[Another public call comes through the line - this one, however, is heavily obscured by static and the voice is tinny, almost as if it's coming from somewhere far away.]

--working yet? Ugh, finally.

All right, listen up, you lot. You probably don't like me and I sure as hell don't like any of you, but I think we can all agree that we like that woman even less, yeah? So we're gonna have to work together if we want to turn this place back into the normal, happy Mayfield - one where people don't walk around with their asses sticking out of their eyes or whatever it is she's done this time.

And don't believe any of that bullshit about how she needs her experiments to fix the revival system. I can do that easily without having to chop people up and sew them back together - hell, I would have ages ago if she didn't have that goddamn spy of hers sabotaging my every fucking move. None of this would have happened in the first place if she hadn't messed with my filters. Actually, none of this would have happened if you idiots hadn't decided to destroy a machine blindly, so I figure that you jackasses owe me one anyway. Hell, I'm such a swell fucking gentleman, I'll even throw in surgery reversals for free.

So here's what I need you to do. I need to be able to get access to the machine in the Dairy for six hours without any interruptions. You lucky fellows get to be the diversion. How you do that is up to you, just catch her attention somehow - maybe those hilariously pathetic resistance groups will actually be useful for once. And do it now - none of that namby-pamby 'oh but we should come up with a strategy that won't work anyway' nonsense. I'm giving you a free 24-hour leeway to blow up as much shit in the town as you want, so you should take advantage of it.

Just don't fuck it up again this time.

[OOC: As a sidenote, while townspeople will now be able to destroy most of the buildings in Mayfield without risk of being droned, any attempt to damage City Hall, the police station, the post office, the factory, the dairy, or the Smith's house will not work.]

Phone:
Does this mean we're helping him? Helping them? ...I guess we don't have a choice, do we? [After all, she said once she would help fix the machine, and she meant it.]

Just don't blow up the hospital. Whatever you do. There are too many injured people there who can't be moved. We can't endanger them. Not even for this.


Action // 836 Hastings Boulevard:
[Clutching her stomach, Nina is going to hunt around the house for her brother until she finds him.]

Johan? I need your advice.


Action // The Beauty Salon:
[Nina is going into the beauty salon.

And a gun. She doesn't fire it yet, but she's willing to if nobody listens the first time.]

Everybody out of here! Right now!

[Sharp-eyed observers might also notice there are several containers of gasoline in the beauty salon that weren't there before.]


Action // Outside the salon, after:
[Nina is standing some ways outside the beauty salon, watching it burn down from a safe distance. A young man who looks very similar to her is with her. There's something different about Nina herself too, though it's difficult to tell until you get close. But her expression seems to have changed slightly, and there's something glittering in her eyes. She isn't smiling, but somehow it feels as though she might be.]


[ooc: Just a note, Johan is with Nina and may threadjack any of her action tags, unless you explicitly specify you don't want that. You can also explicitly request to interact with both of them if you want, too!]

[ Action - Downtown ]

[ After hearing the last mass call to people dealing with what crazy things had been going on the last few days Sion decided to head downtown. Not because she was going to destroy some of the building or try and do anything. She hadn't collected any data on how powerful a few people were in town, after getting in to quite a few fights over the last few months due to certain circumstances it was best to collect more data now then to have a disadvantage later. ]

[ She's just kinda thumbing over how in just a short amount of time people are already all over the place venting anger or just destroying things now that there's no backlash for doing so. ]

[Phone]

Hehahahahahaaaah!!

You foolish man! Do you understand what you've done...!? You've invited all of us to a feast with decadence of unprecedented magnitude! So be it! You only need to ask and I shall deliver.

Let the gates of Hell open once again to deliver an end to your foolish comedy! From here on out, the story of Mayfield shall be one of tragedies. I shall give you a spectacle unlike any other you have witnessed. There is no going back, my friends.

From the seas of the damned, the end beckons!

[Action: The Park]

[True to his word, Caster has early in the morning made his way towards the Park. It's the only area with a large body of water to begin his magic, after all. Like before, with an excited look, he rushes over towards the lake. As he reaches the body of water, the man stops only to walk now. It was as if the water was solid for Caster walks on top of it with relative ease. He then makes his way towards the center and turns around, giving a bow as if the show was about to start.

