nysalogs | ❪ march event log: taken! ❫

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❪ march event log: taken! ❫

CW: This event log will contain descriptions and threads involving extreme violence, torture, and possible death. While we do not intend to push beyond any boundaries indicated in sign ups, players may opt out of any aspect of their group write-ups that they find uncomfortable.

Characters who have been assigned a role for this month's plot will find specific information about their groups and locations in headers below. We encourage that you thread among your groups within these headers, and as a reminder, only characters with plot roles may participate in rescue threads or hostage situations. All characters, however, are welcome to toplevel and tag in this log.

To receive special commendation and be recognized as heroes in a future post, hostages and rescuers must submit a short summary of their event participation HERE by March 24th.

OVERVIEW

While the riots and fanatic celebrating in Olympia and Wyver have subsided, neither city is naive enough to believe that life has yet returned to normal. There remains a tension among the citizens: not the slow simmer waiting to boil over that had preceded the aforementioned events, but an apprehension and fear that, despite the Royal Guard and Knightryder’s best efforts, the worst is yet to come.

In Olympia, as night falls on the 18th, their fears are proven true.

With their previous attempts at revolution through the riots having fallen short, the anti-Simwe radicals in Olympia carry out a more covert operation in their efforts to seize power. Having compiled a list of persons of interest, observed them, gathered intel and taken efforts to ensure that their movements will not be tracked, the radicals strike on the night of the 18th. The entire operation is discrete, and one by one people go missing from streets, homes, and businesses.

News that the kidnappings were a large scale operation doesn’t break in Olympia until the following day, but whispers have already travelled to a similar group of radicals in Wyver, who, fearing what a political coup in Olympia would mean for Wyver—or, more specifically how this could affect their chances to stage their own coup should Shanrian choose to step in—launch their own gambit for power with a similar scheme in the early hours of the 19th before dawn. Many are taken straight from their homes, or on their way to work.

For all their historical tension and division, Olympia and Wyver aren’t that different once the authorities become aware of what has happened. Both cities remain on the alert. In Olympia, Simwe orders immediate action from the Royal Guard, eager to win over the loyalty of her citizens by showing her commitment to freeing the hostages, while in Wyver, Shanrian is equally quick to take action with the Knightryders. The Altar of Volkkra is one of the most sacred institutions in Wyver, and the threat of the radicals drawing followers using its banner is too great to ignore.

ABDUCTIONS AND THE SEARCH

1. Radical groups in both cities have decided that certain citizens of their respective cities would prove to be valuable hostages. Perhaps you've been traveling between cities. Or maybe you've drawn their attention by being outspoken, excelling at your city job, or being an active citizen with a great reputation. What were you doing before you got snatched up? Did someone attempt to stop this terrible thing from happening, to no avail? Did you put up a valiant fight? Regardless of how it happened, you will be forcibly outfitted with an accessory that renders you completely powerless. The extremists are no strangers to magic, either.

2. Those that didn't sign up can still witness characters being abducted and attempt to stop it, though in the end they'll fail to stop the radicals. Characters who either witness these kidnappings or notice the absences can spread the word via missing persons posters, making calls to action, or embarking on searches. Characters that would ICly look for hostages but did not sign-up for the event can still go investigate, but will ultimately not find any kidnappers. All characters may also conduct investigations in locations not included in the clues.

3. With key figures around the cities abducted, several shops and organizations are left stressed and short-staffed. Characters may find themselves working long hours, and can volunteer to help the Guard/Nightryders as they're stretched thin, as well as other key locations such as the Institute, the Fields of the Exalted, etc. There are also children, elderly people, and pets who have been left without care, due to their guardians being kidnapped. Everyone is asked to lend a helping hand.

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

1. As rescues take place, extremists will be fleeing the following locations: Simwe Institute, the Sanctuary, and the Royal Guard Academy for Olympia, and a cave high on Namarak Mountain, or an island tower off the coastline for Wyver. Characters that did not sign-up can still catch and round up fleeing radicals as hostages are rescued, with additional details on what the extremists in a particular region are capable of in the group details below.

