Rosalind's Choice

[21:25]	<Tox>	Rosalind, someone's shaking you awake.
[21:25]	<Tara>	"Huh? wha?" She shifts and flails as she wakes up
[21:26]	<Tara>	She looks around for whoever it was shaking her
[21:26]	<Tox>	Wherever you are, it's immediately apparent it's not your room. It's the rec room. How did you get here....? Oh right, you fell asleep watching bad movies with Joseph, who is the person who shook you awake.
[21:27]	<Tox>	Looking around, the room doesn't look quite like you remember it. It's...similar, meaning it's a Foundation site, but not 354's.
[21:27]	<Tara>	Rosalind rubs her forehead. "Apparently that movie didn't work for me"
[21:28]	<Tara>	She looks around, confused. "I think I'm a little disoriented. What assignment are we on?"
[21:29]	<Tox>	Joseph chuckles. "Sorry about that, lass. I thought we'd try one of the movies that Mystery Science Theater did." He looks at her, smiling. "We're at Site 19, don't you remember? We finally got away from that awful place in Canada."
[21:30]	<Tara>	"Site 19. Nice," she says sleepily, cuddling up next to him. "We survived Keter duty"
[21:31]	<Tox>	Right...Area 354. A dim memory now, you and Joseph managed to get transferred off. You're an up-and-coming researcher, and between you and Joseph, you were sent here to -- "Is she okay?" pipes a voice from the other side of Joseph. "Yes, lass." He chuckles, pulling -- is that /Lisa?/ - onto his lap.
[21:32]	<Tara>	She rests her head on Joseph's shoulder, her eyes growing wide, looking at Lisa. "Hi sweetie. Will I be singing to you tonight?"
[21:33]	<Tox>	She nods excitedly. "Yes, please!" Now you remember. Lisa seemed to do best with you and Joseph, so the three of you were brought to 19, one of the more technical bases. So much research to do!
[21:33]	<--|	pandyra has left #Dawny
[21:34]	<Tara>	It feels a little off, but this is nice. Away from Keter duty, and with Joseph and Lisa. And there is research to do!
[21:35]	<Tox>	Tara's radio - forgot to turn the thing /off/ - crackles. <<Agent Dewald?>> a male voice comes over it.
[21:36]	<Tara>	"Huh? Oh." She picks up the radio. <<Dewald here>>
[21:36]	<Tox>	<<Can I speak to you outside the rec room, please?>> You can't quite place the voice, distortion being what it is.
[21:38]	<Tara>	"Someone wants to speak to me. I'll be right back." She hugs Lisa and gives Joseph a kiss before heading out. <<I'll be right out>>
[21:38]	<Tara>	She doesn't remember the radios being so distorted before
[21:39]	<Tox>	Standing outside the rec room is http://www.theurbangent.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/neal-caffrey-style-tug-white-collar-2.jpg this man, wearing a smile. /Now/ you remember, it's the Assistant Research Director at this site. "Hey," he opens.
[21:40]	<Tara>	"Hi," she replies, shifting nervously
[21:40]	<Tox>	"How are you settling in?" He leans against the wall, casually. He's...not so uptight as the bosses at 354 were. None of them are.
[21:42]	<Tara>	Rosalind thinks for a second. "I'm settling in well. I'm a little disoriented after falling asleep watching an awful movie, but it's nice to be with Joseph and Lisa"
[21:44]	<Tox>	He laughs. "Careful with some of those movies, they can be mindrots. You're liking it here, then?"
[21:44]	<Tara>	"Yes, I am. It's a relief after 354"
[21:46]	<Tox>	"Good." His smile widens. "Would you like to stay here, then? Or go back to--" The scene, while it doesn't exactly dissolve, shimmers, and suddenly, the rec room and attached hallway of Area 354 swim into a ghostly half-existence, superposed on top of Site 19.
[21:48]	<Tara>	Rosalind is puzzled. She rubs her temples for a moment. "How am I seeing..."
[21:50]	<Tara>	"And, if I've been reassigned, why would I want..?" She rubs her temples again. Something is wrong
[21:51]	<Tox>	The suit's grin widens. "You're in sort of a limbo state. One reality, you're at Area 354, researching god knows what while god knows how many Keters are threatening to overwhelm you. The other, you and Joseph are together with Lisa, safe from harm, and you're doing what you love in safety, with the best equipment there is."
[21:53]	<Tara>	She thinks for a moment. Why would she chose the less safe option? "What's the catch?"
[21:54]	<Tara>	She starts to shrink into herself
[21:54]	<Tox>	"Catch is...nothing comes for free. That's true in your world, and every other. There's a price you gotta pay, but you gotta make a choice."
[21:55]	<Tox>	He takes out a coin, a half dollar by the look of it, and starts flipping it.
[21:56]	<Tara>	Rosalind nods. A price. Of course. She continues to shrink into herself. This kind of question was hard enough when the Foundation found her
[21:57]	<Tox>	"You could say...a life for a life, for sufficiently metaphorical uses of the word 'life.'"
[21:57]	<Tara>	"Um, um...I...I don't know. I'll have to think about it...and I'd want that to be, ah, clearer?"
