[IC] Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Void

[Lugia]

After eating some of my rather bland dinner, I notice the magnemite ask me what this place was. I turn towards him, and respond "This is the guild. It's kind of the place to be if you want to end up exploring all over the place... well... that is, if the guildmaster thinks you're strong enough to go to other places." I then remember some of the places where Vine DID take me... there was that cave, that weird swamp, and that fiery place under the swamp... of course, I was also taken to literally every guild as well, and, while that sounds nice, it wasn't. I was either invisible, or everyone told me to move because I was supposedly blocking their view of Vine, which, I'm pretty sure I never did. After my response, I get back to stuffing my face with the usual oran berries and apples. I was certain that they had this as the dinner just because they didn't want something that someone might not like, but would it kill them to have something spicy available? Heck, really any flavor would do, just, nothing too bitter. I finished my somewhat small dinner, however, before I could return to my room, that braxien seems to notice me, and, after peeling the tape off of his snout, asks "Hey, SPRUCE! Uh, um, do you have any idea where Vine is? I mean, you two are brothers, right?" crud... of course, I gave him my usual response of "How the heck would I know where he is? I'm not even a part of his team." normally, I'd have put more emotion into it, but by now it almost seemed like a canned response... probably just because of how often I use it as a response to that exact question.

[Evanist]

Celes heard what Spruce was asked, and looks towards him. Vine... The same Vine ahe heard about? Well... That was certainly... Interesting.... But Vine was gone now, and Spruce did not even know where he was. She did not really care to turn around and ask about Vine. It was probably hard enough for Spruce anyway... She sighed, and then gets up.
"I am going outside a bit..." she says. She then gets out of the dinner hall, and head to the back. She then looks around, and goes to where people usually practice their move a bit. Well... Might as well. She then start using tackle on a training dummy, hitting attack after attack. She then stop a bit, breathing, before continuing her attacks. She needed to train up, she knew that.... Then she though of something.... Ghost types... She needed to learn something to fight those pokemons. Or else this will be very bad, cause it might cause her to be unable to help in fights except for her confuse ray.... That she still did not figure out how she was able to do that. She then uses confuse ray in the air, staring at it until... It hits a passing pidgey, that then fly all around and going to fall, before landing, and moving around confused. Celes looks at it then looks away. That was totally accidental... She did not even want to hit anything. This was embarrassing.

[KaBling]

For some reason, everyone kept clamouring to Birch for having links with 'Vine.' Sure, we definitely had more fan-boys of him than for the guild, seeing as he was a plant-based Pokemon, but he never really got the grip of me. Davis would occasionally mutter stuff about the adventurer/explorer/cartographer, but otherwise we remained silent on the subject. I didn't care for exploration, because the things I needed were already at home.

Then again, I had nothing left. Davis, you bloody idiot... "Hm?" I responded as I swiftly turned to Birch, thanking him with gestures as I managed to throw myself away from a Nosepass... who, incidentally, was nosy. "Eh, I may as well go exploring if I'm looking for my friend... actually, it might be the other way around." I continued while pushing an Oran berry into the rude thing's nostril. I droned about my priorities, and sooner or later it would become apparent I wasn't really coming to terms with Davis' disappearance; yeah, he's gone. The problem was that I lack the determination in this case. It wasn't like a case of 'find him or you die,' but more of finding someone as artificial as yourself. So what he's your only friend? All we did was discuss odd historical stuff, like a mass genocide by Jews... uh, it may have been the other way around, actually. The point was, being around him would get boring, unless you found new stuff to discuss. In which case, he'd provide days of entertainment like a toy.

When I thought about it, we'd have A LOT to talk about when we found each other... man, this is what I'm talking about. At least a trace of determination could keep an engine going. That would involve me somehow escaping the ruckus by entering a rather empty room of dolls, and knocking over two straw-based figures. "Oh, s-sorry." I apologised as I looked down, stuttering when I realised they were already dead on the ground. In fact, they were never alive in the first place, with red and white-striped targets planted on the chest and head. I'd hate to take that amount of punishment everyday. I mean, they're already on the floor from my gentle bump. "Hey... watch'a doin'?" My voice seemed to raise in pitch, as I bounced off another dummy and sent it towards the rickety floor. I had to steady myself so precisely (as in, facing the Eevee) that I couldn't narrate for a brief second. Colloquialism probably would help me create friends, so I tried it out for the first time. I figured it would take more than just one person to find someone who virtually disappeared with no trace. 'Joh,' you bloody idiot...

