#rivalis.plot

                                    CHAPTER ONE : THE FUNERAL

WHEN: Sunday, February 2nd, 2020

WHERE: Wolvercote Cemetary, Oxford, England. 

It’s been two weeks since the death of Harold Knox, and on this dreary Sunday morning the procession has gathered in Wolvercote Ceremony to lower the coffin into the ground. The original five Oculus Academy members and Mr. Moe were selected to be pallbearers and bring the coffin to it’s final resting place. Silence falls, and only the patter of drizzling rain can be heard as it drums on the attendees’ umbrellas. For a while it is quiet, as everyone stares down at the box which holds the body of a great leader. 

The cherry blossoms are starting to bloom at the edge of the cemetery, and not far away the grave of J.R.R Tolkien (Harold’s favorite author) can be seen. It’s a somber setting, one befitting of such loss. But tension hangs in the air as the Oculus Academy’s former students stand shoulder to shoulder with The Enigmas. The Enigmas, dressed in black but still donning their masks to hide their identities, are only there at the request of their parent, Hollis Navarro. They have no idea why their parent is crying, and some tell themselves it’s just the rain. 

The paparazzi is gathered outside of the gate to the cemetery and some news vans are parked along the street. But the teams have hired security to make sure they can go through the day undisturbed, and any unwelcome onlookers are merely buzzing around at a distance and are easy to ignore. The faint din of speculation and rumors can be heard all around them, but each keep their head down and proceed with only whispers. The crowd of invited attendees is small: both teams, some of Harold’s distant family, some politicians and socialites, and some former coworkers from his days at Prism. No more than forty people are in attendance for the private funeral,  making people wonder how it was that The Enigmas were put on the list. 

As they leave the cemetery and get into their black sedans, the shouts of the crowd gathered outside reach a crescendo but are blocked out as the doors close and fade away as everyone drives off towards The Oculus Academy manor for the wake. The wake, much like the burial is quiet. No one is quite sure what to say. Since everyone is thinking words that may easily start something. The Oculus’ wonder why The Enigmas are in their home, and The Enigmas wonder so many things about The Oculus’ as they finally get the chance to pry into their lives. They amble through the parlor and lounge of the mansion, eating the food that has been set out and watching each other nervously. Mr. Moe exchanges a few polite words with Hollis and Florence, while Blitzbang seems to be giving Zephyr a tour. 

Then, loud enough for everyone in the parlour to hear, Blitzbang invites Zephyr to stay the night, instead of having to fight back through the paparazzi and sleep in a moldy old inn, Blitzbang says that Zephyr should merely take one of the guest rooms. Then calling out to the entire crowd, Blitzbang declares that anyone here is invited to stay the night in a guest room if they so choose. As they say “All are welcome here.” 

THE OBJECTIVE: Attend the funeral and pay respects to Harold Knox without starting a fight. 

                                 CHAPTER TWO: THE VOID CALLS

WHEN: 12:36 A.M. Monday, February 3rd, 2020

WHERE: Oculus Manor, Abingdon, England.

So far it’s been a relatively peaceful evening, despite the simmering tension. The Enigmas have settled into the guest wing of the Oculus Manor while the Oculus’ take up their old bedrooms. After a nearly silent dinner together everyone left for their respective rooms. There were some who lingered behind for quiet conversations in the lounge, kitchen, or gardens.  But for the most part, the teams went off to hide in their rooms and avoid eye contact with their estranged siblings and old-time rivals.

Sometime just past midnight, ZEPHYR was awoken by the faint sound of whistling. Not human whistling, they were sure, but the sound of air rushing to escape. After checking their window for some sort of draft, they followed the sound down the hall and upstairs to the corridor which contains the doors to the library, study, and The Headmaster’s old room. The whistling, whoosing was faint, but their ears were attuned to such a sound and they were able to follow it down the hallway. As they approached they noticed something strange, the paintings on the wall were rattling. The slightest tremor making them clack against the wood-paneled walls. Stranger still, the further they walked down the hall the more this wind tugged at their clothes and pulled them further. That was when ZEPHYR called out, thinking this was a prank; someone trying to trick them into thinking the house was haunted. They stood their ground and waited.

Awoken by the sound of ZEPHYR’s shouting, a few team members found them standing in the hallway, staring in awe at something at first invisible. Floating in the middle of the hallway, suspended in midair was a black dot. No greater than the size of a quarter, it was difficult to see among the shadows of the night. Pure, infinite blackness confined to a small circle, the teams observed it with caution. It seemed to draw everything towards it. BLITZBANG reached out towards it, but drew back when their bracelet flew off their wrist and was swallowed by the dark orb - disappearing. Though they couldn’t see it, the orb got a little bigger.

MR. MOE arrived on the scene last, and when he saw the orb, he told everyone to stand back. What it the object was, they all could tell: a black hole exactly in the spot where Harold Knox had died. His powers, which had been the reason for building the academy, could now destroy it.

THE OBJECTIVE: Identify the strange floating thing in the hallway and determine if it’s a threat.