P.A.R.A.

Landel looked puzzled. "I'm sorry, Mr..."

"McNeil," Crossfire told her.

"Thank you for memorizing all their files," she said to him. "I'm sorry, Mr. McNeil, but I don't understand what the problem is. You're here because you've experienced something you can't explain - "

"He's the one that doesn't remember the specifics of the event," Crossfire chimed in again.

"Again, thank you," she smiled curtly. "Well...All the objects here are as I described them, especially the ones we still don't understand. If you don't believe us now, you will pretty soon. These...'fantastical' objects, as you call them, are just the tip of the iceberg," she turned to Crossfire. "Maybe we should show them the Demon Room next. Give them a taste of what they'll be up against."
 
"Demon room?" He felt a wave of dread washed over him as it reminded him of his first encounter once again. He feared to see another one of those devils again in his lifetime, but he had no choice. He had to deal with the fact that they exist and that he'd have to face them eventually. He just hoped that those in the demon room weren't as terrible as the one that had chased him.

He had done his best to hide his nervousness, but he failed to keep it completely under wraps.

"So, what exactly are we up against?" He said with a slightly wavering voice.
 
Midnight listened intently to the conversation. It was all pretty fascinating, as were the objects in the room. He could feel energy flowing through or around some of them, making him want to study them himself. Maybe they'd give him a chance to do so. His attention was perked when they mentioned the Demon room. Just what did they mean by that? He moved in a bit closer to better hear.
 
Landel and Crossfire exchanged an apprehensive look. It wasn't a pleasant thing to see. Especially if the demons were up to their typical tricks.

"Come with us, please," Dr. Landel said. "And watch what you see."

They led the recruits out of the Artifact Room and further down the hall. The hall sloped as they walked, getting them closer to the core. They stopped at a door with a giant gold cross covering it.

"The Demon Room," Crossfire told them. "It's exactly what you think it is."

He opened a small glass cabinet next to the door and pulled out a handful of rosaries.

"You'd better put these on," he said as he slipped one over his neck. "They don't like religious items, or any kind of faith. They can't hurt you if you're wearing these."
 
"Quick question." John said motioning to the guards. "What are those attachments? What do they enhance?" He said eyeing the guns again. They looked impressive to say the least. Out of everything in the room, all the artifacts and 'cool' facter that everyone else seemed to take intrest in had done nothing for him.
 
(OOC: Sorry to say we're not in the Artifact Room anymore, but I can still answer your question.)

"Bullets don't work on everything," Crossfire informed John. "Ordinary bullets don't, at least. Some of the rounds we offer are made from melted-down crosses, so they offer religious power. Good for fighting things like what's behind this door. Other rounds are confiscated weapons from extraterrestrials. Solidified energy, high intensity explosives, vibration-based weapons. Our guns have numerous attachments so we're ready for anything. Speaking of ready for anything..." he handed him a rosary. "Put it on."
 
Ev'r tilted her head slightly, lips curling up to reveal razor-sharp, long, gleaming canine teeth. The Demon Room. That sounded... odd. She took the rosaries and slipped it around her neck. None of the the group had paid her any mind thus far, except maybe to wonder what a 16 year old girl was doing here, and that suited her fine. Ev'r had never really been social, or chatty. The big guy... McNeil, that was right, seemed pretty skeptical about the whole thing. Just wait until he realized that there were Anomalies in the group, like herself. Ev'r was a shapeshifter, she had figured that out well enough.
 
"Everyone ready to go in?" Dr. Landel. When she saw that all the rosaries were either on or being put on, she nodded to Crossfire to open the door.

As soon as they stepped inside they were met with the sound of screaming. Women, men, even a few children were all chained up to the walls, shrieking and tugging uselessly at the chains that bound them. One of them had honey blond hair and huge fake breasts.

"Emily..." she called to Dr. Landel. It seemed to be an effort for her to even speak. "Emily, please...help me..."

Dr. Landel turned on the spot and glared at the woman. "My sister would never ask me for help. Besides, one of you tried that last week."

"Don't pay attention to what you see here," she added to the group. "These are demons; they can shape change as an attempt to fool you. Some of you may recognize people here. Trust me - it's a trick."

"Some holy water is all it takes to wear out their disguise," Crossfire said.

