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

[inhairently]

( steve's sitting on the floor at the front of the cell, watching the hallway while he takes a short break from trying to find a way to break out. he almost doesn't notice the ants at first but when he does his face contorts with disgust. it's probably the general shock of what's going on but in this moment he doesn't remember that these same little dudes once offered him pastries. he just sees insects and assumes it's another facet of their new prison's charm. )

Eugh. This place has bugs? ( what next, prison rats? ) Gross.

( and that's that. he stands and goes back to pacing, thinking, trying not to totally freak out. )

[kingoftheanthill]

Bugs? Where?

[ you'd think Victor was doing a bit, and yet....... ]

[inhairently]

( oh good grief.

he steps back to where he'd been sitting and squats, staring down at the ants. )

You're from the ship.

( a fellow passenger, as it were. he remembers now. )

Wait. She didn't put you in a jar or something? What is she, a moron?

[kingoftheanthill]

Hahaha, I think so, yeah! Like, she went to the trouble of putting all these little outfits on me (and they're super well-made and the stitches are super tiny, so they must have taken ages to make), but she didn't even put a bug net on the bars? Like, people have put more effort into keeping me out of kitchen cupboards than she put into keeping me in jail!

[ Yep, this is a puddle of ants that's extremely pleased with itself.

But Victor, too, is remembering that they've met before-- ]

Hang on, your name was Skeve or something, right?

[inhairently]

( flatly: ) Steve.

( he should not care so much that some ants got his name wrong but man. he does. )

Uh.

Do you ... guys... have names?

[kingoftheanthill]

Victor King! [ he says, in the tone of a kid showing off an art project they're proud of. ] And I'm one guy! But don't feel bad, you're like, the second person in my personal memory timeline to get that wrong today, and it's probably happened to the other bits of me as well with all the people I'm helping!

[ Oh no hang on he can feel a thought flying up and leaving his brain. Why was he supposed to find Steve again? ]

[inhairently]

Okay.

( truly doesn't know what else to say in the face of learning that a bunch of ants are all called victor king. )

Have you seen a way out of here? Like could you go spy on the crazy lady that kidnapped us?