[Phone]

[Look. Margot is really bad with existential crises. They're all still here and that's all that matters to her.

She places this phone call not long after getting to stew on the one Mrs. Johnson put out. There is a layer of barely contained anger and annoyance hidden in the neat, clipped tone she's trying to keep.]

So what if we're copies of ourselves? Take comfort in the fact that your original self -- your real self -- is safely at home, doing what you've been doing all along.

And if this illusion is to be our reality now, if there really is no way back for us, then there's no fucking way I'm going to continue to be a plaything -- an experiment -- for the time we have left here. This is home, this is ours, and fuck Zemekis and fuck this Mrs. Johnson who thinks she can toy with us now.

So snap the fuck out of it and don't make everything you've gone through already be in vain. Fight. Keep fighting and never give up.

[This is all, of course, easier said than done, but Margot feels better now that she's voiced her thoughts. She's at home. She really is. The reality back there may be pretty bad too, but she's still there and nothing can change that.

The torment, the dying... Knowing that softens the blow.]

[Action]

[And since that message was so freaking ominous, Margot will be out to check up on her people and can be found all around the town. If she knows you, expect her at your door.]

((ooc: Either voice/action can be set before or during the event! Whichever you would prefer, I do not mind either way as Margot will not be a murder machine during it. Other murder machines welcome for hideous shenanigans. <3))

[When he picks up the phone Sirius sounds angry. Very angry. His voice is low and dangerous and something is very not pleasant in Mayfield.]

What the hell did you do to her? My mum, no, that lady. Margot, she said her name was Margot.

[There's a long hiss as the headache slices through his eye.]

She said she wasn't from this place. She said, she said a lot of things. Give her back. Give her back or I'll burn this ruddy place to the ground.

[He sounds like he means it.]

[The only thing Margot has left is the eyepatch and the scars beneath it. Her magic is gone, the duster, the necklace... Everything.

Margot has always been a strong person with everything she’s been through and can tell that something is wrong. None of this is right. There are conflicting memories battling for her attention in her head, things that don’t add up, a feeling of being displaced.

There is a part of her that needs affirmation and she turns to the phone lines, not sure who or what to trust in this situation. From an earlier conversation, though, she knows that she’s not alone in this feeling and maybe someone else out there can help.

She sounds like she’s in a lot of pain as she speaks through gritted teeth, but she wants answers and she wants them now.]

My name is Margot Gumshoe -- no. No, that’s not right. Sullivan. I-I never married, but I am here. Here in Mayfield, but not at -- at home. This isn’t home.

I have a sister, but she’s dead. She died near five months ago, but I saw her just yesterday at the grocery store. How is that... how is that possible?

[The headache is so severe here she feels like she’s going to vomit and has to stop for a few moments. Mayfield is wonderful, you love it here, you don’t want to leave, you can’t leave, you’re all trapped, TRAPPED.]

I’m fighting in a war, but it’s been over for a few years now, hasn’t it? The World War? But that’s not -- they're not the same ones.

[There’s a frustrated noise.]

This headache won’t go away... Is this what going crazy feels like? Like you’re being torn in two?






I don’t know what’s real anymore.

[Action A: This morning, Scout can be seen dumping several different weapons into his curbside trash cans. He doesn't know where they came from, but they seem awful dangerous! Scout parting with his beloved weapons, especially his Force-A-Nature, might seem incredible strange. Maybe. What state of mind are you in at the moment?]

[Action B: Officer Scout McCann is out on patrol! Just his usual rounds, nothing out of the ordinary. Just keeping the quiet streets of Mayfield extra safe. That is, until, his mind wanders for a bit, and something seems wrong. Very wrong. Scout's got a lot of willpower for sure. Thinking on this too hard is starting to hurt. You might find him tucked in a corner somewhere, like an alleyway or between two buildings downtown, holding his head and grimacing in pain.]

What the hell is goin' on?

