>>691718
Alright, first off, ask Zeke if he's alright, and how he got rid of the black goo. We may need to go into his head next if he took it into himself.

I think you should let Dr Cooper deal with Lester's recovery. She's a therapist.

>>691718
Make sure Zeke doesn't shoot Lester.

Toxoglossa 2016/01/07(Thu)19:18 No. 692098 ID: ab25fe
File 145222312284.png - (73.60KB , 600x600 , 5-82.png )

"Zeke, are you alright? Do you remember what happened?"

Zeke squints and shakes his head.
>" I don't know, man. I was wrestling with that black stuff and you told me to get out. I think I took it with me; my head hurts, dude. What happened?"

Toxoglossa 2016/01/07(Thu)19:18 No. 692099 ID: ab25fe
File 145222313519.png - (90.49KB , 600x575 , 5-83.png )

"Whatever you did, it worked. The music box started up and Lester found who he was looking for. Do you remember now Lester?"

His puffy red eyes look at up you from a mask of snot and dirt.
>"Callie." He pants.
Suddenly he scrambles across the floor, heading for the front door. Zeke raises the gun and tracks him, but hesitates when you tell him to wait. You turn to Dr. Cooper to see if she knows what to do, but in doing so you realize that you can't find Diego.

>>692099
Check the hall or other rooms? Did zeke see where he went? and where's Cooper, too?

>>692099
He's probably writing on things somewhere.

>>692099
Shitshitshit

Ask Lester to wait a minute, make sure things are okay between you and him. He knows you're not out to get him now, right? If he needs more help he can ask.

Then multitask. Go looking for Diego in here first, he may just be in another room. If he's still in the apartment then go back into Zeke's head to try to dissolve the black goo somehow. Now that you know the general theme of Zeke's head and what dangers are in it, you may be able to avoid pissing off the bees to get to the goo. If it can't be destroyed, then take it into space since that seems to be a neutral area, not really your head. It might even count as one of the parts we're looking for. ...actually maybe you should take it there first before trying to destroy it.

If Diego isn't in the apartment then just have Zeke hand over the gun to Dr Cooper since there's something wrong with his head now. Then I guess all three of you can go looking for Diego.

After that's done, then you can go back into Diego's head, perhaps alongside one other person, and see if you can fix whatever's wrong with him.

What can you see outside the window? If it is the exit of the apartaments, maybe someone should Keep an eye for him.

As for what to do with the gun... Maybe the doctor should have it, or at least she should keep the bullets to make sure no accidents happen. (or maybe dismantle it? Only if it seems to be a better idea)

Toxoglossa 2016/01/10(Sun)09:36 No. 692694 ID: ab25fe
File 145244738350.png - (88.51KB , 600x473 , 5-84.png )

"Wait, where's Diego?"

Dr. Cooper looks around, confused.
>"I'm not sure, he was just here."
You check the bathroom and find it empty. You rush out into the hall just as a trash bag is ejected from Lester's apartment. It rips open like a spoiled fruit as it hits the wall and you duck back instinctively.

>>692694
I'm guessing Lester has lost his hoarding urges and has decided to clean his apartment. Those are cockroaches flying around, right?

See if you can get past and check outside to be sure Diego isn't running off.

Tell Lester if he needs help cleaning, he can ask.

Call Diego on his cell phone, you have the number right? Or call Doug to get his number, you should have your superior's number, and he should have Diego's.

Nathan did lose his phone but he should be able to use someone else's.

>>692708
Lester probably needs some alone time, but make a note to remind him later to call the city for a mass pick up. You know, when the world isn't about to end.

But yes, contacting Doug and/or Hiro would be a good idea. Diego might be drawn to either one of them while he's under the influence like this. Ask whoever you call for Diego's number, and warn them that he's under the influence.

If you talk to Hiro, lie convincingly. Talk about the fire in the clean room, and how Diego charged in there without a suit to get you out. He must have had a delayed reaction to something in there because he became unresponsive and started drawing weird symbols. Hiro can give you an update on the weird stuff Cobolt has been spitting out, and you can contact him by email if necessary since he's in lock down in front of his computer right now and might not respond to strange phone calls. Only reason he responded before is because you used Diegos.

