#fearlog

[thaumaturgicconticent]

LIL HAL: [The light seems to clear up into darkness, but the fuzziness takes a little longer. Slowly, you all begin to come to your senses. At first, all you can hear are voices, and you come to realize they sound... surprised? Panicked, or joyous. At last you manage to open your eyes, and you all find yourselves lying on separate beds in a large room -- the palace nurses darting around tip you off that is the infirmary. All your friends are here, but only the few of you are awake, and anyone who received injuries are completely intact now.]

JADE: *jade slowly opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling for a moment before jolting upright with a loud gasp*

JADE: *it takes a moment for her to realize where she is as she looks around to see literally everyone else. had it all just been a dream* what the....

LIL HAL: [A nurse runs over to Jade's side, one who appears to be an olive blood, to ask if she's all right.]

JADE: *she nods slowly, a little shaken and a bit disoriented*

DIRK: *when he wakes up, he refuses to open his eyes for the first few seconds before cracking just one of them open to observe his surroundings*

KARKAT: *his eyes practically burst open. seeing is something he won't be taking advantage of anymore, and he just stares at the ceiling with wide eyes for a while*

RUFIOH: *Comes to gradually, and assuambly face-f1rst 1n the p1llow because there's l1kely no other way the nurses could have gotten h1m onto a hosp1tal bed. there's th1ngs happen1ng around h1m, but he doesn't qu1te trust 1t yet.*

JADE: uhm *gets the nurses attention* what....what happened..? *she wasnt sure if that was a dumb question or not*

LIL HAL: [The nurse begins to explain that everyone mysteriously went into comatose-like states and began sleepwalking and sleeptalking. They've had to keep everyone rounded up as well as they can.]

DIRK: *groans and refuses to get up, not recognizing everyone else besides the original group of prisoners in this land yet*

ERIDAN: *stares up at the ceiling, not really looking around yet, not sure what to make of his current position. figures something must have happened after he passed out, but his head is really throbbing, he feels sick to his stomach and... he looks down and sees there's zero injury on his person.*

JADE: *she blinks for a moment, looking around the room at everyone and the few that were stirring. it takes her a moment but she feels an overwhelming sense of relief flood over her which turn into a quiet laugh, and gradually gets louder. though then it turns into crying. she cant help but feel so relieved that it was over*

KURLOZ: *He gasps slightly through his nose as he feels himself awakening on a completely foreign sort of surface, and holds his breath as he realizes that he'd heard himself inhale among the chatter around him. His eyes dart around for a moment, and he vaguely catches the far-away explanation as his hands move to examine his own head and neck for the injuries he could have sworn he had sustained.*

DIRK: *turns over to onto his stomach and holds the pillow over his head. He's way too tired for this*

KARKAT: *sits up slowly, remembering the ache from the sight of the grub. he's about to close his eyes and flop back onto his pillow, but then something- someone catches his eye*

RUFIOH: *st1ll ly1ng there l1sten1ng, and at the sound of almost hyster1cal laughter he rubs at h1s face w1th h1s hands... hold on a t1ck* *manly yell of surpr1se*

CURRENT gynecicArbitrator [CGA] RIGHT NOW responded to memo.

PORRIM: *she sits up, staring down at her stomach just to make sure she really was alright, and letting out a long sigh of relief at the affirmation that she was indeed fine.*

KARKAT: *he's out of bed in half a beat, heading straight for that bed. hello, sleeping nepeta. he smiles involuntarily as he stands over her. she looks okay.*

DIRK: *muffled groaning because he's still too tired for Rufioh's yelling*

JADE: *After collecting herself a bit, still a few laughs now and then mixed with some sobs she looks at the others who seem to have woken up and gives them all a huge grin* i think...i think we did it!!!

DIRK: *pokes his head out from underneath the pillow to look over at Jade* What.

KARKAT: *completely ignores everyone else and kneels behind nep's bed*

KARKAT: *next to wtf**

LIL HAL: [WHAT A CREEP]

KARKAT: *gonna surprise you when you wake up gurl watch out*

RUFIOH: *pushes h1mself upr1ght, 1nterlock1ng h1s f1ngers 1n front of h1s face 1n del1ght before turn1ng to sm1le back at jade, tak1ng stock of who's all here* 1 dunno what we d1d excatly... but yeah!

PORRIM: *manages a smile at Jade, but quickly she remembers something that needs confirmation. She gets out of the bed, nearly falling out of it because her legs are weak, and searches for Jane*

LIL HAL: [Jane is indeed in a bed.]

JADE: we're here...we're back...everyones alive!!! *she nearly hops out of bed, also stumbing a little cause of weak legs*

DIRK: *reluctantly drags himself out of bed, stretching and blinking a few times as he looks around to see that everyone is in fact...in bed*

DIRK: *scans the room for anyone he would recognize immediately*

LIL HAL: [Except for the glasses on Dirk's nightstand. They don't get their own bed.]

DIRK: *picks up his shades and replaces them on his face*

KARKAT: *you guys have fun i'm gonna sit here holding nepeta's hand*

LIL HAL: [Jake, Roxy, and Jane are all in their own beds asleep, too.]

LIL HAL: [Everyone's just getting their nap on. A few of them are mumbling, as the nurse indicated.]

DIRK: *OH HEY ROLAL I'M GONNA SIDLE UP TO YOUR BED AND PAP YOUR FACE*

DIRK: *I mean*

LIL HAL: [They have varied expressions.]

DIRK: *calmly walks over to her*

LIL HAL: [Roxy looks very bothered by something, with brows pinched and a frown.]

ERIDAN: *slowly sits up in bed finally, silently looking at everyone else* *feels like he shouldn't really be around anyone, despite all those horrible things apparently being gone*

JADE: *skips on over to johns bed and cant help but pap him cause she can hardly believe hes there, not even injured*

DIRK: *frowns back*

DIRK: Rox.

DIRK: Roxy.

DIRK: *poke poke*

LIL HAL: [She doesn't seem to respond to the prompting.]

KURLOZ: *He sees the familiar faces and counts them, but the sight of someone totally irrelevant in the bed nearest to him that he couldn't recall being in the same place with them makes him think, and he shoots up to start a search of his own. Upon locating this person, his own aching knees give out just before he reaches his bedside and he manages to scoot just near enough to hook his elbows on the edge and reach for his arm, his own voice quiet and hardly firm* ...MITUNA?

LIL HAL: [John is asleep, too, and looks bothered, but more in a frustrated sort of way.]

PORRIM: *again, she sighs with relief and places a hand over Jane's. She glances at the others who had awakened and those who were still sleeping. Her next concern was to check on Kankri, who she tries a little harder to rouse. They left each other on a bad note, after all.* Kankri... *shakes his shoulder*

JADE: *paps him a few times again* john!! youve got this!! you can do this!!

