END GAME: THE COUNTDOWN STARTS

[sailmods]

[the prisoners wake up on cold, hard floors.

the lights are bright, glaring, a sterile cell with sterile bars facing a sterile hall. the prisoners with you, across from you, and no one else. no rocking of a ship in waves, nothing. just the prisoner and their prison.

time passes, one assumes. the rhythmic click of Friday’s heels down the hall. it’s almost like the ticking of a clock.]

Comments

[freedomsuitsme]

"It isn't, and yet there are no doors, no seams, no way to easily remove us. Of course, she may be in possession of something that can bend the bars, but... it is a strange situation, you must admit. And a frustrating one. No moving parts, no magic..."

[palfriday]

[click click click]

[palfriday]

[she seems to start moving just a few steps faster whenever she passes by his cell.]

[palfriday]

[at one point, she stumbles, just a bit, enough where it takes her a moment longer than usual to pass by, as she collects herself.]

[teethoftherisk]

[At first, he thinks it's his mind looking for something that isn't really there. He's sure the others have been shouting at her, trying to get a response. It hurts to see her, but they talked about this - they both knew what would happen the moment someone else got their hand on her leash.

But as it happens again and again, he becomes sure of it. She speeds up when she passes by him. Siffleur stops his own pacing the next time she comes back, sitting close to the bars.

He's not good at this thing. But he's going to try. He has to try. If he could do it for Nepeta and Nimona, he can do it for her too.]

There's a waterfall at the river I'm named for. I want you to go there and live free. Not matter how much time it takes, no matter what happens to us, I want you to live wild and under no obligation to another.

[yourexoduslaughing]

[Flan's in no rush - where the fuck is she going to go anyway? She can't even rotate herself at subsonic speeds like a hot dog in a 7/11, an old favorite when she (very rarely) felt anxious or worried. So she watches Clarke go on a face journey that ends with a confirmation that yeah, it's just platitudes.]

kaaaaay. well. let me know if you got plans. I'm not used to being on this side of things and most of my past plans involved dropping people from big heights at super speeds and that's like, not really an option right now.

[redlightgreenlight]

Even if she lacks her empathy now, she can tell Ruby is trying to be cheerful.

"I guess we do." She falls silent, trying not to panic over the fact that she's probably useless without any of her powers. "Do...we actually have anything yet?"

[abhorrently]

"She's in possession of something far more dangerous and immediate. If you can get other people's ears, tell who you can that her other eye is full of magic that you don't want to have touch you. The essence of madness is the only way I can describe what I felt from it."

And it's only something she knows from offering her own skull as shelter to a god for a while, building up an intimate relationship with that particular feeling. Only, his felt comforting in its chaos, in the concept-person it begat. Malin's feels wrong, and it was why Fever hadn't risked striking out at close range.

[tempingainteasy]

Oh, thank god; any more stolen hockey trophy valour and April may have burst into flames.

(it is also very, very weird to see Flan crying. Yeesh.)

Fortunately, while April may be made of paper, they ain't made of tissue paper. Bar-passing is steady progress.

"That's-" Stupid? Cruel on the children's part for mailing paper people? Problematic enough to bring to HR?

... Actually, since Flan's not doing too great, April maybe chooses tact for once- "-probably not the weirdest thing people have done with paper dolls."

A beat.

"Oh, Yakko's 3D too, so he got, uh, whatever the opposite of Flat-Stanley-ing is?" April reports.

[yourexoduslaughing]

"oh my god not Yakko!! ooohhhhh that's so awful! he can't do any good jokes that way!" Flan feels so bad for Yakko. She feels bad for herself too because this is unfair and awful and miserable but also like, you can't do that to Yakko! You're ruining his ability to make punchlines, which is like, everything to him!

She finally manages to get April through and then starts unfolding them. "god this blows so hard, it's like, miserable! and was it too much to ask for them to just like, crack the bubble or whatever open enough for us to get out? like come on, we're not cut out for this shit! Victor's doing okay though, thank god, little trooper that he is."

[littlefairytale]

"I'm... honestly not sure. The people I can see and talk to haven't exactly been big on making plans so far. Mostly... yelling a lot."

