❧ Lost in the Dark

[luministimods]

[A soft rhythmical chiming can be heard from Filippo's pocket. All conversations halt as he holds up a hand to pull out his CAT device, switching an alarm off.]

Ahh, time's up. [He turns to everyone, clapping his hands once in front of him.] Well. This has been lovely, and I believe everyone who is willing to let bygones be bygones is ready. [All of like...one person] You know...I'm glad we had this chat. We should have had it sooner.

Oh well. Can't live in the past.

[All of a sudden, there is a flash of light and those who weren't by Lab #4 or had left will suddenly find themselves with the others--but no one is by Lab #4 anymore. Filippo stares for a moment before stamping his foot and shouting] No! No, this isn't how it was supposed to go! Ferran? Ferran! [He glowers, but his expression quickly turns to fear again as he hastily pulls out the yellow device to teleport away--but it falls from his hand, clattering to the ground. Before him stands Nathan, who has simply reappeared again--and he looks pissed.] Look...it's nothing personal, okay? [He starts to back away, stumbling into the lab.] I had to knock you out somehow and he's never told me if tranquilizers work on your kind! I would have used those inste--

Where are they, Resarci? I'm not in the mood for any of your doubletalk or lies. I've had to listen to enough of your shit and his for far too long!

[Color flares in Filippo's cheeks] I don't know either! If I did, I wouldn't have been yelling at him.

[Nathan lunges forward, grabbing Filippo's suit lapels.] What were you planning to do before, then? Don't think for a second that they believed you were going to send them home.

[Filippo tries to pry his suit away, but the grip on it is too tight] If they did, then I have some tubs of elbowgrease I can sell them too.

Where were they going?! [Nathan's hold shifts closer to Filippo's neck, cutting his air supply.]

[Filippo's face slowly starts to change colors, his voice hoarse as he tries to speak] F-Ferran's been preparing to move everyone to a different universe to continue his playtime with them. All I had to do was lure them to this lab and open the way to Lab #5.

[Nathan relaxes his grip a little.] We were trying to find that lab anyway! All you had to do was just wait for us to get there on our own. Why interfere?

Because he needed to discredit you even more. Why should they trust you implicitly when you still haven't told them everything? When you've failed to save them so many times? When--

Enough! I'm taking you into custody and you're coming with me right now. We need to find them.

And you think I'm going to just help you?

Yes. [He removes a pair of special handcuffs from his pocket, cuffing one over Filippo's wrist--and then his own.] Yes, I do.

[As for what happened to the otherworlders...]


Plot Details: Lost in the Dark

Right now, the otherworlders are stuck in a dark, dark place. They can't see a thing, nothing whatsoever. No special abilities, technology, not a single thing, can light their way. If they walk around, they'll eventually walk into a metal wall, and if they turn right around, they'll meet another. They can only go in one of two directions, and which way they go is up to each individual. And using abilities to get to one place from another is ill-advised; after all, where is the end destination? How far is it to one end versus the other?

And...they won't be alone. In a sense.

As they walk, they'll hear various sounds. Like something in the distance is following them (or waiting up ahead). Light shuffling, scraping of nails against the walls, someone beating rhythmically on the walls or something else... Let your character's imagination run wild. What sort of things would scare them in the dark? What makes the little hairs on the back of their neck stand on end?

To add to that, every now and then, a cool breeze will blow at them from one direction--and only one direction--so the choice really becomes: do you head towards it, or away from it? What lies for them at either end?

Also as they walk/run/jog/speedwalk/skip/prance/hop, they'll occasionally hear voices. Sometimes it may be echoes from their friends, but other times...who knows. Just know I'll be tagging in with the mod account to give these little tidbits, so yet again, track your threads if you've partnered up with someone!

Now, that leads me to how we're doing this. I'm leaving most of the creepy things up to you to mess with your characters how you'd like. Mostly. I'll throw in a few curveballs myself, as well as give you nice mile markers to let you know if you're close/far/etc.

I'm also splitting this entry up into those who choose to go towards the wind, and those who go away from it. (As well as an OOC comment in case you have questions/want to snag people for teaming up.) Choose how you will, and if you change your mind, you can turn around and go the other way. Just hop into the other thread and go from there! Don't be afraid to pick. Pick how you think your character would think and not just to be contrary to others.

If...by any chance, there are characters who get way too overwhelmed by the darkness and weird things and it gets to the point where you can't tag with them, let me know. I don't think it'll happen, but just in case it or something similar happens, I want to have this out there for you guys.

This plot has no end date. It'll keep going until one end is reached.

If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask! Also, please indicate in your thread if you want to wait for a buddy or to go it alone and tag with me in the mod account (or Ten or Wash)!

Enjoy, everyone ♥

Comments

Those who choose to go TOWARDS the wind

[luministimods]

Fuu / open for company

[wind_of_reason]

[Her mouth open to reply to Mister Filippo's odd statement, Fuu finds herself gasping instead as there is a flash and between one blink and the next she's enveloped in complete darkness.