If you talk to Doug , tell the truth. You went into a neighbors mind, Diego somehow piggy backed on your ability, and when inside Diego ate some royal jelly and came out unable to communicate except by drawing alien mathematics. Shortly after, another neighbor broke in and things got violent. Unaware contact was made, and by the time you got out of that mind... Diego was gone. Oh, and while you may chide him over taking the computer, warning him about Diego acting impulsively should come first.

Finally, while you're doing either one of those things, ask Zeke ifs he would mind working with Doctor Cooper to check on the status of his Safe Place. The fact that the black goo just vanished AND he has headaches is a bad sign. It had to go somewhere, and some hypnosis therapy might allow you to check on things in his Safe Place without actually visiting his mind.

>>692787
I still think the black goop would make a good tether, if we can get it safely back to our machine.

Call his phone. He should still have it with him. Just call it and listen carefully. If he's still hiding somewhere nearby, you should be able to hear his phone ring when you call it.

Toxoglossa 2016/01/13(Wed)16:57 No. 693587 ID: ab25fe
File 145273302721.png - (65.91KB , 422x600 , 5-85.png )

You rush back into the apartment.
"Dr. Cooper, I need to borrow your phone!"
She unlocks it and hands it to you. The touchscreen struggles to respond to your taped up fingers but you manage to dial Diego's number. It rings for a moment before switching to voicemail. You hang up and try again with no luck. Instead you try calling Hiro.
>Allo? Who's dis?

"Hiro, this is Nate. I need to talk to you about Diego."

You hear an expansive yawn come through the other end.
>Oh, you two hit it off then? He told me he had a date. Did he give you the D?
A snicker cackles through the other end.
>Get it? because Diego starts with a-

"Come on, Hiro. He just took off and won't answer his phone. I think he may have been exposed to something in the clean room and I think he's freaking out. Do you know any way to get in touch with him?"

> I'll try, but I dunno what good it'll do."

"How's it going with cobalt?"

>[i]Boring: just the same old garbage. Most of the cops left a few hours ago, but the place is still on lockdown. I've been trying to come up with fixes but it getting hard to....do... think...without sleep

>>693587
Tell him he should probably get a power nap.

Then just take everyone and go look for Diego. First thing is to see if he took the car. If he did but Dr Cooper has a car to follow him in, do so. Actually I bet you can treat Zeke's black goo problem in the back seat. Should be quick.

>>693589
It's a big city. Trying to run around looking for him would be a bad idea. You don't know where Diego lives, and it sounds like that aside from his home and work he hasn't really spread out much in this city.

Also, if you tell Hiro to go back to sleep, tell it in a way that sounds like "sorry for waking you". It sounds like you may have woke him up.

Also, don't dismiss how easy or how urgent Zeke's problem might be. Lester is just a normal person who had a tragic experience with his sister. Zeke is a normal person who SUFFERS FROM SEIZURES. A lot could be at stake.

>>693627
Well I mean if we see him leaving we can maybe catch him and stick to him.

Alternatively Nate could ask where Diego lives, because that might be where he's going?

Have you ever tried contacting the custodians outside of the mind-realm?

>>693587
If he's on foot, he may not have gotten far yet. In a big city, a guy who looks stoned out of his mind and alone is also Grade A mugger bait. Time to get a search party together.

>>693587
Zeke's probably got some of Lester's muck in his psyche, we'll need to check everythings ok later but in the mean time take a quick look around the block to make sure Diego's not at risk of getting run over or something.

Also take a quick look at Lester when you get the oppertunity, just to make sure the fixed music box hasn't made him obsessively clean or something now.

Toxoglossa 2016/01/17(Sun)17:54 No. 694863 ID: ab25fe
File 145308206589.png - (118.67KB , 600x600 , 5-86.png )

"Maybe you should get some sleep, Hiro?" He grumbles something in agreement and the line goes dead. You hand Dr. Cooper her phone back. "He said he'd try contacting him, but maybe he hasn't gone far yet."

