☆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

Trucy Wright | Pride Records | System Crash | OTA

[magic_to_do]

[Welp, Trucy has learned her lesson. She's never being late for anything again. Normally she's just full of perky optimism and can easily make the best out of any situation. But this.....

The last time she was taken somewhere against her will was when the Pride bands were kidnapped by Predator. So she's noticeably nervous for most of the ride. And this time her band mates aren't here. Not that she'd want them to go through anything like that again, but the thought of going through it alone is.... she doesn't know if she can handle that.

And it doesn't help that the second their hosts 'explain' their situation, they are replaced in Trucy's mind by the figure of haughty woman with cold eyes looking down at her. Instead of a warehouse, she's in some kind of museum. No, the space center. And there's angry looking robots everywhere. The woman is talking to someone on the phone, demanding that they turn over Athena. Or else. Whoever she's talking to must have asked for proof the hostages were alive, because the woman then turns to Trucy, and barks an order at the robots. They bring her over and the woman holds the phone up to Trucy's ear...


And even when she suddenly snaps back to reality, the nervousness doesn't fade. She's waiting for the other shoe to drop. That's why the normally exuberant and cheerful magician is lurking quietly in a corner. Maybe she could use someone to talk to?]

[consocius]

[Sora can relate to the feeling of nervousness - nothing good ever seems to come from being forcibly separated from his band mates. But he's trying to make the best of the situation, as he usually does, and the first step is trying to help anyone else feeling like that feel a little better, if he can manage it.

He recognizes Trucy from Pride, and knows that she's the lead guitarist for System Crash, though he's never spoken to her before. With all of them stuck in this warehouse together for who knows how long, it seems like as good of an opportunity as any to introduce himself. He's putting his cell phone back in his pocket as he walks up to her.]

Hey... Trucy, right? Or, er. [He laughs, realizing.] Trucy Wright. I'm Sora. Are you doin' okay?

[magic_to_do]

[The name thing does get a smile from her, despite the bad feeling this situation is calling up.]

I'm okay. Just... this sort of thing makes me.... nervous.

[She assumes that most Pride people would understand why.]

You're one of the Flashstep boys, right?

[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...

[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.

[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.]

[magic_to_do]

Right! I'm sure we'll hear all about the party tomorrow.

[Gotta keep looking at the bright side. Everyone is probably having a good time at the party. And watching bad movies in a warehouse isn't all that bad.]

I guess for now we should make the best of things, huh? Do you think maybe they have any better movies?

[consocius]

[Sora looks over at the laptop with the projector and then to the... robots, for want of a better word. Robots? Yeah.]

Yeah, maybe. Probably wouldn't hurt to ask, right? Though I haven't actually talked to them yet. [He briefly points with his thumb in the direction of their captors.] Have you?

[magic_to_do]

No... I was a little worried they might be the scary kind of kidnappers, you know?

[They're actually the nice kind. Trucy doesn't even notice how strange it is to need that distinction. ]

But they seem okay...

[consocius]

[Sora's not super happy with them since they did cause everyone to be separated from those who made it to the party. But Trucy's right, at least they don't seem outright mean or cruel in any way.]

I guess so... [He grins again then.] Gotta admit, that flying motorcycle is pretty cool.

[magic_to_do]

[She follows his gaze to the motorcycle and nods approvingly.]

Super cool.

[A pause, and then...]

Do you think they'd give us rides if we asked?

[consocius]

[Sora has to laugh at this.]

I'm not sure, but you definitely just read my mind!

[magic_to_do]

It's worth a shot. The worst they can say is 'no' right?

[She's optimistic, but they'll probably say no.]

[sponsorigami]

[ Fwoomph! Fwoomph! goes two beanbags as Ivan drops them to the ground next to Trucy. Then, Ivan drops himself down into one, leaving the other one for her. ]

Miss Trucy, they aren't dangerous. I've met them before.

[ He starts with that trying to bring her out of her quiet state. ]

[magic_to_do]

[The first fwoomph brings her out of her thoughts, but for a moment she just watches as drops the second bag and sits down.

After a moment, she slides into the other bag with a little sigh. Argh, such a great chance to talk to Ivan again and she can't shake her nervousness about the situation they're in.]

Well, I've definitely been kidnapped by worse people.

[Predator, the crazy lady she just remembered.... this is actually the most pleasant kidnapping she's ever had. And if Ivan knows them, then they're probably okay guys.]

Where did you meet these guys before? Who are they?

[sponsorigami]

[ He doesn't have a lot of details for Trucy, but he'll keep talking if it means it'll help her even in a small way. ]

I just met them around. The silver one is one I played music with. It was a nice impromptu jam session. And Silver was nice to talk to, even if I didn't understand everything he was saying.