She freezes, takes a deep breath, blinks rapidly to clear the flash spots, then cautiously stretches out her hands. She can't feel any walls.
Stretching out one foot she seeks for any ledge. Thankfully she doesn't find one. Hopefully she is not on a platform above a pit.

Suddenly she hears something like breathing and turning slightly towards it she calls out softly.]

Hawk? Miss Sophie? ...Anyone? [But the soft noise continues, and Fuu swallows nervously. Still, she tries to keep her voice firm as she asks in a louder voice,]

Who is there?

[Again nothing but breathing, and a beat of indistinct murmuring.
That is so... creepy...

A bit worried that her eyes are not adjusting to the darkness enough for her see anything, Fuu cautiously slides to the right until she runs into a cool metallic wall. It takes (what feels like) a very long time and about seven slides to get there. This is a huge...whatever it is. She sighs and leans against the wall for a moment, and that's when she feels the slight cool breeze.

Trusting the wind, Fuu starts to walk towards it, one hand on the wall and slowly sliding her feet in case there is some sudden drop ahead.]

[bonnypiperlad]

[When everything goes dark, Jamie's hand goes to grasp the hilt of his dirk, by instinct more than anything else. He doesn't pull it out - considering he can't even see his hand in front of his face, doing so strikes him as a bad idea. But it does help to steady him, and ever so slowly, he starts to creep forward, careful to keep a wall to his right.

As he moves forward, his ears start to pick up noises. Something like breathing, and something like murmuring...and something like a friend. It's that last one that gets him to call out, hoping he can pin down where she is if she calls back.]

Fuu? Fuu, where are ye?

[wind_of_reason]

[Trying so hard to not listen to strange half-voices in the dark, Fuu is startled when a voice that sounds like Jamie calls her name.]

Mister Jamie? [Taking a deep breath she calls out more loudly,] Jamie! I'm here! ...Not that I can tell you where 'here' is.
Can you feel the wind? I'm going towards it. Should I wait and see if you can find me?

[The way sound is moving in here it's hard to tell, but she thinks that he's behind her.]

Dave - Terezi

[moveslikestrider]

He had been minding his own business. He was a knight, not an executioner, or a hand of the law. He'd made his decision already and remembered all too keenly, anyone offering a shortcut to your goal was a liar. That was why Davesprite had been created from the ashes of an alternate Dave's sacrifice. That lesson and others had persisted into his time wandering the silent halls of the meteor where all you had was time to think and dream with the dead.

Shoulder angels trying to make him do what they wanted be damned. He refused to turn aside from hunting things down and making those behind them pay by the edge of his sword. Such was how he operated and he was fine with it.

Until the lights went out.

There wis darkness and then there is the absence of all light. He knows the difference between the two and he waits for the first screaming song to tear at his ears. Nothing happens and he is left to hear his own elevated breathing. Dave grits his teeth and tries to raise some form of light, anything to help him see. After the failures pile up he realizes he can feel the breeze on his face.

It doesn't matter if it's a trap. A direction to travel towards is a way towards an answer. He could go back, turn away from it. But he'd done that in his life so many times and look where that took him. He breathes in, and steeled himself for a fight before he starts purposefully forward. It is all going to turn out bad no matter which way he goes, but he'd much rather die facing it than running away. He is done with fleeing from what was and would be.

Dave - Terezi

[terezi_pyrope]

Terezi had planned to spring on the man who was in front of her, regardless of his answers. She had been tired of whatever was going on, and quite frankly was used to dealing with it enough in her session. It made her feel less forgiving and more ready to do something completely rash in the sake of justice. But, she was sure her ancestor would definitely approve of it--Resarci had already done enough suffering. Surely, he deserved some sort of karmic retribution?

She wasn't listening much to her angels or demons, either.

All she could hear and picture was the man hung for his crimes. But then, her scenery shifted and instead she balanced her feet on the new ground in front of her. Being taken somewhere else in mid-leap is pretty inconvenient and at this, she frowned. For someone blind like her, she would just rely on what she's always had. The darkness was pretty deep, almost even blinding completely, but scent was heavier.

She was already on edge, but could smell someone she knew close by. So, she went towards the breeze, and--

She heard laughter. A girl's laugh that should sound familiar to her enough that she'd recognize it from no matter where she happened to be. It caused her to freeze in her step, and ask softly, "Vriska?"

Terezi only paused when she heard nothing in response, but now her hands shook just a little. Dark thoughts of forced retribution troubled her, as well as how helpless she might be. It easily distracted her in more ways than one, and made her move more hesitently--no, cautiously. It could easily be a trick by the enemy, of course, but she knew one or two of her friends were out there.

She would try to near what seemed to her to be the closest one. She called out, "Dave? Where are you?"

[fireflyheir]

[Resarci's last few words leave John worried, but being suddenly plunged into darkness is a much more immediate problem. He wishes he'd thought to bring a torch or something, just in case, but it's too late now. He reaches out and moves forward, trying to feel out if there's something there.]

Hey! Is anyone else here?

s'up guys?

[tactilekonesis]

[Not even Kon's incredible sense of vision can help him out this time. He squints, trying to see where the voice was coming from, before giving up and instead relying on the vibrations to figure out where other people were.]

I am!

