You laugh until you cry; you cry until you laugh

[sailorgenerous]

Who: Virgo musicians - Ghost Quest people and their friends
What: When eight musicians go missing, what happens to those left behind? What happens when those eight come back far worse for the wear?
When: Feb 1st-3rd and after
Where: Virgo HQ
Warnings: Talk of torture, violence, brainwashing, etc. It's ugly in here, folks.

The past three days have not been kind. The hauntings were odd, yes, but when your friends went missing without warning or a trace - well.

How have you been coping? Have you been coping?

And then they came back just as suddenly, and...it looks like your worries were not unfounded.

This isn't good, is it.

Comments

Penthouse

[panspermia]

Sleep has been fitful at best, so it only takes a split second for Greg to lurch out at the sound of screams, eyes wide. Terror had grabbed him already, but the sight of her lent a twinge of relief in spite of overwhelming dread.

"Meril?! Meril! When--oh my gosh--" He wastes no time reaching out to hold her as tight as he can, to confirm she's truly there.

[sailorgenerous]

Rarity is a few steps behind Greg - it takes her a second after the scream to get her sleep mask off, and another few to get her body back in order (she doesn't have time for things to not feel right; Meril needs her help), and one more to pull on a robe - but she makes it into the hall just the same, sprinting for her suddenly returned bandmate. "Meril!" She wraps her arms around both of them - trying to keep Meril steady, trying to keep Greg calm, trying to keep herself upright, she doesn't know - and doesn't let go.

[nibelungvalesti]

Thank the gods. Meril threw an arm around each of them, pulling them both tight against her with all the strength of her compact frame.

She wasn't drifting away. She wasn't drifting away.

"Do not," she whimpered, through tears and a quiet broken desperation, "let go."

[panspermia]

"Never," he murmurs in her ear, voice already breaking. He'd thought she was gone. He'd really thought she'd been taken away from him. It's like a miracle. "Never again."

[heymcfly]

The scream jerks Marty awake. Right when he's actually able to get any sleep.

He staggers out of bed and onto his feet, hissing as he jars his injured wrist. Marty knows why Meril's screaming; he knows way too well right now. He hasn't been here very long, but he's willing to do anything to help someone get out of that train of thought, away from the past few days. A second or two behind the others, Marty stumbles into the room with wide, nervous eyes.

"Whuzzit? Whas goin' on?"

[sailorgenerous]

"We won't," Rarity reassures her, holding tight. She jumps at the second voice and turns, the expression on her face finely balanced between happiness and worry. "Marty! You're here!" She keeps one arm around Meril and reaches out for him.

[heymcfly]

Marty's taken by surprise when Rarity comes over to meet him! He wants to pop a smile on his face and leap forward through a field of flowers, but he doesn't. If anything, he takes a step backward, expecting something to pop out and snatch at him-

but nothing happens. She just reaches for him. Easy McFly, easy.

He takes a few steps forward, rubbing at his eyes before approaching the little circle. "Everything's 'kay?" Marty looks to Meril for a moment, before reaching for Rarity. He just kind of...clings onto her shirt in the meantime. With his good hand, of course. "Heard screamin'."

[panspermia]

"Marty." Greg looks up, nearly unable to believe it, and he squeezes Meril tighter. "You're back. You're both... thank goodness." Pattern recognition had told him to give up altogether. He couldn't be happier for a break in the trend.

His eyes flicker over to Kokoro's door, hopeful for a moment. It stays closed.

[nibelungvalesti]

Meril reached out to grab Marty in turn, pulling him hard into the four-way hug. Very hard, considering she was holding onto them all like lifelines -- which, to her mind, they very literally were at this point.

[heymcfly]

Greg looked so...worried. Rarity, too. After all they had been through, and the fact that Marty hadn't been in the band for all that long, it was nice to know that people cared about you that much here. It was almost like Defying Atmosphere was a family...which was way more than he asked for. Marty absolutely loved that idea.

He smiles, albeit a little tiredly, when Meril reaches for him, and pulls him into a group hug. Marty wraps his arm around his other neighbor, but bumps his bad wrist in the meantime. "O-Ouch, fuck!" Oops.

Quick subject change. "Where's Kokoro?"

[panspermia]

Greg had already gone tense at Marty's pained cursing. Meril coming back screaming, Marty in pain--this was already painting an unpleasant picture.

Before Greg can comment, Marty's question puts him on hold. "He wasn't with you...?" It's more a realization than a question. Greg lets out a long sigh. They'd been told as much, but the reappearance of these two had let him think, just for a moment, there was a chance. "He's out." He can't look at Meril. "Fired."

