Character Background - Paige

[K Man]

{I thought I would share this everyone since we've been PMing this back and forth. It's the background information for Paige, a new member that will be joining the game shortly. These posts are purely for asethic purposes, NONE of it will be in game knowledge to others unless Paige decides to disclose said background.}
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DM - It's been a few months since you've moved to Denver, "The Mile High City" as they call it. You have yet to get sickened of the gorgeous sunsets of brilliant purples and oranges over the tall rockies that the natives seem so complacent to ignore. You've even tried capturing the beauty in a few paintings, but never could, settling for painting surreal images of the cities skyline. You've painted here, wrote there, but you still have yet to feel the inspiration your used to feeling when you perform, only Tad seems to be getting better at painting.

Tad...

The name brings back a flood of memories back, exactly the reason why you wanted to go for a walk in the night air in the first place.

You first met Tad in a small coffee shop in Boston, you know, the kind where dingy lights give the gentle haze of incense burning an eerie feel and soft halo to everyone in there. You had gone with some friends that wanted to check out if the rumors were true about it being a great place for inspiration. It was, and it was made even better when you met, Thadius Markstone the First...as he introduced himself.

You two hit it off splendidly and you could just feel that he was destined for something great. You could always get a good bead on people, just having an innate sense for what kind of person they were. You and Tad spent a lot of time together and even though he wanted something more and you didn't, you tolerated his flirts and admired his persistance.

Then he found the book.

You remember that once, in an old used book store near Salem, he found a copy of some kind of play that he was exceedingly excited about. He blew off your date for that evening, claiming he wanted to study the play and you dismissed it as part of his new excitement. As time passed, the calls got farther apart and the attention faded. You actually took offense, even trying to seduce the once undesired Tad just to test if he was still alive on a date that you managed to schedule. He blew off any attempt and even left the date early, claiming he had to go "water his plants".

Saddened you gave up on the man and went about your life until one day, you answered a call on your home line. After a few rings you picked it up.

"Jenn, hun...I'm so sorry..."Tad was sobbing, you quietly listened to him. "I don't know what's gotten into me lately, but now, after some...thinking, I realize how important you are. Please, let me make it up to you..."

You allowed him to, by taking you on a trip to Denver. You always wanted to see it, hearing it was such a nice, clean and open city full of aspiring artistes like yourself. The trip out here was strange indeed. You could tell Tad was hiding something in his mind, but he kept talking about how important Denver was and how important you were openly. You weren't sure what to expect, but curiousity got the better of you and you stuck with it.

Denver was great, eventhough as soon as you got here, Tad went straight to public records and began looking at architecture and building design from the turn of the century. You dismissed it and went to see the city.

You loved every minute of it. The city was fantastic and everything ws exactly as you had expected it to be. You had already made up your mind to move here when you met Tad again and he asked you to do the same. Unanimous in your vote, you both went home and began to pack for your long move out here.

Once again, during the trip Tad was speaking of your importance in his life and how valuable you would be in Denver. This actually kind of unnerved you as you got the feeling that Tad had something dire in store for you, but arrangements had been made and bridges had been burned...so you sucked it up and stuck it out.

Once settled in Denver, in a loft apartment dowtown you began to have nightmares. It could have been the building since it was over a century old and the shape of it...just didn't seem right. It was like there were hallways that dead-ended one day, and led to exits the next. Windows never seemed to be straight and they too, seemed to move up or down everyday. You tried to talk to Tad about this but he was enveloped in painting the set for his "play". He left numerous canvases laying around the loft...canvases of horrible, surreal landscapes that seemed to draw you into them.

You been feeling extremely uneasy the last few weeks. Tad's scenes have been littering the apartment and he paints more everyday. You sat alone in the apartment once and you could swear you heard faint screaming from a backdrop that looked like twisted MC Escher drawing. Anoter gave off a slight breeze that froze you to your bones. When you turned it around to face the wall, it blew back and fell on it's back. The images seemed to twist and move, calling to you or...something.

Tad has been no help either, refusing to work on anything besides those fucking backdrops. You're not even really sure where he gets the money for the place, but that doesn't matter. You really haven't made any friends in Denver and the one person you live with has you scared out of your mind.

So you took to the streets tonight to clear your head. Tad claimed that soon he would need you...and that sent chills down your spine. You've been walking for the last hour, debating what do...
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[K Man]

Paige - Tad needs a reality check.