RUFIOH: *sees porr1m on the move and absently watches her pass, about to turn back when he catches s1ght of her dest1nat1on. s1lently sl1d1ng out of the blankets or whatever else m1ght be there he hurr1es after her, and when she turns to check on kankr1 he takes up the empty spot*

DIRK: *mutters under his breath* Sorry in advance.

DIRK: *friendly face bapping*

LIL HAL: [No response.]

DIRK: *loud frowning*

DIRK: *wet willy time*

LIL HAL: [OH HELL NAW Roxy would have said.]

LIL HAL: [But Roxy isn't here.]

LIL HAL: [Conscious.]

ERIDAN: *is about to get out of bed to check on vriska, but he has a wave of nausea and pauses on the edge of the bed. He doesn't understand what's going on but if they really were comatose for who knows how long, he probably feels so nauseated because it's been so long since he's had an actual drink. decides to bite it back for now and searches around for vriska*

JADE: *more happy cheering for john before she turns to wherever dave is to go cheer him on, and after that rose*

KARKAT: *finally karkat stands up again, less easily than before but whatever. he squeezes his matesprit's hand.* it's okay, nepeta. you're gonna wake up any minute now.

DIRK: *suspiciously peers down at her*

KARKAT: sooner would be a lot better than later, though. let's be fucking honest. *he'll go back to yelling soon. he's just so used to talking quietly right now*

DIRK: *leans in real close to her ear* I'll bet you five bucks that everyone thinks I'm more fabulous than you.

KURLOZ: *After a while of no response to hand squeezing and arm shaking and face paps and desperate quiet pleas, he lowers his own head and he's certain that for the first time in a very long time, he began to pray.*

LIL HAL: [She might have whapped him. But alas.]

RUFIOH: *can sense her Breath but checks her pulse at her wr1st anyway, because he needs to be sure. when her l1fey status 1s conf1rmed he l1nks h1s newly returned smallest f1nger w1th her's.* jane?

KARKAT: *frowns* no, really. sooner is a lot better than later.

DIRK: *flicks her forehead*

DIRK: Roxy, get up.

LIL HAL: [Roxy does not get up.]

DIRK: *takes a sharpie out of his sylladex*

DIRK: ...

ERIDAN: *looks over at dirk finally* theres no fuckin point in doin all that nonsense wwho evven fuckin knowws wwhen theyll be up

DIRK: *looks over at Eridan* Well excuse the fuck out of me for trying to keep my friends alive.

JADE: *looks up from whoever shes cheering on right now* hey but the fact is theyre alive!!

ERIDAN: howw the fuck is flickin foreheads an drawin dicks on their faces gunna keep em alivve *raises an eyebrow before taking a seat at vriska's bed*

DIRK: *narrows his eyes at him* For your information, it wasn't going to be a dick.

DIRK: It was going to be a cat.

DIRK: And it was going on her hand, dipshit.

DIRK: If and when she wakes up, I want her waking up to something worth smiling about.

DIRK: God knows whatever she's been through.

JADE: HEY. stop it you two >:(

ERIDAN: .... *that really stings, and rather than retaliate with more words, he keeps silent for now, and looks away*

DIRK: *puts the sharpie away and moves on to Jake*

KARKAT: *time to try that thing from the wizzley movie. he sighs and leans down to give her their first real kiss*

DIRK: *shakes his shoulder gently*

DIRK: Hey bro. Get up.

LIL HAL: [Jake is just as unresponsive.]

PORRIM: *it looks like kankles isnt waking up any time soon... maybe thats a good thing. she still needs to gather herself before she can confront him. Next it's time to visit Damara.*

DIRK: *boops his nose*

LIL HAL: [That was so anime.]

ERIDAN: *finally gets up again and tries to leave the room, kind of stumbling as he goes*

DIRK: *Hell yeah it was*

LIL HAL: [Is what Hal's thinking right now.]

LIL HAL: [There's a nurse trying to assist Eridan.]

KARKAT: *when she still doesn't stir, he sighs again* i'll be back. i promise. *and he goes to find sollux*

ERIDAN: *tries to push the nurse off of him*

LIL HAL: [D:]

JADE: ((is hal actually here in the room?))

LIL HAL: [On Dirk's face.]

JADE: ((Snorts ok cool))

DIRK: *baps his cheek too* Hey Jake.

DIRK: Wake up.

DIRK: Wakey wakey, eggs and Jakey.

DIRK: *he said all of that in a completely serious tone*

JADE: *actually snorting at dirks words while papping rose*

DIRK: *kiss kiss fall in love*

RUFIOH: *there's no response (obv1ously), so after one last touch to her wr1st he leans 1nto speak a few words under h1s breath, then goes to make sure of a few other th1ngs that are we1gh1ng on h1m badly* mata ne?

LIL HAL: [Sollux and Aradia aren't here, actually.]

KARKAT: *fuck*

JADE: *are they the only two?*

LIL HAL: [Yes.]

JADE: *kk*

ERIDAN: *doesn't go very far outside the nurses station before just sliding down on a wall and sitting on the floor, regardless of whether the nurse continued trying to help him or not*

KARKAT: *looks around the beds, trying to spot who he's looking for. but he doesn't see him. he starts going up and down the rows. still not there. he goes around again, walking at a frantic pace, until he stops a nurse* THERE ARE TWO PEOPLE MISSING.

DIRK: *looks up at Karkat* Who's not here?

LIL HAL: [The nurse seems perplexed.]

KARKAT: WHERE ARE THEY?

PORRIM: *looks up from petting Damara's hair, whoops*

KURLOZ: *He remains where he is, ignoring the chatter now in favor of his own mantra, and doesn't plan on moving any time soon.*

KARKAT: WHERE ARE ARADIA AND SOLLUX?

JADE: *looks up* o.o wait what

JADE: woah...youre right

RUFIOH: *makes h1s way around the room, awkwardly s1destepp1ng nurses to conf1rm the presence of the two he spent the most t1me dead w1th before stopp1ng at the foot of meul1n's bed. well, at least they're here.*

JADE: wait...hold on a second....

JADE: *walks back over to daves bed* if we're all up.....why isnt dave..?

DIRK: *squeezes Jake's hand before joining Jade at Dave's bed* That's a good question.

LIL HAL: [There's the brief glow of red in Dirk's shades before Hal speaks up to him.] GPS says those two are somewhere else on Alternus.

DIRK: *blinks at his shades* Excuse you.

KARKAT: ANSWER ME.

KARKAT: *this poor nurse*

DIRK: Who gave you the abilitiy to vocalize your godawful thoughts?

LIL HAL: [The nurse has no idea.]

DIRK: *looks really stupid talking to his shades that are still on his face*

JADE: *looks at dirk with a weird face*

LIL HAL: You did.

JADE: are your shades talking?

LIL HAL: Are you going to let him keep flipping his shit or give him an answer?

ERIDAN: *starts boozing it up in the hallway, not caring anymore if anyone comes out and sees him being bad. he fed up with this wuuurld*

DIRK: *grumble grumble* Should have punched past me in the face.

