Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three.

[agogemod]

We do not merely destroy our enemies;

we change them.

WELCOME TO THE END OF TIME.

The Regency has its spies and its cloaks and daggers. You may have even brushed shoulders with one and not have known it. There is a place for such tactics. You are not in that place any longer.

On missions like these, the Regency prefers to keep its base close, in a intradimensional time pocket. You're apart from Gallipoli, no longer technically on Earth or in the 1910s. There are multiple segments to this complex base of Regency operations, but you can only really see two places...

THE BRIG

This is your holding cell, a constantly shifting room of indesctructable grey squares. It folds and bends to hold you and your seven companions as you await... something.

There are no guards in this place. There are no bars to look through, or sounds to listen for. You are simply in the box, left to your own devices.

Occasionally, holes will open in the ceiling, and packaged, processed rations will fall from them before immediately closing. This is the only way to measure time. There are always exactly eight bags, each with the name of one captive written on the side in their native language.

Holes will occasionally open in the walls, and they always bring with them a searingly bright light. Sleeping and sitting is difficult on the ever-shifting floors, and when you try, it always seems like a pinhole of light opens right on your eyes. Even leaning on the walls has mixed results.

DON'T GO TOWARDS THE LIGHT

The windows of light that open always stay very small, making it difficult to look through, and always pour radiantly bright, hot light. If you're feeling particularly self-punishing, you might be able to peek at an odd angle and see something of the world outside without being completely flashblinded. The world outside the Brig looks rather like the interior of a Dyson sphere. In the center, a great, bright, hot energy radiates out like a sun, and it reflects off the exterior globe the pocket dimension functions within, illuminating everything from every angle. The Brig floats around it in a slow orbit, as do many other similar looking box-rooms made of similar material, connected by constantly moving tubes and chutes. Some boxes have more chutes going toward them than others. No chutes connect to the Brig, unless someone is about to disappear into the floor...

Getting this view will be difficult, but not impossible; it will just take characters willing to blind themselves with an overabundance of light multiple times until they get the correct angle, allowing them to see outside for roughly a half second before the room shifts to redirect the light back into their eyes.

not so solitary confinement

Occasionally, the cube will split into smaller segments, throwing characters together with others at random in close confinement. This is unpredictable and fast, splitting you off from the whole for what feels like hours at a time, often with only one companion as the cube shifts and squirms around you.

technical malfunction

The power nullification is still in full effect. No magic or special abilities rule this place. Your only master are the walls, undulating with no discernible pattern, always moving.

The Regency has also attempted to break the BCE's translation capabilities, but due to the fact that COST-jailbroken BCEs work on a different system than Regency ones, this is an intermittent problem that occurs sporadically. (ie, have the translation capabilities blink in and out at your discretion.)

THE OTHER PLACE

And then, suddenly, the floor drops out from underneath you. The shifting walls make a hole perfectly your shape and size, and sucks you through. The hole closes neatly, immediately, and you slide along in a world of boxes pressing close to your skin as you are moved from one holding area to another.

When you emerge, you do so in total darkness. Power nullification is still in effect, but even if you can naturally see in the dark, it doesn't matter. All you can see is an endless blackness, and walking doesn't help. You can keep walking for however long; there is nothing to walk to. The floor is perfectly level, but you'll never reach a wall.

Finally, there's light in the distance. A spotlight from nowhere shines down on a person with the head of a jackal. Looking closer, you'll find it's some kind of highly technical mask. They are wearing armor that obscures their exact shape-- no skin shows, no hint of identity or personality, just the cold eyes of the mask. They turn to you, and speak in a voice clear and soothing, almost gentle.

"I am Kebechet. I have been looking forward to speaking with you."

NAV NETWORK LOGS OOC MEMES PLURK

Comments

Noctis | FFXV

[fessus]

I. Rations

Noctis isn't sure himself how long it's been, now. Hours? Days? It's hard to keep track when his consciousness drifts for indistinguishable amounts of time, always dragged back into the moment by something jabbing into his side or a light piercing his eyes.

One of the only things that does break up the monotony? Any of the packages of food that shower down on top of them, and Noctis leans forward quick to grab the nearest one before turning to the person next to him.

"This one's... I think it's yours." Now to hope the BCEs are working well enough that he'll be understood.

II. Light

"Fuck--" The curse is tinged with his own frustration with himself and the sentiment behind it is a universal one as he drags himself abruptly away from one of the many holes offering them a view outside.

His hand is slapped over his eyes, at first, shielding them before he rubs at each individually in an attempt to ease the pain that staring too long at the overwhelming brightness outside had caused. He was sure he was close that time, too. Damn it.

