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Bellum Anon ([info]bellum_anon) wrote in [info]bellumlogs,
@ 2010-05-18 10:00:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:esmerelda, invisible man, peter pan, plot: riddles, sleeping beauty

Group L: Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, Invisible Man, Esmeralda

The plaque on the wall says:

Let us all play hide and seek,
Though the room has sprung a leak.
But who shall seek and who shall hide?
That is where the riddle lies.
And with the water rising thick,
I recommend you make it quick.

The one who seeks is seldom seen,
And of this fact he's very keen.
He keeps it secret, close and quiet,
But to free you all, he cannot hide it.

One more thing before you play,
Underwater is where you must stay.


The room is a giant fish bowl - this is obvious (after examination), given the rounded edges of the glass, the distorted view beyond, the little plastic castle and the pirate chest, all on pink gravel. At the offset, however, there is no water in the fish bowl. The room beyond is visible, but it is completely empty and seems to be comprised only of walls with no doors.

As the plaque is read, water begins to fill the bowl and the room beyond, and the under-gravel filter kicks in, making standing hard.. Everything goes dark when the last word is read and it remains completely dark until the seeker is determined, at which point the bowl is full and the water overflows to the room beyond. Jumping out of the fishbowl is not an option, as the fall would kill the jumper. Once the seeker is chosen, the fish bowl illuminates, but the only light is the small fish-bowl light, and the participants will find they share space with hungry fish, much larger than they are.

1. By the time the plaque is done being read, the room is filled with water.
2. Hiders must remain underwater at all times.
3. To find the hiders, the seeker must avoid detection (being seen) by the larger fish in the bowl.
4. Once all three hiders are found, the water drains from the bowl and the fish disappear.
5. The door to the little plastic castle becomes the door out of the room.

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[info]beaute_endormie
2010-05-18 07:01 pm UTC (link)
Rosalie was sleeping and then, very suddenly, she wasn't. She had fallen on gravel (which hurt) someplace very strange. Pressing a hand to her mouth, she stood up slowly, gaze sweeping the room and taking in the glass curvature of the walls first, then the castle, which made the setting recognizable. She was in a fishbowl. The possibility of a dream was discounted, since she didn't seem to have them, but she really hadn't thought she had drunken quite this much.

She turned and took a step towards the plaque, dragging her hand against the smoothness of the wall, only then noticing the others. "Hello?"

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[info]never_old
2010-05-18 07:06 pm UTC (link)
Nick had also been very deeply asleep, usual amount of sleeping medication in his system to keep him out the entire night without dreams. So when Nick jolted awake with a bump of landing on hard gravel, his face contorted from sleepy pain to a sleepy confusion.

Climbing to his feet, Nick looked around and noted that they were in a fishbowl. This had to be the weirdest hallucination dream he's ever had. Scratching his head, Nick walked forward with sleepy eyes. "Hi. Who're you?" and he noticed Archer, "Dr. Archer?"

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[info]sneakingaround
2010-05-18 07:20 pm UTC (link)
Unlike the others, Archer had been very much awake. He was comparing gels, again, looking between the lion's and Ben's. There had to be a pattern of difference, a specific reason for why their nuclear DNA fingerprints differed. But it was elusive. He was skilled in human genetics, after all - not animal.

After writing yet another page of scribbled notes that would get shoved in a notebook, never to be found, Archer felt the world disappear around him. He was falling while sitting still, dropped into nothing though everything still existed. He felt his body slam into a pile of gravel, and for a moment, he wished he were dead simply because he didn't want to have to stand back up.

With a groan, he rolled onto his back, feeling his fragile body sting as he slowly opened his eyes. Two voices prompted him to sit up, cradling his head in one hand as he peered up at them. "Yes?" he asked distractedly, adjusting his glasses to better see the one that addressed him. The boy looked familiar, and he knew he was a study participant. What was his name? Archer knew him as 001, but he imagined the boy wouldn't respond to that.

"This is...unusual..." He glanced around, shakily standing and pressing a palm against the slick side of the fishbowl. "Do you have any recollection of how you came to be here?" Though the question was directed at the boy, he glanced to the two women, adding as an afterthought, "Any of you?"

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[info]laesmeralda
2010-05-19 02:17 am UTC (link)
Serena had been having a busy night. After spending a better part of the week painting and decorating her apartment to a point she considered 'habitable', she had headed out for a night on the town with a few castmates, eager to experience that New York nightlife she had heard so much about.

