entrancelogs | [not as closed as jay intended] we've got us a map (a map!)

Entry tags:

[not as closed as jay intended] we've got us a map (a map!)

Who: Jay, Tim, Georgia, Shaun and eventually Alphys
Where: The Network
When: ~~September 16~~ September 17, because chaos! anarchy! maps!
Rating: PG
Summary: Jay puts together a locked group chat with Tim, Shaun, and George to talk about the map he received. Master Hacker Alphys McSciencelizard crashes the party. For science.

The Story:

[Jay starts with a video. He's in his room, with scraps of red tissue paper scattered across the desk.]

So it...looks like this isn't just me. That got a present, I mean. Did you guys, uh...what did you get?

[He should have worked out what he was going to say ahead of time, he really should have, but he's been too busy thinking about the fact that he got a map. A map that leads somewhere. Somewhere inside the mansion.]

I got this.

[He unrolls the map and holds it up to the screen. It's recognizably a depiction of the mansion, but upon closer inspection, the image is reversed. There's a red "X" on the fifth floor.]

I've been looking at it, and I tried matching it up with where I've been, but then I got a look at the entrance hall. [He points, crinkling the paper.] The kitchen's...it's on the wrong side, right? And the library's not supposed to be there, either.

I mean...maybe this isn't our mansion. Maybe it's, y'know. [He gestures vaguely toward his bedroom mirror, half-covered with a sheet.] Theirs.

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[Okay, that's better. And she can accept that Alphys' anon messages were not motivated by secrets or lies. She did come clean quickly enough, which means Georgia's happy to put it behind her.]

So you're saying the map probably is to the Core, then?

Question.

[Jay hesitantly raises a hand.]

What is...I mean, what do we know about the Core already?

[Because Jay's gotten the impression that it's important, but that's about it.]

[She tries to steady herself, setting the communicator down so it's broadcasting her from the waist up, pulling a laptop into frame.]

So, uhm-- I've been, uh, k-kind of researching the Core for a little while now. I have something similar, back in my world, that t-turns geothermic energy into magic energy, and I've been monitoring it's levels of magic and how it, uhm, r-reacts during events--

[Oh, wait, Georgia said something, and she turns her attention over.]

Right, uhm, the map, so there was this event last year where t-the mirrors reversed? And we could see the Mirror Side. Some people found the Queen's room, but she was s-surprised, because she said it always moved.

[Alphys goes back to her notes on her laptop, paging quickly through what she has.]

Anyway, uh, the Core powers a-all of Wonderland, and it's what creates events and takes memories. We had thought that it was, uh, all memories, but I realized that it couldn't just consume them for energy, because people who go home remember everything about themselves. So it has to be consuming s-something else.

Either way, uh, it's very dangerous.

[Some people found the Queen's room. Might've been how Alex was able to get the information about that mole in the first place.]

Souls.

[Like how Shepard said. It's consuming souls. Or pieces of them. And maybe once he would have laughed at that - here he is, pointedly not looking at Georgia - but having more or less merged his soul with that of a monster, completely by accident, he's not about to cast doubt on that kind of thing any longer.]

People who die here.

[Jay's been distractedly monitoring the network while everyone talks, and Shepard's post catches his eye. He doesn't give it a thorough read, but there's mention of the Core, and souls, and then Tim mentions souls, and Jay jolts upright.]

[He catches Tim's eye for a second (the best he can with a camera) before turning to Alphys.]

H-hey... [He doesn't know her name, so he just sort of...gestures in her general direction.] Have you seen...? On the network, what Shepard just posted?

[Fuck you all Georgia doesn't have to believe in souls and she's going to pull her sunglasses off JUST SO YOU CAN ALL SEE HER ROLL HER EYES.

Because yes. She's monitoring the network as well, and she's definitely seen.]

I fucking hate this place.

[It's difficult being a hard science girl in a fantasy world. And if, if souls really are a thing... it brings up a whole lot of questions she doesn't know if she's ready to ask about her own situation. Does she have a soul? Is it the same as the original Georgia's soul? Can Wonderland even bring her back?

She doesn't know. She doesn't even know if she wants to find out.]

Edited 2017-09-20 02:31 (UTC)

[Shaun's not sure he believes this shit about souls either, but he's definitely among the the first to admit that they're not in their genre anymore. He uses a finger to spin the saucer from his own gift on the desk in front of him, frowning a little.]

Okay, so. What does that mean? For us, I mean.

[SIGNIFICANT FUCKING LOOK IN GEORGE'S DIRECTION.]

Look, if you don't wanna call them souls you don't have to. Just...whatever it is that makes us us might be in danger of getting pulled in there.

Alright, could you just-- [Jay cuts in, one hand on the map and the other gesturing for emphasis.] We've got a map that might lead us to the Core. Clearly, we're supposed to be doing something with it.

[Alphys has just been hurriedly scribbling notes this entire time, lord help her.]

Uh, s-soul thing aside-- even though it's not an aside, oh my gosh, I have so many theories-- going to the Core is really, uhm, really bad for you.

[She finds her notes from her drone plan, that might now be totally obsolete, if they're going to have to go and go now.]