Is the first thing that went through Paige's mind, now that she'd had time to clear it. She nodded to herself, confirming as much, listening to the simple rhythm of her feet on the pavement. She altered her pace, just for the hell of it. Symbolic, that, perhaps - She had been going about this all wrong, apparently, and her metaphorical pace needed some significant altering.

Tad was not himself. At least, not the self the Paige liked. It had been so long since then, she could scarcely remember him. And it was the play, she was sure of it. It was Denver. It was this whole damn trip. Maybe it was her? Who knows. It was starting to seem like she was another thread in the tapestry he was weaving, and Paige didn't like that one bit. As artful, beautiful, surreal, and ultimately artistic as her situation currently was, she was on the inside, rather than on the outside, and that was simply a fundamental problem to her enjoyment of it. It would've made far better a book to read than a life to live.

She tried to focus again. Tad. The play. Tad. The play. She'd never wanted to admit it before, that a piece of art could make a man like Tad so different. So badly different. But it had, she couldn't ignore that anymore. And Denver only seemed to augment his dementia! If it weren't so late, she'd browse the public library, see if she could figure out what it was that he found there.

But where would she start? She laughed at her absurd idea, laughed long, laughed loud, and a touch hysterically. There wasn't really anyone around, so it was okay. Perhaps she would look at the play, then? But that thought made her shudder. "Never," She told herself. "Never will I look through that horrible work." After all, what if it affected her the way it affected Tad? No, the book was certainly something she had no desire to gleen inspiration from. She would not act the crazed, clutching child as Tad was...

Child. Tad. Paige actually stopped walking a moment, then began to walk again. Yes, he was behaving like a child - a crazed, obsessed child, but a child all the same. But the best way to solve an obsession was to separate a child from his plaything. His play. If she could take it, hide it from him - Certainly, he would be angry, but he would calm down. He'd get over it. And then he would be Tad again, and she could concentrate on something besides her worries - She could concentrate on her art. Maybe she'd write a poem of the experience.

The play's the thing
Wherein I'll catch the conscience
Of the king

[/i]


She frowned. Shakespeare made for a poor haiku.

And the play's the thing
Wherein I'll save the conscience
Of poor, reviled Tad

Closer. She shook the poem to another part of her brain. If she could get the play from him, she could get him away from the play, or so she reasoned. Perhaps she would burn it? She winced, shook that thought out of mind. She couldn't destroy artwork. It was too sacred. Even that horrible work. But she would hide it. The only problem was... how to take it? Tad kept the thing close, his muse, his very life by now. But Tad had to sleep - Oh, he slept little, but he slept all the same. If she could simply take it, and then get rid of it for a time...

He would be angry, ofcourse, if he found out. Angry for days, maybe even weeks. She'd have to hideout for a bit. She contemplated heading home, but decided that the trip would be too much - She didn't want to leave Denver, and she didn't realy want to go back just yet. Besides, it would be too simple to follow her. No, she'd find a motel room, stay there, and live discreetly. There was work to be had, and she had some money in reserve. All would be fine, especially once Tad calmed down, and she could return to the beautiful and terribly building.

Beautiful and terrible... Ofcourse! That's what he was researching! She would take the time to examine that in a bit more detail, too. Once she could access the library. Until then, she resolved to wait until long after dark, when she felt she could return to their apartment when Tad had finally collapsed into sleep. And if he wasn't, she'd simply leave again. He rarely talked to her anyway, except to chillingly explain her importance. Which she could not truly understand, unless it was an immensely poor lie. She would take the play, and she would leave that night, and hide the damned thing in her motel room - once she got one.

And, because she felt she owed him a little bit, she took to relaxing in a diner while she wrote a little sonnet explaining her taking the play and disappearing for a bit. It helped to pass the time, and it helped to ease her mind. A bit.

She only hoped all went according to plan...

[K Man]

DM - __________________________________________________________________________________________

Taking the last sip of your coffee, you sigh aloud.

The 24 hour diner you've chosen to sit at is completely dead and the tired college waitress isn't even paying attention to you. You've had more than ample time to draft the letter on napkin upon napkin until a pile of crumpled sanitary papers is the only testament to your drafts.

