NationStates Jolt Archive

(ooc: so I have no internet access home and my life is quite... how to phrase it... weird these days. I have been off for far too long to even bother checking the numerous threads... so I came up with another weird Underaloz RP idea... Dunno where it'll go tho. The idea is to figure out what happened in RPs my main character, Vaughn, was involved into. So it should go with a mixture of current events and flashbacks... Notice the title says 'Invite' but I'm sure you know who you are)

It felt like a cold silence. For a second or two, she wasn't sure if she was real or not but she was slowly getting back to consciousness.
She began to move her hands and a soft matter seemed to pour out of them. She could sense her brain activating itself as if it needed to learn back how it was to feel. Like blood in her veins, electricity was pumping through her nerves, seeking for a host. Seeking for a meaning.
Then she opened her eyes.
Everything was blue except for a foggy figure slowly balancing before her. At first, she thought of clouds but as her eyes were moving around, she distinguished darker parts. Fumes.
After countless minutes, she turned her arms around and, with great difficulty, sat. Her hands were now fully immerged into snow.
The landscape was a white under blue desert, relief was sparse. The whole place seemed stretched, as pure as a child asleep. A dead child given the temperature. Everything was static except from this thin column of smoke, dancing from the back of a subtle hill.
She closed her eyes back but her inside was as linear and empty as the outside. She did her best at gathering thoughts or even images that could help her take a step into reality.
But memories were eluding her.

*Tag*

*salute* As you were... :D

(ooc: good to be here again :) )

OOC: No doubt, I thought Rave was going to pull all her hair out pining for Vaughn ;)

Hmmmm.. check your TG for that idea..

(OK, this is a little background for Underaloz about one of my characters he'd RPed with quite a few times, and it's to get the ball rolling...)


Williams Residence, 3;15 a.m.
Outskirts of Ianapalis

Jeff rolled over as he heard two little voices crying in the next room. He looked at the clock, "3:15? damn, that's a few hours early for them," he muttered.

"Well, it's your turn to rock them," his wife Katherine grinned. "Besides, I'm pregnant again and that's my excuse for not having to get up and rock them."

"Gee, bum deal," he smiled at her as he threw on a t-shirt and running shorts.

He walked through the doorway into the twins bedroom. He picked up Marcus and Julie and walked out into the hall and downstairs to the sitting room before gently lowering themselves into a chair.

"I'm gonna tell you two a story. About your Uncle Michael," he said. "You two haven't met him yet, but I'm sure he's been really busy and when he hears about you two he'll come visiting you. It all started in that room," he nodded toward the kitchen. "When Uncle Michael showed up to warn your Dad about a group of Vampires that were after him.. that reminds me I still need to talk to James about the security around here..."

*rocking the children for a couple hours...*

"... Three shadows showed up at the house for daddy, but Uncle Michael saved the day..." Julie gasped and clapped her little hands together.

"... And there we were in the Honeycomb, Uncle James' favorite room, faced off with two vampires..."

"... A kilometer-long dragon was after Uncle Michael, and I promised not to let it kill him..." Marcus gave Jeff a baby's version of "Are you serious??"

".. Then we were in some place called the 'Dark Path' after stabbing the dragon with Excalibur..."

".. And he and this beautiful woman were at mommy and daddy's wedding. And I haven't seen him since..."

Jeff looked out the window as the sun started to peek over the horizon.

Damn, I wonder how he's doing...

"So do I," a voice echoed from a corner of the room.

(ooc: haha, reminds me of something ;) )

"So do I," a voice echoed from a corner of the room.

(ooc: haha, reminds me of something ;) )

(OOC: :lol: no kidding, but things will be happier, unless you brought a vampire pack with ya.. ;) )

IC: Jeff looked around the room, "That voice sounds familiar..." he grinned.

Tag* No explanation needed :-) And TG...and to edit this one more time so as not to take away from this thread...Are you to Rp what Vaughn is doing currently? Or is is all past events.

But to Jeff's surprise, the face wasn't the one he had expected. The man was dressed in a grey cloak, his eyes were like dark holes plunging into oblivion. He never had seen such a pure black. The man's skin was pale and his face had a deep and worried expression.

"I'm looking for him, but I have no clue where he is. Thought you could help, but it doesn't seem so."

OOC: Was Vaughn the guy who came to Iuthia to pick up that space woman? I’ve been trying to remember during a RP with Rave…

Jeff stood a moment and nodded to the man.

"No, I haven't seen him since the wedding," Jeff said as he remembered that day. "He was.. kinda melancholy. He was there with this beautiful woman. She had to leave and he.. wanted to go after her. You could tell there was something between them, even if they didn't know it."

He gestured to a chair in the room, "Sit if you have a moment. What do you know of what happened to him?"

OOC: Was Vaughn the guy who came to Iuthia to pick up that space woman? I’ve been trying to remember during a RP with Rave…
(ooc: no, he wasn't. But your officials may have paid Vaughn a visit since he rules Underaloz)

"Not much," the man replied while walking to the chair. "Everything is like wrapped into... shadows." The man had a sarcastic smile. For a second, he looked sad. "I've been trailing for a month now. It's quite strange. It's as if he popped up here and there."

The man sat down, staring at the floor.

"So the trail lead me here. But it isn't fresh, that I can tell."

"Hmmmm, Shadows. How appropriate." Jeff thought a moment with a smile, "Yeah, it's been a while. He first showed up here probably a couple years ago, it was before we were married, in fact he showed up a lot like you did tonight.

"He did strike me as the type to jump in and out of places quickly." Jeff added. "Let's see, he was elected CEO/President of Underaloz. We fought those... whatever the hell they were on that island when I was back out at sea... He was here with that woman. for the wedding.. what was her name..."

Jeff stood and put the twins in a dual rocker and turned it on for them.

"...Raith... no.. Rave! That's her name." Jeff said as he turned back around. "Get you something to drink?"

bookmark so I can make sure myself time to time that you are really posting here and it was not a dream.

The man's eyebrows bent.

"Seaheaho... what is that? Some kind of title?" He looked in direction of the twins. His eyes seemed to come back to life a little. "Nice children you have there," he added with a very Vaughnish smile.

He stood up.

"Rave you say. Yes, I've heard of this name before. Shentavo." He looked deeply at Jeff. "I wouldn't like to abuse your hospitality. It's already quite rude of me to have entered your house without your blessing."

"Thanks," Jeff smiled happily at the mention of the twins. "Hard to believe there's another on the way."

"Yeah, CEO, it's a... title of leadership of a business.

"Shentavo... yeah, I think that was her last name," Jeff nodded. "And don't worry about abusing my hospitality. A friend of Michael's is welcome in my house, just as long as they don't bring a bunch of vampires with them." he smiled. "But I understand if you have to get back out there and try to find Michael. I've been worried about him."

"Yes, I have to find him. But..."

The man sat back as if he had be knocked out by an invisible hand.

"But I don't know what his reaction will be. I know he's far from seeing me as his friend. Would you happen to have any information about his sister? I went to were she was sleeping but apparently she woke up."

He shook his head negatively.

"Yes, I think I could definitly use some alcohol."

"Sister?" Jeff asked, jaw dropping. "I didn't know he had one."