"I... almost got a good angle; I think I saw something that time."

III. Separated

Noctis had actually been close to a rare moment of restfulness when it had happened. The floor beneath him had shifted and the walls had shrunk inward suddenly, causing him to scramble up into an upright position with palms flat against a moving ground. What space they'd had has now been decimated and he feels an immediate stab of worry for those they can't still see, trapped now with one other unfortunate prisoner.

"Hey!" he shouts at the wall, as if that'll somehow help or be heard. "Damn it... are you okay?" A quick shift of attention to the person with him, now.

iii

[lonelywar]

(ooc: we talked about this so im goin with it)

One of the few things he had learned about surviving in this prison was being successful in using your own body to block out the light, so that you could sleep. Ashitaka wasn't really sleeping when the transfer occurred; he had his back against one of the slowly-shifting walls, forehead resting on drawn-up knees, mostly conscious but in a form of half-rest.

And then the surroundings shift more than normal, angles warping and changing, inclines and declines appearing spontaneously in a way that in a single moment seals him off from the rest of the group in a way that was absolutely perfect. He can neither see nor hear any sign of them.

He does see and hear Noctis, however, as he shouts at the wall. But there's... something a little odd about it. For the most part he understands him—he's asking if he's alright, he's fairly certain—but most of it was through context and tone of voice. The words he was saying were odd. They sounded like something Ashitaka should be able to understand, but some of the verbage was off, inflections strange and bizarrely-paced.

After a short moment in which his expression is dominated by a puzzled look, he gives a slow nod. "Yes. You are unhurt as well?"

He speaks slowly, but let's just say to Noctis' ears, this will sound very antiquated. "One of those books you really hated your literature teacher for making you read" old, or perhaps a little worse.

yessss

[fessus]

There's no response from the rest of their compatriots. That part is anticipated, inasmuch as the changing circumstances aren't. Sure, he's accepted that all he can do here is try to expect the unexpected but what the hell kind of game is this? Are they really resorting to this just to rile them up and make them more uneasy?

"I'm--" Wait, what? It takes him a moment to consciously decipher what kind of dialect it is that he's hearing, actually recognizing fragments and piecing them together.

"Yeah... I'm okay."

[lonelywar]

This place makes even less sense to him than the place they had been kidnapped from, and that was saying quite a bit. He'd tried to catch a glimpse of the outside through the shifting gaps that opened between the bricks, though it was far too strange for him to make heads or tails of. They were well and truly out of their element, completely at the whims of their Regency captors.

Which meant occasionally being thrown into these smaller containment units, apparently. Ashitaka tries to take up as little room as he can, sitting cross-legged against one corner.

Noctis seems just as puzzled by his words as he had been a moment prior. Great. What was this, then?

What he says is easy enough to understand, so this time he simply nods. He turns his attention to the wall next to him, turning a bit and pressing a hand up against it. Pushing. Nothing. He sighs, shaking his head. He isn't sure what he expected, perhaps that this was different, that they could shove their way back. It is not the case.

"I suppose we must wait. There is little else we can do."

[fessus]

He adjusts his sitting position to better accommodate Ashitaka as well, one leg tucked beneath himself as he slots his shoulder in against the wall. It's uncomfortable but that's the least of their worries right now, becoming accustomed almost overnight to brutal conditions thanks to the war and right now a restful, easy experience would be the true outlier.

Noctis looks over at Ashitaka, mimicking the way he feels out the wall... but with the added force of a single blow, cursing under his breath when it does little more than make his own hand sore. Fuck.

"Yeah." After a longer pause devoted to ferreting out Ashitaka's meaning. "The way you talk... sorry, it's really old-fashioned. Old-fashioned." The words are repeated, slower, in what might come across as a patronizing if well-intentioned effort to be understood.

[lonelywar]

There experiences here and back in Gallipoli were night and day, so much so that he'd found it difficult to adjust from one terrible scenario to the next. Where before they had been dealing with filth, disease, constant threat of gunfire, and the constant sound of explosions and the cries of men, here there was none of that. No sound. No scene. Nothing. It was a torment of a very different nature, one where they were kept trapped not only with one another but with their minds, kept suspended and suspenseful as what might end up happening to them.

In a way being forced into such an uncomfortable situation as this was a break from the monotony, even if it was a very vexing one.

He watches Noctis slam his hand into the wall. No response, of course. Not that he'd really expected one.

He rests his head as best he can against the wall behind him, squinting as Noctis spoke, trying to pick out what he was sure of understanding and which pieces were either too quick or too vague to give him much meaning. He doesn't give any indication he was offended by Noctis being a little slower with them; if anything, it helped a bit.

