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Post by flightlessicarus on Nov 12, 2018 12:58:03 GMT -8
Theta feels the rush of energy and is now able to focus on paperwork.
"alright... let's do this."
He whispers an incantation and waves his hand across the spot at the desk in front of him. A thick but tidy stack of papers appear before him. It's barely small enough for a thick clip to keep together. He puts it into the folder and hands it back to Katie, as told.
"there. all the documents should be where required."
The messenger and Kusari just sit quietly and wait, as the slow moving mass of darkness and terror patiently waits for its due across the desk.
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Post by powerkitten on Nov 12, 2018 13:10:11 GMT -8
"Thank you."
President Katie opens the folder and begins looking through the collection of documents. At the same time, a couple more things appear on her desk. A copy of the agreement signed to give the ghosts of SBARGv2 players access to the dream bubbles, a bound copy of Necropolis' Laws, and a bound copy of the rare in-session lore book "SBARGv2 Legal Code." She notes the type of Theta's loans and how they're classified, as well as examining the kind of property that the Clock Tower is defined as and how its value is estimated. She also looks at what the Fountain is billed as (service, utility, or as a sold item.) She also checks if the requirement for payments to be made in souls is present in the agreements.
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Post by flightlessicarus on Nov 12, 2018 14:31:58 GMT -8
Looking inside, Katie would find the following information.
Theta's student loans were subsidized, but because he had graduated in October 2017, he had gone past the six month grace period. Even without the temporal bullshit during the wedding, he would still be in trouble-- the timehold merely made it worse.
The clock tower is considered a residential property, with its value determined by the amount of horizontal space taken up. If they tried to go by vertical space, they'd never reach the top of it.
The island is technically owned by Nicole Garren, who had built the tower base via imaginative methods at the beginning of the bubble's rough timeline. There is a written agreement between her and Theta detailing the terms of their stay. The seths are allowed to reside on the island without paying any sort of rent, as long as she wishes. A note about preventing her from being chased-off was also added.
Theta has been taking care of paying the property taxes in her absence.
It's noted that the voidco government had been retroactively installed as a result of the creation of the concepts of the ghost jail and the reaper school becoming embedded into the bubble. Those locations have not been apart of the bubblescape for as long as the clock tower island.
The fountain, however, was ordered from a voidco-owned website, before Necropolis was ever established. The base of operations for Voidco at the time of purchase was outside of bubble territory, and that a local branch only appeared solidly in Coldcolor Cove after the establishment of Necropolis.
The fountain is considered a utility, much like the rewardificator device that is also offered by Voidco in meteor base locations. Its advertised purpose is to slow the rate of stagnation from "natural bubble drainage".
Top secret files photocopied from the Reaper School's library's off-limits section details how Voidco finds eligable dreambubbles to slowly siphon energy from at a nearly unnoticeable rate. Specifications for the fountain detail that it distills ambient energy in the area and recycles it for immediate use into liquid form, and cycles it for as long as necessary. As the Voidco energy siphoning operation elsewhere in the bubble takes place, the utility users are left increasingly dependent upon the fountain for receiving enough energy to function.
The underworld bubble, according to another document, is currently in a middle stage of siphoning. An influx of energy from various bridged locations, as well as the steady accumulation of newly departed who arrive there, have kept it stable for a while now.
The payment requirements for all of the bills are clearly stated to request that souls are used for payment. It is also stated that Theta is considered an independent contractor as a licensed reaper.
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Post by powerkitten on Nov 12, 2018 15:14:03 GMT -8
"This certainly is an interesting situation we're in."
President Katie begins working through the various information. She notes that the island's ownership by SJ preceded the existence of the VoidCo government in the bubble and that there is no agreement between Niki and VoidCo which would make it part of the government's territory. Theta's payment of tax was based on the false information that the island was within Necropolis territory which VoidCo gave him, which meant that it didn't constitute an unwritten agreement for the territory to be incorporated into Necropolis. As a result, VoidCo collecting tax on the Island was improper, and it would have to be returned.
"It appears you're in for quite the large tax return Theta, as they don't actually have a right to tax the Tower."
She also notes that payment in souls was 'requested' and not 'required.' Legally, this meant it was no more binding than a sign asking customers to not pay in millions of pennies. And as far as loans go, that meant it was entirely non-effective. Theta would be able to pay his student loans in any legal tender of the area. This includes souls, but also any official Necropolis currency and Boon* currency due to SBARGv2 Legal Code defining it as "legal tender in all sessions, as well as anywhere within the shared 'Furthest Ring' area." If they refused to accept his legal method of payment, the debt would be rendered Void.