[sailorgenerous]

Rarity squeezes Meril a little tighter - it seems to be helping, at least - and jumps in surprise at Marty's cursing. She's his other neighbor, after all. She turns a bit to look at him, worried. "Are you hurt? What happened?"

She doesn't want to think about Kokoro right now - evidently he got out of this mess before it even started. She'll worry about him later; right now, her priorities are Meril and Marty.

[nibelungvalesti]

"Yes, what happened?" Grounded as she was, Meril could focus more clearly -- and focus she did, her eyes snapping to Marty in turn. "Are you all right?"

Don't for a second think you will be allowed to get out of these questions.

[heymcfly]

Peer pressure. He had to open his mouth.

Marty smiles a little nervously, holding up his hands...which probably isn't the best idea, Marty. Seriously. "N-nothin'! I just messed up my wrist at, ah-" He glances over to Meril. What did you call that place? "There. That's all."

He has it wrapped up because nah, those people wouldn't give him a cast for that. And they wouldn't give him meds for it, either. But he holds it up with the most fake smile ever! "See? 'S fine."

[panspermia]

"What? Are you serious?!" Greg's concern redoubles--an impressive feat with how concerned he'd been already.

"Oh cripes, Marty." What were they doing to these two the last few days? "H-hang on, there's some painkillers in the bathroom, just--don't move, I'll be right back."

[sailorgenerous]

That does it. Rarity steps back, takes Marty by the shoulders, and turns him in the direction of his room. "Oh, no. You are going to a hospital. Go get your coat on and come back out here. Greg, we may want to wait on those in case they give him something else. Meril, dear, do come with me." She tries to lead Meril back in the direction of her own room; Rarity has to get dressed if she's going to take Marty to the hospital, after all, and she didn't want to leave Meril in the hall after Meril had begged her not to leave.

[nibelungvalesti]

Since Meril was not letting go of Marty either, that worked out just fine by her. Actually, she had to seriously fight herself to release Greg, and she only did it by a hair, leaving her hand trembling in midair just behind his back. He could at least slip free, though. "Rarity is right, Marty."

[heymcfly]

"No! No, no no no!" Marty waves his hands around in the air, putting on a desperate look that's anything but faked. He makes sure to plant his feet right where they are; no way in hell he's going to go to the hospital. Broken arm, or wrist, or whatever, he had to play for the band!

And hospitals? No thanks. Nooo way.

He puts on the most nervous smile he can. There's no way he can be convincing when he's being threatened to go to the hospital. "I'm fine! I really don't wanna go to the hospital, okay? I'm perfectly fine! Don't make me go, please? I'm fine, I swear. I can even tweet it, okay?"

[panspermia]

The scene comes to Greg, distantly: a ruler, and a decently sturdy stick, and a roll of duct tape wrapped around his throbbing leg. It'll get the job done. Anything's better than dealing with the hospital.

He blinks, staring at Marty's wounded arm and shifting the weight on his leg. The ladies are already crowding Marty. It's... the right thing to do, Greg knows. Still, he shares an apologetic look with Marty.

[sailorgenerous]

Rarity can be a force of nature when she knows she's right, and this is one such time. She pushes even harder. "Marty McFly, do not make me drag you around - you will not like the results! You are going to the hospital and that is final!"

[nibelungvalesti]

Meril nodded sharply in agreement; Rarity had said precisely what needed to be said, in precisely the proper tone. She also nudged Greg hard. Support the ladies, Greg.

[panspermia]

"Ow." Okay, jeez, don't send him there too. Greg winces, giving in. "Sorry, Marty. Trust me, I wouldn't want to if it were me, but... you know it's the smart thing, yeah?"

[heymcfly]

"No..."

Yeah, it was.

So he's going to reluctantly follow Rarity out the door. But on the way to the hospital, he's scheming! First thing he's going to google when he gets home: how to play guitar with a bum wrist!

[sailorgenerous]

It's a long visit - several hours - but not nearly as long as it could have been. Between the rather intimidating bodyguard following them around and Rarity's heavy leaning on Defying Gravity's reputation, the hospital sees fit to get Marty seen and taken care of soon, and it's not long before Rarity has him back at the penthouse, his arm in a cast. "Now remember," she says as she opens the door, "the doctor told you not to play for a few weeks at least."

[nibelungvalesti]

Meril still thought she and Greg should have gone. But she could well understand Rarity's insistence on leaving them to recover as well. The two of them had either not parted the entire time they were away or simply looked like that, as she quickly sat up from her lean against Greg when the two came back in.

"Broken?"