I had greeted the friendly not-to-mess-with Eevee. 'Not-to-mess-with,' as in I was taught such Pokemon couldn't learn that horrid move. Thanks for the fun fact while stealing a Sitrus berry from my magnetic claws, Leafeon...

[Evanist]

Celes looked towards Miloon, staring at him a bit, and sighed.
"I am getting some training a bit... I don't feel tired enough so I decided to go and get some training." she then says, before letting out a sighed. She looks at the training dummies, shaking her head.
"Unfortunately, the only real attack move I have is tackle.... I don't consider confuse ray as a attack.... Yes i know that move... No i do not know how."she then says to the magnemite. She then sits down, and sighed. After all this time.... She did not learn any moves that would really be useful for her. Basically she was way more 'support' then anything else. This annoyed her a lot, but eh... Probably she will learn other moves later on, and she did need to evolve later also, but into what? A flareon.... No... Why was she even talking if this. Whatever form she would have, it would be one that her familly would already have in it.... And she did not want to be like her sibblings. She looked lost in her eyes a bit at the moment. She shakes it off.
"Oh sorry... A lot on my mind lately." she says

[KaBling]

I listened closely, curious to the feminine Eevee's reasoning... interacting with someone else rather than Davis certainly felt good. "Well... er, I'm here because I had to get away from that little party." I responded, noting her unusual reluctance for Confuse Ray. I came a bit closer, like a calm Lillipup to what it perceived as hostile at first... not that I actually thought she was hostile. As dangerous as she seemed, I was glad she was pointing her attacks in the opposite direction of me. Seeing as I didn't have much in way of a face, my smile came out as a curve at the bottom of my eye. "Oh, that's alright. If anything, that's gonna be helping you, when you go up against an enemy too strong for that kinda move." My voice deepened, although not considerably to the point where it could be considered 'flattery.' I tried it before, I got slapped in the face. Lucky for me, the pain of slapping me was stronger than the non-existent pain of being slapped. "As far as I'm concerned... if you really seem disturbed by that, I'd suggest only using it in dire circumstances." I said, my expression (if any) turning faithful.

Though, I was aware she was lost in thought. She didn't respond for several seconds, instead imitating the appearance of shell shock. I didn't question her past, because... well, I myself had a past, living in a bigoted community. We both obviously didn't want questions, at least not from strangers.

[Lugia]

I leave the dining room, finally shaking off any other possible questions about Vine's location, however, I notice that neither Celes nor that magnemite were with me as I headed off to my room. The others, apparently as tired as I was, start heading off to their room. Now that I had an official team, one that had more than one member, I notice that the others I used to have to share a room with, that would be George the goomy and Rick the tyrouge, weren't there. They apparently had to move to make room for my own teammates... of course, I didn't really want to think about anything other than sleep, so I ended up collapsing right into my own bed, and started to drift off into a deep sleep. What was weird was the nightmare that started after I finally drifted off. I was in some sort of weird, grey, purple, and black place with dead-looking trees, and a tiny village. Wanting to figure out what was up with this place, I headed towards the village, only to find it filled with strange pokemon who seem to share he color scheme of the place... they were all either grey, purple, or black. Confused, I walked out of the village, and found myself looking out into some sort of void, rift, or bottomless pit. I wasn't scared, just yet, but that's just about when some sort of weird, giant snake thing flew out of the void, straight at me, and with all of the speed of a jet plane. I was knocked back from the thing's speed alone, and tried to look for it, mainly out of fear, yet, it was gone... after that... some sort of rip through this strange reality appeared, nearly hitting me, and sucking me into the blank whiteness of it. Another figure appeared through the rip in reality, and then, some sort of ear-piercing scream or shout which woke up up in the middle of the night. Wh-what the heck was that!? I think as I try to get back to sleep. What was that depressing, empty wasteland that I found myself in? What were those strange, possibly legendary pokemon?

[Card Captor]

Kamina had an awesome first night at the guild; first, not only did he get to eat fresh food, but he got to eat as much as his stomach was capable of holding. Had he not been so busy eating, he might have engaged in conversation, but that was the largest meal that he had eaten so far, he was to excited to do anything but eat. Next, he had a safe place to sleep for the night. No having to worry about someone finding him and bashing him against some rock. And this was supposed to be his life now? Guilds were awesome! Clearly this was a reward for all the hours of hard work he put in to better himself, and it only further strengthened his belief that he was walk...er...splashing along the right path.