Jeff picked up a bottle of whiskey and poured the man a glass, "Here ya go. Michael seemed to like this brand when he was here." he said handing the man the glass and setting the bottle next to him.

"Where she was sleeping? Her house?"

The man took a sip into the glass.

"No, Zac... Michael had hidden his sister into a safe place. If she woke up, that surely means he's in danger... or dead."

He looked again in the direction of the twins.

"They are twins too you know. You should have seen them sleeping side by side when they were new-born..."

All in a sudden, something seemed to break inside the man. He put his hand on his face and finished his glass in a single move.

Jeff watched the man finish the drink in one motion. "Are you OK?" he asked.

"Michael's in danger?" he asked. "What... who are? How did you know what Michael and his sister looked like new-born?"

The man got back to his senses. He stood up and bent at Jeff.

"I've already taken too much of your time... I think I'd better leave you with your children. It's a great gift of life, children, and no man should be kept away from his duties as a father."

He began to walk to the corner of the room.

"Nearly none," he added in a breath.

Jeff sensed he couldn't stop the man.

"Well, if you see Michael, tell him to stop by for a while. We miss him."

The man stopped and turned back at Jeff.

"You are his friend. I knew that even before we talked. My son never had a lot of friends, so you shouldn't worry: if he's alive, he'll come back to see you."

Jeff smiled at the man, "Yeah, he's close to my heart too. If you need anything, help, a place to rest, you know where I am."

"Maybe you could tell me where to find this Rave Shentavo."

"Damn, you've got me there. I think I remember reading something on the international newswire about a trial.. or inquisition. I can't remember where it was though. That was the last I'd heard of her name. I'll check around for ya."

"Inquisition? Does that thing still exist?" Desaprobation passed on his face. "Mankind will never learn it seems. Do you know a little more about this... trial?"

"Let me see, hang on a second," Jeff said sitting down at the computer in the room and punching up the report.

[code:1:632c70bc71]
Query = R. Shentavo
Query = Trial[/code:1:632c70bc71]

And the following report came out

http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=82955&highlight=

Edit: And I'm off to bed. G'Night! Welcome back!

"Is there any way to get there?"

(ooc: if I read correctly, Rave is in trouble)

"Is there any way to get there?"

(ooc: if I read correctly, Rave is in trouble)

OOC: You guys should be more careful when dealing with IC knowledge like that... becuase WV doesn't like it when people spontaniously find out about something which hasn't been found out. Hell, he has a fake IC entry for his nations Stat File...

This nation is really concious about who knows about it, they have some of the best security imaginable (this includes against dopplegangers, they now have defence against that becuase of some IC thing with Dark Elves) and they haven't declared they are holding Rave on trial.

The Only thing known to the world right now is that Rave has been kidnapped and that an appeal was made for information. Now a press release has been made by the Iuthian government that we reacon it was Whispering Voice who did it... but that is all... we don't even know if Rave is alive and Qui can't get incontact with her through telepathic means... Rave is preparing to go nuts on that nation by the sounds of things... but thats OOC.

Just by reading his threads you will notice he is a pretty damn good RPer and he knows what he is doing... however, a single man invasion against his nation will always fail, becuase it's impractical and stupid.

OOC:

ok, took note of that. But my character is not a man and given who he is working for, and despite the fact he's on vacation, I'd say it's a 50/50 ;)

OOC: Lark...I noticed you left out the part about the friggen company of colonial marines showing up....not a platoon...not a unit...a company

OOC: Ok then, the facts you should take into account.

1. No comment has ever been made IC stating that Rave is on trial in Whispering Voices. This means we don't know if there is even a trial going on and more importantly, we don't know where.

2. We now know that Whispering Voices is repsonable... however we don't know if he still has them or if they are even alive.

3. Whispering Voices's nations location may not be known to us... I was given a name from someone who knows it was his technology, but has always assumed that he IC knows where Whispering Voices is on the map.

4. Whispering Voice's nation has defence against the supernatural that even I would never concider. His nations background stops people teleporting into his nation... well, actually you can do it but you would die from the presence eating ghosts his nation is plagued with. They like magic and they like to eat powerful characters... the more magic you use the more of them come. They have safe areas which are concecrated but are protected heavily by faith and so on. All this one is OOC knowledge as well, so we don't know this, but I think Rave had someone called Fox die when they went after them into the nation.

5. They beat Rave... personally that would make me cautious of sending any small team into that nation. this is why I'm going down the diplomatic route with a 1.45 billion population nation behind me.

OOC:

Iuthia, don't worry. All what my character wants atm is to see Rave and talk to her about Vaughn. And he's foolish enough to go to the place she is and ask her guardians for an interview. As to his powers, they are not his.

OOC: Yeah, there's not much to the trial listed, more than anything it was a way to get Underaloz on to the next step of his RP, and wasn't helped by the fact that I was exhausted.

WV said you should have a good reason to show up in the thread (which is why I wasn't there of course), but there's no reason to think that there's not a way to find out something about it. You said it yourself, you said you reckoned she was in WV, all that's happened here was a passing on of available rumor...

(OOC: back on topic. Assuming the info is: "WV kidnapped Rave")

The man looked deeply at Jeff.

"I need to talk to this vam... woman. Do you know where the nation that has kidnapped her is located?"

------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile

She got up. Looking down at her own body, she saw she was entirely naked. Then the shock occured. No breast.

Am I a...?

But she heard a voice that stopped her thought right in the middle.

"Sarah?!? Sarah?!? Where are you? Sarah?!?"

*BUMP FOR LARK*

The man looked deeply at Jeff.

"I need to talk to this vam... woman. Do you know where the nation that has kidnapped her is located?"

"I don't know. You might want to check the source of the rumors (OOC: Iuthia). They might know something more. It's just a rumor, but the intel community has a saying, 'A rumor's just a premature fact.'," Jeff said.

"It's not like I have any credential," the man said.

He looked up as if he was waiting for something... an answer? a sign? Jeff could have sweared he heard a soft noise coming from the man.

The stranger's eyes were now normal. He took off his cloak. He was dressed with a suit a lot like those Vaughn used to wear. He checked his pocket and got a wallet out. He took a id card in it and showed it to Jeff.

"Do you think that would do?"

This was an official WP Corporation ID card, the equivalent of an ambassador credential in Underaloz, the name written on it was Jeremy... Vaughn.

Jeff looked at the card and grinned a little, "Yeah, I think that would work, at least you'll have diplomatic status. Maybe their intelligence agencies would have a little more information for you. Whether they'll share it or not would be another question."

"Good. I'll try to contact them." He looked at Jeff. "I really think I've taken too much of your time... I'd better go now and find some way to contact Iuthia's authorities."

He seemed to hesitate a little but ended up nodding negatively while looking in direction of the twins.

"No... no... Father time," he murmurred to himself with a strange smile. "Anyway," he said louder to Jeff. "It's been a pleasure to meet you. And, again, I apologize for my intrusion."

OOC:

Gotta fly... so will Jeff come and help Vaughn's father? Suspense, suspense ;)

OOC: Hmmmm.... like you have to ask? gotta work out how to send Kate and the twins to Dun Adien..

(always wanted to meet your father. :lol: Keep the suspense up....it's great. This was my little bump.)