"Old..."

Oh. Some clarity comes to his eyes. He knew that he was from the past of many others' worlds, a time many hundreds of years before they were even born. The way in which he spoke, then, was perhaps an antiquated manner of the same language. He hadn't thought Noctis was from the same place, though. How strange.

He taps at his collarbone, where the BCE was embedded in his skin. "They must be interfering with this." He speaks slowly as well, trying to use words as basic as he can while maintaining his meaning. "It changes our words so we can understand one another, yes?"

[fessus]

The monotony of war, of gunshots that he'd slowly become worryingly desensitized to and of bodies that he'd learned to step over without examining their faces, is still one that he finds preferable to this. This... nothingness. This waiting around while knowing their friends are still fighting and they can't do a goddamn thing about it. If he could just contact them and reassure them that he's okay, it'd be something.

Noctis's head knocks back against the wall as he looks over at Ashitaka, brow furrowed. It's clear he didn't get all of that but the gestures help. He points to his own BCE then, in return.

"Yeah. Broken, I think. When were you--" Hm, how to ask this. He tugs at his sleeve, revealing the tiny hole where a single sleeping dart had punctured him, then points to Ashitaka.

"When were you taken?"

iii

[garbagepilot]

"Fine," is her answer, but it comes out more of a grumble than anything else. She's landed hard against the back wall of whatever tiny chamber they're locked into now, wind knocked out of her, but after a few seconds she's able to catch her breath and-

Well. Not push herself way from the wall. There isn't enough room to do that and not end up pressed right up against Noctis, so she just leans her head back against the lumpy wall and lets out an annoyed sigh.

"You'd think they'd get tired of this eventually and talk to us at least."

[fessus]

"Wishful thinking..." he mutters back, still clutching the remains of his last food pack. Eating has been another struggle altogether since even arriving in the midst of this war and maybe that's what contributes to the twisting of his stomach at every particularly unfun surprise like this one, feeling more tired than ever as he slumps back.

At least he'd gotten drugged for the kidnapping and got a solid nap that way. That's literally been the highlight.

"At least we can still understand each other. I don't know what the hell's up with the BCEs."

[garbagepilot]

"I've seen the writing that's on the packages you take," she says, because it might seem like a small thing but now seems like the time to address it. "It's nothing like the alphabet in my world."

Which might be saying a lot if the language in her world was English, but it looks just as incomprehensible as what she's seen on Noctis' rations.

[fessus]

"Ah... really?" That's an unexpected shift in topic but he works to get himself as comfortable as he can given their circumstances. Damn it... He hates this, he hates this place and how ineffectual he feels here.

"We use more than one. I guess this is the one I see written out more often." It's the standard Roman alphabet in which his name is written, one he indicates with a short gesture.

[garbagepilot]

It's easier, while they have no other outlets, no immediately clear way to escape, to just talk about something mundane. No reason to dwell when that's only going to make them feel more helpless, more trapped.

On Jakku she found ways to pass the time when she was so isolated and this is no different.

"There are hundreds of different languages where I'm from because the people come from hundreds of different worlds," she says, almost at random just for something easy to talk about, glad to have the freedom to talk about their real lives now that they aren't worried about being overheard. "I was talking to someone here about teaching him some of them and now I think it might be a good idea to set up some sort of classes, just in case this happens again, with these implants."

With them picking and choosing when to translate, it can make things a little difficult.

[fessus]

"Oh yeah?" Funny. He'd talked to Hei about something similar, about actually learning how to speak his language and interpret characters the same way that he does. It'd sounded difficult at the time and still does, but in a crazy moment he makes a promise to himself that when he gets out he'll happily devote his time to it.

"Just means we'd have to figure out which language people should try to commonly know. Getting people to agree on that? In COST? I'm gonna' leave that one up to you." The fact that he's able and willing to make a joke right now is a good sign at least. Right?

3!

[dorzalta]

Much like any other moment of the room shifting, as if with a mind of its own, the abrupt happenings of walls erecting themselves where there had been none comes again. More oft than not, she's been spared the isolation, however, luck is not on her side in this moment. She stumbles over uneven footing, and then it seems as if the ground itself erupts around her...

...leaving her in an enclosed space, bumping into another body as she fumbles for steady feet again. Irriella is quick to jump free from Dany's coat, skittering up the wall and closer to Dany's companion, who happens to be--

"Lady Mother," her spider clicks, "I am so hungry... May I feast on this one? Please?"

