OVERTURE

[stagemanagers]

You wake up, and realize you don’t remember how you got here.

This bed is soft and warm, but it’s certainly not yours. And the room is unfamiliar - unless perhaps you’re an actor, seeing as it looks almost exactly like every dressing room in the world. It's not quite large enough to fit the bed and trunk comfortably alongside the vanity, but it what it lacks in open space, it makes up for in coziness. This could be something you’ve seen in a movie, or dreamed about experiencing one day. But whatever the case, you aren’t supposed to be here.

There’s a silver key resting on your vanity, along with a thin program booklet. The cover - where the name of the show would usually be - is blank, but if you flip through it, you’ll find some startlingly familiar information. Maybe a few familiar faces as well…

The hallway outside is narrow and poorly-lit, lined with star-studded doors. But if you make your way past them and out into the lobby, you’ll find something entirely different: an elegant, refined opera house. Crystal chandeliers glitter overhead, and the red carpet is perfect for putting on a show. A large clock on the northern wall marks the time, though with the windows shuttered and locked it's difficult to tell whether it's morning or night. There’s also some framed information pinned up that you might find helpful. If you explore further into the adjoining wings, in fact, you'll see there's an identical copy in every room.

There’s also two sets of double-doors in the lobby: one leading back the way you came, deeper into the Opera House, and one leading out. For the moment, neither of them will open.

It looks like you’re stuck. But hey - at least you aren’t alone.

Comments

[robitussin]

[As soon as she wakes up, she realizes how wrong and unfamiliar this all feels. After a few moments of half asleep confusion, she shoves the covers off and hurries out of the bed, looking around in a panic. This can't be happening. It isn't long before she sees the key and the pamphlet. She grabs both, hurrying into the hall, where she starts reading it by the dim light.]

No way, no way, this can't be happening... Okay, breathe. Breathe—

[Of course, between reading over the information contained in the booklet and pacing in the dim light, she isn't really paying attention to where she's going or looking around for any other people. As such, she's liable to walk right into someone as she wanders around in a panic. When she inevitably does:]

Ow - hey, watch it!

[Because this was not her fault at all.]

[superboyisalive]

[Well, well. Look who's bumping into him in the dark. Gabe's smile widens just a bit as he catches Nat's arm.]

Might say the same thing to you, wandering around without watching where you're going.

[He'll just stand her and enjoy this moment. Surprises can come in a minute.]

[robitussin]

[She pulls her arm out of his grip with a frown once she's certain she's not going to fall over from the impact, glaring at him. She hasn't looked over the entries in the program in depth yet, but even if she had - Goodman is a common enough last name, and it isn't like she has any reason to suspect the truth.]

Whatever.

[A sigh.]

Do you know how to get out of here?

[superboyisalive]

Nope. Tried, too, but everything's locked tight as shit.

[He smiles a bit, a tiny smirk playing at his face.]

Sarcastic as always. Not a good way to make friends, sister dear.

[robitussin]

[She rolls her eyes, about to say it figures, but she pauses at his next words. What he's implying - no, that's impossible. He can't be her brother, she thinks, and the only person who would know enough to make that kind of comment is a member of her family... Or the person who wrote the descriptions in the pamphlet. She latches onto that possibility immediately.]

Fuck you. How did you find this out? Who are you?

[Her anger doesn't change the fact that she at once looks tense, nervous and uneasy. This is sick.]

[superboyisalive]

I found it out because I've been watching you.

[Like the creep he is.]

Mom's not right in the head sometimes, you know that, Natalie. She... created me, I guess you could say. I am your brother, Nat, I'm just... more around than I usually am. Ask me anything you want.

[Behind his cocky confidence, there's... a tiny hint of hurt in his expression. At the end of everything, he really is just a teenage boy who wants his family to work.]

[irreprochable]

Pardon me.

[Javert steps out of the way of the panicking girl, trying to give her a little bit of space. She looks very young, and very confused. and while it was, yes, invariably her fault that she walked into him the law is indeed humble and can give a girl some space to be wrong.]

Are you quite alright?

[robitussin]

Yeah, I woke up who knows where with no memory of how I got here, I'm surrounded by a bunch of people I don't know, and someone knows enough about me to have a nice little blurb written down. I'm feeling fine, thanks for asking.