[Action C/phone call: Temporarily back to his senses, Scout runs back home, head still pounding. He's tearing through those trash cans to get his precious weapons back, then darts into the house to make a cryptic call to everyone.]

What's goin' on? My freakin' head, I-- It ain't just me, is it?!

Phone. [Locked to Neville, early in the morning]

Longbottom? I think I need to talk to you. There is something I have to know.


Action. [Outside 1449 Mitchell Rd, Lily is casting lumos against the second floor bedroom window over and over again, until it's too obnoxious for the person inside to ignore it]



Action. [At 1485 Kramden Rd, Lily had successfully removed the drone parents for the afternoon, keeping them firmly outside the house with a shield charm as she rummages noisily in their bedroom and the livingroom.]


Action. [Outside Mayfield Elementary, Lily passes the time by kicking random pebbles into the wall, waiting for the eventual stream of school children to exit.]

.: at 456 Stone St :.

[It's a sleepy, uneventful morning in the small house, and then the unhappy housewife bears down with a frying pan on the intruder into their kitchen with a loud, echoing clang.]


.: Somewhere down Mitchell Rd :.

[It's also a peaceful late morning, with the children already gone to school, the birds settling after foraging for food, and a large tank making its way noisily down the street to grind to a halt right outside 1449 Mitchel Rd. With a deafening sound, it turns its somewhat outdated canon to the house, before a loudspeaker rattles the window in a rather feminine voice. :.]

Young man! Get out here with my motorbike, or else!

.: around 456 Stone st :.

[Later in the day, Hungary is happily hosing down her newest regain. She's also whistling to herself as she does.]

Action - 850 Goldberg

[Chell opens the door to find 3 packages of varying sizes, one small and rather flat, one medium-large one, and one quite large one of a suspicious size.

She opens the small one first to find her clothes from Aperture. She doesn't plan on wearing them again, but they could come in handy later, you never know. The next one contains her portal gun. She hasn't seen many places that portals could be placed on, but if there were any, it'd be very useful.

Finally, Chell turns to the last one. It's about as tall as a turret, so that's what's got her worried. It's a bit wider, though, so she's not sure what to make of that. She circles the box, knocking on it to see if she can get any information that way.

She assumes that if it was a turret, the gun portion would be facing towards the door, so she tips the box over so that if there was a turret inside, it'd now be facing the ground instead.

Chell pries the box open and discovers that not only is it a turret, but it's the oversized turret that she had seen a few times. It had never attacked her or anyone else that she saw, it just somehow used the elevator and oversaw some of the other turrets when they were making music.

It's an odd choice of something to be returned to her, so she shrugs, just leaves it where it is, and goes back inside the house.

She sets her clothes on the Companion Cube, and when she turns around, the turret is standing in front of her. Chell dives beside the couch and peers around at the turret. The turret doesn't make any movements, it doesn't even have a red laser sight for targeting, it just stands there, staring blankly.

Chell waves her hand at the turret, and it still doesn't move. She shrugs to herself and stands up, walking past it and over to the curtains. She turns her back to the turret and pulls off a long strip of cloth and goes to work using it as a strap for the portal gun. She doesn't want to leave it in the house alone with Cliff and carrying it with her hands would get old, so this was a nice compromise.

When she turns around to head for the door, once more the turret stands staring at her. Chell frowns at it and decides that if anyone would know what's going on, it'd be GLaDOS.

She leaves the house and heads down the street.]

Action - Around Town - The streets on the way to 1450 Mitchell Road

[If you're walking down the street or peeking out a window, you may see Chell being followed by a large turret. You never see the turret move, however, if you take your eyes off of it for even a second, it'll suddenly be further down the street and closer to Chell.]

Action - 1450 Mitchell Road

[Chell finally arrives at GLaDOS' house and starts banging on the door, she's got a frustrated expression on her face as she does so.

The turret is waiting quietly behind her and may not be seen at first glance.]

