❧ 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

[worldsapart]

[Xion gasps sharply when the Keyblade is ripped from her hand. She lunges for it, almost letting go of Ichijou's hand, but she hears it clattering against the floor. Before she can think to call it back to her, there are those words, and she freezes, her heart still in the throat.]

What...?! What was that?

Nathan? Where are you?

[manicurious]

Oh!!

[The sudden gust sends a shiver through his body!]

Is it trying to push us to go faster? And more importantly-

[Oh dear, that lovey tone is back.]

Resarci wasn't planning to abandon me! I know that I just have to be that exception! It's the absolute truth!

I feel like my heart could flutter right out of my chest! I feel like... Like...

There may be a water leak nearby.

[gothelproof]

Rapunzel!

[Flynn panics, whirling around to stare frantically into the darkness, trying to pick out where the scream came from. He hesitates at the voices, hoping to hear Rapunzel again, but it's just those two.

Flynn takes a step back away from the other two, about five seconds away from bolting.]

A water leak? What are you... That doesn't matter!

That was Rapunzel! We have to go back!

[She was in trouble!]

[worldsapart]

[A water leak? Rapunzel? What?

What's happening?

Xion hesitates, frowning deeply. She opens the hand that used to hold the Keyblade and focused on calling it back. She may not be able to see it, but it should disappear wherever it is and reappear in her hand. She wants the comfort of its weight back.]

What was Rapunzel? I didn't hear anything other than Nathan and Resarci... Not even water.

[Something weird is going on here. And what was that gust of wind...?]

[manicurious]

Unless this Rapunzel sounds identical to Resarci, Nathan, or a leaky faucet, or feels exactly like a significant gust of wind, I haven't the slightest idea of what you think you just heard, saw, or felt.

Although... When I think a little more about it, I can remember that Ferran had used something similar to try to get to me before. He had somehow re-created the exact sounds of a place that I spent most of my time in before coming here, then made it sound as if it had been submerged by a tsunami or something.

The silly man probably didn't realize that I don't care about what happens to that place anymore.

It sounds like he really got it right this time, though!

[gothelproof]

What?

[He's not running off just yet, but Flynn scowls into the darkness, trying to form a plan. He doesn't have any way of knowing if Rapunzel is here or if it's just an echo like the pieces of home had to them.]

So you're saying Resarci is making us hear things?

[Flynn strikes off again in the same direction they'd been heading originally. If Rapunzel is down here, he needs to find out where "here" is as quickly as he can.]

When I find that guy...

[worldsapart]

No... Not Resarci. Ferran. The man in black... The one who's really behind all this.

[Xion frowns and grips the Keyblade.]

The wind seems to want us to go this way... So, let's hurry.

[After a moment:]

Do you think Resarci and Nathan's voices were a trick, too?

[manicurious]

[He scoffs!] Well at least two of us get it.

Clearly Resarci is... Well, he's not entirely innocent, but he's a whole hell of a lot more innocent than Ferran!

Why would you think that the conversation we heard was fake, though? It seems reasonably plausible for Nathan to have apprehended Resarci to interrogate him, and the only thing it's done is fix my broken heart. What advantage could that possibly have to our enemy?

Although if this drip-drip-drip dripping noise doesn't stop soon, I might just go berserk anyway. I know you can't hear it, but for me it's like torture!

Perhaps if we finish going to wherever the wind is taking us these irritating noises will stop. It's not like I'm going to quit moving forward just because I don't need to give Resarci a new look anymore.

U-unless he wants me to...

[Xion might just be able to feel Ichijou's hand getting a bit warmer. Apparently this line of thought is really getting his blood flowing.]

[luministimods]

[The sensations the others hear and feel all fade away (except for the water droplets, which only seem to drop with a ridiculously and maddeningly slow frequency now), however, two voices come echoing back towards them again.]