You decide that it's a good letter, explains your points and worries with ample discussion and that Tad will understand. You fold the final draft up and put it into your pocket, intent on transferring the words to a more decent medium once you get back to the loft. You leave a good tip and money to cover your snack and open the door into the cool brisk, early morning air.

It's about three in the morning, a bit later than the time that Tad has been going to bed recently, and you hope that is the case when you get home. You stealthily creep up the old stairs to the door, your eyes darting from shadow to shadow wondering if the fleeting movements are your imagination or some strange creature lurking...waiting.

You steel yourself, brushing nightmarish thoughts from your mind, and focusing on staying quiet. You reach into your pocket and remove the apartment key you had already separated from the key-ring in anticipation of leaving it behind with the letter. Making no noise, you gently insert the key into the lock and pause. You feel a slight vibration on the key, like the bass drops of so many young kids cars you've seen on the streets.

This wouldn't normally make you pause as Tad has taken to listening to strange music and falling asleep with it at defeaning levels recently, but normally you can hear it coming up the stairs a level down from here. It always sounded like the beating of African Drums in the Congo jungle and you even left your cell number with the downstairs neighbor in case you had to come home and turn the stereo down.

...but still, the key gently vibrates back and forth in the lock, being hit by unheard waves of likely defeaning bass.

"Calm down Paige...it's just your mind playing with you." You re-assure yourself as you turn the key.


If only that were the case...

As you crack the door open, it throws you back into the hallway with resounding force. So much force that the door knob shatters on the brick wall into a thousand pieces.

The next thing you notice is the defeaning noise that errupts from the apartment in a cacophony of horrendous notes and squamous melodies. Drums pound, strange horns blare...all mixed in with what you are sure is at least a dozen people screaming in painful agony and all are well above the tolerance level for human pain.

You put your hands to your ears and feel a very small amount of liquid oozing out...you can assume its' blood from the noise.

Next you see the strange canvasses that Tad painted standing in the apartment centered around the living room. They swirl with color and light...some even seem to pull the light from their surroundings like a darkening clouds. They show alien landscapes boiling with furious energy storms and purple lightning bolts rip across the black skies.

Strange robed figures step forth from the canvas, their feet emerging from the painting and finding solid purchase on the hardwood floor. They move from the paintings and drop to their knees and begin a bowing motion towards an altar where a figure lays on its' back, akwardly dangling over the stone dias. The robed figures have horrible humps protruding from their backs and a scaly tail darts back and forth when they walk. There are about ten in the room so far with more emerging every second. You squint into the chaotic scene to get a getter glimpse of what the strange figures bow towards...

...It's Tad...

At least it looks like Tad. He is bent at an impossible angle over the altar, his neck hangs limply and his mouth gapes open. His chest is ruptured open, at least you believe its' from a rupture as there are unidentifiable chunks or innards slowly dripping from the walls. Pieces of ribs jut into the air and his nude body is a faint crimson from his own blood.

The skin has been flayed from his muscles on his arms and legs, leaving them hanging like pieces of meat in a butchers' shop. Tendons and cartilage poke from beneath twitching muscles and oozing plasma.

You begin to twitch as your reality is flipped upside-down. You aren't sure if your eyes are really taking in their surroundings or if the weeks living with Tad had just recently made you snap mentally.

As you battle with yourself you become aware of the noise dying down to a dull roar. Removing your hands you see the robed figures have all become aware of your presence as they glance at you with unusually reptilian eyes from beneath dark cloaks.

You begin to think of an escape when you hear words being spoken in the familiar voice of Tad's. Looking back, his head is risen and turned to look at you, eventhough his eyes are empty bleeding sockets. His mouth oozes a mixture of puss and blood that runs down his lips as he speaks.

"Running a bit late aren't you Paige?..."
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{In case it wasn't obvious ...SAN Check <Success> You lose 4 SAN Points, please keep track on your character information.}

[K Man]

Paige - As is typical with situations like this, Paige is at once in awe and in horror of the scene before her. The nagging, artistic side of the woman is as taken with it as Tad was with the play itself, reveling in the sheer, glorious horror of the sights, the sounds, the smells, the vibrations - all of it. The hideously deformed body of Tad, the vile, repugnant robed reptiles, the soul-shattering rhythm of the damned and deranged - It grips her emotions, her very spirit, and squeezes her with such glorious, fulfilling, inviting agony - Almost ready to die amidst a scene of such unparalleled horrific beauty as this...

