( closed to the kidnapped ) The Princess Peach Collective

[initiates]

Date & Time: August 31st - September 18th
Location: United Earth Holding Compound
Characters: Any and all characters kidnapped during the interim.
Summary: So you were walking around, minding your own business... and then you were in the UE. Welcome, friends! Please enjoy your stay. Try the coffee! It's fantastic! Better avoid the bread pudding, though... (Official Kidnappee Handbook is here!)
Warnings: Kidnapping/Normal gambit of medical tests/shots/reflex tests/bloodwork/etc. Please notify the mods if anything gets into explicit or upsetting territory.

Notes: Player created United Earth NPCs welcome to guest star. If you have questions regarding these, please ask the moderators. Remember, this is not a torture chamber. This is a scientific facility with military aptitude, and seeks to contain, not injure, its projects. (You are a project!)

Please start your threads with a date or timeframe in the subject line to indicate who may tag in, depending on their arrival!
Welcome to the United Earth Holding Compound. There may be an official name, but the workers never say: they all have their own names for it, and "home" is never one of them. Still, as you're left to wander the halls connecting your individual containment areas to the cafeteria of spartan design, and many automated food producers (along with an endless supply of green jello and fruit), you may begin to wonder what exactly this place is. Why would the United Earth have a sense of design?

(Because of scientists, someone might whisper, though you'll never figure out who.)

Mystery unanswered, it'll be apparent they do. Even the lounge area you have access to looks out upon an expanse of green -- one that you are allowed into, if the surrounding U of military buildings, with much less architectural flair, will steadily drive you back out if you're seen near them.

Make no mistake: your accommodations are minimal at best, laughably slapped together at the last minute at worst. Your showering and bathroom facilities are uni-sex, so the more modest amongst you may wish to figure out a schedule for guys and gals. Towels, sheets, and plenty of nice hospital gowns will be on offer; characters so interested may attempt to find the laundry facilities.

All the labs are state of the art, and the computers and such used by the United Earth far beyond what the Initiative has ever provided. The biggest downside for the Transports being held is the lack of ready entertainment. A few board games have been left in the common area, and a few decks of cards, but that's all.

Not even an e-book to read.

Have fun, Kidnapped Transports, and try not to play "spot all the security measures and all the air ducts" too too often, will you?

Comments

↷ september 15 onwards, ota

[velveteened]

( maybe he should've expected this by now.

it's a wry thought he doesn't articulate upon finding himself here, taking the required physical quietly enough that he gets a lollypop, which is promptly unwrapped and eaten. at the lack of direction, he wanders; if they don't outright say what is and isn't off-limits he'll find it out on his own. one place he does stop, once he discovers it, is the cafeteria — where he's more than happy to help himself to good tea and sweet things (including the jello #yolo) and fruits. overall, really, he doesn't seem particularly perturbed at all.

it's certainly not the worst place he's ever found himself.

he can be found anywhere during his free time while it's daytime, whether it's in the lounge (giving board games a curious look-over) or the gardens (walking, mostly) or cafeteria (apparently without any reservations against eating the ue-provided food); and at certain hours of night, lights out or no, similarly up and about (sleepwalking! he might suggest with a laugh), including only then considering braving the showers in hopes of no one else being around.

what's less obvious is how often he can't help checking, trying to push at the power block mentally and really actively reach for his chain, for the first time in a long time here; it's like hammering at a glass divide and always leaves him feeling frustrated, on edge, much as he works not to show it. the bright cheer he gives everyone is an overcompensation, would be subtler if he were as good at the lie as he thinks he is.

as it is, it's probably not difficult to see why he's been called a creepy kid. )

september 17th

[copia]

[ Kaede takes a moment to not snoop and, well, maybe play a board game! Of course, as she looks at them from one side, the familiar mop of blond hair catches her eye. ]

Oh, hey, Oz!

[velveteened]

( that's unexpected. the look she gets is surprised and disconcerted both, though in a moment he'll do his best to smooth the latter over. he hadn't though there'd be kids as young as she brought here. )

Kaede?

[copia]

Yep, it's me. [ She runs her finger up and down the stack of board games lazily, the resulting sound something...well, in this place, it is irregular. It is not perfect. It's a nice sound. ]

Did you arrive recently?