Caster takes out his flesh-bound tome from his robes and begins to mutter words in an arcane language. The pages of the book in his hands releases a purple mist that begin dispersing all around the waters. The man will continue this process for quite a while. Should he be disturbed, and the chances of that are likely, he already has a few leftover monsters stationed to guard the waters.

But he's open to conversation, of course, if you yell loudly enough...]

[Action: Anywhere]

[And the ritual has finally concluded long ago. Any unwitting observer may see from the distance a towering shadow of something remarkable, yet grotesque nearing the streets of Mayfield. As it is now, it's about nearly the size of, say, a city bridge, a skyscraper, or a mobile suit. Its plan, of course, is to destroy all that it can whether they are people or buildings. What may seem like a laugh echoes from the encroaching abomination...]

[The experiments on Rikku at the factory included the unfortunate side effect of death. She's a stalwart girl, yes, but even the most stalwart can only survive so long with surgical tools tearing at her intestines and causing internal bleeding. Her death certificate was practically signed before she left the factory, and she only survived for a few hours after being released from it.

But that's okay, because she's back! Sure, she's not in the best condition, but she's alive again!

Kind of.

If you ignore the fact that she has no heartbeat, or that her body temperature is incredibly low, or that her blood is a congealed pseudo-solid, or that her right hand (stitched to her left wrist) is starting to fall off, or that a scalpel seems to be poking out from her lower abdomen, or that she looks like she's still dead... it's like she's good as new!]


[Action A: Around Town]

[Despite being little better than a reanimated corpse (and after she has a few hours to freak out over her current state of being), Rikku's wandering around town to check on people. Friends and family get highest priority, of course, but if she sees someone in need of assistance she'll approach and try to help.

Rikku is the cheeriest zombie. Or, at least, she's doing her best to be. There's no sense in wasting time bemoaning her state, right?]


[Action B: 918 Bilko Boulevard, locked to sara_mudou]

[Rikku's banging on Sara's front door with the stump of her left wrist, her hand having been lost somewhere along the way. She's heard the phone announcement that they're allowed to blow things up now, and she really really wants to take advantage. It serves them right for putting them through all of this, and maybe they can get something accomplished!

Unfortunately, possessing one backward-and-barely-operational hand means she can't mix the ingredients herself, so she needs a friend. Besides, Sara was such a wreck last time she saw her, so she wants to see if the girl is doing any better.]

Sara! Sara, hey! Open up! We have things to blow up!

(A: Anywhere

Like some sort of gruesome trail, you may find several corpses of a certain BLU asshole strewn about. Trying to poke one may result in it dissolving, since some of these are decoys being left behind both to obfuscate his actual deaths and to minimize the damage his body is taking; the real corpses have their masks super-glued on, so it can't be removed without destroying the face.

B: Hospital

If you keep track of inventory, you may notice that supplies of painkillers--morphine in particular--has been coming up short in the last few days. Of course, given the current situation in town, you may not be able to nail down the perp, but maybe you might be able to catch him in the act?

C: 504 Ricardo Street, BLU Medic's house

It starts with one polite bell ring, followed by a few more less polite bell rings, followed by an increasingly impatient pounding on the door. If nobody answers after that, the house is going to get broken into by somebody who looks like a bizarre cross between a mummy and the Invisible Man.)

[action - downtown]

[She was never really one for violence. It was against her newfound path, you know! But seeing what the town had done to her these past few days, finally slipping out of her psychosis, after murdering people in cold blood.

Yeah, she's mad. Almost angrier than when she was still suffering from the affects of being revived. So in the downtown area, yeah? You can see a witch with her scroll out, shooting lasers and bullets god knows what else at every structure still standing. Though if you choose to approach her, she'll instantly cease firing.]

[Phone]

Fine!  You want me to destroy things?  I'll show you destroying things!  I'll tear down your whole stupid town this time!  Prepare to face the wrath of the ocean, Mayfield!

[Action; all around town]

[Squid Girl is still suffering from the effects of her surgery - eyes on the sides of her head, constant leaking of ink while talking, tentacles in place of her real arms - but she's finally adapted somewhat and is honestly at the point where she's too angry to be sad.  All day long on the 5th, she can be found rampaging around town destroying things just like the man on the telephone said.  She's spitting ink every which way, using her tentacle grafts and the ten she already had to pick up and throw things all over the place, and just causing general mayhem wherever she goes.]