KARKAT: *about ready to storm out and look for them himself*

KARKAT: *in fact he's stomping toward the door*

JADE: *shakes head * but seriously....dave was with us right? im not the only one who saw him

DIRK: *thinking aloud* Apparently "I" was with Ampora, though.

DIRK: So the Dave you were with could have been someone, or something, else entirely.

LIL HAL: I was with Eridan, so if you're using me to draw a comparison, that theory's a bust.

KARKAT: *and out the door he goes, stopping when he sees eridan. at the sight of the bottle, is rage is renewed.* ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?

JADE: *erk*

JADE: i..dont like that sound of that

ERIDAN: *almost chokes as he looks at karkat* ... wwhat

DIRK: *rolls his eyes* Care to explain why you were impersonating me in the first place, then?

KARKAT: *snatches the bottle out of his hand and throws it down the hall for it to shatter* YOUR MOIRAIL. IS MISSING.

KARKAT: AND YOU'RE JUST DRINKING.

LIL HAL: I wasn't impersonating you. I am you.

ERIDAN: *watches the bottle fly through the hair and just sorta bounce on the ground, and spilling* ... wwait wwhat *looks back at karkat* aras missin

KARKAT: YES. SHE AND SOLLUX ARE NOT IN THERE, SINCE APPARENTLY YOU DIDN'T EVEN FUCKING BOTHER TO CHECK FOR HER.

DIRK: Like hell you are.

KARKAT: NOW ARE YOU GOING TO COME WITH ME TO LOOK FOR THEM OR BE A USELESS SACK OF SHIT LIKE I WAS WHEN I WAS BLIND?

LIL HAL: You're missin' the point, bro.

DIRK: *eye twitch*

JADE: *eye twitching at all the arguments happening already*

ERIDAN: *ouch, that stings even more* ... *stands up slowly* do wwe havve evven a hint a wwhere they are

KARKAT: DOES IT MATTER?

RUFIOH: *tucks the end of a blue ta1l back under the covers before cross1ng back to hang uneas1ly at the fr1nge of the str1der centr1c conversat1on* so 1s robo dude 1n the shades now... or what?

LIL HAL: He's not waking up. Neither is Jane, and she was there, too. Maybe others if anybody saw them.

ERIDAN: wwell yeah i mean itd make findin them a wwhole fuckin lot easier

JADE: thats...true too...crap i really dont like the sound of that

LIL HAL: .

KARKAT: HOW ARE YOU SO CALM ABOUT THIS? DON'T YOU WANT TO FIND HER?

ERIDAN: *really does feel like he's going to snap at karkat, which is really rare for him* *grits his teeth and stares him down* a course i wwant to find her i nevver said i DIDNT

DIRK: *more frowning* Do you have anything useful to say?

DIRK: Or are you just going to tell me all of the bad news here?

KARKAT: THEN ACT LIKE IT, BULGEBAG. *starts down the hall to look anywhere and everywhere*

LIL HAL: Wasn't disagreeing with your idea, just sayin'. Needs more evidence before we can subject it to the madrigogs.

DIRK: What about Meulin.

RUFIOH: *w1nces*

KURLOZ: *Hears her name just barely, and tenses, but doesn't move.*

KURLOZ: *What the motherfuck is this about Meulin now.*

ERIDAN: ... *follows along behind karkat, quickly picking the bottle back up as they pass by, mostly not wanting to leave trash laying around like that. most of the contents is all over the floor so keeping it is pointless anyway* kar i dont think theyre at the fuckin palace if theyre not in the infirmary i think we gotta go elsewwhere

JADE: yeah you mentioned she was there or something?

DIRK: Nitram saw her.

JADE: *looks over at rufioh*

JADE: heck...john was there too what even?

KURLOZ: *Tenses a little more, hand curling a little tighter around Mituna's sheets. He peeks barely over his own arm.*

RUFIOH: *shr1nks 1n on h1mself, seem1ngly very unw1ll1ng to speak*

JADE: the only thing they seem to have in common is they....*squeaks a little* ..died

KARKAT: THEN WE'LL GO ELSEWHERE.

JADE: though we didnt know if dave did or not....but i guess maybe that means he did..?

ERIDAN: do you think theyre in the same place i guess itd make sense for them to be *ponders this* ara wwouldnt be at her old hivve she an eq split an shit

DIRK: *glances down at Dave* It's possible.

LIL HAL: .

JADE: hrm....

KARKAT: THEY COULD BE. ARADIA'S FIRST HIVE GOT TURNED INTO SOME CRAZY HEADQUARTERS. SHE WOULDN'T BE AT EQUIUS' HIVE. LET'S START WITH CAPTOR, THEN.

ERIDAN: .... *SIGHS HEAVILY* i guess but only for aras sake *starts heading for the entrance of the palace* *wonders if he's really up to flying over there right now*

JADE: i guess all we can do is hope they wake up soon...maybe theyre delayed?

JADE: or maybe....*covers her mouth for a moment* ..no i dont want to believe that yet.

KURLOZ: *His narrowed eyes fall upon his kismesis upon the announcement of common deaths.*

DIRK: *nods stiffly* Yeah.

DIRK: Let's just...

DIRK: *goes over to Jane*

KURLOZ: *Ruf probably can't see it though it's just a thing that's happening past the 'fro.*

RUFIOH: *does 1ndeed m1ss the ev1l eye as he s1nks down to s1t on the end of whoever's bed 1s nearest 1t's not l1ke they'll care.*

KURLOZ: *He can't even sustain the evil eye for very long, burying his face in Mituna's sheets again and muttering almost silently to himself. Or him. Maybe both.*

JADE: yeah im sure itll be fine *nervouse laughter and turns to look watch dave sleeping*

DIRK: *doesn't think it'll work but paps the Jane anyways*

LIL HAL: [Jane is adorably sleeping.]

DIRK: *What a cutie*

[thaumaturgicconticent]

[The four of you -- Jade, Karkat, Kurloz, and Dave -- don't know when you fell asleep in the bakery, but you did, all leaned up against the wall. You awaken now, and the mall seems a little less cold than previously.]

[Karkat is the only one that doesn't seem to awaken just yet. He remains asleep, leaned heavily on Dave.]

JADE: *having huddled up with karkat and dave due to the cold, she slowly opens her eyes and sits up, noticing its less shivery. she looked around at the others to check if they had woken up yet either*

[Dave is stirring with a groan. A cool groan.] it feels like thor took a hammery shit on my think pan

KURLOZ: *Kurloz had undoubtedly shifted a distance away from all of them to hug his knees, and upon waking, he stares at the floor without looking up at them until he senses some movement.*

JADE: *smiles slighty* yeah i dont think ive felt this stiff in a long time...*starts to stand up with a sigh* we should probably get moving soon, i dont like the idea of sitting somewhere for too long

yeah [Dave moves to sit up himself, though Karkat's upper body kind of flops in his lap.] yo sleeping beauty nap times over [A few good shakes. Nothing? Damn.]

jade kiss him awake

JADE: *makes a face* ew are you kidding me dave

no look at him

JADE: *look over to see the still sleeping karkat* hes probably just pooped...weve all gone through a lot

KURLOZ: *rests his head on his knees again, unaffected, uninvolved and therefore not caring.*

[Dave decides to move a hand in front of Karkat's face.] well hes still breathing

JADE: maybe we should just carry him then?

alright come on comatose barbie [He hauls up the ragdolling sleepkat and holds him like a blushing bride.]