(OOC: all right, waiting for Jeff's anwer... ;) )

She turned around to see a man running in her direction. The smile on his face disapeared all in a sudden. He stopped. The grainy snow his footsteps had made fly around were slowly getting back down, blurring his shape.
Silence. She felt cold. She was unsure if this was really due to the fact she was naked or to the look of the man. He was in his mid 50s, his expression was hidden behind a large beard, but his eyes were frozen by a feeling she had immediatly recognized: stupefaction.

"Sarah..." he muttered to himself. "What happened to you my child?"

Jeff looked at Michael's father, then back to the twins, then back to Vaughn.

"You know you can't go in there alone. Larkinia doesn't have diplomatic ties to Iuthia, and for all I know they'll arrest us going in there. But maybe, if we're sweet and nice, we can ask them if they know WTF is going on," Jeff said as he picked up the twins. "Hang on a minute."

Jeff walked back to the bedroom. Katherine was up and sitting on the bed.

"I don't like that look," she says watching Jeff as he walks in with the twins.

"Sweetheart, it's Michael's father, he's here. Michael's missing, or hurt, or dead or something..."

"Dear, he was already dead," Katherine interrupted him with a smile. "I know, you've gotta go after him."

"Yeah, I owe it to him."

"I know you do," Katherine said with a sigh. "We'll be all right here, with the beefed-up security we should be fine."

Katherine stood up and kissed Jeff slowly, "Come back soon."

"I will," he replied.

((OOC: sorry to interupt, but would Jeff like his Father to go with him ?))

(Yeah, I think Jeff would like him to ;) but I'm only 50% of the equation, Underaloz, would you mind?)

The man didn't move.

Zacharian would kill me from bringing probably his only friend with me, he thought. If only I had other options.

He walked in circle in the room, waiting for Jeff to get back.

And I don't have that much time. Where are you my son? Where are you? Are you alive at least?

A deep feeling of despair was flooding his mind. His son taking the duty of a father on his shoulders, hating him for this.

If only I could have let him know. If only I was dead actually.
- These thoughts won't help, another voice said in the privacy of his own soul.
- How much time do I have?
- Take your time, you deserve it. You have served me well, cursed one, and I'm not one to turn my back on my people.

For the first time in weeks, he smiled.

(OOC: SURE! get in Celeborne :) )

(Thanks I will jump in tonight, I gotta get right now. Thanks again !!)

(Then...)

As Jeff walked out of the room, Katherine sat down on the bed with the twins and rocked them. Damnit Jeff, our kids need a father there for them too... she sighed.

Jeff turned in time to see himself face to face with Dr. Niven...

(take it Cele)

"You would appear to be in something of a rush" Niven said looking into Jeff's eyes. "What is so terribly important ?" He walks over to Kate and tickles the twins.

Jeff smiled as Niven tickled the twins.

"Dad, you remember Michael. From the wedding right? His father is downstairs, paid a visit today. Something's happened to Michael. He needs help.

"I owe Michael my life, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him. I know you and he had... some sort of 'heated discussion' at the wedding, but I've gotta help him."

Niven stops playing with the babies and walks over with a very serious face to Jeff " You are my son. Your debts are my debts. I will have my personal guard watch Kate and the children and we will go and assist your friend. My little..."He bites the word "prejudices, have no role in this matter, I am here to help you. We can take my aerodyne, or whatever convance is most appropriate. Let me get my bag."

Meanwhile

The man got closer to her, slowly. He was staring at her, muttering incomprehensible words, even to himself. Then, as fast and unexpected as his stupor was extreme, he took off his coat and wrapped her into it, waving his hands onto her, warming her cold body.

"I was... Where were you?" he asked with difficulty. "You mother and I have been looking for you for hours. Why did you leave the house?"

She couldn't answer. She touched the man, to see if he was real.

So, he is my father?

She began to feel scared. The man before her, she didn't know. Then she realized, like a shot in the dark, that she didn't know who she was.

( I am out for a bit, Lark you have the good doctor.)

Jeff nods, "Thanks Dad" he whispers. "I know this is tough."

He walked into the closet and opened a safe. Jeff reached in and pulled out a Glock 10 mm handgun and a few extra clips. He set the gun in his hand and in his artificial eye the targeting scope and readouts jumped to life. He looked around, quickly checking the settings before putting the pistol in the shoulder holster and quickly dressing in a black pinstriped suit.

He picked up his briefcase and kissed Katherine and the twins again, "We'll be back soon. I promise."

"You'd better be, you have to get James' wedding ready."

Edit: I'm out too, need some sleep before class today. Underaloz, you've got the crew, try not to kill them all off :P (just kidding)

(ooc: heh, I'll wait for you guys ;) )

OOC:

All right, I'd need a new RPer around here for the country where the girl in the snow is. Here's the story:

Mr. and Ms. <insertrelevantnamehere>'s daughter, Sarah, has disapeared while her parents were gone for fishing. 3 hours later, Mr. <irnh> found his daughter half a mile away from the house. The 9 year old girl was naked but in good shape. However, she seems to suffer from amnesia and, what's even more puzzling, her eyes are purely crimson (no pupil, no white part in the eyes).

So if you have a nation with a cold snowy region and, preferable, natives living there and if you love CO-RP, jump in. Play the parents, authorities and all that jazz :)

"Sarah!"

Jahn Ingel tramps desperately through the snow, a club in one hand and a torch in the other - dusk was gathering quickly, moving fast in the pale days of winter. He breathes harshly, a result of a mild bronchial condition he was recieving treatment for.

I knew we shouldn't have gone for this fishing trip....

Every step a litany of fear mingled with worry, he trudges on, calling her name. Almost half a mile he'd come, the hope in his heart fading with the winter light. His wife had pleaded with him to fetch some of their neighbours in the isolated fishing hamlet high in the mountains, but he'd been to blinded with paternal worry.

"Sarah!"

A break in the monotony of monochrome catches his eye, the pink of young skin.

He runs.

"Sarah!"

Soon he's next to her, rushing forward to gather his beloved in his arms, to swaddle her in the coat he had the presence of mind to bring.

"Sarah, Sarah, what happened to you?"

[ooc: ok?]

(ooc: heh, very nice post)

The little girl didn't speak at first. She touched the man's face. It was as if she was controlling he was real. Her touch was cold. She surely had passed quite some time outside, naked.

As she looked up at him, Jahn saw her eyes had turned all crimson.

"I... I don't know..." she answered with a strangely calm but broken voice.

Out of depth and out of place, he stares at her eyes, in pure unbridled shock.

"By the Wem, Sarah... My darling, my Sarah, what has happened?"

He looks to the darkening sky, beeseching an answer - of course, there is none.

His gaze returns to his daughter, reason returning to him. Quickly, he wraps her in the coat, gently pulling her favorite bobble-hat on her head. Cradling her in his arms he stands, beginning to walk quickly.

"Sarah... can you see me?"

Who the Hell is this man? She asked to herself as Jahn put the hat on her head. My father? Why don't I feel like I'm a kid?

She looked right into his eyes.

What to say? Why shouldn't I see him?

"I see you... dad," she replied with a confused tone.

He blanches as he breaks into a run.

Something.... is not right. Her voice, her tone....

"Thank the Wem for that.... Just hang on, Sarah, we'll be out of this cold soon.... and then I have to get you to a doctor."

