☆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

[goateeocracy]

So don't do anything stupid.

[Yan has been pacing and generally avoiding coming to a stop anywhere near Keith, but sometimes you get lost in your own thoughts and lose track of where you're walking and end up next to idiots. Or at least that's how he sees it.]

This is why I hate being late.

[Not "because you get kidnapped," but "because it never seems to end with just being late."]

[agains]

Come on, Yan! [ He tries to put an arm around the man's shoulder and smile into a hidden camera. ] We've got to look good for our ransom pictures.

[ ...but it's obvious to anyone that Keith's act is forced. Why bother putting on a show around someone who'll see through him, anyway? ]

Perhaps Mr. Ursa will forgive us just this once.

[ Their manager would just as soon use a kidnapping to yell at them as a misfired tweet. But one can dream. ]

[goateeocracy]

If he gives us shit about getting kidnapped, he's the one who's gonna end up regretting it.

[He chooses not to elaborate on that, mostly because he knows full well he won't actually beat the shit out of their manager, no matter how much he might want to. He's mastered the art of keeping his head down and keeping his temper in check when it could get him in trouble to do otherwise. It's just the rest of the time when it's about 90% likely to be a problem.]

And stop mugging for the camera, idiot. You know there's no goddamn camera.

[If only there was, but his whole "reality show" theory about why their lives have been so goddamn weird lately was thoroughly shot down, to the point where it's almost more suspicious that they're denying it.]

[agains]

Just don't say that to his face.

[ He misses a few beats before dropping the act. A slow frown takes over. ]

Have you spoken to our hosts?

[ All traces of rivalry, comedy-duo-ing, or dumb rockstar posturing are gone. It's an honest conversation. Keith's got nothing out of Gold or Silver and this is unnerving as hell. ]

[goateeocracy]

No. Plenty of other people have and it hasn't done them any good, so I'm not bothering.

[He doesn't want to risk having it used against him somehow. Also, he's well aware of his own temper and he doesn't want to do anything that will put the rest of the hostages in danger.]

Did they tell you anything?

[He figures he knows what the answer will be, but he might as well ask anyway if Keith is going to act like a normal, intelligent human being for a while.]

[agains]

[ Keith flashes his phone. On its screen, there's nothing but static. Minutes of static. No video, no audio. ]

I thought I was able to catch our conversation on video. They didn't seem concerned and now I understand why. As for what they revealed, not a thing. [ He puts the phone away, pensive. ] "For our own good" is no good answer.

[goateeocracy]

"For our own good," huh?

[That's...unexpected. But then this whole situation doesn't seem like your standard kidnapping. Just another in what seems like an endless series of events that make no goddamn sense.]

To keep us from going to the party? Why?

[Considering the strangeness at the last party, he can't help but wonder if this is somehow connected to that.]

[agains]

Who knows. From the party, or from-- [ he can't think about that

the thought can't occur to him that they should be protected from the CEOs

the thought cannot occur to him that they aren't in danger from the ones that claim to protect them

Keith Goodman plays the theremin for Hue & Cry, and he resents being kidnapped. He sounds distant and confused. ]

Should we really believe those who don't belong to our label? Can we really tell which party is trustworthy?

[goateeocracy]

No one's trustworthy.

[It's one of his usual snappish responses, but there's just something tired about it. He's been dealing with this shit for too long.]

Not our side, not theirs. Ours just keeps a roof over our heads.