Zero Divide - Episode #1 - "Looking Glass"

[Avalon®]

Waking up with a ray of sunshine in his face, Surge sits up groggily as he tries to get into a more coherent state. He stretches his entire body while emitting a loud yawn and that seems to do the trick.

He gets out of bed and lets the blankets covering him fall to the ground. He slowly makes his way to the bathroom to take a bath.

He comes out of the bathroom around 10 minutes later and notices that his laptop has gone into sleep mode on a table next to his bed. He goes over to it and taps the enter key to make it go back online.

 

[Hammerhead]

Outside

During the confrontation, Michael stepped back, having no desire or inclination to intervene. Best to have these two sort out whatever issues they have between themselves.

"Good thing they didn't get into a pointless fight then," Michael mutters under his breath. While those two argued, his duplicate near the wall finishes scratching "REMEMBER," into the wall, now scratching on "VSC."

"I guess we got some good news, people. If Haven's memories are correct, then the three of you were in the military together." If Haven is willing to hold Dee responsible for whatever disagreements they had way back when, threatening with knives or whatever, then I can't let them find out about my record as a murderer. They'd probably try and turn me in.

"So at least something, no matter if it's unpleasant, is coming back. But we shouldn't let these memories of who we were, and how we may have treated each other, define who we are now. We're all in this together," he adds, shooting a look towards Facade. Less name-calling, please.

Michael's newly created duplicate speaks up, turning towards Ashley. "If you can lift me, throw me towards the wall. Even if exiting the Estate triggers a blackout, I might be able to hold onto the edge and see over the wall."

Upstairs

"I'm not sure going to the media is the best idea either, Alan. But we don't even know how long we've been here. Has it been a week? A year? It's a little troubling. Maybe this nice, peaceful environment is the wrong idea. Maybe we need to try and go back to our old lives, or just experience something new. I know you want the best for us, Vanessa," Michael continues, grunting as he pushes the bookshelf into its new position. "But I'm not sure if your current approach is entirely working."

 

[Victim]

"I'm throwing you as far up as I can. Get a good look around." Ashley touches copy-Michael lightly on the chest, then snaps her will around him like a bubble, the energy field forcing them just apart. She hefts his weight experimentally a few times, then concentrates and throws him skyward with a grunt.

(Pick up copy Michael with TK +10, then concentrate and throw as a full round action (so it takes two rounds) to get the +5 STR bonus. That gives her 55 effective STR for throwing. A < 200 pound Michael is thrown 5000 ft; < 400 lb is thrown 2500 ft. She's aiming mostly straight up, but is angling slightly back towards the Estate to hopefully avoid inadvertently crossing the Wall. It'd be reasonable if there's a penalty on the distance for throwing straight up, though.)

She says to the original quickly, eyes following the copy's progress, "Is it necessary to catch him?"

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

If yes: Ashley takes off like a shot, running and jumping in an effort to get into position underneath the falling Michael and then catch him with her power. (Attack bonus +4, TK +10.)

If no (I hope so): Ashley whirls on the struggling pair. "Haven. Dee. Enough. Your argument serves no purpose, except perhaps to distract us from our other problems." She points at Dee, "Don't make pointless threat displays." And to Haven, "Don't be so quick to judge based on fragmented memories. You don't even know your own past self, so whatever opinions you once held are unreliable. However, that name does sound familiar to me, so it may be helpful if you can precisely and quickly relate the details of what you remembered." Of course, if the ability to alter memories exists - which it must - then might our flashbacks be fabrications as well. A blank slate would be easier to write upon.

She gets a hard look and continues, "Since I may have triggered the reset, I suggest focusing your minds to prepare for the possible attack." She concentrates.

 

[Shalimar]

"You seem to think I am arguing, or negotiating terms or something like that. I am flat out stating if she comes at me again with a knife I will bury her. She knows what she has to do to avoid it. She is warned." Haven says with a shrug.

"Facade, you seem to be of the opinion that I should just let her keep coming at me with a knife and never react. I will defend myself and I have that right no matter who I was and no matter who she was. I am merely telling her ahead of time how I will defend myself the next time she comes after me. If she pushes the button its on her. This wasn't pointless whatever you may think, becoming informed is never pointless, and now she is better informed." he says with a shrug.

Extending his hand toward her, Dee rises out of the ground until what was a pit ulling her down becomes pedestal that she can step off of with easy.

 

[Vanifae]

"You seem to think I am arguing, or negotiating terms or something like that. I am flat out stating if she comes at me again with a knife I will bury her. She knows what she has to do to avoid it. She is warned." Haven says with a shrug.

