[HOLO: The Sanctuary] // There's a battle outside and it's ragin'

[stepintoshadows]

 Rorschach left the cemetery after paying his respects to the Comedian, intending to return to the apartment he'd been squatting in for the better part of six months now, but he never arrived, instead overcome by a strange twisting in his gut, and the next he knew he was in a large room with no doors or windows, everything stark white. He looked

Comments

[visual]

[givesahoot]

There was no mistaking that voice. From inside his basement Dan hurriedly fumbled for his tablet and clicked it on. If Rorschach were to look at his own tablet in the arrival room he would see Dan in a very familiar setting, with Archie looming in the background.

"Rorschach?" Dan answered with probably too much excitement in his voice for Rorschach's taste, but he was relieved to see his friend.

Re: [visual]

[stepintoshadows]

Door. Every cage must have a door, no matter how unconventional the cage. If he could only locate it, then he would be one step closer to finding out who had put him here, and why. He took another step further away from the platform, towards the white expanse of wall.

The name echoed, pulling Rorschach from his intended path, and it was a few moments before he found the origin, head turning this way and that jerkily until he finally identified the source. Changing his path he approached the pedestal and eyed the strange gadget that sat on it, the patterns on his mask shifting almost warily. He didn't trust it; with its alien construction in this room, it was probably bugged, or worse. But he recognized the image on it, and that gained a grunt of surprise. "Daniel. Wasn't expecting you." An understatement if he'd ever made one.

[visual]

[givesahoot]

"Yeah, I um, arrived a few weeks ago," Dan replied after a brief pause to verify the length of time. For now he avoids using the word kidnapped, though he's almost certain it will come up sooner or later. He wants to be as helpful as he can considering the circumstances.

"But more importantly, I can tell you how to get out of that room." Again, the words are selected carefully. Anything too pushy might be taken the wrong way.

Re: [visual]

[stepintoshadows]

"'Arrived'." Rorschach clearly didn't approve of the word choice, particularly not when circumstances seemed to indicate such 'arrivals' were involuntary. There were plenty of words more suited to the situation. Looking at the image more closely, however, caused him to cock his head slightly in question as he noted his former partner's surroundings. "Strange to be abducted but still have workshop." It's not an accusation, not quite, but he's still critical; if Daniel had been abducted as well it's unlikely he would still be allowed access to his things. While he was reluctant to believe he could be connected to this, it still looked bad.

The offer to help was ignored, for now. Once he was satisfied Daniel's involvement was minimal he might accept it, but not now; it could be a trap, after all.

[ voice ]

[allthefunever]

Is the objection to complete sentences religious or just a sincere dedication to sounding like a broken wind up toy?

[ damon salvatore: the best ever at making new friends. ]

Re: [ voice ]

[stepintoshadows]

[Don't mind the snarl, it's been a loooong couple days, and this is really just one more thing he doesn't need. Either way, have a glare. Nevermind that it's technically at a tiny machine.]

Captor speaks. Who do you work for?

[ voice ]

[allthefunever]

'Captor' doesn't say anything, thanks. I'm not one of the fuzzy morons.

Welcome to Magic Hamsterland, by the way.

[ no, he... actually refuses to call taxon anything but that. but it's always fun making the new kids think he's just messing with them. ]

Re: [ voice ]

[stepintoshadows]

[Another glare. Or...the same glare, either way there's a glare. Because obviously he's hiding something. The kidnappers can't be fuzzy, that makes no sense.]

Explain.

[ voice ]

[tothelibrary]

Sorry, you're... probably a zillion or so light years away from New York. Welcome to Taxon?

[ okay she can't help it. ]

Also, no offense or anything but you're kind of wearing a mask, yourself. I'm just saying.

Re: [ voice ]

[stepintoshadows]

[Rorschach is not amused. Although if he ever were amused it would be a surprise and probably a miracle.]

Hurm. Not hiding.

[Have a blank look. Not that he really gives any other kinds. And the monotone probably doesn't really help anything, although it's a suspicious monotone at least.]

What is Taxon? And never said from New York.

[ voice ]

[tothelibrary]

Right! You're just... mask-wearing. Which is a totally different category than hiding.

[ ooooooooooooo-kay then. moving on, with extra pep as if to make up for the considerable lack thereof on the other end. ]

Manhattan? It's... one of the boroughs? So I just assumed that's where you're from, sorry.

Re: [ voice ]

[stepintoshadows]

[That's okay, he's not really inclined to share the logic anyway. The pep is received with, if anything, even less enthusiasm on his end. It's as if the more enthusiastic she gets about things the less patience he has for it. He starts digging through his pockets to see what he has, to all appearances only half paying attention to her.]

[There's a grunt, which even in the context could mean just about anything.] Wasn't talking about borough.

Never explained Taxon.

[Visual]

[a_pretty_fire]

Drusilla kept a close eye on the new arrivals. Many of them were uninteresting and she passed them by without a second glance. But sometimes - sometimes, if she was terribly lucky - the hamsters remembered to send her a present. A pretty girl ripe for the plucking, perhaps, or member of her family.

Or a puzzle to untangle.

He was a puzzle, this man. Rough and masked, like a puppet, but with the strength to make his own rules. And blood on his hands. She could smell it. She could feel it.

"You're hiding your face," she pointed out, her teeth showing white against crimson lips that curved into a smile, "Their masks aren't as interesting as yours."

Re: [Visual]

[stepintoshadows]

Rorschach turned his head at the sound, the constantly shifting patterns orienting on the speaker. "Not hiding," he corrected, mouth twisting into a distasteful sneer under the fabric. It was the second time someone had mentioned it, and he liked it less for the repetition. It was his True Face that was showing now, not something he hid behind, but he didn't expect her to understand. Nor did he feel much like explaining.

A pause as he considered her words, then. "You've seen them." Less a question than a statement; her words had indicated she had, it was clarification he sought rather than confirmation.

[Visual]

[a_pretty_fire]

The patterns were intriguing. She could see the world in them. Screaming people and severed limbs and moths with wings like velvet. As far as Drusilla was concerned, they all wore masks. Even her. The real face was right beneath the skin. Blood and bone and flesh and thoughts finally exposed to the air.

"We all have," she said, nodding, "They treat us like princesses, but if we leave the tower they break our bones."

Re: [Visual]

[stepintoshadows]

Delusional. She had to be, it was the only explanation for the twisted words, a mind with perception as twisted as the blackened and cankerous souls of the walking filth he usually dealt with. Rorschach's eyes narrowed; her words couldn't be trusted then, if her mind might be traitor to her thoughts.

He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised; with her painted-on mask and vacant smile there was little chance she was anything other than soiled in some way, the question had more been how than if. "Abductors punish for attempts at escape?" That part was clear enough, although whether he could believe her or not was still uncertain.

Re: [ voice ]

[stepintoshadows]

[This voice he accepts more easily than some of the others. It at least seems to be rational. Reasonable.]

But they have communicated.

Re: [ voice ]

[stepintoshadows]

[A derisive snort]

Typical. Learned anything important?