laššu - [Text]

[demonologist]

[By now, Wes has seen Fred's nameplate and noted that it's backwards now. It doesn't bode well, but at least it's likely that she hasn't been sent home. He's not ready to contemplate her being gone for good. Perhaps he never will be.

The frantic search for her has turned up no leads so far. And she's not the only one who seems to have disappeared.

Wes sits down at his desk with his journal, runs a hand over his face and then finally starts to pen a message to the other residents. He has to do something, no matter how small. Otherwise, he might just lose his mind with worry.]

I'd like to keep a collated list of names of those people who are confirmed currently missing, with their namesplates turned backwards, as if being mirrored. If you have a friend or loved one who qualifies, let me know and I will update their name here. It would be useful to know how widespread this is. Please also include last known sighting/whereabouts/activities just in case there is some kind of pattern we can identify.

LIST OF THE MISSING:

Winifred Burkle - went to bed in Hyperion Tower last night, could not be found this morning.
Kate Kane - last seen several weeks ago.
Geoffrey Chaucer - wrote in journal yesterday.
Allen Walker
Belle
Caterina Sforza
Carson Beckett
Arya Stark - last seen by mother going to bed night before.
Cole Turner
Noah MacManus - last seen heading off to bed.
Harry Flynn
Fenris
Yuan Ka-Fai
Lilah Morgan
Koriand'r
Tim Drake Wayne
Konoe
Kevin Flynn
Matsukaze Tenma
Danny Fenton
Agent Washington
Dhaos
Miki Sayaka
Quinn Fabray
Zuko
Yuuya Sakazaki
CLU
Hellboy
The Doctor(?)

Total count: 28(29?)

Comments

[samson]

[Oh, what ...

This response comes back about twenty minutes later, after he's checked all the nameplates of the people he gives a damn about.]

Kate Kane. No clue where her last whereabouts were.

[demonologist]

When was the last time you saw her?

[samson]

Like, a couple weeks ago. So I'm not gonna be much help there.

[demonologist]

All right. It's still good to know she's one of them.

[Adds her name to the list.]

[samson]

Yeah. Hopefully somebody who's seen her more recently will speak up.

[heloise]

Geoffrey Chaucer.

[demonologist]

Geoffrey too? When was the last time you saw him?

[heloise]

He wrote in his journal yesterday, I believe.

[demonologist]

Thank you, I'm assuming most people will have gone missing overnight, but it never hurts to actually gather the data first before making any firm conclusions.

[heloise]

You are most welcome. If there is anything else I can do...

/dictated

[spiritusaequitas]

Allen Walker an' a woman named Belle. Crowley wrote their names down earlier.

Also: [and these are dictated FAR more curtly] Caterina Sforza, Carson Beckett, Arya Stark, Cole Turner, an' Noah MacManus.

Dunno about most, but Noah was headin' off t' sleep last I saw him.

/dictated

[demonologist]

Heading off to sleep last night? Like Fred?

That's an alarming number of names.

[spiritusaequitas]

I know. This ever happen before?

[he's all business right now.]

[demonologist]

There was a time when the children were spirited away by a malevolent entity, it occured over several weeks. Eventually we were able to band together, defeat the Slenderman and get them back.

The castle sometimes inflicts dangerous losses on us. If it's not fairytale adventures or poisonous lobsters attacking, it's floods, people going berserk or thinking they are someone else entirely. It is extremely inventive in how it toys with us.

[There's a touch of bitterness in his tone.]

[spiritusaequitas]

Right, sure. Not t' be a hardass or anythin', but is there anythin' about how you dealt with all'a that that could help us now? Otherwise, we should start lookin' at something else.

Wesley

[likethetragedy]

Where are you?

Elektra

[demonologist]

In the library right now. I plan to do another sweep of the grounds soon.

Wesley

[likethetragedy]

Stay there. I have something for you.

Elektra

[demonologist]

If I must.

[People are responding, so he will delay for a while, but he's not going to sit idle indefinitely when Fred could be lost, in danger or hurt somewhere within his reach.]

library filter forever

[likethetragedy]

[He doesn't have to wait long. In fact, it's less than five minutes before she makes sure her footsteps are audible in order to announce her arrival. She is holding a couple of paper bags (filled with food he might be able to smell) and gestures with her head to the nearest table.]

That's not going to be big enough. Move.

library filter forever

[demonologist]

[Wes, of course, hasn't taken the time to eat anything since he saw Harmony's journal post. He gives Elektra a look which basically means: you're going to start mothering me now, aren't you. Still, he stands and obediently moves to a larger table. Whatever she's brought, it does smell good. But...]

I'm afraid I don't have much of an appetite right now, Elektra. But thank you.

[likethetragedy]

[Elektra doesn't react to that look. She is focused on the mission at hand. She sets down the bags and starts unpacking them in a uniform fashion as she speaks.]

Neither do I. I've walked all over the castle and city. I've abused every special talent I have to find Fred only to come up empty. [She is deliberately setting down a drink hard and looking up from her task at Wesley.]

And I'm not even in love with her. [Back to task.] So this is what we're going to do. We're going to let people continue to fill you in on what they know while we eat. I may not be able to see when but, there will be a moment where we have to be ready to back her up. If we're anything less than our best it will be an insult to her. It will also be a sign that this place can just steal from us and we'll fall to pieces over it.

You don't want either of these things, right? [She's done; everything is organized uniformly. It makes her feel a little better.] Sit down if you agree.