Long story short, the second lead and her had finally found an opportunity to release the sexual tension that had been building since they met. After a couple of hot and heavy hours on the dance floor (thank god for men who were trained dancers), she had made the executive decision to take this back to her place. Unfortunately, the building had other plans.

One second, she was in the kitchen pouring out two glasses of wine, she had slipped down some sort of fucking rabbit hole and landed in the wine glass. No, wait. There was a plastic castle and fake rocks and fake plants in the glass. She was in a fucking fish bowl. And she was not alone.

"What. The. Fuck?!"

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[info]beaute_endormie
2010-05-19 02:34 am UTC (link)
Rosalie took a step towards the boy. "My name's Rosalie. Who are--" she was distracted mid-sentence by the others. She didn't know any of these people. They had to be from the building because only Bellum could create an experience like this. "I-- I think I was asleep." She chewed on her lip for a second and looked around the bowl again, for a hole or a ladder or something other than glass. Instead, she spotted the plaque right behind the boy. "What does that say?"

She moved forward so that she was beside him and started reading it to herself, only getting as far as the second line before she felt water beginning to rise over her toes. "Oh my god, we've got a leak?"

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[info]never_old
2010-05-19 03:02 am UTC (link)
"I'm Nicky," he told them, looking around at the fish bowl glass. "I was asleep too. I took my meds and was in bed.." he trailed off, looking over his shoulder at the plaque. "Hide and seek...?"

When the water began to rise, Nick immediately went white with panic. "Why is there water? Why is there water filling up this place?"

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[info]sneakingaround
2010-05-19 03:23 am UTC (link)
And nobody contributed anything useful to the conversation. Of course. Adjusting his white lab coat, Archer was about to open his mouth when the blonde woman began to read something on the far wall. He glanced her way, staring to read as well when the ground began to rumble as water poured into the bowl. Gasping, he pressed his back to the curved bowl, hopping from foot to foot as the gravel shook, water quickly rising to his knees.

As the boy began to panic, Archer glanced his way, expression calm. "Remain calm, Nick." He refused to say the "y" at the end of his name. "There's an answer somewhere." Turning, he looked at the plaque, beginning to read it out loud.

"Let us all play hide and seek, though the room has sprung a leak." He paused, looking down. Well, that was true. "But who shall seek and who shall hide? That is where the riddle lies." The water was already at his waist, and still rising. "And with the water rising thick, I recommend you make it quick."

Pressing his palms to the glass of the bowl, he felt the water rise up to tickle his ribs. "The one who seeks is seldom seen, and of this fact he's very keen." He felt a spike of adrenaline in his chest as he read, licking his lips as his mouth went dry. The water reached his chest, and he slowly began to float to the top as it continued to rise. "He keeps it secret, close and quiet." His voice grew thin as his hands began to shake. Griffin was gone, but he knew what he would say. "Let them know," he would whisper. "Your gift is nothing to fear." But he wasn't afraid. Not of his gift. He needed anonymity. To be truly invisible, people couldn't know who you were. If they knew, he couldn't appreciate the freedom of moving unseen. As the four of them began to float towards the top of the bowl as the water rose, the darkness of the room causing him to squint. "But to free you all, he cannot hide it."

His voice began to tremble as they reached the top of the bowl, the gravel they left behind completely submerged. "One more thing before you play." He glanced to them, an expression of mild panic. "Underwater is where you must stay."

Breathing quickly, he looked to them, hoping none of them would bring up the man in the riddle. Perhaps it was just a coincidence. "Alright. That's straightforward. But..." He glanced outside the bowl, looking down at the floor. "Nick, couldn't you fly? You could take us out of here, could you not? It would be much more convenient than...whatever this riddle is suggesting."

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[info]laesmeralda
2010-05-19 04:09 am UTC (link)
Serena was the last one to make it over to the plaque. She had been in the middle of what had seemed like a most promising night before she had been so unceremoniously teleported away into a giant glass bowl. Excuse her for being discombobulated for a second.

The water began to pour into the room as the man read the message on the wall. "You're going to have to read louder than that," she yelled across the bowl, but the water was just too damn loud. Serena waded through it as fast as she could, but it was rising much too quickly. She was waist-deep in the opaque goo by the time she made it to where the other three stood, and it was getting harder to stay upright by the second.