"Also, you're actually not required to pay in souls. It says they'd like to be paid in that, but you can pay your student loans in Necropolis currency and Boondollars as well. They also can't refuse to accept it without also voiding the entire loan. Oh, and I'm pretty sure the siphoning thing they're doing to make bubbles dependent on them is illegal, but assembling and filing that lawsuit is something that'll have to wait until this is over."
President Katie pulls out a piece of paper with official Desertia letterhead and starts writing out the statement of her points.
"Also, I'm gonna need you to tell me anything you know about that Debt Collector. Knowing the procedure is a must when engaging a Bureaucratic Entity of this size."
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Post by flightlessicarus on Nov 12, 2018 15:54:15 GMT -8
"what the fuck? i got ...scammed?!"
Theta is shaking. All that time, he didn't actually have to do such a terrible act so often to keep everything working?
Being overwhelmed by the weight of his past actions, he begins to cry.
Kusari conjures up his long black coat and puts it over Theta's shoulders for comfort.
"...It appears so. Those assholes probably took advantage of your stunted knowledge of legal bullshit."
"all those seths lost to them... i don't even know how many..."
The paperwork has kept track of the numbers. A total of two souls per month had been sent over as payment for bills, one for property taxes and one for utilities, with the payments going back to august 2015. In march 2016 there was an outage which lasted until the next month, so no payment was required that month.
The payments tapered off around April 2018, when the wedding had began. At that point, the student loans had began to take full effect. At the current rate forecasted, Theta would have had to pay five souls per month for twenty years to pay off his student loans. 1200 in total, which is even more than there are seths in the tower usually.
"you're gonna get them back, right?" The messenger asks Katie.
it takes a while for Theta to regain composure. Eventually however, he answers Katie's question.
"the debt collector... it takes what it can when what's requested by their employer isn't given... it shows no mercy... back when i was in school, they showed us some videos with them, probably to scare the crap out of us. an average ghost with only the energy given to them by the fountain is no match for a debt collector. and the more they collect, the stronger they become. if given a specific target, they will not stop pursuing until they obtain the target... unless they're given orders by their superiors, debt collectors can't be stopped..."
"Are you saying unless we legally slap the fuck out of whoever the fuck at voidco sent that debt collector, that bitch is gonna keep trying to go after the messenger?" Kusari asks.
The messenger is notibly nervous at that quetionable statement.
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Post by powerkitten on Nov 12, 2018 16:05:36 GMT -8
"Yes, we should be entitled to the return of all sixty-four Seth souls. Assuming that they haven't already been... used. Kusari, I need you to help me keep this time field active. And Theta, I need you to find me the phone number for VoidCo's debt and taxation collection office. Meanwhile, I'll continue writing our statement to be as bullet-proof as possible."
She said as she continued to write, her time powers keeping the Debt Collector at bay.
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Post by flightlessicarus on Nov 12, 2018 16:32:45 GMT -8
Kusari gets straight to work with assisting Katie with her time field once more.
Theta uncaptchas his laptop and begins his research. It doesn't take too long to get a phone number.
"...found it. here it is." Theta writes down the number on a blank sticky note and hands it over.
The messenger gives a sigh of relief, but is still somewhat nervous, especially with that debt collector still across the desk from him, like a tank-sized mountain of molasses.
The timefield is the only thing preventing him from being taken by that thing.
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Post by powerkitten on Nov 12, 2018 16:35:28 GMT -8
A landline phone materializes onto the desk, as well as a fax machine 'just in case.' Katie picks up the receiver and dials the number. She holds it to her ear as she waits for the call to be picked up.
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Post by flightlessicarus on Nov 13, 2018 0:39:35 GMT -8
>President Katie: Kick Legal Ass
Kusari keeps up the timefield, too afraid to let go until told. The other two seths wait for their president to finish with that long and extensive phonecall. The suspense is palpable.
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Post by powerkitten on Nov 13, 2018 6:04:25 GMT -8
She hangs up the phone.
"Alright, that's dealt with. I'll summarize the call for you three. The Clock Tower and its island are not taxable by VoidCo and Niki's Dreambubble agreement was unnecessary and invalid so we have ownership over our dream bubble creations again. VoidCo will now take payments in Boondollars for your debts, and they'll be returning the sixty-four Seth souls to you Theta. Forty-eight of them were in stasis and are unharmed, fifteen of them were used as a power source and are almost completely drained, requiring heavy rehabilitation due to the memory wipe, and one additional soul was drained and 'had also been subject to a heavily redacted incident which left their soul radically changed. They have been sent to a trading program which would set them up to be reincarnated in another dimension to avoid further investigation' so they'll take a bit longer for VoidCo to find. I have no idea what the fuck happened to that Seth, but I guess we'll find out when they arrive at the Tower. Oh, and send the invoice to me when it arrives Theta, I'll take care of the likely absurd bill. Between me and Hazel we have loads of boondollars."