JADE: look at you two, how cute

JADE: *looks over at kurloz to see if he is semi paying attention at all*

KURLOZ: *He isn't. You kicked him and he doesn't think he likes you very much.*

i know were adorable

uh

[He also stares at Kurloz.]

what about that guy

KURLOZ: *Just tap him or whatever.*

JADE: *walks over and pokes him on the shoulder lightly*

KURLOZ: *flinches probably a little too roughly, looking over at her shoes before up at her face with an empty sort of expression.*

JADE: *motions for hi to get up and follow them*

JADE: *him

KURLOZ: *stares at her for a second before doing just that*

ok cool

[Dave moves for the doors to the bakery, considering that seems like the best option for gtfo-ing.]

JADE: *follows him and goes out the doors and looks around for a moment getting her sense of direction back*

[But as soon as they step outside, it's become apparent that there are is a veritable sea of mannequins on this floor, and they're essentially surrounded from the moment they step out the doors. None of them are moving, but they seem to watch.]

what the fuck

is there are sale nobody told us about

fifty percent of your limbs off

JADE: *stops in her tracks when she sees the mannequins and lets out a low growl*

KURLOZ: *Upon spotting the mannequins, his eyes grow wide and he sucks in an alarmed breath, freezing in place and attempting to count them through the slight tilt of his vision. He may or may not have let loose a 'motherfuck--'*

[There are too many to count, unless you plan on standing here long enough. Dave has decided to inch a little closer to a few of them, clearing attempting to move around past them.]

**clearly

JADE: shit careful dave *still growling cause she cant really help it but follows, sticking close to everyone*

KURLOZ: *Not too keen on going through here but there isn't any choice. Sigh. He follows along, probably also growling a little, too, without realizing. These things are spooky.*

[Things seem okay for a few moments, but suddenly, the mannequins start moving stiffly, lashing out, and Dave himself curses before beginning to dodge the assaults.]

KURLOZ: *Instantly flings his own arms out to try and deflect whatever comes near him, though there's no question about the fact that he's getting whacked too**Clowny noise of distress*

JADE: shit....run!!!!!!!!!! *starts to run while trying to dodge them as well*

[It's difficult, and eventually, Karkat ends up getting knocked out of Dave's arms, and Dave attempts to continue avoiding hits, he only gets corralled back to the start, in front of the bakery -- in fact, all of them seem to be herding them away, and another slew of curses comes from the Strider's mouth as he can't find a way to reclaim Karkat.]

JADE: what..no karkat!!!!!!!!!!!! *screaming and trying to push her way to karkat*

KURLOZ: *There's just too many, and he winds up losing his footing again, also distressed by not being able to hear these false hands as they make contact with his body, and past their stiff legs he catches a short glimpse of Karkat. Maybe he can crawl and drag him back...*

[He just seems to be moved further and further away. The mannequins continue pushing everyone back until they're all gathered in front of the bakery again.]

KURLOZ: *Whoops, not happening. It's like crowd surfing but not.*

KURLOZ: *Miscellaneous "oof"ing and instinctive cursing (which is probably more colorful than even Dave's.)*

JADE: KARRKAAAAAAT!!!!!!!!!!!! *finally pushed back into the bakery, though not without some more pushing and screaming and proabbly some crying* oh my god.....theyre going to kill him.........

[Dave's shoved back into the bakery, too, and he appears visibly upset for a few moments before he stands solemnly in front of the doors.] dont worry jade im going to get him

JADE: dave...no...we cant lose both of you!!! *ears and tail droop distraughtly* we...we already lost john to those things

... what

JADE: *hangs her head, tears falling and clentches her fists* they ate him dave....they just.....

[He's gone silent.]

JADE: *cant manage to bring herself to say anymore and stares outside the bakery, unsure as to what to do*

[Dave reaches to shove the bakery door open.]

KURLOZ: *was kind of kicked into the bakery before and is chilling on the floor, clutching his side and totally oblivious to their distress. Again.*

JADE: dave...no!! *grabs his arm to try and stop him*

[He's still going to try, bless his heart.]

JADE: ... *goes on after him since she doesnt like the idea of him going by himself*

no

[Dave's attempting to go outside and keep Jade inside at the same time.]

JADE: but!!! *tries to protest but gets shoved back in*

JADE: *distressed dog noises*

[Somehow he manages this and he winds up in the crowd of mannequins, and even while they start attacking him, he tries moving through the crowd. He's barely getting anywhere before he starts to crumple from the blows, before there's obvious red finding the floor.]

JADE: DAMNIT DAVE!!! *shoves the door open to try and grab and him and pull him back in*

[It's not too hard to pull him back in, considering how he's basically already crumpling to the floor, but he's clearly injured by the time she does.]

KURLOZ: *Even though he hears none of this, he eventually turns his head to examine his surroundings once more and notices her running back out. Frowning, he crawls a little towards the door, in time to see her drag him back in. He takes the liberty of closing the door for them like a good clown*

JADE: *nods a quick thank you to the clown before sitting dragging dave over to the counter to prop his back against it and inspect his wounds, all the while cursing and crying cause that seems to be the thing to do today*

[He's mostly bruised, but he's got some cuts on his face and arms, too.]

[He simply breathes heavily as he's propped up.]

JADE: damnit dave..... *if he wasnt so beat up she would probably slap him right now and just resorts to gently wiping cuts with her sleeves*

KURLOZ: *He sits on his knees and slumps slightly against the door, as if a feeble attempt to hold it closed would make any difference, and watches them without really paying attention.*

[He sits there for a long few minutes before finally attempting to stand again.]

JADE: *helps him a little to make sure he doesnt fall* ...dave?

[He's still quiet, though he gestures lamely at something at the back of the room.]

JADE: *turns to look at what hes gesturing at*

[The door that was a storage room is open, but it leads down what appears to be some kind of hallway.]

JADE: *takes a deep, shakey breath and motions for kurloz to follow them and starts to make her way down that hallway*

KURLOZ: *He blinks up at her before shifting to his feet again, too, leaning on the door. Walking down there is probably gonna lead them into more shit. He's just going with it now.*

[They move into the corridor, Dave limping a bit, and it seems... old. Too old to belong in a mall, obviously. The walls are stone, and it leans them to an arch before stone steps spiral down.]