She staid silent for a couple of minutes. Being carried was comfortable. Somehow she could feel how warm the man's feelings were. These, more than the coat, were slowly driving her away from the cold. It was strange. The cold. She was naked but didn't seem to bother about the temperature.

She looked around her. She couldn't have looked more lost.

Should I ask? How will this man react?

"Where... where are we?" she finally asked.

That's when Jahn saw it. His little girl was speaking but no vapor went from out of her mouth. And she was still so cold.

What.... what?

Amnesia. It must be, it must....

"Near a cabin we borrowed for our fishing trip, remember, Sarah?" He gazes at her with a worried look in his eyes.

The penny dropped. His eyes widened - there was no steam, no vapor of the warmth of life against the cold of winter.

"I must.... I must get you to a doctor. Yes... not long now. We're almost there."

In the distance the lights of the cabin are visible, the faint silhouette of his wife evident.

Sarah had followed the man's sight to her mouth. She instinctly put her hand on her lips.

Why is he so scared?

She turned her head a little and spotted a woman, a subtle figure in the snowy atmosphere.

Please, make me remember, she prayed silently.

She looked in the direction of the woman, hoping that, once she would see her face, everything would become clear. But, somehow, she was convinced it wouldn't.

Heartened by the sight of the cabin, his pace quickens, a flurry of dirtied snow kicked up behind him.

Faster. The dark shapes of trees flit past, the branches above them seeming to whip across the evening sky.

"Marie!"

She senses the urgency in his voice, the fear and apprehension carried accross the snowy landscape. She runs forward, anxious to see her daughter.

As the woman's face was slowly taking form, Sarah's hopes were slowly fading away.

I don't know her, she realised with a firm but sad certitude.

She closed her eyes, stunned by the situation. But only darkness were to be found inside of her soul. Void. The sound of the wind, the frenetic footsteps of the man carrying her, the voice of the woman, her mother.

A tear formed into her left eye as a proof of her complete despair.

[ooc: Blurgh, need sleep. I'll post tomorrow.]

[ooc: Blurgh, need sleep. I'll post tomorrow.]
(ooc: all right, cya. Sleep well ;) )

(Just poking my head in to say welcome back to Underaloz (we've missed you, man ;)), happy five thousand posts to Lark, ask Celeborne if Dr. Niven has applied for Iansislean citizenship yet, and say tag.)

(ooc: hey Iansisle, nice to see you :) )

He sees the tear, holding her tighter, closer.

Who.... what could have done this to her?

With an urgent tramping of snow his wife appears beside him, fearful anxiety written on her face.

"Jahn! Is.... is she okay?"

As they run back to the house he looks to her with a haunted look in his eyes.

"I..... I don't know."

"Jahn, what do you mean?"

"We.... we have to get her to a doctor."

Sarah hadn't opened her eyes since she saw the mother she couldn't recognize. She had felt the change from a cold and windy environment to a warm and closed area. She let Jahn put her onto a chair. She heard these people talking like people do when confronted to incomprehensible situations.

How could I know about that if I am just a little girl?

Finally, she opened her eyes with great care, hoping that no one was looking at her.

What is wrong with me that makes this Jahn so anxious?

Jahn paces incessantly in the cosy cabin, having had a few minutes to calm down and regain rational control of his mental faculties. Still worried and nervous, he takes time to think on the matter.

Point. She doesn't seem to be in any real danger now.... but cold.... hypothermia?

Point. I think.... I think she's lost her memory - all of it, or at least as much of it that it makes no real difference.

Point...

At the other side of the room Marie Ingel tenderly pulls a few more items of clothing onto Sarah, her sense of pragmatism kicking in. Nudity might be legal and all, but that wasn't particularly smart in this weather. As much as possible she looks at her daughter as if nothing has happened to her, to try and put her at ease. Standing up to stretch her back, she turns to Jahn, who's taken a break from pacing to put on his own jacket.

"Jahn..... Dr. Insuv should still be in, right?"

He nods.

"As I've gathered from my uncle's stories about this place. We've got to go soon. Come on, Sarah." He walks over to her, gently grasping her hand.

Sarah smiled at Marie.

I know how you feel, she thought. And I admire the way you try not to let it show.

She looked at the furnitures, the books, the dishes. The cabin was nothing more than a tiny room with a table, 4 chairs, a large bed and a little couch with everything to have a kid sleeping onto it. The walls were made of wood and a single coal fed radiator near her was providing enough heat for the entire place.

I like this place. I like these people.

But somehow, she began to feel out of place.

When Jahn took her hand, she followed him without a word, like some kind of ghost. Her hand was still as cold as it was when she was outside.

Marie, in turn, smiles warmly at her daughter. With the door of the cabin locked securely behind them, Marie takes Sarah's other hand, recreating a tableaux captured again and again in their photo albums. To a casual observer, they seem nothing more than a family enjoying a brief holiday trip.

Soon, with the aid of their rental vehicle, they reach the residence and office of Dr. Insuv, the local general practitioner. To their relief, the light in the window is on.

It'll all be alright...

The thoughts of both parents, comforted by the authority exuded by the idea of the doctor...

...won't it?

This time, Marie gathers Sarah in her arms, carrying her. Almost by instinct Jahn puts his arm around his wife, and together they walk towards the dwelling.

The door opens, abruptly, silhouetting a lithe, sprightly figure of a middle-aged woman.

"Jahn, Marie, Sarah.... what brings you here now?"

Sarah looked up at the woman. Her crimson eyes seemed to get lighter for a second. She opened her mouth but no word came out.

What could I tell her anyway?

They walk forward, closer into the light.

One glance was all that was neccesary. The look of the doctor's face changes subtly, the positions of her striking, vaguely African features changing slightly.

She'd been the doctor of the community for a long time now, and had seen plenty of strange things - things that people with a narrative mindset would say were not meant to be known by man. Her experiences had taught her, among other things, to be nearly unflappable and calm under the strangest circumstances.

"Come right in. I'll have a closer look."

She steps aside, pushing the door wider. The family, quite relieved at her assertiveness, enters mutely.

Once inside, they sit around a modest coffee table in spartan looking yet comfortable couches. Dr. Insuv sits accross from them. Jahn speaks first.

"Doctor, we're really sorry to have disturbed you at this hour-"

Insuv waves her hand dismissively. "No need to be sorry. This is what I do.'

Jahn clears his throat, and continues. "Well.... Marie and I.... we're lost here. Out of our depth. I found Sarah half a mile from the cabin, naked and unconscious.... cold....and her eyes-" He stifles a tear "- well. You know."

The doctor nods.

"Sarah. What can you tell me?"

[ooc: Computer being an absolute pain, I've decided to get some sleep before I smash my computer in a fit of rage and throw it out the window.

Sorry 'bout that. Timezones, eh?]

The little girl seemed uncomfortable.

"I... I don't know," she answered. "I... I don't remember."

Her voice was calm, mature. She looked at her parents, at the doctor.

"What is wrong with me? What is wrong with my eyes?"

(ooc: yep, timezones... and I'll have to go for at least half an hour in a few minutes :/ )

The doctor smiles placatingly.

"Try to relax, Sarah. There's nothing to be afraid of or to worry about."

Insuv turns to Sarah's parents.

"Now, if you don't mind I'd like to run a few routine tests on Sarah. You can stay and watch in the exam room, if you like."

