Scribblers: The Communal Psychic

Scene the First:

In the Pit. All Scribblers are relaxing by various means. WRAITH is sketching, LYRIC is reading, FINESSE is knitting, SHIFT is playing the piano, AMITY is writing and CHRONAL is playing a computer game, lest anyone suspect these characters are secret Victorians.

SHIFT ceases playing the piano and whirls round on her chair.

SHIFT: (petulantly) I’m bored!

AMITY: Maybe we should play a game! Oh, actually I shouldn’t really. I’ve got to finish this script.

WRAITH: Baps.

FINESSE: Don’t say ‘Baps’.

SHIFT: I want to go out. Does anyone want to come on a walk with me?

AMITY: Ooh! That could be good. I’ve really got to finish this script though.

FINESSE: I need to go on a walk. I haven’t been out yet today. And there hasn’t been any supervillain activity in bloody forever.

LYRIC: It is a great day. We could go down the beach and I could finish this book whilst you guys walk.

SHIFT: Yes! And then we could build sand forts! And paddle in the sea!

AMITY: Sea-forts? Paddling! Forget word-counts, I’m there!

Amity hastily saves her work and shuts her lap-top with a flourish.

CHRONAL: Let me just get to the next save point and I’ll come too.

SHIFT: You coming Wraith?

WRAITH: Coming where?

SHIFT: To the beach. We’re going to walk and paddle and build sand-forts.

WRAITH: Oh. Ok, I suppose.

FINESSE: Cool. Let me get my shoes on. According to some people this takes forever. By that point, Chronal should be able save.

SHIFT: By that point we might be at the beach! Ha ha ha.

FINESSE: (withering look) How witty.

SHIFT: Actually, why did I say that? I don’t think you take forever to put shoes on. If anything I take longer. In fact, your shoes are on and mine are not! Argh!

SHIFT runs up stairs.

AMITY: Who thinks you take forever to put your shoes on?

FINESSE: Solar. That’s sisters for you.

CHRONAL: Right! Saved and off!

CHRONAL jumps to his feet and switches off the game. SHIFT tries to run downstairs, realises she has no balance going downhill in Human and shifts into a Robin to fly the rest. She lands at the foot of the stairs, shifts back into Human and smoothes out her hair.

FINESSE: Don’t think I didn’t notice that magnificent piece of incompetence.

SHIFT: So’s your face.

CHRONAL: Time to go!

LYRIC: Oh dear. That’s dreadful.

WRAITH: I lolled. But I don’t think anyone else heard him.

The Scribblers shuffle their way out of the Pit, staring at each other somewhat blankly until one of them gets out a set of keys to lock their Grand Entrance. On this occassion, it was WRAITH.

Scene the Second.

The Beach. It is nearly empty. Sunny though the day may be. It is also cold. And crisp. The sky is autumnal blue. It is lovely. Halfway down the beach there is a strange-looking structure. It appears to be some kind of tent. It is in bright blue, purple and green and somewhat like a circus top.

SHIFT: What a magnificent day! (sighs) I’m glad we came out.

WRAITH: (mewls)

FINESSE: Whatever.

AMITY: What’s that strange tent-thing over there? It looks really pretty. Bit odd though.

FINESSE: I don’t know. Let’s go over and take a look.

LYRIC: It might be someone’s tent though.

FINESSE: Well, it’s obviously someone’s tent. It didn’t just appear.

AMITY: Ooh! Imagine if it had done. Then it might lead to another world in a Narnia-esque manner.

SHIFT: That would be great! Then we could meet up with talking animals. Oh wait. That’s me.

FINESSE: You know you can’t technically talk when you’re in shift form, right?

SHIFT: Nor can your face.

FINESSE: I think you’ll find it can.

LYRIC: I’m just saying that it might be where someone’s staying, you know. To sleep and things.

SHIFT: And things?

FINESSE: Yeah. We all know what Lyric’s thinking.

LYRIC: It’s a valid point!

CHRONAL: Look, say you’re right and it is some person’s tent, for sleeping and otherwise, we’re not just going to charge on in. That would just be rude.

WRAITH: That’s what super-powers are for.

They all pause.