He would for me! He said he'd bring me away from here when he's done. I'd get to go with him and the otherworlders, and--

That's what Ferran does, you fool! He tempts and promises the almost-impossible, but all he really does is leave so much pain in his wake. Anyone he works with ends up dead, and if you don't believe me, I have the records and autopsy reports to prove it.

[Not long after the voices echo away, they'll soon find themselves walking into something stringy and very sticky. Be careful; flail too much and one just might get very stuck.]

[gothelproof]

There they are again!

[Flynn feels the need to announce this since everything he hears isn't apparently available to the general public.

Unfortunately, when he hears the two of them arguing, he increases his pace, breaking into a cautious jog to try to find the source of the voices before they fade away and--]

Wha-- Ugh! What is this? Some kind of...

[He flails his arms madly for a moment, automatically trying to back away from whatever it is. He tries to tug his arms free once, then twice, then scowls at his new found invisible nemesis.]

If I can just...get... Just please don't tell me this is some giant spider web, okay? Guys -- little help here?

[worldsapart]

[Xion doesn't have much time to wonder about Ichijou's attachment to Resarci, because the voices are back. Maybe in another situation it'd be silly for Flynn to call out like that, but she understands, and she appreciates it, and she thinks it's a good idea. They have to look out for and rely on each other, perhaps now more than usual because of the darkness and its tricks. She hears him pass her, and then...]

What? What is wha --

[And then she feels it, too. Something... sticky. And... stringy? What? She jerks back, yawping in surprise. It sounds like Flynn isn't so lucky, though, and now he's probably trapped.

A spider web? Well...]

Even if it is, I'm sure the Keyblade will be able to cut through it. We need to be careful, though...

[She doesn't want to hurt Flynn on accident. She lets go of Ichijou's hand and reaches out to try to find Flynn by touch, based off of where his voice was coming from. If her fingers brush against anything cold and sticky, she yanks her hand back.]

[manicurious]

A giant spider web? Don't... Don't be ridiculous. What do you even want us to do about it when we don't even know what it is?

[Even though he's trying to dismiss the idea, there's an obvious nervousness in his voice. He sighs as he thinks of how to test it.]

I'm sure it's just... Glue, or maybe caramel. Let's see...

[With both hands freed, he can at least try to investigate the sticky substance. His intention is to stick a finger into it, take a whiff of it, and maybe, just maybe if it smells decent, to give it a little lick.

That's what Terezi would do, right?]

[gothelproof]

Right. Caramel. Because that makes sense.

[Sarcasm aside, Flynn is trying to think of a good way out of this situation. He doesn't want to risk getting more tangled up, so he waits for a minute to see if Xion can do something about it with the Keyblade she's mentioned.]

Just take your time. I'll just be over here. Waiting. Hoping not to be eaten. On the topic of being eaten, a giant caramel trap doesn't sound much safer than a giant spiderweb. Caramel's flavoring, isn't it?

[Flynn takes an experimental step back and tries to tug at least one arm free. If he keeps stepping back (and he has a fairly solid idea which direction is -away- from the sticky substance, at least), he's certain the stuff will snap and he'll be on his merry way again in no time.]

[luministimods]

[Thankfully, they're all spared what that taste test would have brought as the stringy, sticky stuff disappears, freeing all three of them all too easily. As it does, the voices come back for a final time:]

...Everyone he works with? Even--

Everyone. All of his anchors, all his partners. Everyone. The otherworlders are the only lucky ones to get out with their lives. That's what has made him so hard to catch all these years. Besides, if you were to go over, you'd just end up an otherworlder like them and subject to all of Ferran's whims just like the rest of them. ...Heh, yeah, you don't like the sound of that, huh?

Of course I don't! I trusted that bastard!

Then help me stop him.

[Filippo's reply remains unknown as the voices go away once more, and every other noise fades as well. When the noises go, it's as though a veil has been lifted. No more creepiness for them. They can now hear the others talking from elsewhere in the area.]

[Slowly, so as to not blind them, the corridor they're in begins to brighten. 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. (Those who ventured away from the wind won't notice anything of the kind.)

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