But Paige is not dumb. The other half of her brain, the practical one, kicks the true magnitude of the sight before her away, shuts it into a great chest and locks it shut, resolving to focus on the enormous danger she is suddenly in, rather than the bombardment of strange sights and sounds. Tad - Who is somehow, someway moving, speaking, seeing, and as coherent as she last saw him - Is talking to her.

You're so very important to me... Paige inwardly curses her linear thought, her earlier inability to fully comprehend his meaning. She isn't important to him, she's important to his plans. And something tells her the queerly robed figures have an awful lot to do with these plans.

"Later than you know..." She mutters, unable to blink, unable to look away. But she has to. Her rational mind tells her that, despite Tad's current awareness of his surroundings, there is likely no way he will survive for any great length of time under such circumstances. His current status is a 'miracle' she'd rather not pursue the cause of. The simple, base, self-preservational thought in her head is that Paige is in a hallway, a bevy of strange men are in her room, beyond an open door, and Tad is far beyond her help. She makes a break for the stairs, hoping fervently that the strange, twisted nature of this place doesn't also decide to adopt an unnatural existence by trapping her in - For Paige cannot even fathom how she could resist such a horde.

And thus, wiping a silent tear that leaks from one eye at the sheer beauty of the twisted scene before her - and moreso for the ultimate fate of Tad - She runs as fast and as ably as she can, for the only chance she has is to get out of this place, out into the open, and to attract as much attention as she can.

...At 3 am in the morning. Shit.

[K Man]

DM - Your worst fears slap you in the face of your expedious retreat. You turn, bolting down the steps, expecting to hear the defeaning cacophony die behind you...but it doesn't.

As you dart down the flight of steps, you find yourself still on your level of the apartment building. Tad's horrbily twisted carcass still limps on skinned apendages towards you, the reptillian figures reach ghastly taloned hands from beneath their robes.

You try again, wondering if Ahkam's Razor is true. You climb the steps hurriedly to the next floor above wondering if escaping this is as simple as reversing your steps. Clambering hurriedly, you fall and skin your knee hard enough to draw blood. As you watch the crimson rivulets fall onto the carpet, you find yourself again before the door...that lurid portal to the insane play.

Tad reaches for you again, his forearm muscles twitching and spasming plasma in streams onto the floor.

"Paige...I told you....you are important to me...come to me....be your destiny..."

You stuble back as Tad walks on unsteady legs towards you. You trip over something behind you and fall backwards. You trip is halted by a solid object behind you and you stumble to the ground and look to see what stopped you.

A figure stands, completely covered in a clandestine "Wet-Works" uniform. The kind you would see in a popular video game or movie of espionage and spies.

The figure levels a weapon of some kind at you, it's laser-pointer aimed somewhere between your teary eyes and booms.

"You have two seconds to prove you're not part of this..."

The voice is a male, and judging by the figure and octave, a very large male indeed. His darkened goggles give no indication of mercy beyond his cold ultimatum.
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[K Man]

Paige - Two seconds. A hell of a lot goes through Paige's mind in the span of two seconds. One of the first things she considers is that, while Ahkam's Razor may be a debateable point, Murphey's Law sure as hell isn't. As if the situation wasn't dire enough - what with being unable to leave, having the mangled, deformed, somehow-still-alive body of Tad groping for her, and a small clan of lizard-eyed beasts closing in around her - Now the only other person that seems at least relatively sane is pointing what appears to be some sort of a weapon at her. Her. Teary-eyed, scared shitless Paige.

Now, while Paige has never been one to consider herself normal, per se, any abnormalities she may possess frankly pale in comparison to what's going on beyond the threshold of the door nearby. This fact, Paige was fairly certain, is a rather obvious one. But apparently the man in the outrageously cliche outfit is taking no chances, and so Paige has but two seconds to act.

Well, one second, once she's through spending the first second blinking in profound confusion and dismay at the cold-hearted man's demands. You have two seconds to prove you're not part of this... Were she in a different place, a different time, Paige might find this funny. Immensely, hysterically funny. But laughing at this point would probably render her part of 'this', and 'this' had abruptly become the last thing she wanted to be a part of. No, wait, she always disliked the idea of being assailed by these things and what had become of Tad. That's why she ran, isn't it?