[velveteened]

( — which is stupid, really, because he's known already that the united earth is not a place with reservations against doing horrible things, so what's kidnapping a child for testing?

what might they have done at the party that he doesn't know about, here?

after a beat, he shakes his head. )

Two days ago. ( not as long as some and he knows, though, and also not that he's been counting ) How long have you been here, Kaede?

september 17th

[duplicitoussight]

[If he sits around in his room any longer, he'll drive himself crazy with his own thoughts. He needs something to take his mind off of that unpleasant, guilty feeling brewing in him so he assigns himself a mission.

That's what he's decided on when he chooses tonight to sneak around. Going barefoot, crouching around the walls, he slowly makes his way down the hallways.

He didn't expect to see another person walking around. When he rounds the corner he almost walks right out into their line of sight. Belatedly, Kano presses against the wall when he realizes who it is and peers his head around the corner again.]

... Oz?

[velveteened]

( sleepwalking is a cute excuse, but it's of course not something he's ever been prone to. the truth is that it's hard to sleep here, in this sterile claustrophobic building, and it's hard not to think about the circumstances in which he and collette (and others, he knows) were taken here. what became of everyone else at the party, anyway? the ue clearly had only specific targets in mind, so what about the rest? collateral damage means nothing to them, that everyone's all known since may at least, and surely if they can further damage their enemy's people, so much the better for them.

they're unpleasantly familiar concerns, only put him even more on edge.

walking isn't very good for trying to outrun any fears, but it eases the restlessness a little, and it's something to do besides sit on a cot wide awake. besides, with the showers as they are, he's got in the habit of bathing at night to avoid — questions.

he blinks at the motion just barely on the edge of his vision, at first only chalking it up to seeing things in the dark, but starts when he hears kano's voice. there's only a hesitation about a breath longer than it would've been ordinarily before he moves to join kano around the corner. )

You too?

( though it explains a lot, if he stops to think about it. )

[duplicitoussight]

[He isn't sure what to say. Sorry for what I said. Sorry that you have to meet me again. Kano doesn't expect to be forgiven by anyone he's hounded--with Kaede, he's lucky since she remembers nothing. It'd be so much easier if that was the case here, but he can't be sure.

Kano realizes that he must have a troubled look on his face which he quickly wipes off. Ah. He honestly relied on his eyes too much these past years. He needs to teach himself to be careful and attentive of how he appears to others, now. With that in mind, he gives a cheerful smile. No matter what response he gets, hateful or forgiving, he can't forget to smile.]

Well, well. I'm touched that you followed me all the way out here.

1/2

[velveteened]

( the troubled look is, of course, not lost on him, and only fuels his suspicions. the united earth has certainly been busy this month, hasn't it, spreading discord amongst its enemy ranks while collecting some of them for — information, apparently, as best he can tell. the surprise should lie in that they didn't collect off-worlders — no, ones who have (or seem to have) abilities not native to this place — sooner. and on that topic, shouldn't he of all people with his familiarity with zwei baskerville have realized what was going on the moment kano last spoke to him? gil, who panics trying to cut oz's fringe, had been easily made to stab him in the shoulder, almost shoot him; kano had been the one to say it doesn't matter, so of course what he'd said last hadn't been him.

so many tricks the united earth has been acquiring, while they've been enjoying themselves on beaches and living quiet city lives.

it hadn't been a lie, for all the rest, when he told kido he wasn't angry, and this only confirms it. whoever did this can go die, she'd said, and he honestly doesn't disagree. besides, there's one more thing:

he can't be angry about being told the truth.

so he doesn't like the look of kano's smile, feeling for not the first time how this must be similar to other peoples' perception of him, but he only reciprocates it after a sigh. )

It's not a matter I had very much choice in, to be honest.

[velveteened]

But it's good to see you, ( he says, sincerely. ) Though next time we meet someplace, let's make it over cake.

GOOD DECISIONS on the eve of September 15th

[overclocking]

[Carelessly wandering the halls at night instead of sleeping? Who does that.

At least two people, evidently.

Chrono takes to the halls more because he can't sleep than anything else, and it's easier to pace and think than it is to lay on a frameless futon and think. More than anything, he wishes he had a book. Any would do.

It's in this state of mind that her turns a darkened corner, lost in thought and mostly oblivious to his surroundings. (5 days; he's learned by now to pay the guards no mind, because they return the favor). The only reason a head-on collision is avoided is because he catches a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye and side-steps, startled.]

