CONSOLE [video/action] Guess who's back, back, back from the - wait.

[skeletonenigma]

[Skulduggery's at the Hotel console, looking exactly the same as he did when he went missing a month ago. He's impeccably dressed in a suit, hat, scarf, and coat - and also happens to be a living skeleton, for those new to the turtle. 'Back from the dead' has new and interesting connotations where he's concerned.

It's April 1st. It's a little past dinnertime. Skulduggery takes a moment or two, once the video turns on, before he speaks. He sounds the same as ever, too - Irish, his voice as smooth as velvet.]

I promise, I don't do this on purpose.

[That's directed at... a lot of people, actually. Pepper. Solomon. Cain. Raine. Anton. Erskine. Honestly, anyone who's not so much relieved at his return than annoyed.]

It looks like I missed quite a bit. Someone died, someone didn't die, everyone's blaming everyone else, and now we have a person or persons unknown trying to assassinate every prominent kedan in the city. On top of that, I heard something about an earthquake and power outages. Does anyone know more than the barest details about any of this? And if they do, would they be willing to share it?

[He reaches out to end the feed, then pauses.]

Oh, and why is all the furniture on the ceiling?

[OOC: Feel free to approach Skulduggery in person at the console if you're in the Hotel!]

Comments

video;

[ruinsprofessor]

[!!!]

You're back.

[Yes, she's stating the obvious, and she doesn't care. Her eyes are wide and her mouth curves up: startled and pleased all at once.]

I'm happy to fill you in on things as far as I know.

Where-- were you? Do you recall any time passing?

[skeletonenigma]

[Raine's one of the few people who can get away with stating the obvious. Skulduggery's just as happy to see her face come up on screen as she no doubt was to see his.]

The Dreaming, I imagine. I'm not sure. I was leaving for Hatal, and the next thing I remember clearly is walking through the Lorn level. I knew something was wrong, which I suspect means I knew in some manner that time was passing, but apart from that...

[It was eerie - a very tangible reminder that the Foreigners' grip in Konryu is even weaker than their connections to their soul gems suggest.]

About which part? The death, the non-death, the blame, or the assassin?

[ruinsprofessor]

[Friendship: not minding when the other person states the obvious.]

You've been gone about a month, if you hadn't done the math yet.

I wonder why the Dreaming would have...

[Raine does not look comforted at all by his report.]

I know the most about the death; I can only report what I've heard and speculate on the rest.

audio;

[inkulcation]

[There is a brief debate between completely ignoring him, and talking to him long enough to ensure he knows he's being ignored.]

I'm not convinced you don't just want the attention, my darling.

Welcome back.

[She will not, however, answer any further. Probably. Unless sufficiently taunted.]

video;

[skeletonenigma]

[Ah. So China hasn't disappeared yet.

It's not particularly a good or a bad thing. It's just a fact. One Skulduggery takes a moment to process before responding.]

Thank you. I missed you too.

[A normal person wouldn't interpret that as a taunt. Whether or not it's meant as one...]

[inkulcation]

[She highly doubts that.]

[But regardless, it is not netting a response from her. See her ignoring you, Pleasant? Because she is.]

action;

[edgeoftheknife]

[By this point in the evening, Erskine's usual chores around the Hotel are finished. In fact, he's just about to retire to Anton's room to spend the rest of the evening staring at his Echo Stone, I mean what when he hears that voice. He would know that voice anywhere.

On the ceiling, upside down, Erskine freezes in place and stares up/down at the skeleton at the console.]

Skulduggery?

action on down;

[skeletonenigma]

[He glances up, not entirely surprised, though the change in perspective is one even Skulduggery has to take a few moments to acclimatise to. It's also strangely difficult to recognise someone when you're looking at them upside down.]

Yes?

[He's not completely convinced he isn't still in the Dreaming, actually. What's everything doing on the ceiling?]

Sorry I'm late.

[edgeoftheknife]

Late?

[There's a bit of an edge to the reply, a bit of incredulity--as if he can't believe Skul just said the word--although it's not full-blown outrage. No, it's much more civilized than that.]

I.... [A pause] Do you remember everything? From before?

[Are you still the same Skulduggery?]

Video

[hadthehighground]

[That sure is a talking skeleton there. Okay. Obi-Wan will just take this in stride.]

I don't believe we've met, but welcome back just the same. At the very least I can explain the power outage.

[skeletonenigma]

[Oh, hello. Skulduggery opens his jaw to point out they have met, then remembers he wasn't actually a skeleton at the time. It wasn't a very long meeting, either, down in the Dexedi's territory over in Hatal.

Trying to explain, however, would likely take more time and patience than Skulduggery's willing to expend right now.]

Thank you. [His head tilts curiously to the side.] What happened with the power outage?

[lasergrenades]

[Pepper is very relieved that Skul is back. She is also Very Annoyed that he disappeared in the first place; the fact that he has absolutely no control over whether he got phased into the Dreaming or not has absolutely no bearing on her displeasure.

And so she doesn't say anything when she turns on the feed, and is instead simply glaring at the impeccably dressed skeleton with her arms folded across her chest. A few silent seconds pass with nothing more to fill them than the curve of her eyebrow rising sharply.]

[skeletonenigma]

[... Ah.

Amazing, how a silence can be so silent and yet speak volumes.]

Is there anything I can possibly say to make up for vanishing?

