EMPTY CHAIRS AT EMPTY TABLES

[onemind]

CHARACTERS: All
WHERE: Concordia - VEN DIAGRAMS HQ + BOUT IT OUT PARLOR + BEARINGS APARTMENT BLOCK
WHEN: Late Day :022 + Early Day :023
SUMMARY: The results of all your hard work - for better or worse. One win, one draw, one loss. Anakin Skywalker bites the big one.
WARNINGS: Violence, non-graphic character death.

IT’S BEEN A LONG DAY. Unfortunately, that’s not about to change any time soon. In the late hours of the evening, two things are happening: the final round of the Bout It Out expose between Kun-Kun and The Darkling is spooling up; meanwhile, the infiltration team at Ven Diagrams is working to retrieve information on H+H1 from the company’s security drive. Unfortunately, neither is going to reach the natural conclusion.

At the REGAL STREET GAMING PARLOR, emotions are running high. After a long day of simulation violence and the reveal of Kun-Kun’s new automaton fighting avatar, the crowd has been stoked to a few pitch. The music’s loud but the crowd is louder: cheering and booing, shouting for every landed or evaded strike. There’s an electric pulse of excitement in the air-- and then there’s a very literal one as an electromagnetic pulse rocks the Regal Street Parlor. The Bout It Out ring shorts and the entire parlor is pitched into total, window-less darkness. It doesn’t take more than a few seconds for the crowd’s excitement to melt into panic. Pushing, shoving, shouting - a piercing shriek as one of Kun-Kun’s representatives is stabbed. The nearby hosts (Lexa, Sam Alexander, and anyone in their faux attachment) should be able to help Kun-Kun and his reps to safety, but the crush of the crowd tangles up everyone else. When a rudimentary bomb goes off in the center of the parlor, it catches plenty of people in the crossfire.

There’s a white hot flash. A pulse of heat. A sizzle of agony. It’s a pain that guts, that persists long after the flash of the bomb and extends all the way to the infiltration team at Ven Diagrams. It’s like a limb badly severed. Anakin Skywalker is killed by the blast and every host knows it before they’re aware of anything else.

Unluckily for the infiltration team, they won’t have much time to recover. News of the bombing hits Extraspace in a matter of seconds, which triggers Ven Diagrams - paranoid from the recent attack on their own properties - to lock down their headquarters. All systems are tightened and security clamps down before the infiltration team can access the private servers. If you’re somewhere you’re not supposed to be, now’s the time to get the hell out of dodge.

Retreat, regroup. Upon returning to the Bearings apartment block, the hosts will find that two of their previously comatose friends have woken up: Hux and Aoba Seragaki will probably need to be briefed on the current situation.

     I. THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENS
In the Regal Street Gaming Parlor, a pulse flashes. Electronics sizzle. A fight reaching rhythm is shattered and darkness consumes the parlor in its entirety. There’s something like a collective inhale - and then the panic sets in. Screaming. Pushing. Elbows in the dark and a wave of bodies forcing their way toward wherever they think the exit is. Parlors like this one are supposed to be shielded from this kind of problem, but today that doesn’t matter. In just a few short moments of panic, a bomb - basic compared to the one that blew out the Ven Diagram warehouse only days ago - goes off.

There’s a buzz. An electrical hiss. In the wake of the explosion - in the wake of the agony of Anakin’s death -, the parlor’s fire systems go off flooding the upper and lower levels, the spectator balconies with flame retardant powder and coolant. The emergency lighting kicks on, throwing the carnage into stark fluorescent light. The probable intended victim has escaped, along with his entourage, but there are plenty of wounded - groans and weeping permeate the chemical stale air. In addition to Anakin, three people have been killed and two androids have been rendered into scrap by the explosion. Countless others could use help; maybe even a few other hosts have been wounded by the blast.

     II. MEANWHILE...
If you’re part of the infiltration team, you’ve officially overstayed your welcome. Security tightens to a chokehold; if you’re somewhere you shouldn’t be, it’s time to leave. An alarm blares through the development laboratories. The building is evacuated and then sealed throughout. The powerlifts cease operation. All networked systems go offline.

