☆TRACK V: I WILL TWIST THE KNIFE PT. 2

[interdimanagers]

Who: Everyone in the last part of the log.
What: Everyone has a terrible night.
When: December 7th, 2054
Where: Naomi's ocean side mansion, followed by a secret Pride laboratory.
Warnings: Violence, blood, and at least one murder. Vague gore. NPCs being unhinged in a threatening way, though it's possible to have your character avoid ended up in the ballroom if you don't want to see this mess.

☆I WILL TWIST THE KNIFE The bubble has burst. The chaos of the night’s violence has finally boiled over into something uncontrollable – blood has been spilt, screams have been heard. No matter where you are in the mansion, you know by now that something is acutely wrong. Multiple members of Pride have been hurt – possibly killed – and you may still have no idea why. Some will try to escape. Some will try to fight back. Yet, as any rebellion starts to descend, a piercing note - a melodic cry - will summon you towards the ballroom. It can be resisted, in part - but only as far as you find yourself frozen in place instead of moving forward, at least while this spell holds. It's drawing you to the source...if you follow it, maybe you can stop it. The compulsion is strong for members of both labels. The cry seems to echo long past its termination point, to be heard wherever you are. If followed, it will bring you to Naomi Rivers in the center of the ballroom, her expression creased with strain. Though you may desperately want to strike her, something intangible is holding you back. "No!" she shouts at any Virgo nearby. "It isn't done! You need to...you need to finish this!" She'll point desperately at the nearby Pride, rendered unable to flee. "Get them now!" You don't want to. "Do it!" The compulsion weighs heavily on you - for Virgo, to act, and for Pride to surrender themselves. All subtly has disappeared. This last effort is unconcealed and nearly hysterical. You feel yourself slipping beneath the soundwaves. Power rolls off of her, the energy thick in the air, like something you can taste and smell. You can't do this. "I command-" The fabric of space-time cracks like a peal of thunder. All at once, the spell shatters.

Comments

PRIDE AFTERMATH

[interstellarnpcs]

No matter where you were during the party, you'll suddenly find yourself in a grey-built room lined with devices that fall somewhere between surgery tables and hospital beds. The ones here are all empty, but as you appear Lesedi is already standing at a door leading into a new area. The door is made of heavy metal, and locked.

Those that were taken away for 'treatments' all those weeks before will recognize this place - in essence, even if not in the specific sights. They'll remember sensations of cold metal, unforgiving machinery, and pain.

It only took a moment to arrive here - gone from the beach house one instance and here in the next. It feels weird. Disconcerting. Worse, because Lesedi is just as mad as he was when she pulled you all here in the first place. Everyone with critical injuries will have been removed from the group, their present location unknown. Except for Xanxus, who is lazily propped up on one of the tables out here.

"You!" she points at the huddle of confused Prides, her words sharp and furious. "Don't...any of you do anything. Don't...you dare try my patience now. You know what I can do to you, and I will not make it so quick."

She puts her hand on the door and it starts to open. She is clearly still distracted with her thoughts.

"This is his fault. He...he's ruined everything!" she's busy ranting to apparently no one in particular, though the way she swings around to face the group again makes one feel like she's expecting your condolences. "He knows how much this will set me back! That spiteful fucker! Half a dozen, at least!"

She turns again, putting her hand on the doorway.

"Unless, I...I could still..." She clenches her fists, her arms shaking with the pressure. She turns back to those left with minimal injuries. "You! Two of you! No...three! Help me right now! I demand it!"

[You can use this section for after the event reactions from Pride members. The first three people who tag into her thread will get whisked away to endure Lesedi's ranting for a bit longer, but the rest will be able to rest. A couple 'doctors' will arrive a bit later to attend to any non-critical injuries with the weird scifi equipment.

If you have anything to say to Lesedi, she may humor a brief conversation before leaving. If you really want to deal with this shit, that is.]

LESEDI SANTIAGO HAS A TANTRUM

[interstellarnpcs]

[You do feel compelled to obey her, either out of fear or something else. Where did all the others go?]

[notahobby]

[Maxxie steps forward nervously before he can debate it in his brain, before he can stop to check on everyone. He's worried, but Lesadi's commands override all of that.]

What... what's going on...

[He says it more to himself than to Lesadi. He imagines she is not concerned with enlightening him on this matter.]

