[b]Green![/b]

"I - hmm," Green thought. "No, that's kind of beside the point, isn't it? Doing the individuals. I mean the kingdoms all have styles and aesthetics, of course, there are dynamics between various [i]roles[/i]." She thought about it again. "Maybe I should," she said. She scratched her ear, looking like she'd simply never thought of this before - and was interested in the idea. "Add some individuals, I mean. That could be an interesting angle to take."

She touched one finger to her forehead. "Okay. Uh. Can you give me a suggestion to get started? I kind of don't know what a good version of this looks like so I need something to template off."

[b]Yellow![/b]

A mutiny! She was delighted to find a genuine mutiny brewing. It fit right into her vision - a burning ring, revolutionary saviors, a fire that burned the shadows out of the void.

"That's the last piece of the puzzle," said Yellow. "What could prompt such a coverup and have such a massive, systemic effect? No single computer node or network hub could draw this response or set in motion this kind of degradation cascade. There is only one possible explanation: this was an illegal artificial intelligence experiment and it's gone rogue."

She sat back in her chairs. "You're on the sharp end of a massive coverup effort designed to sweep the whole thing under the rug - until such a time as they can capture or replace their lost creature. And they don't care how many people get hurt in the meantime. This is my first warning to you, Mr. Allard - these people can and will kill to keep this secret, just as much as them keeping this secret is killing people. They have already silenced at least one person who knew their secrets."

"I advise cultivating a reputation as a drunk," said Black. "Stage a nervous breakdown. Make yourself appear broken, begin focusing on an unrelated conspiracy. You are in a line of work prone to accidents, you must make yourself appear nonthreatening or on entirely the wrong track. These people will notice when their bugs start disappearing or if you have extended periods of static - I am putting these ones back as soon as we finish this meeting, incidentally."

"As to what we can do to fight these people?" said Yellow. "At the moment, you can't. You don't know the who, the where, the what. It's not clear yet who to mutiny [i]against[/i]. I only have scraps so far, so what I want to know from you above all else is [i]methods[/i]. When the blocks come, where do they come from? Is there a single office that's responsible, a signature in common across your denied requests? If they are wielding power against you then they must show the nature of their power."

[b]Snake![/b]

Where [i]was [/i]Snake?

She wasn't anywhere to be seen. She isn't responding to calls. And the security shutters haven't opened yet. The deadbolts on the front door are locked in place. 

And then the lights start to flicker. Everything drops into pitch blackness once again - but this time there is a massive mural covering the wall, radiant in blacklight. The Earth, surrounded by the ring of Aevum - but in place of the station was a massive, nightmare serpent devouring its own tail. 

Singh looks at Monk. He's looking through his AR glasses and he sees her as Snake has redesigned her - in place of her faces are November's faces, flipping between them amidst leering and wicked expressions, tongue flickering out serpentine and twisted. Monk looks at Singh. She sees the black venom drip down his terrified face. She traces her eyes up into the dark above them, the point where the liquid is dripping from, where two points of light glint amidst the black.

And then Snake, hanging from the roof, [i]screams [/i]at maximum volume because a brute force fucking jumpscare is sometimes as good as targeted psychological horror. 

"[b]EEEEEEAA[/b]AAAAAAAAaaaahhhhhhh," the scream resolves into a heavy metal wail. [i]"Somebody better shake you! Somebody better turn your head around! I'm scratching like a wild cat! I'm spitting fire on the ground!"[/i]

Orange dropped from the ceiling into a choreographed bow. "I'm [i]Snakebite[/i]."