[Audio to Video] I appear to be missing some essential pieces to this Telephone

[calmyourmind]

No? This one then, perhaps? Honestly. They should include a manual.

[It's just audio at first, muffled and distant, interspersed with the beeping of pressed buttons and the confused ramblings of a man far beyond his league with this kind of technology.]

Or a pamphlet of some sort at the very least. Maybe a further explanation of my whereabouts than just a name. I don't suppose that would be too much to ask? Yes, yes. Quite ominous but I really must leave, tempting though I am sure your science is.

Hello? Listen I know you are there, I heard you. Oh for God's - You just spoke. How do you turn this thing on? Hello? Hello?

[How were you supposed to accomplish anything on this device? Where were the wires? The cords?]

Is anyone there? Hello? I think it's on now. I believe it is. Sorry. I appear to be a bit lost. If you're there, please respond. My name is Charles Xavier and it is really very important I get back at once. The situation-

[There are a few more beeps from the buttons and a camera feed clicks on as well, aimed to the floor and his shoes.]

Oh! Well, that did something. What is this little light for?

[The video jostles a little more and with another button press the entire feed goes dead.]

Comments

[Video]

[animator]

You just turned on your video feed -- and then promptly turned it off. Getting experimental with the buttons?

[She smiles grimly, almost apologetic.]

Sorry. No manual that I've seen. You'll get the hang of it.

[Out of necessity if nothing else.]

[Audio/Video] I am so sorry, Anita.

[calmyourmind]

Did I? Video, you say? But how did they fit all the equipment into such a small compartment? Where is the voice box? Where are the cords?

[He flips the phone around in his hands a few times.]

Which button did I... [Another series of beeps and the video flickers on, but Charles' hand is obscuring the feed by the way he is holding it and-]

Oh. There's a very small television on this. Remarkable.

[Video] You say that, but I know you're not.

[animator]

It's mobile. Doesn't need cords, everything's wireless.

[She'd ask him if he's never seen one before, but truth is, before this place, she'd never seen one before. Where she's from, car-phones are cutting edge and cells are inconvenient on top of being rare and over-priced. She still prefers her beeper to anything else.]

The camera's actually pretty good quality, for being so small. Pretty impressive, isn't it?

[Video]

[calmyourmind]

[Look who finally figured how to almost hold it, accidentally. Hello, Anita. Enjoy the view, darling. Charles has the phone pretty close up as he toys with the screen and turns the volume up and down.]

Brilliant. What a stunning piece of technology. How do they fit everything inside this tiny frame? I'll have to get Hank to -

[Oh.]

Ah, terribly sorry. I got sidetracked, didn't I. Could you tell me where we are? Anything more informative than the other person on this little device, before you, felt appropriate to tell me. I- There is an urgent matter I must get to.

[They must be a considerable distance away, Charles could not find any of their minds. And after what Erik had pulled... He must have blacked out from the pain in his head at that coin. He winces just recalling it, and a shudder runs through him. Death. So that was how it felt.]

I need to make certain my friends are alright.

[Video]

[animator]

[She can't help smirking just the tiniest bit as he accidentally gives her an extreme close-up, though it flickers and fades when he mentions friends. Ah, there's the rub. It's always this way with new arrivals. Breaking the news to them in a way that is digestible is tough, and she's not exactly known for her gentle touch in these matters.]

You're in Cape Kore. Or that's where we were until recently, though the science center is still attached to it, I'm pretty sure. It's complicated, but if you're here, you've got time to hear all the details. As for the cape itself, you probably won't find it on any map. I'd never even heard of it until I woke up here. Wherever it is, it doesn't matter. We're being monitored. Big Brother is always watching.

Your friends probably aren't here, unfortunately. Except really -- it's better if they're not.

audio;

[tryingitall]

[Uh...hey, there, Charles. Or a Charles, at least. Balthazar wasn't a close confidante with the last one, but they did share the library and a couple conversations. He can't recall him being this befuddled before, which suggests a memory wipe, or possibly an entirely new arrival.

He waits politely until the feed reconnects and sends a message by voice:]

All right, there? I'm afraid none of us have any idea how to get out of here. You're not alone, though, for whatever that's worth.

audio;

[calmyourmind]

[At least he is much more familiar with a phone acting as an audio device than a video one. He picks the phone back up at another voice and tries to listen carefully. Different voice this time, too. So he was right. It is a phone. Just a very small and improbable one.

And words he has said often, lately. You are not alone. Even now, to him, they are still reassuring words.]

Thank you. That is good to hear. I'm sorry if this may seem a bit sudden, but who am I speaking with? How are you communicating with me? I assume there is a number of some kind...

audio;

[tryingitall]

[Definitely a newcomer. Balthazar's not sure he's up for explaining the tricks Kore plays on memories and personal histories. He'll keep it general, for the moment.]

