Below the Radar: Part 2 (A D&D AU Fanfic)

The Hotel Room: Remii's POV

Maybe they were being too trusting. Maybe the possibility of a poor result should've been pushed closer to the forefront. The thought was there, but the hope that this was their contact had been an all too demanding thought to be suppressed. Remii was hopeful. Maybe a bit too hopeful.

Soryn cracked the door open, revealing the stunning golden room inside. The entire hotel was an interactive art sculpture from head to toe, Remii should've expected a continuation of that as they stepped inside. And yet, she was still stunned by the intricate designs plastered on otherwise discarded surfaces. Wall paneling, the rug hem, the base of the ionic pillars, all decorated in expensive patterns. Every inch of the room had been given the attention an art professor fawned over.

Remii hadn't even completed her scan of the room, just now glimpsing over the armoire in the centre of the room, before she felt a sharp pinch in her neck. Something else she hadn't had time to process before its effects quickly began settling in. As fast as a blink Remii's vision blurred and remained unfocused, Soryn and Arden quickly melting into squiggly, incoherent forms. Remii's head spun, so much so she was convinced it was rolling like a ragdoll's.

She hadn't seen him, no one had. How had Remii not sensed him? The Force isn't Spider Senses, she would've thought, if she weren't completely discombobulated. As the immaculate room around her spun Remii finally sensed the fourth presence as he moved past her to the others. Once the dizziness settled in the next side effect kicked in just as swiftly. Remii felt her knees buckle beneath her, the muscles in her calves melting into ramen noodles. At least, that was how it felt. Remii gasped as the control over her body was snatched away from her. One moment she was upright and the next she was inches away from the spotless carpet, her squiggling fingers sprawled out in front of her. Whatever this was that was pumping through her system, it sure was strong. Frighteningly strong for such a small dose.

Next came the shortness of breath. Or, maybe it was the extension of breath. Who knew, it was hard to focus on anything right now. Whatever this was, Remii's chest felt tight with every forced breath. The mask didn't help.

Remii realized another side effect had settled in. Lifting her head felt like lifting an armful of bricks. When she eventually did, Remii watched an...oddly familiar (but squiggly and misshapen) figure face Soryn's. He held something in his hand, something that startled squiggly Arden enough for him to leap out in front of her. At least, Remii assumed it was a leap. To her it looked like he was swimming through the air like a mermaid. A large, Chris Pine mermaid. A loud sound rumbled through the air like a couch tumbling down a flight of stairs as squiggly Arden fell to the floor. The expanding pool of crimson that quickly encompassed him made the picture clear.

"Sn...ke, Sn....k, S...n...ke, wh..n...you gon......rn?" The voice sounded familiar but Remii couldn't pinpoint why. She probably could if her mind were clear, if the bastard hadn't drugged her. In fact, this entire scenario felt oddly familiar...

Remii tried her best to fight this, to push it away with the Force. Then she tried to push him away with the Force. Whoever this was he definitely wasn't in need of their help as they'd hopefully suspected. In fact, the complete opposite. Remii felt as though she were being tossed into an ocean of waves, struggling to bring her head above water, incapable of deciphering up from down. Her fingers felt tingly, her legs detached from her body.

Remii feared for Soryn, feared for what might happen, feared the fact that she couldn't sense anything, couldn't help. As the room became dotted with splashes of reds and greens and blues Remii looked up at the unfamiliar squiggles and reached her hand out to shove him again. Nothing happened.