Take that, Mayfield!  And that!  Have I destroyed enough stuff yet?  Are you gonna change me back now?  No?  Okay, then!

[Her rage will continue unabated until the end of the event or until someone puts her down.  Until then, enjoy ink over everything and random debris being tossed around, through windows, into cars, etc.]

[Phone]

[Her tone is even and just a bit chastising. This was a lesson everyone had to think about, a lesson that came with a high price.]

Situations like these demonstrates why caution and understanding are necessary. Foolish and rash actions will only cause problems in the end and will never lead to a beneficial out come. One who is impetuous with their decisions and actions will only harm themselves and others around them. Though we may not like this place, this place has a method of functioning, and without understanding the system which supports this reality we have come to know, we will only hurt ourselves by damaging it thoughtlessly.

Keep this in mind next time there is an opportunity, learn first and form a plan before simply taking action for the sake of it.

[She pauses a moment to let that all sink in. Also to give a divider from her next topic.]

As for the request for distraction, I know many of you will take it as a chance to do anything you feel like. Please try and behave and not target your chaotic natures towards your fellow captors. It does nothing for anyone in the end. Those I see being out of control for the sake of it without any thought or caution will be judged accordingly.

[Action; All around Mayfield]

[Eiki can be found in various places in Mayfield, but she's not participating in wanton destruction. Instead she is keeping an eye on people, specifically to make sure no innocent people get more hurt than they already are. It's a rare thing for her to get involved, but in such an extreme situation she felt there was no other choice.]

[action, some distance outside the hospital]
[He stands a short ways away the hospital, shoulders set, a dull resolution in his eyes. ...Jack Smith wanted chaos? He could do chaos. Lucas exhales sharply as the glow of PSI begins to suffuse him, running up and down his body as it does every time he brings his healing powers forth.

...But something is different. The air glimmers around him, not with the gentle light that brought calm to those on whom it shone, but with a harsh flicker and crackle of static electricity, of great power coming to bear. The diamond patterns shift from a placid blue to a fierce red to a muted green and back to a pulsing blue again...

He takes a deep breath. It had been a very, very long time since he'd used this power. But this place... This place where those who suffered the excruciating experiments were returned, where those who came back from the dead with amnesia and nightmares and injuries were returned. Whether or not it had any connection to the horrible things that had been going on, he didn't know. But even looking at it sends a flash of anger running through him.  His power flares about him as he clenches his fists and takes a step forward.

There were people inside, he knew.  But he could at least destroy the brick wall fencing off the building.

He flings his arms forward and cries out.  Something like a laser beam, less tangible, more colorful, more... inexplicable, bursts out of him, spiraling about his body for a few moments before flaring out to smash forth with immense force.  PK Love Ω!  Let the power of his love for his friends shine forth. Let the indignation of pain undeserved bring destruction to those who caused it. Let the depths of his emotions be realized...!

A massive section of the wall explodes into dust.  Bricks go flying in every direction.

Lucas breathes heavily as he summons up his next attack.  ...Pauses.  ...Shifts uncomfortably.]

Ohh, noooo...

[action, still in the same place]
[For several hours afterwards, Lucas sits next to the exploded brick wall with a guilty expression on his face, laboriously piling brick after brick back into its proper place. He has nothing to use for mortar except a jar of water that he pours into the dirt beneath his feet to make mud.]

 Action; Downtown Mayfield

[Under most circumstances, working in alliance with one of Mayfield's own would have been out of the question. Certainly Jack Smith was no friend, but perhaps he wasn't an enemy, either. Believing in his phone call may be stupid, but at this time Slugger has little to believe in anymore. If all he had to do was impart tremendous damage long enough to allow Smith to restore the revival system, Slugger would gladly oblige. Anything to bring back his best friend and his mother. 

On a street corner in downtown Mayfield stands a boy facing a world with no rules. His gaze is set to the west where a row of shops and businesses line the street leading up to the police station several blocks away. This is where he will begin, consequences be damned. If he discovered later that Jack Smith had lied, he would come for Jack Smith.