—Oz?

BEST DECISIONS O'CLOCK

[velveteened]

( if he's been subdued since waking up in the compound, it comes from a keen sense of knowing exactly what sequence of events led to this happening. the pieces were always there to put together; he'd been warned more than once; he's been more than a little careless; and deliberately not seen the truth for what it was until it was too late. if it seems like he thinks he might deserve this, well.

finding collette quickly had been something of a relief, at least. she has no business being in a place like this, but that she's unhurt, feeling well enough to tell him not to worry — are all appreciated small mercies.

but there was most definitely no way he was going to sleep tonight, not even if he'd wanted to try. it's claustrophobic, this place, no matter how much space supposedly is open to them. he out of all people knows that small spaces aren't the only way to cage a person. it's completely different, of course, but not so different at all. equally familiar are the fears, because what happened to caesar after the two of them were knocked out, and he was left alone with their attacker? oz knows better than to expect him to have just left. what about gil, break, elliot, ahiru, lenalee, everyone else? did the ue take the people they were looking for and kill the rest? they're capable of killing transports for good, they're capable of suppressing powers, they're capable of binding up minds as surely as zwei had, they're capable of destroying worlds, of —

sleep never stood a chance.

so he's distracted enough that it really is only chrono's timely movement that keeps them from running into one another, and he recognizes the voice after a startled blink. )

Chrono?

( he's not changed out of his party clothes, all the nice jacket and vest and things gil had picked up in venice, nothing that would look out of place in a fancy gathering at reveil; he'd even found a pin that sort of resembled the vessalius crest, and it's a bit of familiarity oz is glad for.

or maybe it's just the things chosen by gil, while they're so separated, that's reassuring.

especially — with the cold silence from b rabbit that's still hard to swallow, the sense of it being not gone but right there, only just out of reach like water slipping through his fingers. it puts a stiffness to his spine he can't shake out, makes his teeth grind as much as he means to be okay, really, honestly, perfectly fine. )

I didn't realize —

( guiltily. there'd been so much on the network, so many of the same messages, that rosette's had been missed. but still, shouldn't he have known? pay some attention to your surroundings, break had said, and it's blindingly clear now how very very much oz had failed to. )

bless

[overclocking]

It's okay. [He figures he knows what's coloring Oz's tone with sheepishness, and can't do anything but dismiss it as silly; he doesn't expect anyone's realized, outside of Rosette. The past four years, he's been pointedly ignored at best, reviled and distrusted at worst. It has a way of narrowing one's world down to one solitary person very, very well.]

I was hoping I wouldn't see you here, though.

[His eyes rake the attire, but the demeanor more-so. He can put pieces together easily enough: having never run into Oz before, the pointed lack of hospital attire (Chrono had relented to the inevitably of it, if he ever intended to wash his own clothing. Makes a mental note to fetch them from the drier, before dawn breaks), the sudden influx of Transports in the compound. The look of a quiet panic that's being ruthlessly repressed. He had the same panic about him mere days ago, before it faded to a dull, throbbing buzz.]

You've just arrived. [Not really a question.]

[velveteened]

( it's not okay, but there's no point in arguing that in any case. this isn't the kind of place anyone would want to see anyone, he imagines, unless they're the united earth (or missing someone that desperately, maybe) so he shrugs and moves on to a more important point. )

How long has it been?

( he wants to know how much he's failed to notice, but there's more to it than that. people have been vanishing for weeks, but that doesn't mean they've been coming directly here, or even only here. they might, of course, and that would mean chrono would have access to information from inside here that can be worked with. anything is better than nothing, and oz doesn't have any intentions of sitting around and doing nothing but wait.

besides, there's the matter of what precisely the united earth is doing to the people who've come here. chrono's clothes are strange, but he doesn't seem hurt or even particularly distressed, given the circumstances. if they're being used for purposes of having information extracted out of them, chrono doesn't seem any worse for the wear.

he nods. )

It's not just me, either.

september 16th

[jailbreaks]

[Well, he's spent his day moping around that he figures it's best to get up once in a while and figure out what he's to do in regards to getting out of here. The people aren't that strong, though they do have strange medicines that sedate him, and make him feel pretty light headed after they release him from testing. Only way to do testing on him, otherwise he puts up one hell of a fight.