[21:57]	<Tara>	She's definitely shrinking
[21:59]	<Tara>	"Who...who's life?" /trembling mouse/
[22:00]	<Tox>	"This offer is only available for a limited time, sweet thing. And it's simple, really. You want to keep this reality? It'll cost the life of one of your teammates from Area 354. You want to go back to 'your' reality? At Area 354? You gotta go back in there and kill Lisa."
[22:01]	<Tara>	"I...no...no...I can't. I can't..." Rosalind starts crying
[22:02]	<Tox>	The man chuckles, swelling into a laugh. "Life for a life, Rosalind. No free lunches here, either. But...I could always work something /else/ out, if you /really/ don't think you could kill someone who, for all intents and purposes, isn't even alive anyway..."
[22:04]	<Tara>	"Lisa is alive. And she's sweet. And I can't have anyone from 354 die just so I can be happy. It would...I'd feel..." She cries more
[22:05]	<Tox>	*ting* *plap* *ting* *plap* He keeps flipping the coin, the sound filling the hall. "So...your choice is to make no choice? Very well." He turns, still laughing as he walks away, stopping at the next corner and looking back. "You sure about this, now, doll?"
[22:09]	<Tara>	Rosalind nods through her tears. She can't be responsible for someone's death on purpose. She's feeling horrendously guilty just thinking about it
[22:10]	<Tox>	His grin opens wider. "As you would have it." As he leaves, the world's color fades and runs. To sepia, then grayscale. You are the only source of color left in your vision.
[22:11]	<Tara>	Rosalind sinks to the floor, assuming there is one, where she curls into a ball
[22:13]	<Tox>	There is, and the world around you slowly loses cohesion and fades into gray. Time, though it means nothing here, passes, and a slow shift of perception leads to you recognizing dimly that you're now on your back, on a flat surface.
[22:13]	<Tox>	Something is lightly binding your wrists and ankles, holding you spreadeagle while orange and red dance behind your eyelids.
[22:14]	<Tara>	She whimpers
[22:15]	<Tox>	Someone moans to her side, and the glow becomes brighter. Your eyes flutter open, revealing a fume hood above you, along with banks of fluorescents.
[22:16]	<Tara>	She moves her hands and wrists, blinking at the light
[22:17]	<Tara>	She's still whimpering and crying softly
[22:18]	<Tox>	The bindings seem loose, as if they're there for effect only. Turning your head to the side reveals Joseph, bound the same way as you, and a room that seems familiar. It's neither 19 nor 354...the biology lab at the university...? Whatever it is, it's also on fire.
[22:19]	<Tara>	Rosalind screams
[22:19]	<Tox>	That sound jerks Joseph fully awake, and he looks around, panicking slightly. "Wh--Ros? Lass, where are we?"
[22:20]	<Tara>	"We're in my nightmare!"
[22:21]	<Tara>	She starts thrashing against her binds, panicked
[22:22]	<Tox>	"Your...nightmare?" Joseph sits up, the bindings falling away as he looks around. "We can't stay here, lass." He swings off the table, while your thrashing causes the already-loose bonds to fall away, letting you find your own footing.
[22:23]	<Tara>	"We need to get out of here. Before my doppelganger shows up, or the mist-woman." She grabs his hand and starts to pull him with her
[22:24]	<Tox>	Joseph lets himself be pulled, following close behind. The door opens to a hallway.
[22:25]	<Tara>	She pulls him into the hallway, and continues to pull at him. Before they get to the stairs, she turns around and hugs him, tightly
[22:26]	<Tox>	Joseph is smiling lopsidedly. "What's that for, lass? The stairs are just there."
[22:27]	<Tara>	"I just wanted to hug you. Don't be surprised by anywhere the stairs put us." She holds his hand and starts walking up
[22:29]	<Tox>	The world wrenches. You're back at the door. You're not holding Joseph's hand anymore - he's nowhere to be seen. -1 Mind. The room behind you is on fire.
[22:31]	<Tara>	"Ohgod." Rosalind cries and starts running towards the stairs. She stops suddenly before she gets there. "He's in the room. I'm sure..." She turns back
[22:32]	<Tara>	When she gets to the flaming room, she crouches to the ground and goes in. She knows what comes next, but maybe this time...
[22:32]	<Tox>	The hallway behind you is wreathed in flame. You could go back, if you chose to brave it.
[22:33]	<Tara>	She braves it. She braves the way back, crouching and crying the whole way
[22:33]	<Tox>	Joseph's bonds are tighter this time, and he can't get away. The flames are creeping closer, somehow gaining purchase on a table which should rebuff it.
[22:35]	<Tara>	She goes to untie his binds
[22:35]	<Tara>	If they're too tight, she starts looking for something to cut the binds with
[22:36]	<Tox>	You manage to untie them, but the entire room is wreathed in flame. You pull Joseph off the table, and he hacks and coughs from smoke inhalation.
[22:37]	<Tara>	She crouches him down with her. "It's okay, we'll get out of here." She starts to walk him, crouched, out of the room and down the hallway
[22:38]	<Tox>	The grip on your hand changes. It's not a man's hand anymore. Looking back, you see a woman wearing a leather apron and a surgical mask.