2. Hostages, both NPC and PC, will be gradually found and recovered between March 18th to the 24th. With how harrowing the experience is, rescuers and abductees alike may require medical attention and a helping hand. Perhaps you hope to support them with a shoulder to lean on, or by being there on Natha Station when any dead awake. Either way, the extremists may be defeated, but morale across both cities has taken a hit.

3. Healing doesn't always mean taking care of just the physical harm. Affected people in the cities, both PCs and NPCs, may have significant emotional scars from their experience. These are much harder to heal, and may not be going away anytime soon, but the people are doing their best to provide happy distractions to those who were taken hostage. Acts of kindness are encouraged and appreciated. Perhaps you can cook a few meals to take a burden off their shoulders, organize a fundraiser to help with relief efforts, or read a book to someone in recovery. A little bit of your time may go a long way.

FINAL OOC NOTES

Once again, hostages and rescuers may find detailed info on their scenarios in subheaders below. These may also be used as top levels for each group! Additionally, all characters, including those that did not sign up, are welcome to toplevel in this log.

For characters that are dying, please be sure to review the FAQ on death! We've updated it to provide more details for everyone this event.

Don't forget to submit a summary of your event participation to guide our plot forward and earn influence with the NPCs!

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ A – Awakening ]

[Riku groans faintly as he drifts back to consciousness, shivering faintly… god he is so cold. Where is he even, he wonders and tries to retrace his last steps… the last thing he remembers is going to work and one of the shamans that he knows to have gone rogue stepping in his path, and then–

He groans again, this time more out of irritation than pain and shifts, attempting to move his hands and legs; he's not particular surprised to find himself restrained, but really that's not going to stop him for long, not when–

Except that the Soul Eater doesn't listen when he calls for it. He can't feel the hum of it beneath his palm, he can't grasp at it, can't use it to cut through his bonds and free himself. He curses quietly, then shifts again, trying his best to sit himself up at least, so there isn't quite as much of him pressed against the… this is ice, isn't it? Wonderful.

With his abilities sealed and his eyes still blindfolded, he can't make out anything around him, can't sense anyone's presence beside him… so all he can do to find out if there's anyone else here beside him, is to ask quietly:]

Hello? Did they capture anyone else?

[ B – Interrogation ]

[The upside of being stripped? The shamans also remove Riku's blindfold which at least means that he is able to see again… which is about the only upside that Riku can note, and honestly? He prefers being blind to being naked in the middle of an ice cave and saying as much aloud earns him only round of being doused in ice water.

Riku gasps out loud, pulling his arms in as much as he can for warmth – light, he's never been cold like this – shaking his head at the questions their captors throw their way.]

I d-don't move b-between the cities, y-you already know this. I d-don't know anything about Olympia either.

[And honestly, even if he did… he wouldn't tell them, or at least that's what Riku tells himself for now, but doesn't dare to say aloud this time. He really doesn't want to catch another ice shower for something like that.]

[ C – Hallucination ]

[The cloths are back on – which Riku is somewhat grateful for, for all that they are doing really little good against the cold, the leather of his coat is already waterlogged and heavy – but for some reason the shamans have opted to keep Riku's blindfold for themselves. Riku isn't entirely sure if he's happy about that or not… not that it really matters while he can't reach into any of his abilities.

He grimaces, when they force the injection on him, then rubs his wrists when the restrains are removed, then immediately turns towards the shaman, ready to attack him, only to see–]

Sora!

[A smile breaks out over his face – Riku is too cold and too tired to care that he really needs this rescue ("Man, they really did a number on you, Riku.", Sora says and Riku just shrugs.) – but before he can even take one step towards his best friend, Darkness pools on the ground around them, Riku's eyes widening in terror as he sees Ansem and the Guardian rise from it. Sora turns around, light flashing as he calls for the Kingdom Key in order to fight their enemy, but before he can even connect the first strike, the Guardian has already grabbed him, strangling him with its large hands.