She'd rather have Darcy or Dimitri or the like nearby, but, well, they didn't exactly get a choice in neighbours.

"People are passing messages as best they can either through other people or through the uh... ants?"

[palfriday]

[her step

falters.]

... Please, stop...

[sabigoe]

[ Meanwhile, Fio is combating her negative thoughts. They're trapped. They don't know how to escape. Not yet. She doesn't know the status of the majority of her friends and family. They have to be in other cells, somewhere. Though some of the nearby residents across from them are different, she does wonder if Ava and Peter are actually right next door to them, much like their cabin arrangement on the Eterna.

She pats Dimitri's hand, smiling gently. ]

I'm... a little scared. [ She admits. Yet her smile doesn't waver. Just a touch nervous. ] But it's gonna be okay! [ A nod. ] We'll find a way out.

[sabigoe]

[ That small stumble doesn't go by unnoticed, especially since it's different from the other times that Friday's passed by her cell. ]

Huh? [ Fio shoves herself even closer against the bars. If only there wasn't a barrier, she'd be running to Friday's side.] Whew. Be careful, Miss Friday! [ Then she calls out even louder, while watching her continue down the hall: ] ...Let's talk some more later!

[ ...

The next time Friday passes by, Fio perks up. She continues to smile brightly like another ordinary late night chatting at the guest services desk. As if she's not trapped in some sort of predicament behind bars right now... ]

Miss Friday, Miss Friday! [ Heel bounce. ] I remembered something else! I remember when you told me how people come in all different colors! You said that you like people that are "mostly blue" the best... is that the kind of person Miss Jenny is?

[ She stares expectantly, thinking a verbal response. It's fine if there's no answer, because that's not going to stop her from talking the next time Friday passes by her cell. ]

[tempingainteasy]

"Right? It's like seeing an eagle with its wings clipped." April says solemnly, flopping what's approximating for their head.

"Oh nooo Flan, she had to just collect 'em all! Had to keep all us magical copies for, I don't know, Cloney Island or whatever!" April tips their head in a way they hope Flan realizes is the rolling-eyes-thing. "Shit like this is exactly why I pick on the fucking Victorians. The whole, 'oooh I simply must 'ave this!' fucking attitude and the goddamn sense of superiority about it all. Yeah, alright, step into my fucking portrait booth and I'll show you an Exposition Universalle."

Customer service... Customer service never changes...

"Oh yeah. When nuclear fallout happens, there's going to just be cockroaches, rats, and Victor, and that's going to last however long it takes for Victor to assimilate the roaches and eat the rats." April says this not unlike the way they complain about the impossibility of keeping him out of the staff fridge, but somehow that makes it sound affectionate anyway. Life's weird when you're suddenly perceivable and in jail!

[teethoftherisk]

I'm sorry. [Not for this - it's unfair, but it's important. He knows she understands that, even if it hurts.] I'm a slow learner. I saw a Mother and I looked no deeper for a very long time. But you never chose that. It was forced on you, like with most things.

I should have realized sooner that you needed someone to care for you. I'm not good at being a Mother, but I hope one day someone else sees you too. I hope they do what I couldn't. I hope you escape and you find the kind of happiness you want.

[yourexoduslaughing]

She pats April's back, careful not to pat too hard since it'll just cause them to fold right up. "it's all the same, it sucks so bad. I should have known going for a job with her wouldn't work. there was no chance she didn't hate the irish..." Flan's Canadian of course, but she's got redhair and freckles, and that's enough for most Victorians to make a judgment call.

Flan manages to smile, nodding along. "yeah... oh he's going to do so good in an irradiated world. I hope he gets big as the ants in Them, makes himself an anthill out of like, Sleeping Giant or somewhere else nearby."

[saltwaterlungs]

Darcy makes an incorrect buzzer sound.

"If we end up having to kill Malin in the process, or if someone else gets a hit in, then we all have to fight Jenny, which is. Bad. Very bad. We should stick to promising things we know for sure we can give once we take over again. And if Jenny takes a swing, that's her choice."

[palfriday]

[her walk slows to a stagger.]

I can't, please...