[Which is to say... No, not at all. She runs a hand through her hair, taking a breath.]

Who are you?

[irreprochable]

I am Javert.

[do not forget me. do not forget my name. do not forget me.......]

I understand your trepidation, Mademoiselle. [is she even a child? or unmarried? who cares she's a youth in his eyes!] These are awful circumstances. But if you have been hurt, or require assistance...

[he trails off, the offer to help lingering between them but not speaking it after her last sarcastic outburst.]

[robitussin]

Uh, Natalie is fine. I'm not French, so...

[She might not be familiar with the language, but that still sounds too formal to her, like calling her 'miss' would.]

Not a scratch on me. As for assistance, I'm assuming you haven't found a way out of here, which is the main thing I want.

[irreprochable]

[javert is a little surprised to hear it. everyone is french. well, everyone at home. although it sort of belatedly hits them that even though he called her by a french title, they are not, in fact, speaking french. it didn't seem weird until she pointed it out. but he has no time to deal with that now.]

Unfortunately, no. I would that I had, for all our sakes.

[trettende]

[ It's hard to say whether Hans has a skill at knocking into young women or if he seeks them out like a Disney prince to his princess. Either way, he ends up in her way. ]

Oh, goodness, I'm so sorry--!

[ Unlike some people, Hans has manners. He offers her his hand if she needs it. ]

Are you alright?

[robitussin]

[She glances at his hand for a moment before standing up on her own, taking a breath.]

Apart from everything that's ridiculously messed up about this situation, yep, doing just fine. It's going great, wouldn't change a thing.

[She's handling this well, clearly.]

Anyways. I'm guessing the answer is no, but have you found a way out?

[trettende]

[ Hans smoothly puts his hand back. Denied, ouch. He uses the motion to brush himself off. ]

I haven't. I don't have a clue what we're all doing here or how we got here. Or why they seem to think we're all actors.

[ He shrugs. ]

I'm sorry.

[robitussin]

I'm more worried about the fact that they kidnapped, like, over twenty people than the whole actor thing, but I guess that's weird too.

[Glancing up at him.]

Last I checked this probably wasn't your fault, so...

[trettende]

I'm just assuming there's some kind of theme. The stage, the pamphlets...

[ The list goes on, but Hans is adamant about this 'I'm a prince so it's my responsibility' thing. ]

I wish there was more I could do. If there's twenty of us here, we should be able to come up with something, right?

[onthebusagain]

[It doesn't matter if Natalie bumped into Heather, or Heather bumped into Natalie. Heather stumbles back, looking completely astonished at the fact that she's been told to watch it.]

You watch it! [It's obviously not her fault either. Obviously.]

[robitussin]

I'm not the one running into random passerby.

[Whether or not that's what actually happened, she's sticking to it.]

Anyways, I'm trying to find a way out. You want to help, or do you want to stay out of the way?

[onthebusagain]

[Heather has half a mind to bitch her out, but there are more important things at hand. She's totally pouting now.]

I'll help. There's no back door, I've already looked.

[robitussin]

Okay. Where did you look already? We should probably check areas other than the ones you scoped out.

[She's never tried to escape from some creepy theater before, but common sense tells her that's a good starting point.]

[onthebusagain]

Just the perimeter. There's like, tons of rooms, but I haven't looked in all of them yet.

I was going to, but someone bumped into me... [Let it go, Heather.]

[lifegoalsorwifegoals]

[Oh, well, this is just great. D-ne seems oddly...not relaxed, but nonreactive, regarding being run into. She was just trying to get a good look at the star on the girl's door.]

Oh, um- a-ah, I apologize for the trouble, I didn't see you in this light.

[robitussin]

[Even she can't be angry at someone who seems so timid, so she just gives a sigh, calming slightly.]

Yeah, whatever. Just make sure it doesn't happen again.

[lifegoalsorwifegoals]

[Oh, good, small victories, huh? No, this is still awful, the amount of new people here's staggering.]

Mm. I wont. ...Did you also wake up her unexpectedly?

[robitussin]

Yeah. Starting to think that's a trend here.

[She sighs.]

You got a name?