Sarah's parents nod silently, getting up from the couch. Jahn runs his fingers through Sarah's hair as Marie slips Sarah's hand into her own.

"C'mon, honey."

Sarah nodded her head negatively.

"Why aren't you answering me? What's going on? You're all looking at me as if I was about to die."

Here eyes were wet. She walked a little and put her hand onto the nearest wall. She felt dizzy.

"I... I..."

She fainted. Her body fell.

"Sarah!"

Jahn grabs Sarah as she falls and faints, the fear even more evident on his face now. Marie stoops quickly before Sarah, anxiously peering at her daughter's face. After a split second, she turns to Dr. Insuv, who looks, as ever, deeply concerned.

"Mr. and Mrs. Ingel, please. Follow me. And quickly."

They practically run to the examination room, where the doctor begins to run tests on Sarah....

[ooc: Basic stuff you'd get at a GP - temperature, pulse, blood pressure, pupil dilation, whatever's relevant.]

The girl was dead. No pulse, no blood pressure. Nothing. The strangest result was surely the body temperature: 22°C.

Same as the room? the doctor thought.

Then Sarah opened her eyes. This was a shock. The readings hadn't changed at all. Was the little girl staring at the doctor? Difficult to say given her eyes were entirely crimson, with no pupil to be found.

Insuv recoils in momentary shock.

"Oh! I'm sorry, you startled me, Sarah...."

She frowns, looking pensive.

How do I tell this to them? To Sarah?

She hunkers down in front of Sarah, looking her straight in the eye. Adult, professional.

"Sarah, I'm going to be frank with you. Something very strange has happened and I don't know what. Your eyes are completely red, but apart from that, I see a perfectly healthy little girl bursting with potential."

She smiles sadly, as if reminiscing.

"But my readings are not consistent with that. I think the best thing right now is to get you to a hospital, where they'll have better people and equipment to help you. What do you think, Sarah?"

Sarah trembled at the thought of an hopital. Something inside of her was craving to run away. Fast. She looked at Jahn and Marie. She looked back at Insuv.

"What will they do to me? What's wrong? You said..."

She stopped right in the middle.

"You said my eyes are entirely red? I... but... A mirror. Do you have a mirror?"

Insuv nods mutely, handing a small mirror to Sarah. It's slightly smudged, but still perfectly serviceable.

"I'm afraid so, Sarah. They'll help you at the hospital. Find out what happened to you and make it better. It's nothing scary, just a lot of doctors who know more than I do." She smiles wanly.

Sarah stared at her own reflection.

Who am I? What am I?

Slowly, she gave the mirror back at Insuv. She looked deeply at the doctor, as if she was inspecting her very soul.

"Are you sur they do know more than you do?" The little girl asked with a strangely mature voice.

Insuv pauses momentarily before she answers, disquieted by the soul-searing gaze. Then she nods, smiling maternally. She tends to smile when being self-deprecatingly honest.

"Oh, yes. I just trained to handle the little things, jack of all trades. Or should I say Jill? Heh. Well, the doctors in the hospital, they all train for something in particular. Some of them could fill bookshelves about people's knees! Or some of them could tell you everything there is to know about how hair grows. They'll be the ones who'll know how to handle things."

Sarah seemed to ponder Insuv's answer. She gave a gaze at her parents, looking for an advice, looking for help.

"I... I dunno..." she whispered.

She put her hands on her eyes. But was it not to see or not to have them seen?

Seeing her placating gaze, her parents go to her, silently holding her for a moment as Jahn looks beseechingly at Insuv. Finally, Marie speaks, stroking Sarah's hair as she does so.

She's cold.... so cold....

"I think it's for the best, honey. And that's what we want for you."

Sarah stood still. Wrapped into her parents warm attitude.

"If... I... All right then. Let's try," she murmured finally.

Insuv nods.

"Alright. I'll just have to make a few calls."

She walks over to her desk, dialling rapidly on the touchpad of the telephone. After several minutes of muted conversation, she hangs up, looking optimistically at the family.

"That was my old friend from medical school. I told him about your situation, and he's so damned curious about it he's sending a helicopter right over. It'll get him into trouble, but he never was one to bother about that."

Sarah pictured a devil of a doctor, charging with a war helicopter and a sadistic smile.

"I'm scared," she said to Marie.

Marie squeezes her hand, hoping to transmit a little warmth, a little hope and fortitude.

"There's nothing to be afraid of, hun. Everything will be alright."

Will it?

[ooc:And.... out for the night again.]

(ooc: heh, night :) )

(Sorry I haven't been on more guys, I've got a nasty little virus running through my system and it's sapped me pretty good.)

(Sorry I haven't been on more guys, I've got a nasty little virus running through my system and it's sapped me pretty good.)
(ooc: don't worry... we have a nice plot going on... waiting for you to recover ;) )

Sarah couldn't stand it any longer. She was tired. Exhausted. She fell asleep beside her mother.

(ooc: Anhierarch, I'll let you advance the plot to the hospital. Very good RP so long :) )

It had been a long flight.

When the helicopter had arrived just a quick walk from the clinic, startling many of the neighbours, they'd walked solemnly into it, to be greeted by a middleaged man with a certain infectious energy about him. And as the chopper lifted off, Dr. Insuv bade it a fond farewell, waving.

For several hours they waited in the helicopter, alternately sleeping or staring blankly out the windows at the featureless blackness, punctuated with the occasional snowflakes. After several failed attempts at conversation, the doctor appears contemplative as well, all the passengers of the helicopter taking advantage of the soothing lull of the trip, of the vaguest hope that it would go forever and they'd never have to worry again.

It ends, as all things do. They arrive in the largest hospital of the city of Ferne under a violet sky, and are hurriedly ushered into the heated confines of the building.

Dr. Relas, who'd introduced himself on the flight, smiled slightly.

"Welcome to the Kandor Memorial Hospital. The intern here will take you to my office, and I'll get you some coffee. It could be a long night."

When Dr. Relas shows up at the office carrying two steaming mugs of coffee, he's joined by another doctor, a rather younger woman, blonde haired with a serious mein.

"This is Dr. Alana, one of our resident hypnotherapists. Now, I think we should begin with a detailed summary of events. Mr. Ingel?"

Jahn obliges, holding the mug of coffee to himself. When he's done, Dr. Relas looks at Sarah with an open, questioning expression.

She hadn't talked during the whole flight. She had woke up when they were half way from Ferne. She had avoided Relas' sight, watching the landscape oscillating behind the helicopter.

But now, she couldn't avoid the confrontation. She smiled miserabily at the man. She couldn't stand hospitals. She didn't know why. It was as if... as if...

As if people hurt me before. Doctors.

This didn't make sense. But what was making sense now, in this very room, with her dead body alive and her plain red eyes?

"What do you want?" she asked with a subtly aggressive tone.

( :shock: There are hauntingly similarities to...something you want to tell me Underaloz? :P and another tag so I can keep this thread toward the top of my list)

Dr. Relas nods.

"Sarah, I'd like you to tell me everything you remember, everything that seems different or wrong, everything you think is out of the ordinary."

"All I can remember is my father taking me into his arms," Sarah said in a definitive tone. "Now, my parents took me to the doctor. It seems I'm not normal. But I don't understand anything."

