... It begins

[keep_hallways]

It’s dark when the Keep’s newest guests arrive. The cold night air has seeped into the stones of the barracks sending a chill throughout the rooms. No fire has been laid, no lamp lit to beat back the cold or dispel the dark. Each cell remains exactly as it has for months on end, almost as though no one were expecting the small rooms to be occupied

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[gditsideswipe]

And, out of one of the rooms bursts an interesting figure. Ten feet tall, covered in blocky, yellow and blue armor. His blue eyes -- more optics, really -- are practically ablaze with rage, glowing in the darkness, the snarl of an engine coming from deep in his chest. This metal monstrosity storms into the hallway, growling, looking very much intent on murder.

He was just on the highway. He remembers driving. And then something hit him. He remembers being half-blind and his systems shuddering to a halt. The others aren't in comm range -- nothing is. As a result, the only conclusion he can draw is that he's been taken prisoner.

And that this, strange rocky building is his prison.

"Show yourselves!" he snarls, slamming a fist sideways into the wall. "Come out here and fight!"

[keep_hallways]

At the end of the hallway comes a low growl. It's too dark to see just what it is, but there is something definitely down there.

[gditsideswipe]

That's all he needs.

With a growl of his own, Sunstreaker barrels forward. He doesn't care what's up ahead. He's angry. He's not thinking. He only wants to kill whatever's down there. It has to be responsible for this.

[keep_hallways]

Valiant as Sunstreaker might be, whatever it is that's growling at him from the end of the hall will not be there when he reaches it. Instead, behind him, from the opposite side, two pale blue eyes of a beast-like nature are watching.

Whatever it is that they belong to, it's big. And angry.

[thii2ii22tupiid]

Some cursing, a few small things psychically thrown around the room (why can't he lift the bed?!?) and some blundering around in the dark and Sollux manages to find the door. He pulls it open and steps outside, rather irate with the sudden change in scenery.

"What the fuck."

Its not a question, its a statement...or somewhere near a demand.

[keep_hallways]

Footsteps down the far end of the hall do little to answer Sollux's demand. They do however make a cautious approach, light footed and... beast-like. Whatever it is that's coming towards Sollux, it's definitely not human.

The creature sniffs the air and utters a low growl.

[thii2ii22tupiid]

Sollux stares directly at the creature--or, well, where he guess it is from the noises--and cross his arms. He's not afraid of whatever this trick is, so it can just come and get its ass kicked. Maybe that'd make him feel better.

[keep_hallways]

No longer taking any care to be quiet, the beast howls and quickens it's charge. It's large, wolf-like but far larger than it should be. Just as it reaches Sollux, there's the snapping of teeth and then... nothing.

The hallways is empty once more, save for Sollux. He might, on later inspection find a tear in the front of his shirt.

[turian_honor]

One moment he's falling, barely holding on to Shepard's hand as the room collapses all around them. And the next...

... The next, the turian is tripping over furniture he can't see. His boots are scuffing on something covering the floor, and it's all he can do not to plow headlong into a wall. He puts a hand out to steady himself, leaning hard on the surface.

What... the hell just happened? He can't even hardly process the sudden change in scenery. And so, with nothing else to fall back on, Garrus slips the assault rifle from its holster on his back, and, keeping one hand on the wall, begins to make his way around the room. He finds the door, swinging it open with a careful hand.

Garrus steps into the hall, battered, dirty, and more than a little bloodied -- still high on adrenaline from taking down the incubating threat to all sentient life. Not to mention confused. His radio seems to be dead, which certainly doesn't help matters in the slightest.

[keep_hallways]

The halls are empty, quiet, and almost entirely dark. The only source of light is something just around the corner of the far hall.

A torch, perhaps?

But there is no sound of footsteps.

[turian_honor]

The lack of sound doesn't do anything for his nerves. Garrus starts forward, moving slowly, placing each foot carefully in front of the other. He holds his weapon steady, despite the fatigue slowly burying itself in his bones.

"Hello?"

It comes out as more of a demand than a question. His squad is nowhere to be seen -- he can't contact anyone. He can't reach Shepard. And his nerves are practically jangling with unspent adrenaline.

[blackantiquas]

It's a person.

Isn't it? It's shaped like a person. It has arms and legs, a head and a torso like a person.

It does not, however, have a face.

Specks of black and white float around the immaterial body, but they cast no shadows. This body, this cloud, is the source of the light.

[drinkuntilidie]

There's nothing but darkness and Kevas is instantly on edge. Only moments ago it had been the middle of the day and he was trudging miserably down the beach. Wherever he is now, it's definitely not the Shore.

One of his swords is in his hand but he doesn't know what good it's going to do him. There's nothing in his stomach and his body is still reeling from withdrawal. It's hard enough to stand right now.

Kevas stumbles about in the darkness before finding the door through sheer luck. His seeking hand finds the handle and he pulls the door open slowly.

"Talia!"

No answer.

"Vie! Alice! Nel! Anybody!?" There's clear panic in his voice. No. Not again. Not again. Kevas slumps against the wall and for the third time in his life, he feels completely alone.

[aswanbyday]

It took Odette a moment, but she recognizes Kevas. She spoke to him once before, hadn't she?

"Excuse me?"

She's cautious as she eases up to him. "You were on the boat, weren't you? On the Elegante."

[drinkuntilidie]

At first he doesn't even notice her. It's not until she mentions the Elegante that he perks up. He recognizes her, if just barely.

"Aye, dat I was."

And that's when he feels it. Hope. If there's someone else from the Elegante here maybe there's more. Maybe he can find his family after all.

[aswanbyday]

"Do you know what's happened? Where are we?"

Odette knows Kevas probably doesn't know the answer. He was probably just as clueless as she was. But it couldn't hurt to ask.

"I thought the End had..."

Her voice trails off. She thought the End had consumed everything. So what was happening?

[brynkitten]

The sun was just setting when Bryn was brought to the Keep. She had been enjoying watching the sunset, sitting cross-legged on her favorite flat rock, when suddenly all the light disappeared.

She shrieked in surprise, scrambled to try to get to her feet and in the process found her hands grasping the blankets. Where had the blankets come from? The ground? The lack of bushes? What had happened to the bushes and the wind?

Panic spiraled higher. Had someone gotten her? Had her parents found her? The government? She didn't know but she had to get out. Had to.

If it wasn't for slightly heightened night vision, she might have bumped into everything in the room. She could see just enough to get to the door. Her hands grasped at it, wrenched it open and stepped out into the hallway. Bryn trembled, senses heightened by the rush of adrenaline in her body, and tried to figure out what to do.

[onlyonemysize]

Hey now, watch where you're stepping, Bryn. Thumbelina scrambled out of the way, moving closer to the wall. This certainly wasn't the first time she had almost been stepped on. After all, she had grown up on a farm, but the animals had grown used to her presence. Here was another story entirely.

"Please don't step on me!"

[brynkitten]

Bryn made a surprised noise and shuffled back from the source of the voice. Her hands pressed to the walls and she looked down. If only there was some light?

"Wh-who is it? Who is that?" she stammered out, heart still pounding in her chest.

[onlyonemysize]

"Ah, my name is Thumbelina." She waves her arms in hopes Bryn will see her. It would be so much easier if she had someone big with her.

"Down here in front of you.