interstellar5555 | ☆TRACK II: DISCORD AND RHYME

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☆TRACK II: DISCORD AND RHYME

Who: Kidnapped Pride Members
What: Corporate hazing, in the style of themepark murder clowns.
When: October 18th-19th.
Where: A large, empty carnival, apparently.
Warnings: This is basically Saw games for babies.

“Burning the ground, I break from the crowd
I'm on the hunt, I'm after you.
I smell like I sound, I'm lost and I'm found
And I'm hungry like the wolf.”

☆DISCORD AND RHYME

It’s your first free night after a particularly feverish series of performances. It’s a comparatively lazy Sunday evening - one that all of you are obligated to spent in the HQ. Things are normal, at least as normal as they ever are, are you’re free to go to bed early and for once have the luxury in sleeping in tomorrow. At least theoretically.

Whether you go to bed or not, you’ll find yourself drifting off - and then the sound eerie, peculiar music...like the sound of an old music box, with a soft feminine voice singing wordlessly along. You’ll fall asleep, hard, and when you wake up you are somewhere else.

"【Sad and Scary Song】"Come Out And Play"Creepy Music Box】[HD]" (Watch on YouTube)

☆THE SACRIFICES

At first, you wake up in what seems like some kind of boiler room. Some parts of the floor are slick with moisture, and your hands and feet are bound, with your wrists locked to the industrial piping behind you. Regaining consciousness is slow and difficult, as if it wasn't meant to come to you quite yet.

You can hear water and steam flowing through some of the pipes, and the complex is obviously still active with...whatever it's supposed to be doing. But maybe you're just too busy freaking out at your evident kidnapping to think too hard about circumstantial evidence.

You aren't the only one in here. Whether they are awake or unconscious, four other Pride members are bound nearby. Around the side of some of the machinery, you can see the glow of computers, though you can't quite see the screens - there are chairs, though, and a cup of Starbucks that is still steaming. Whoever brought you here is probably still around, and there's no telling how long you have before they return.

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☆THE CHALLENGERS

You wake up sitting in what appears to be a bumper car of all things - you know, one of those little vehicles you drive around at carnivals to crash into each other? You're sitting in one, and your hand are handcuffed around the bar behind you. Your neck is definitely sore, like you've been sitting like this for a while.

It only takes a moment to realize two things: 1) you actually are in a theme park of some sort, and it's still night time, and 2) you're not alone. At least a dozen other Pride members are handcuffed to the bumper cars around you, all pointed in the direction of an empty stretch of wheel worn floor - like an audience, intended to view a speaker. Whoever brought you here doesn't give you much time to be confused.

They stride into the center of the "stage" like they own the place. They are wearing a hooded coat of a decidedly gothic style, with a hood that shadows their face. When they speak, they sound feminine - almost like the voice you remember putting you to sleep earlier.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen," they say, "to your trial by fire."

(Click here for your top level!)

“Strut on a line, it's discord and rhyme
I'm on the hunt, I'm after you.
Mouth is alive with juices like wine
And I'm hungry like the wolf.”

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

And that's why Maxxie's here. He runs up, staring up at Nariko with a look of disbelief and fear on his face.

"I'm high, right? I've gotta be high."

No, this is too real. There's nothing but adrenaline flooding his brain right now and that alone is overwhelming. He looks at Richard, looks at the lasers, then back at Richard again, then up at Nariko, and then he takes a breath to brace himself.

Did someone call for a lean and flexible teenager? Kido's not the biggest on hanging around people, but she's not going to literally let someone hang around and wait for their death or whatever.

She looks at Maxxie with a scowl. "We might be. I still don't remember falling asleep." But that's not really the point. Returning her attention to the swings, she unzips and sheds her hood. "Do you guys see the buttons?"

She kind of wants to get this over with--she's not sure her friends aren't in danger, too, and she needs to get back to that as fast as she can. Sorry, Nario, she's only got so much energy to expend here, and literally zero of it has been aloted to trying to keep other people calm.

Seeing as just about nothing, not even Richard's logical ideas, are really going to make a dent in her overall state there's no use in wasting the energy as it is.

"Let's skip the part where everyone thinks they are dreaming or high on coke or whatever the fuck else! My immediate terror is pretty fucking real!" The small tirade is born of irritation and fear but that might not make it any easier to deal with. Richard she knows and trusts, but these other two? Well, Maxxie's in Flashstep so he's fine, too, it means he knows Sora. Kido is the only unrecognizable one and frankly that blase attitude isn't exactly inspiring on a personal or immediate level.

She doesn't fight with the seat anymore but she does try to look down at them. "Just get me out of here, okay? Please." There's a little pause. "Preferably without any of you getting hurt, too."

"Nariko. The rest of the band are here, and, last I saw them, all right but worried about you. Something else to focus on."

He's stalling a little about time. But, look as much as he does, nobody else approaches the site. He eyes the other two.

"Three buttons. Three of us. That... seems pretty straightforward, as far as stage directions go. My name is Richard, in case you need to call my attention to something. Do you think you can reach a button, each?" Squinting at the network of lasers. "Without losing a limb."