She seemed to hesitate for a second or two. Then she turned at Jahn.

"And I can't remember my parents."

In fact, I don't think this man is my father. It doesn't feel... right.

She moved onto the chair, uncomfortable. She felt out of place.

Dr. Relas nods soberly, chin cupped in his hands.

Retroactive amnesia, all the way back to before initial parent-child bonding... retains learned information and knowledge of speech, speech patterns noticeably more.... mature, perhaps. Curious.

"Sarah, if you don't mind I'd like Dr. Alana to perform some hypnosis on you. No objections, Mr. and Mrs. Ingel?"

They both indicate their assent, nodding.

"Hypnosis..." Sarah muttered, confused.

She stared at Alana.

"Is it... dangerous?"

Alana smiles reassuringly. Though younger than Dr. Relas, age is alread beginning to show, giving her a warm, matronly aura, reinforced by the rather conservative styling of her hair and the sheer warmth of her smile.

"Of course not, Sarah. It's just a way of relaxing your mind. Sometimes the mind gets hurt, and it locks things away - Things that i might be able to find out. It's very calming."

Sarah, once again, pondered what was said. Her expression made her look older, much older, maybe even older than the other persons in the room.

"All right..." she said as to herlself. "Let's give it a try then."

[ooc: Whoops. Sorry bout the late reply.]

Alana smiles wanly.

"Alright, Sarah. Now, just sit back and relax... don't close your eyes, though. Right."

She holds up a small metallic rod. There's a light at one end, and it begins to pulse, almost like a human heartbeat.

"Focus on the light....."

[ooc: Sadly I know nothing of hypnosis so I just cooked up a bare bones version inspired by The Exorcist II. At this point Alana will just attempt to help Sarah access the subconscious to reveal memory and whatnot.]

(ooc: don't worry, I'm involved into so many RPs :? )

Sarah slowly drowned into another state of consciousness. Flashes... images... A world in black and white, a facility with scientists getting killed by her own hands, her parents (her parents?) tortured on a table by religious men in black robes... everything was mixed and confused as if several voices, several lives were passing before her eyes.
She talked about a lot of events, strange events, mysterious maybe even magical things and everytime, she was the one involved. Once man, once woman.
It didn't make sense. Sometimes it happened in the middle-age, sometimes in strange and futuristic settings. And her experiences seemed to be legions. As if she had lived thousands of lives.

Alana mutters to herself.

"Fascinating... past lives. And future lives?" In her other hand, a small audio recorder makes a steady, almost inaudible whirring sound. Everything Sarah says is being recorded, to be corroborated with experts in various time periods at a convenient date. To herself, she mused silently about the theories of her physicist friend at the University - about holographic reality, the nature of the passage of time. Theories so uncanny his peers had been deeply curious. Well, one of them had gone into catatonia after trying to solve one of the equations.

"Sarah... move forward. Closer to the surface - the past 12 hours. What do you see?"

With erratic movements of her whole body, Sarah talked with confusion and much louder than before. It seemed like two voices were taking control of her mouth, one after another.

"We... I am in the citadel. I... I hold myself. Shadow is all around me... us... me... like a... a wave. I cannot fly that fast. I push her... him... me... Azerzdat will... catches me... her... I can dive into them... I fall... I see myself falling... Oh! No! He's dead! No! I didn't come for nothing! No!!! I will love you, always. NO!!! HE CANNOT DIE!"

She stopped all in a sudden. Then with a third voice that sounded much more like herself:
"I am... I am... I am liquid. I am... I am a link. I am the production."

She opened her wet eyes.

"I am awaken," she whispered.

She nods soberly, covering up her surprise with an admirable lack of effort.

"Interesting..."

She turns to Dr. Relas and Sarah's parents.

"I'm going to run this data through the datanets, see if any of the experiences recounted matches with known historical fact. Oh, and I'll be looking up some old contacts in less... scientifically accredited fields. Those latest recollections have a definite... well, call it occult. Yes, a definite feeling."

She's silent for a moment.

"If this data comes up with nothing, it's likely that your daughter suffered some form of trauma, something completely incomprehensible to her - so she subconsciously re-interpreted it with various symbols and metaphors, and internalized it. The chaotic nature suggests that whatever it is, even locked away in the subconscious it's still not rationalized."

Her attention returns to Sarah, the pulsing light still in front of her eyes - now pulsing so slowly it's almost imperceptible. Slowly, it speeds up.

"Well, back to you, Dr. Relas. Just making sure she's out of it."

But Sarah had already sat, completly awaken, out of the transe. A tear runned onto her face as translucent and bright as her eyes were red and, somehow, dark.

She looked straight into Alana's eyes.

"What... what happened?"

Alana looks straight into Sarah's eyes, attempting to exert a calming influence.

"I helped you unlock a door inside you. What do you feel?"

Sarah's eyebrows bent as if she didn't understand.

"What do I... Nothing."

She looked at her parents, scared by their silence.

"What happened?"

Her mother nods at her.

"You were saying many things.... the things you don't remember. It's confusing to us too, but it's something."

A trace of a smile graces her lips. Progress seems to have been made.

Dr. Relas interrupts, coughing.

"Alright, we'll be heading down to the Diagnostics department for some standard physical tests. My colleague told me about the readings, and I'm quite interested in seeing them for myself."

Marie and Jahn stand, as if on cue.

Good god, 5pm, Willington thought. And I'm not out of here yet, I bet.

The technician took a sip in his now cold coffee.

"Erk."

I've been drinking in that thing for about four hours and I keep on forgetting I didn't put sugar.

He looked at the schedule. The morning, the page was blank which was good news. Now Relas had called and had reserved the Diagnostics department.

"And guess who's in charge today," Willington muttered for himself.

The red lamp before him began to pulsate.

At last.

He checked the screen and saw Relas with a bunch of people behind. The doctor was waving at the camera.

"I hate you," Willington whispered.

He pushed the button next to the lamp to open the door.

Dr. Relas leads the way, Dr. Alana having left to plug her data into her computer and try and make some sense of it. Scouring the internet with her own custom-designed search engine, trawling through the net for anything related to the recording.

Relas nods politely at the technician Willington, inhumanly sensitive towards the inner workings of the human body but more than a little blind to body language.

"Just this way.... ah. Well, let's get started."

[ooc: Relas is a inquisitive one. He'll be pulling all the tests available that aren't actually harmful.

Blood samples, ECGs, MRIs, the works.]

Next thing he'll ask me is to open the girl's chest!

Willington looked at the clock. He had been working for 3 hours straight now, running all the tests in the book... even more.

At first he had been puzzled by the girl's eyes but now, he had seen them so many times he somehow had grown found of them.

I guess she could launch a trend.

The results were so obviously wrong, Willington had thought something was wrong with the instruments. He couldn't help but to check the girl's pulse to be sure he hadn't been dreaming the whole time.
All of this was truly fascinating. He had lost notion of time.

Vick will kill me... oh well, I'll have some remains of burnt chicken when I get back home I guess... yeah, great.

He looked up Relas' shoulder, reading the latest results. All of this was pure mystery: no pulse, no heat, no cerebral activity they could spot, nothing but a strange mix of hemoglobin in her veins and her eyes! Her eyes were like from another specie: no pupil, in fact the whole eye was a pupil. The girl had an incredibly accute perception of her surrounding. Several times, Willington had had the feeling she had seen him behind her back.