KURLOZ: *These stairs don't please me.*

JADE: *just starts going down the stairs, a pit in her stomach growing at the thought that karkat was more than likely dead now*

[The stairs continue on for a time before leading them to a strange walkway that's over water, despite this obviously being some kind of tower. It leads them to another door.]

KURLOZ: *Hesitates at the top, but goes anyway, leaning on the wall as he goes. Water? What the motherfuck.*

JADE: *keeps goin but once she reaches the door, she hesitates for a moment before turning the knob*

[It opens easily, though it brings a small flood of water with it that momentarily displaces their balance.]

KURLOZ: *Oh, that's not good for the unbalanced guy. He windmills a little, staggering.*

JADE: ack!!! *holds onto the door to not fall over*

[Thankfully, Dave is still Jade'd, so he only stumbles.]

JADE: *har*

JADE: *walks on into the room, going in far enough so that the others can follow*

[Past the door, there seems to be another hallway, but this one has doors. One on the left, and one on the right, and at the end, the hallway takes another right turn.]

KURLOZ: *Just following the puppygirl.*

JADE: *stops when she sees the doors and looks between the two before deciiding to check the one on the left*

[The left one opens up to reveal some kind of kitchen. There's a pot of stew bubbling on the stove, and another door on the opposite side of the room. There's a set of stairs going down on the left. A lot of ingredients are scattered on the counters, as if someone had just been here making dinner.]

JADE: *sniffs a little at the smell of the stew and looks at the other two to see if they have any ideas on which way to go*

[Dave shrugs unhelpfully.]

KURLOZ: *Is the least helpful.*

JADE: *jade sighs sadly before moving to check out the door on the opposite side of the room*

[It's locked. Wah wah waaahhh.]

JADE: its locked *stating the obvious like a champ* *makes her way over to the stairs*

[You are a successful main character, Jade.]

JADE: *aww yeee*

[The stairs lead them down a short ways before making a turn, and there's some wooden boards feebly blocking the way. You could probably kick them away.]

JADE: *just sorta pulls the boards apart and continues onward*

KURLOZ: *waverwalking after her. So much walking. Endless walking.*

[It leads them down to some sort of basement with food.]

JADE: *twitches a little, so much food man* *walks around the basement for any sign of any doors or whatnot*

[It's a fairly small basement area, and there don't appear to be any doors. Just shelves of food.]

JADE: ugh...dead end....*turns to leave back the way she came*

[They ascend the stairs and back into the kitchen, and the same things are there as before.]

JADE: *goes out the door and goes for the door to the right*

KURLOZ: *He's so tired of walking already.*

[That door is locked, too.]

JADE: *welp*

JADE: ok then...down the hallway we go.... *keeps on trekkin down the hallway*

[Down the hallway, there's another short set of steps before a door.]

[Dave is breathing a little more heavily, clearly tired of walking, too.]

JADE: *on down the stairs and straight to the door*

[Beyond the door, there's a bathroom with stalls.]

[Four of them.]

JADE: *sighs at the sight of it being a bathroom* what the heck...*mumbles a little*

anyone need to crap

[Yes, this is the first thing he's bothered to say.]

KURLOZ: *Totally indifferent and idly frowning.*

JADE: *pushes each of the stall doors open, not really expecting to find anything but figures why not*

JADE: *also shoots a weird look at dave*

[The third stall's door seems a little stuck.]

JADE: *gets frustrated and kicks the door as hard as she can*

KURLOZ: *Clown frowning from the main doorway I may not be able to hear or do much of nothin but it smells funky in hurr.*

[The door flies open like this is Sparta.]

[Beyond the door there are more stairs leading down.]

JADE: .......oh

KURLOZ: ...

KURLOZ: *He's just so confused.*

KURLOZ: *That ain't what's supposed to be there.*

JADE: *awkwardly motions for them to follow hoping they dont get the wrong idea and walks to the stairs*

KURLOZ: *There is no way this could possibly go wrong.*

[Dave's cool with following. Even if there are stairs, which he feels compelled to warn Jade about.]

JADE: *this is not the time or place for that dave*

JADE: *walkin on down the stairs*

[Down the stairs, there's another basement type area, but it's different from the other one. It's bigger, and there's a lot of random objects, but the most notable thing is a table in the center with scraps of paper on it.]

JADE: *looks around the room for a moment before spotting the paper and curiously walks over to examine the paper*

[There appears to be some sort of morbid poem on the top sheet of paper. It's about various colors and what their fears are.]

JADE: what the.....*stares at it, not entirely sure what it means*

[The poem starts with the color jade, which may catch her attention. That part describes how jade is afraid of being useless and trapped.]

JADE: *gasps a little upon reading that and almost drops the paper*

KURLOZ: *He stepped forward after her, and watches somewhat curiously, moving to loom over her shoulder and see what's in her hand. What's personal space.*

[It continues on to the color violet. Violent is afraid of death and losing what he loves.]

[Violet even.]

KURLOZ: *Frowns clownily and reaches for the paper, not liking what this might imply but not understanding yet.*

JADE: *takes her paper and pockets it before searching the rest fo the room, a little disturbed by the poem*

[Kurloz doesn't get to see the rest of the poem. SUX 4 U. Dave doesn't really care, standing back and watching.]

KURLOZ: *Foiled again by the literal bitch. He's starting to not like her very much. He grunts a little, and steps back.*

[There's not too much to see in the room aside from various crap, flowers growing out of cracks in the stone (what?), and a stone statue of a woman with a sword.]

JADE: *goes over and looks at the statue, almost admiring it and the little flowers growing*

[It's a pretty nice statue, though kind of odd to be in a place like this.]

JADE: *decides to sit at the base of it, feeling a bit worn out herself*

KURLOZ: *Doesn't give a hoot about no statue, glancing around in circles almost and sort of slowly giving up on bothering to look around at all.*

[Dave's kind of checking out the other pieces of paper on the table now, but they don't really make sense to him, so he wanders over to sit with Jade.]

JADE: *just sortof sighs for a moment, looking at the ceiling* i think im going to rest my feet for a bit....

yeah ok

[Dave's looking like he wants some rest too, really.]

KURLOZ: *Kurloz remains standing for a while before he eventually lowers to the ground, too, curling in on himself like before in the bakery.*

JADE: *leans her head against the statue and closes her eyes, not planning to rest for long but just neede a moment to rest her sad and tired eyes*

[thaumaturgicconticent]

KURLOZ: *He lost track of how long he'd been immobilized, and he couldn't care, couldn't find the will to care that he could feel sounds of pain forming in his throat and he couldn't even hear them. The smell eventually becomes something he thinks he notices, though, and just barely, he shifts his shaking hands apart to make room to peer past them with wide eyes. A new place? He couldn't care about that yet either, and continued to lay there for a while until his hands drop limp to the floor in front of his face and he focuses on the nice smell to equalize his quickened breath, staring at nothing in particular.*

[It slowly becomes more apparent that the smell is of baked bread.]