He walked over to a vast plastic pillar that stretched to the top of the room. It was filled to the brim with water. At the end was a tap like the kind you'd find in a water cooler, and beside it a tin cup. He poured a cup of water out and over to the demon pretending to be Landel's sister. He slowly poured it over her face. It became red, and small horns appeared on her forehead.

While this was happening, Landel went through files on her phone. She was trying to find the Anomaly who was most likely to see what was really going on. When she found it, she turned to Isaac.

"I bet they don't fool you one bit, do they?" she said to him.
 
Ev'r hissed at the demons. She had no one to lose, and she saw them as they truly were. "You can't fool me." She growled low and deep. "I have no one I care about." She sighed. They were actually pretty fascinating, like nothing she'd ever seen before. Well... except for Hammersmith and that was another matter entirely.
 
As he entered the room, he jumped slightly at the multitude of demons and illusions of humans. They're attempts at tricking the armed guards were silly at best and they probably knew it. They most likely did it to keep themselves from boredom. But never before had he seen such an excess of these demonic auras. It practically radiated off each and every one of the people chained to the pillars. No matter what form they were in, they secreted the aura that he had a knack for sensing. It was overwhelming. It was no wonder why they picked him up. He would make an amazing bloodhound.

He was taking in the sights of these demons when he was interrupted by the doctor. She had asked if he saw through the demon disguise. He simply nodded his head. "No... they don't fool me." He had said quietly, somewhat hoping that no one would hear.

"But how did you find out about me?" He attempted to ask the question again, hoping now that he would get some answers. He hadn't expected to get a straight answer, at least not yet. He took another look at the demons. They constantly changed shape trying to manipulate the guards emotions. It was pathetic at best.
 
Eden watched the demons in fascination. A familiar voice called to her. "You came for me!" Her head whipped around to see the familiar face of a 11 year old girl. Her face was fresh, and her eyes were bright. Eden's eyes filled with tears. Justine had been her best friend. They had done everything together, until one horrible day when they were walking home from school. They had both been taken, but only Eden survived. She still saw Justine when she slept.

"N-no. You... aren't her. Jus-Justine is dead."

Even as she said it, she couldn't stop herself from taking a few steps towards the creature. She had been so afraid...
 
Ev'r watched one of the other girls as she stepped toward a demon with the face of a young girl, talking to it. She stepped toward her, touching the girl's arm. "No. It's an illusion. She's not real." She said roughly, her sentences short and clipped, her voice quiet. "Don't be fooled by it." She said to the girl, her grip tightening slightly. "You're right. The girl you called Justine is dead, and this is a demon." She snapped, then released her and turned toward the door, her head dropping on to her chest, white blond hair hiding her eyes.
 
Landel was watching the group react with a growing pit in her stomach. Maybe this room was a bad idea. It seemed to be too much too soon. Some were falling for the illusions, even after the holy water demonstration, and some were merely angered by the trickery. She told herself that they needed to see this, needed to know what to be prepared for, but her heart went out to them. She remembered when one of them had disguised themselves as Crossfire. She almost let him go.

"I think we've seen enough of this room," the doctor said. "I think it's time to finally answer that question: how we found you all."

Crossfire nodded. "Come along. We're going to Level 8. We're going to see A.N.N.I."

They followed, some of them with a little pulling, out of the Demon Room and made their way down the hall to yet another elevator. They rode it down another ninty feet to Level 8. When they got out of the elevator there was only one door, and a flight of stairs a little further down the hall. This door was built like a bank vault, with thick metal four inches thick. On the door was printed this:

A.utomated
N.etwork of
N.ews and
I.nformation

Crossfire swiped his access card and typed in a complex password on the door. A large series of clunks followed, and the door started to open.

"This is how we found you," he said.

The room was as big as the Arifact Room, with stacks and stacks of CPU's filling the space. Overhead was something that looked like a giant black disco ball.

"This is A.N.N.I. She's a piece of artificial intelligence software that monitors everything. Every news report, every radio signal, every cell phone - Think of it as a real life version of Person of Interest," he explained.

"The main component of the computer comes from a downed spacecraft a few years back," Dr. Landel said. "The programming is all us, but the software is from out of this world. A.N.N.I. sees and hears anything within the range of an electronic device. But don't get paranoid: most of it she's programmed not to care about. She searches for key words that could alert us to a supernatural event. Anything deliberately filed under fiction she ignores. The program researches the history of a file, and assesses the probability that an event that needs us has occurred."