Tomorrow was going to be amazing.

[Evanist]

Celes looked at Miloon very calmly, and sighed a bit.
"It's not cause I don't like using the skill... it's just... it one part of me that I feel is really weird..." she then says very calmly. She shakes it off.
"It might be best to go and get some sleep. Tomorrow might be a rather big day." she then says, heading towards the guild slowly.
"My siblings always threated me as the odd one out. I kinda... was able to feel ghost types at a distance... let's call it a 6th sense.. Since I was born I kept feeling this... And weird thing is... I always feel like something... No... must be just my imagination all the time... It get's pretty crazy with all this." she says. She continue to move towards the room, before seeing Spruce already asleep. She sighed very calmly. It might be best to go get some sleep also... Tomorrow they will have their first adventure as a team... She was really wondering how this will end up like... She hoped it would end up being great and interesting... She then goes to the bed.
"Good night..." she says, before slowly drifting into sleep.

[KaBling]

There was something off about Celes. She explained her daunting experience to me, but I felt as if there was something more to it. There were parallel bits to my own experiences, but otherwise I couldn't put my finger on it. (Parallel, as in we were both threatened, could pick up stuff from a distance... not so parallel, as in I was involved with an entire community, whereas she was involved with a family. You've also got the 'pick up stuff' bit, which I cannot be bothered to explain.) "Well... er, seeya then." Attempt to make friends: inconclusive. Didn't seem rejected, didn't seem accepted. I let the thought of that drift away as I followed her to our rooms, staying out in the hallway and clinging onto a wooden wall of planks.

I didn't have anyone to be with, after all... of course, that statement would've been true, had I not stalked that Turtwig. I grinned to myself, as I entered the room where my 'teammates' slept. After all, I never really officially joined, because I never said 'yes, I'll join' or 'no, I'll leave.' But, despite this (and my tendency not to give answers to such questions due to a sense of awkwardness), I felt as if I was home. I carefully lay down by the wall of the room, shutting my eyelids as if today was my last.

Davis, you bloody friend... The only thing I could remember from my dream were those four words.

[Riddles]

Josh woke up much earlier than the rest of the town. The streets were empty, and most of the shops were closed. This was good. It gave him some time to think about whether or not he was going to join the guild. He knew he would be a liability. That would drive away most potential teammates. There was also the possibility that he'd go exploring somewhere and run into Zane. There were many downsides to joining the guild, but if he could gain enough power to beat Zane, as well as have some friends to help him, the downsides didn't matter. Plus, it was better than sitting here and waiting for Zane to find him.

He waited for a while. By the time Matt came outside, the streets were filled with Pokemon. Josh already made his decision. "Get the bucket, Matt. We're going to the guild."
Matt smiled. "I knew you would make the right choice."
Although he hated travelling around in a bucket, he still knew he had to. As they headed to the guild, Josh began to think. Hopefully they would let him join. There probably wouldn't be any other aquatic Pokemon there. He had to find a team that wouldn't mind carrying him around until he learned how to move around on his own. He figured it wouldn't be too much of a problem, though.

[Evanist]

Celes slowly woke up in the morning, feeling refresh now. It had been days since she did not sleep in a real bed. She kept having to sleep in a god dang branch instead, and this was really annoying for her. She sighed and then slowly got up. She looks at Spruce that was still asleep. She then headed out and moved to the guild hall, before going to a window and looking outside, just staring. It was a rather peaceful day.... the sun was shining, the pidgeys were flying in the air. A brand new day full of potential. At least that what she was thinking. A good amount of other pokemons moved in the hall, going towards the mission board to see what they would do today. She waited on Spruce for that. They probably would find something soon. Though she was wondering what it would be anyway.Maybe she would learn a new attack move or something. At least that what she wished, cause at the moment tackle would not do much... sand attack.... nether. Baby doll eyes... God she only used that when she wanted to beg or try to charm someone into not attacking her. She sighed. Confuse ray. The move that was so weird for her. How come she was able to learn it, she did not know. Maybe one day she would figure it out... Maybe it's something with her nature. But no one else in the family as powers like those. She was special, she knew, but being special also had it's consequences. How many times did people just stared at her while she was staring at a distance, feeling something. She sighed.

