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

[panspermia]

"Sans."

With Sans' still fury comes Greg's contrasting and jittering panic. He bursts up next to him, all unfocused and frightened energy. Breathing uneven, hands wringing and clutching at himself, eyes sunken and fixed on his friend.

"How--how far can you go? With--I have to get out of here."

[exhumerus]

He can't say that it's actually a surprise, at this point, though the abruptness of it still catches him off. Greg is terrified and in his face and ostensibly asking him to put his life on the line, right here and now. It's a bit of a wake up call.

Sans gently slips his good arm around Greg's and starts leading him away, for the most part ignoring his stammering panic. It isn't until they are absolutely in a private spot that he looks up at him and says in a very level voice:

"Come again?"

[panspermia]

It's all Greg can do to keep coherent. He's having enough trouble even thinking straight.

"This...all this, it happened at Pride too." His voice is low, fast. "They--this--they got my son. He's... it's bad. I have to see him, please, Sans, I need you to--a friend is getting him out to Mercer Street, can you do that, does it work that far?"

He knows he's asking a lot, and Sans wouldn't be wrong to turn him down, but he has to try.

[exhumerus]

Jesus.

He shouldn't be surprised. He really shouldn't. Yet, for some reason, he's assumed this would be a Virgo only thing. Like the shit wouldn't totally hit the fan this time. Like at least part of Greg's family would be safe. The moment in which he is silent after that question may cause even more anxiety in Greg, but Sans knows he can't answer on his gut. He needs to think, because Greg can't right now.

"I can," he says, very slowly. "But then what, Greg? Stay with me here for a second and think. Nobody leaves without escorts these days. What do they think they're going to accomplish trying to drag him out of there now? They're not stupid, man. It'll be red alert all over again."

[panspermia]

It takes a few seconds for Greg to even process what Sans is saying, purely due to distraction. He'd been asking Sans with the thought it was the only way past security, yet he hadn't considered whether Garnet would have any trouble.

Security would be high. On Steven especially. And he's seen how the boy acts under label pressure, it's possible he'll even refuse to see him, but then there's no chance of--and his thoughts spiral from there, hopelessness mounting. He has to try, but what can he do from here, he's stranded in this awful tower...

His phone buzzes, and instantly all his attention is focused on the screen. After a few seconds, he goes very still.

"Sans. Can... can you get me in to Pride?"

[exhumerus]

Sans falls silent, watching him. He wasn't entirely expecting that escalation, but...here they are. It's out there now, and he has a choice to make.

Part of what gets him about it is that usually Greg never asks anybody to do anything that would inconvenience them in a major way. He's too damn nice and thoughtful to do that to someone. Hell, even if he told him no now, he'd probably take it, and just...die of misery, or something. But the fact he's even asking...geez.

Sans doesn't really want to. There are a lot of reasons. Or, at least, he is afraid to. Reluctant to. He's been counting on storing up as much power as he can before making any sort of strike, and this could blow it for absolutely everyone involved. There are factors both practical and emotional that make saying 'no' seem like a very tempting alternative.

And so, the silence drags. Within it, Sans can hear that voice again.

If you can't care about anyone else, if you're convinced they're gonna do something to you, why don't you just go away!?

You don't belong here.

Sans stares Greg in the eyes - those helpless, hopeless eyes - and then looks down as he finally speaks.

"Yeah," he says.

[panspermia]

Greg looks up again. He's about ready to break from stress, to the point where this small relief feels like an impossibility. He's asking so much of Sans, having him put everything at risk. He wouldn't fault him for refusal--considering it is even more than he needs to do.

His shoulders heave as his breath gets thick, hands clenching his phone like a security blanket.

"Thank you." It comes out a croak, wavering with effort. "Wh... what do you need me to do?"

[exhumerus]

He thinks about it, calculating the odds in a series of magic-based equations that he understands but would find nearly impossible to explain at the moment. It's, by far, a longer jump than he's dared to take up till this point, but based on his own magical resources and the math of the thing, it should be doable. Just...considerably difficult, and with a passenger, no less. And without a solid point of directional reference.

He pulls out his phone and looks at Google maps, because sometimes that's what you have to do for magic, as he's discovered. It's a moment before he works it out and speaks.

"I need a picture of where we need to go. Somewhere safe. Directional point of reference." There is a resigned edge to his tone, but all forms of resistance to the idea are gone. "Get that from your friend over there, and...yeah. I can take you."

[panspermia]

It's a painful few minutes, waiting for Garnet to text back. Greg keeps staring at the screen, grip tense on his phone. Every thirty seconds or so he'll glance up, ready to say something to Sans, before giving it up.

Finally, his phone buzzes, and he hands it over for Sans to look the pictures over.

[exhumerus]

Well. Here we go.

Sans takes the phone and examines the pictures. Ah, so, one of the bedrooms. He inwardly sighs. This, of course, means that there are probably dozens of other rooms that look approximately the same, which makes the concentration part all the harder. At least she took a couple to give him some context.

He tries to take in the little details that make that particular room unique, glancing between the pictures and the map on his phone. About two minutes later, he hands the phone back to Greg.

"They ready for us over there? Are you ready?" Sans is trying to be.