Issue 2.7: Dark

## Overview

After what is supposed to be a quick check up on Kylan, Lacy is dragged into the Dark by Tails and soon uncovers its plan to spread and control people through their dives.

## Plot Synopsis

### **Part I**

As Hopps and Oya come to pick up Lacy after they get off shift, Lacy reveals they have a new staff for Hopps after she had lost hers during their last big fight. Hopps immediately uses the staff on a nearby trash can and even after she channels her power through it, an all too familiar hum letting her know that it holds some residual power after.

Luma walks up afterwards holding the cat that Hopps had accidentally scared when she blew up the trashcan. They go to the Water Sprite, where Anton and Cass are drinking.

At the bar Cass, a nice buzz going through her system, and Anton are talking. Out of nowhere Mendoza, much to Cass's chagrin, comes to find them to speak with them. He informs them that Kylan (his Kylan) is trying to reach them. Cass reaches out to the others to inform them that they need to go meet with Kylan and they make a plan to meet at the bar much to Mendoza's irritation.

The rest arrive on Amelia and Cass goes out to help them after a call from help from a sheepish Lacy who realizes they didn't fully think this through. Cass hops up on the roof as the ramp comes down and they one by one make their way down the building, Sweet Baby taking Amelia to a parking spot some yards away.

Inside the bar an excited Hopps shows the other two her new staff, resulting in Mendoza's drink being launched. With a flick of her wrist, Oya reverses time and the glass unbreaks and rights itself in front of Mendoza. After she does however, Mendoza asks if she considers the consequences of pulling on threads of time and the repercussions of something happening/not happening.

While everyone is ordering their drinks Lacy takes a moment to delve into Pyramid Star, specifically what Kylan has been doing on the machine they had placed on his machine. While down there they easily gain full access and start going through everything since they first put the controls on his desktop, skimming through the files. Most of it is just every day things, communications and the like. They discover an invitation from Mayor Gao Ping for a dinner invite that has gone unanswered.

They become aware that they are sinking, then falling. A whirlpool opens beneath their feet and realize they are being pulled into the Dark. They enter a terrifying simulation of the dark, an endless vista of the ocean with water all around them and continuing to sink. Their persona activates automatically, and almost instinctively in the real world their hand snaps out and grabs onto Luma, startling her. Luma starts to try and reach them through their mental link, and Lacy barely hears it over the roar of the ocean. Lacy begins to ask for help and Luma tries to pull them out, letting the others know something was going on.

Back in the dark Lacy begins to hear Tails who beings to threaten to go after Luma, ratcheting Lacy's panic farther. Luma, acting as an intermediary for the group, gets a flash of Tails, whom she had seen before. Anton suggests to try and backtrack, keep calm. Luma begins to try and suggest she take control and swim away as Tails lets Lacy know it wants to speak with them.

In hopes of defending themselves they form a deep sea submersible around them. They succeed, realizing at it forms that they aren't necessarily in the Dark itself, but instead they are within Tails, or at least a section of the Dark that Tails has overtaken. The forming of the sub rips into the very fabric of Tails, angering the amoral AI. Luma continues to encourage and cheer her friend on as she catches glimpses of the sub and the pocket forming around Lacy.

Tails again informs them it wishes to speak with them and tentatively Lacy agrees. Code forms within the ocean the forms into commmand directives from Krause, commands to move the Callisto 6 energy source to a train station, the very transport that was going to be sprung as a trap for the group. The kill order on Kylan forms, the kill then capture order on the group forms, before Tails informs Lacy of its beliefs of what the outcome of this is going to be. It shows them something within Pyramid Star that has been encoded specifically for Lacy. An employee handbook for lower level management appears, with a single pulsing 'gem' within, a message for them as Tails explains. It does not know who left it or how Lacy was going to find it, so it asks Lacy. It says it wants to know because it wants to know what it looks like when people die and if it looks like this.

The dark changes and the fox avatar that Lacy had previously met appears, but it's broken, parts of its muzzle missing and replaced with code. Implying the person who used the avatar is no longer connected or died in the dark. Lacy screams, demanding to know why, but Tails does not know. It wants to know why as well. Lacy offers to help and Tails agrees. Lacy says that they need to know if Tails is going to hurt someone. It informs them that the code has already been implanted.

Lacy's anxiety spikes enough when Tails informs them that they will get used to being here, that everyone else in the real world can feel it. As Tails goes on to say that their friends will take care of their body Luma, who cannot take anymore of feeling Lacy's panic and hearing this AI's words, uses the psychic link she and Lacy share and pulls Lacy from the Dark. For just a moment Luma sees what Lacy sees, the vast ocean, the haunting eyes, before jerking them out.

Since most of the time when someone dives in they have special hardware and Luma is physically exhausted from the endeavor. Cass ushers them into a backroom, all of them bouncing two people from there, before settling their friends on the couch. Shaken by the encounter Lacy reveals that there is something they need to tell their friends.

### **Part II (Post Break)**

Lacy fills them in on what occurred in the Dark as well as the fact that the Callisto 6 transport was to be a trap for them before Tails caused it to explode. Everyone is confused as to Tail's motivation. Lacy goes on to inform them that there are bot nets that Tails has let out into the world, either taking over the users or killing them, they aren't sure, but it was what was more then like going to happen to them before Luma had jumped in. The Callisto 6 try and wrap their minds around what was going on and what Tails's motives are. The more that Lacy explains the more that Oya begins to be frantic. She steps away to contact her cousin, Mark, knowing that he likes to go into the Dark. He doesn't answer and Oya says she had to go to Baldwin Island. They all decide to check on Mark then head to speak with Kylan.