Soon, the boy begins to grow tall, wide and monstrous, until his body erupts into a dark mass, thick and muddy and still growing. Larger and larger it becomes, reaching the size of a house in short time. Black, nebulous arms reach for the nearest building, latching onto the walls before rolling over and slowly crushing the structure beneath its weight. Glass, metal, concrete --- all succumb to utter demolition. A large explosion may be heard, muted under the pressure surrounding it. Once the first building has been reduced to a flattened heap of smoldering rubbish, the darkness simply rolls onward without stop to the one immediately beside it.]

Action; Police Station

[Outside the police station, the earth rumbles as impending destruction comes its way. The nearest building has been slowly enveloped and crushed beneath the relentless mass of darkness. Ignoring traffic, it crosses the street like a tsunami in slow motion, pushing vehicles and debris with it as it crawls toward its intended target...] 

Action A: There's an unlikely person out and about destroying stuff today. But after this whole event, feeling like he's been on the edge of death and panic for several days after dying and coming back, wounds all over that wouldn't heal, Silence had died, his friends were all suffering horribly and dying, and he was helpless to stop any of it.

So, fuck it. Right now he didn't care if this was a lie, a game, or if he was going to be killed or droned. He had some frustrations to work out.

He's out on his motorcycle today, the Ducati speeding around town at dangerous speeds. He's dodging anyone else causing damage as best he can. He's carrying a baseball bat in one of his hands, and is knocking down mail boxes as he goes with surprising ferocity. Better look out and not get in his way. Or maybe you want to join in?

Action B: Later, he'll hide his motorcycle back home - he doesn't want it to be a victim of collateral damage. He doesn't have magic or abilities to do a lot of destruction at once. He's got a gun, though, just a pistol. But he's going around town and teaching the scenery a lesson. He's pumping some bullets into things like trees, mailboxes, empty cars, whatever's around he can shoot and not hit someone. Hopefully.

Action C: Towards the end of the day, at the park, Crowe expending what's little energy he's got left with a soccer ball. He's kicking it as hard as he can, sweating, bandaged old wounds reopening with blood spotting through his shirt. If you're lucky to catch him at the right time, you might see him set up a crazy move that he only has energy to get one in, before he's sitting on the ground to catch his breath.

[Phone]

Any of ye fools insistin' on breakin' things better not include each other in that. Any of ye need patchin' up after, come by 1446 Mitchell. Ask fer Granny.

If yer real bad off I kin come lookin' for ye, but it's better keepin' everything in one spot.

[1446 Mitchell]

[Anyone needing assistance will find Granny at home, true to her word.]

[Location: Anywhere]

[Now, truth-be-told, Nozomi isn't one to do something destructive on purpose. Quite the contrary, if she's destructive, it's because that's how she is - clumsy and a little scatterbrained. However, things changed with that phone call and Nozomi's now in the same "Save Everyone" mode she takes up once she becomes Cure Dream.

Of course, with the most she can do is just cosplay the hell out of herself, she's doing the best she can wrecking things, using whatever items she can find to cause trouble.

Sure, Coco's gonna flip (along with the rest of the girls), but if this can help bring everyone back to normal and not make her feel useless, she'll do it!]

Aaagh! [She lets a big branch swing at a nearby window, flinching at the shards as they flew.] Well... that's another window down. There's got to be more to break...!

[Action, Mayfield General Store]

[As much as Dexter would like to get the beard off his face right now, the beard has other plans. The past few days have been long and torturous for Dexter, the beard slowly consuming his mind. His will is no longer his own, as much as he tries to fight it. It is not until they reach the beard's destination that a word is uttered from Dexter. The beard speaks, using Dexter's voice. However, it's deeper than usual, almost fake-sounding.]

Yesss.... Yess... while everyone around is occupied with their pointless folly, my plan shall soon come to fruition. You too, will take part in this place's destruction. But for a different cause.

[Dexter picks up a rock, tossing it at the window of the general store. There is much reluctance, and his motions are very jerky. Dexter is putting up as much resistance to the beard's influence as he can, but sadly, even the mind of a genius has its limits. He was never good at dealing with people.]

Once we rid this store of my sworn enemy. My people... my children will grow. The beard will spread. It is futile to resist. I have full control of your body, and your mind, Dexter. Resist, and your end will be painful.

[Dexter manages only to get enough strength for him to gulp, as the beard turns his body towards the razor blades.]

Now, Let us begin, shall we? Your skills with science will provide quite useful in creating the weaponry.

