☆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

[panspermia]

It started to occur to Greg just how little he knew about her--about anyone. No one ever seemed too eager to talk about things outside of their career.

"I'd believe it." He nodded faintly. "Not something you need proof for, either."

[nibelungvalesti]

"Not something you could get proof for, but I would like it." And yet this belief had only come recently, along with those strange... dreams? Visions? "But that sounds terribly morbid."

[panspermia]

"No no, not at all." His head tilts, thinking of it. "There's people who would do anything to know what's on the other side, or whether things really end..." After tonight, it feels especially poignant.

[nibelungvalesti]

"What about yourself, Greg? What would you tell me about yourself?" If he hadn't asked, she never would have, but she was curious. Had been curious for a while.

[panspermia]

"Me?" Somehow, he didn't plan on the question getting turned back on him. It feels like everything interesting about him is tied up in music, and she knows all about that already.

"I don't think we're alone in the universe." He shrugs a little. "You probably could have guessed that from the songs, though."

[nibelungvalesti]

Meril considered that, then slowly nodded. "What you sing and what you believe can be two different things... but I should have been certain they were not."

[panspermia]

"Songs sound better when you believe what you're singing." He pauses, then shakes his head. "I mean, our stuff is all pretty silly. I just like knowing... space is so huge, anything could be out there. Anything."

[nibelungvalesti]

"It really could. For good or for ill." Though she had never really considered the idea before, Meril found herself in instant agreement. Maybe it was because his music helped her, or maybe it was because it was Greg. Or maybe at the moment, anything seemed possible.

[panspermia]

Silence falls between them, before Greg huffs--not a laugh, just a quiet hum of realization.

"I always thought, we're so small, in such a big universe. This is all we get, just for ourselves. But if you're right, and there's something after... there's a whole 'nother universe waiting."

[nibelungvalesti]

"It might just be reincarnation, you know. A return to the world after you've left it. In which case the opposite is true -- all souls will, in time, explore the universe."

She liked that thought, even if she wasn't sure she believed it.

[panspermia]

"Even better."

He's not sure if he believes it either. It sounds completely amazing, though, doesn't it?

[nibelungvalesti]

"We will find out someday." Unconsciously, she pressed just that little more into Greg. "But not soon, I hope."