checkingout | sit yourself down, and meet the best inn keeper in town ( O P E N )

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sit yourself down, and meet the best inn keeper in town ( O P E N )

Who: Everyone!
Where: The initial arrival rooms, the main lobby, all over the place.
When: February 3rd
What: Welcome, newbies.

ARRIVAL.

you wake up when you hit the floor in a dark room, and the air is knocked out of your lungs. the carpet is threadbare, worn with use, kind of dusty. and you're not the first person to endure this crash landing. nor will you be the last.

once your vision rights itself, you can see the well-lit hallway through the doorjam straight ahead of you. not to say there’s monsters in the shadows, but something propels you towards that door and out into the bright hallway beyond.

and once outside your room, you can hear it: the steady thrum of rain outside.

MAIN LOBBY.

there's a staircase at the end of the lengthy hallway you tumble out of. grab your suitcase and follow the dull green exit signs on the ceiling until you reach the disappointingly bland stairs that lead you down to the ornate old fashion hotel lobby.

to your left is a warmly crackling fireplace, to your right is a lobby desk. straight ahead are three large sets of doors, though only one of them is open to the public. and outside the few (curtained, permanently dark) windows is the continually steady hiss of rain.

welcome to the hotel.

FRONT DESK.

though there is a bell and a plaque designating the desk to be the main desk, the customer service desk, there are currently no staff members behind it. none shall answer your calls, either.

terribly sorry for the inconvenience.

SCREENING ROOM.

on a tall pull-down screen, a silent version of nosferatu will be playing on loop. at the back of the room, between the neat rows of fold out chairs, mounted on a wobbly table is the old timey projector, and mounted on the walls are some rather old speakers that warble out "terrifying" old timey music.

along the curtained windows is another long table, with a large bowl that looked like it once would have held popcorn. but is now unfortunately empty. same for the large hot drink dispensers labeled "hot chocolate" and "coffee".

OTHER.

the ballroom and breakfast hall are currently closed, grand doors locked.

there is no main door leading to the outside, good luck trying to find one.

the door to the courtyard is locked.

ROOMS.

you've a room key with your assigned room number on it. all the new guest residences will be located on floors one & two. while there is an open elevator in the main lobby, and the buttons light up inside, the doors will not close. all in all, you'd be better off taking the stairs.

while they're the same stairs you undoubtedly came down to get to the lobby, the door to the endless hall everyone woke up in will not reappear between the main floor and the subsequent residential halls.

there are twenty rooms per floor. feel free to get to know your surroundings; or your neighbors as they trickle in around you.

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No, nothing was wrong with my room, it's not about that at all --

[ He lets out a sigh though, because even if he could get out, he knows there's not an exit, and at least someone is trying to help. ]

No, I... a manager can't help if I can'get out. I'll just... just wait for the storm to go.

[ What fresh hell is this? He's being punished by the Death Eaters for sure, because otherwise why would he be in any place like this? How long will they test him? ]

[He takes a breath, suddenly a little awkward. Embarrassed. Because yeah, sort of did sound like that.]

I'm in 111, just a few doors down from you.

Because they earned it.

[ Her bristling isn't the result of blind, unerring loyalty, the way it was before. Coulson and the others are her family, the only family she's ever had, and some of it may still be an element of that, but …

Then there's Cal, and the way they'd tried to keep it from her. Protect her from it, she knows. So she falls back on that. Relies on her hatred and hurt at finding out that was the family she'd been searching for all these years. ]

SHIELD protects people. I've seen the kind of difference they can make firsthand.

Cool.

[ She puts some deliberate effort into muting her excitement because she's three doors down from Captain America. A smile flickers through anyway, breathy and short. ]

Well, if you need anything, just— [ Reaching out, she leans awkwardly to get her fist to knock against the fake wood of the desk. A beat passes. ] Not that I think you'll need anything because I mean obviously you're … you, and I'm just— But in case you do. That's where I'll be. Close. But not, like, weirdly close.

For now, it's good to know someone familiar is here.

[Even if it's Hook. Even if they have some things to work out. She's past it, he's an ally, and he took care of Henry. It's all that matters, really. At l east for now.]

I'll leave you to...whatever you're doing in here.

[Steve smiles at her this time, nodding to show that he understands when she knocks against the desk.]

You know where I'm at too. [And after a moment, he adds:] And you're wrong, I do need things. Like some friends in this place.

[And she seems like she could be a good one.]

[ there's a few familiar, it seems. Emma, Regina, and ... well.

Regina is about to take her leave and he should let her but he can't help himself. he catches her arm to keep her from turning away, before he releases her. the look on his face is a bit dark. ]

Have you seen him? Baelfire. [ he doesn't know what to think about that still, in so many ways. but it does give credence to her alternate time theories...

except for the fact Neal remembers dying, and that should not be possible. that kind of magic is not possible. so how? he hopes she might have an answer, but there really isn't one. ]

[Is he what, alright? Caught up? Ready to take his own life back? Emma's not sure what the question is to have an answer - and most of them would be no. They need to take this one step at a time. There's no information available here, no one to even ask about where they are and what brought them to the hotel. There's no guarantee that if they get home, they won't be pulled back and dropped through the ceiling all over again. They need to know why this happened and how to get out of it, and they need to know that when they do leave, they'll be able to take Neal with them.