Serena skimmed the instructions quickly. "Anyone have any idea what the fuck it's talking about?" Her eyes moved to the two men, "either of you the fucking hollow man it thinks you are? Because I suggest you get us the fuck out of here, stat". The water was already up to her shoulders, and Serena was treading it furiously to stay afloat. "But flying would work too, I guess. I just have no desire to drown today."

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[info]beaute_endormie
2010-05-19 04:44 am UTC (link)
Rosalie barely heard most of the riddle or rhyme or whatever it was. The boy-- Nick-- was panicking next to her and nearly all of her attention had been drawn to him. "Nick? Hey, Nicky?" She touched his shoulder lightly, trying to keep him calm as the water continued to rise. "C'est-- it's okay, cheri."

The water was rising quickly. This was so bad. Suddenly voice of the scientist (or whoever he was) dropped off and everything went dark. It took everything she had to not shriek in surprise, but her hand clung to Nicky's for a second as the water finally lifted her up completely and she was forced to tread.

"Can everybody swim? I think we should just do what it tells us to." They had been given instructions after all. There had to be a reason. "It said the seeker knew who they were, n'est-ce pas? So just, please--" she left the sentence hanging, trusting the person to do the right thing, and turned back to where Nick had been last. Rosalie kicked harder and reached out, trying to find him. This had to be the boy Derek had been talking about the other day, the one Finn had tortured. "Where are you, Nick? You alright?" Please let him know how to tread at least.

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[info]never_old
2010-05-19 05:59 am UTC (link)
"I can't fly, Peter can," Nick said, trying to control the shake in his voice. "I've never flown beyond during the full moon. I'm not sure--"

He cut off with the rising water and whimpered pathetically. He was tall, a lanky thing made up mostly of gangly limbs, but the water was getting higher and higher. Nick's final thing before the water was high enough to lift him from the ground was. "I can't swim!"

The dark water went over his head and he thrashed for a moment. A wave of cold panic washed over him for a moment, his mind spiraling back to the bathroom of D5 and the blindfold over his eyes. Why was it so dark? He thrashed and managed to get his head back above the water as it seemed to continue to rise. He bobbed at the surface, trying to shake his hair from his face. "'m here," he managed out, blindly grabbing for Rosalie's hand. When he did, his other touched something slimy and scaly as it moved past.

"Oh my god, I think there's fish in here. Really...really big fish.."

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[info]sneakingaround
2010-05-19 05:34 pm UTC (link)
Of course Nick couldn't fly, because that would have been useful. He was worthless. These women were worthless. This entire situation was a pit of quicksand and that damned plaque had the nerve to hand him the jeep and rescue rope. He didn't want to be the hero. One of them should have been the hero, wasn't that what people wanted out of life? To be the best? They could have it - he just wanted to remain invisible, with nobody knowing about it.

But that wasn't how things worked out, was it?

Digging his nails into the sides of his head, he took a deep breath. "All of you, be quiet!" he barked, his voice authoritarian and ice cold. The darkness prevented him from glaring at them, though he was still scowling into the inky pitch that surrounded them. Reaching up to remove his glasses, he folded them neatly, slipping them into the pocket of his lab coat.

The bowl was full now, and all the noise of the rushing water had ceased. The room was deathly silent as Archer took a deep breath, rubbing his temples gently. "It's me. I'm the seeker." The second he finished speaking, a soft light began to glow and illuminate the bowl. As Nick had stammered earlier, there were indeed a number of enormous fish circling the bowl, their scales glittering eerily in the light.

Archer shrugged out of his jacket, simply dropping it into the bowl and letting it float to the gravel. "Now we need a plan," he said firmly as he began to unbutton his shirt. His pallid skin was visible for just a moment, for as he spoke, he began to literally fade away. First he was translucent, like a special effect, and by the time his shirt was unbuttoned, he was completely invisible.

"The plaque details a game of "hide and seek" that takes place underwater, so this is what we must do. I will wait up here for seven seconds. In those seven seconds, all three of you must avoid the fish and find a place to hide in this bowl." He paused, glancing down at the treacherous fish below. "I will then begin my search. When I find you, I will tap you on the arm, and you may rise to the surface for breath. After I have found all three of you..." He trailed off, realizing that he didn't know what would happen then. Clearing his throat, he splashed his own face with a bit of water, the droplets clinging to his invisible cheeks. "Then we'll have played our game."

