002 ✽ Come back! Even as a shadow, even as a dream

[giglio_madonna]

Who: Everyone stuck in Virgo HQ
What: This happened, and now we're all stuck here.
When: Nov. 1 - 5
Where: Virgo HQ
Warnings: Honor system, I'm trusting everyone to put warning in the subject lines if it comes up in their threads!

So.

Press events? Not happening. Concerts? Cancelled. Going out at all? N o p e.

Everyone- well every newbie- is ball and chained to Virgo Entertainment's headquarters for the time being. What's the emergency? No one knows, but you're all stuck here regardless.

> What will you do?

Comments

[trustme]

[Doctor lowers his voice. The entire affair was strange. Greg could be worried about multiple different things.]

Might've what? [He nods his head.] It's all right. -Promise not to laugh.

[panspermia]

Might've... I mean... I dunno...

[The longer he pauses, the more anxious he becomes. It's a stupid idea, paranoid, and outright ungrateful too. Each time he tries to find the right words for his suspicions, his vocabulary shrivels into frightened static.

Finally, regretfully, he looks away.] N-never mind. I'm still a little paranoid, I guess.

[trustme]

[Doctor continues whispering.]

Well I don't blame you. After what we experienced who wouldn't feel more than a little ruffled? I still can't make sense of what happened. It's convenient isn't it? How Juno left right as things began to look bad. Almost like she knew strange things were about to begin.

[panspermia]

[Greg's mouth has suddenly gone awfully dry, and he swallows hard.]

W-well, you can't really blame her. Some of us got really out of control.

[But he knows that doesn't explain how she knew to get out of there before they got out of control.]

What, um. What d'you think that performance was supposed to be for?

[trustme]

Juno might have left for Ivan's sake now that I think about it. But that alone is odd. Ivan has been gone for a few days now. None of us in the band have seen him since the basement.

[Doctor rocks in his seat and crosses and uncrosses his legs. He silently nods to Greg.]

I'm as confused by that performance as you are. I haven't heard a word of explanation for it. Not even a peep that it happened. When you think about it, our performance was never actually recorded either. Not that it was record-worthy but everyone went to a lot of trouble for no audience.

[panspermia]

[Greg raps his pencil against his notebook for a moment, considering.]

I dunno if it's relevant, but. The other day, Juno pulled me aside. Had me talk to some sort of psychiatrist, about... this stuff.

[He gestures to the papers he's left around.]

She was real curious about where I got my ideas from. Let me talk for ages about my story plans for the next album. It was... odd.

[trustme]

[Doctor grabs one of Greg's drawings and looks it over.] Oh that's nice! Very nice!

I'd expect to be questioned about our inspiration in an interview for fans but not a psychiatrist. I didn't think large labels like Virgo were so concerned with the little details as long as their artists put out.

[Doctor looks at the drawing again. As another thought occurs to him his voice raises without him noticing.] -You don't even draw for a living! What business is it of theirs?!

[panspermia]

[He smiles a bit at the compliment.]

Yeah. Generally you don't call in a professional to talk to someone about their character ideas, right? And she was really curious about it. Like... not interested, but curious. Does that make sense?

[Greg looks over one of the drawings, brow furrowed.]

She asked if I'd been having weird visions or anything lately.

[trustme]

[Doctor's expression darkens the moment he says 'weird visions.' He leans towards Greg and whispers.]

Greg. Did you happen to experience the lights in the basement?

[panspermia]

[Again, words catch in Greg's throat. His eyes dart over the room, just in case someone... anyone is...

His teeth grit, and he gives Doctor a nod, small but firm.]

[trustme]

[Doctor returns the nod.]

Funny thing. Virgo's psychiatrist knowing that you might have experienced visions recently. What will they ask about next? Strange lights? Mood swings?

It seems they want to monitor us and know when we have visions like that. -Obviously they had a shrink ask you but that's not all. We've been numbered all ready. Likely to keep track of this exact sort of thing. At least that's what I gather since they have no reason to hide our record sales figures from us.

[panspermia]

[Doctor's going a little bit faster than Greg can keep up, but he gets the gist. He's had all this on his mind as well, though he hadn't even considered the last few points.]

What do our sales have to do with any of this?

[It's a genuine query; he can't see the connection, but he's not about to question Doctor's theories again.]

[trustme]

Nothing at all! Here. [ Doctor digs in his pocket for his Virgo ID card and places it on the counter. He taps the ID number. ] We all have these numbers which we use for just about everything, right? We can access information like our sales figures online, we can place orders to the kitchen, get into the building... All of it uses this number.

The night down in the basement Luce showed me a set of screens and an eye scanner in one of the rooms. When I scanned my eye a photo of me popped up on the screen. Not that strange, right?

There was a number with that photograph. Luce showed me a few other examples- all of them had numbers. None of the numbers matched the numbers on our IDs.

Why does Virgo need two numbers for the same person?

[panspermia]

[This is all new to him. He'd been way too preoccupied with everything else to figure out anything to do with the basement itself.]

So, they're... what... they've got two sets of information on us?

[He leans back, trying to process.]

I mean, maybe it's like, for... medical records, or something? [He says it as a shot in the dark, but the eerie atmosphere down there combines with it to instantly make him uneasy.]

[trustme]

Any other doctor would give us access to our medical records. We have the right to it.

What kind of medical records would someone keep secret on a computer in a basement where there are gurneys lining the hallways. Gurneys with restraining straps.

[ Doctor slowly shakes his head. There's no denying how bad this all looks. ]

[panspermia]

[ Something is staring him in the face. It's right here, directly in front of him, but he can't see it. Every time he tries to focus in on it, his head just throbs.

Finally, Greg just sighs, sinking into his seat. ]

I don't get it, man, I'm too dumb for any of this.

[ ha ha jokes ]

[trustme]

[ Doctor's smile returns. ]

It's confusing by nature. None of us know what it really means. But if you find something else strange in the future it might be related.

What I mean to say is keep an eye out. Let me know if you see anything and be careful -just in case.

[panspermia]

[ Greg grins back, even if he's not fully feeling it. ]

You got it. I'm no Watson, but someone's gotta crack this case one way or another, huh?

[ He appreciates Doctor trying to include him in whatever this mess is, but Greg's got the sinking feeling that this is more than he can even begin to understand, let along help with. ]