☆INTERLUDE: YOU WILL BELIEVE IN ME

[interdimanagers]

Who: All the opt outs, and DAFT PUNK.
What: Gold and Silver waste everybody's time.
When: December 7th, 2054
Where: A warehouse in outer Vista City.
Warnings: NPCs being cryptic.

“I will cry for you, I will cry for you. I will wash away your pain with all my tears, And drown your fear.” ☆YOU WILL BELIEVE IN ME You were late, for some reason. It doesn't matter whether it was because of an important photo shoot, a performance that ran late, or just being generally slothful and slow: you're all getting shuffled onto the last shuttle out. Maybe you didn't want to go to he party and were trying to avoid it. There's a weird tension that been leading up to it, especially on Virgo's side, and as you stare out at the cityscape beneath you may find those same misgivings rising up again. No matter your feelings, attendance has been made mandatory. The punishment for not showing is likely not worth the relief of avoiding it, at least if its your fault. So maybe it's a blessing when your shuttle driver suddenly seems to cease, and then takes your shuttle abruptly off course. It's less obvious at first, but it becomes more and more so as you fly - you're supposed to be heading to the coast, but your flight path is heading down to the south, out to a comparatively barren industrial sector of Vista that you've never actually seen. They are unresponsive to speaking and shouting, and the layer of glass that separates you make it impossible to actually disrupt them. You're more or less the prisoner of this little detour until it finally begins to land, sailing gracefully through the doors of an otherwise unremarkable warehouse. There are two shuttles arriving within the same few minutes - one marked with Pride colours, and the other with Virgo. The entry gate closes, and seals itself. A few minutes after that, your pilot moves for the first time in a while and opens the doors for you, leaving themselves sealed within the cab and apparently not being very fussed about it at all. You're released out into the warehouse, and you can see there are...bean bag chairs littered about? And some coolers filled with beer and vodka? What the hell? One of the walls even has a projector connected to a computer, apparently set up to watch movies. Ultimately, it's not really what you expect out of a sudden hijacking. A few moments later, a pair of masked people who may or may not be familiar come riding out of one of the upper levels on a shared, flying motorcycle, landing and dismounting at a bit of a hectic pace. Gold helmet is at the wheel. "You made it!" they declare, somewhat awkwardly. They sound a bit rushed. Silver pushes themselves off of the back, tucking some kind of device into their leather jacket. "Look, guys, let's make this simple. So far as you're concerned, this is a stick up. You're ours for...the next five hours, let's say. Behave yourself and everyone goes home, no problem." Gold looks over at Silver for a moment, and then addresses you in a bit more friendly manner: "So...point is, you may as well have some fun and just deal with it! Nobody here wants to fight, right? Let's be chill." There's a pause. "We brought booze?" ☆YOU WILL BELIEVE IN ME So, you're stuck here for the foreseeable future, it seems. Your captors don't seem to mean any harm - if you stay non-violent, they will too. There could even be an opportunity to gather some information, if you can keep your cool. The pair of them will be cycling in and out over the night, and despite an apparent tension in the air, they also seem...bored? Maybe just restless. There is something going on that they're not telling you, and it's up to you whether you want answers or not. As it is, they seem happy enough to sit back and watch the movies they have set up on that computer and knock a few back. No ones phones will be able to get signals, in the meantime. You can only wonder what this means for your friends stuck on the other side. “See your face every place that I walk in; Hear your voice every time I am talking. You will believe in me, And I will never be ignored.”

Comments

[twoscompany]

Your reason is much better than mine, at least. Less embarrassing, at the least.

[Hey, she has no objections to cuddles. They both can use them.]

I had to spend an hour to watch out my hair of particularly sticky soda.

[magic_to_do]

[Now that Sora and Ivan have calmed Trucy's concerns, she feels like she can finally relax a little and enjoy the evening. But it looks like she wasn't the only one who needed cheering up. She recognizes Tooru as one of the Pride newbies, and figures she should at least try to help him out.

Which is why he's being approached by an annoying perky magician. Sorry.]

Kind of a rough night, huh? Are you holding up okay?

[makeitright]

[She could. She really could. Fetch crosses her arms over her chest and slumps back into her seat like a huffy child might. She's half tempted to kick the seat in front of her but someone's sitting in it.]

Why the hell are you keeping us in this stupid bus anyways?

[trn451]

Punk, electropunk. I've done some dubstep and classic rock can be fun. What instruments do you play, actually?

[trn451]

Mostly just finishing up. I got through most of this before tonight, I'm just putting all the pieces together. The synth part's been stuck in my head since South Vista. Besides, this is a pretty fake kidnapping. [She inclines her head towards the alcohol.] I mean it's my first time, but you don't usually see alcohol at these things.

[consocius]

[Sora nods. He definitely understands, even if he wasn't part of the hazing that happened to a lot of Pride, it just strengthens his worry that his band mates might be in trouble and he has no way of contacting them or helping them. He tries to push through, anyway.]

Yeah! I think... I think I'm the only one here. All the rest of my band mates are at the party already...

[gunslingerqueen]

Mine might be less embarrassing but at least yours makes complete sense!

[Santiago probably wouldn't have been alright with Garnet showing up to their 'rivals' home a mess and all that.]

I'm glad you saved your hair, though. I've always liked it.

[gunslingerqueen]

[She mostly expects him to not be a full on dick, which he isn't! So they're all good. But she shakes her head, lifting both arms in a sort of 'well what can you do' gesture.]

