The Otter
NoriWasHere
Yankee
Andre Valias
Evil Ghost Note
IAmTheIsland
Atrophy
LanaStorm
Memoria
flux
Unknown Museum, Office
@WhiteAngel25
The pickaxe struck through. The stone angel cried out as it was destroyed and soon became nothing but crumbled stone. After a moment, it reduced to dust and scattered across the room. Sabrina was successful, tactfully heading off the attack by the Hollow. The darkness returned to normal, and the museum fell silent.
Mediterranean Sea, Slowly Sinking
@Days
”Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Star said, reaching out to Subject #3, who was a shivering mess, barely holding back the tears in her eyes. She tried to be brave, nodding despite her trembles.
"I'm okay, Star. I'm... I'm... I'm okay. Wh-what..." She couldn't finish her sentence. What happened? What was that? Her eyes searched the silhouette of Star, trying to make out her expression in the sinking darkness.
Subject #3 took a moment to completely get out of her hazmat suit, pushing it to the side as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She then lurched to the side, the submarine losing its balance again as it slowly swirled in the water. Subject #3 held onto something. It felt like a seat.
"I- do you have my location? I think- I think I need some help.” Star said, making Subject #3's head turn.
"Are... are we gonna... die..?" She whispered, feeling the submarine take another sinking dip into the darkness.
Then, a metallic thud. And another. It was impossible to see without the submarine lights, but it felt like something big, and something massive, was circling the sub.
Subject #3 stared out the dark window, a petrified look on her face.
HiveMind Underwater Research Facility, Sub Contained Lab
@WhiteAngel25
"What is going on? Where am I?"
The researcher's eyes lit up, and she gave the lollipop a voracious lick before speaking, "You're not dead. In fact, you could say you've never been better!"
The lights stopped whirring, settling into a uniform pattern over Stella's head, and the magnetic stimulation stopped.
The researcher looked down at her clipboard, her lollipop sticking out of the side of her mouth as she clicked a pen. "You're in the deeper levels of HiveMind's facility. You're under my care until your father comes by."
She mumbled to herself incoherently for a long moment before her gaze focused back on Stella strapped to the table. "There's a lot to do to make sure you're ready for that, though. Absorbing a DCE, a Heart of Hearts, a nexus of energy, is like having a nuclear bomb tucked under your ribcage. I'm sure it feels... interesting."
She got closer to Stella face, where Stella could feel the hot breath of the enthusiastic researcher. "Tell me, do you notice anything different? Any murderous tendencies? Anything I should be worried about?"
She smiled gleefully, waiting for an answer, before leaning back slightly in her wheelie seat. "You're one of the first of your kind. We've tried many, many times, but all of our experiments were failures. It seems it's just your destiny to be your father's perfect daughter, no?"
HiveMind Underwater Research Facility, Floor 3, Secure Control Room (And the 'Storage Closet')
@Lexisheeps, @Days
"Do you have family, Von? What's the rush? You've got all the cards."
Von Galloes stared hard at Thierry, sitting across from him. He watched silently for a long moment, the tension in the room palpable. His eyes narrowed finally, before he glanced at Mr. Cress.
"Mr. Cress. You might want to avert your eyes."
At a click of a button, lights flickered on the screen overhead. Lights on the headpieces, activated.
"Monsieur Thierry," Von Galloes smiled, revealing sharp teeth. "You should know this game better by now. I get what I want, always. But I should be congratulating you. After all..."
He leaned forward, raising his glass of wine with an evil smirk. "You're the one who just signed the death certificate of your two beloveds."
And just like that, the needles dove into the skin of both Nick and Aurélie.
Biting.
Delivering its contents.
Nearly instantly, Nick and Aurélie would feel a strange sensation. If one had to describe it, it felt like a sticky sweet blanket wrapping around them, coating them in what could be pins and needles. In another instant, there would be a strong disconnect from their mind and body, feeling wholly drugged. In the following instant, there would be an immediate slack in their bodies as the neurotoxin paralyzed their limbs. Unable to move or speak.
Limp in their seats, woefully limp and still, appearing dead.
Von Galloes smiled, watching Thierry's reaction hungrily. "You sure you were wise not to give me what I wanted, little Thierry?"
Von Galloes' eyes glanced to Ramses, then to Aaron beaten and broken on the floor. His eyes were alight with malice. "Well done, my dear."
He gestured to Ramses and Mr. Cress as his gaze focused on Thierry, "See? Polite and obedient. You could learn a thing or two from your colleagues."
He swirled the goblet in his hand, relaxed in his seat. "I have all the cards, yes. You and your cohorts are nothing but dust under my feet at this point, my beautiful, broken playthings. Oh, how I adore your struggles. But you know all struggles must come to an end."
He pulled out a letter from within the folds of his jacket, and passed it to a security drone, which then presented it in front of Thierry, along with a pen.
Von Galloes stared over his goblet, waiting for Thierry to open and read the letter. It was a contract, legally binding, and had been curated for this specific moment.
"If you read that, you'll find everything I want from you, for now. All Louvre assets you own, your title, your power and status, everything you control, you will relinquish and turn over to me. It will become the property of HiveMind."
His tone dropped to a darker note, not leaving any room for debate.
"Sign it, and you might walk out of here with your family in one piece..."