[KaBling]

Day had come so suddenly for me. I closed my eyelid for about a minute or something, the sun rose and smacked me in the face for it. "No... sun, please. My reflective body makes my eyes more painful than they already are." I groaned, tumbling around the corner of the light-brown wall. Sooner or later, I'd have to get some sunglasses with only one lens. Or three, depending if I evolved or not. The glare of the sun seemed to target only me, thinking I was eye-candy. Obviously, this was contrary to my own perception of the sun. So, I rolled up the wall and pushed myself towards the window. before showing off by doing some sort of improvised, acrobatic move mid-air. Thankfully, the window panes were strong enough to let me bounce off, although the fact I was traveling in the opposite direction forced me to grab onto the worn, crimson curtains.

To my relief, they didn't rip. Not shoddy, I guess... After regaining my control magnetism, I swiped the curtains to the left, letting only about a centimeter of sun through the edges of the windows. "Finally..." I sighed to myself, floating out the room and... well, it appeared someone else had gotten up earlier than I had. Curious, I decided to observe the bed.

...what the hell was I doing, observing a bed? Nothing moved, that's all. I wasted 10 seconds of my life before whizzing off towards the hallway to salvage some of that time. Now, the wide hallway had the occasional morning birds. moving around and beginning their work. From boring bureaucratic stuff to preparing for their adventures. I veered out the way of a Beldum, because he narrowly missed me as a rocket. "Watch it!" I warned, before getting knocked into the wall by a tail. Then, five other tails.

"You watch it!" A bit of warmth covered me, because that Pokemon happened to be a Ninetails. I made a face to up-right tails before leaving the hallway rather quickly, exiting to...

...somewhere. I had to go back to our room because I had little idea what I was supposed to be doing. See? Now you understand why I can't be bothered finding Davis?

[Riddles]

Matt stopped in front of the guild. "We've arrived. Now, I do believe we've done this before."
Josh knew what was about to happen. "Alright, just make it quick."
Once again, he was taken out of the bucket and placed on the metal grate. The last time they did this, they were greeted with nothing but silence. This time, however, a voice came from below. "Pokemon detected!" There was a slight pause. "I think it's a...Skrelp."
Another voice was heard. "Another fish out of water? We've been getting a lot of those lately, haven't we?"
The first voice began to speak again. "Okay, we need to see your friend now."
Matt put Josh back in the bucket, and floated above the grate. "Pokemon detected! A Reuniclus! A Reuniclus!"
The gate opened, allowing them to enter. Josh looked up at Matt. "What was that?"
"I told you, it's for identification purposes. Now, I believe we need to meet guildmaster Audino. We'll have to go inside for that."
Josh had to admit that he was nervous while they were going through the door. How would all of the guild members react to him being carried around in a bucket?

[Lugia]

I woke up thanks to the sunlight coming in through the window in my room, however, I wasn't feeling all too great thanks to that nightmare waking me up in the middle of the night. Ugh... I need some sort of energy boost... it's as if I can't sleep because it's too bright, but I can't really open my eyes thanks to that... really weird nightmare. I think as I tiredly walk out of my room and towards my other teammates. It seems as though Kamina was the only one who slept in longer than me, as almost everyone else was already wide awake and chatting it up with their fellow guildmates. "Hello... um... you." I say to the magnemite who seems somewhat affiliated with us, yet hasn't officially joined. I then look around for Celes, but end up finding some weird, green pokemon carrying a bucket containing another pokemon. I wonder if that bucket pokemon wants to join... well, if he does, then he'll have to find some other team... either that, or make one. I ponder for a moment as I walk over towards the boards, both of which were nearly void of any kind of missions... today really wasn't turning out to be my day, now was it? Arnold wasn't in his normal spot, and seemed to be heading out towards the guild's roof, for some reason. He had a bag filled with something or another, as well as one of those weird human tools... this one was black, and shaped somewhat like a lollipop. Said device was made of that same metal that humans seemed to use for nearly everything, I swear that if humans still existed, they'd be steel-types with how much metal they use. Apparently, some porygon called 'Davis' or something figured out that humans used to use that device for cooking... was Wally going to cook something on the roof? Why, though? Wouldn't he need a fire-type? Curious, I followed him outside, only to notice that it was blazing hot outside, a fire-type's dream. I could almost feel MYSELF cooking in this heat... so... I guess he won't be needing that fire-type, then.