Not comfortable with removing his pants directly in front of these people, even though he was invisible, Archer clapped his hands together once. "Alright. Go."

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[info]laesmeralda
2010-05-19 11:19 pm UTC (link)
Serena's instincts kicked in as soon as she heard Nick's first proclamation, and she swam towards him in swift, powerful strokes. A small part of her was glad that she was still wearing the dress she outfit she had chosen for the club, since the short dress allowed her to move without any hindrance. Of course, it was probably ruined by now.

The blonde woman got to Nick before she did, but a summer of lifeguarding at the beach had taught Serena that it would be better to stay close to the kid, just in case. If the plaque was any indication of the shit that was heading their way, the kid would need all the help he could get.

She blinked twice at the man vanishing in front of her. She had been half joking with the whole invisible hero thing, and was wholly unprepared to see a person disappear. That weird light had to be playing tricks on her, right? Right.

Left with no time to argue about the instructions, Serena nodded and took a deep breath, waiting for Nick to disappear before diving towards one of the plastic plants she had spotted earlier. Seven seconds wasn't very long to hold her breath, and Serena was a good swimmer. But still, she would have been lying if she said that a small part of her wasn't afraid of drowning in this god damn inky pool of shit.

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[info]beaute_endormie
2010-05-19 11:59 pm UTC (link)
Rosalie caught Nick's hand when he reached out for her and grabbed it tightly. "Don't worry about the fish. Just try to stay calm, d'accord? I know it's hard." Something large moved past her and when the dim light glowed back into existence, she could see that there were fish and they were really big. Enormous actually. Merde.

She pulled Nick closer and grabbed the rim of the bowl to anchor them both as Dr. Archer talked. A lifetime of beaches and oceans meant that she had learned to swim early and was fairly good at it herself by now, but she couldn't hold up a bigger guy for very long. Dr. Archer's disappearance caused her to blink in disbelief, but compared to the rest of this (plus any number of things that the building had thrown at them) she accepted it rather readily. "Find Nicky first," she ordered him, wanting the boy to have to be stuck with this game for the absolute least amount of time.

When she turned to Nick himself, what little of her expression was visible looked concerned. "When you get to the top, grab the rim if you can and otherwise, float. Just lie on your back and keep it straight. Tu comprends? Do you think you'll be okay." She hesitated a second, unsure about the rules exactly. "If you want, you can hide with me. We're going to get through this quickly and get back." At this point, it hardly mattered to Rosalie if he wasn't still scared; talking him through it was forcing her to keep calm and she was relieved by that. With a last look at him, she took a deep breath and kicked her legs. Rosalie too was in a short nightgown that was easy to swim in and she headed for the castle, letting him either follow and stay with her or find somewhere else close. The seven seconds were almost up.

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[info]never_old
2010-05-20 12:27 am UTC (link)
Dr. Archer was invisible, there were giant fish, and they were playing a game of hide and seek underwater. Nick thought of just staying where he was, but the plaque said to stay under. "I have to be under. Otherwise we're not getting out of here."

If the building loved to rub in traumatic events, it sure was showing it's sadistic side today. The fear of his lungs burning underwater -- not being able to breathe. It all terrified him. He closed his eyes for a moment, wishing he was Peter Pan for this. Peter could actually do it, not Nick Hollis. "I got it. I'll be good."

Nick thought for a moment about Evie. He could be brave and do this. If he made the little voice inside his head sound like her to encourage him along, it almost seemed simple. Nick took a deep breath and dropped beneath the surface, blinking his eyes open under the water. It was an awkward swim attempt towards the bottom, close to the castle and the plastic plants.

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[info]sneakingaround
2010-05-20 05:56 pm UTC (link)
These people were trying his patience. He glanced around at every single one of them, glaring though they couldn't see him. Feelings and fears and whining wouldn't get them anywhere. In a small, human portion of his brain, he felt bad for Nick. He didn't want to upset him. But coddling him wasn't going to do anybody any kind of service, either.