[After a montage... Dexter has used the supplies in the general store to create an array of weapons from the shaving asile of the store. From grenades made out of shaving cream bottles, to throwing razor blades. Those who would not submit to the beard's plans would be shaved off the face of the earth. He almost looks like an action hero. Shirtless, beard, and a ton of grenades attached to belts. He almost looks manly, but let's face it: He's more facial hair than man at this point. Do you dare speak to him?]

[Carrie like others, heard about breaking the town and while she wasn't affected it seemed like something you should help out in. She could use it as a way to practise with her powers too. She hadn't really done much with that anyway.

And the best place to destroy?]

[Action: The High School: Carrie stands still in the middle of the school parking lot. Maybe this isn't such a good idea...after all there might be people still in it. Sometimes drones came....

As though on call she hears drones on the other side of the parking lot. A group of jocks are kicking a drone nerd who is on the ground.

She narrows her eyes and walks over. This time. This time she can help....]

Leave him alone.

"Get lost freak."

I said....leave him alone! Now!

[They turn on her. The nerd not even stopping as he get's up and runs away. Leaving her there with the three large teens.]

"That an order?"

[One of them pushes her to the ground and the other drones just laugh. And Carrie's blood boils, as memories of being horribly treated her entire life come back. She slowly get's up and glares.]

"Oh look, she's mad now. What are you going to do-"

[He doesn't get to finish as suddenly he's slammed backwards by an unseen force into the fence behind him. Carrie's head snaps to the side as she looks at the other two...or where they were. They ran away the moment their leader was thrown backwards. Carrie turns back to where he is in the fence. She crumples the metal fence around him as though it were tinfoil but turns back to the school. Now...now she was in the right mood.]

[A. Witness Carrie's attack on the bullies? See what she's going to do next?

B. Carrie is now in the mood to destroy...the high school is burning. Electical wiring is being broken and Carrie watching the building burn from the side walk.

C. Around town. There is a girl walking down the street. Street lights break as she goes by them. Cars smash. Windows shatter. She looks high strung and is walking stiffly as the path of destruction follows her down the street.]

Morning of the Announcement:

[Ako had heard the statement from the man over the phone -- and chose not to participate for now. Instead, she had decided to go and get something more important: groceries. With her parents incapacitated, it was up for her to keep the house running. Like a boss. And her drone brother was no use. Absolutely no use.

As such, she is picking her way through the streets, carrying a couple of woven bags for groceries in her hands. She is keeping an eye out for anything crazy, and something possibly detrimental to her own health.

SMASH. A window practically exploded in front of her. And she stopped short, the shattered material landing at her feet.]

... nice.

[Hear that? That's sarcasm.]


Later on anywhere in Town:

[Cure Muse said nothing. But she finished setting the charge from the homemade explosive. Where she got it could be attributed to her enigmatic methods. Stepping back, she lit the fuse and hid bravely behind a brick wall.

BOOM. The lightpost toppled over from the force of the explosion, hitting a car. And then another lightpost toppled over. And another. Like a chain of dominos the lightposts fell over, impacting cars in a specific spot, sparking.]

That's our contribution to this, dodo. Are we done dodo?

[Muse nodded as she turned to go, putting on a pair of sunglasses she had bought earlier at the store.]

You could say that we really rolled out the lights for this one dodo.

[And then the cars exploded.]

[Phone]

[As Sunny speaks, anyone who knows her may realize she sounds tired.  Those who don't, will definitely hear the six year-old side of her coming through.  Yet, she sounds serious about what she's saying, and like she has thought on it a lot.]

Y-you're all acting r-really foolish, you k-know?  D-destroying things a-and all.  I know s-sometimes one has to h-help their enemy, o-or in this case their captor, b-but...  Logically, it m-makes no sense.  T-there was issues with the p-power, right?  T-they couldn't k-keep things w-working, so that woman supp-supposedly took over, b-but did things?  N-now to distract her t-they want us to destroy things w-while they fix this m-machine?  F-fix things that w-will only take more p-power to fix, won't it?  A-also how is this g-going to distract her?  I-if it's all related to that machine t-then isn't she going to go f-for the Dairy first?

A-also, it's r-really stupid that you a-all decide to g-go against what they say u-until it involves wrecking t-things.  I-is the sum of humanity only ca-capable of destruction?  S-stupid!  R-really stupid!

