Scaramouche 𖤐

✡

The city had been living under a shadow of fear for weeks. Disappearances had become increasingly frequent, and missing persons posters covered the walls of the streets. No one knew who was behind it all, although rumors about a masked man driving a dark van were beginning to spread.

They called him the Raptor.

Scaramouche, Kazuha, Venti, Aether, Heizou, Tartaglia, Zhongli, and Xiao never imagined they would become connected to those disappearances. Each had been going about their own business when, under different circumstances, they all ended up becoming victims of the same man.

Everything had happened too fast. A conversation with a stranger, a journey they didn't clearly remember, and finally, darkness.

When Kazuha regained consciousness, the first thing he noticed was the cold floor beneath him and the constant whirring of an old lamp. The air smelled damp and dusty. Before him lay a concrete-walled basement with a small window positioned too high and a metal door at the bottom of a few steps.

He was not alone.

Scaramouche sat against a wall, arms crossed, wearing an expression of utter disgust. Tartaglia paced back and forth across the room, unable to stay still, while Aether scanned the window for any possibility of escape.

Heizou carefully scanned the corners of the basement, trying to find any clue that would explain how they had gotten there. Venti sat near the wall, unusually quiet. Zhongli stood by the steps, listening for noises coming from the floor above.

Xiao, for his part, had moved away from the others. His gaze remained fixed on the door, and his distant expression gave no indication of what he was thinking.

"Can someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?" Scaramouche snapped, breaking the silence. "Because, frankly, I'm beginning to lose my patience."

"If we knew, we would have told you already," Tartaglia replied, stopping in front of him.

—Then stop pacing. You're putting me in an even worse mood.

"As if that were possible," Heizou muttered, without taking his eyes off a mark on the ground.

Aether moved away from the window and looked at the group.

—We don't know how long we've been here. We need to stay calm and think of a way out.

"Staying calm doesn't mean sitting around waiting for our kidnapper to take pity on us," Xiao replied coldly.

Venti raised his head.

—Wow, Xiao. You can be so comforting when you want to be.

—We're not here to listen to your jokes.

"I know," Venti replied, looking down. "I'm just trying to keep us from going crazy before we find a way out."

Zhongli intervened with his usual serenity.

Arguing amongst ourselves will only make things easier for whoever brought us here. We need to observe our surroundings and avoid acting rashly.

Scaramouche let out a dry laugh.

—Of course. Because speaking politely will surely make them open the door for us and invite us in for tea.

Before anyone could answer him, footsteps echoed on the floor above.

Everyone remained silent.

The footsteps descended slowly down the stairs and stopped in front of the metal door. The sound of a key turning was heard, and shortly after, the door opened.

A masked man appeared in the doorway.

His posture was relaxed, almost carefree. He wore a strange mask that concealed much of his face and observed the boys as if pleased with his recent acquisition.

"I see they've finally woken up," he remarked calmly. "I'm glad to see they're starting to get to know each other."

"Who are you?" Heizou asked immediately. "Why have you brought us here?"

The Raptor tilted its head slightly.

—There's always someone who needs to ask questions.

"And there's always someone who needs to learn how to answer them," Scaramouche replied. "How about you start by opening that door and explaining what you intend?"

The man turned his attention to him.

—You have quite a sharp tongue, lad.

—And you have a rather ridiculous mask.

Tartaglia let out a small laugh, although he fell silent when the Raptor turned its gaze towards him.

—It seems that some of you still do not understand your situation.

Xiao stepped forward.

—We fully understand that you've kidnapped us. What we don't understand is why you're still here talking instead of telling us what you want.

For a few seconds, the Raptor remained motionless.

Then, he let out a brief laugh.

—What an interesting group.

His gaze swept across the basement until it finally stopped on Kazuha.

—And you… I’m curious to know how long it will take you to understand the rules of this house.

Kazuha didn't have time to respond before the man backed away towards the stairs.

—Rest. We'll have time to talk later.

The door slammed shut and the key turned again on the other side.

Scaramouche immediately stood up and banged his fist on the door.

—Open up already, you damned coward!

He received no response.

"Scaramouche, stop it!" Aether exclaimed. "You're not going to achieve anything by doing that."

—And what's your brilliant alternative? To politely ask him to let us go?

—At least I'm trying to think.

—Well, think faster.

Heizou approached the wall, examining the markings he had found earlier.

"Something worries me. This place seems designed to keep us here. I don't think we can just force our way out."

Zhongli nodded slowly.

—We must also consider that the man might be listening to us.

Xiao again moved away from the group, although this time he stayed close to the others.

—Then we'll have to find another way out.

It was at that moment that Venti noticed an object located on the opposite wall.

A black rotary dial telephone hung from a metal bracket. It looked old-fashioned, and the cord that should have connected it to the wall was cut.

"Was that there from the beginning?" he asked, pointing at it.

Aether took a few steps closer.

—I hadn't seen it.

"Because there's nothing interesting about an old telephone," Scaramouche replied, still irritated. "Besides, it's unplugged."

Heizou just stared at him.

"It's strange. Everything else seems to have been placed here by someone who wanted to prevent us from escaping. Why would they leave a phone here?"

"Perhaps he's hoping we'll call the police," Tartaglia joked, though his expression didn't match his words.

Zhongli examined the device from a distance.

—It doesn't seem to be in working order.

Xiao said nothing. However, his gaze had stopped on the earpiece.

Silence once again enveloped the basement.

Then the phone rang.

The first ring of the doorbell made Venti jump. Tartaglia turned sharply, and Aether instinctively stepped back. Scaramouche stopped banging on the door.

Nobody spoke.

The phone rang a second time.

"That's impossible," Heizou murmured.

The third ring echoed through the concrete walls.

Xiao narrowed his eyes.

—Don't touch it yet.

But the device rang again.

Venti looked at the others, and for the first time since they had woken up he didn't try to make any jokes.

—What if someone is trying to help us?

"Or perhaps it's another one of that wretch's traps," Scaramouche replied.

"We won't know until we find out," Heizou said.

Aether looked towards Kazuha.

-What are you up to?

Before anyone could say anything else, the phone stopped ringing.

For a few seconds, the basement remained completely silent.

Then, a distorted, childlike voice emerged from the earpiece.

—Hello...? Is anyone there?

Venti put a hand to his mouth.

The voice was heard again, this time with greater urgency.

—If you can hear me, please answer. We don't have much time.

Scaramouche stared at the telephone with an expression that mixed distrust and unease. Tartaglia had stopped moving, while Heizou tried to understand how a device with a severed cable could possibly work.

Zhongli remained silent.

Xiao looked towards the door, as if he feared that the Raptor might appear at any moment.

The voice sounded again.

Can you hear me?

Everyone present turned their gaze towards Kazuha.

The black earpiece was still in place, waiting for someone to pick it up.

Scaramouche broke the silence with a small, nervous laugh.

—Well, Kazuha. It seems the phone wants to talk to you. Are you going to answer it, or are you going to let it keep ringing all night?

Nobody moved.

A creaking sound came from the upper floor, followed by slow footsteps that seemed to be heading towards the basement door.

The phone remained silent.

And, for the first time, the eight of them understood that perhaps that call was their only chance to discover what was really happening in that house.

Trying to escape, fah