[open]

[myblueskies]

Characters: Romeo
Setting: Everywhere, starting in the cafeteria, going to every floor in turn, making a brief trip into room 1-03 and finishing in 1-02. Just let me know where you are finding him.
Format: Starting in prose, but will change if you want
Summary: After not being able to find Molly all day Romeo asked on the network. He is now searching the whole tower looking for her.
Warnings: Lots of sadness

No. Molly was not gone. Romeo was not going to believe it, because it just couldn't be so. She must just be hiding somewhere. Maybe she was sad and wanted to be alone. Though that wasn't really like Molly, maybe she had decided to go into the maze and got lost.

Or maybe the bad people had got her once and for all...

No... He had to keep his spirits up, she had to be somewhere. He began in the cafeteria, checking everywhere including the oven and the freezers. "MOLLY?" He called. He stopped people when he saw them asking if they'd seen her.

"She's bigger than me and wears cool hats and is a superhero!" He told them if they didn't know her by name. He checked all the floors, even the really scary ones. He swam about in the aquarium to see if she was in the water, and ran around the forest, remembering to look upwards in case she was hiding from the animals.

"MOLLY!"

He didn't find her. He ran through the dormitory halls poking his head into rooms and asking if people had seen her.

But he was starting to expect the answer no. It was impossible to keep his spirits up, tears kept welling in his eyes as he tore desperately through the last coridoors before pushing open the door to room 1-03 slowly with shaking hands. He ran over to Molly's bed, it was neater than it should be. He opened her trunk and stared for a few moments at the emptiness inside before a sob escaped his lips and he fled.

He had suspected it from the moment Ienzo had told him that her name wasn't on the list anymore. But now the truth came crashing down on him. Molly, his best friend in the tower, as best a friend as Alfredo had been was gone, gone and the bad people had taken her and were probably doing horrible horrible things to her.

He stumbled into his own room and crashed onto his bed sobbing, not even bothering to keep it quiet. Molly was gone and it was like all the light had been sucked out of the world.

Comments

As promised.

[tempustemporum]

Ienzo had been filtering down the tower looking for Romeo, since as usual he neglected to set a place to meet. And by the time he was done asking around in the cafeteria, Ienzo had hit that floor too, and they found one another -- finally. It didn't take a genius to read the expression on Romeo's face and figure out the results.

Re: As promised.

[myblueskies]

Romeo spotted Ienzo and ran up to him. "She's got to be somewhere, this is just the first floor, there's lots of floors."

She wasn't gone, she couldn't be. He was glad Ienzo was here to help though, "Let's go to the next floor!"

[tempustemporum]

He nodded and fell into step behind the older boy, even while thinking that it would be much easier to just check the three dormitory levels instead of walking through every single one. Though he suspected that right now, Romeo would not leave any stone unturned in his quest to find Molly; he would think that somehow they missed something, and she could be in any given floor.

"This is the first one you checked, then?"

[myblueskies]

Romeo nodded, "I looked before I went to the computers, but this time I'm going to look everywhere and ask everyone!" He entered the infirmary, he didn't like this level because he knew the doctors here were bad and worked for the bad people.

He walked up and down the beds, even bending to look under them.

[tempustemporum]

He had to wonder for a moment whether Molly would really hide under one of the infirmary beds -- but only a moment. That wouldn't be at all out-of-line with how she acts the rest of the time, and besides, Romeo knows her better than he does. So he follows suit.

[myblueskies]

Romeo didn't think she would hide either, but he never knew and someone might have captured her and put her there. He didn't want to leave any possibility out. She could be anywhere.

"I'm not sure if she would go to the library, because she doesn't like reading but we should probably look anyways!"

[tempustemporum]

"Right. We should look on every floor."

And immediately after they get there... "...Follow me." ...Ienzo abruptly takes the lead; he knows this place like the back of his hand by now, and it would be faster than if Romeo kept bumbling around. It was a large floor, after all, and his compulsive need for proficiency was taking over again.

[myblueskies]

"Okay," Romeo was content to let Ienzo take the lead since Ienzo knew his way around the library really well, he was always in here. Romeo looked down every aisle. "Molly?" His voice was quieter since it was a library but still loud enough to carry.

[tempustemporum]

They were moving briskly (or at least he was, considering Romeo kept stopping to look in seemingly random places), but even so, it took them a while to cover the entire floor. And when they were finally standing at the bottom of the staircase, having moved in a pattern that covered the entire extent of the floor structure, there was still no sign of Molly anywhere. He didn't say anything, only waited for what Romeo wanted to do; it was still chiefly his expedition, after all.

[2nd_dii2ciiple]

Passing by the door, Ψiioniic paused as he heard the sound of crying. Not that he was the sort of person who had to stop and make sure that a crying person was alright, not if it was a random stranger. But somehow this sobbing sounded familiar, though he'd never heard it so... heartfelt before.

Sure enough when he poked his head in, he saw Romeo sprawled out over the sleeping rectangle. "Romeo?" he said, startled. "What ith it? Are you hurt?"

[myblueskies]

Romeo looked up and saw the troll, "Psiioniic?" He stood up and rushed over to him, hugging him tightly and pressing his face into his side.