He can't go back to where he was, that's not an option. Either he's going to realize that too, or he's going to get dragged through a portal the same way they threw Marion into the present. For all the pain it caused Regina, seeing a son get his mother back was worth it. Next time, it'll be Henry and Neal. It has to be.]

He's dealing. It's gonna take some time.

[Time she'd rather he took in Storybrooke, instead of the Bates Motel. It's not real to him yet, Emma understands that much. It probably won't be real until he sees Henry again. If they can get back home and reunite him with Henry, maybe that'll make all the difference. This place is unfamiliar. It's dark, it's old, and they're trapped. It's hard to get someone to hope for the best when the worst has already happened. Alive is a lot better than what he was before they came here, but how is he supposed to think it'll stick when they have another fight ahead of them?]

I figured you'd have found me if you had anything worth sharing.

[Emma steps into the room and lets her eyes dart around to all that he's torn apart. She can feel his frustration just through looking at it, desperation seeping into the attempted destruction. He must feel helpless, because she does too. No way out, no answers, and no magic. Even in Neverland, they had the last one. Here, it's like it's all been wiped away. She's not the savior anymore, but she's stuck with a hotel full of people who still need saving.]

I was going to look for you, but I thought I'd get a look at this place first.

[Might've just scratched the surface, but it's a carefully protected one. She hesitates for a second before reaching out, taking his new hand in hers. Changed his ways, huh? Emma might've bought that in the moment, when the excitement of something new had gotten the better of her. Now, it's a lot more obvious that the Dark One didn't restore anything without him having to pay the price.]

What you said before about your hand - I don't buy it, Killian.

[And she didn't expect...this. She didn't even notice it was there until Mary Margaret pointed it out.]

Are you alright? Rumplestiltskin doesn't own your soul, or have some vital organ locked in a jar somewhere, does he?

Stronger together.

[Emma smiles weakly, letting her hand fall to her side before Regina order it away. She's not always sure how to comfort Regina, but she knows the truth should help. They've never been through anything that was more powerful than the two of them put together. If they work side by side on this, they should be able to find their way home to their son.]

Do you know anyone who would have the power to put us in a place like this?

[Storybrooke is always good for a surprise enemy or two, but the people here are from so many places that it's more likely it wasn't someone from town.]

Are you sure?

[Emma buys it because Emily seems fine, just nicer about it than she probably deserves. She should have been paying attention, not nearly knocking someone on her ass.

She smiles apologetically, shoving her hands into her pockets.] I'm Emma.

[Good thing Emma doesn't know about all these feelings he's not going to talk about. She'd start thinking Jim is the kind of kid she could actually have.]

Neither have I, but they seem to be the only kind that exist here.

[Impenetrable everything. Whoever is running this place should stop kidnapping people and just start selling this crap, okay?]

Well, I will gladly volunteer to be the first.

[ Overeager? Nah acceptable. Probably. ]

You know ... And this is a long shot, but I have to ask. The Diviner, it was an old SSR artifact. They picked it up during the war, called it an "0-8-4." Object of unknown origin. Packed it away and forgot about it. You don't ... happen to know anything about it, do you? I just thought maybe, it being Agent Carter's team and the Howling Commandos that you might ...

[ Blind hope, born out of not knowing what the hell that thing did to her when it opened up. ]

[ Captain freaking America earns a completely dead stare, like he's 90% sure she's just screwing with him. Then again, it might just be the icing on the rest of the surreal cake; it isn't unreasonable to take a beat to catch up.

Totally didn't hear the smoking hot comment. Or he's not acknowledging it, anyway. In the pause that follows her words he goes one better than catching up, though, considering the past few minutes — the room, the lobby, the people he's already encountered.

Strangers, most of them. ]

You think they're all here?

No. [ Again. It's a little repetitive, but this time it's more hesitantly unguarded as curiosity starts to get the better of him.

It's also a very literal answer to her not-literal question. Fitz either doesn't catch on to the rhetorical aspect, or he doesn't particularly care. ] You've never been here before?

[ That's two things they have in common, go figure. ]

You don't know?

[ Probably a dumb question. It's out of his mouth before he thinks better of it, sounding more surprised and disappointed than accusatory. After a beat: ] I mean— I don't. Either, obviously. I can't even get a clear view out the windows, but it's... [ Rambling isn't going to get them anywhere. Second try, with a bit more focus: ] Where are you from?

Thanks.

[ More manners. It's a little flat, but it beats nothing. He takes the offered toolkit a beat after, then gives her a somewhat chagrined glance before heading into the lift and focusing on the front panel.