Then again, all things considered, she is a part of this - At least, on the periphery. Tad seems to have her in mind for some part of it, anyway.

Paige adroitly chooses to ignore this potential fact when blurting out her defense.

"What?!" She's owed an exclamatory or two, but she keeps it at that. "Do I fucking look like part of... Of that?!" She points wildly, yet accurately, at Tad. Or what somewhat resembles him. "I don't even know what that is!" She points again, in a more wide manner, indicating the whole unearthly assemblage. It's the only pathetic response she could really come up with in two seconds, but she hopes it'll do.

Still, in the back of her mind she figures if it doesn't work as an excuse, she'll probably be better of anyway.

[K Man]

DM - The figure stands coldly over you. It's difficult to tell what's going on behind those darkened goggles and dangerously aimed weapon, but you ease a bit as its' pointed away from you into the room with Tad and the creatures.

"Don't move..."

Is all you hear the figure say. It motions in a small circular pattern with its' arms. You can probably assume its' some kind of silent code that a military veteran would understand, but its' beyond you. Then it snaps its' fingers and points down to where you still sit huddled.

You didn't see them before but three other clandestine figures creep up the staircase and take positions on either side of the large man above you. Two others are clearly female while the third appears to be another male.

One of the females leans near you, and lowers her weapon to her side. She leans in and shields your body from the following event.

All three of the figures begin to fire simultaneously. The noise of the guns is deafening, even above the horrid pounding of drums and screams. Hot shells scatter to the floor around you, sometimes hitting you on the arms or neck giving you a slight burning sensation of being rained on by hot metal.

Squeals echo throughout the hallways...probably the reptillian creatures as the bullets rip through them, but you dare not raise you head to look. The last few minutes of images have been hard enough on your mind.

The gunfire lasts for what seems like hours and shells keep bouncing off of your skin and onto the carpeted floor around you. The grip of the female holding you seems to get a bit tighter and at several times, you hear commands shouted by the large man.

"Watch to your left Kami!..."

"I'm out!"

"They're heading back!"

You're not sure who's yelling them, but it seems as though whatever effect is desired by the clandestine group...its' occuring.

Eventually the gunfire dies off to sparatic bursts here and there and soon to nothing at all.

You finally raise you head to look around and you are met by the goggles of the female that shielded you. Her mask moves slightly as she speaks to you.

"What's your name?"
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[K Man]

Paige - Although stunned, shocked, and otherwise dazed, Paige manages to speak up. "Paige." She raises a hand to wipe her face, tries to sneak a peek beyond the woman - Even in this state, after these dire circumstances, she cannot help but try and steal a glance beyond. "My name's Paige," she repeats, more softly, sinking back a bit in place. She has so many questions for the looming four, but she gets the distinct impression that they won't be having any of that.

Still, she can't keep quiet, not after something like this. Paige bites her lower lip and looks at the woman, trying to focus her muddled thoughts so she can be, well, relatively coherent. "What... What just happened? What were those things? And what did they do to him?" She doesn't indicate Tad, but she has a pretty good feeling they know who 'him' is. She had another question, ringing in her head, but she doesn't give it a voice. How is the play involved? She knows it is. There's no doubt in her mind. It's just a matter of how... And why did Tad want her?

But for the moment, Paige tries to be content with her initial questions, looking mostly to the woman before her, but keeping alert of the others - her rescuers? - nearby.

[K Man]

DM - The female before you notices your attempts to gaze beyond her darkened goggles and decides to provide a friendlier face for interaction. She peels back her mask and goggle apparatus, letting her long red hair flop out from beneath. She is a younger woman, perhaps in her late twenties to early thirties, fit and takes very good care of herself. She smiles a gentle smile before speaking.



"Paige? Listen, I promise I will answer all of your questions but right now, we need to get out of here. You have to trust me on this dear, Tad...everything about this place has to be left behind right now."

About mid-speech, a phone at the womans' side rings. She glances down at the ID but ignores it and finishes dealing with you. Eventually the phone ceases its' ringing.

You are only vaguely aware of the other clandestine figures as they finish a sweep of the area, ensuring nothing escaped their hail of gunfire. The red haired woman helps you to your feet in time for the large male to return.

"All clear, time for Evac." He speaks authoratatively.

He begins trotting down the steps behind the other female and male figures before him. The redhead looks back to you.