Riku yells out outraged and panicked, trying to reach Sora and drag the Guardian off him somehow – when larger arms catch him from behind and restrain him, Ansem laughing amused as he leans down to whisper into Riku's ear: "Had you truly thought me gone? That your will alone would be enough to restrain my mind? Ever the fool aren't you, boy."

Riku yells again, nonsensical noises of anger, as he yanks back his head to connect it with Ansem's face and free himself.

Then he scrambles over to Sora, who by now has been dropped to the ground by the Guardian, eyes wide as he shakes him, trying to wake him up again.]

Sora! Sora! No…

[Ansem just laughs again, the Guardian having returned to his side: "For all your talk about protecting the things that matter… you have failed. And without your friend or that meddlesome King around… your Heart will be mine!"

Riku just forces himself to his feet, eyes wide with rage as he screams:]

Not a chance!

[Even without the Soul Eater, he refuses to succumb!]

[ D – Rescue ]

[The illusion has finally faded and left Riku nothing but exhausted and drained, cold in more ways than one… beneath his gloves the skin of his knuckles is raw and bloody, but he doesn't feel anything but confusion... was any of what he's seen real? Sora and Ansem… did that happen or was it just a trick of his mind?

He isn't sure.

He probably makes a very subdued picture when rescue finally comes, lips blue and eyes hued yellow, his breathing uneven as he blinks at the new person that appeared, head tilting as he tries to figure out whether they are real or imagined. Strange… it's become harder to breath too, in the last couple of minutes but that could be the cold, Riku thinks before he asks.]

Y-you real?

[At any other time Riku would have understood just futile it is to ask a hallucination whether it's real or not, but well… he is in fairly bad shape.]

[ E – Aftermath/Wildcard ]

[Days have passed since the rescue… and Riku has been mostly quiet since, focused on recovery – the blindfold is now back in place, and his fingers and toes back to their normal color, thankfully.

It still seems like it's going to take a long time until Riku feels anything like warmth again, even while kept under piles of blankets.

If touched he might flinch, if spoken to it might take him a moment until he replies. Clearly… the scars of what happened run deeper than physical. Nevertheless, maybe try to cheer him up?]

Edited 2018-03-19 16:43 (UTC)

Axel had done his best to just keep his nose clean throughout the entire ordeal. He's dealt with more than his share of people being taken from their homes--it happened to every single member of the Organization, after all, and while he can't say he had any sympathy for them (even if he were capable of such a thing), he supposed he'd empathized. Maybe. He'd believed he had. The Organization had been full of monsters, but they'd all been people at some point, right?

But this isn't his fight, and with any luck, it never will be. He's been warned several times that he'll have to choose a side eventually, to which he always assures himself that even in the Organization he never really chose that side; he only did what he had to do to survive.

When he hears that Riku was taken and tormented, though, something in him bubbles up in righteous anger, and whatever moderate preferences he had been leaning into for Wyver have been fiercely overturned. Who do these people think they are? It's obvious enough, in some cases, that he and the others like himself aren't natives of this land, but torturing people crosses a line, even in someone like Axel's book. Kidnapping, okay, that can make for a good fun scare tactic, sure, but torture? Axel wouldn't have gone there, not ever, Xemnas' orders be damned.

He's not sure if Riku wants company, least of all his, but there's a strange pull of obligation. He still isn't sure he believes everything Sora had told him, but he believes enough of it, and if he's ever really going to get a Keyblade, ever really going to do anything right in his life, ever, maybe... maybe he should start now.

Finding the room in the infirmary with Riku's name beside the door, Axel knocks softly, then pokes his head in, awkward and unsure, but determined to at least make the effort to show Riku he's trying. (He really is!)