A: 1447 Mitchell Road, backdated to Friday

[For a change, mail in Mayfield is almost like mail at home, and Canada's actually quite pleased with the parcel she opens at the kitchen table. It's just a hat, really, a cute little beret France gave her, once upon a time, but it's good to see it. Her mother had mailed it to her initially, and now it was getting back to her via mail. Sometimes things go well, at least.

She's just going to be wearing it over her braided pigtails for the rest of the day, from pancakes onward, don't mind her.]

B: phone

Hello, Mayfield. I don't suppose anyone knows what might happen if someone here were to, for example, attempt to set fire to any important structures the locals like to keep us out of. I'm just a little curious.

[She's just a little 'hasn't set anyone's house on fire lately for the greater good', she means.]

Action:1444 Mitchell Road//Anywhere

[It was late that evening about the time normal people should be thinking about getting ready for bed. He couldn't sleep. Hol Horse had received some injury while escaping the portals, but he never bothered seeking help. He had gone into the portal for his own reasons, however when he came back...

It was perhaps a day or two before that he awoke from his own drone-state only to discover he was in a house full of them once again. It frustrated him. After the portal business, he noticed a couple others had undergone the same droning process, never to snap out of it.

He couldn't take it anymore. Tables were turned over and various items were thrown at the walls... he wasn't a very happy camper at this moment. He was far to angry to do anything rational and stormed out of the house.

He was going to make sure to avoid anything and everyone for as long as he could. The fellow is a bit of a loose cannon however, and may lash out with an attack. Let's hope it doesn't come down to that. In fact, perhaps it's best to leave this one alone. Why are you outside this late anyway?]

[A] Action: 1449 Mitchell Road]

[It's early in the morning on the 6th when Margot wakes up. It's a relief at first and, physically, she feels fine after what she went through in the portal.

It doesn't take long for things to go south when, out of the corner of her eye, she catches sight of something. Nadia. Nadia with no face, like the drones on the blimp, covered in blood. She lets out a yell, at once wanting to run away and forward to help, but in a blink, the apparition is gone as quickly as it came.

Things don't improve. Moving through the house, she sees more of the drones -- twisted and disfigured by fire; if she bumps into housemates, they don't have faces to her and the Nadia thing is always there, lurking just at the corner of her vision.

She's sure she's gone mad, but remembers the revival machine -- it's not working correctly. That's all this is, right? A side effect?

For a good chunk of the morning and afternoon, she's going to lock herself in the bathroom (sorry housemates), running the phone cord under the door.]

[B] Phone]

[Margot does not sound good when she talks into the phone, voice strained.]

Whoever was on the flying ship, did you make it out okay? And did anyone find anything? Things went bad pretty fast, so...

[There's a long pause before Margot clears her throat and continues.]

How long do the side effects of being revived wear off, if they do? Out of curiosity.

[Finding out about Mayfield's latest peculiarity would have been far more "annoying and concerning" rather than "sharply unsettling" if he hadn't found out about it via Poland's drone chattering at him a mile a minute, making that particular phrase as close to literal as it could get. And he was only asking Lithuania (or Mr. Laurinaitis) how he was over and over. It's the lack of Poland's pony, his flag, and the lack of nation feel that make Lithuania realize Poland's actually gone.

Backing through a tree is just the icing on the cake, to be honest.]

1333 Benny Road
[Hello, not!family! Lithuania is going through the house checking up on everyone, making sure they're present and accounted for. He's pretty obviously unhappy but he's also just as obviously trying not to look unhappy. He's also obviously on edge, as can easily be noted whenever he jumps at a flickering light or jerks back away from the sound of sudden static crashing out of the television.]

Estonia, Latvia, Ukraine, and America's Houses
[Lithuania is just checking up on you guys to make sure you're okay. As in still here. Also he is looking like a puppy who was kicked into the rain, metaphorically speaking but he's pretending he's fine. He's also trying to ignore any instances of his hand going through doors rather than him knocking like he actually intends to do.]