SHIFT: Anyone else thinking about locking their rooms at night?

FINESSE: Probably not Lyric. He’s just an exhibitionist.

They arrive at the colourful circus-top structure. There is a sign outside. It says “Communal Psychic.”

CHRONAL: A “Communal Psychic?” How on earth can a Psychic be Communal?

AMITY: I’m not getting a very good feeling from this place.

WRAITH: (mutters) And yet when Amity uses her powers to spy on people, it’s fine…

FINESSE: It’s strange. I am picking up on a sort of psychic energy coming from this place. It’s strangely fragmented though.

LYRIC: I don’t think this is going to end well.

SHIFT: We haven’t taken on a supervillain in “bloody forever,” to quote our beloved leader.

FINESSE: (drily) I’m well beloved.

CHRONAL: (happily) Yes.

FINESSE and CHRONAL hug spontaneously. AMITY smiles.

SHIFT: Ahh. There’s sweet.

LYRIC: Indeed.

WRAITH: There’s another sign by here guys. It says, “£5 to experience the thrill of MIND READING. Read your friend’s minds! Genuinely works!”

AMITY: Some kind of power-transfer perhaps?

LYRIC: The fact it feels the need to say it “genuinely works” suggests that it may, in fact, not.

SHIFT: Only one way to find out!

SHIFT enters the tent.

FINESSE: God’s damn it! Bloody impetuous Robin-brain.

AMITY: Argh! What’s happening to her mind?

FINESSE: We’d better go in. Damn. I’ll protect us from it. So don’t wander off anywhere. Wraith? Where are you now?

WRAITH: Just checking to see if there are any more signs back here.

FINESSE: Right. Everyone together? Then let’s go.

CHRONAL: You could say, it’s time…

LYRIC: There’s a time and a place Chrone.

CHRONAL: Ooh. I could use that.

They all enter the tent, protected by a bubble of repelling power from Finesse.

Scene the Third

Inside the tent. It is dark and stuffy, the light is strangely distorted by the colours of the canvas. It is about the size of a moderately large room inside. There are lots of pieces of fabric hanging from the ceiling. You cannot see from one side to the other.

CHRONAL: Hello? Shift? You in here?

AMITY: I can sense her, but it’s really strange. She feels… thinner? And sort of wider. Stretched! That’s the word.

CREEPY CLOWN: (creepily) Can I help you?

Collective shudder. Clowns are damn creepy.

FINESSE: Our friend came in here a short while ago. Have you seen her?

CREEPY CLOWN: Ah! Yes. The one in blue. She passed this way a moment ago.

LYRIC: A less enigmatic answer would be good, clown.

FINESSE: Where is she now?

CREEPY CLOWN: Do you want to see her again?

FINESSE: It’s sort of implied in the question, don’t you think?

CREEPY CLOWN: I can help you find your friend. But it will cost you.

LYRIC: Cost us? We’ll cost you in a minute, mate.

AMITY: How much?

CREEPY CLOWN: Only five pounds per person.

CHRONAL: Five pounds per person! That’s twenty-five pounds, that is. Don’t try and throw your bloody “only” disclaimers at us, clown.

CREEPY CLOWN: Twenty five pounds is a small price to pay to find your friend, no? (laughs creepily)

ALL shudder.

WRAITH: Here’s thirty. I want change.

The CREEPY CLOWN takes the notes, then disappears.

WRAITH: Hey! My change!

AMITY: Something’s wrong guys.

FINESSE: Damn! It’s getting stronger. Hold on… shit…

A bright light envelopes the Scribblers.

Scene the Fourth

When the light dims, they find themselves in a long corridor with seemingly infinite rows of doors stretching away in both directions.

WRAITH: What’s this place?

AMITY: I think we’re closer to Shift. She’s much stronger here.

A bright light moves towards them from down the corridor.

FINESSE: Who’s there?

The light gets closer and takes the outline of a ghostly, floating woman. She looks vaguely like SHIFT.

AMITY: Shift? Is that you?

FINESSE: It doesn’t look anything like her.

AMITY: It feels like her. (smiles) She’s very happy.

SHIFT’S SUBCONSCIOUS: (ethereally) Not quite. I’m her subconscious. Call me Fauna.