"Anything below 30% probability she ignores," Crossfire added. "Between 30 and 50 she informs us, and tries to acquire further research. Between 50 and 70% she informs us and recommends action. Anything above 70% is a potential risk and we need to get involved immediately. Those numbers rarely happen, though."

"It's how we found you," Landel finished. "It's how we find everything."

"Good afternoon, Dr. Landel. Good afternoon Agent Crossfire," said an emotionless feminine voice coming from the walls.

"Oh. And we also gave her some software to interact with us," she added. "Some people are comforted by it, others find it a little creepy."
 
Ev'r's eyes widened slightly as she slowly turned in a circle, taking it all in. A.N.N.I. was amazing and she was itching to get a closer look at some of the tech. Apparently the computer had picked up on the slightly hysterical phone calls her toon' leader had sent to the general right after she had shifted for the first time. She chuckled, her lips curving in a small smile as she remembered. They had put her in one of the cells and he had paced outside, eying her. "Sir! Paranormal... freak... Ev'r..." he had managed to stutter out before calming himself down. "The girl! Ev'r! She turned into a... wolf, and attacked someone!" He had said. She glanced around the room again, watching Crossfire and Landel and she sighed.
 
Midnight was happy to be out of the demon room. He had been able to see through their disguises easily, but nonetheless, they had unnerved him greatly. Their energy clashed uncomfortably with his own, making him feel a bit sick. Far away from them now, the effect was gone, and he was free to marvel at the technology before him. To think the humans would be able to harness it so well astounded him. For the first time since he got on that bus, he ventured out from the back of the group. He walked over to the mass of electronic equipment, his eyes taking in each component. Many of them were familiar to him from his travels around the cosmos. He kept one ear on the doctor. He looked up at the black sphere curiously. He wasnt from this planet. He had no phone or other similar device that was traceable so then how had they found him?
 
"We found you because there were phones or cameras nearby," Crossfire added after a fairly dramatic pause. "Some of you we found through phone calls, or email, or radio interception. Others of you, those who tried to hide, we found with video phones...Midnight."

He stepped toward the alien and showed him his phone. On it were six different short videos all competing for space. Three were of brightly lit object appearing to crash into a forest, the others were of a bizarre, out-of-focus silhouette of a human-like being with wings.

"There's people everywhere. And we never shut our phones off."
 
Midnight took the phone to get a better look at the videos. He had long gotten used to them, but he still thought they were strange little devices. Humans had always been very resourceful, and he had eagerly awaited their newest development. In the absence of their own magic, the power they had instead harnessed was sometimes more powerful. After watching the videos he gave Crossfire a small smile. "It appears I have grown careless in these past few years. Once again, you humans impress me."
 
He looked over to the agent that explained to the would-be P.A.R.A. agents that they had access to every single electronic device and make it into a surveillance device. It was amazing really, like something out of a sci-fi movie. In fact, the entire concept of P.A.R.A. was a giant sci-fi movie. He wondered what really was out there. If there really was demons and aliens, then what else is among them. It was frightening.

He stared back at Crossfire with an inquisitive glare. He still had a lot to understand about the P.A.R.A. He saw A.N.N.I., he saw the demons, hell he's even been chased by one, but it's just quite hard to grasp the entire situation.

He took his gaze off of Crossfire and onto the video. Crossfire was nice enough, but he still was very intimidating and scary. On the video, he saw an object hurtling toward the earth and then a large explosion. Emerging from the forest was a humanoid figure, with wings. He associated it with the other person in the group, an anomoly like himself. Sweeping across the group he can see that he was the most normal out of the anomolies, other anomolies were quite obvious. He still had a bit of trouble being coined as an anomoly.

"Midnight? That's your name right? So how did you get here, like where are you from?" He felt uncomfortable talking about it with him, or just talking with the other people at all, but he had to talk with the others at some moment.
 
Ev'r turned as one of the boys struck up a conversation with Midnight, moving closer on cat's feet. "I'm Ev'r." she said quietly, almost shyly. "Sorry if I'm butting in."
 
Midnight handed the phone back to Crossfire and turned his attention to the other human who began talking. "I flew in of course. I'm from a place very far from here. Whats that word you use..." He thought about it for a moment before it came to him, "Ah, yes. Lightyears. My home is many lightyears from here. You dont yet have the technology to reach my home." He smiled at the girl who spoke up. "Hello Ev'r. Its a pleasure to meet you."
 
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