[Evanist]

Celes looked as the guildmaster was going outside with the weird metal thing. She stares at it for a good amount of time. What the heck was he even doing with that... She sighed calmly, and then goes to see Spruce.
"Hey Spruce... so... uhm.... we going to do our first job today?" she then asks him, really unsure. She looked around the guild, seeing a lot of pokemons in front of the job board. She was not even sure if any job would be left after seeing the number of pokemons. Probably trying to find a job to do... Suddenly though, a chimchar took 1 of the jobs, only to have a treecko try to take the same one. Both of them looked at each other mad, and then both teams started to join in. Celes rushed forwards and then looked at both of them, and used Baby doll eyes.
"Could you boy's please not fight over this? Please????" she then says, giving off a very cute look. The chimchar and treecko both stare at her, then at each other. They sighed.
"Ugh... alright.... Maybe we can split the reward." the chimchar then says.
"Or take it as a competition.... but no fighting... a race to do the job... agree?" the treecko then says.
"Agree..." the chimchar says. They then head off for the job they took. Celes sighed at all this.
"That could have ended up as a huge mess in the guild..." she then says. She then takes a apple from yesterday's diner and eat it. She sighed. The other pokemons seemed to have moved out of the way, and now the job board was cleared. Celes walked to it, and looked at Spruce.
"I know it might be hot today... but.... maybe a job in birchwood forest might be good... or a cave. This way it would be cooler then being outside in the sun." she then says.

[Card Captor]

Kamina was raring to go. It was his first day as a member of the guild, and he already had a team. Today was the start of a new chapter in his life. Gone were the days of struggling to survive. Today was the day where everything changed. Now his days would be spent having epic adventure and strengthening his body and soul. I'm so excited I can barely contain myself" he said while quivering in pure excitement. "Today is the day where everything changes. My new life begins now! Quick! What are we doing first? I can't wait any longer!!!"

[Riddles]

Matt and Josh looked around, trying to find the guildmaster. They weren't having much luck. There was no sign of him. Josh looked up at Matt. "I think we should ask-"
"Ah! Found him." Matt said as he started following the guildmaster.
As Matt started to get closer, Josh noticed that the guildmaster was carrying something. It was black, and seemed to be made of metal. They followed the guildmaster up several flights of stairs and onto the roof. Odd. What was he doing up here? Josh immediately noticed the heat. "I swear it wasn't this hot outside when we came in." He tried to cool himself off by sinking down into the water.

[KaBling]

"Just call me 'M.'" I requested to Spruce, who was apparently not mindful of me not giving my name; he left after calling me 'um... you.' "I can't be bothered giving my name around these days." I explained, a rather slack reason being my only foothold here. I followed Spruce out the now-messy room of blankets, passing through doors of the hallway before ending up in the most crowded place I had ever known; the lobby. Yesterday, it was quite empty, because it was getting late and Pokemon left to their own homes/went to bed early. Now... well, let's just say the crowds formed at my community were hostile. If they were that size, only Arceus would know what would happen.

Of course, I couldn't I think straight. The sudden heat that had developed overnight was getting me to slur my sentences slightly. "I believe I joined yesterday." I answered again to Spruce, who was busy trying to find a feasible mission that was also available. Celes seemed like herself, convincing two Pokemon to end their bickering and choose a different side (awkwardly, if you could observe closely). Otherwise...

"What the hell is Arnold doing? If anything, my friend Davis explained how it was a better weapon than a mirror."

[Lugia]

I just stood there and watched as Arnold climbed up to the top of the guild, and started to place gummis on the... thing... and had the hot sun start to melt and cook them. Who in the world cooks GUMMIS!? Ugh, and that's the guy I'm supposed to be listening to? I then notice some of the gummi goop ooze out of the pan and onto the guild's roof. Archie somehow sneaks up to me and shouts "Guildmaster Arnold Columbus what do you think you're DOING!?" that shout surprised me, but, what didn't surprise me was when Arnold answered "Archie... I'm just making some breakfast for myself, and it's too hot outside. You told me that I could do this once per summer, so, I'm doing this now." Archie didn't seem impressed, but, before the two could get into an argument, I went back to the mission board, and, taking my teammate's advice, I looked for one in a cave, or in a forest. I scan the boards, and find a mudkip outlaw who was apparently making his home in Beach Cave... a cave, and, as a bonus, near the beach! It's perfect. I gladly take the mission statement from the outlaw board, and run off, back to my team. "Well, guess what, team? Turns out there was a mission involving Beach Cave, so... not only are we going to a cave, we're going to one that's near the beach, and probably even colder as a result." I announce to everyone as I show them the statement. They had no idea where in Beach Cave this guy was hiding, but, that was probably the best possible way to beat the heat at this time... well, at least it was better than Arnold's gummi cooking.