Yes, hello! I'm Balthazar. The little box is a bit like a cellular phone. Or, like a telephone with a computer built-in, if you haven't gotten to cell phones yet. It does audio and video.

I believe there's some sort of network or hub within the building that enables us to use these things.

Audio;

[calmyourmind]

Balthazar. Thank you. The extra information is helpful.

[If baffling. A computer built into a telephone? Remarkable. Incredible, even.]

And other people here, they hear this despite my not having called them? Is there an operator in charge of doing that or is that just... a part of the network?

[Audio]

[cinereoargenteus]

[There's a few muttered grumblings and sounds like someone is repeatedly smacking the phone against the nearest hard surface. Garrett has no idea if this device is working or not, but he speaks up anyway.]

Someone else out there? Someone who is not the someone who dragged me here, yes? Can hear me, yes?

[Two people who have no clue how to work these phones trying to communicate. This could take a while.]

[Audio]

[calmyourmind]

Yes, I can hear you. And no, my friend, I am just as mystified as you as to who brought me here. [Or why, or how.]

Are you alright?

[Charles, at least, understands the concept of a phone, and is applying it to the odd device as best as he can.]

[cinereoargenteus]

No one has shot me yet.

[From someone else, that might be sarcasm. Garrett means it quite seriously.]

So, yes, alright.

[calmyourmind]

Well.. I am glad to hear that, at least. Being shot would be quite unpleasant.

What is your name, friend?

[audio]

[happytobleed]

You don't remember.

[ It's not a question. He's gotten used to missing memories in this place and while the threat of it is unsettling, Castiel can't say that he's as invested in Charles' memories as he had been in Dean's or Sam's. ]

You were here before. We've been trapped for several months, myself longer than you.

[ And though their interaction had been minimal, Castiel does remember his face. ]

[audio]

[calmyourmind]

Remember? No, I suppose not.

[Had another telepath been in his head? Emma? Charles frowns to himself as he listens to the other voice.]

You say months, can you tell me how many?

[He searches through his own mind, looking for anything he may have blocked or locked away. Something is very wrong, here.]

[audio]

[happytobleed]

I've been here over four months, myself. I'm not entirely certain when you showed up the first time.

[ He tries to pay attention, but this place has a way of disorienting him and more than once, he's disappeared for a few days at a time. ]

[audio]

[calmyourmind]

That's all right. Thank you for the reminder. I believe someone may have tampered with my mind, in the time I was gone. I have no memory of this place.

[This is especially concerning for Charles. Because this means somewhere here, there is a telepath much more powerful than he is.]

What is your name, if you don't mind refreshing my memory.

[video]

[blackmagus]

If there was a manual, that would just be too lucky for all of us.

[Fortescue eyes her phone, mind going a mile a minute to determine if he's new to the facility or if there was memory tampering involved. It does seem to be the latter.]

Are you all right, love? ...Phone aside.

[video]

[calmyourmind]

Physically, I am fine.

[Charles frowns and looks for somewhere to set the odd device. The tiny videos are remarkable but something he will need to grow used to, as well as being mindful of where the camera actually is, within it.]

But I fear I may be missing some memories, if what another person has told me is accurate.

[video]

[blackmagus]

[Fortescue nods slightly, smiling.]

If I don't look familiar, then I'm afraid that's true. But not showing up a mess is a good start. It seems half the people who arrive are injured.

[video]

[calmyourmind]

I was worried you would say as much.

[His injuries were, at least, not physical. Though having a coin shoved through the skull of the man he was telepathically linked to had... had some side effects.]

Has this ever happened before? People waking up without their memories of this place? I feel as though no time has passed since my last memory, but it did not take place here.

video, please don't feel obliged to reply, I know this is late!

[hung_garian]

Oh, well if it's important that you leave, I'm sure whoever runs this place will be happy to oblige. Not like with the rest of us losers and nobodies.

Gaaabriel

[calmyourmind]

Yes, your sarcasm is quite helpful, thank you.

[hung_garian]

Yours too, big guy. Gotta say, though, watching the newbies faff around with the fancy smartphone technology at least makes for some decent entertainment. That's gotta be worth something.

[calmyourmind]

Mn. A smart phone. That is a clever terminology they chose to use, there.

If you do have any desire to actually be helpful, you could tell me where we are. Or at least, where I can go to find someone more willing to help. Otherwise I may pass on the witty banter and suggest a rain check for some other time.

I am not in the most patient of moods at this moment. Much as I am sure I would enjoy doing this some other time.