When all three of them disappeared beneath the surface, Archer looked up to avoid watching them descend. He didn't want this whole trial to be invalidated simply because he saw the hiders hiding and "cheated." As he slowly counted to seven, he unbuttoned his pants and shrugged out of them, kicking them off. After removing his socks, he was completely invisible. Save for the slight frothing of water around his feet as he kicked to stay afloat, nobody would have known he was there.

Once he reached "seven," he took a deep breath and dove. Though he was out of shape, he was able to swim well enough. As he neared the bottom, he saw a tuft of dark hair peering out from behind the plastic plant nearest the castle. He recalled the blonde demanding that he find Nick first, and though he couldn't be certain of this person's identity, the length of the hair suggested that it wasn't the other woman.

Archer made a beeline for that plant, feeling his feet brush the gravel as he reached the bottom. To avoid terrifying the already scared boy and cause him to inhale two lungs' worth of water, he picked up a piece of pink gravel and held it up. He walked towards the boy, waving the piece of gravel before his eyes. When it was clear that he had seen it, Archer reached out and touched the gravel to his arm just above his elbow. To ensure once again that they wouldn't be forced to do this again on a technicality, he also turned his hand so that he could tap two fingers against Nick's arm. Once that was done, he threw the piece of gravel in the air, hoping that the boy would understand the signal to return to the surface.

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[info]never_old
2010-05-20 11:59 pm UTC (link)
Nick hated being underwater. The feeling of the pressure wasn't something he could stand. Staying hidden behind the plant, though, was relatively easy. When Archer reached him, he almost startled out a breath. Yet, he realized he was being tagged that Nick made the quickest swim up to the surface as he could. He gripped the edge of the bowl when he got there, taking deep breaths of air.

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[info]sneakingaround
2010-05-21 02:50 am UTC (link)
When the boy kicked to the surface, Archer swam in a wide arc, trying to find the other two. How hard could it be? But he was starting to run out of air, and his lungs were burning as he saw a lock of blonde hair flutter in the gentle current of the water. He extended both hands, clawing through the water as if he were crawling, until he reached the little castle.

There she was, crouched behind it. Not offering her the same courtesy he had Nick - there was no time for kindness - Archer reached out and clapped an invisible hand on her arm, hoping that she understood. Without pausing to ensure that she hadn't gasped in surprise and drowned, he set out to try and find the third one. Where was she?

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[info]beaute_endormie
2010-05-21 08:03 am UTC (link)
The water dragged on her body as Rosalie spun to see where the touch had come from, sucking in a mouthful of water before she realized what had happened. Pressing both hands over her mouth and nose to prevent any other breaths as the water in her lungs burned, Rosalie pushed herself up from the ground, not caring about Nick or the other girl or even getting out, just wanting to clear her chest. The water pushed at her as she rose through the water without breath in what seemed like the most excruciatingly slow, painful journey of her life.

Her head finally breached the surface and she began to hack up the water, breathing in sweet stabbing mouthfuls of air in between the involuntary retching and coughs. When she could once again breath evenly, she looked around at last and swam over to where Nick had gone after hopefully being tagged. "Were you alright?" Turning her head, she coughed a couple more times, trying to expel the remaining water.

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[info]laesmeralda
2010-05-21 12:03 pm UTC (link)
Serena's life to this point had been one series of exciting events up to this point. Even during the bad times there was always something going on and there certainly wasn't any time to spare. It wasn't until that moment in the fish bowl thus that Serena realized just how slowly time could pass.

She felt each second pass by, the distance between each a small eternity. Trying to keep still underwater as giant fish swam about you was no easy feat, but she was determined to do it, to hold out until she was found. A minute passed, then two more. The space around Serena's lung seemed to be compressing from the inside out, and the fire within grew hot, then unbearable.

Something touched her. Fighting the instinct to whirl around completely, Serena moved only her head. Next to her was a dark massive fucking creature, a creature decidedly not the other man. Moving as quickly as she could while submerged, Serena reached into her dress and pulled out the small blade that had been tucked next to her chest.

She moved backwards, but the fish advanced, and Serena had to spin quickly away to catch the scaly bastard right behind the mouth trying to mow her down. Pulling her hand back quickly, Serena stabbed again, and again, until she was sure the thing wouldn't try to eat her again. By this point Serena's vision had begun to darken, and her control over her limbs was shaky at best.