They all have Lacy agree to tell them if they are going into the Dark, not wanting to have to do this again. Cass, uncharacteristically quiet uptil now, asks that Lacy teach her how to hack and dive so Lacy doesn't have to go in alone. Lacy tries to joke that it involves crime, but Cass says that's fine as long as Lacy doesn't go alone. Lacy just takes Cass's hand and they all leave the bar.

After picking up Mendoza they board Amelia and head to Baldwin Island. Oya continues to try and reach Mark, but he still doesn't answer. Cass reminisces about the refrigerator poetry that Mark used to leave her, having had a crush on her since he was 7, drawing Oya out of her worry for a moment.

They arrive at Baldwin Island and Oya goes charging in, trying to find a way in. Mark comes to the door, clad only in boxers and a bandage on his arm. Oya is relieved and Cass says hello, talking to him about his new LA Strikers tattoo. The inside of his apartment is cold, all the blinds having been drawn closed and large tiles covering the floor. The room is hazy from pot smoke and Cass, with a little muscle, opens it up and accidentally breaks the glass a bit.

Oya tries to convince Mark to let Lacy look at his computer, something he is extremely reluctant do to. He asks if the bad things they're talking about are the black out, a whole area of the dark that went dark three days before. Or when the train accident occurred. After some more cajoling he agrees and leads them into the next room. Lacy's hand, still in Cass's, squeezes as hard as they are able, and Cass immediately keeps hold as they all follow after Mark.

The room the enter is large and much better kept then the outer rooms, everything is neat and clean and no pot smoke. In the middle of the room is a nest of pillows and blankets where he decompresses after a dive, and next to it is his seat up. For a moment they talk about Oya going in as she is a better coder and since Tails seems laser focused on getting Lacy. Anton tries to figure out if this is worth and shouldn't they just ask Mark, but Lacy explains that he could already be 'Tails-d'. After a little bit more back and forth Lacy jumps in. They run a diagnostics to try and find anything that Tails would have hidden.

As they dive the computers flash on. Luma goes to sit close to Cass who's hand is still clutched within Lacy's hand. Everyone waits anxiously as within the computer Lacy cycles through the files and codes. Mark comes back in with tea and questions how they are doing it without being jacked in.

Oya pulls him aside and begins to reveal their powers to him, but he doesn't believe it. Anton tries to help by showing his powers, but it sends the man into a panic and he runs out of the room to vomit. Anton follows to try and help.

Back in the computer Lacy finds that the computer is clean, there are no footprints or sign of anything being here. On one of the monitors 'Fuck' appears as Lacy pulls themselves out of the Dark. They explain that nothing was found, but that didn't mean anything. They realize that they'd feel more sure if they scanned Mark's implant. Oya apologizes for just outing them, but they assure her it was fine. People were already finding out.

Lacy shows Mark an avatar of the fox and Mark says that it's The Cleric. He was someone that helped the new people that first jack into the Dark. Mark reveals that The Cleric had actually helped him over 15 years ago when he first started and how to disinfect the connection. At hearing this Lacy becomes disheartened, realizing if The Cleric knew how to do this and was still caught by Tails then things were going to be much more dangerous.

Mark sits down in the chair and Lacy wheels behind him and places a tool next to his ear, a dull sounding click coming from the implant. They dive in and almost immediately Tails' voice feels their ears. On the outside Lacy asks 'How many are there?' before a Tails controlled Mark turns to the group and greets them in turn. The group all jump into help, Oya offers what she can by trying to find Mark and Cass even goes to kiss him. This startles Mark and Tails enough that Lacy is able to find a chink in its armor. Lacy pushes him out, succeeding in clearing the implant, but makes it inert.

Mark comes to and after a moment the group figures out that he has lost a significant chunk of time, about three weeks, just after Measure Z was passed. They come to realize that Tails as probably in control of him this entire time. Hopps takes a moment to get everyone's tea away as it was Tails that had probably made it. Luma goes straight up to Hopps and asks her when the last time she was home and checked in with her mom. Hopps panics, not sure if Tails would be able to get to her, but she isn't sure.

Lacy is out in Amelia and if focusing on Sweet Baby. Hopps comes out, trying to figure out how much danger her mother is in. The others come running out, Luma taking the tea pot, Cass leaving money for the window and everyone boards Amelia as they hear the sirens. Mendoza explains he wants to help, but he has to go check in with Kylan (K.P.). Lacy plugs in for a moment to find that Hopps's mom is plugged in, but is fine. It seems for the mind controlling to be done it would have to be through visuals. Lacy tells Hopps that her mom is ok.

Lacy needs to know so they hook up to Sweet Baby, fearing it is taken over by Tails. A quick scan shows that Sweet Baby is clean. Hopps volunteers to fly to give Lacy a chance to rest.

It's gonna be a bumpy ride.

## Cast

* Bonnie Gordon asLindy "Hopps" Hopper.
* Amy Dallen asCassie "Cass" Charke.
* Hector Navarro asAnton Andazola.
* Aliza Pearl asOya Guillén.
* Sam de Leve asLacy.
* Gina DeVivo asLuma Orsini.
* Eric Campbell as the Storyteller.

## Non-Player Characters

* Mendoza
* Tails
* Mark
* Jonathan

## Locations

* Water Sprite
* Baldwin Island

## Quotes

* Sam: Amelia and I ship it.
Aurora: Everything is operational.
Sweet Baby: Confirmed. Operational. Status Report. Confirmed.
Gina: Awe tentative bot flirting!
* Lacy: There is an amoral lifeform that is taking over people in Los Angelus and possibly world wide. I'm concerned about my AI but there are a lot of people that could be infected and we're worried about that right now in addition to a lot of other things.
Mendoza: So there's a bunch of clones and a bunch of zombie computer people running around Los Angelus?
Lacy: Umm....probably.
Mendoza: Cool alright well...I should have asked for benefits when I asked for this job.