>"Hey what do I do with this?" Zeke holds up the pistol in one hand, gripping his forehead with the other."

Dr. Cooper takes it from him gently.
>"I'll just hold this for now, if that's alright?"
She checks to see the safety is on before putting it into the inside pocket of her jacket. The weight makes it hang lopsided, but it shouldn't attract any attention.
The two of them follow you downstairs and around the block, finding only an empty parking spot.

Is there any sign of Diego's car? Wait where's Dr Cooper's car?

If we can't tell where Diego went, then go back upstairs and let's go into Zeke's mind to solve the goo problem.

Zeke does not look good. We need to solve his black goo issue soon.

>>694864
Actually, that is an issue. Where is the good doctor's car?

>>694875
Agreed. Assuming we're not in a "wake up from a dream only to find out you're still dreaming" scenario. Even then, the black goo would be the problem.

>>694875
Yes. Let's get in there and get the gunk out of his head.

>>694864
>>694875
>>694889
>>694941
Do you guys even realize it's not that simple? Remember what our creepy boss Doug said? He said, "Not sure if you knew about this or not: If you touch someone while they aren't aware of it, you'll be drawn in. But as long as they know that you're there, thier mind will block you out. I still haven't figured out why, but its handy if you don't want to get wrapped up in everyone's baggage." Based on that, we can't just jump into Zeke's head and deal with the problem just because we want to! I agree that we need to get in there as soon as possible, but think about how long we'd have to wait for Zeke to become "unaware" for us to even get in there! It could take a few minutes or a few hours! And while we're doing that, Diego, who's brain has been scrambled, is missing and probably doing something dangerous without even knowing he's doing something dangerous! I'm not saying we shouldn't help Zeke. I'm saying we should find Diego and help him first, then we can help Zeke, while someone else watches over Diego to make sure he doesn't wander off again!

>>695039
Dude, we jumped into his head by distracting him, just last thread.

>>695039
>>695040
Not to mention we have a therapist probably trained in hypno therapy. We should be good. Trickier part will be returning the rope we took from Zeke's brain so it can be used to repair the damage that the black goo is going to his head. That involves jumping through some hoops we've never actually done before.

>>695139
Actually, that's a good point. We took it as a tether (it was a weak one though), but now it might be important to have taken it. He might need some 'spare parts'.

>>695040
>>695139
>>695202
So basically either we A) Help Zeke now and possibly never find Diego or B) Find Diego and Zeke's condition gets harder to fix.

Man, I hate these kinds of situations.

Toxoglossa 2016/01/20(Wed)18:13 No. 696011 ID: ab25fe
File 145334242838.png - (79.77KB , 387x600 , 8-87.png )

Dr. Cooper casts her eyes around the empty street.
>"Are you sure this is where he parked?"

"Yeah, we were trying to avoid being followed. Maybe we should go look for him, can we take your car?"

She suddenly looks a little uncomfortable.
>"Mine? Oh, I... got a ride with Uber..."

"What, why?"

>"Because.... I may... have had a couple of glasses of wine before you called, okay? I didn't expect to be on call for a-a whatever this is."
You've never seen Dr. Cooper on the defensive before, its kind of unsettling.
>"If you want I can get us a ride, but we'll have to wait for them to show up."

"Well, what about you, Zeke?"

He gives you a scoff.
>"Dude, do I look like I have a car? I bike everywhere."

>>696011
We don't know where Diego lives or where he would go in his current condition. If we can't head out right away, we may as well not bother.

Right now, you need to make sure Zeke didn't take the black goo into his head. Last thing we need is for his Asian water garden to get turned into tar pits.

If his mind is contiminated, it should be fixed while the problem is fresh and he hasn't suffered any side effects of it like Lester did. If his mind is clean, I think everyone involved here could use with some rest. Tomorrow morning you need to figure out how to get to work to retrieve your car, and which of the MANY problems you'll need to wack a mole first.

>>696011
If we wait for a ride we'll have no chance of seeing Diego on the streets and we have no idea where he's going. We'll just have to hope he's on autopilot and either going back to work or going to his own home.