[22:39]	<Tara>	"No..." she says, bracing herself for what's coming
[22:40]	<Tox>	Her face shifts, what would be a grin if she weren't wearing her mask. She takes the lead, pulling you up the stairs, where the world again wrenches. -1 Mind.
[22:40]	<Tox>	The lab behind you is on fire.
[22:43]	<Tara>	Rosalind is still crying. She's starting to feel defeated. She has to try again. Then she'll run and follow the dream. But she has to try. She heads into the lab, looking for Joseph
[22:43]	<Tox>	Joseph's not there this time. A charred corpse, however, is. Bound to the table.
[22:44]	<Tara>	She cries more. Too late! She runs out of the lab and up the stairs, sobbing the whole time
[22:46]	<Tox>	A thorny mass blocks the way about halfway up. There's a path through.
[22:48]	<Tara>	She makes her way through the path. She almost hopes that she'll end up in her world of ice
[22:50]	<Tox>	The thorns call out "Mommy, take me home, I don't like this place, Mommy," as you slide through them. The stairs take you to about the last place you want to go. Your room. -1 Mind. Standing there is the suit. "You want out? All you have to do is make a choice." He flips his coin.
[22:53]	<Tara>	She shakes her head, all cried out. Her face is streaked with the tears. "Why are you doing this? Why me?"
[22:54]	<Tox>	"Oh, it's not just you. There're others I'm visiting." His smile widens, flipping the coin. "So don't think you're all that special, sugar."
[22:56]	<Tara>	Rosalind watches the coin for a little while. "How...how do you choose those you visit?"
[22:57]	<Tox>	"Is this really the time to be having this discussion? You've got a nightmare to get back to. But, I suppose it couldn't hurt. Back where I'm from, I asked a few people who've been watching you guys. Asked 'em who they thought might be fun. So far, they've been dead on the money." His grin widens, becoming almost harlequin.
[22:59]	<Tara>	"So this isn't really about giving me a choice, is it. This is about pushing me to the brink." Her voice is cold, emotionless, in a defeated sort of way. "Okay. Send me back to my nightmare"
[23:03]	<Tara>	She's still shaking like she wants to cry, but it's like there's no tears left
[23:03]	<Tox>	"Choice is important," the man says. "The way you arrive at a decision, though the results might be the same, are telling. But if that's the way you want it." With a final *ting,* he disappears, and the form on the bed is visible. It's Joseph.
[23:05]	<Tara>	She walks slowly over to the bed and looks at him. And almost sad smile crosses her face as she strokes his head
[23:05]	<Tara>	*An
[23:06]	<Tara>	A nice, quiet moment, but it won't last
[23:07]	<Tox>	No, it won't. A warm breeze flows, and the shape of a woman takes form. It's...different, it's not what you remember. It's wearing a leather apron and surgical mask...
[23:09]	<Tara>	She looks, confused, before lying over Joseph, waiting for the next twist to happen
[23:11]	<Tox>	The world wrenches again. The lab behind you is on fire... -1 Mind.
[23:12]	<Tara>	She runs, runs to the stairs. It's so much more difficult this time...
[23:13]	<Tox>	The stairs greet you with their once-again-familiar reality twist..."No! Please, let me go, I'm sorry!" wails the man strapped down to the table in front of you. His skin is red and raw, as if scrubbed clean. The voice is familiar, but you can't place it.
[23:15]	<Tara>	She realizes she's /her/ this time. She looks for the scalpel she should be holding
[23:17]	<Tox>	The scalpel is in your hand. Your arm rises, illusions of selfhood banished as your lips form the words, “No. You used me. You hurt me. Now, I'll make you suffer.” The scalpel sinks into flesh, and the man's head jerks and twists as he screams...it's Spencer. No...Joseph. No...the face is shifting between the two, equally real each time it solidifies.
[23:19]	<Tara>	The confusion makes her yelp, or at least try to. She focuses on the feel of the scalpel in her hand, and the familiar way it moves through tissue
[23:20]	<Tox>	He begs for mercy, voice shifting between Spencer's and Joseph's as she lays him open. The world wrenches again, the lab behind you on fire... -1 Mind.
[23:22]	<Tara>	She feels like a shell. Broken, confused, upset. She curls up on the ground. "Ohgod, all I want is rest"
[23:22]	<Tara>	She doesn't even care about the fire
[23:24]	<Tox>	You wait there for what feels like hours, but is more likely only about fifteen minutes before the world wrenches again. You're back...at the beginning. On the table, bound. The bonds are nowhere near as loose this time, and you're helpless but to turn your head from side to side.
[23:25]	<Tox>	Your left shows the wall of the room you're in, bunsen burners alight, room aflame. Your right...bound down like you, a charred corpse. The flames spread, quickly engulfing you. As the pain sets in, your world fades to gray, then black, and you jolt awake, in #farrecon. No actual Mind damage has been done, it was merely a tracker.
[23:25]	<Tara>	She lies on the table, not even struggling. She's done
[23:25]	<Tox>	And /scene./