     III. FROM THE JAWS OF DEFEAT
Back at the parlor, the evacuation continues. The parlor is half-collapsed, there are injured to tend to and local authorities to deal with. In a matter of minutes, the the parlor is swarmed by public security and medical personnel. If you’re able bodied, you’re welcome to assist with rescue efforts - or try to find a lead on who could’ve been responsible for this. Some evidence, some sign - anything to make this worth it. During this time those with Kun Adetokunbo will have the chance to make their case.

It’s a long, protracted clean up and triage; it’s absolutely possible that some of the infiltration team members might make it to the site of the explosion to assist or care for their friends. 

     IV. WE TEND OUR WOUNDED, WE COUNT OUR DEAD
In the early hours of the morning on Day 023, the hosts limp back to Bearings. Maybe it should be achingly quiet, but it’s not - there’s a murmur of activity in the mental air as Hux and Aoba muddle out of their way from out of their comas. From here, it’s up to to the hosts to recover, to discuss how they want to proceed, and come up with a way to recover from this setback - and from Anakin’s death.

---

((OOC NOTES: Here it is, your wrapup log for the event! You may have noticed that the Hosts didn’t succeed at the Ven Diagrams infiltration. We thought this was a better way than asking everyone to handwave a huge amount of plot or simply having the NPCs get the evidence. Don’t worry though - there will be other mysteries to unravel soon. Very soon, in fact.

There will be an NPC top-level for the escape with Kun-Kun, but otherwise you’re free to make your own top levels! If you have any questions please feel free to ask them in the event OOC post.

Thanks everyone!))

NAVIGATION • SETTING • FAQ • MOD CONTACT • GLOSSARY

( CODE BY WHAMBAM )

Comments

[headinjuries]

[ Sam doesn't - light up, exactly, but there's definitely a little more perk in the way he looks up when he hears kitchen. ]

Sure, sounds good.

[ He's not quite sure when the last time he ate was, which probably means it's time to do something about that. ]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ Score. Sam's not gonna say it out loud, but there’s a definite hint of contentment that Sam'd taken him up on it.

He'd do something potentially dumb like setting a hand on the kid's shoulder before they started walking, but he's not sure if Sam had actually meant he'd just gotten scratches or if he was just being tough. And he doesn't need his symbiote ability kicking in without him wanting it to.

So instead he just nods and starts toward the kitchen. ]

You in the mood for anything in particular?

[headinjuries]

Most of the stuff I really want, I don't think is happening here. Like, have you found a good hot sauce since we got here? Because I've been looking and everything I find sucks.

[ Sam has very strong opinions about hot sauce. ]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ He can't help but chuckle, shaking his head. ]

I'm not touching any condiments here, man, none of them taste right. I'm lucky I managed to find a couple of spices that aren't too bad, and you don't even wanna know how much trial and error that took. I'm sticking to simple, least I can manage a pretty good tomato or garlic and butter sauce.

[headinjuries]

I would seriously punch somebody in the face for a good breakfast burrito. Maybe like. Five people.

[ Depending on who they were. He'd punch some of the guys from school many, many times, even. ]

Whatever you can make that's pretty close to normal would be cool?

[sizeofyourbaggage]

'Willing to punch people for decent food,' I'll remember that.

[ He's teasing, shooting the kid a little grin, but also honestly, Sam doesn't blame him. MREs have gotten better in recent years, but Sam still remembers days back in the air force when he'd have punched someone for a good steak. ]

Tomato sauce is probably your best bet there, so - spaghetti or pizza?

[headinjuries]

[ Sam immediately brightens a little, because...stuff he loves but doesn't really know how to make?

Aw yeah. ]

Pizza. Definitely pizza.

[sizeofyourbaggage]

Pizza it is. Here, you can be on cheese grating duty.