[ But then his voice drops quiet. ]

... I didn't know you've been kidnapped before. This must bring up a lot of bad memories.

[magic_to_do]

I...

[She starts answering, then hesitates. Maybe it's best not to mention the crazy lady with robots. She's not even sure that really happened. So let's go with the other example.]

Did you hear about the whole thing with Predator and their weird torture carnival? They kidnapped a whole bunch of us a few months ago. They called it hazing, but it was... pretty intense.

[She still has nightmares about creepy crawly bugs all over her and knives in her face.]

FYI, Ivan might try to sing a song later to cheer her up

[sponsorigami]

No... I didn't.

[ He didn't know many from Pride. Trucy is probably the Pride musician he knows the best. Maybe he'll ask Luce if she knew; this is something that she might know because of her social nature. Maybe he'll ask. Maybe. Maybe he won't.

But he will remember the band "Predator." Sora had mentioned that not all Pride people were nice. Possibly the same group. ]

You don't have to tell me the details. It's all right. I don't want you to relive it.

[ He says quietly. He sees enough horrible things in his nightmares, reliving them until he wakes. He doesn't wish it on others, especially a friend. ]

ffff that would completely blow her mind.

[magic_to_do]

[She shakes her head.]

It's fine. Honestly I didn't even get the worst of it. I just got roughed up a little. Tiger almost died. And he wasn't the only one.

[A sigh as she flops backward into the beanbag and stares up at the ceiling.]

I can bounce back from whatever they throw at me. But when it's my friends. My family...

[She really does think of her band as family.]

All this weird stuff keeps happening and I can't do anything to help.

[sponsorigami]

[ For a moment, Ivan sees a cold, dark spiked room cast in a sick reddish hue. There's a flat-screen hanging on the wall. The faces on it are blurred, but he feels like he knows the others well. They're in danger, and there's nothing they can do. There are others he can't immediately see who are also in grave danger, and part of their fates depend on theirs. Time is of the essence.

Ivan shivers and brings his arms around him. ]

I know how you feel.

[ In more ways than just that flash of a strange vision. He thinks back when when most of his family had fallen ill in various ways; he couldn't do anything then. Ivan doesn't have an answer for her. He wishes he did.

But then he gets an idea. He sits up straight and starts softly, but the words grow in volume has he continues. ]

When everything feels like it's going all wrong
And I'm losing my hope and the will to be strong
I am laying face down on the freezing cold floor
Not knowing what to do or to try anymore

With the cards stacked against me, I am out of time
I search, and I cry, but answers I can't find
Praying to every god that my fate can still bend
What is right? Could this be the very end?

Although, while it may seem that everything's too hard
Don't discard all the hope dreams we carry now. We can make it somehow
Believing together, we can reach the stars

[ It's a song in progress, one that is supposed to have a back and forth feeling between despair and hope. It's only now that Ivan has come up with something to base the "story" on. And motivation to complete it ASAP too. He looks over at Trucy to judge her reaction. He's... never done this before really, singing without musical accompaniment or without having planned to create music.

Should he continue? Is it helping? ]

[[ ooc: Subbed Japanese song and English cover that the rewrite is based on. ]]

[magic_to_do]

[Trucy was staring at the ceiling, mostly lost in her own thoughts, when he started to sing. She rolls herself back into an upright position, or as close as the beanbag will allow, and stares with wide eyes and slowly warming cheeks.

It's beautiful. A sort of strange mix of upbeat hope and wistful sadness that really speaks to her. Oh, wait. He's looking at her. He probably wants her to say something.]

Wow...


[That's all she's got right now. Fairly, the guy she has a crush on is serenading her. That's... taking up most of her brain right now.]

[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

[magic_to_do]

[The more of that side of him she sees, the more smitten Trucy is. When he goes back over the part he already sang, she hums along with him. It's a pretty tune. And she's never been good at one the spot lyrics, so that's pretty darn impressive. Ivan might shine a little brighter than he thinks.]

That's beautiful. It's like the song is actually reaching down and pulling my spirits up.

[sponsorigami]

Th-Thanks...

[ He scratches his head, suddenly self conscious over his impromptu singing and maybe blushing a little now that he's thinking about it. How weird he must seem, but he's glad that the wild idea helped improve her mood. ]

That's all I got right now, but I'll try finishing it later.

[magic_to_do]

You should! I'd love to hear it when it's done.


[She certainly doesn't think he's weird. Really any eccentricity he has is positively charming. Of course she is viewing that through the rose colored lens of a crush, so results may vary.]