Let's just fix Zeke then ask permission to go into Dr Cooper's head. I suppose explaining to her WHY we're going into peoples' heads might be a good idea too.

After that, Lester may have recovered enough we can ask him for a sample of his mind constructs. Maybe one of the dancers would help us? Or heck we could ask his inner self what part of him might work and be safe to take.

>>696011
Reassure Dr. Cooper. She's obviously uncomfortable that her enjoying herself has prevented her from helping in some way. Regardless that it's not her fault, it's a difficult mindset not to fall into when your job is helping people.

Toxoglossa 2016/01/25(Mon)19:02 No. 697168 ID: ab25fe
File 145377733918.png - (92.64KB , 600x595 , 5-88.png )

"Maybe we should try and help Zeke, then. I'm worried about what that goo might do if left unchecked."

Dr. Cooper yawns,
>"If you say so. This is all still very bizarre to me."

Toxoglossa 2016/01/25(Mon)19:02 No. 697169 ID: ab25fe
File 145377734624.png - (100.29KB , 600x462 , 5-89.png )

The three of you head upstairs and you sit Zeke down to try and re-enter his mind.

Dr. Cooper
>"So how does this work?"

Nate
"Well, all it takes is physical contact. The problem is that he can't be aware of it when it happens."

Zeke rocks gently on the couch as he nurses his head.
>"You know, I appreciate all this but its okay. Its not like I haven't had shit wrong with my head before this."

Nate
"Yeah, but I want to make sure it didn't do any damage when you took it with you. Just relax and like... try to think of something else."

You spend the next half-hour trying different ways to distract Zeke and enter his mind with no success.
>"I can't do it, dude. Its like trying to pretend the dentist isn't there. Plus I've got this headache..."

Toxoglossa 2016/01/25(Mon)19:02 No. 697170 ID: ab25fe
File 145377735232.png - (77.15KB , 600x526 , 5-90.png )

You sigh and lean back against the couch, exhausted and running out of ideas.

>>697169
Kissing him should prove a sufficient enough distraction.

Phone the police and report a missing person (Diego). Mention that he seemed to be having some sort of seizure or episode and wandered off. He should be kept from hurting himself or others.

>>697170
Well, we know it works if the target is asleep.

Dr Cooper could also try hypnosis?

>>697182
Actually, if she can do hypnosis, we should step out and make the phone call while she does so.

Idea: Zeke pokes you while you're tired and out of focus, and retrieves the tether himself.

>>697169
Can you get high again?

>>697239
This. Or at least the poking thing. We know that something happened when Diego touched you... though it wasn't exactly what happens when Nate touches someone, Nate doesn't know that.

Other plans... Zeke holds your hand and tries to go to his safe place, or Doctor Cooper uses the same hypnosis technique used to teach her patients about the safe place and Nate just touches Zeke when he's deep in trance.

Toxoglossa 2016/01/27(Wed)20:33 No. 697740 ID: ab25fe
File 145395561096.png - (75.25KB , 379x600 , 5-91.png )

>"I think you'd have to wait till I fall asleep, Nate. Unless Dr. Cooper can, like, hypnotize me or something?"

Dr. Cooper rolls her eyes at him.
>"When have I ever indicated that I know how to hypnotize someone? Its not really a standard practice among psychiatrists."
She runs her fingers through her hair
>"Listen, I'm going to call in a missing persons report for your friend. I don't know how much they're going to be able to do, since so little time has passed, but maybe they can spot him."

Toxoglossa 2016/01/27(Wed)20:33 No. 697741 ID: ab25fe
File 145395561665.png - (63.06KB , 600x473 , 5-92.png )

She steps out of the room to make the call. You lean back and sigh as you close your eyes...

Toxoglossa 2016/01/27(Wed)20:33 No. 697742 ID: ab25fe
File 145395562548.png - (110.93KB , 512x600 , 5-93.png )

-worrying about how you're going to get to work in the morning.

END OF CHAPTER 5

Well I was going to suggest Zeke get high, next, so that he can relax more and thus stop thinking about Nate... but okay!