This was really stunning. So was the girl's maturity. She was so patient, so intelligent and interested.

So lost too.

Willington suddenly realized Relas had turned at him.

"Err... what do you think doctor?" the technician asked, trying to get a proper composure.

---Post deleted by NationStates Moderators---

Hi.
Please, do not spam others' threads.

Relas frowns, deep in thought.

"Run some tests on those blood samples, please. This.... this is a medical impossibility. I want a look at that haemoglobin myself. But first, I have to make a call."

He strides over to the nearest phone, dialling hesitantly. It was a number he hadn't dialled in a long, long time.

Rin.... -click-

"Hello?"

"Harl, it's me. I swore I'd never do this, but it looks like I need your help on this case."

"Tell me more, dear brother."

"No pulse. No discernible brain activity. Room temperature. And she's walkin' and talkin'. Did I mention hypnosis got us past life experiences?"

"Interesting. I'll be right over. Don't wait up."

Relas sighs.

It was going to be a long day.

Past life experiences?!?

Willington didn't move for a second or two. Then he slowly put the blood sample on the table.

"I... I'll go get some coffee," he said. "I have the feeling we'll need it. Want some?"

Without waiting for Relas' answer, he turned at Sarah.

"Would you like something to drink?"

It suddenly had stroke him: the girl hadn't asked for food or drink. At 8pm, she had to be starving.

Relas mumbles distractedly.

"Yeah... some coffee would be nice, thanks. Mr and Mrs Ingel, would you like some?"

They nod, the circles under their eyes growing marginally more noticeable.

"What about you?" Willington asked Sarah with insistance.
"No thanks, I'm not thursty." the girl replied with her calm and melodious voice.

Jeez! There doesn't seem to be anything normal about her.

He walked to the door babbling unheardable words.

Around the same time, Relas' brother, Harl, walks up the concrete steps to the hospital's main entrance, a snatch of a tune on his lips and a spring in his step.

He was almost ten years older than Relas, and it showed. His hair was long, a little past shoulder length, wavy and grey. Along with the stubbly excuse for a beard he might be mistaken for an aging hippie, were it not for his eyes, and the manner of his speech - perfect, clipped diction.

His eyes had an unsettling tendency to focus with tremendous intensity, boring past the fronts, facades and illusions most people had around them. A rather icy shade of blue, they were augmented by a pair of spectacles, giving him the air of a discredited scholar.

Dressed in a large pleather greatcoat to ward off the cold he strides brazenly into the hospital lobby, where Relas had (many years ago) told him in no uncertain terms never to set foot in the hospital again.

Well, I'm back.

Absently, he meanders towards the diagnostics department.

Willington was coming back from the coffee machine.

I'd better be careful... that's definitly too many drinks to hand at once.

He was walking carefully, his eyes focussed onto the dark liquid. He didn't see Harl coming but he still managed to avoid him. Coffee poured onto his hand.

"Arg! It's hot!"

Harl looks genuinely concerned.

"You alright, mate? Need a hand?"

He extends an arm. An observant person would notice that despite the scruffy, grungy appearance of his sleeve and fingerless gloves, his fingernails are perfectly clean and well trimmed.

Willington stepped back and stared at Harl.

I know this face... where was it?

"You're in a restricted area. Who are you?"

He smiles affably.

"Harl Relas. Brother of Doctor Weyam Relas - he called me down here."

Harl Relas, of course...

Now that he had both the name and the face of the man, Willington remembered this article he had read, years ago, before he even was a technician in this very hospital.

What was it again?

"Err... sorry... doctor... Follow me."

He lead Harl to the room where his brother was waiting for him. He stopped in front of the door.

"If you could press this button so that your brother..." he indicated the camera with a movement of the head. "... knows he has to open the door."

He smiles again, this time a little more wistfully.

"Oh, I'm no doctor. Just a student of the world. Seems like you remember the... tiff my brother and I had, years ago."

He waves his hand dismissively as he stops in front of the door. Let bygones be bygones.

Walking up to the button he prods it firmly, looking at the camera.

"Come now, dear brother. The suspense is killing me."

Seconds later, the door swings open, Dr. Relas on the other side. Harl nods solemnly. Tension fills the air.

"Brother. The years are kind on you, I see."

Gravely, the doctor nods in turn.

"I've had a long time to think about things... maybe it's time we stopped treating each other like mortal enemies. Now, I'm not saying we should have a group hug right now and sing kumbaya, but... you know."

A brief, tight smile graces Harl's face.

"Of course... time heals all wounds, they say. Now. To business, perhaps?"

The doctor leads his brother to the waiting Sarah, tension still filling the air though appreciably less oppressive.

And Harl sees Sarah...

[ooc: Harl is somewhat empathic. With a little concentration he can see people's auras and such.]

Sarah's eyes plunged inside Harl's ones. He couldn't get his eyes out of them. He had the feeling the little girl was somehow exploring his mind. When he finally managed to look at her in a bigger picture, he saw a tiny aura around her. It was a kind of myst or vapor, oscillating from grey to dark red. Confusingly, he had the feeling she wasn't pure, as if at least two different essences were interweaving into her.

She smiled at him. He was sure she knew he could see.

Harl falters briefly, his knees going weak for an instant as his brother grabs his arm to steady him. An expression of deep trepidation crosses his face for an instant, to be replaced by grim resolve.

"What? What is it?"

Harl's eyes harden.

"It is.... impurity. There is more than one, one essence, one entity. It is a difficult thing to put into words."

Dr. Relas looks doubtful for a moment, then remembers his shared past with his brother. The things he'd seen, that he'd rather forget.

"Alright... what do you need to do?"

"We shall see."

He faces Sarah, stern yet benelovent, a patriarchal figure.

"Girl, please. Close your eyes... I must... examine."

Focussing his mind with greater intensity, he seeks to analyze the two different auras, to understand the precise nature of each of them - and to try and isolate one of them, to communicate.

Sarah closed her eyes. To Harl's surprise, plunging inside of her very soul proved to be very easy. Then things complicated.

At first, he heard two different voices. A man and a woman. He tried to focus on the woman but soon two female voices (or essences? it was difficult to tell) emerged. One was white and pure, the other was dark and perverted. A third voice also appeared, like a link between the two others. Something material.

Confused, Harl inspecting the male essence. This one was pretty hard to spot as if it was used to hinder itself. Past the male essence, he found another one much more powerful for which the first one seemed to be a kind of shield. But then, the essence subdivided into two: one female which was soft and pure and one male which was dark and rough.

It was as if there was a whole genealogy in this little girl. A family of souls.

Thinking for a moment, he strengthens his resolve, focussing his mind...

As the vein on his forehead begins to throb, he channels the energy of his mind into clear, distinct sounds, audible only on the level of the soul.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? I mean no harm."

All the voices answered together. A single and intricate word. It took him several minutes to have them talking one after another.

"Michael Vaughn," said a voice.
"Rave Shentavo," said three others.
"Zacharian," said the first voice.
"Enya," said the woman inside the first voice.
"Elchian," said the man inside the first voice.

But he could felt these were remains. As if energies had gathered from several sources to give the little girl's soul he was exploring.

