☆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]

...Looks like you need to recover your energy first. It might help if we had food.

[THANKS, GOLD AND SILVER. She's going to go look for water, after giving Ivan an encouraging pat on the head.]

I'll be right back.

[magic_to_do]

Huh? Well, yeah. The whole torture carnival thing...

[Hang on...]

Oh! That's right, you guys weren't around then! Sorry.

[trn451]

I guess if the alcohol results in any disasters you can go around saying you told them so.

You're...that one folk group right? Hue and Cry.

[trn451]

No such thing as bad press or something like that.

[Parker is noticeably relaxed, though perhaps that's just exhaustion. She hardly gives the impression of being able to move quickly as she is now.] Maybe the news will get somebody to check your Bandcamp page.

[agains]

[ IT'S YELPING AT HIM SOMEBODY MAKE IT STOP ]

Gooood boy...

[ Where was Karelin? Keith couldn't have seen... what he just thought he saw. Impossible.

He offers a hand for the animal to sniff.

Because there is no way he just watched Ivan turn into a fox. No way at all. ]

[worthlesspride]

No. But let me take a wild guess that Predator was involved?

[Well, Xanxus' backside was good for something]

[goateeocracy]

I plan on it.

[He does, too. He's not really a fan of letting people forget that one time they were a huge dumbass embarrassment. It just encourages them to do it again.]

Yeah. And The Old Dirt Road before that.

[And who knows where next once management decides that Hue & Cry isn't obscure enough and he needs to be shuffled off to something else. He's been trying to keep his head down and keep a low profile, but he's pretty sure Virgo doesn't want him anywhere near the spotlight until they get whateer the hell is going on under control.]

[consocius]

[He's grateful to hear Ryouta's voice, and looks over at him with a smile that doesn't really reach his eyes.]

Just... Got a bad feeling, I guess. I can't reach Jamie or anyone on my phone. I'd been texting him on the bus, but I can't get a signal anymore.

[consocius]

I wasn't really keeping an eye on the time, either.

[He rubs the back of his head sheepishly.]

Well, they're at a party. So even if they miss us, they're probably still having a good time, right? I bet they've got food there and live music and stuff.

I was texting with one of my bandmates on the bus before I lost the signal, and he said the place is pretty huge and classy. [...He also sent a picture to Sora of a statue he thought looked like a butt, but Sora decides against mentioning this.]

[trn451]

Oh huh. You played with Shotaro. Was he lead guitar there too?

[magic_to_do]

[She nods.]

Good guess.

They kidnapped a whole bunch of us and played a bunch of creepy horror movie games with us. It was way worse than this.

[sponsorigami]

I'll be... here.

[ He can work on figuring out how to move now that he's figured out how to talk.

Did Gold and Silver at least bring some water? People are going to have hangovers if they don't stay hydrated! ]

[sponsorigami]

[ Ivan tries to roll back into a position that is more suited for walking (or attempting to) and to get Goodman's hand out of his face. What is he even doing? He's not a puppy. He's a person!

He tries to say that, but it only comes out as barks. ]

[sponsorigami]

[ He takes that to be a good sign. He hums the part he's already sung, trying to get back to the part he was at. He's making it up as he goes, mostly.

Trucy gets to see more of the real Ivan, the one behind his music image, the awkward teenager who trying to follow in the shadows of his more spotlight standing band members. ]

So let's just
Turn these troubles all around
Pick ourselves right off the ground
Every cheer and yell will be such a lovely sound
Let's go make a great big smile
Show them that it's all worth while
Stand with all the friends that we have found

So let's just
Hold our hands left and right
Within us we have a fight
Every cheer and yell will be such a lovely sound
No more acting like zeroes
Time to become our heroes
We shall turn this darkness into light

[goateeocracy]

I was guitar. He was banjo.

[And wow is that a sore spot and wow does it show. He looks grumpy enough even when he's not. When something touches a nerve like this, he tends to look downright scary. He's very keenly aware that Shotaro was moved up within the system while he was pushed as far down as management could pull off without it looking suspicious. He'd even made his desire to go solo or cut the band down to a duo or trio quite clear, but instead they'd shuffled him off to be a background musician in one of the most niche groups on the label. There really aren't publicly acceptable words for how deeply he resents it.]

[worthlesspride]

[He makes a disgusted sound]

Unbelievable. And to think they're still able to do as they please.

[He looks over at Gold and Silver]

I suppose this could be worse. They only seem intent on being annoying.

[Of course, that could change at any moment]

[twoscompany]

[No such luck, just alcohol.

She places a small glass in front of him, though her distaste for it is obvious by her expression.]

[sponsorigami]

[ As with Ivan. He sniffs it and cringes away. He may be of age by Vista City laws, but Ivan has never touched the stuff and doesn't have any intention to. ]

Is that... all they have...?

[twoscompany]

Unfortunately.

[sponsorigami]

I think if I drink that... I'll be in a worse condition.

[ He sighs, and to his surprise, it's his voice that's sighing and not the fox's. ]

Maybe I'll rest for a few minutes and try again.

[agains]

[ It's trying to stand up? Sensible. These beanbag chairs are too squishy and comfortable. Probably like a sand trap to the little guy. ]

Would you like me to help you up?

[ He continues to sit with a nonthreatening posture, but does look away from Mr. Fox to softly call: ]

Mr. Karelin? Where did you go?

[ Not that his FoB label-comrade would be any more effective at calming a fox, but Keith has to confirm that he isn't going mad and Ivan didn't literally become a ninja and disappear. ]

[sponsorigami]

[ Ivan barks louder. "I'm right here! This is me!" but it still doesn't come out as words. Why is this happening to him? He just plays a kitsune on stage. He's not actually one... ]

[twoscompany]

[Have a reassuring pat on the head.]

I'm sure you'll be able to do it. You've figured out speech, after all.

[sponsorigami]

Thank goodness... Thank you for your patience with it.

[ He really appreciates it, more than what can probably been seen right now. ]

[agains]

[ It's true. It's got to be true. Ivan is nowhere in sight, and this fox is sitting exactly where he was, and--

(fragments of an exuberant announcer's monologue, something complicated about DNA and special powers, reassuring the public that it's perfectly natural for people to do things that might otherwise be strange, see, look how they save people for your entertainment on live!! tv!!)

-- Keith stops looking around, looking the fox directly in the eyes. ]

Mr. Karelin?