[demonologist]

[Wes had been expecting some kind of protest, but the lecture which is levelled at him is such at he stares at Elektra for a long moment, rather dumbstruck. She's right, of course. They can't let themselves be so overwhelmed with worry that they forget to take care of themselves. Fear of loss is the greatest enemy; it can be utterly paralysing.

That Elektra would so bluntly refer to his own feelings for Fred, it also renders him speechless. It's not something he and Fred discuss openly with anyone. It's their own private business. But if anyone would know the truth of the matter, it's Elektra.

Mercifully, she doesn't require a verbal response from him. And so Wes sits to indicate that he has indeed heard her and is in agreement. He reaches for the nearest bag, looking to see what she's brought.]

[likethetragedy]

[She's got clam chowder with sour dough bread and mini burgers for both of them. It's a specialty, okay? And some iced tea.

Elektra sits down well. She feels satisfied the point has been hammered in hard enough. No matter what happens next she feels some comfort in being able to take care of Wesley at the very least. The fact that he is now a grown man doesn't seem to factor in as strongly as it should.]

I hope you like it. It's a specialty at the Lux.

[demonologist]

[He takes an experimental sip and then nods with approval.]

It's wonderful. Thank you.

[Now that he's eating, he finds he's ravenous.]

I was wondering if we ought to ask the other psychics. See if they can sense where they might have gone.

[likethetragedy]

[She notes that. Good thing she brought a generous amount.] It's worth a try. Phoebe lucked out once already with her ability.

placeholderish

[wintercat]

[Oh, someone already mentioned Arya. This is what she gets for being too freaked out to be near the journal.]

I last saw Arya in her bed last night. [A pause] I am her mother.

[demonologist]

[The revelation that a mother has been forcibly separated from her child makes Wes tighten his grip on his pen for a moment. No matter how much time has passed, he will always regret what he did to Connor and Angel the most, out of all of his past sins.]

I am sorry for your loss...Lady Stark, isn't it? We will do everything we can to get them back, you have my word. If I find out any information about where they might be, I will let you know immediately.

[wintercat]

I will not rest until we do. [It's too familiar, this feeling. Not knowing where she is. Not even knowing if she's alive.]

Thank you. Whatever I may do to help, consider it done. I will not lose her again. [She really didn't mean to say the "again." It slipped out. Cat has always been too honest for her own good. She's not good at pretending.]

[waterproofed]

Oh, man.... Allen lives in town. I thought those people were safer from the castle.

[demonologist]

Sometimes they are, but not always. There have been losses which have occurred in town, for example.

[waterproofed]

Really...? Well, Allen's really strong, too. I'm sure if anybody caught him he'd get a way out.

[peeta_bread]

[Peeta's been checking all the nameplates of the people he knows.]

Harry Flynn and Fenris. Their nameplates are mirrored, too. I haven't talked to either in a long time.

[demonologist]

[Adds the names to the ever growing list.]

These disappearances seem to be quite widespread. It's troubling. Any idea what the mirror aspect might mean?

[direwolfbastard]

Arya's gone?

What can I do to help. My name is Jon Snow, I'm her brother.

[demonologist]

I'm sorry about Arya. I've lost someone very dear to me as well. My name is Wesley Wyndam-Pryce.

I have searched some of the outlying areas past the Castle grounds, but perhaps you could make another sweep?

Other than that, all we can do is try to piece together what has happened. Were they abducted from their beds? If so, how was it accomplished? There have been no reports of any struggle or commotion, so far.

[direwolfbastard]

It seems many of us have. If only we were becoming acquainted under better circumstances, Wesley.

Ghost, my direwolf, knows her scent. If anyone can find her, and hopefully everyone else that's gone missing, he can. I'll talk to my brother Robb, and see if he's able to help with Grey Wind.

Well, as I've heard it, when a person leaves the castle for good, all of their belongings disappear with them, so that can only mean that...wherever those missing have gone, they're still somewhere within this world. I'll check Arya's room with Ghost. He may find something others have missed.

[its_worthdoing]

Wes, people said nameplates so I went ahead and took a walk. I found some more names. [Old Scooby habits die hard] I don't know many of them, so I can't tell you when they were seen last? But it is a start.


Yuan Ka-Fai
Lilah Morgan
Koriand'r
Tim Drake Wayne
Konoe
Kevin Flynn
Matsukaze Tenma
Danny Fenton
Agent Washington
Dhaos
Miki Sayaka
Quinn Fabray
Zuko
Yuuya Sakazaki
CLU
Hellboy

[demonologist]

That's a lot of names.

[Wes's stomach drops yet again when he sees that Lilah is also missing.]

Thank you for doing this, Willow. I don't suppose you've been able to sense any sort of magical interference. It could be another one of the Castle's tricks, but I don't want to rule anything out.

[its_worthdoing]

[No, Wes, she did not sense a disturbance in the Force]

I tried. [And she did] But this place, especially the castle? There is --- it gets hard to pull it apart. To tell one kind of magic from the other.

I did look for any remnants of any kind of spell work? But I didn't see anything.

This guy

[youfallback]

I can confirm Agent Washington's missing. Searched the Castle for him.

Filter

[demonologist]

Understood.

[psych0p0mps]

can you please add the Doctor onto the list
the future one that is
i heard he went home but he might have just been among the first of those to disappear

[demonologist]

Is his name plate reversed or completely gone?

[psych0p0mps]

let me check

[eighteen seconds later...]

well it just says fifth Doctor now instead of fifth and eleventh
but hes sort of a special case since hes always shared a room with his past self
so the castle could do tricky things with his nameplate and still have it be technically correct

[demonologist]

Ah. Alright, I will include him for now, just in case.

[psych0p0mps]

thank you