If they were going to be violent then I can't help feeling it would have already happened. If anything the silver one is just kind of prickly, but the Gold one was rather forthright. I don't have anything concrete so I know it's just relying on instincts, but I'm willing to trust mine.

[She takes a sip of her drink again.]

And I'm not drunk. [So there, Mr. Goatee.]

[twoscompany]

I'll admit, I'm partial to it. Its always...done this.

[...ERM]

I'd like it to continue to do...this.

[Whatever in the world "this" was.]

[sponsorigami]

[ Trying to give thanks, Ivan nods at her. It's the best he could think of given his state. Now, he had to work with what he had. Step one, work on standing. He shuffles uneasily and works to get his legs in the right order. He starts putting his weight on his front legs. The wobbling steadies. Then one hind foot presses down on the ground. Slowly, he straightens his leg and did the same with his other hind foot.

Ivan waits to see if he'll collapse to the ground, but he doesn't. He looks up at the woman. Despite being a fox, there's something a lot like a puppy going "look what I can do" in his expression. (His tail wags like a dog's too.)

It's a small victory, okay? ]

[sponsorigami]

Yyoouuuu knnnohw whaaAAt-t-t Iiey sssssaay?

[ His words are coming easier now and sound less like a fox and more like his own voice. ]

[goateeocracy]

Yeah, the whole thing's weird as fuck. Of course, we're stranded with a bunch of morons who are just rolling with it...

[He absolutely cannot believe that so many people are just chilling out and drinking the booze. You would think that basic common sense would indicate that drinking or eating anything given to you by someone who's just kidnapped you is a bad idea.]

[goateeocracy]

Yet.

[He crosses his arms, stubbornly sticking to his guns on this one. Even when it's not a life or death situation, he's usually the chief of the fun police.]

I don't do instincts. Did you talk to them at all?

[He hasn't, even though he's been itching to since they got here. As much as he'd like to figure out what the hell is going on, he has a feeling that the more he talks to whoever the hell these guys are, the more he puts himself at risk for getting called in by the higher-ups at Virgo again. With the way the atmosphere is now, he wouldn't put it past anyone to rat him out for asking too many questions. They're all under a lot of pressure not to rock the boat.]

[trn451]

[That merits a raised eyebrow.] What do you think I'm doing? Fighting those two [—she jerks her head over to the helmeted pair—] with the power of song?

[goateeocracy]

Keeping busy and keeping your head clear. That's what everyone should be doing.

[He's kind of failing on the "keeping busy" front unless you count sticking his nose in everyone's business, but his phone might as well be a brick at the moment, so there's not a whole lot he can really get done.]

[twoscompany]

Yes, I'm starting to understand you. Keep going!

[worthlesspride]

[He looks up at the girl. He's really not in the mood for chatter, but if he has one weakness it's that he was brought up to always be polite to girls. Perhaps that's why he fairs better with them than boys, because he feels he can usually get away with more... bluntness. There are exceptions of course, like that Johanna from Virgo.

With practiced ease he molds his face from the barely contained annoyance to an easy smile.]

I'm alright, thank you. I'm just annoyed that we're here and not... [He makes a vague hand gesture] Well, I have better things to do with my time than this.

[yellowcopycat]

[One of the first things Ryouta does is make a bee line for Sora. He's not hard to miss, despite being a head shorter than Ryouta. But most people here are shorter than him. Only that Orion guy and Yan comes close.]

Soracchi. What's wrong?

[It's easy to tell that Sora's really upset about something. He settles himself in the bean bag next to him and watches him]

[gunslingerqueen]

[She watches him as if he might be deciding the fate of the universe with his actions. When he wobbles, she worries, but once he's got up on all fours, hah! She was totally right.] Good job! [There's absolutely nothing patronizing about the words, she really is quite proud of him.]

Now try walking around a little bit. [It was literally the next most logical step (hah!) and he had a momentum going now!]

[gunslingerqueen]

If you can get soda in it and it goes back to Fair Square Style then I think you'll be fine. Maybe it's like having curls, you just can't get rid of it even if you want to.

[She pauses, then, and asks in a deceptively light tone:]

Do you think they're alright?

[gunslingerqueen]

Mmhm. Silver wasn't really feeling talkative so there wasn't much to report there, but Gold was pretty chill. I got the feeling this was incredibly spur of the moment for them, y'know? He admitted to only having an estimation of when this might be other with.

[She tilts her beer a little.] Which, y'know, is definitely a point in the 'they're not going to harm us' category. But it's a little concerning that they wouldn't have details, kind of makes me think they've got a boss. [She shrugs.]

And it's probably not Santiago or that other guy.

[Blanche.]

[twoscompany]

Hn.

[She wishes she can say they are. She really wishes she didn't have the eyesight she now does. She can't lie to Nariko. But she can't fully admit the truth, so she looks for something in the middle.]

They better be.

[magic_to_do]

[She offers a sympathetic smile.]

Tell me about it. It'd be nice if people would give some kind of warning before they kidnap you.

[She takes a seat in one of the nearby beanbags.]

I'm Trucy. From System Crash.

[magic_to_do]

Same here. I guess this is what I get for running late...

[She frowns.]

I hope they're not worried about me.

[goateeocracy]

Blanche.

[You're welcome.]

But why kidnap us if they're just going to let us go? I seriously doubt it's for ransom.

[They could definitely get money for the lot of them, but that really doesn't fit with the whole "sit tight until we let you go" thing.]

Keeping us from the party for some reason?

[It's a reasonable suggestion, but why? It really doesn't make any sense. It's a holiday party. Big deal. He didn't even want to go to it in the first place.]