a nervous laugh.

"How did I get here?"

[lostlegacy]

She shrugs. "I dunno. Everyone's just...here."

[dr_awesome]

"...Right. I shouldn't have expected any clear answers from someone so young. Are your parents around, kid? I really need to talk to someone who knows why the fuuuuu...dge I'm here."

[lostlegacy]

Instantly, she scowls. "It's not 'cause I'm a kid. It's 'cause nobody knows, not even Sans and Tauriel. And I don't got any parents anymore."

[dr_awesome]

"Why wouldn't anyone know? It seems important..."

Watts winces quietly. Smooth move. He brought up parents to the orphan.

"Look, kid, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... bring up bad memories or something. I'm just a little confused about this place."