[interstellarnpcs]

You're going to help me...with all these fucking corpses that bastard has left me with.

[Her hand squeezes the metal of the door frame hard enough that it subtly begins to yield.]

[notahobby]

Corpses.

[Well, that's the colour gone from Maxxie's face and he'd throw up if he thought Lesadi wouldn't personally murder him immediately for vomiting on the floor.]

[He's too high for this.]

[But congrats Lesadi you have someone who will do just about anything you tell him to because he's too terrified and intoxicated to think about doing anything else.]

[wounds]

[He immediately wants to do whatever she requires of him... Which would be weird, but if she asks for something, he's not willing to say know.]

What are we doing?

[interstellarnpcs]

[She looks at him. His arm is broken. Whatever, that's fine. If he wants to hurt himself she doesn't care, that's good enough for now.]

I don't know if you fools noticed, but in a single evening Blanche has managed to put several of you on deaths door! If I had any sense I would let them all die!

[But.]

[wounds]

[It's less that he wants to hurt himself and more that the thought his body is replaceable is still there deep in his subconscious.]

That's impossible to miss.

But you're not letting them? [What's she getting out of this...?]

LUCIFER REALLY, REALLY DOESN'T WANT XANXUS TO DIE

[stylistic_disloyalty]

Considering what she'd just seen Santiago do, the prudent thing would definitely be to let the CEO work herself out before approaching. The insane thing would be to bother her right then and there. So Luci has to gather up every shred of courage she has after watching her boss impale someone with her bare hands to approach her-- because Xanxus doesn't have the time for her to wait until it's safe.

"Lesedi," Luci starts, approaching her at a quick walk. "Xanxus, he needs a doctor, he's dying." Her tone is calm, but there's a definite edge of apprehension there. She doesn't want to be the next one to end up with a new lethal body mod.

[interstellarnpcs]

"Do I look like I care?" Lesedi snarls, her fists clenching. She wheels on Luci as if to demand how she dare waste her time with him. "He should have considered that before he became a royal pain in my ass!"

[stylistic_disloyalty]

'Yeah? I'm sure he'll behave the next time someone decides to re-enact Frozen and casts Xanxus as a princess, okay? Okay.'

But she didn't say that, because she's about to hurl she's so terrified (and, strangely enough, frustrated with herself for some reason).

"I know, he's a pain in my ass too, trust me," Luci reassures her, hands spread in acknowledgement. "If he wasn't so good at keeping me together, I wouldn't be here right now. But he is, so I am."

Oh Xanxus, thankfully someone loves you.

Re: PRIDE AFTERMATH - Xanxus

[variaboss]

There's still ice clinging to him. There's actual icicles in his hair. His lips are bluish and his teeth are chattering. But he's there. Probably dying slowly, but what can you do. He's still trying to work this out. What the hell...just fucking happened.

Sort of hard to think about anything because his brain is been pretty much shut off by the cold. He probably took/drunk something he shouldn't have either and it's the cold that's keeping him relatively alive still.

And it's a testament to being Xanxus that he slowly forced himself up the wall in the corner he had been dumped. He'll get himself taken care of eventually, maybe. He's got something to say.

"What the actual fuck." Still, he's not stupid and he's putting two and two together and getting there was a noise.

[stylistic_disloyalty]

"Shit, Xanxus!" Luci can't see where Yuffie's gone, but it's hard to miss Xanxus slumped against the corner. Yes, she's worried about Yuffie and the other members of Pride she can't immediately spot, but Xanxus is the only one she can see right now-- and he's covered in ice. Of course she remembers what he'd said about his nightmares of ice, that only makes finding him in this condition all the more terrifying for her.

"Sit the fuck down, what are you doing?!" she demands, putting her hands on his shoulders, then on his face. Fuck, fuck he's so cold, his sweater has ice in it.

[variaboss]

A voice. Luci? He's in and out of consciousness as he gets colder and colder. He can't get warm...he'll never get warm. Trapped. Trapped in the ice forever. Forever and ever. They'll forget about him, locked in a forgotten subbasement. He'll never see another sunrise. He'll never see the light of day. He'll never breath another breath, suspended in cold excruciating eternity.