Are you alright?

Olney's Tavern
[The alcohol here has always been incredibly weak, and that's not when even the structure of the bar and class is so weak as to make it go crashing to the ground for no good reason. Still, Lithuania is trying his best to get himself drunk enough to stop feeling so awful, at least for a few hours.

It's not really working, though.]

They have no idea how to make decent beer here.

[A] Action: Dairy]

[Margot has definitely been tipped off that something is up during the early hours of the morning when the tv had gone on the fritz, waking her up from a booze induced coma on the couch.

It’s only amplified when, later, she tries to go out the backdoor to have a pre-breakfast cigarette and manages to pass through the door. She plays with this for a moment (in-out-in-out) before it becomes solid again, ramming her face rather painfully into the wood and feeling like a fool.

It gives her an idea, though.

For most of the morning, she listens in to the phone network, confirming that other strange things are happening (and, really, all she has to do is look outside at the drones to know). Before noon, after she’s taken a trip to the floor through one of the kitchen chairs, she works up the nerve to head out and towards the dairy, willing to try something.

It’s Dist’s words that urge her on -- things are falling apart. Time to act. She feels good about this, pumped. She can do it.

The dairy door is in sight, she keeps striding purposefully forward, almost there and...

BAM!

She bounces unceremoniously off the door and lands flat on her ass, rubbing her forehead.

Okay. It only worked part of the time with the door at home and then randomly with the chair, maybe it just needs a bit? She gives it a few more minutes and then tries again, but this time more cautiously.

Same thing. Solid as a rock.

She can be found at this for the next several hours with absolutely no success whatsoever. Gold stars for trying?]

[B] Phone]

Has anyone else tried going through the walls of the dairy or city hall or the post office? It seems like things are -- are flickering. Like something is wrong with the illusion?

I tried myself, but had no luck. Maybe someone else will get it.

[And yes, someone does sound bitter about this.]

Action A | 1450 Mitchell Road | Outside

[Tachikoma loves getting mail. So far, everything it has gained in the mail from Mayfield has been nothing but delights for it. While it should probably be upset over the fact most things taken away were done by the town in the first place, getting them back and being able to play with them again is just too much of a fun experience to really stay mad about the situation.

So when it opens up pair of envelopes it received, it can't help but let out a happy sound.]

Oh! I know what this means!

[Tachikoma turns to its house and speaks up in hopes to gain the residents' attention.]

Miss GLaDOS! Mr. Kaito! Guess what! I have control of my machine guns again! Look!

[And Tachikoma will immediately point its arms forward, the barrels built into them very apparent as a cycling sound is heard...

Followed by a lot of clicking. Tachikoma doesn't have any bullets, of course. And it knows that too, hence why it knows this is just for show and not to actually shoot anything.

....Of course you knew it was doing that for show as well, right?]


Action B | All Over Town

[Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! Nope! It's Spiderkoma! Okay, not really, but there is a large blue spider tank swinging through the sky. With the wire shooters online once more, Tachikoma can literally climb ANYWHERE now.

So while you're out running errands, you might catch a glimpse of the tank testing things out. Maybe it's swinging by right now. Or maybe you're at your office on the 4th floor and suddenly there's a blue robot looking at you while it hangs onto the window. It might even be standing on top of the Neutron Diner sign now, looking around, after jumping from another building. Really, it's not going to stay still unless you say something, so you might want to hurry and call out before it moves on.]

.: Phone :.

I give up. Does anyone have a good or any recipe for treacle tart? I miss it something fierce, but it's not in any of the cook books I found in this town.

Or any help in actually cooking, for that matter.


.: Action at 1485 Kramden Rd :.

Nothing is on fire in the kitchen this time, but the place is a mess, with every bowl and container out on the counter. Lily's taken advantage of her drone mum being at a ladies club to claim the kitchen to herself, and it's not going well.

