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

[teethoftherisk]

[Well shit, there he goes. Siffleur falls forward, landing on his front paws without a single sound. He's spent huge chunks of his life grateful for how silent he is, but perhaps he's never been quite so thankful for those paw pads as he is right now. He also goes completely still, his eyes quickly darting around the bridge to take in the sight of everything.]

[sailmods]

[he has fallen into a room that is entirely pitch black.

excluding, however, a small red light signaling a light switch about five feet in front of him.]

[teethoftherisk]

[Siffleur stays completely still, blinking a few times to try adjust his eyesight. But all he sees is the red light. He tips his head up, sniffing the air a few times, trying to see if there's anyone else here. And his ears twitch, listening for the breathing of any other creature here.

Though would they really sit like this in the darkness? The Captain, maybe. Friday, possibly. Not Malin though. Not from what the others said.

He hesitates a moment longer, reaching up to paw the light switch on. Better to expose himself than to have Ava and the others exposed.]

[sailmods]

[the light reveals a small, plain room, and that the light switch was attached to a podium in the middle of it. on the podium, encased under glass, is the severed head of Pirate Jenny.]

[teethoftherisk]

[Oh. Hmm.

He doubts he'll get the chance, but still - he hopes he gets to eat Malin's face for Friday, for everything she's done to her.

Siffleur pads over to the podium. He looks at Jenny's severed head, and after a moment, he reaches up and taps a few claws on the glass.

Before the ship, he would have assumed any severed head would be dead and wouldn't have bothered doing this. But he's learned not to make assumptions of death, and so he sees if she's truly dead, or just inconvenienced.]

Hello Jenny.

[sailmods]

[the head's eyes open

and her mouth opens to say something that at least looks furious, but considering it's entirely muffled by the glass?]

[tempingainteasy]

[Perhaps unexpectedly, Siffleur's hat rustles not in surprise, but relief:]

Ohhh thank god. This, this I can deal with.

[A lifeless severed head would just be uncomfortable and awkward.]

[teethoftherisk]

[She's still able to think - and yell, though he can't understand her. That's a relief. April agrees and he's glad they're with him. The others would likely be more upset, but there's no point in it. She's already been beheaded.

He quickly walks around the podium. Is there an alarm? Better question: could he even disable an alarm if there was one? Probably not. After consideration, he rears up and starts digging his claws under the glass to see if he can pop it off.]

[saltwaterlungs]

[ Darcy's here now. A quick glance around in the dark, then comes over to help try and get the glass off. ]

Are we sure she's a storm goddess and not just the Goddess of incompetence and getting herself captured.

1/2

[sailmods]

[the glass rather easily tips over onto the floor and shatters.]

[stormpirate]

-- OPEN FROM MOUTH TO CUNT LIKE I AM GUTTING A PIG AND --

[blinks]

About time you fucking idiots showed up! Tell me you already found my body before this; I am not getting carried like a fucking purse.

[teethoftherisk]

We did not find your body.

[Siffleur keeps both his paws on the podium and gives Jenny a sniff.]

Friday helped me escape, and a small group of others were freed by Bastion.

[stormpirate]

Well, then come back once you find--

[...]

None of you know how to summon doors by yourselves. [she's not even asking she's just assuming that's what reality is because it's the worst option for her.]

[teethoftherisk]

We do not. It makes our imprisonment very effective.

[This may not be the best time, but this is the only time Siffleur has to ask this question.] Do you love Friday the way Friday loves you?

[stormpirate]

...

Are you kidding me? I don't have to answer to a fucking bear!

[teethoftherisk]

You owe me no answer. I ask because I wanted to know if someone else in this world loved her the way she should be loved. It would have been nice if that was you.

[He turns to Darcy.] Can you pick her up?

[saltwaterlungs]

[ Was like two seconds away from going full bad cop to get the answer but fine, if Siffleur isn't pursuing that then they guess they won't threaten to punt her head across the room. ]

I'd ask 'do I have to' but none of the rest of you have thumbs.

[ Picks her head up, ] bite me and you get gagged.

[tempingainteasy]

[While the muscle takes care of it, April uncrinkles themselves a little, having crumpled like Kermit's face at Jenny's volume.]

Turn it fucking down a notch too, will you? This is a jailbreak, no one's fucking happy about it, save the attitude for when your power's back, jesus.

[stormpirate]

Don't threaten me with a good time...

[sniffs] I have my powers, Esteban El Plano.

[tempingainteasy]

[Wait, translating... translating... guessing... Plano? Plat? Hey-]

Ok, Mme Antoinette, then save it for when you have legs-

[teethoftherisk]

[He speaks over April because if he doesn't, then this is going to hurt into them and Darcy and Jenny all taking shots at each other until someone comes along and tries to kill them again.] That is good to hear you have your powers. None of us do. Give me a moment to gather up Victor.

[Siffleur heads over to the small trickle of ants falling in one by one as they touch the handle, moving to catch them. It's very itchy.]

Are your powers enough to break cell bars? Or to kill Malin outright? If not, we will need to find a way to get back out powers - all of them if possible. And we will need to find a way to break the hold on the Captain, and a way to make Friday free forever. All we know so far is that we are trapped on this ship he made and that our powers have been reduced.

[decohere]

[turns out all her discretion is for nothing, this isn't the room she recognizes. there's no malin for siffleur to ambush. no captain for darcy to rescue. just the head of-] Ah. Head above water. I get it.

[ponders if that implies the rest of her body is below water. oh well. why'd the little satellite kid bother guarding this? not like jenny was going to up and run away. does her head serve any purpose, or just another trophy to display.

ava quietly investigates the rest of the room with peter's help, searching for clues.]

[stormpirate]

[a long pause]

No, no, that can't be right. This isn't your realm at all.

[saltwaterlungs]

[ ... ]

If this isn't our realm, then where the fuck are we?

[stormpirate]

[long pause


...]

Wherever my body is, it shrugged.

You're... wherever this bitch goes when she isn't fucking people over. I'm just the front door.