[Because Skulduggery knows from experience that trying to explain to Pepper it wasn't his fault will accomplish absolutely nothing.]

[peacefullywreathed]

[Waspishly:]

What the bloody hell took you so long?

[How dare. How dare.]

[skeletonenigma]

[Congratulations, Solomon, you've succeeded in surprising Skul. Twofold; that you're talking to him at all, and that you're so angry with him for disappearing.]

Were you planning something?

[When in doubt, be suspicious.]

Video

[fierybluebird]

Earthquake? I missed an earthquake?

[He's so disappointed!]

[And unfazed about the furniture.] Just sit on the ceiling to enjoy it, yoi. [The obvious solution.]

[skeletonenigma]

Good. I'm not the only one who missed it. It was over on the continent, down on the Lorn level. A bit of a disaster, by all accounts. I was over there this afternoon and it looks like they've cleared away the worst of the damage, but there was a death toll.

[A natural disaster, though. Nothing scheming behind it. The most Skulduggery can do is ignore the guilt he feels at not being around to help in the immediate aftermath, and move on to more important things he can do something about.

Speaking of which - hello, Foreigner he's never met. His head tilts to the side.] I could do that, yes, but I don't think many others can fly. Who are you?

Video

[purered]

Mr Pleasant, you are a sight for sore eyes.

The earthquake happened in Hatal. The greatest damage was on the Lorn level, and many of the Kin'nal perished despite our best efforts. Though many more also survived due to them.

I am sorry to say Milyn was murdered; possibly by one of the Snakes though there is a great deal of uncertainty surrounding her demise. In turn, someone made an attempt on Tu Yunxu's life.

The power outage was a result of Mr Kenobi and his associates attempting to reach Tu Vishan. They had some degree of success. There is a great deal more I should like to tell you on the matter.

As for your last question: I don't know. Some possible fluctuation in the magic here.

Welcome back. It is good to see you again.

[skeletonenigma]

Thank you. [He sounds pleased. Yes, he is a sight for sore eyes, and it's only natural someone would notice that.

Klaus's rundown is succinct and to the point, professional in every way. Skulduggery appreciates that. He does notice there's no mention of Klaus's own plans to wake the turtle - quite possibly because those plans don't exist, though after their discussion about the Xunutane Skulduggery finds it hard to believe Klaus wouldn't follow up. Either something went wrong, or there's something the general public shouldn't know.]

Would you like to meet somewhere? I don't drink, but I have nothing against other people drinking.

Action

[purrns]

[...You have a skull for a head. YOU HAVE A SKULL FOR A HEAD. Adrien is doing his usual everyman work in the hotel - which is a lot harder upside down - when he catches sight of Skullduggery. Curiosity gets the better of him (you know what they say about cats) and he moves a little closer.

Okay the guy doesn't just have a skull for a head he is clearly a skeleton. In a suit. Because that's clearly a thing here. Adrien stares a moment, before realising that's probably rude and he should just answer the nice dead man's question. ]

No one really knows about the furniture , Monsieur. The earthquake happened in Hatal, though. On the Lorn level, mostly. It was a...pretty big mess. A lot of people died.

[Wait is talking about people dying inappropriate here? He has zero idea what the social rules are for talking to an actual skeleton.]

[skeletonenigma]

[Skulduggery glances up and sees a new face staring down at him from the ceiling. How many newcomers, he wonders, arrived while he was gone? And, more importantly, did anyone mention living skeletons were a possibility? Ordinarily Skulduggery would assume the answer is no, but he seems to have become something of a staple in the welcome speech new Foreigners get, especially if Tony Stark's the first person they meet.]

Did anyone from Keeliai die?

[It's a bit of a cold question, he's aware, but it's also information he needs.]

Action (assuming after talk with Erskine?)

[ten_zero]

[ Well, that can't possibly be someone else besides Skullduggery, right? There aren't multiple walking skeletons, are there?

Bisi came down the stairs - well, ramp - on her wheelchair (fortunately Anton's magic made it possible to get a chair up and down a 45 degree incline) on her way to the desk (She's been working reception for a few weeks now). She rolls over to the skeleton at the console. ]

Hello - are you Skulduggery?

You mean the one further up? Sounds good!

[skeletonenigma]

[Another newcomer. This one, though, seems to know who he is. Skulduggery tilts his head down toward her.]

Yes, that's me. How can I help?

video;

[aquanimity]

[Another familiar face - or lack of one. Not having seen the living skeleton around since her return, Aqua has assumed he'd likewise returned home in her absence. He's not an easy one to miss.]

Welcome back, Skulduggery. [She cracks a small smile at the humor in greeting someone in such fashion when she herself had only returned a week prior.] I'm afraid I can't help you with the questions. I haven't been back long enough myself.

[Then she notices the errant furniture on the ceiling in the background of the feed. Aqua hasn't been back to the Hotel today, so she pauses to stare.]

...How did that happen?

[skeletonenigma]

[Now here's a surprise. And a nice surprise, even. Skulduggery hasn't seen Aqua in a long time, and hadn't expected to see her again. She must have come back while he was gone.]

The furniture? [He glances behind him.] April Fool's Day, or so I'm told. Anton knows quite a bit of sigil magic.

[He turns back as another thought occurs to him.] When you were gone, were you aware of time passing?

[Please forgive him for not welcoming you back or even properly saying hello, Aqua. The sentiment is there, I promise.]