KURLOZ: *He's never been accustom to such a smell, and it's immaterial to him. Though, it was strange to smell something like that here, wasn't it? Something nice? He rolled onto his face a little, feebly propping himself up on his elbows.*

[The room you're in appears to be some kind of bakery, and you're behind the counter. From here you can see various breads and pastries behind the glass of the counters nearby.]

KURLOZ: *Turning his head up slowly, he squints at the sights around him, the shift in scenery only confusing him more now that he'd seen it. He scooted just barely to inch towards the nearest solid vertical surface with the hopes of using it to lean against, and sit straight. It's probably one of the glass panels*

[It is.]

[From this angle, at the back of the room, there's some kind of employee door.]

KURLOZ: *He's moving quite gradually, as every action inspires shocks of pain to flare. He glances around and spots the door, weighing the worth of trying to approach it. There didn't seem to be much else to do. So, he shifts to crawl a few paces before clumsily reaching a hand up to grasp the counter, and tug himself up.* [The bread watches.]

KURLOZ: *He feels the bready stare.*

KURLOZ: *Eventually reaches the door, unsteadily, and stares at the handle*

[The handle does not stare back.]

KURLOZ: *Thank god. Must be safe to reach for.*

[AND THEN IT STRIKES. No not really. It's just a doorknob.]

KURLOZ: *He probably twitched anyway. But alas. He turns it to open the door.*

[The door comes open, and inside seems to be a storage room. Sacks of flour, boxes, and other things used to make the bread and pastries are stored in here among shelves.]

KURLOZ: *Blinking as though clearing his eyes would make this make sense, he scans the room and hovers in the doorway. What good was a dead end? Or these supplies? He glances behind him at the bakery again.*

[The bakery is the same, though from here you can see the door that leads outside, and the windows that show there is an outside. There seems to be some kind of railing.]

KURLOZ: *Outside would get him further than into a closed off room. Right? He turns to head for that door instead, looking out the window.*

[It is indeed a railing outside, blocking the walkway off from a drop-off. Across from the hole is another railing and walkway, and other shops. It's a general mall setup.]

KURLOZ: *He sniffed and didn't realize it, reaching to open the door and step outside to walk along whatever walkway was available, holding onto the railing to keep himself on a steady track. He glances around the shops for signs of activity, because chatter or footsteps were things he could no longer pick up on without looking.*

[The place seems empty from here. Most of the shops are closed with shutters, and on one end of the area, there's an escalator going up. The only thing going down is, strangely, a ladder.]

KURLOZ: *When he reaches this area, he pauses to stare at the escalator first, the constant motion of it catching his eye and making everything seem dizzy again. Would it be worth it to stand on that thing? The ladder was simply daunting. He didn't trust his body or the possibility of the rungs breaking, or never ending. Hesitant clown in a mall. Give me a sign, mall gods.*

[There is no sign. Only cold and darkness.]

KURLOZ: *Typical. He thinks he's less afraid of the escalator for now. He steps towards that and carefully steps onto it.*

[It begins to take him up, though the top isn't visible just yet. The wall to the right of him seems to press in ominously.]

KURLOZ: *It feels like the tunnel all over again, what he could remember of it, and he ducks his head to his hands again as if it'd stop doing that if he stopped looking.*

[Without seeing it, the pressure seems lifted somewhat. The escalator continues to rise.]

KURLOZ: *He can feel his breath evening out just a little as the weight of the illusion is lessened. He peeks past his hands to watch the machine at his feet, peering sideways to see if it would even let off at another level. It felt like another abyss as of now.*

[The top seems to be approaching, albeit slowly.]

[Eventually it finally takes him there, and this level of the mall is similar to the one below, though completely iced over.]

KURLOZ: *Slow he can handle for now. It might be all he can handle. The drop in temperature catches him, though, and he looks up in time to try and step off the escalator and into the cold.*

[The escalator starts eating you. JK, it's a fine escalator.]

[That shit's scary as fuck though.]

[Fuck an escalator.]

KURLOZ: *Don't freak me like that, man. I'm gone. Get me away from this contraption. Ice is slippery though. Dammit.*

[This seems to be the top level, though a bit dark and unwelcoming.]

KURLOZ: *Steeling himself, he steps slowly forward, watching his feet to be sure he won't skid. He occasionally glances up and around, his hands held out at his sides a bit in apprehension*

[It's like mall ice skating.]

KURLOZ: *u kno he goin down eventually*

[Thankfully, there seems to be an available door nearby.]

KURLOZ: *THANK GOD! He inches towards it like a grandpa*

[Need a cane bro]

KURLOZ: *Got one for me?*

[Nope.]

KURLOZ: *Didn't think so.*

[You've discovered a restaurant!]

KURLOZ: * :oO !*

[Cue the tinkly music of discovery.]

KURLOZ: *Nah, he can't make that face right now. He does reach for the handle of the door and try to step inside though.*

[It comes open, though the frost crackles. Inside, it's dark, though there are tables and a counter up ahead.]

KURLOZ: *He can feel himself trembling slightly still, the cold not helping much at all, and he rigidly steps inside towards the counter, peering behind it and watching his breath puff out before him as he goes.*

[One of the tables he passes has a spread that wasn't obvious before. It's a roasted dog. But behind the counter there doesn't seem to be much.]

KURLOZ: *He glances at the table and sees this, blinking at it and taking a moment to even begin trying to pinpoint what it was. He glances at the counter once before turning back to the table, staring at it. I'm not touching that thing.*

[It's not gonna touch you either, don't worry.]

KURLOZ: *The smell of it is starting to make him feel strangely nauseous. He thinks he wants to leave this restaurant, so he starts towards the door again, feeling like he's going in circles all over again.*

[Outside is a frosty as ever.]

KURLOZ: *The urge to just sit somewhere and wait for nothing at all is rather strong. He shudders, and glances around for any direction that seems better than this. Isn't lookin' so good.*

[Far off, on the other side, there seems to be a dim lit on.]

KURLOZ: *He begins walking towards that for lack of anywhere else to go. Like a grandpa. Yeah.*

[Grandpa Kurloz finally follows the light to the room, and it appears to be some kind of recording studio.]

KURLOZ: *By time he reaches this door, he's gripping his arms to stave off the cold feeling, and he reaches to jiggle the handle on the door to open it and hope it's warmer inside.*

[The door swings open, and it is warmer, but there's a sort of grunt that sounds from inside.]

KURLOZ: *He has no idea that this noise even occurred, glancing warily but inconsistently as he steps through the doorway*

[Two grotesque, human-like apes turn to stare at Kurloz from inside. It's a wide room, and there's a hall in the back leading somewhere.]

KURLOZ: *He can feel his throat tighten in surprise and he stares back at them before slowly stepping backwards and closing the door again. The cold seemed more alluring, and he turned around to stare into the frozen level again, straight-faced all things considered.*

[The Gorillaz are okay with this.]

