❧ 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

well, good things do come in threes!

[fireflyheir]

Conner… Kon? It's John!

[He grins, and nods, not that it makes a lot of difference.] Sure, that works! Do you need me to keep talking or anything?

[Luke's voice catches his attention, though, and he strains his eyes trying to peer into the darkness.] Hey, is everything okay?

exactly ♥

[tactilekonesis]

[OH! Both Luke and John're here? That makes Kon feel better. And responsible for the both of them - after all, he's the oldest one here. The instant he feels something against his back, Kon turns and reaches for Luke's hand.

It's hard to see in the darkness, but he thinks it's Luke's hand.] Not sure! I'm okay, but... [He pauses. Luke'll speak up if he's hurt.]

Yeah, go for it! We'll see if we can find you that way.

Uh oh, here comes trouble...

[luministimods]

[Unfortunately, things don't remain peaceful for the trio for long as a high-pitched noise starts, the source of the noise indeterminable as it is all around them, and on top of that, each can hear whispers of voices belonging to people who are dead in their worlds--but only they can hear them. John can't hear Luke or Kon's and vice versa.]

[Amongst those voices, all three will hear the following:]

Program saving in progress. Please wait.

[luke_triton]

What? [He feels Kon take his hand, and almost immediately something starts whispering to him. It sounds familiar. A woman's voice - kind of gentle, and very British.]

Miss Claire? ...No, it can't be...

[tactilekonesis]

[What was going on here? Kon tries calling out again:] John? John, can you---

["John? Like your grandfather?"

His mother's dead. Kon knows that - he's explained that to most of his friends here. So why can he still hear her voice? It's both smooth and rough at the same time, like she's struggling to be motherly, and yet very no-nonsense and American. Wait... that other voice?]

Program saving? What program?

[fireflyheir]

Some kind of computer program, maybe? That seems pretty weird, though… I guess it's not impossible. Maintaining all these kinds of systems must be pretty complex, and if something went wrong… It's better if you know you have a backup, yeah?

[Maybe a little ominous, too. John puts his hands out in front of him cautiously and moves towards where the others' voices are coming from. There's a female voice theorising about what this program could possibly be, and he'd be a little bit more okay with it if only the lady didn't sound quite as tipsy and wasn't making comparisons to Skaianet.]

[luke_triton]

But what is it saving? [His outstretched free hand catches the hem of John's shirt and he cuts off a yelp.] And why am I hearing people talk?

[tactilekonesis]

Luministi as it is right now? [In other words, Kon has no idea.] The city might have its own supercomputer around here, but I wouldn't know where that is...

You think the people talking might be part of the program too?

[fireflyheir]

That makes sense. [Possibly. It's not as though Sburb seemed to save.] If the weather and the people are all programmed to do what they do…

Maybe… Who are you guys hearing?

[luke_triton]

Someone...someone who isn't, um. [This is a little awkward.] She's not alive anymore.

[tactilekonesis]

You too?

[He grips Luke's hand just a little bit tighter.] The lady I'm hearing - my mom - died a long time ago.

[luministimods]

[The high-pitched noise finally dies away, but the whispers continue unabated. The wind picks up just then, as well, but somehow, it doesn't drown out the voices. It blows and whips at their clothing, but there isn't a single sound coming from it. How strange.]

[Amongst the continued whispers is yet another voice all three of them can hear. It's the same one as moments before:]

Initiating transfer. Estimated time until completion: 1 hour.

[fireflyheir]

Then… they're all…

[John doesn't think he wants to finish that thought, reaching out to try and take hold of something of Kon's, even if it's just his shirt. The other voice distracts him, too, and he lifts his head, frowning.]

Do you think that's how long we've got to get out of here?

[luke_triton]

If that's true, then we've got to hurry! Who knows how long this tunnel will be?

[He starts trying to run, tugging at Kon's hand to follow him. Just have to trust that John is with them.]

[tactilekonesis]

[Crap.

One hour left and they can't see a single thing? Kon feels John's hand latching on, so he shifts and tries to hold John's hand with his (formerly free) hand.]

As long as we can still feel the wind, we should be fine.

[Hearing it's another matter, and the voices are kind of creeping Kon out - he just doesn't want to alarm the others by telling them that. The kids've been through worse.]

[fireflyheir]

Yeah. [That's pretty weird, and emphasises that it's probably not a natural wind, but John's got his other hand out to help him feel it as much as he can manage while they're running.]

Do you think we'd be faster flying?

[luke_triton]

Sure, until you run into a wall because you can't see where you're going.

[Luke is not normally one for sarcasm. But.]

Anyway, I can't fly. That was...an accident or something the last time. [Thinking about it has stopped his tugging on Kon's hand though. Slightly.] I just want to get out of here, I've got a terrible feeling about all of this.

[tactilekonesis]

[as reassuringly as possible:] Between the two of us, you should be fine. John, you can get the wind to hold him across, right? Or is that just for you?

[He doesn't want to say that he agrees with Luke - but if they don't start now, Kon doesn't think it'll end well for them.]

[fireflyheir]

[putting as much confidence as he can into his voice] Yeah, I can do that. I kept a car going for ages once, and together we're a lot lighter than that! And if there's something up ahead, I should feel that.

[luke_triton]

[Flying cars aren't his favorite thing either. Luke swallows hard.]

Well, all right, but if we hit a wall you're both in trouble.

[tactilekonesis]

It'll be fine - I'm right here, after all. [It's what happens afterwards that scares Kon. No use in telling them that!

He slowly and gently starts floating - not quickly, but also not too high either.] How high do we wanna go? Five feet?

[fireflyheir]

Haha, fair enough!

[he nods and reaches out to manipulate the wind to lift himself and Luke to about the same height.] Yeah, that sounds like it should be okay.

[luke_triton]

Whoa! [He flails as the wind lifts him, arms windmilling in the darkness and his feet trying to find purchase. He'll apologize if he kicks either Kon or John in the process. Oops.]

[luministimods]

[Before they get a chance to test the flying theory out too much more, that computerized voice returns:]

Transfer in progress. Estimated time until completion: 58 minutes, 12 seconds.

[Once that countdown fades, the wind stops entirely, and with it comes this feeling that something has been lifted from them. They can hear the voices from the others and no sign of the creepy noises from before.]

[Before they have to react to that, the corridor they're in begins to brighten--but slowly, so as to not blind them. As it does, they'll be able to see that they have been walking around in a gray-blue metal corridor. Yet...something seems awfully familiar at the two ends of the corridor--at least...it might be to those familiar with them. Light streams in through the veritcal slats of a metal grate, though what lies beyond isn't visible yet.

Those who ventured towards the wind will notice an opening at their end of the corridor with a whisper-silent fan installed up in the ceiling, and the corridor--or rather, the air duct--is clean as a whistle. Any metal discs are revealed to be nuts bolted to the ground with the occasional small "ditch" near them marking the change from one section to another. In reality, the section of air duct is a couple feet long, but for the otherworlders, it is much, much longer. Of course, when one has been shrunken to the size of an ant, anything will seem particularly cavernous and vast.

Just as they begin to get their bearings, however, there is a flash of light--and in the air duct they are no more.]