"Facade, you seem to be of the opinion that I should just let her keep coming at me with a knife and never react. I will defend myself and I have that right no matter who I was and no matter who she was. I am merely telling her ahead of time how I will defend myself the next time she comes after me. If she pushes the button its on her. This wasn't pointless whatever you may think, becoming informed is never pointless, and now she is better informed." he says with a shrug.

Extending his hand toward her, Dee rises out of the ground until what was a pit ulling her down becomes pedestal that she can step off of with easy.

Dee smirks, "Idiot, yeah I am better informed that you like burying people alive."

 

[Shalimar]

Haven justs sighs at Dee. "Its not about liking it or not, and in point of fact, I think its reprehensible and would hate to do it, but I wont let you keep pulling knives on me and threatening my life with them. If you do it again I will have no choice but to see it as you trying to kill me, and I will respond to that by stopping you as best as I can, and you said it yourself so far you haven't been able to scratch yourself let alone injure or kill yourself. If I can't do any of that then the only thing I could do would be to bury you."

"My desires have nothing to do with it. I'm not up with the laws around here, but I'm fairly certain what you did would get you arrested and put away for a couple of years. Attempted murder...that could be life in prison, or at least a couple of decades." the blue haired teen says with a shrug. "Enough about this. You know what I will do if you threaten me again with a weapon, so there is nothing further to discuss about it."

"Who wants the rings to help with memory in case we are reset again?" Haven asks the rest of the group. He quickly shapes the word Vargas into his ring, and the name Ashley into Ashleys, as well as the name Lt. Commander Denise Reese into the ring he offers Dee.

 

[Vanifae]

Ian walks to the Mustang and looks at the radio. What happen with that radio? It is off? And it seems to catch short wave not public long wave... Taking a look at the radio, he ears himself telling "Yes? I can hear you? Who are you?"

Am I becoming a fool? I'm talking to a radio who has no mic to speak in it... it is a car radio. thinks Ian, waiting a moment to see if against his expectation, someone would answer.

“It’s me Mira, you probably do not remember me… if you do then this will make it easier, this may be strange for you to hear but bear with me, I am trying to help you. I don’t think I have much time…” the voice responds to Ian.

Surge

The laptop turns on but isn’t connected to any network. As long as he has been here he hasn’t found any network connections but he really can’t decide if that is odd or not given the circumstances.

Smells like there is breakfast downstairs, and he can hear people upstairs.

Outside

Dee waves off the ring, “Did you not listen to Façade; reality itself changes when we black out, when we wake up the rings will be gone.”

Michael’s double goes sailing in the air and gets a good look of the land, there is a single road leading off to the north it seems with tall trees flanking both side, and the Estate is surrounded by temperate wilderness for as far as he can see… rolling hills with forests.

Not sure if the double will be caught or not…

Dee looks up as the double sails in the air, “That looks like it will hurt.”

Upstairs

Vanessa nods, “I agree maybe we need to try new experiences to jog your memories, it can be a slow process though either way. Where are the others, are they downstairs eating?”

She starts walking down the hall into a room with books piled on the floor, on tables covered in white sheets, and other covered furniture. She sighs, “Most of these belonged to my parents, and they were both bibliophiles… I enjoy a good read myself, but they gathered entirely too many books.”

Vanessa starts gathering a pile of books.

 

[James Heard]

Upstairs

Vanessa nods, “I agree maybe we need to try new experiences to jog your memories, it can be a slow process though either way. Where are the others, are they downstairs eating?”

She starts walking down the hall into a room with books piled on the floor, on tables covered in white sheets, and other covered furniture. She sighs, “Most of these belonged to my parents, and they were both bibliophiles… I enjoy a good read myself, but they gathered entirely too many books.”

Vanessa starts gathering a pile of books.

Alan helps her transfer the books.

"I think they said they were all going for a walk."

 

[Shayuri]

"You're completely wrong, Haven," Facade replies. "I have no problem with you giving her a warning. She was out of line, and she knew it. But giving a warning doesn't mean plunging someone into the ground. You were out of line too."

She pauses, then shakes her head.

"Whatever though. It's over, so it's over. I'd like to drop it now, before we get into another cycle of 'he did, she did.'"

"But Dee's right. When we woke up this time, our appearances reset too. I was in a dress last time. I woke up in my PJ's. It's not going to be as simple as just handing each other trinkets."

"But I have an idea," she adds...looking almost surprised at herself.

(Edited to reflect Shalimar's clarification. Thanks, Shal. )

 

[Shalimar]

She was not buried up to her neck, I said specifically she was only going to go down to her waist. It is obvious from what Haven said that he wasn't trying to bury her at all. From his abilities if he really really wants to push it to the limit via extra effort and spending his concentration on it he has a heavy load of 200 tons, his normal heavy load is 50 tons, if he had wanted her buried she would be.