"Last chance to turn back Paige...beyond this moment is nothing but knowledge that tears away the armor of ignorance..."

She holds out her hand for you to take if you choose to walk down the steps with her...you feel, inside, that this will be a defining moment in your life.
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[K Man]

Paige - And a look back makes Paige's suspicions certain. Yep. There's nothing left in that pit for her. Nothing except her belongings, which she's getting the distinct impression are lost to her now, either through this group of strange individuals, or through whatever it is Tad did to himself and to the area. The bridge behind her is crumbling, and the ledge ahead doesn't look much more promising.

Calling this a 'defining moment' doesn't really do the situation justice, Paige realizes, scolding herself for the earlier label. This is, quite simply, beginning to look like a rebirth - The more she considers it, the more this rings true. But at this stage, she doesn't get a whole lot of time to reflect on the vast changes her life is about to undergo. Her saviors are leaving, and this woman is apparently offering to take her along. A comforting face with an uncomfortable proposition - She could sell a story like this. She'd be the first to read it, except that it's her own story, and therefore terrifying. Terrifying, unwanted, cold, merciless. All of this, and more.

Paige almost laughs at the utter complexity and simplicity of her decision. There's no real decision. Even now, and this moment, she can come to terms with that. She can't go back to that - To ruin, to the end. As much as she'd love to explore the beautiful tragedy and macabre glory of it all, she's human, and therefore endowed with a desire to survive. And the only survival she can see right now is in the future.

But more importantly, the future holds answers while the past holds nothing but wanton perplexity.

"Thank you," Paige offers weakly, taking the woman's hand and pulling herself to her feet. Having been told the relative urgency of the situation, Paige is not one to offer much more than this, opting instead to follow the woman in silence and obedience, inwardly preparing her barrage of queries. There are many, and they need ordering.

Much needs ordering.

[K Man]

DM - You follow the woman out of the building silently. Somehow, after all the past events, the usually decrepit old building that you've come to somewhat fear, no longer feels oppresive.

Perhaps it's because you know you're leaving it behind for good or perhaps it's because whatever presence the building had died with Tad's failed plan...regardless, the breath of night air that you draw upon exiting the building feels refreshing to say the least.

You see the clandestine group entering a darkened SUV that appears to have been hastily parked on the sidewalk before your building. Somewhere in the distance, between the tall towers of steel and stone, you can hear the sirens of Denver's police, no doubt coming to investigate the occurence here tonight.

With a final breath, you climb into the vehicle and close the door behind you.

The large male figure from before sits behind the wheel and throws the SUV into drive, pulling away from the apartments at break-neck speeds. You can see now that he is a black man and could've have probably played professional football at one point or another judging by his size. He drives the vehicle with expert precision and complete silence.

The other female figure sits next to him. She is about the same age as the redhead next to you, perhaps a bit younger. Her hair is black and straight and her pale face leads you to believe she could be of European descent...possibly Italian. She flips open a very expensive laptop and begins picking away at the keyboard very quickly.

The other male beside you is an Asian man. Smaller in frame than most males you've seen, but very muscular and fit none-the-less. He looks silently out the window at the buildings that flyby at high speeds. The effect is almost dizzying. You snap to as you feel the red haired woman checking you for injuries.



"She Ok Karen?"

The red head that you now know is Karen replies.



"Yeah Keith, she's fine. A few cuts and scrapes, nothing serious though."

Karen lowers her head and speaks low for only you to hear.

"You should feel lucky, usually he never asks about anyone." She continues. "Well I guess introductions are in order."

"The woman in the front is Kayla."

The woman turns around in the seat to meet your gaze.



"Hello..."

"You've already met Keith..." Karen gestures to the man driving. "And next to you is Kami."

The Asian man looks back to you slowly. His face is expressionless when he speaks. You can see his features more clearly now, and he looks half-Asian more than full blooded Asian now. He makes a slight gesture of bowing towards you.



"I'm sorry for what you have been through..."

Kami returns to staring out the window without waiting for any kind of response. Karen continues.




"Everyone, this is Paige."

Karen leans back against the car door.

"Well, as I have no doubt you have tons of them, let's hear your first few questions..."
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[K Man]

Paige - Paige looks between each new face as she is introduced to them, nodding numbly and murmuring her own 'hellos' and such. When her attention is drawn back to Karen, she actually forgets, for a brief moment, all that just occurred - Her mind's own self-defense. Then, in a rush, it comes back to her.