No! A small part of her brain yelled at her. This is not how you're going to go. Drowning in a fucking fish bowl. Now suck it up and get to the top. Serena kicked, but the motion seemed feeble and didn't seem to get her anywhere. She kept kicking, determined to get as close to the top as she fucking could.

After what seemed like ages, just as Serena had lost almost all will to keep going, Serena felt motion around it. It wasn't another one of those dark creatures - it was the water moving. She must be close to the top! With one last surge of strength, she kicked upwards and broke the air.

God damn. Never had air felt so sweet. She gasped for breath, her lungs filling up gratefully. It took most of a minute to normalize, before she remembered she had to go back down. The man had to find her, or else they'd be stuck here with those fish possibly forever. "Fucking hell," she muttered to herself, before taking a deep breath and diving back downwards.

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[info]never_old
2010-05-21 02:00 pm UTC (link)
Nick gripped the rim of the fish bowl tightly, blinking owlishly at Rosalie. He nodded quickly as she swam over, "'m okay. He got me first."

He reached over with his free hand to gently pull Rosalie to the side of the bowl with him. If she could grab a hold here, they both would be safe enough. The fish below, though, seemed to be circling. That, Nick found, was a big problem that he didn't want to deal with.

"I hope Dr. Archer gets Serena fast," Nick said to Rosalie as they bobbed at the surface.

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[info]sneakingaround
2010-05-21 05:08 pm UTC (link)
Just as Archer was about to begin the search for Serena, he saw her rising to the surface. "Damnit," he cursed internally. Though he wanted to simply wait, he knew that he'd die if he tried. So he kicked upwards, letting his natural buoyancy carry him to the surface.

He broke the water's surface as Serena was catching her breath, and took a few moments to do the same. Flailing, he grabbed at the edge of the bowl, coughing and hacking. If the others looked hard enough, they'd be able to see mouthfuls of water swirling about in the air as he sputtered, spitting out swallowed gulps of water.

Heaving, he looked to Rosalie and Nick as Serena dove back down. "We're almost finished," he gasped, pressing both hands to his cheeks. His arms made little ripples in the water as he moved. "Just wait." With that, he dove back down.

The fishbowl felt more familiar this time. He expertly dodged the hungry fish - they couldn't eat what they couldn't see - and made a beeline for the outermost plastic plant.

He systematically searched every hiding place until he found the dark-haired woman. Resisting the urge to gasp in victory, he crawled towards her, reaching out with his spindly, invisible fingers. His fingertips brushed her arm just above the elbow, and to ensure that there was no confusion, he inched forward until the pad of his palm touched her.

Suddenly, he felt something in the water change. Looking up, he watched the enormous fish that were currently circling Rosalie and Nick fade into nothing. He felt a pang of hope as the water level slowly began to fall, the entire bowl rumbling loudly as it drained.

Archer floated to the surface, gasping and breathing with appreciation as he sank with the others, riding the surface of the water down. "We've done it!" he shouted over the chaos.

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[info]laesmeralda
2010-05-21 09:20 pm UTC (link)
Hideous as the noise was, Serena was certain she had never heard a more welcome sound in her life. Unable to see where the good doctor was, she pushed herself to the quickly lowering surface of the water, welcoming the fresh air that came with it.

Serena was too happy to think about her actions. She moved quickly to her fellow captives who were visible, and wrapped them each into a wet hug, first Nick, then the blonde. She would have hugged the other man as well, were he actually visible.

The water disappeared below the surface of the gravel, leaving everything wet and glinting in its wake. Serena stared at the giant pink plastic castle, unsure as to whether or not the oxygen depravation was starting to make her hallucinate.

"Is it just me, or did that door not exist before?"

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[info]beaute_endormie
2010-05-22 01:43 am UTC (link)
Rosalie sighed in relief as the water began to recede, holding tightly to Nick's hand until her feet stumbled onto the pebbles again. She returned the woman's hug, simply grateful to be able to breath and stand again. "I don't think I ever caught your name," she realized as she pulled back and glanced around at the drained fishbowl, realizing that they still didn't have a way out.

"Thank you so much, Dr. Archer." Rosalie glanced around for him, but he was still invisible. Distracted for several seconds by the articles of clothing that suddenly floated up from the ground, she spotted the door right after Serena did and took a hesitant step towards it. "I think it's new."