Just in case the lasers can cut. Best assume the worst.

Maxxie swallows hard. "Max," he says - it's all he can manage right now. "I'll, ah... I'll take that one, yeah?"

He indicates one of the buttons, to their right, and then he approaches the lasers. He feels like an idiot, trying to figure out how to approach this, trying to find a pathway ahead of time, but finally he crouches down to duck under a beam and goes from there.

"Kido." She nods to them both and points to the left. "I'll take that one, then." She pulls her hair up and into an elastic and tucking it into the back of her shirt before stepping forward. "I've gotten through tighter spots."

She takes the first step over a laser, carefully. She really hopes there aren't any hidden. Then she remembers there's a person and looks up. "You'll be fine! We can handle this!" Of course she doesn't know either of the other two but like she can pretend.

Apparently the one thing that could override her own fear was that one little bit of knowledge: Her entire family was here. It's difficult to avoid feeling guilty then because she's probably worrying Garnet and being a pain in the ass without meaning to. "Okay." She took a deep breathe, and tried to smile at the one named Kido.

"Try to take your time! I mean, not all night, but, y'know!" She wasn't very good at the encouraging part, not with people she didn't know but it was an attempt!

Richard can hear Nariko's panic ebbing, and that's good. Max seems a little shaky, but not terrified, either. Those are good things. Fear is enemy to--

The end of that thought frizzles, and he doesn't pay any attention to it. Panicked people are more likely to make mistakes and get hurt, or get others hurt. Less panic is good.

"Here we go."

For somebody usually - outside of rehearsals and performances - laid back and quiet and chill, the moment that Richard comes into the range of the lasers can be pretty startling. His body becomes tighter, more compact. The tension turns him into something as tight as a whip, and his motions are slow, but in complete control. He moves quietly, and efficiently, under and over and between the bright beams.

About halfway through, without looking away, he calls out carefully, "how are you two doing?"

"I feel like a fucking idiot," Maxxie responds as he slowly brings his leg over a laser beam. He's flexible and he's doing alright, but it's slow and he doesn't feel cool like he's in some spy thriller. He feels cranky because he should be sleeping right now but instead he's here, losing his mind trying to make it through these lasers.

"You know, these aren't even hot," he says. "This probably isn't even real - somebody's messing with us."

Maxxie stares at one of the lasers and takes a deep breath. Slowly, he holds out his arm and brings it closer to the beam slowly just in case it is hot. When he breaks it with his forearm, he doesn't feel a burn and he sighs with relief as he pulls his arm back, but the sound of the ride coming to life half a second later almost throws him off his feet.

Kido's been ducking and dodging fairly well. She finishes slipping underneath the beam she faced before calling out a response:

"I'm about to hit a--"

And then the ride begins to whir. This? Now this is why Kido hates people. She's luckily in an area where she can jerk her head up to see what the hell is going on and the look on her face is somewhere between confused and furious. That's fire. And this is bullshit. The lasers might not be real but the danger definitely is.

(And so is the seasick sort of feeling in her stomach, the dizziness she has to fight off. Because something is familiar and it's just like the gala again, she's barely able to plant her feet enough to not stagger into a beam, herself.)

"Holy shit."

Because she had already been looking down Nariko gets a front row seat to Maxxie casually passes his arm through one of the lasers. At first she's about to reprimand him for being an idiot - what if it had been cold, but could still cut his limb of?! - but then there's a deep noise from the inner guts of this stupid ride. It chugs to life and she moves forward with a high-pitched yelp.

As if that wasn't bad enough? The seat several spaces in front of her isn't just charred, it appears burnt to nothing but shreds. Whatever calm she had gotten a hold of just fell out the window, and in order to keep from dropping into pure hysteria Nariko channels her panicked energy into pure rage.

"Did you think they put that shit there for no goddamned reason?!" Seriously Maxxie. Why. Why did you do that. "Stop fucking around, this isn't a game!"

Not for her, anyway. That was the seventh seat again, so they had six more tries before she'd be in range of that flamethrower.

Richard kept quiet for the first moment, watching both Max and the swings. His voice is quiet, almost sweet when he speaks up.

"I would greatly appreciate if both of you attempt to avoid putting Nariko in danger, at least where you can help it."

And it might take somebody very drunk, or high, to miss the threat there, too, underneath the genuinely polite words. Then again, considering their jobs, that is not exactly a difficult state to be in.

Either way, he is already moving closer to the button. "What were you saying, Kido?" What will happen if only one button is pressed, the other two not reached, yet?

The colour drains from Maxxie's face as he looks up at the place where that swing used to be. His shackles come up when Nariko yells at him, and he can sense the tone in Richard's voice.

"How was I supposed to know?" he snaps, but he already sounds defeated. He's tired and this is physically demanding and emotionally stressful, and he just made it worse. He keeps going, slower now, but he was already halfway to the button to begin with. He keeps his head down and his mouth shut from here on out.

(Even though he still suspects they're being pranked.)

Max is in good company, as Kido's white as a ghost, herself. Partially because the ride itself and partially because her memories are twisting as she thinks. She wishes she had something to hold onto.