CHRONAL: Fauna? You know, that’s quite a good super-hero name.

FAUNA: I know.

FINESSE: I thought Shift’s subconscious was evil? I realise I’m saying this directly to you, but feel free to contradict.

FAUNA: (quietly) Oh. Her. Don’t worry about her. She can’t exist in the same place as me. You’ll be fine.

LYRIC: That’s not very reassuring.

CHRONAL: Wait a minute. Shift has an evil subconscious? Since when?

FINESSE: It’s just something she’s always said. Never really came up much.

AMITY: It is strange. She does have a very chaotic mind, come to think of it.

WRAITH: I don’t suppose you could tell us what’s happened to real Shift?

FAUNA: Yes. She’s sleeping.

WRAITH: Sleeping? Lame.

AMITY: Ah! That makes sense.

CHRONAL: What? How on earth can that make sense?

AMITY: We wouldn’t be able to talk to her subconscious if her conscious was awake.

LYRIC: Makes a sort of sense I suppose. It doesn’t explain where exactly she is though. Or why her mind is wandering around outside her body. Though it probably has something to do with that F creepy clown. Do you know what he can do? He can go invert his f…

FAUNA: I’m not.

FINESSE: Sorry, what? Which part? I got a bit distracted by the dreadful.

FAUNA: I’m not outside Shift’s body.

AMITY: Oh! Of course! (smiles)

All look at her.

AMITY: Well, it makes perfect sense. We must be inside Shift’s mind! Physically. (defensively) This is new to me too. I’ve never taken a physical form inside a mind. It’s rather exciting!

WRAITH: Inside her mind? Does she spend a lot of time thinking about corridors then?

CHRONAL: None of this makes any sense. Ok, so if I’m willing to accept that we’re in some sort of psychic-physical hemi-semi-demi-quaver of existence, it still doesn’t explain how or why.

LYRIC: It’s that F clown isn’t it? You know what he can do? He can go…

FINESSE: It could be the clown. It’s whatever power I sensed before we entered the tent. Psychic powers can be a bit tricky like that. They can distort themselves into curious shapes.

CHRONAL: Ok. So it’s the clown. Or something. But why?

WRAITH: We paid him. Well, I did. Didn’t get my bloody change though, did I. Stupid lame clown.

FAUNA: The corridor is a method of organising the chaos of the mind.

All look at her.

FAUNA: Each door leads on to a memory. Sometimes the memories move. Sometimes the doors move. Sometimes there is no door where there appears to be one.

AMITY: A bit like Hogwarts then!

FAUNA: Yes.

CHRONAL: So each of these doors contains memories?

WRAITH: This is so wrong.

FINESSE: No more wrong than using your powers to spy on your naked friends.

WRAITH: I don’t genuinely do that. You don’t think I genuinely so that, do you? This isn’t going to be the golden syrup incident all over again, is it?

FAUNA: The easier the memory is to access, the more inviting the door will look. This door here (gestures) is merely an archway (she waves her hand, which passes straight through). It is a simple memory. Follow me.

FAUNA floats through the doorway.

LYRIC: I can’t help but feel we really shouldn’t be doing this.

FINESSE: I know. But I don’t really want to hang around out here. Her evil subconscious might just turn up.

WRAITH: That’s not a real thing is it?

AMITY: I think we should follow Fauna. She was nice.

FINESSE: Fine! Let’s go.

All Scribblers approach the doorway which fades into an archway when they get close. Slightly hesitantly, they all pass through.

Scene the Fifth.

Shift’s Memory. They are in a room. It looks like a cross between a cockpit, a library and an office.

WRAITH: What a cool room.

CHRONAL: This doesn’t look much like a memory.

FAUNA: This is the access point. You can use the facilities here to navigate through the memory. There are many files. Some of the controls access audio and visual.

FINESSE: Which memory is this one?

FAUNA: The walk to the beach. I will show you.

She floats over to the cockpit-like section of the room and fiddles with the controls. An image flickers up on a wide, curving screen set against the far wall. It starts with the image of Wraith locking the door to the Pit.

WRAITH: Now that is weird.

FINESSE: Look! There’s me! Gods, that’s weird.