Which is about when he realizes he's been on autopilot, falling back on old habits. It isn't that he's completely useless with tech, now, but he's slower than he'd like — clumsy. He seems to hesitate as he's about to pull something out of the kit, uncertain, then he looks back to her. ]

Sorry— did you want to try?

[ As if it's only just occurred to him that she had the kit in the first place, so maybe she'd like to take the initiative. It'd probably be more convincing if it weren't for the hesitation beforehand. ]

I—

[ Fuck. Fuck. fuck fuck fuck. ]

… Fitz, I don't know what happened down there.

[ It comes off her tongue sounding like an attempt to skirt responsibility. Maybe that's what it is. Justifying to herself that whatever happened to Trip, whatever the Diviner had done to him wasn't her fault. ]

Raina was activating the Diviner, and Trip showed up, and then it's just … nothing.

[ She shakes her head. ]

It did something to all of us.

[ Something terrifying, something she doesn't understand, and grappling with that is more than a little intimidating right now. Can we go back to talking about Cap's arms? ]

But Coulson was alive. He shot Whitehall. If we're here, he must be too. And if he is, he's gonna need our help. He was in bad shape when I found him.

[The Nogitsune has seen the work of witches before, and that is about all it can equate Gabriel too. The only other option is another spirit, and Gabriel doesn't have the smell of one of them. It nods slowly to his words, giving the chair yet another once over. Foxes trust no one but themselves.]

That's quite impressive. Can you do that to anything or only chairs? Are you a witch?

[There is no fear in the creature as it approaches a little closer to Gabriel, stopping just short of grabbing range. It is a wild creature after all.]

You don't smell like a spirit.

[Curiosity. It's a terrible thing for a fox.]

[emily returns the smile, grateful that the other woman was at least friendly enough and willing to answer her questions] I just arrived here and I was wondering if the same thing happened to you— with just waking up here suddenly?

I'm positive. [she nods, still smiling in response. it takes a lot more than that to affect her and just bumping into someone like she just did isn't really on that list]

My name is Emily. I'm guessing your assigned room is somewhere on this floor too? Unless you're exploring this floor or something.

[The way Neal offers it up doesn't entirely work for her, and the growing frown on her face says as much. He's right about one thing, they do need to focus on this. They need to tear this place apart until someone owns up to bringing them here. They need to get back to Storybrooke, and to leave knowing that whoever started this isn't going to be able to do it again. And then, yeah, they'll see how the rest of it works. Except it's not raising the dead because technically - ]

You're not dead, Neal.

[Her hand moves to his arm to make her point, lingering there for a moment while she takes this in for a second time. He's alive. Body intact, heart beating, warm under her touch. There's no need to bring him back because that's already been done for them. Getting him to the right moment is what matters, now. He has to go back with her and Killian, and not on his own. Emma can respect his sacrifice, no matter how much she hates what he had to do for them. That can stick, but his death doesn't have to.]

You're here. I may not know where that is, but I know we have a chance to get you back where you belong. It might have taken me a while to figure it out, but I did. I figured it out. Storybrooke is our home.

[It's the place she misses when she's not there, and the one she'll fight to get back to. She gives his arm a gentle squeeze, unsure if he even remembers that talk. It's impossible for her to forget it, and that's not for lack of trying. She spent twelve years trying to lock away her memories of him, but it never really took. Even when she wanted to hate him, or just erase any memory of him from her life, some piece of her always held on.

The time they spent together led to some of the happiest memories of her life. Even with a broken heart, it was hard to close the door on what they had when it was good.]

I just wish I knew what would get us there. It's not like there's anyone around who can offer answers. I haven't seen a single person working here. It's like it runs on it's own.

[don't mind her, she's basically leaning against the open elevator door with her arms crossed and her gaze pinned on him, waiting until he realizes she's there. he has the manners of an engineer - all take-charge and kind of rude with other people's stuff.

when he looks back at her, she raises her eyebrows.] It's not like I carry that around because they ran out of manicure sets.

[ He's quiet for a long, long moment -- she's a strange creature, this one. An agent who wears her heart on her sleeve, none of the subtle tells that betray the savvy of an advanced agent in the field.

No, she's genuine (and if she's pretending, she could very well be the most dangerous one of all), and he's listening. ]

Like what?

( doesn't mind the tears or face wiping? enjoy her snot, peeta.

the same way she's enjoying the soothing backup, almost enjoying the comfort except what she's saying and what he's saying clash spectacularly. and katniss has to pull back from their embrace to look him in the face, her own eyes puffy and cheeks blotchy. )

He lied to me, ( she insists, anger and inner torment mixing to create the perfect voice crack. ) You were supposed to... ( she trails off, because she can pretty perfectly guess what their promise had been, and hers was pretty similar. he knows what he was supposed to do. live. escape. get out. )

If you find time for pleasantries in light of abduction, you may as well light your funeral pyre in the process.

[ i wish i could say lexa was sorry. at the very least, her tone's not quite so sharp by now as she moves to eye the view out the nearby window. ]

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sit yourself down, and meet the best inn keeper in town ( O P E N )

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