And on his way down the halls, still suffering from the sedation, he sees someone who looks familiar. It takes him a few moments and--

Shit...

He's just... going to turn around and walk the other direction. Especially when he sees how the boy is smiling because how can someone be smiling like this and oh God, the guilt he feels right now. Not dealing with these kind of emotions because he knows it will just end up with him letting it out as anger...]

[velveteened]

( there's a motion out of the corner of his eye, and that's what makes him turn with some curiosity. there are a fair few transports in the building, to say nothing of varying united earth positions. it's past testing time, though, and in any case it's not an aspect of being here that bothers him (he tells himself); besides, an opportunity for time around the scientists is an opportunity to get information.

it only takes him half a second to place that figure and hair, no matter how different circumstances are now, and if he stills for a moment or his breath almost catches, there's no one around to notice, anyway. he's worked out by now that not everyone was in control of themselves, and the idea isn't something he's unfamiliar with. it's entirely likely this person, who might very well have noticed him and turned away (listening closely, and he has, can reveal a thing or two), feels guilty about the whole affair.

and however he feels personally, it's not the kind of thing he'd just let go. so, after a hesitation, he follows — casually. speaking waits until he catches up, moving at a saunter, and contemplating a scone in his hands that he'd only picked up a moment ago. )

You know, I've realized I don't like this flavor.

[jailbreaks]

[He walks away in hopes that the boy wouldn't notice him, and if he did, he'd leave him alone. Whether it's personal guilt or the fact that he's sure the boy doesn't want to see his face again, he wants to ensure that distance is kept. He's not going to open fresh wounds after all -- who'd want to speak with their perpetrator, especially after the treatment he gave him and the other two?

Still, he can hear footsteps behind him, and no... oh hell no, this isn't...

...crap. Oh well, it's time to mask all of his negative feelings behind his usual nonchalance as he stops walking upon hearing him speak. The kid'll likely follow him and Yuri'll end up hurting his feelings, or something like that, if he doesn't stop to say something.]

You sure it's a good idea to offer a scone to the person who kidnapped you?

[His speaks in a near derisive tone, however it still comes off cold, and maybe a little harsh. So much for hiding those negative emotions completely.]

[velveteened]

( the look he gives yuri is quizzical, apparently empty of any of the negativity the other man is radiating. )

Well, ( as though seriously thinking it over, and it's almost tempting to say yuri's still the nicest person who has, ) I might be wrong, but I think even kidnappers get hungry.

[crocodilesmiles]

( Collette watches him with a quirked up eyebrow.

Oh.

Well then, Mr. Vassalisassafrass. She calls out, knwoing he knew exactly where she was, lifting a hand to wave. )

Oz! Got a moment?

[velveteened]

( of course he knows exactly where she is, never loses track save when it's out of their hands, or he can't stand to stay in one place too long. so he notices her wave quickly, walks back over. )

Collette? What is it?

[crocodilesmiles]

( she pats the empty couch cushion by her side. )

Sit!

[velveteened]

( sits down as directed! )

18th

[bravelyrunsaway]

( Licyn hates being here.

Of course he's taken it with a sullen look that's turned into snide amusement and a tendency to keep to himself, circling back toward others only when he found himself in an area too silent, smelling too strange. He avoids the pile of armor entirely.

That shit's freaky.

He don't do freaky if it ain't in bed.

But if he can't truly avoid people and he's stuck being Just A Man, And Only A Man, he may as well deal with it.

Sort of.

Sear it all, at least if Ril was here, he'd have something else to focus on! Namely Ril, and not having him lash out and seriously injure himself or someone else.

Though he'd love the wolf being under wraps. Jerk would probably ask how to make it permanent.

Ah... and then there's Oz. His favorite little irritant.

Walking quietly across the floors, Licyn swoops in and presses an affectionate kiss to Oz's cheek, hand ruffling his hair at the same time. )

Nice to see you, blondie.

( Heh. )

[velveteened]

( he looks up with a startle at being sneaked up on, lost in his thoughts, but a second's worth of thought together with the voice (and, really, the action) makes his tone drop to a deadpan. )

Oh, it's you.

[bravelyrunsaway]

( Pulls away, after that hair ruffle, stepping forward and to the side of him. )

Oh please. ( He drawls. ) Curb your enthusiasm.