KURLOZ: *He thinks that was kind of a weird experience.*

[It was.]

[There are some moving figures in the distance, though.]

KURLOZ: *He walks away from the room a bit and starts to think he really should just sit down and wait to freeze, but he sees these figures just barely and pauses where he stands, staring.*

[One of them goes down.]

[It's really graceful.]

[thaumaturgicconticent]

KURLOZ: *He had only shouted the once, knowing that it was already too late to stop these things from separating them and resolving in strained silence to find another way back to them. There would be some way. Struggling was moot and he waited for the end, standing to set his stance as he took in the new surroundings; darkness. He could work with darkness. Perhaps it would be easier with no one around him. Of course there was only one way to go, so he took a step, and so forth.*

[The darkness stretches on. Every step seems to blend into the next, the passage of time difficult to tell with how the hallway seems unchanging. The only way to tell how far you've gone now is by checking to see the wall behind you, but even that becomes swallowed by the darkness before long, and distance stretches in both directions. Eventually the only thing that seems to be different is that the hallway begins to seem less of a hall and more of a tunnel, rounding out so gradually that only keen perception will realize it immediately.]

KURLOZ: *His perception is keen enough to realize it relatively soon; a millennia of practice in the right fields had sharpened that sense, even if immediate recognition was impossible. The time had meant little to him as he sorted through his thoughts to push irrelevancy away and leave his mind clear. Built up little walls in the meantime to shield what he needed to carry on. He isn't naive enough to reach out and touch a wall or turn around, so he continues without breaking step, tuning out even the sound of his own breath.*

[The hallway seems to get lighter, but the source is unknown. It's just as if there's some inane sort of glow coming from the walls around, and strangely it begins to spiral around you, coruscating in a dizzying, unchanging pattern.]

KURLOZ: *His eyes trace the lining of the walls when light appears, now confirming that the structure of the place had changed. The swirling patterns are cause for a quick succession of blinks, though, and he tries to put his focus ahead again, though his peripheral vision is not left untouched by the shifting brightness. The desire to light up a joint that he'd had since things started growing more dismal was shoved far to the back of his mind; this reminded him of the sensation of letting the mind fray and blur. He didn't want that, not while it wasn't his choice. There is a sliver of doubt now, but really, of course this was a trap. It was all a trap. He might as well see what awaited at the end -- if there was one.*

[Slowly, the tunnel begins to fill with sound. At first, only whispers. Unintelligible voices echoing off the walls of the tunnel, hushed, like raindrops. The light continues spinning. Your feet seem to follow it.]

KURLOZ: *He tells himself that he's used to this, too -- disproportionate voices, -- but then there are more. There are more, and he can't choose one to listen to and decode because his focus is becoming fragmented, and he refuses to let his pace slow for even a moment, despite the growing sense that he was forgetting how many steps he'd taken, and whether he had fingertips or not, whether he had been thinking a cognizant thought before it melted into a new one he wouldn't hold onto, either.*

[Slowly, the voices grow louder. They become more recognizable. There's a faint banging on the tunnel wall, and a familiar voice cries out. A young boy, a young best friend. It's muffled, but it's your name. Then, there's the sweet, excited voice of a young girl. She's calling out for you, too.]

KURLOZ: *That makes him stop. Staring at the ground, lights continue to swim in his eyes as he tries to regain the bearings he forgot having lost in the first place, or when, how -- he spins in place, arms finally lifting from his sides as he tries to pinpoint where the voices were coming from, which wall had been beaten on, so he can start tearing it down right then and there. He opens his mouth to call back the names of who held those voices in return, but at first, nothing passed his lips but a cold inhale.*

[But the tunnel keeps spinning under his feet, warping the gravity under him and stealing his balance because he has to follow the spiral. He has to keep going.]

[The whispers continue, even growing into murmurs now. Every once in a while, the scraps of phrases become intelligible. "Too late," "Can't go back."]

KURLOZ: *Closing his eyes and reopening them doesn't fix his sight, or the new pressure in his pan -- or was it a sort of emptiness? It felt like both, both... His hands never find the wall, but his knees don't buckle, and for a moment, he thinks maybe they might be at the end of this. The words feel closer to his head now, closer to his heart and worming through his chest to sink in there, and he's vaguely aware that his breathing had begun to quicken as he kept walking. He had to keep going.*

[You keep going. The voices keep talking. They talk about you. They talk about what you've done. And then the screaming starts. Those closest to you, the ones you couldn't stop to save, they scream for you. They ask you why. They say it hurts. Their voices, they've changed. You've changed them.]

KURLOZ: *The pace of his breath only grows faster and thinner as he listens, as he's forced to listen, to things he already knew -- they'd been rewritten and brought to life in ways he had only dreamed about. The more they screamed, the more his own name started to sound like a curse, and damn it all if he hadn't already motherfucking known it was. The voices sounded older now, they sounded like he'd sucked the youth right out of them, like he'd stretched the vocal chords that didn't belong to him and waited until time dried them out so he could grind them to bitter dust between his fingertips, little by little, betrayal by betrayal. He could feel his own throat starting to constrict as though it were trying to do what he could not, did not, trying to tear itself out and deliver the very same to himself. Apologies wouldn't come. They'd set him on fire, or summon some beast to drag him to a place he wouldn't be able to fight. They wouldn't hear him anyway. His arms felt like they were no longer there as he reached to grip his hair, chin ducking towards his chest. He stopped wondering what would happen if he stopped walking.*

[The voices don't cease. They go on and on just as your feet do, the same as reality. This is only reality amplified, echoed a thousand times. Stark and bright and /loud/. You wouldn't even see the glow of purple spots in the darkness up ahead. You wouldn't see them everything is suddenly drowned in the loudest noise there could possibly be, the vastest scream that could deafen everything. You wouldn't see it before you see shocks of red and blue bursting behind your eyes, before your ears are bleeding, before your mind is crushed in a thousand lights and all of them burn.]

KURLOZ: *The hands in his hair tighten and tug as the noise grows piercing, the light grows blinding, it all grows unbearable. How long had he been walking? How long have his clothes been completely dry without him noticing? How long had there been gasps of anguish rolling in his throat and how long had he been pretending that he was the stone wall he had always needed to be for this to be kept at bay until now? The final scream nearly stops his heart -- he felt one finally leave his chest where it had been boiling, and he didn't have the time to figure that no one had heard even that over /this,/ before suddenly it stops. It all stops, leaving space for one more vision to twist his soul like metal before time is again ripped away and he loses certainty entirely. Loses control of himself entirely, and loses sight of the nightmare around him as he finally stops walking and falls to the unstable ground, frame jerking violently and arms still huddled over his head, though the last fragmented pieces of him that could even think were sure it would do no good protecting him. Soon, those pieces were extinguished like old cinders and silence -- truer silence than even he had ever known -- swallowed him whole.*

[thaumaturgicconticent]

[It's hard to say how long you've been riding this elevator. The hours have seemed to melt into one another -- was it only a few? A whole day? Three?