"Now, Kusari, we need to relax the time field enough to let the cancel command through to that thing without letting it vore us. Any ideas on how to do that?"
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Post by flightlessicarus on Nov 13, 2018 8:46:57 GMT -8
"...you did it?" theta asks, still unsure.
"did you hear her? she did it! we're saved!" the messenger exclaims.
"yeah, that's great and all, but what about this thing over here?" Kusari gestures to the debt collector still restrained by the timefield.
"...vore us? what does that mean?" the messenger asks.
"...you don't want to know." Theta answers. He wishes he could unlearn such a thing as the messenger had.
"I'll see what I can do." Kusari tells President Katie.
He slowly begins to lessen his hold on the debt collector. It begins to wiggle and writhe at a less deliberated pace.
For safety, Theta whispers a magic spell and raises a plexiglass wall between the desk and the debt collector. It should be large enough to prevent direct attacks from across the desk.
Feeling more at ease, Kusari continues to weaken the time field. The debt collector is now at half speed now. the distressed cries of their captured brothers are deep and haunting at this speed. it's unnerving and almost makes Kusari lose focus. The debt collector slowly attempts to maneuver around the plexiglass wall. The messenger sidesteps in the other direction out of fear.
soon enough however, something changes. the debt collector halts it's trajectory. It changes shape, condensing into the form of two shaded figures in suits, carrying suitcases.
Kusari dispels the timefield upon them.
The shaded figures are silent, but calm.
wordlessly, they place a suitcase upon the desk and open it. One of them pulls out a jar, filled to the brim with a shining red energy. the jar shakes impatiently.
The shaded figures place the jar upon the desk and take back their now empty suitcase.
Theta gazes upon the jar. thirty-something souls are contained in there, all seth. Their jittering slows slightly, less panic shared between them in the presence of those familiar.
The shaded figures begin to leave the way they came, towards the elevator, which has integrated seamlessly into the office building.
Kusari, having used a great deal of effort to keep the timefield together, falls backwards and hits the floor.
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Post by powerkitten on Nov 13, 2018 8:59:10 GMT -8
Katie uncorks the jar, releasing them. As she does so, her suit fades back into her regular clothes. The office stays, however, apparently needing to be consciously dispersed if one wanted to be rid of it.
She rushes over to Kusari. "Are you okay?"
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Post by flightlessicarus on Nov 13, 2018 15:13:40 GMT -8
The captive souls fly out of the jar! They spin and revolve around the group for a lap or two before settling into their preferred forms. Soon enough, the room has a crowd of seths in it.
Hypnos, still wearing that tacky leaf village headband, lands on his feet, slightly dazed. Soon enough however, he gathers his wits about him. Hypnos spots Theta not too far away and immediately starts running towards him.
"Tha-Thetaaaaa!"
Theta looks over at his rapidly approaching brother, hardly even ready to process the miracle that had taken place here.
"...hypnos!"
Hypnos glomps his brother, knocking him down in excitement. they hold each other tightly, both now crying for their own reasons.
"Brother... I thought I'd never see you again!"
"no need to worry... we won't be in any more danger for a long time..."
The messenger is left confused, but hopeful. It feels good to be among so many like him, so it seems.
Meanwhile, Kusari's predicament is addressed by Katie, no longer in her presidential attire.
"...I'll be fine... it's a small price for safety..."
he continues to stay on his back. For once, he finally feels like he's made up for his past misdeeds. The gash upon his neck appears to be slightly healed. In this moment of calm, he finally allows himself to cry. Tears of joy streak down from his closed eyes.
"Thank you... thank you for all that you've done for us... I hope my assistance was sufficient for you..."
In this moment, nothing can hurt them anymore.
They're free.
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Post by powerkitten on Nov 13, 2018 16:05:40 GMT -8
"You did great Kusari, thank you," Katie says, smiling warmly.
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lunarLunatic
DEATH EGG
All your moons are mine!!!!
Posts: 1,486
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Post by lunarLunatic on Nov 14, 2018 0:26:10 GMT -8
Feeling that they've waited long enough, the forest dweller and the odd Kat start to shuffle off deeper into the forest. The building will probably either fade or become empty eventually, and there's been enough time that they could assume that the people in that building have forgotten about them already. It's as good of a time to slink off back into the darkness as any.
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