"Molly..." His voice was choked with tears. "Molly... she's gone..."

[2nd_dii2ciiple]

"Molly?" Ψiioniic knew her vaguely - he'd spent a day tied to her by some kind of metaphysical link when he'd first arrived in the tower, but he hadn't encountered her much since then. Judging by the way Romeo was reacting, though, she must have been his friend.

Automatically he hugged Romeo back, trying awkwardly to offer comfort. "When did you latht see her? How long hath she been missing?"

[myblueskies]

"Molly, she's a big bigger than me and a superhero and she's gone." He hugged Psiioniic tightly before letting go and looking up at him. "Yesterday morning, but not since then, she wasn't at meals or anything! All her things are gone and me and Ienzo searched the whole tower and she's not here..."

He was desperately trying not to start crying again, shaking with the effort.

[2nd_dii2ciiple]

"It'th okay," Ψiioniic reassured him, stroking his hair. "It'll be okay, Romeo, you're not alone, okay? We'll... we'll find her. Maybe she was taken for an experiment like we were, and she'll come back onthe they're done with her."

Except... none of their things had gone missing while they were all locked up and being mutilated, had they? Signless hadn't mentioned anything about that, although it wasn't as if Ψiioniic really had anything to be taken. None of the others had said anything about their things being missing.

And there had been several cases of people vanishing from the tower entirely. Disciple had been here, though Ψiioniic hadn't seen her himself before she'd vanished. And she had returned... but with no memories of having ever been in the tower. The same thing had happened to Aradia.

Quietly he told Romeo about both of those cases, ending with, "Maybe that'th what they've done to Molly. Maybe she'll come back eventually. But even if she doethn't remember you, as long as YOU still care about her, you're thtill friends, right? I know you would never give up on her."

[myblueskies]

"I'll beat them, they are bad, why did they take her!" He looked up angry, tears spilling down his face again, he listened though when Psiioniic told him about the people who disappeared and came back with no memories.

"Napeta did that, twice," he told him quietly, "and some people never come back..." His voice caught, "If they got her I got to go find her. We swore friendship until the end of time and I got to protect her!"

He nodded, he would never ever give up on her, she was his best friend and he would never stop caring about her.

[2nd_dii2ciiple]

It was disheartening to know that some people never returned, but Ψiioniic was glad to see Romeo looking more determined than sorrowful, at least for the moment. "Of course we'll look for her. I'll help as much ath I can. But Romeor, just remember, you have to look out for yourself too, okay? She wouldn't want you to get hurt, or get into trouble. And you need to be here for her if and when she doeth come back."

He was a little worried about the boy trying too hard to find his friend and ending up taken away himself.

[myblueskies]

"Thank you Psiioniic, they must be keeping her somewhere like they kept us because me and Ienzo checked everywhere that we are allowed to go and she isn't here." He nodded slowly after thinking for a moment.

"I'll try and be careful... I don't even know how to start finding her though..." Mostly he just felt numb, and he wanted to cry though he was trying his hardest to keep his spirits up. He felt like he had when Alfredo had died, though this time he knew he had to keep fighting, because Molly would want him to.

Cafeteria

[forceless]

It was kind of hard to miss a hysterical little kid, running around and calling out someone's name. Ven had abandoned whatever food item he had been consuming by the time Romeo was opening up freezers and ovens, because he was fairly sure he wouldn't be finding a person in there.

"Hey, calm down! What happened to Molly now?"

[myblueskies]

Romeo turned round to see Ven and grabbed his wrists, "She's gone, I can't find her anywhere and Ienzo said that her name is not on her door anymore!" He let go and went back to searching, opening cupboards to check that she wasn't hiding, and this wasn't just a game gone wrong.

[forceless]

Hoo boy. That. That didn't sound good. Ven watched a bit dumbly when Romeo grabbed his wrists, but didn't interrupt him until the kid was back to looking through the cupboards.

"Well she would probably come out if you were calling her name like that." But then did that mean..

[myblueskies]

"Maybe, but she might be hurt," he frowned again, "Or sleeping, maybe she had to use her powers it always makes her really sleepy and difficult to wake up!"

He clambered up on the work top so he could look in the high cupboards.

[forceless]

Ven watched Romeo climb up; he felt kind of awkward, but he didn't stop him. Though he did stay close just in case Romeo tumbled and fell off or something.

"She can take care of herself though, right?" A beat. "And, her name's not on her door anymore, right?"

[myblueskies]

Romeo didn't fall, he was a good climber, but Molly wasn't in any of the cupboards.

"She is a superhero yes, but the bad people are still more powerful than her," he told Ven jumping back to the floor and shaking his had, "Ienzo went to check."

[forceless]

"If her stuff isn't here anymore and her name's gone...She's, probably not in the tower anymore." He said carefully. Ven'd had quite a few roommates move in and move out, so he was certainly no stranger to disappearing people.

"It seems more like something really bad happens when people are in groups though!" He added hurriedly, trying to prevent Romeo from worrying too much. "So, maybe she just, left?"

[myblueskies]

Romeo shook his head, "She has to be here! She has to be!" He looked in the bottom cupboards again, just to double check.

"How could she leave... there's no where to go..." And he didn't think the bad people would let them just leave...