Beam me up

[thespaceopera]

[The weekly Shuffle doesn't happen quite as it should. No new passengers appear on the ships, and no message is sent in from the hosts. The usual day comes and goes without a stir.

And then, on the second day, another one of those surges of static comes in over the speakers, breaking apart for a voice in the background. It's Diamond, and she sounds too far away from the receiver. She also doesn't sound quite like herself-- her tone flat and cold. Disappointed.]

--I know. I can't. [A pause of empty air, before a short, decisive sigh.] ...Yes. Bring them in.

[A blip of lost time passes right after those words, before every passenger mysteriously wakes alone in their own unfamiliar room. They have never seen this room before, but those familiar with the Hospitality Deck of the Marsiva might recognize the style of decor. It sounds and smells the same as the host ship as well--clean and chrome--but this set of rooms have never been ventured into before.

Welcome back to the Marsiva, dear passengers.]

ooc info:
Happy belated birthday, Drift Fleet! This is the first official mingle for the Season Finale event. As always, this is very backtag friendly-- including the Hosts section below. Take a look at the event information, then jump in and enjoy!

Event information → Here!

Comments

audio;

[geonomy]

Should weeee try to find each other?

[He hasn't... quite found the door yet. But FOR YOU HE WILL.]

audio;

[save_the_souls]

[Braving a door for him. Now that's romantic.]

Uh....yeah! That'd be good.

[It can't be too hard right. It looks like there's names on the doors Allen can't get too lost...]

Let me just find my crew first?

audio;

[geonomy]

[He will vanquish it JUST FOR YOU. Speaking of vanquish, though...]

Yeah, I need to find mine too. And, uh, figure this place out?

[Still a bit weirded out over here tbh BUT HE'S FINE.]

audio;

[save_the_souls]

Right.

Then I'll come find you as soon as I check on everyone, okay? [And then you know, casually hang around until he's pretty sure nothing is going to jump out and murder them all at any moment]

audio;

[geonomy]

Okay.

[There's a whoosh as the door opens, and he feels like he should say something else before he signs off... you know, just in case or whatever.]

Be careful?

audio; > Action FOREVER

[save_the_souls]

Yeah, you too. I'll see you soon.

[And with that, he signs off]

[About an hour later, he's managed to track down each of his crewmates. Luckily, they all seemed to be alright. And he even manages to find Clay's room pretty easily with this place being one hallway and there's names on the door]

[Except you know, he kinda forgot the one little problem that if Clay is also out looking for his crew, he would not be in his room. Oops.]

[And so since he doesn't want to be rude and rush Clay in his search, he'll just...sit by his door anxiously and wait. And try to ignore how cold it is by occasionally rubbing his arms because some idiot was still in his pajamas because he didn't bother to change before heading out. Nice going Allen Walker]

[geonomy]

[Thankfully, Allen won't have to wait too long. Clay's crew isn't very big, so he's heading up the hall pretty soon. His goal is Allen's room, but if he's already there...

Which, well... it looks like he is. Now comes the agonizing part; the looooooonnnnng walk from where he saw his boyfriend to where he is now. Maybe it won't take as long if he quickens his pace and calls out.]

Allen!

[And... guess who did get dressed? This guy!]

[save_the_souls]

[Yeah well he had places to escape, people to find!! He didn't have time for dressing- or you know, enough observation skills to notice there were clothes in his room]

[But he immediately perks up when he hears Clay call out and jumps to his feet. Now that's a sight for sore eyes]

Hey!

[He'll move to meet him at a quick pace, since yeah, absurdly long hallway is absurd]

[geonomy]

[Walking, walking, walking...

...

Jogging instead holy shit. Whose idea was it to put everyone in one hallway?

Well, whatever. He slows down to a walk again when he's close enough so that they don't collide with each other, then reaches out and pulls him into a relieved embrace when he's close enough. There you are, you.]

Finally... hey.

[save_the_souls]

[Just think of the poor person at the far end of the hall when they need to use the bathroom. That's a new kind of hell]

[But when they finally meet up, he'll return that embrace with a tight hug. He knew from talking to him earlier that Clay was alright, but having him near? It was a relief, he could just feel the tightness gnawing at his stomach start to ease up.]

