✧ 03 ✧ Burning glances, turning heads

[bonnypiperlad]

[The festival is a new experience for Jamie, and it would have likely brought him out even if he hadn't received the note. That just makes him more determined to go. He's even managed to get the idea that he should maybe dress up a wee bit, and is wearing a nice coat, ruffled shirt and a decorative baldric along with his usual great kilt. The mask

Comments

[irreversibly]

[Xion is alarmed when the curtains trap them in, but quickly turns her focus elsewhere. They're here for a reason, after all. She tightens her grip on the Keyblade and slowly takes a few steps forward.]

This is the Sheriff's Office, isn't it? But, the mirrors...? That's... That's weird...

[She blinks, surprised at the CAT. That's not the kind of thing she'd expect to see on the sheriff's desk. Plus...]

Hey, there's a note. "Play me"...

[She reaches to pick it up, and as soon as she touches it, the display screen appears. Blinking again, she hits play.]

Part 1/2

[luministimods]

[the video itself keeps switching from different fixed security cameras as a large group of people continue to pass through a long, meandering hallway past several closed and open doors. in the middle of the armed escort is a wounded Sheriff Iussus is being supported by both Caligin (who is in color) and Audrey behind Ms. Osculia, who has an arm protectively around Verita. everyone, aside from Iussus whose head is resting on his chest, has a mix of fear and anger on their faces.]

[after a moment of this, Ms. Osculia finally speaks:] Where are you taking us? The spaceport isn't this way!

[none of the armed people respond to her (and these people should be recognized as the team of deputies who have been out and about in recent weeks). Caligin's expression hardens as he shifts Iussus' weight. Verita glances back at him nervously when he begins to speak] I know you no longer recognize my authority or that of CSO Iussus, but you can show some respect for a former colleague and answer a simple question when asked!

[the man

Part 2/2

[luministimods]

[Proctor's darkens for a second before he looks away] If they had interest in such things, they would've come down themselves. But no, they've left it up to me to oversee the destruction of loose ends.

"Loose ends"? [Verita's eyes go wide]

It's an unfortunate side-effect of things. [Proctor sighs and turns away] All data had been transferred to us an hour ago.

Even...[Caligin trails off, torn between mentioning something in case it hasn't been found or on the off-chance that Proctor is ignorant of those parts of the experiment]

[Proctor doesn't turn, but his lips curl into a sharp smile anyway] Oh yes. That was part of the bargain, Dr. Caligin. Everything was quite cheap considering all that we got.

[Caligin suddenly lunges forward leaving Audrey to support the wounded Iussus while he cries:] How dare you pervert the integrity of my life's work?! [but a nearby security officer smacks him across the face with the butt of their weapon, sending backwards into Iussus and Audrey]

From what I've seen and heard about what's

1/?

[irreversibly]

Ah! [What happened to the Sheriff?! Why is he hurt? And... What's wrong? What's happening? She doesn't understand.

She flinches at the insult to Miss Oculia, but as soon as the deputy grabs Verita, Xion's demeanor... changes. Noticeably, if her companions are watching her (unlikely).]

[irreversibly]

[Xion's free hand clenches into a fist, and her grip tightens again on Aubade. Those blue eyes narrow slightly and turn fierce. Don't treat her like that! Don't hurt her! She's my friend! You won't get away with this. How dare you?]

[irreversibly]

[But her eyes widen again, almost to the point of being comical.]

What?! [For sale?! But why? Why would the doctor do something like that? Just to be mean? She knows he isn't -- wasn't? -- the nicest man, but...]

4/5

[irreversibly]

D-Destroy? [He's not talking about us, is he?

But that thought is quickly banished from Xion's mind. Instinctively, she jerks forward, as if she could somehow leap through the CAT into that room in the video and save them all.]

No! You can't do that! Don't --

[But someone beats her to it. The young man arrives just in time to rescue them, and then all of them vanish, just as quickly as the young man appeared.]

5/5

[irreversibly]

[Xion is left standing there, staring blankly at the CAT after the transmission is over, hands still outstretched. Her (fake) heart is hammering in her chest, and it's all she can hear in her ears.]

What... What's going on?

[Her voice sounds so small and distant to her. Slowly, she reaches out to pick up the CAT with her gloved hands and stares at it, brow furrowed in confusion and worry.

Everyone... Verita... Please, be safe...

She's too preoccupied to notice her mask has loosened.]

[painlessfighter]

[Hey, is that man hurt? Oh. They're all talking. Boring. ... Wow, they're talking a lot. Hmmmm.

Natsuo looks away while the video continues to play, not paying it a bit of attention. His focus is on the mirrors. He watches his own reflection for a bit, glances at Xion's and Jamie's reflections momentarily... He looks above the mirrors, curious as to what kind of room this is and what it looks like behind them. With a small, but downright devilish grin, he raises a hand and points his palm toward the mirror nearest to him.]

Break. Shatter into a million pieces and fall to the ground. Do not stand in my way.

[In an instant, with a jarring "crack!" the mirror breaks, littering the floor with a ridiculous amount of little reflective shards. Natsuo, looking quite pleased with himself, marches over to investigate~]

[bonnypiperlad]

[When the video starts up, Jamie turns to watch, growing gradually more wide-eyed at the surroundings the townsfolk are in - and even though he doesn't feel the same way towards them that Xion does, the threatening is enough to make him tighten his hand on the sword. The man grabbing them all and disappearing is enough to make him back up a step or two in surprise.]

That's...

[Whatever else he is going to say is cut off as the mirrors shatter, and he whips his head around to see what's going on, causing his mask go flying and revealing a smooth, featureless face to the others.]

[irreversibly]

[Xion turns to blink at Natsuo, wondering why he's saying that, but then the mirrors shatter, making her jump. When she feels her mask slipping, she grabs it out of reflex, and at the sound of Jamie's mask hitting the ground, she turns to look at him.

And

He

What?!]

Ahhhhhhh!

[painlessfighter]

[Natsuo spins around when he hears Xion scream. He spots Jamie, and while he doesn't scream, he does look pretty frightened. His eyes go wide and his ears flatten, tail curling around himself. He even unconsciously scoots a little closer to Xion.

Then, the initial shock wears off. He straightens up, and though he's still wide-eyed, he asks, curiously:]

How'd you do that?

[bonnypiperlad]

[He has no idea there isn't a face there at the moment, although he does feel a wee bit strange, and he can tell the lads are frightened. He goes to ask why...and realizes he can't talk. Even without any features to speak of, his body language is confused.

Jamie winds up turning his head slightly, enough to get a glimpse of himself in one of the shattered pieces of the mirror. Frantically, he goes to grab for it. It's large enough that he can see what's happened to his face, and he drops the piece of glass in horror. He gestures wildly to the others, but without a mouth there it's hard to tell what he wants. They may pick up that he's a bit frantic about the situation anyway.]

[irreversibly]

Wh-What? What... What is it?

[She doesn't know what to do. He -- What should she do?]

[painlessfighter]

[Well, Natsuo doesn't know what to do either, but the guy sure seems really upset about it! He finally notices that his own mask has become loose, and he pulls it off...

He would smirk at his faceless reflection, but it's hard to do that without a mouth.

He puts his mask back on, though, and nods at Xion. When he speaks, he's clearly way too calm about this.]

I think he wants his mask back. It has his face in it.

[irreversibly]

[Xion has gone very, very pale. She secures her mask so it definitely won't come off unless she makes it.]

I... O... Okay... I'll look...