maplebrook_box | Open Post for Lyserg!

[Liam was a child slow enough to wake, but the situation now certainly didn't help it. Confusion is the first thing that manages to seep into his awareness: confusion and ice. It's cold, and he's uncomfortable. Why is he...?

Oh... he's on the floor. That's why. But why is he on the floor? He didn't fall asleep here. He was sleeping with his mum and dad...

...and this is very much not their room. His brain finally manages to kick into gear and he's on his feet, looking around. It's an... empty room, which explains why it's so cold. But it's not just empty in furniture -- Morphine, who usually was hanging around him, is nowhere to be seen, and combined with the fact that his parents aren't either and nor are their spirits...

He's panicking.

When his calls get no answer, he goes over to tug on the door, only to realized it's locked. Which means he's left with the next best thing...

Banging on it as loud as he can and screaming.]

[The first thing that he realizes is that Morphine's gone. But the moment he's aware of more than that... he doesn't recognize this place at all. Sitting on the floor, propped up against the wall... this certainly wasn't where he fell asleep. Lyserg quickly scrambles to his feet, surveying his surroundings. It's a small room, cold, dark, and windowless--the only light coming from a flickering bare bulb on the ceiling.

What in the world was he doing here?

Slowly and cautiously--almost as if he's worried something might jump out at him from the shadows of the room (given how plentiful they are, something very well could!)--he moves towards the door. He can hear the sound of banging and screaming as he gets closer and he's immediately worried. He tests the door and it's, thankfully, unlocked. It swings easily with a small push, Lyserg cringing as it squeaks on its hinges. He slips into the hall, frowning when he finds that the light is only marginally better than the room he just exited. He runs down the hall, coming to a stop only when he reaches the door that... well, someone's behind. The door's obviously locked, otherwise, the occupant of the room would have let themselves out already. Maybe there was a key Lyserg needed to find, or a special mechanism to open the door?]

Just... Just try to stay calm, I'm going to find a way to get you out of there! [Even if he doesn't know who's behind the door, it wouldn't be right to leave them there.]

-!

[Ah, that voice sounds familiar somehow, and the banging simply stops for a moment, silence hanging before Liam manages to speak again.]

Who... are you?

[They must have met before, right?]

Ah... [He looks up from where he was leaning down to study the doorknob, blinking in confusion.

... At least the banging has stopped for now.

What's of a bigger concern that it's a child behind the door--a fairly young one, judging by the voice. Who in the world would trap a child like this and why...? Oh, right, the kid asked a question.] My name's Lyserg. I'll get you out of here, I promise.

Lyserg...?

[How odd. There's a slight thunk, like the boy's leaned against the door.]

That's my dad's name.

[... Well. That was strange, to say the least.] Is that so...?

[In the meantime, he'll start working at the lock on the door. It's a puzzle, but it's not too difficult. Still, it takes him a while to work through it because while it's not difficult, it's extensive. After a couple minutes or so, Lyserg gives a soft "aha!" which is followed by the sound of the door unlocking.]

There, it should be open now.

Yeah.

[Liam is calm, at least, which probably helps with that puzzle's solution. Of course, the problem comes when the boy reaches for the knob.

There's a sharp click, like the door's relocked... and then a very loud scraping sound that even Lyserg can hear clearly. Liam's attention is immediately on the noise, which is above him...

And then he starts screaming again, helplessly scratching at the door as teh gears in the ceiling bring it steadily down.]

What--?! What's going on?!

[Bad, bad, bad, that sounded really bad! Lyserg's back to fiddling with the lock, but Liam's screaming this time around really isn't helping matters at all. The noise isn't helping either, but Lyserg is trying to be as quick as he can with the lock--this time, he'll pull the door open once it's unlocked.

... Though at this rate, that may take a bit still.]

[The puzzle on the lock has shifted -- it's become something else entirely that at first seems to be just a jumble of letters. A cipher, maybe?

Whether luckily or not, Liam manages to speak in his panic, but it probably won't be much more help than his screaming.]

The ceiling is falling!

[The puzzle shifted why has the puzzle shifted

But now's not the time to worry about the whys and hows, and Liam's words are just more of a motivation for Lyserg to try and work through this cipher as quickly as possible. Lyserg gives a soft growl as he continues to puzzle (ha) it out.

Nobody's getting crushed under falling ceilings on his watch.]

[The screams dissolve into frightened whimpers, occasionally only broken by Liam's cries for his mother or father. What is he supposed to do?! He isn't Hana; he doesn't exactly have a strong spirit to merge with. Morphine was supposed to be his, once he passed his father's test, but she's not even here!

He slams his hand helplessly against the door again, the scraping noise getting ever louder as the ceiling comes closer.

The puzzle, as Lyserg will find, IS in fact a cipher... it seems he needs to spell a word to make it work.]

[Hang on there, Liam, Lyserg's working as fast as he can.

Still, a cipher with no clues is very irritating to work with. But Lyserg can work with it.

He eventually spells out the right word and the door is unlocked once again.] Got it! [He's not going to wait for Liam to open the door this time, he'll pull it open himself and reach in to pull Liam out, if necessary.]

[He doesn't need to reach -- the moment the door opens, Liam all but tackles Lyserg, wrapping his arms around the detective and burying his face in Lyserg's chest, sobbing heavily.

And with him out, now, combined with the tone of voice and his reaction to the trap, it's clear that this boy can't be any older than five.

There's a dull whunk as the ceiling finishes its drop -- it had come far, far too close.]

DID SOMEONE SAY AU

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