The play, Tad's behavior, the drums, the reptilian-eyed things, Tad's hideously mangled form, his voice - The stairwell, being unable to escape. Tad clawing after her, the reptilian things edging closer - Tripping, staring at the man she now knew as Keith. And then the gunfire, the shrieks, the voices, and the eventual silence.

Paige gives a shudder, eyes closing briefly - But only briefly. She nods to Karen - She does, indeed, have many questions. About what happened, about what will happen. "What," she starts, and is forced to swallow before she can get much further. "What happened there? To Tad? To the room? He seemed alive, but... how?"

((I'm going to continue on, as it's slightly faster to keep going with all the questions I can think of, though in-game Paige would be waiting for each response, possibly delving deeper - But we can handle that as it comes.))

"What were those... things? The things with the reptilian eyes?"

"I don't suppose you'd know what those hideous paintings had to do with anything. He drew a lot of them, showed them to me. I... hated them." Half-true. As an artist, she couldn't help but admire them, too. She shivers a bit, remembering the images. "How did he draw those?"

"Why was the building important? What did he do to it? I remember Tad looking through architecture in the library once, a while back, before we moved there... What did it all have to do with this?"

"The play," she starts, trying to find the right words. "I don't remember what he called it. But the damned thing's at the heart of this, isn't it? That's what started driving him mad. That's what he was obsessed about..." She pauses, pre-emptively dreading the answer. "What was that play? What did it do to him? And... how?"

((Once these questions are answered to her satisfaction - Maybe there's more, based on the answers given - Paige will move on to questions about her new... arrangement.))

"Back there," she gestures feebly, vaguely. "I lived there, Karen. I dont have anywhere else to go, and I don't even know what's safe anymore." Paige shrugs helplessly. "Where am I going to go? What am I going to do? I still don't really know what it is you four do... But apparently I'm involved with it, now, right? At least, that's what I've figured out." She shakes her head and the thought away to press on. "So where are we going, and what's going to happen to me? I... I don't have a place, I don't even own any stuff anymore. What now?"

And as an afterthought, if it hasn't been answered up to this point, "Karen, Keith, Kayla, and Kami - I suppose those're all with K's, right? Why?"

[Toptomcat]

Virtuoso.
*claps endlessly*

[K Man]

Virtuoso.
*claps endlessly*

{I too was quite impressed with Ujdat's skills...thanks for compimenting.}
__________________________________________________________________________________________



"My, you are an inquisitive girl aren't you? Remarkably alert for what just happened. Regardless..."

"The what that happened back there was a clashing of truths Paige. Your truth and the REAL truth. I know this is hard for you to understand right now, but there is a truth above all others...and you saw part of that truth tonight. Tad as you knew him died probably way before that night, his mind succombing to the poisonous real truth."

"Those things, the reptile-things, are more of that same truth. They come from a different reality, one that underlies and pre-dates ours. The "play" you're referring to, was probably a ceremony of sorts to cross truths or realities."

"The play, the backdrops, the building...probably all part of it. We'll let Kayla research it after she gets all the details from you, and we'll all help you to understand it better. You're right...it is the heart of your matter, but it's not the heart of THE matter Paige."

The SUV pulls around a corner and speeds up again.

"Unfortunately Paige, you're not the first person to get catapulted into a situation like this. I've seen a dozen or so people, just like you...ordinary, simple. Then a loved one or friend gets them trapped in a horrible situation."

"My team specializes in these situations, which in fact are skirmishes in a war...a unseen war against an enemy that we really have no chance of defeating. It's human nature to not go down without a fight though. We move from day to day gaining knowledge of our enemy, it's tactics and motives...hoping that someday we'll have what we need to win."

"As for you, the fact that you chose to leave everything behind was a good move Paige. Too many times I've seen the ignorant fall without knowing what struck them. You've made the choice to fight back, whether you know it or not, you're now a soldier."

"I can't tell you what's going to happen to you Paige, for choice is the most basic human concept, but I can tell you that your life will be much different from this day forward."

Karen smiles for the first time in this bleak conversation.

"One rule soldiers have always had is, never leave one behind. You will be taken care of Paige. If not by myself or my team, then by another group. In fact...I may have just the group of guys willling to help you. They're W-Cell, whereas I'm with K-Cell...thus the names."