Ha- that was quite a jog!

Your crew alright?

[geonomy]

[It's probably a good thing that Zessica was sent back home then, jeez.

He smiles from that, one hand moving to rest on the back of Allen's neck and - gosh, but Allen's cold. He'll have to do something about that once they've moved back... which he's a bit reluctant to do right now. All of his own worries are starting to fade as well, and he honestly just feels kind of... safe here, cheesy as it sounds.]

Yeah... just confused for the most part. Yours?

[save_the_souls]

[Yeah, Allen's in no rush to break up the hug. It feels safe, comforting and oh yeah- Clay's warm. Stealing his boyfriend's body heat seems like a perfect plan to him right now]

Confused and worried, but all accounted for.

I just wish we knew why we're here.

[geonomy]

You and me both.

[He uses Allen's shoulder to tip his visor back (of course it came with him, he'd be so much more frazzled if it didn't), then leans back, but only just enough to touch their foreheads together, still keeping his arms where they are. ]

Are you okay?

[save_the_souls]

[He hesitates. There was always something poignant in the way that Clay asked that question. One that makes it feel like the "I'm fine" line he gives most people would be lying if he didn't fully mean it.]

[How was he? He...hadn't taken the chance to think about it much. Wouldn't let himself think about it. The moment he had woken up in that cage of a room, he'd been acting on his first instinct to move. It's why he hadn't noticed the items in his room, hadn't bothered to change his clothes. He had focused solely on getting out of that room and finding everyone. But now that that part's over with...]

I'm alright, but...I don't like it here. [It reminded him too much of places he'd rather forget] I'd rather be on our ships. And it's cold and I think I'm hungry.

[Allen. You're always hungry. But he'll pull his head away so he can look at Clay properly]

What about you? Are you okay?

[geonomy]

Yeah, I'm fine... I just don't like it here either. It reminds me of hospitals. [And he... doesn't like hospitals, and it probably shows in the uncomfortable frown he gives, our maybe that's because of what he says next.] Kind of worried about everyone else. I mean, here we are, all gathered in one spot, and we don't know why yet... Being back on our ships sounds really good by now.

[And you know what, much as he'd like to stay cuddled up, he's going to go ahead and pull back enough to shrug off his jacket, then set it around Allen's shoulders. It's okay, he's got a long-sleeved shirt on underneath. Someone actually took the time to look around and found clothes much better suited for the environment.] Here, take this.

[save_the_souls]

Ergh...you're right. I hadn't thought of that but I can see it. [He gives a little empathetic shudder. Yeah, he's picking up those signals- and he can't blame him, for whatever reason he had. A hospital was no one's favorite place to be really.] Everyone from the castle has been pointing out the similarities to that...I'm trying to hope they're wrong about that.

[And that it's all just an unfortunate coincidence. Come on Atroma, don't let them down and murder them]

[And oh, he wasn't expecting Clay to offer up his jacket. It is warm, not to mention pretty big on Allen since he's much skinnier] Eh? You sure?

[geonomy]

[His frown deepens as he nods on agreement to that. He doesn't know much about Paradisa, but from what all he has heard... Yeah. He hopes they're wrong about that, too.

The next part, however, gets him to smile as he runs his hands down Allen's arms in an effort to warm him up further.]

Yeah, I'm sure. You look like you need it more than I do right now.

[save_the_souls]

[ Okay that actually manages to get a genuine smile out of him - probably the first he's had since waking up. He wraps the coat around him tightly ]

Thank you. You're really sweet.

[geonomy]

[Aaaand that gets him to pause as he feels a blush come across his cheeks, then give a sheepish giggle, a hand coming up to run through his hair. It pretty much just flops back into place as his hand passes through it.]

Haha, nah... I mean, you were getting goosebumps, so...

[save_the_souls]

Well it is cold! It's like they're trying to save money on the heating.

[But still, it was sweet! He steps over and gives Clay a kiss on the cheek, to show how much he appreciates it]

Have you seen what else is in this place? I've only seen the rooms in this hallway.