"Ah... hey," he says stiffly, lifting a hand to sort of wave. His first instinct is to make a joke to try and break any tension, but something tells him Riku wouldn't appreciate that in this situation, so he just lingers in the doorway until Riku deigns to acknowledge him.

Riku hasn't had a preference per se, he's mostly chosen to stay in Wyver because of the slightly warmer climate… and well. Terra stayed too, and really that's as good a reason as any, isn't it? He's been fairly content here too in his day-to-day life, he's living in the Old City, he's holding a job that he worked hard at, he is taking part at the local festivities… even after the days being questioned and experimented on, Riku isn't sure what of that had made him a target.

Maybe all of it, maybe none of it… though, does it really matter now?

He's been feeling strangely detached from himself, from the whole incident… he knows that it happened, that it happened to him… but it doesn't quite feel that way.

It takes a moment until Riku sits up when Axel enters – he's feeling vulnerable enough as is, and the way Sora has been fussing since his return doesn't quite help… he can do that much at least… even if he makes sure to keep one of the blankets wrapped around his shoulders for additional warmth.

"What do you want?"

Yea, no "come in", no "how have you been", because as far as Riku is concerned even with the talks and sort-of truce between them… Axel isn't an ally. (Not yet, anyway, if Sora is to be believed, but until then, he's going to be forward, before he is polite.)

His second instinct is to be indignant, but he fights it. He knows he and Riku aren't friends. Maybe they never will be. That doesn't mean he wishes ill on the kid--he never did, even when they were definitely on different sides. Lingering in the doorway, Axel hefts a sigh.

"Nothing," he says benignly, shaking his head. "I just heard you were having a really lousy day, so I thought I'd come... I dunno. Say hi, or something." He averts his eyes and looks caught somewhere betwixt embarrassment and annoyance. "Look, I was pretty lousy at being a villain, but I'm way worse at being a good guy, and I know that, but I'm trying okay, sheesh."

He'll stay in the doorway unless Riku specifically indicates he's welcome to come in--he understands not wanting to be vulnerable around someone you don't trust, but the fact of the matter is, Axel would really rather be on friendly terms with Riku and Sora than the alternative. If that means assertively showing up and being awkwardly congenial, then so be it. But he knows better than to push too hard too fast.

"If you want me to scram, I'll scram, but I'm not here to give ya a hard time," he says, folding his arms and leaning in the ingress. "Hospitals suck, but I'm good at being sneaky, so if you want me to smuggle you a burger so you don't have to eat jello the whole time you're here..."

Well, it's about as close to an olive branch, of sorts, as Axel really knows how to offer.

Edited 2018-03-21 07:14 (UTC)

Lousy day… yea that's definitely a way to describe Riku's last week, not inaccurate but definitely understating it. The last week has been more than just lousy... but Riku isn't about to argue that. He's spent too much time thinking about the caves and the torture in the last few days as it is.

He listens to Axel's words without interrupting (though he snorts when the other calls himself a lousy villain, if only because well… he's seen worse), and then stays silent as he considers the offer… there isn't anything he would want Axel to bring him, or at least nothing that the other has access too… The texts at the Altar shouldn't be removed, and even if they could be borrowed, Axel would just get lost in there, probably.

But there is something else, something Axel can do…

"…You can get me out of here."

And knowing how this sounds and that he's still recovering, he adds: "Just for a little while."

Yes, the understatement was kind of deliberate, Riku, try and keep up.

When Riku makes his request, though, Axel startles, making a noise in the back of his throat.

"That... isn't... quite what I had in mind," he admits, rubbing the crown of his head. "Ah..." He blows out a sigh, then steps inside and closes the door behind him, just so nobody can overhear anything. "Have you got your Black Coat here with you?" he asks. He doesn't really know the extent of what Riku's been through, but going by the state the younger man is in, visibly, he's pretty sure it was awful. The last thing he wants to do is risk Riku's heart being swallowed up by the Darkness in the Corridors in his weakened state. Sora would absolutely annihilate him, for starters, and that's never something he wants to think about, but the truth is he would just genuinely feel bad if he allowed something like that to happen.