"We operate in cells so that if something every happens to us, or the truth poisons us, like it did Tad, we can never betray and destroy the army. Make sense?"

"We refer to each other by our code names, thus everyone in K-Cell has a name that begins with K. You'll need to pick a W name to be referred to by your cell."

"Now, as much as I trust you being an honest person and having witnessed your resolve in a dire situation...unfortunately I can not reveal much more than this to you now. For trust can only be built upon trust. Perhaps the rest of your cell, when they return, can share more with you."

"For the time being, let's get you cleaned up and find out everything else you know."

Keith pulls the SUV into a underground parking lot and parks. Everyone begins to exit the vehicle. You follow, head swimming with the bevy of information loaded into it.

Keith stops before a dingy, metallic freight elevator and presses a button. Squeaking wheels and rattling cables echo as the cart is drawn to the current level. The doors open and the team files into the small area, ready to descend into the ground.

You climb aboard and sigh heavily. Thinking of what else to say.
__________________________________________________________________________________________

[Toptomcat]

She also sees a kitty!

[TheUdjat]

Despite the temptation to do so, Paige does not, in fact, see a deranged kitty. A good thing, too, because she doesn't have any materials to go and paint the crazy image, as she'd no doubt want to.

As the elevator doors shut, Paige is sent back into her questions, the jolt offering her voice back, for a time. "W Cell?" The realization abruptly hits her. She looks at Karen rather abruptly. "Wait, what do you mean? I'm not going to be around you four?" It's clear from the shocked and frightened look on her face that this thought doesn't sit well with her. "But... I just met all of you! I barely know any of you, and you're going to send me off to more strangers?" She shakes her head vehemently, as little good as it will ultimately do her, but she doesn't say any more just yet, merely looking at those that pay attention stubbornly, back braced against one side of the lift.

Believing this insufficient, she starts speaking a little more rapidly, perhaps frantically. "I'm already getting thrown into this... this war. I don't know the first thing about war! I don't fight - I paint pictures, write poetry, sing songs. I don't think I've held a gun in my life! But I don't have a choice, I know, I know..." She frowns, head starting to lower - But she raises it suddenly as a new thought strikes her. "I'm going to do what I can, though. 'Cause I don't have a choice. But another cell? A whole new set of strangers?" She sighs forlornly, reluctant, pleading eyes staring at her saviors.

[K Man]

"No Paige...you can't stay around us. You're new...the cell you'll be with is new."

"This way you won't feel constantly out-classed."

The elevator stops and everyone begins pouring off an filing down a hallway. You find this stone labrynth beneath the ground to be odd...cold. Wires are held fast to the ceiling, leading to unkown places occasionally dotted with flickering flourescent lights.

Keith, Kami and Kayla all enter seperate areas through doors and dissappear without saying a word, although Keith does glance back and cast a smile before leaving.

Karen stays with you, leading you to a small room where a table rests in the middle. She turns on a coffee pot in the corner of the room, and it begins gurgling with boiling water being filtered through it. Karen sits at the table and finishes her speech.



"I'm sorry Paige, I just can't, in good conscience, let you remain on my team. It would be the equivalent of allowing a soldier, fresh from boot camp to join the Navy Seals....you have to do the time first and trust me...my team has done the time."

"These guys are a fine team to be with Paige. I think I know them pretty well, and they'll take care of you and each other just fine."

The coffee pot finishes its routine of filling with the hot brew. Karen pours herself a cup and offers you one as well.

"As for never holding a gun...not every battle is fought with a sword Paige. I have seen creatures collapse with the mutterance of a few, well-researched words. There are devices and strange objects that the sight of which can drive the most horrific of beings back into the darkness."

"There's only one gun in this war..." Karen jabs a finger to the front of your forehead. "...and yours seems to be of a big enough caliber."

"Well, let's try giving your cell a call shall we?"

Karen sits back down and begins dialing on a speakerphone...
__________________________________________________________________________________________

{Alright, at this time, I'll try to get W-Cell back to this place and then you can all meet...then you can adventure. Stay tuned, for they should be returning shortly. Should you want to discuss more with Karen, or ask questions when the speaker-call to W-Cell is going to take place, feel free to jump in on the posts.}

[TheUdjat]

I forgot how freakin' great this background is. Thank you KMan for an awesome introduction way back then.