[Phone]

They said we get to destroy this place, didn't they? Yes! Yes they did! EXCELLENT! The the lot of you, you are going to help me! And it will be fun! And delicious. Be on the alert! Have your butter and your jam and your various other condiments and toppings at the ready! THERE WILL BE BREAD.

[Action A - 457 Stone Street]

[Mad science does not have to make a lot of sense or be particularly explicable. It just has to be MAD and INTERESTING. And Doofenshmirtz certainly thought that his Bread-Inator was both. It was also the only fully-constructed Inator he had at his disposal. It only took about an hour of effort to rig up a seat atop it, and to rewire the aiming mechanisms to be accessible from up there. It took him another ten minutes to find his goggles. And then he was right to work, taking aim at objects all over Mayfield and blasting them with an improbable ray. All the while, he's cackling and muttering and just plain grinning from ear to ear. This is some SERIOUS evil here, oh yes.]

[Action B - Around Mayfield]

[Maybe you're leaving your home. Maybe you're heading down the street. Maybe you're blowing something up, as seems to be the exciting thing to do today. But suddenly a blast of light will arc down from in the distance, and hit something near you! And then there will be overpowering smell of fresh, warm bread.

That's what a Bread-Inator does. It turns things into bread. Lamp posts into baguettes. Houses into fluffy loaves of white bread. Playground equipment into rolls fresh from the oven. Eat up, Mayfield.]

1. 1130 Taylor Road

[Bazett remembers the woman digging into her skull. She remembered the hands enclosing around her brain. Then, something was being pulled from her body and her sensation suddenly cut off.]

[It had been dark. No, not so much dark as the total absence of light. Just like it had been not so much silent as it was the complete absence of sound. She had not felt anything, not even her breath or heartbeat; nor could she move. She does not know exactly how long she spent in this state, only it felt like forever.]

[Then, suddenly breaking up the monotony was pain. She supposes she must have spent too long with her senses shut off, because even this acute pain breaking out all over her body is a welcome change. What accompanies the pain is the odor of blood and the sound of her own intensified heardbeat and labored breathing.]

[She forces herself to move. If she can feel, then she should be able to move as well. To her relief, she can move all of her limbs. She draws herself to a sitting position and opens her eyes.]

[The sight of her Mayfield bedroom is, for once, a welcome sight. She is lying next to her drone husband, having bled all over the bed. There are open wounds criss-crossing her body--claw marks as if she had been attacked by an animal.]

[She has many questions, but her most important task right now is to heal herself. Dipping her fingers in her blood, she draws the necessary runes. While she is not an expert at healing spells, the rune magic induced healing is still smoother than healing through traditional magecraft.]

[Having properly healed herself and changed out of the bloody clothes, she checks the calendar and makes a call.]

2. Phone

A. Unfiltered

Can anyone tell me what happened after the morning of January 30th?

[The last time she had been droned, she had only missed 5 hours, but now, she had missed around a week.]

B. Filtered to 1335 Benny Road

( Read more... )
C. Filtered to 310 Miller Street
( Read more... )
2. The Park

[Bazett is sitting in the park, watching the drones and sentient people passing by. She had never realized how precious her senses were. That sensory deprived state had been worse than she could describe.]

[For now, she just wants to sit around and enjoy the fact that she can see and hear and feel again.]

[There is a smug, satisfied tone to Jack's voice as he speaks into the phone. Behind him, one can faintly hear the indignant cries of an angry woman.]

There we go. Good news for you folks and us, for once.

"-hand me, you brute! This is no way to treat a-"

Cripes, listen to her yell. As much as I'd like to toss the good ol' doc here to you folks and let you express your "gratitude", I'm afraid she's due for an appointment of her own. The boss-man isn't too happy with you, Wen-

[an older man's voice cuts in, exasperated.] "Quiet, you idiot! You'll get us all killed talking like that!"

"Has your son always been this stupid, William, or was it the result of your stellar parenting? Inquiring minds want to know- ow! Not so tight, are you trying to kill me?"

We ought to, but no. Anyway, folks, point is, Doc Johnson's been all taken care of. And the machine's fixed, too, so you should all be able to kill each other to your heart's content with no more weird side effects.

I think.

Probably.

Maybe.

"Just hang up the phone, you imbecile."

Don't tell me what to do, old- [click.]