But all those thoughts soon become irrelevant, because the elevator seems to be slowing, the metal around you groaning with the effort as the wheels that have kept you going so long finally have to take pause.

Then, at last, it stops.

You all wait with bated breath for several seconds before the doors finally slide open, and the first thing you notice it bringing is a rush of dark water that splashes you all and fills the elevator up to knee-height.

Up ahead appears to be an incredibly shadowy hallway, the entire place similar flooded. In the distance, the hallway appears to open into a slightly more well-lit room.]

ERIDAN: *was sitting on the floor of the elevator still, trying to doze and keep his strength up for whenever the elevator finally stopped, when he feels water filling around him. Quickly opens his eyes and stands up before it gets too high* wwhat the fuck are wwe finally out

DIRK: Shit. *backs away instinctively from the door at the sudden rush of water*

JADE: *the sound of the elevator squealing woke jade up from yet another deep sleep, followed by an ack! as the water splashed around her* w-woah...*stands up, now rather soaked and regretting having fallen asleep again, she wasnt sure why she had been feeling so exhausted*

GAMZEE: *sitting as well he's slow to realize the elevator has stopped as he looks around and is suddenly met with water. He blinks at it as he rises up still paying close attention to it*

JADE: *shivers a bit and squints down the hallway* well...i guess theres only one way to go huh *looks at dirk then to the others*

KURLOZ: *He had managed to sleep a little, as well, but it was easily shattered with the slowing of the elevator and his eyes snapped open in time to watch the doors open, and the flood assail them. He elbowed Rufioh to wake him, to no avail; well, it looked as though he'd have to tote both of the wounded in his care. Standing is troublesome, but he manages, and stares through the open door.*

DIRK: *mumbles under his breath* All aboard the demise train.

KARKAT: *had woken from his sleep some time ago, the "less frightening" darkness having turned to nightmares of what could be coming. he hops up, taking hold of the grate again, when the water startles him. probably should have heard that coming.*

ERIDAN: *takes a step out of the elevator, now tempted to take off his cape now that it was being weighed down with water, but kept it on for now anyway* *glances back at everyone else* wwhat the fuck is evveryone wwaitin for

DIRK: *still mumbling* Choo choo, motherfuckers.

DIRK: *he takes a step out of the elevator, wondering where all of this water came from, and wades around in the hallway*

KARKAT: *huffs, not very comfortable with the increased weight of his sweater, but steps sloshing after the others*

JADE: *follows closely behind dirk, slightly huddled, and her ear twitching, listening for any small sounds*

GAMZEE: *follows along, annoyed that the end of his pants are heavy now*

[The only thing to be heard for now is the sound of the water sloshing around them.]

ERIDAN: *continues walking down the hallway, keeping his eyes on the walls for anything that looks like a door or opening*

KARKAT: *follows the sound of the disturbed water, only bumping into the wall like. once. maybe twice. but that's it.*

JADE: *looks back at karkat bumping into walls and goes to help guide him*

[The hallway has no distinguishing features, except for the slight discoloration that comes with water staining. But once they near the room up ahead, it becomes more obvious that this room has a single chair sitting in the center of it, and on each wall there are several more hallways leading to somewhere.]

KARKAT: *jade i'm a big boy please*

JADE: *too bad*

KURLOZ: *Just readjusting his hold on the proverbial sacks of potatoes he's gonna be carrying before he follows everyone out of the elevator.* ... *he kicks some water at Dirk to catch his attention. I /can/ carry them, see, but I don't want to.*

KARKAT: *mutters an ashamed thanks*

ERIDAN: *stops in his tracks to stare at the chair* ... *looks slowly at the walls with other passageways before his eyes go back to the chair*

GAMZEE: *hovers over jade and karkat*

DIRK: *looks back at him and gets the message, holding out his arms for one of the proverbial sacks of potatoes*

JADE: *eyes the chair suspiciously and sniffs at the different hallways*

JADE: *trying to smell anything*

[The room smells like mildew and rotting fish.]

KARKAT: *you're a lot better at that than i am, i'm just gonna try to listen for things*

ERIDAN: *u look dumb, jade* *but eridan doesn't say this because he doesn't actually even think it because why should he care about someone sniffing around*

JADE: *covers her mouth, gagging at the rotting fish smell*

JADE: jesus....it smells awful

DIRK: Smells like the failed fish army.

JADE: *small cough laugh*

DIRK: *loweres his voice as he addresses Jade* God damn those sharks.

KURLOZ: *hands over Porrim to Dirk, tuning out the smell as best he can as he tries to get a better hold on Rufioh, silently cursing him for finally losing touch.*

KARKAT: smells like a headache. *captain buzzkill*

DIRK: *adjusts his grip on the troll in his arms before continuing in his wading through the gross smelling hallway*

ERIDAN: *walks up to the chair and stares down at it* ....

JADE: i guess...we should pick a hallway *stating the obvious like a champ*

[Before they can choose any passageways, there's the slightly off sound of splashing in the water before something begins to wrap around each of their legs.

The things rising out of the water to grab Porrim and Rufioh away are obviously tentacles, and they rip them from the grasp of their carriers and down separate hallways before they can be stopped.

Jade and Karkat are wrapped up together and dragged, too, and then both Makaras and Dirk are also hauled down separate hallways, leaving Eridan alone while a single tentacle begins to wrap around his body and pulls him down into the chair he's been staring at.]

KARKAT: FUCK! GAMZEE! *in his panic, yelling is obviously the only answer*

JADE: *Shrieks and tries to grab at something to stop being grabbed*

DIRK: Holy shit- *reaches out hopelessly to grab Porrim again but she's already gone before he's dragged away as well*

ERIDAN: wwha...WWHAT *looks around wildly at everyone else when he feels himself get grabbed* *struggles against the tentacles, but it's no use, and he's now sitting in the chair* *tries to power his hope blast, but doesn't want to accidentally blast off his own legs*

KURLOZ: *The sudden onslaught of tentacles and his kismesis being torn from his grasp elicits a shout of protest to form before he, too, is snagged and kept from trying to reach for any of the others.*

GAMZEE: *hearing his name yelled out he feels like he's done something but woops away he goes and he's pretty sure he wasn't the cause of it*

KARKAT: *it was call for help and of worry, but it's okay gamzee. we're pretty sure you didn't cause it either. pretty sure.*

[TO BE CONTINUED... In separate chats.]

JADE: *oh shit*

DIRK: *Oh shit is right*

KURLOZ: *motherfuck.*

DIRK: *Where's the rainbow trout when you need him?*

KARKAT: *at least i have a... seeing eye dog...*

[I'LL TRY TO GET ALL OF YOU THAT ARE ON RIGHT NOW DONE TONIGHT... but no promises]