He's having troubles focusing. He's between his memories and this right here. "I can't let him win..." Wait...him? No... A little more forcefully. "I can't let them win! We need to know what the fuck just happened and we need to know NOW!" He's shaking so hard though and he's already using the wall to keep him from falling over.

"Luci? Don't let them win okay. I need to sleep, but don't let them win..." Hypothermia is definitely setting in.

[maipokerface]

Tonight has been a night. Tonight has been a really damn annoying night. Mai makes it back all in one piece unlike some others but it's not without it's cost too. She's still damp if not to the point of dripping anymore, has a few good spots that are bound to turn into bruises in the next few days and a few good scrapes and scratches here and there.

Lessedi takes time out to rant and rave while dragging off a few Pride members and Mai takes time to roll her eyes at it all as she snarls in irritation herself. She's pissed and tugging with some irritation at the ties of her oxhorn buns that have all but fallen out now.

The person closest to her gets asked, "Have you seen the rest of Crown of Thorns? Aramat, Artolo, Tooru, Wolfram?" She lists off the names in quick time.

[scalpedsociety]

They took Squalo away but it doesn't help. This party has been awful and all Tamara can do is sit in a corner with Squalo's blood on her dress as the doctors check her. Her face is unmoving, and frankly she's cried enough about waking up to her student's body.

She just wants to go home.

[stylistic_disloyalty]

Flirting over twitter is far, far away tonight as far as Luci is concerned, but she recognizes Aramat from the pictures. Her dress is covered in blood, but she's not with the rest of the critically injured so it's someone else's blood. Explains the blank look on her face.

Luci waits for the doctors to clear out before she crouches down next to her. "Hey, they're going to be okay."

It's easy to tell the lie when she wants to believe it too.

[scalpedsociety]

Tamara wants to believe as well. Squalo wasn't breathing and his body felt like dead weight. But the Doctors pried her off him and told her he would be alright.

But she can't.

"They took Squalo away."

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

Jecht thumped his butt against the wall, then slid down slowly to sit next to her.

No words, and on his part, no blood at least. He didn't know what to say, but he could at least be strong for her, so he reached out with arm arm to put it around her shoulders.

[scalpedsociety]

She hesitates a little, but after a few seconds she leans into him.

[wounds]

After he's dragged of to the next room, he's back. He'll just have to deal with his broken arm- not life threatening, not enough to get fixed.

He knows Squalo cares about this woman, he was her student or something. So he sits down next to her and wonders what to say. "He'll be alright."

That's better than nothing.

[scalpedsociety]

Tamara shakes her head. "He was bleeding so much..."

"But I want to believe he will be alright."

TIGER UNIVERSE | OPEN

[tigermillionaire]

Tiger is a mess. He didn't want to be here. Moments after they suddenly arrived, all he can think about is how he had wanted to stay with Greg so badly, and how he had been torn away from him again so trivially. Tears are still in his eyes.

"Dad..." he mumbles again, more quietly. The sinking realization of where he is only makes things worse. It's the labs again. He remembers them only in bits and pieces, but just seeing these medical beds is enough to terrify him. At first, all the can do is whirl around in a wide eyed daze of horror, the sound of Lesedi yelling bringing on a desperate sense of panic.

He flees, running on prey-like instinct, and sinks back into a corner and just curls up into a ball. He's way too scared of Lesedi to yell or fight, and he can't find most of his bandmates. It's just him and Molly, now.

Why is this happening to them?

[blindfoldcode]

Because everything is terrible and life is awful, Tiger. It's a lesson Kido has learned well tonight.

Which is made obvious by her sudden appearance a while after their arrival. She's groggy when she wakes up. Why is she waking up in the first place? This is new. And everything fucking hurts. And sitting up doesn't help. She clutches her side when she does, suddenly in a panic, fumbling for the knife she knows should be there.

But it's not. Just a hole in her suit and jacket. And she's just left pale and bloody (god it's everywhere isn't it? Her suit was at least dark enough it wasn't much of a problem but fuck, it's in her hair) and confused, blinking in dim recognition and not entirely sure what's happening.

[tigermillionaire]

And suddenly, Tiger is there.

He's obviously terrified. He sees the blood, and he sees how she just seemed to appear there, and...for a moment he thinks she's dead. But as soon as its clear she's not, he can't help but basically leap onto her medical table, clinging to her for some semblance of safety.

"Kido!" is all he manages, at first.