[teethoftherisk]

I know. I'm sorry. But you're a person and you deserve more than this. If it exists, get your medallion back. Keep it safe. Wait for weakness of any kind, no matter how long it takes. I wish I could have saved you, but I didn't. Now you need to save yourself.

I love you Friday. You deserve a choice.

[broshaw]

Sharky furrows his brow and nods along pensively to Mulcahy's catch-up, which may seem light on details for most people, but it's all the info Sharky needs to realize how messed up things are.

"Man," he sighs after a moment, "I can't believe I missed out on hot, authoritative Crichton. This is like the Ava foot massage all over again."

There is no further explanation as he rises to his feet and stretches his arms over his head until his back pops. "At least none of this is like, some kinda personalized Bad Place sitch. Just more magic buffoonery." He shakes his head, then remembers what Mulcahy asked him when he first woke up... "Oh, shit, man, sorry, you can't like, see for shit right now huh. Well, the crib as of now is just three concrete walls and some bars, which is like, pretty nostalgic for me, NGL..."

Friday, the continuation

[light_mischief]

[when asking her name doesn't draw a reaction, Skulduggery marks it off his list and moves on to the next idea as she makes her return trip down the corridor.]

If talking is too difficult, or too risky... then please, make a fist with your right hand if you can hear me. I don't want my apology to fall on deaf ears.

Ava - open to neighbors

[decohere]

i. it's the smiling on the package

[she finishes braiding a thin lock of her hair, and then brings it to her mouth to cut through with her teeth.]

C'mere... [just barely whispered to Peter, she reaches for his wrist, drawing him in, supporting all of her weight against him as she wraps the braid a few times around his ring finger, tying it off securely.] See? You're still mine. No matter what.

ii. it's the faces in the sand

Who can... [a flickering glance over at Clarke's cell, hesitant to initiate contact again. not directly. but she overheard her earlier while confirming their location across from each other, that she has communication access to Fio as well. which means Fio is likely right next door, so she doesn't understand how she's incapable of hearing the girl...

Ava swallows.] Can you tell Fio I'm okay, I love her? And that Duggy is here too, if she needs to pass anything along.

iii. it's the thought that moves you upwards

[her powers are gone, her usual means of escape along with.

her determination isn't, too restless to sit and do nothing. Ava bites sharply into her fingertip, and draws out across her cell wall one of the many sigils she had copied from the Ars Notoria memorized after months of futile studying.

she still has no idea what any of the sigils mean or do. she knows that despite everyone having lost their powers and extra gifts, this realm was still built on a certain type of magic that she assumes is still functional. even if she herself isn't magic, she does remember once watching Jenny using a sigil to break into the glass jewelry cases. she remembers how much damage Crabb did simply by smudging one.

she bites finger after finger to draw more blood, carefully tracing out another sigil. no idea what she's really trying to accomplish, other than disrupting anything, trying to break through the fabric of reality own way or another. cause damage, which is why she hadn't experimented so recklessly with the sigils before.]

Eh, at least it livens the place up a bit.

[prince_of_beasts]

It's natural to be afraid in these circumstances. You're being very brave. We'll find a way out. And on my oath, no harm I can prevent will come to you.

[ And Dimitri's already breathing easier. He can do this. He's good at this. Fending for himself, Dimitri crumbles; give him someone to look after, and he'll hold fast through anything. ]

I assume the captain of that freighter put us here ... and she's gained control over the Captain and Friday. That must be how she's suppressing our abilities ... my Crest would make short work of those bars. [ Sigh. ] Can you reach Sparkles?

[theotherright]

"No locks?" Arthur's thinking-aloud tone is no more excited than April's. "That's a new wrinkle."

It's nice to hear April's voice. Means he's not entirely outnumbered by people who hate him. (They're imprisoned in the same arrangement in which they were roomed, he notes. And isn't that full of implications that settle in his stomach like lead.)

"...But there must be some powers left, if you're still speaking with no mouth. Some things she overlooked, or, or left for the sake of her exhibit, or some other reason. That's useful to know."

...He wrinkles his nose. Pats his cheek to make sure. A critical hm: ferret transformations were included in the nerf. Honestly he would've been surprised if that had worked.