[KaBling]

I joined in the rest of the group, spying on Arnold and his odd behaviour. "Oh, now he's using it... oh. Euh." By the time I finished my sentence, I was busy trying to pull myself from staring at the pan. "Well, at least he's using it for the intended use." I quipped as I turned to a mere shadow of Spruce, smirking rather nervously at the mentality of our guild leader. This seemed to catch on, starting with Spurce's frozen expression (before he unexpectedly left), before infecting Archie's noisy beak. Man, do we speak clearly or what? Some of us don't even possess mouths for that matter.

"Why can't you EVER understand the definition of sarcasm!?" Hm... here's some tips with dealing with crazy people:

"1. Never assume a crazy person can speak the same language as yourself-"

"Shut up, kid!" Archie squawked to my giant eye, his beak turning to me within a time span of a blink. "Can't you see he's gonna try gliding off the roof next!?" Archie continued exclaiming at my face, somehow the ear-piercing, hysterical voice rivaling my own screeches I used to stun Pokemon... er, I've only used it about twice, both to annoy if you need to know. Despite all the commotion that was going on at the bottom, Arnold seemed unfazed as he continued with his odd breakfast, adding more things I couldn't quite pick out from this distance...

"Either way, you took your time saying how I could!" He yelled out from above, almost slipping and causing Archie to shriek like an overly-protective mother. "This is summer, and I want to enjoy it! My way!" His voice had determined qualities, unusual to those of a crazy Pokemon. He pointed at Archie and targeted himself with the same finger as part of gestures during his turn to speak, using the empty hand he hadn't bothered using. Apart from digging up more food and dumping it into the pan.

"Just get down, and safely! You've got an entire guild to run, and I can't be bossing around 50 teams everyday!"

"Then I'll get Mr. Banana to take over when I'm dead, alright!?" Arnold yelled, forming a cone over his mouth with his pink paw, as he flipped the pancake of... gummis? My God, those things should've stuck like dried glue to... any hot surface.

I assumed by 'and safely,' that Arnold had done this before. And got down unsafely/got down dangerously/fell down dangerously. Of course, several Pokemon (noticeably the more older and experienced ones, or at least the ones familiar with Arnold) had left for their own reasons, be that boredom or lack of free time. Expectantly, people started following the pioneers as the powerless Archie continued to plea for Arnold's safety, his feathers stretching out beyond their limit... I didn't care too much. It was pretty evident Arnold was crazy before I got here, and he somehow survived his crazy acts. I wasn't going to spend my time boiling in the sun, and quite literally too if I was stuck in a pot outside.

'Yo, Archie. Just fly up there or somethin', 'cause you ain't gonna get him with words.' Nah, I didn't actually say that; I was just quoting what somebody else said. I was one of the last of the few to leave, hearing that admittedly quiet message and leaving it here to point out Archie's stubbornness. To my dismay, Archie remained stuck in that cycle, because he didn't hear it. At all. His own voice kicking better advice away...

After departing from the one-man commotion... well, when I turned to Spruce once more, even his shadow was long gone. Thankfully, tracking down his location was much easier, since he was only a meager distance away from my reflective eye with enlarged pupil. I never really knew why my pupil was bigger than a normal Magnemite's one... maybe, it could've stemmed from Davis' first few attempts to make a friend. Oh well, I had always assumed it was better for my vision. "Say what? A beach, AND a CAVE? Who was ignorant enough to leave that out?" I questioned, my voice growing more excited as I reached my final few words of my question. Despite this, the mission itself seemed... suspicious, in a way. It was as if it was just placed there for our eyes only. Literally.

That's what happens, however. At least to the assumptions of brains. Always a feeling of paranoia in first assignments. Naturally, it's not exactly anyone's fault. Probably curiosity's, as it often conflicted with the fear of the unknown.