The last p-people who went there went unconscious immediately and lost a r-really important memory. I was working on, uhm, blueprints for a drone, but we're not gonna have time to finish that now.

[She scowls at Tim because she sees that look.]

No, it's fine. Souls. Whatever. Why not? We've already accepted magic and Wonderland. Someone's going to show up with irrefutable proof of there being a God next. Why the fuck not?

[She's always considered herself to be extremely rational, and part of that meant not believing in things that weren't tangibly real. Wonderland's complicated that, and it annoys her to no end.]

Fine. Agreed. We should go, but we should be really fucking careful. And we should lay out our objectives before we get there and have a plan that allows for the likelihood that anyone who opens that door will not be able to do much.

Edited (FORGOT TO FINISH THAT THOUGHT) 2017-09-20 04:00 (UTC)

[Shaun touches her elbow lightly. He knows that almost everything about Wonderland hurts her to her logical--heh--soul, but she doesn't need to take it out on everyone else. It's not their fault that the place is apparently powered by souls and magic.]

Better question.

[Maybe not better, but certainly a question that warrants asking.]

How the hell do we get over there? Mirrorside isn't exactly easy to cross over to, right?

It's just as hard for... [Jay grimaces.] ...for the Mirrors to cross over to this side, right? 'Cause, I mean, if not, maybe we can talk one of ours into switching with us.

[Not a great idea, but it's an idea! Maybe!]

[She relaxes very slightly at Shaun's touch, though she still doesn't look happy. It lets her put aside her annoyance with the whole situation and focus on the actual practicalities of getting to the Mirrorside.]

They can crossover at will, actually. The problem is, if the Queen hasn't given permission, she'll get angry and punish them, which could include entirely unmaking them. That was part of the issue with Fitz and Cisco's portal. Mirrors used it to cross over, and the Queen decided to punish everyone.

So it's very unlikely we can talk one of them into switching. The risk is greater than any reward we could offer.

Yeah, uh, w-what she said-- they'd definitely be killed.

[She puzzles over her options, tapping a little claw against her chin.]

Maybe someone has an item that w-will let them do this. Or... we could try to find the Rabbit Hole. But it's always moving. And even if we did get over there, s-someone would have to be back here to make sure our mirrors don't cross over again immediately, because then it'd all be for nothing.

[A small pause.]

Also, why are you going to the Core a-anyway?? What's the point of all this?

Yeah. I mean, sure, the map's probably of the Core, and there's clearly something going on, but maybe going in person isn't the next step.

[Jay pauses.]

I mean, we'll probably end up checking it out regardless, but...

If we have a map that gives us the location to the Core - [And he nods at Jay's map, since the Queen's room seems to be out due to how much it moves around.] - that probably means we have to go there. Or...someone has to.

[He holds up his chess piece for all parties to examine once more.]

If this belongs to the Red Queen, we might be able to find her there.

And much like Shaun and his constant temptation to Drink Me, we are not going to run off half-cocked just because a map is telling us to.

[Georgia leans forward.]

For one thing, you two are not going to the Mirrorside unarmed. At least take a fucking taser or pepper spray or something. If we find the Red Queen, we might be finding the Jabberwocky as well. We need more information.

[Hhhh this is going so fast, thank god Georgia is here to stop them because she is Not At All Good At Stopping.]

No, uhm, s-she's right, we shouldn't just-- we can't just r-run in there!!! The Core is incredibly dangerous and I don't think nearly anyone's ever been there and just, uh, walked out okay. Especially if we're trying to do something important.

... Wait, w-what's the Jabberwocky?

[Someone hasn't done their Wonderland required reading.]

[Someone didn't do their required reading. Though, when pressed, Shaun couldn't actually describe it himself. The poem is full of nonsense terms that don't make sense.]

Terrifying Wonderland monster. Pretty sure it's one of the last things we want to find when we open the door.

[Georgia's done her reading, of course, and more importantly, done her notes on Wonderland past reading. Which, in this case, is a lot more useful than the poem.]

It's attacked Wonderland a few times in the past. Most recently, the Red Queen used the Vorpal Shield to trap it and herself in the Core. That was a few years ago.

So...she might still be down there.

[Maybe her memories have been polished away, but...they've got a map to the Mirrorside and a whole lot of Wonderland-related shit cropping up at unbridled speeds.]

So maybe we all stick together. Safety in numbers - 'specially if there's something still alive down there.

[It sounds like the backstory to some corny fantasy story. Yet, here they all are, potentially right about to walk right into the dragon's jaws.]

[It's not an unfamiliar feeling.]

Yeah. Safety in numbers, and if we have to run, we at least...try to stay together.

[Jay knows that's harder than it sounds.]

[She immediately looks, like, much more scared.]

Okay, so, uh, n-now we're also dealing with gigantic animals, this is fine.

[Thiiis is fine. She knows she kind of... invited herself to this party, and the prospect of something that could eat her isn't fantastic, but...]

If-- If y-you're all going to the Core, I want to come. I'm not, uhm, much of a fighter, but, I-- I'm one of the only people who's ever studied it. I can help.