[fessus]

The collision isn't hard but it's enough to take him aback, barely getting his question out before there's another voice speaking over him. Not the voice of any of his kidnapped companions, either, by his own reckoning... no, this voice sends a shiver up his spine.

"You-- whoa, what the hell?" There's an immediate scramble forward though it isn't as if he can go far, eyes narrowing at that beast. Great.

"Back off. I'm not for eating."

we should make the BCE go on the fritz randomly 8D

[dorzalta]

Colliding with a body is never graceful. She grips Noctis' arm to steady herself, and then she's slipping between him and the Day-One. It's a tight fit; she spares the brush of their bodies--otherwise an inappropriate thing--much mind as she addresses the spiderling. Who has grown very much since the start of this mission.

"We do not eat our allies."

"But--that is to say, Lady Mother..."

"No." She reaches for the spider. "Back inside, before they think to steal you."

Once Irriella skitters inside her coat, she turns to face Noctis. "She won't. Ignore her, she will not harm any of you."

ABSOLUTELY, this will be amazing

[fessus]

He makes no secret of the way he's staring after that creature, seemingly unsurprised by its appearance but definitely critical of its existence in the first place.

"If she tries then I'm gonna' defend myself, but I'm not gonna' start anything. Listen--" He does his best to flatten against the uneven wall, to make more room for her and hopefully avoid another embarrassing brush. There are more important things at stake than his own awkwardness and modesty.

"How did you even get her in here? Did she get brought along with you?"

holy shit wording in that last tag was horrendous

[dorzalta]

"If she tries, I'll hold you at no fault." Once Irriella--much larger than she'd been compared to the start of Gallipoli--settles inside her coat, Dany shifts. Tries to make space in as small a space this is. "Don't kill her."

Blue eyes rove over their smaller room, searching for any sign that they may be watched. There were always those watching, but how was it accomplished? How safe were they, truly?

"She was on me, hidden. We'd practiced ways for her to move throughout camp and not be detected. Kebechet paid her no mind, either."

She doesn't touch people. By the nature of being a queen, distance is important just as much as earning trust and faith. But with Noctis... her look is one of concern. They'd all been separated, some weeded from the rest. She hadn't realized, exactly, where individuals went until it was her turn.

"Are you alright?"

all i see is beauty

[fessus]

"I'm not planning to kill anything that I don't have to..." Those words are muttered under his breath in response to her first request -- though the way she words them makes them come across far more as orders. Maybe it's just her way of carrying herself, or her bearing.

"Yeah..." His gaze turns a little distant now as he remembers the circumstances surrounding his own capture, entirely unaware that when he next speaks it'll be in a language unfamiliar to her. The consonants are no harder than English, a language all too similar if not for a healthy blending of Latin.

"I got taken just after-- or, I dunno, what I think was just after the end of my group's mission. I was teamed up with Hei, fighting some stragglers and trying to clear a path for the others that were on their way back."

ii

[bloodings]

He's not the only one interested in the holes even if Achilles isn't here. Mordred's tried looking, too, more out of boredom than anything else — and gave up just as quickly as she started. So when Noctis pulls back, she scoffs.

"You'll blind yourself, idiot." If he hasn't already. "There's nothing out there. Nothing useful, anyway."

[fessus]

Those eyes are watering when his hands lower, frowning at her.

"We don't know what's useful and what isn't, yet. Could be... to one of us, or later. Why, did you see out there already?"

[bloodings]

"Yeah. And I saw a whole lot of light," she says dryly. But it's an honest answer. There wasn't even a hint of more, but then, she hadn't looked very hard.

"If you actually saw something else, tell me." He's right that it could come in handy later. "I'll help look."

[fessus]

"Don't call me an idiot then if you haven't seen it all." Even he realizes that in-fighting is just going to be a serious waste of time, however, pulling himself back with a quiet sigh of resignation.

"... I saw the outline of something. Just something rounded, like a downward-facing curve. Not sure what else."

[bloodings]

"I'll call you whatever I want, chicken-feeder guy."

What was that about infighting? Mordred looks through the nearest hole that opens, swears, then pulls back, rubbing at her eyes.

"Okay. Maybe there is something there." 'Something' isn't just her being vague; she has no idea what she's looking at, even without the searing brightness. "But whatever it is, it's too damn bright. They should tone it down a bit." Yeah, okay.

[fessus]

"Can we just stop with the insults for a minute? We need to help each other out."

He even reaches out his hand when she appears to be in pain, stopping just short of actually touching her. "Yeah, yeah, they should, but I don't think they're about to. We have to deal with this on our own; I don't think they're gonna' cut us any slack."