LYRIC: Looking at yourself through the eyes of others. There’s an interesting concept.

FINESSE: Why am I so blurry?

FAUNA: She does not need to look at you properly. She knows your face.

CHRONAL: It does make you feel a little bit sea-sick, doesn’t it?

AMITY: I never really noticed how much she looks at the ground.

LYRIC: It’s because of the deceptipoo.

WRAITH: Is there any way to sharpen up the image?

FAUNA: Yes. It will require an Imagination Override. This is fairly complicated. I will programme it in for you.

She bends over the controls.

WRAITH: No! It’s ok, I was just wondering.

FAUNA: As you wish.

AMITY: Looking at ourselves as she imagines we look, now that is interesting.

FINESSE: But quite beside the point. We’re supposed to be getting her out of this mess, not poking around her memories.

CHRONAL: Is there any way that we can get out of this place?

FAUNA: (mournfully) I don’t get visitors very often you know.

AMITY: (tearfully) She’s so sad. Too, too sad. Pure sad…

FINESSE hurridly generates a wave of happy towards AMITY.

LYRIC: (quickly) We’re not going anywhere right now! But we’re trying to help out Shift. And that’s you. So you should really try to help us.

WRAITH: It’s self-help.

FAUNA: I don’t know. I suppose there’ll be an exit somewhere.

She drifts back through the archway into the corridor.

LYRIC: You alright Amity?

AMITY: (shaken) Pure, raw emotion. Physically realised. It was awful.

WRAITH: These books aren’t very interesting.

They all look at him.

WRAITH: They aren’t. Mostly they’re all mathematical equations.

FINESSE: We’d better follow Fauna.

They all pass back through the archway.

Scene the Sixth.

The corridor. Fauna is floating a few metres away near a different door.

FINESSE: Fauna? Do you think you can find us an exit?

FAUNA: This door is wrong.

CHRONAL: In what way?

FAUNA: It is changing. But not because of me. (she looks at them curiously). It is one of you. You’re changing the door.

CHRONAL: How could one of us be changing it? None of us know how to operate anything here.

WRAITH: Hey! I operated that book mightily fine.

FINESSE: The book full of indecipherable maths?

WRAITH: Yeah…

FAUNA: The door does not want to let you pass. This is an anomaly.

AMITY: It looks the same as the other doors.

FAUNA: Come closer. Come see.

AMITY goes closer to the door. As she nears, the doorway looks increasingly solid. There is a click, as of a lock turning.

AMITY: How strange! Come over here guys, take a look at this!

The other Scribblers gather around the doorway. With a loud clang, a barred door drops down.

CHRONAL: We definitely shouldn’t be doing this.

FAUNA: I am going through this door. Wait here for me. (seriously) Do not move. Do not make a sound. I will not be long.

FAUNA floats through the doorway.

FINESSE: How needlessly dramatic.

AMITY: I don’t like it.

LYRIC: What’s up?

CHRONAL: Do you hear that?

WRAITH: Sort of a hum?

AMITY: I really don’t like it.

FINESSE: Did the lights just flicker?

CHRONAL: What lights?

LYRIC: It’s more of a thrum-thrum noise.

WRAITH: What was that? I just felt something brush past me.

AMITY: Stop it!

CHRONAL: Hey! Who turned out the lights?

FINESSE: That isn’t helpful, Chronal.

LYRIC: Or maybe more of a lub-dub.

WRAITH: What’s that? At the end of the corridor.

AMITY: Quiet! Shhhh! Shhhh! (covers her face with her hands)

CHRONAL: No, really. It’s getting darker .

FINESSE: I don’t know what that is.

WRAITH: It’s getting closer. What should we do?

FINESSE: Fauna said to stay here.

AMITY: Shhh!

LYRIC: It’s forming into a shape.

CHRONAL: It looks like Fauna.

FINESSE: No.

WRAITH: The walls. The walls are changing.

LYRIC: It’s not coming closer to us. We’re coming closer to it.

WRAITH: It’s Fauna.

FINESSE: No. It’s her.

A sudden stillness and darkness.

BESTIA: Well what do we have here?

AMITY: Shhh!