The building hadn't exactly been playing nice with them lately. Although Rosalie was unsure about going through the, she didn't think staying here was much of a better alternative. It might take them to a newer, even more frightening situation, but it also might take them back to New York, she hoped.

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[info]never_old
2010-05-22 02:03 am UTC (link)
Nick couldn't have been more elated to see the water rush away. He stumbled slightly when they hit the pebbles, but held tight to Rosalie's hand for balance. The hug, however, caught Nick off guard and he stared blankly before awkwardly lifting his free hand to pat the girl on her back.

"Um, Dr. Archer I think your clothes are over there.." Nick said helpfully as he pointed at the where Archer's shirt and pants were currently laying quite soaking wet on the gravel. Nick didn't let go of Rosalie's hand, rather tugged her toward the door with him.

"We should just look. It could be our way home," Nick said, giving them all a look to follow him.

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[info]sneakingaround
2010-05-22 03:33 am UTC (link)
As the others fussed about some magic door, Archer began searching for his clothing. The gravel scraped the soles of his feet as he walked, wondering primarily where his lab coat had gone. His glasses were in the breast pocket, and he couldn't go without them. He was distracted first when the blonde thanked him. Pausing, he looked her way, wearing a strange expression that none of them could see. Thinking for a moment, he shook his head as he rounded one of the plastic plants. "It wasn't a problem," he replied, plucking one of the flat leaves as he passed. "We completed this task efficiently and quickly. All of us performed admirably."

He was about to request that they all keep his talent a secret when the boy, Nick, spoke up. Turning, he followed his finger. "Indeed they are. Thank you." He trotted to the pile, turning his back on them as he pulled his pants on. As he shrugged into his shirt, he slowly faded back into visibility. He didn't bother to button the shirt as he turned back, finally visible again, towards the others. He was just going to take it off in a few minutes.

As he approached the castle, he saw his lab coat hanging from the side of the castle. He tugged it free, draping it over his left arm as he retrieved his glasses and slipped them on. Smoothing a hand back over his hair, he looked to the others and then the door. "There's no use in speculating. Either we step through that door or we perish here." His tone was detached and matter-of-fact. As the others moved to it, he followed, not worrying about going first or last. It was all the same to him.

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[info]laesmeralda
2010-05-22 04:29 pm UTC (link)
"Oh, right! I'm Serena," she told the blonde with a smile. "Serena St. James. I just moved here last week," she shrugged.

Well, that decided it for her. With a deep breath (and no joke about how dramatic Dr. Archer was being), she approached the castle and pulled open the door. The blade was still tightly clutched in her hand, and she held it at a ready position, just in case there were more surprises waiting for them behind the door.

"Here goes nothing." Serena pulled open the door, and stepped through to the other side.

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[info]beaute_endormie
2010-05-22 06:30 pm UTC (link)
Rosalie smiled at Serena, still almost silly with relief. "Sorry about the welcome. I'm Rosalie." She watched as the woman stepped through and sucked in a small breath when she didn't come out the other side. "No one's going to perish," she assured Dr. Archer, hoping that she was right as she walked to the doorframe, tugging Nick along with her. "Come on, Nicky. There's no place like home." Wishing very much that she had a pair of shoes on to tap together and ensure that home was where they were headed, Rosalie pressed her eyes shut and followed Serena through the door.

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[info]never_old
2010-05-22 09:10 pm UTC (link)
"What a welcome," Nick noted with a wary amusement. The building welcomed him with a night of flying, so the strangeness seemed almost customary now. He just really hoped Evie was all right. Nick let Rosalie lead him through the door, cringing a little in anticipation for something else to happen.

Except now they stood in the lobby of Bellum, soaking wet and finally safe. Nick blinked and looked around, "We're back."

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[info]sneakingaround
2010-05-22 10:41 pm UTC (link)
The group walked through the door, Archer bringing up the rear, and they stepped out into the lobby of Bellum Letale. Shivering slightly, he took a few steps forward, his bare feet cool on the floor. "It seems that way," he murmured in response to Nick. He ventured forward, inspecting the lobby critically. It seemed to be the real thing.

He looked up at the staircase, then the three others. "Well. It seems that our evening together has concluded." He pushed a hand through his hair, offering them all a faint ghost of a smile. "It was a pleasure to meet you both," he said to the two women, unable to remember their names. "And to see you again, Nick." He inclined his head to the boy.

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