[He pauses, before quickly amending:] I'm not sure who you are, but does the name Conner ring any bells? I'm gonna try and head over to where you are.

Hawk - Sophie

[desertdaggers]

[The abruptness of the transition to darkness startles Hawk, and he strains his eyes trying to catch sight of anything before bringing one hand up to try to manipulate the energy around it into producing light. After a few minutes of it not working, he drops his hand, frowning. He's been in the dark, before, but a complete darkness like this, that nothing can light up… it's not something he could really put past this place, but it's worrying.]

Hello? [He listens for any echoes, trying to tell what's around him from the sounds that come back. They can't all have been separated, right?] Anyone there? Fuu? Kon? Sophie? Jamie?

[fortune_sought]

Hawk! Hawk, is that you? [Sophie can't help sounding frightened. the complete lack of light is unnerving, and for a moment she thought she might be completely alone]

I'm going to walk toward your voice. [she starts moving even as she says she's going to; she doesn't want to lose track of him] Can you hear me?

Those who choose to go AWAY FROM the wind

[luministimods]

pls claim this lost child

[manicurious]

Resarci? What was that noise? Where are we? Nnh!! [Oh. There's a wall.]

Resarciiiii? You can't just leave me here! What about fixing everyone's lives? I thought we were really going to-- ugh! [That's... That's the same wall. Stupid goddamn disorienting darkness.]

W-who just ran past!? Come on, don't ignore me!

[Believing the mystery breeze to have been from someone darting past, Ichijou runs after it in a skewed line. And slams into the opposite wall. It's hardly been a few minutes and he's already slumping to the floor to take a rest. And to sob inconsolably, of course.]

[gothelproof]

[Flynn immediately takes a step back when they change locations, but all that does for him is make him stumble. He windmills his arms for a moment, then finds his balance and freezes (arms still held out at awkward angles in the dark), waiting to see what happens next.

He drops his arms back to his sides when nothing immediately changes (where did all the light go? He had thought he was making a good decision avoiding going to see what Resarci was up to!) and squints into the gloom.]

You know, as much as I love exploring deep, dark caves on a whim...

[He takes a step forward, then hesitates. With nothing to see, he's starting to get a creeping feeling running up his spine. He shivers, trying to push it out of his mind when he hears what sounds like Ichijou. Finally -- something normal! He takes off at a blind lope after the voice, but ends up running into one wall when he thinks he hears something nearby scrape across the floor, and moves to avoid it.

Nothing immediately attacks, but he's more leery after that. Flynn trails his fingers along the wall, hoping to avoid jamming his shoulder again.]

Red! Red, is that you?

[summerdoor]

[Disturbing scenes on that CAT. Disturbing darkness. Disturbing jolt of pain as he walks straight into a wall.

To say he is getting really tired of this would be an understatement.]

Ow, ugh - they couldn't even provide a torch?

[Because wow, fire sounds nice right now - to either light the way or burn down everything. He's not sure which yet.

A cool breeze hits him and he shivers, instinctively backing away from it until he hits another wall.]

... That feels reassuring. [Except not. He's edging as far away from it as he can, hands outstretched to keep himself from walking into another wall.]

[painlessfighter]

[Natsuo's... actually pretty calm about this whole thing. Though pretty much knocks right into Willis while he's edging away. He pokes him in the shoulder in response.]

Hey. I'm here, okay? So don't run into me again.

[He looks toward the direction of the wind, decides he doesn't like it... and turns the other way.]

Willis right? Hey, let's get away from that. We need to get out of here anyway and everyone else is moving, so let's go!

OOC questions/comments/planning/etc!

[luministimods]

[luke_triton]

And then the game never ended because we refused to progress to either side! HAHA!

Not.

Luke will probably go towards the wind but more than that, he'll know how to work his way out of a maze (this is automatically a maze to him). Partners, anyone?

Oh and he will be terrified shortly.

[luministimods]

alsfkalskfjgh you know, I almost put consequences in for those who decided to stay in the middle and not move. I just might now~~

[fireflyheir]

but then we'd be in the middle of the dark for the rest of our lives.

Partnering up sounds good! Would that be cool with you?

[manicurious]

When we say towards or away from the wind, towards is "so the wind is blowing in your face" and away is "so the wind is blowing on your back" right?

Also would anyone like to console/make fun of/etc Ichijou as he cries because he's 100% sure that he and Filippo were TOTALLY about to rescue everyone and make out (not necessarily in that order)

[luministimods]

Yep, just like that ♥

[gothelproof]

Well, there's always a sure answer of who wants to make fun of Ichijou....

[worldsapart]

;_; Xion will comfort you, Ichijou!

Should I jump in the thread with Flynn, or should I make a new one? :|a (also gonna drop a reply in the OOC thread with Flynn in case they don't see this)

Re: OOC questions/comments/planning/etc!

[wind_of_reason]

Two questions! (one of which you already know ;; )

If someone wants to team up with someone who has already started, is threadjumping a-ok?

And about how wide is the hallway?

[luministimods]

First answer! Yes they can!

Second answer! How wide... Wider than your average hallway. It's about 40ft wide.