.019 [Video]

[aint_comin_back]

[The feed shows Mal leaning on the counter at the pawn shop. In front of him is a puzzle box and he's giving it a mildly curious and frankly somewhat alarmed look.]

What do you suppose will jump out and attack should we figure out how to open this thing?

[Almost hesitantly, he tips it back on an edge and gives it an appraising look.] Thinkin' I

Comments

[video] ZEE SHOULD NOT TAG THIS LATE AT NIGHT OMG SORRY EDITS

[morethanafour]

I got one of those too...I wonder if Nate would know what it is...

Hey...do you think the people disappearing is related to this thing?

[video] LOL, is okay!

[aint_comin_back]

Hell, it might be. Ain't gonna put it past 'em.

[video]

[morethanafour]

[There's a pause for Elena doing something on her tablet.]

Shit. Mal...I can't get a hold of Nate. I...don't think he'd be able to resist trying to figure this thing out. [She swallows.] Maybe I should go check his apartment...

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[aint_comin_back]

Gorram man. [Mal's already starting to move, box forgotten for the moment.] I'll meet you there.

[video]

[morethanafour]

[Elena is moving too. The picture is blurring discomfortingly as the camera swings around.]

Do you know where it is? He's moved since the raptors went on their breaking and entering rampage.

[video]

[aint_comin_back]

I try to keep track of these things.

[video]

[morethanafour]

[She nods, not arguing or asking questions. Nate could be being eaten by vicious knids or something worse, even as they speak.]

Right. I'll see you there.

[video]

[aint_comin_back]

[And with that, Mal nods and ends the feed. See you there, Elena.]

[action]

[morethanafour]

[Elena knows some short-cuts to Nate's place - you know, just in case the inevitable happens (like today) and the adventurer gets himself into a mess that he needs immediate back-up for.

The door will be slightly ajar when Mal arrives because Elena has completely forgotten to close it in light of the sight that has greeted her after she used her spare key on the lock.

The living room is a pretty sparse place, really marked only by disuse and one of the countless puzzle boxes distributed throughout the mostly dead city. Just that...and the dark and congealing pool of blood that touches the cube's base and is almost reaching Elena's knees where she fell down beside it.

She's swallowing, hand over her mouth, but not from nausea at the gore - she's seen violence and the results of violence before. Rather...it's because there seems to be no sign of Nate - except this blood which may or may not be his.]

[action]

[aint_comin_back]

[The sight that greets Mal upon entering the apartment isn't what he wanted to see. Some careful stalking of the network had shown that Inara knew these people fairly well and, in the interest of keeping his crew under a watchful eye, had made damned sure he knew where they all live.

His hand dropped from the revolver at his hip as he took in Elena kneeling on the floor. It wasn't hard to see what had troubled her; he stepped beside her, hand dropping onto her shoulder.]

C'mon. We hadn't looked anywhere yet.

[action]

[morethanafour]

[The hand on her shoulder is more than enough to jog Elena out of her moment of shock. Almost instantly she gets to her feet, more than willing to get away from the stain of scarlet, to give herself a moment to cope with the panic that threatens to tear her control and barely contained calm.

It might not be his blood after all. Maybe. Hopefully.

There is nothing of note in the bathroom, and the bedroom doesn't hold much more. A mattress on the floor, a leather-bound journal, papers, and a golden ritual dagger. Elena goes for the journal first, crouching to pick it up. She palms the cover, fingers tracing it, then tucks it into her back pocket - unwilling to pry into its pages - not until she knows if Nate will ever be able to reclaim it.]

So...he's...not here right now.

[The words come out of her lips thickly.]

[action]

[aint_comin_back]

[Yeah, he sees. Mostly, though, he's trailed her and let her lead the way. It's a small apartment, though, and doesn't take long. He frowns and nods.]

Where else does he go?

[action]

[morethanafour]

[Elena shrugs, looking worn and tired, worry making the line of her body stiff as she stands.]

I don't know...I just...hope he's somewhere...safe.

[Clearly she's trying to avoid considering the more likely option - the one that involves the box in the living room and the pool of blood.]

Maybe he's...out...looking for a way back...

[The explanation sounds weak to her ears too, and she doesn't move towards the door of the bedroom - she doesn't want to return to the inevitable conclusion in the other room.]

[action]

[aint_comin_back]

[He nods, lips pressed together as he takes in the scene again. Damn it all, but this doesn't bode well for any of them that have gone missing.]

We ain't findin' him if we stay here, darlin'. Give me a direction.

[action]

[morethanafour]

[Reluctantly Elena pulls Nate's journal out of her pocket. She's not keen on paging through notes possibly more private than clues to where he's gone.

But...worry is quickly undermining her respect of Nate's privacy. Mal's right - they need some direction, some hint.

Elena pages through the most recent entries. Her jaw tightens as her fingers stop flipping. Mind temporary shutting down, she doesn't hold the journal out to Mal, but the Captain can easily peer over the edge of the book.

The journalist's eyes are locked on this page.]

[action]

[aint_comin_back]

[Mal steps around her, carefully tilting the journal in his direction to better see the notes. Whatever she'd seen had pulled her into stillness and, from what glimpse he saw then, it wasn't pretty. His breath caught in his throat as he looked at it, his own puzzle box foremost in his mind.

Everything you want, everything you need is in the box. Just open it. That's all you have to do.

He'd been ignoring it as best he could, unwilling to trust anything new that simply popped up on his desk in the Underworld. But his hands itched to solve it, to earn his due reward.

Every wish granted.

He took the book from her hands and closed it. He said nothing. Not yet.]