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[lamb_of_gold]

[Mu is standing in a fairly populated place on the Plane. His arms are crossed in front of him, but in one hand he's holding a relatively old, basic cell phone - the one that was given to him years ago by someone no longer on the Plane.]

I received a message several nights ago with potentially worrying contents. I'd like to know if I was the only one.

[The tone of his voice leaves no question as to where he thinks it came from.]

Comments

[lamb_of_gold]

I and many others, it seems.

[moveslikestrider]

I knew this place seemed too good. [He mutters and whips out his Geartop, cranking the sound up before he hits play.] Mean anything to you?

[lamb_of_gold]

It sounds like one of his stories - the one he tells when asked about the missing people.

[moveslikestrider]

[It sounds something went horribly wrong, Dave thinks but keeps it to himself.] Sounds like he fucked something up, royally fucked the pooch and got a nasty divorce with the handle.

[lamb_of_gold]

[Okay Mu understood about half of that BUT.] I'm rather worried.

[moveslikestrider]

Yeah no shit. This is heavy grade creepy pastes on the internet that make people go poof. Where did Jerry go? That tool owes me money. So on. Then the cycle of stupid continues. [Dave is worried as hell. Jade's been missing.]

[lamb_of_gold]

I'm afraid I don't follow your metaphors...

[moveslikestrider]

Grey's in deep in something fucked up. That's all there is to say on the matter.

[lamb_of_gold]

Ah. I'm inclined to agree...

...But there is something else eating at you, isn't there?

[moveslikestrider]

What? Nah, I'm chill. This Strider is oozing cool. And we're getting away from this discussion. Has a cave ever been mentioned before?

[lamb_of_gold]

By which you mean deflecting, yes?

It was.

[moveslikestrider]

When and where was the cave mentioned. For that matter what do the other messages say? Let's try putting them in some sort of order and when they were sent. [Yes, he's deflecting.]

[lamb_of_gold]

Two small children found a cave. One of them went missing shortly afterwards.

Apparently, the timestamps on all of the messages are exactly the same. I'm trying to order them, but it's rather difficult.

[Don't think he's forgotten, bucko.]

[moveslikestrider]

Names of these kids? Relation to all this shit?

Could be just recorded them all at the same time on different days.

[Screw you, you're not his dad.]

[lamb_of_gold]

"Charlie and Sammy." Sammy was, apparently, 'special'.

But send them all at the same time? At an impossible time, I might add?

[but he can be your bro!/shot]

[moveslikestrider]

No, no. Like you stop at certain points of the day, track your process, save it and move on. Some people are obsessive with achievements and do it at the same time every day. Captain's log blah blah who gives a fuck. But since we do, date and time.

There's also a theory I haven't shared yet but has been bugging me. It seems like there's no time here on the plane. What if it's not missing but frozen?

[Nope. Bro's dead man.]

[lamb_of_gold]

So you think they may have been prerecorded? That doesn't answer how they came in at 3:67 AM.

That is as much a possiblity as any - but time is not my field of expertese.

[There's a joke here about Bros and Dads but I can't seem to find it.]

[moveslikestrider]

No, they were recorded at who the fuck even knows times. We received them at the supposed same time because that is where time is held still here.

With me now?

[lamb_of_gold]

[Mu frowns slightly] I think so.

[moveslikestrider]

Because you'll notice they all say time received, not time sent. To get this full little train wreck imagery we have here, we need to put these in order. One loops into the next, creating the connection to the flow of the words.

Like music or eh, time loops.

[lamb_of_gold]

Yes. I follow now. Thus far, there have been no real hooks between one and the next, but there does seem to be a flow to them.

[moveslikestrider]

Let me hear all of the ones we have so far.

[lamb_of_gold]

[Mu has to fiddle with his phone a moment, before they play]

[moveslikestrider]

[Recording a copy via his computer at the same time. When it's over he frowns.]

We got an expert on all of this we can talk to?

[lamb_of_gold]

Not except for Grey himself, I'm afraid. Menzies said she'd call Mr. Keys to see if he knows anything, but I am not particularly optimistic.