[ He passes over a grater and a block of cheese while he gets to work on mixing up the dough. For a little bit he's quiet, just pleased that he got Sam to brighten up a little, but he can't help but take the opportunity to bring it back to their previous conversation. ]

What's your dad like?

[headinjuries]

[ He stops mid-grate for a moment, because...oh, boy. That'd be a heavy question even without all of the space clone drama.

Sam hates lying, though. He's been doing more of it than he can keep track of since he started living a double life and it's exhausting and he's sick of not being able to be open about anything. (And given how he's started getting weird feelings when other people lie, now, he's not particularly eager to see if the same happens when he does it himself.) ]

He's a drunk who never finished high school and if I didn't keep covering for him, there's no way he'd still have a job.

[ Bluntness: only one of Sam's many talents. You'd almost wonder why Sam wants him back, when he puts it that way, except - ]

...but even if he really sucks at parenting, he loves us. Like, enough to give up being able to fly to the other end of the galaxy whenever he felt like it loves us.

[ He finally stops just staring at the cheese and gets to work on it again as he continues. ]

I always thought he made up all the space stuff because he couldn't handle being a loser or something, but I was wrong. And I was resenting him for like ever because I thought he was full of it, and I didn't know it until he was gone and I can't even tell him that I -

[ The more he talks, the more he works himself up - talking louder and faster, grating the cheese a little more violently, until he cuts off with a yelp and drops what he's doing to stick his finger in his mouth.

Smooth move, Sam. ]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ Sam'd started out mixing the dough as he listens, throwing flour down on the counter and focusing on that to give the kid his space. But the more riled up Sam gets talking about his dad, the more his attention leaves the dough, until he's pretty much just watching Sam.

There's a little wince when Sam cuts himself on the grater, a soft, sympathetic hiss. He reaches out without thinking about it, setting a hand on the kid's shoulder. It’s what he would have done before, only now it has the added benefit of healing the kid up - even if Sam had forgotten about that until he feels the dull sting of a new injury transferring from the kid to himself.

But he ignores it, giving Sam's shoulder a gentle squeeze. ]

I appreciate you sharing with me, Sam. But hey, man, if I ask something you don't want to talk about, you don't gotta answer. I'm not gonna push if you tell me to back off.

[headinjuries]

Thanks. I mean, it's cool, though, I...I guess I haven't really unloaded in a while.

[ Probably an understatement. He hasn't done much talking about anything since the Watcher died; there just hasn't been anyone else he feels okay dumping everything on.

Getting it out in the air, though...it feels better than he thought it would.

He glances down to his hand, and blinks. Wasn't he bleeding? ]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

Yeah, I know how that feels. But it helps sometimes, you know? You ever need to, any time, I'm a pretty good listener.

[ And usually it comes without any cheese grater accidents. He catches Sam looking down at his hand, and makes a little face as he pulls his hand from the kid's shoulder. ]

That, uh, that was me. Courtesy of the symbiote, apparently, haven't figured out how to stop it from happening yet.

[headinjuries]

[ Well, he feels a little bad about passing along his moment of klutziness, but it is a welcome change of subject from Reasons Life Sucks, Volume 14. ]

What happens on your end?

[ There has to be a downside, otherwise why figure out how to stop it? ]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ All right, all right, Sam'll go with the subject change. He did promise not to push, and he'll keep that.

For now.

Instead he holds up his hand, wiggling his fingers a little to show a replica of the cut that'd been on Sam's hand a minute ago, though his isn't bleeding. ]

Least they heal up a little faster than anything I just get by myself.

[headinjuries]

Whoa. Uh, sorry to share.

[ At least he just cut his hand instead of breaking his leg or something. ]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

Nah, it's cool. Like I said, I haven't figured out how to make it stop yet. I figure I could use all the practice I can get.

[ He eyes the mess of cheese. ]

How about we clean this up and this time I promise not to ask you any of the serious stuff until all of the sharp things are away?

[headinjuries]

Deal.

[ Sam reaches straight for the nearest dishrag. He's no stranger to cleaning up domestic messes. ]