Magic's been of minimal help so far, and her attempt to bake cookies haven't gone too badly, evident by the appealing smell wafting through the window and outside. It's really everything else.


.: Action outside 1449 Mitchell Rd :.

With a fistful of smooth pebbles in hand, Lily is doing the time honored tradition of flinging one at a time at James's and Sirius's bedroom window. It's also fairly late at night, so she's trying to be quiet about it with varying levels of success.

[Phone]

[...so it turns out ex-robots who have never eaten before should not be allowed to try their hand at cooking. Anyone who knows her will tell she sound a little... off.]

Excuse me... does anyone know how to correctly diagnose human beings? I think there's something wrong...

Also, does anyone know anything about the Ladies Charity? They're sending me letters.

[Action- 1444 Mitchell Road]

[anyone paying attention might notice smoke rising from the back of the house near the kitchen...]

A: 1447 Mitchell Road

[There's a small, bewildered moose in the kitchen, a large maple tree in the front yard, and a nation with a polar bear patiently knocking from the inside of the master bedroom door.]

Nederland? Hilda? Is anyone around?

[Although she's not sure why she's here again, even after years, her memory's sharp enough that this isn't terrifying, not like it was the first time. Just slightly bizzare. At the same time, there's a little bit of hope for her, too, to think she might see some of her friends here again.]

B: phone

[Canada clears her throat nervously, some time later in the day as she does her preliminary checking up on everyone.]

Um, well, don't worry if you don't remember me, but I seem to have been brought back here, after quite some time. Or... not very much time, by Mayfield's calendar. Anyway, it's Canada, and I really hope everyone's doing alright here.

[After over a year in Mayfield, Holland still has his human body.  He's not quite sure what that means; has he aged?  Will he be one year older, physically, forever?  He hadn't really seen nations age quickly; he did used to be much smaller, but he hasn't been little in over 300 years.

Anyway, he didn't feel terribly different.  Injuries hurt more, his body got aches and pains that it never got before, and it was just so easy to be killed, as a human.  But other than that . . . well, it was different.  

So when he gets the mail and finds two familiar looking envelopes, he's eager to open them.  He'll tear both open and look at the pictures inside at the same time.  

And what he sees are this and this this.  There's an enormous noise in the backyard, and when the Netherlands turns back towards the house, he'll see a mast standing out behind it.  

He was still a human.]

A - For housemates and anyone happening by Mitchell Rd.

[There is a very large ship in the backyard of 1447 Mitchell Rd.  Holland notices that it's smaller, smaller than it should be.  Still, it takes up almost all of the backyard, and the masts are well-visible above the houses.  The cannon sits in the lawn, the grass and ground underneath indented from the weight of the metal.  A few cannonballs are nearby.  Netherlands will spend a lot of effort wheeling it to the front of the house, eventually using the car to tow it.

If the ship doesn't catch the attention of the neighbors, a cannonball being shot down the street probably will.  After loading it attentively he'll light the fuse and take cover.  He's careful to avoid houses, but some of the cars might not be so lucky as the cannonball flies down the street..  
He's impressed it worked; it looks like the cannon has been at the bottom of the ocean for some time and he was mostly expecting it to explode.  Holland will ignore the crashing sound of a cannonball hitting something; he'll move the cannon best he can and leave it against the curb in front of the house where, he guesses it works okay as an accent.  It doesn't really go with the tulips though; he'll spend the morning polishing it best he can and trying to get most of the rust off.]

B - for a_gentle_boy 

[Holland remembers all the people he'd talked to while he didn't have any memories.  One of those people is Lucas.  He's going to visit his friend now, and try to clear things up.  There is a knock on the door in the afternoon.]

C- Phone

Hoi, you guys; this is Netherlands.  I'm myself now and I remember what I should remember.  Sorry.

. . . . sorry about the cannon.