"I... don't remember..." Her voice is faint when she talks. "I feel sick... give me a second."

Failure. It was failure she was remembering, failing when it mattered most. She thinks now that she can't fail again, though she isn't quite sure how she is remembering it or why or if it's even real. But she knows she has to put it aside to get to the end. She can't fail again.

She's gonna need to sit down again, but she maneuvers around another bar. Focus, Tsubomi, focus.

"It's nothing, it's just more complicated ahead here."

She figures that Richard's response is terrifying enough by itself, so for once Nariko keeps her mouth shut and leaves both Kido and Maxxie to their current tasks. For her part she just tries to keep calm, breathing in deep and letting it out slow. She hasn't got any huge fear of heights or anything but it's the knowledge that she could be charred to pieces that's making her break out into a cold sweat.

"I'm gonna be fine, everything will be fine, everyone will live ..."

Or they won't and there was nothing but utter suffering and terror in her future. Stupid, childish tears well up in her eyes and she's finally grateful to be somewhat out of their sight. Crying is embarrassing.

Richard blinks to himself, slightly disoriented. He expected a challenge to the threat, and got... somebody's hurt, instead.

Why did he expect a challenge in the first place? He doesn't know. And promptly puts that away from his mind, there are things more important happening right now. He makes sure his tone softens.

"Max. You could not know, and she wasn't actually hurt. Just don't do it again, if you can avoid it." It's a maze. He does mean that 'if.' People are fallible. It's only purposeful stupidity that he wants to stem out.

... and as to the other. He pauses where he's more or less stable, and looks around. Kido is pale, she truly doesn't look well. "Kido. If you need a moment, take it. The lasers aren't moving, which means we can take the time we need, this will not get more difficult for taking a breath. Hurting yourself - we can do without that, all right?" Quick look up. "Everything will be fine."

He doesn't respond to Richard, already embarrassed as it is. He wishes he could be the guy that keeps it together, but it's just not in him right now. He looks over at Kido, frowning with worry and stress before he looks back at the button and decides where to go next. Almost there, he thinks to himself, glancing up at Nariko.

Kido tends to keep her shit together. Though her steps aren't nearly as confident, she's literally holding her breath as she passes through the next section.

"Yeah, until the swings start moving on their own or somebody else tries to walk through this damn maze." She shakes her head. "My band might be in danger. I don't have time to waste on figuring this out."

Not that she's going to be careless but if one of the kids gets hurt, it's going to weigh on her.

She's still hanging out in the swing, covering her face with both hands, there really isn't much to see up in her part of the atmosphere. This time she does as Richard suggested before and closes her eyes, it's difficult to think of something that'll take her out of this moment entirely but she does try to keep herself together.

When she occasionally glances downward she can see their progress, how they're all converging towards their goals. It doesn't make her feel too much better but it is visible, obvious progress.

"Richard!" She has to talk, has to say something. "I'm buying you a drink after this!"

Because she'll be able to. They'll be fine, they'll be fine.

Oh, Richard is very good at keeping it together. Don't try to compare yourself to him, Maxxie.

"Mm. I wouldn't be able to do it alone, I don't think." At Nariko.

And then, at the other two, "just a little more left. Be careful, all right?" Beat. "Which is your band, Kido?"

On the one hand, it may not be a good idea to distract, either himself or the other two. On the other hand, the tension has settled a bit too thick, after the debris of the burned seat settled, and he's partially responsible for that. So, might as well try to ease that.

Maxxie continues on in silence, until he's within arm's length of the button.

"I'm here," he says, a little out of breath. He's crouched with one hand on the ground for balance, but there's a beam between his body and his arm. Maxxie swallows as he stares down at it, waiting for the others to reach their buttons too.

"System Crash." She twists her body through another set of beams, barely avoiding a laser with her nose, holding her breath until she gets through.

"I'm not far. I'm about to..." She reaches her fingers forward and they barely reach, but they reach. "I think I'm good here."

"As if you'll even be able to get rid of me after this!" There's more than a little truth to that statement. Even with that little misstep she can't help but feel incredibly grateful to both Maxxie and Kido for doing this. They might have their own reasons, and maybe she shouldn't be so immediately attached, but she can't help it. Richard would definitely get the worst of it, though, and she was already looking forward to clinging onto her brother-band mate as soon as she was let down.

And considering that they all appeared to be within reach of their appropriate buttons that moment would be coming sooner rather than later. They just had to press at the same time, right? ... She wasn't going to think of what might happen if the timing was too far off or something.

Richard himself needs to twist, badly, to reach the button, but better do that than make everyone hold... and possibly for something to go wrong while he gets into a better position. He reaches, setting his wrist against the surface that the button is on.

His voice is barely strained, but more so than at any point until now.

"All right, then. On zero.

"Three. Two. One..."

Maxxie takes a deep breath on two, so that after one he's already had his chance to hesitate. He presses the button, squeezing his eyes shut and waiting for something awful to happen. They don't know for sure that this won't make things worse, after all.

☆TRACK II: DISCORD AND RHYME

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