Or, well, he would... keenly remember what feeling bad feels like. Or something. Give him a break, this is complicated.

"Where would you wanna go, anyhow?" he asks, moving a bit closer to the bedside, but not too close. He knows Riku still doesn't really trust him, and frankly he can't say he blames him for that.

Well excuse him for not being quite able to read that level of sarcasm just yet again.

He nods at Axel's question – his coat is in the closet with the rest of his belongings, and he agrees; Riku wouldn't dare traveling through a corridor without protection right now anyway. After what happened, and giving just who is still lurking within his heart… it's definitely not a risk he wants to take.

Riku pushes himself off the bed and walks towards the closet, his steps a little more unsteady than they used to be, his carry a far cry from his usual confidence. It might take a while until he gets those back, but at least he's determined not to stop even with cold and pain still dominating dreams and recent memory. He dons the coat, turning back to Axel to inform him of what he is planning.

"Just out. I want to walk a little around the city… without someone constantly fussing."

Much as he appreciates Sora and Terra worrying… it is kind of grating at him too, just a little.

Riku indicates that his coat is in the closet, and when the younger man gets to his feet and sort of shuffles in that direction, Axel watches, but doesn't move. Riku's one of those stupidly proud, independent types; he'd probably be offended if he offered him help, so unless he actually falls on his face or something, Axel will just wait and watch. He gives a soft laugh then.

"I guess Sora is the fussy type, isn't he?" he asks, and then glances back toward the door again, just to make sure no one is passing nearby and could peer in and see what's happening.

After some experimenting with the Corridors, Axel has discovered that they still work here, but their range seems to be limited to a fairly small radius of his current location. Making sure there's no one in the hall, he moves to the window and squints a bit, trying to see if there's a secluded spot within the travel radius where they can exit the Corridors, and he spots one behind one of the secondary buildings. It doesn't seem to be in a direct line of sight to most things, so it'll do. Turning to glance at Riku, he frowns a little. He doesn't look like he's in the best of shape, really, but that's to be expected, he guesses.

"All right, let's do it, then," he says, waving a hand and opening up a Corridor. The black and silver tendrils whorl in the air, a gaping maw of black and purple energy yawning into existence, and Axel makes a sort of sweeping gesture, an invitation for Riku to enter. Before he does, though, Axel drops two fingertips against Riku's shoulder--not his whole hand, just two fingertips, enough to beckon him to wait for just a second--and meets his eye. "Don't... run away or anything," he says, his brow crinkled a little. "I know you don't really like me, but if Sora found out I jailbroke you and then you ran off and got yourself busted up or something, he'll beat me up, and that looks super bad on my Man Card, okay?"

Axel has got him pegged right – though right now it's not so much pride as it is anger that's motivating Riku; there is so little that he's managed to do by himself right now, so much help that he needs (he couldn't even walk out of those goddamn caves by himself) and for all that he's grateful for what he's given… he wants to be able to do this by himself too.

He needs to really, because how else is he ever going to grasp at the strength to protect anything, if he can't even get his own coat?

When Axel touches his shoulder, he tenses but stops, turning to see what the other has to say, then just snorts.

"I have no doubt that even if I was planing to run, you'd have no problems catching up to me."

Riku has no illusions about his current state – he can't outrun Axel, not unless he dared to open up a corridor himself, and honestly… that seems too much a risk, for now. As for the other thing, there is something he should correct about Axel's perception of Riku's thoughts on him.

"And it's not that I do or don't like you–" Because really, Riku only knows second hand information about Axel. "It's that I don't know you."

So between that and Axel's history, excuse him from being a little wary.

Riku | Hostage

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