He persists in his questioning. The names were alien to him, save for the Shentavo - he remembers hearing something about them in the news.

"How...... how did you come to be here?"

"Our love is eternal," two of the voices answered.

[ooc: I remember that during the second Shentavo Academy RP Rave Shentavo died or something... is this connected?]

His mind races, trying to make sense of the situation. It's tricky, considering the effort expended to establish communication with the entities.

Did they die, and elect to stay on in a psychically receptive host at the cost of the girl? And where is the soul of the girl herself?

"Tell me, please. What is happening to the girl, Sarah?"

[ooc: I remember that during the second Shentavo Academy RP Rave Shentavo died or something... is this connected?]
(ooc: definitly ;) )

"Why would you want to know?"

This was a new voice that seemed to come from all around the place. Harl felt a pressure on his temples as if something had grabbed his head and was pressuring.

"STOP THAT!!" Sarah shouted as she realized what was going on.

"Because I'm try-

He felt the crushing pressure on his skull, barely perceiving Sarah's scream in the conscious world.

He reels backward, a guttural exclaimation leaving his lips. Breathing deeply, sweat rolling down his forehead, he looks up at Sarah, looking into her eyes.

As if on cue, Marie rushes forward, protectively clutching Sarah while glaring at Harl.

"What did that man do to you, Sarah?"

Sarah didn't answer her mother. She was looking at Harl.

"Are... are you allright?" she asked him.

The pressure was gone but he had an incredible headache.

"What... what was that?" the little girl asked with a frightened tone.

The old man coughs, getting back onto his feet and mopping his brow. He looks at her not as an adult would gaze upon a child, but as an equal would regard an equal.

"I'll be fine. What did you see, hear, feel, anything? To sum it up I was communicating with the.... entities inhabiting your body, your subconscious. I don't know who they are, but I remember the names... I can check them..."

"I don't know. It was as if I was locked away from where you were. Then I saw a gigantic hand grabbing your head... and I heard this voice..."

She trembled.

Harl nods, running a hand through his grey hair.

"Yes, I felt that... please, describe this voice to me. It could be important."

"I don't know... It was a male I think... It seemed to come from everywhere. I felt so much power. Neutral too, at first I didn't think it meant to hurt... I don't know..."

She stared at Harl with a pleading look.

"Who am I? What am I?"

Sounds like some form of alpha personality, possibly the orchestrator of the other presences or the one who opened the way for the others to enter this girl...

He looks at her gravely.

"I'm not too sure yet, and I think there's only one way to find out. I must speak with this powerful one."

"Wh... what? But... no! It's dangerous? Are you out of your mind?"

Sarah pressured her mother's arm so badly Marie felt the blood stream blocked.

Harl looks at her, seemingly tired. Those familiar with him, however, would recognize his expression - the one that indicated he was remembering all the times he'd put his own safety and sanity on the line in the name of knowledge and duty.

"I understand. I have lived a long time, and I am no longer afraid of danger to me. But if it is dangerous to you I will not do it, unless you truly wish me to. I have always believed that there is more than one solution to every problem, but right now I cannot think of one."

Sarah seemed to be thinking intensely.

"You talked about names? Didn't you?"

Harl nods.

"Yes, I asked their names of them. Why?"

"Maybe it could lead us somewhere... I... I have a bad feeling about this voice."

Gravely, he replies.

"So do I. Would you like to know the names?"

She suddenly looked terrified.

"I... I'm not sure... What if..."

What if this brought back memories...

But the temptation was too strong.

"Yes. Yes I want to know them."

He purses his lips, pausing for a moment, and gives a barely perceptible nod.

"Very well. Michael Vaughn, Rave Shentavo, Zacharian, Enya and Elchian.... these names are alien to me."

Sarah thought for several seconds.

"They are alien to me too," she finally said, somehow reassured.

"Isn't Shentavo a country?" Willington asked.

Harl shrugs.

"I don't keep up with the news."

Dr. Relas, however, frowns thoughtfully for a moment.

"Yes...... yes, I think I may have heard of it. A long time ago, in passing."

Scuttling off for a moment, he rummages through his suitcase, producing a small palmtop. With practiced ease, he punches the names into a search engine...

As soon as he submitted the query, the palm began to flicker with a strange hiss. He could feel it getting warmer into his hand.

Willington, who was looking above the doctor's shoulder, stepped back.

His eyes widen.

"Oh.... bugger. It's never done that before."

Hurriedly, he tosses it lightly onto an empty countertop.

"Might be a good idea to step back...."

The palm began to melt. It seemed so hot the plastic on the walls started to melt too. Sarah pointed in its direction with her hand opened. Harl could see like a thin line of energy going from the electronic device to the girl's hand. Slowly, the palm cooled down.

Shaken, the doctor looks at his brother.

"Well, Harl.... looks like I'm a believer now."

Harl, for his part, paces the length of the room, chin firmly grasped in one calloused palm. Then, he looks at Sarah.

"Sarah. What did you feel when that happened?"

It's not often something this potent shows up - and it's got something to hide.

Sarah looked up.

"I... I don't know. I just saw it and I felt like doing something. I know I could."

The girl was apparently very shocked. Willington waved at her.

"Heh, don't worry. You probably saved the building," he said in a pityful attempt to a joke.

This thing wouldn't have melt the whole building, would it? WOULD IT?

Harl nods.

"Well, thank you, Sarah. That was a good thing you did."

That said, he concentrates on the melted plastic, trying to find.... something.

Anything.

The telephone rang.

(ooc: I love these silly little posts)

[ooc: Seven days....

Thinking of bringing in a fairly creepy government figure... heh.]

Harl gives a start, the ringing disturbing his concentration.

"Damned telephone."

Before the others react, he strides over to the phone, picking it up - conveniently forgetting he isn't part of the staff.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is Dr. Relas here?" asked a feminine voice.

Wordlessly, Harl passes the phone to his brother.

"This is Doctor Relas speaking."

"Oh, hello doctor, Nina, from the entrance speaking. I have a man who's asking for you. He's called... let me read this card... Vaughn, Jeremy Vaughn."

(:shock: ...and a bump to end my confusion and continue the story)

Dr. Relas frowns.

"I can't say I'm familiar with the name. Of what does he wish to speak?"

"Well, he refused to tell me. Apparently it's personal."

Dr. Relas sighs.

"Sure, whatever. Put him on or something, I have to get back to work soon."

"All right, doctor."

She hung down the phone.

Willington was looking at Relas, apparently quite intrigued by all what had happened.

Dr. Relas blinks, his eyes narrowing.

"Hello? Hello? Anyone there?"

Blazes....

"W... what's going on again?" Willington asked looking at Sarah then back at Relas.

Dr. Relas scowls, grumbling under his breath.

"Mysterious bloody phone call. Probably a crank call. With free telecoms there's no stopping 'em."

Willington stared at Relas not knowing what to think. He toyed with his fingers, uncomfortable. Somehow, he didn't quite like coincidences.

Sarah seemed puzzled. As if she had seen or heard something she wasn't expecting.

[ooc: Gngh. Back from a 3 day party-thing, trying to catch up with everything...]

Dr. Relas sighs, quite fatigued and ignoring Willington's stare. He turns back to Sarah, looking quite paternal with lack of sleep.

"Now, ah.... where were we?"