BESTIA: (sing-song) You’re not supposed to be here.

FINESSE: What do you want?

BESTIA: (tilts her head, narrowing her eyes) You wouldn’t understand what I want.

FINESSE: Try me.

BESTIA: She approaches.

BESTIA vanishes. Lights and sound returns to normal. FAUNA floats through the doorway.

FAUNA: Are you alright? You all look very pale.

FINESSE: We met Bestia whilst you were gone.

FAUNA: Oh. Her. I hope she didn’t give you too much trouble. She’s harmless really. To you anyway. I found out what was wrong with the doors, by the way.

FINESSE: I hope it was worth it.

FAUNA: Well, it turns out that the memory is not important to Shift, which is why the door is not sealed to herself. However, she does not want to share it with you. Funny really. She was having a shower. I can’t imagine why she locked you out.

FINESSE: You don’t get out much, do you?

FAUNA: I exist only here. I watch the memories. And I dream of walking on the Earth. But I never will. And you think I should worry about Bestia? She dreams too. But her dreams are Nightmares. And maybe one day she will walk. Maybe not. She tries.

FINESSE: Look, can you just get us out of this place?

FAUNA: There is a way. I will wake her up.

FAUNA solidifies, sinking to the ground and gaining colour and physicality. The more solid she becomes, the more the scenery begins to fade. The Scribblers are enveloped in light.

Scene the Seventh

On the beach. All Scribblers are sprawled out on the floor. Including SHIFT. They groggily wake up and sit up.

SHIFT: That was the weirdest dream. Hey, why are we on the beach? Oh, yeah… we walked here. And then… I went into that tent. And then I fell asleep…

FINESSE: Look, next time you decide that there’s “only one way to find out” something. Just don’t, ok?

SHIFT: Why? Gods! What’s happened to you guys? You look rough!

FINESSE: Thanks.

AMITY: I’m desperately in need of tea.

LYRIC: Tell me about it.

WRAITH: Baps.

FINESSE: Don’t say ‘Baps’.

CHRONAL: Where did the creepy tent go?

They all look around. The beach is deserted. It is late in the day. It is much colder. The sun is nearly gone.

LYRIC: We need to get back to the Pit. We’re vulnerable here.

SHIFT: You can fill me in on what happened on the way.

FINESSE: No. First you tell us what happened to you.

The Scribblers get up and start walking towards home.

SHIFT: Not much to tell. I walked in. I met a creepy bloody clown. He wanted me to give him five pounds. I told him to take a hike. I think he made me sleep. Because the next thing I remember is a few dream fragments. Mostly I remember dreaming that I was walking to the beach. But then I was in the shower for some reason. It was really strange.

FINESSE: That’s bloody weird.

SHIFT: So what happened to you guys? And the clown? Where did he go?

FINESSE: Well. Perhaps it’s best we don’t tell you.

SHIFT: That’s bloody enigmatic.

AMITY: We met Fauna.

SHIFT: Who?

LYRIC: And Bestia. I’ve got to be honest, I didn’t really like her.

SHIFT: You met a girl. Didn’t like it. (laughs)

CHRONAL: I think it’s best we leave that story til we reach the Pit.

SHIFT: Fine. Psychic Tag!

FINESSE: No. Don’t do that.

SHIFT: I always do that.

FINESSE: Not today.

The Scribblers walk the journey in quiet contemplation. When they reach the Pit they fill Shift in on everything that happened. She is surprised and slightly embarrassed.

Scene the Eighth.

In da Pit.

SHIFT: Wow. That’s some bloody heavy stuff.

WRAITH: Baps.

FINESSE: Don’t say ‘Baps.’

SHIFT: What should we do about this Communal Psychic?

FINESSE: We can’t leave a person like that on the loose.

AMITY: I’d know his mind the moment I feel it.

LYRIC: Communal Psychic is a rubbish hero name.

WRAITH: We could call him Creepy Clown.

CHRONAL: He probably has another name. We never really asked.

SHIFT: Maybe it’s a mystery that will never be solved.

They all look at her.

SHIFT: Maybe it is.

FINESSE: Maybe it isn’t.

WRAITH: (mewls)

FINESSE: Whatever.