Daria
in
Round Robin hell
(Thea_zara)
The first thought that ran through her head was, 'Why the hell am I on the floor?' She ran through the afternoon and could find no good reason to be cheek to concrete. She looked around her and realized she was in Jane's basement. The various abandoned canvases and the bands broken amp helped her differentiate from any other average basement. Lying beside her was a spilled can of green paint the exact shade of her coat. That did the trick, why she was down here came back to her suddenly. Jane was doing a painting. 'Big surprise there', she thought, her trademark smirk playing across her face. Jane had asked her to get the paint because she was going to paint a Morgendorffer family portrait, and perish the thought that she not get Daria's favorite jacket exactly right.
She climbed to her feet, and looked around for something to clean up the mess she had made with the paint. She grabbed an old rag from atop a canvas and started wiping. After she finished cleaning up most of the mess she turned to lay the rag down and screamed. The canvas she had uncovered was nothing short of breathtaking. It had to be Jane's best work ever, but the fact that it had been down here hidden was perfectly explainable once you took in the subject matter. Trent was playing his guitar on a stage, a spotlight illuminating his features as well as blocking his sights. Below him in the painting was Daria, staring up at him, a look of awe and love shining on her face. She looked more open than she had ever dared be in real life, and the emotions she had felt for Trent were clearly painted into every line of her face. The implications of the painting were not lost on Daria and she could only hope Jane had never showed this to Trent. No matter how oblivious he had been this painting showed how she had felt and only an idiot would miss its implications.
She didn't worship at the church of crush anymore, and Trent was her friend. If he ever saw this things could get decidedly weird between them. She would have to make sure he had never seen it. She looked around for another cloth to place over it and then moved to leave the basement intent on having a little talk with Jane. As she left she noticed just how she had ended up on the floor. The third step down had cracked through and she suddenly remembered flying backwards and hitting the concrete.
(wouter)
"Luckily us Morgendorffers come equipped with hard heads." Daria smiled grimly while checking her head for lumps, one could never be to sure.
Muffled sounds were coming from behind the door of the basement, Daria looked up and tried to focus on what was said, she vaguely recognized Jane's voice but it was too far away to make out exactly what she was saying. Daria carefully scaled the rest of the stairs until reaching the door and automatically reaching for the lever, only to find it missing.
As if a tape was rewound to what happened previously, Daria suddenly recalled grabbing something while falling down, slowly becoming aware of an object in her left hand. Daria raised her hand and opened it up revealing the lever, which had snapped off because of the stress the sudden yank built onto it.
Great, just great, locked in and no way to make it known, what would it take to make it clear to the inhabitants of the Lane household that there was a guest in distress? She could try shouting, no the emergency wasn't severe enough for her to actually raise her voice. First god created light, as so the bible said, Daria smiled grimly at the thought while reaching for the light switch and illuminating the place. Know your surroundings and know the way to use them to your advantage.
Two or three electric guitars became visible along with parts of a disassembled drum kit; this was the place where Mystic Spiral made their fools gold record. The whole place had an aura of unemployed men; empty beer cans on top of the discarded amplifier stood as silent witnesses of the many rehearsals that took place here.
Daria's glance fell on one particular guitar, shaped a bit like a capital K, red and white in color, it was the guitar Trent played on one of the first times she was over at the Lane household. Daria lifted it up and wiped the dust from it, like the crush she used to have on its owner, it had been gathering dust.
The strings felt rusty, obviously this guitar hadn't been played for a very long time. Daria grimaced at the memory of how the whole house was shaken on its foundation when this guitar, in the hands of its owner, raised its voice.
All of a sudden it struck Daria, this guitar would raise its voice for her, making it clear for Jane that something was going on in the basement. Daria's hands strummed the strings a bit shakily; she never had a guitar in her hands before. It didn't matter, as long at it made a sound loud enough to make her heard.
Daria looked at the amplifier, the cloth protecting the speakers was torn and it showed a big crack in the back, would it work? After finding a cable and plugging the guitar in, Daria decided to take the big step and switching the amp on, if it were really broken, then the fuses would blow and if it worked, that would be good too.
Click
The power indicator light of the amp turned bright red and a soft hiss was heard after the amplifier came to life again. Daria cranked the volume control and gave the guitar a strum...
Nothing, no sound at all, Daria checked and double-checked the amp, it should work and then she noticed that the guitar itself had rotary knobs as well. Daria cranked them and....
*WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGG*
The feedback was deafening; Daria bolted up and in a reflex toppled the amplifier over making it short circuit and blowing the fuses of the house.
After the feeling returned into her body Daria sighed, no way that that would go unnoticed...
(Thea_zara)
Elsewhere in the house...
Jane was growing impatient. She had sent Daria after that paint twenty minutes ago, and still no sign of her. She went down stairs and was heading toward the basement door when Trent came ambling into the room from the kitchen.
"Hey Janey. Where are ya heading?"
"I sent Daria to the basement for paint and she hasn't come back yet. I was about to go check on her."
Trent began looking slightly green around the edges. "Daria's by herself in the basement?"
Jane looked at him slightly confused, "Didn't I just say that. What you think she led a guided tour down there or something? Sheesh Trent, what the hell's wrong with you? It's Daria. It's not like she's gonna take off with your bits of broken instruments and run to Paraguay with the money she makes selling them on E-Bay."
Trent, while still looking upset, cracks a smile at the thought. "Course not, I trust Daria. There are just projects down there I don't want people to see, you know, just yet."
Jane looked at her brother carefully, wondering just what in the hell he's talking about this time. "Trent I'm sure Daria isn't down there reading any of your lyrics."
At that Trent opened his mouth to speak when the whole house shook with noise. The vibrations rattled pictures on the wall, then suddenly the lights shut off and the noise faded out.
Jane looked sheepishly at her brother. "Ok maybe she did read some of your music. Get me the flashlight out of the kitchen drawer Trent. I'm gonna go check on our little Hendrix... Just as soon as I can see my way to the basement door."
Trent looked as if he wanted to say more but then turned and headed towards the kitchen.
(Wouter)
"Hey Daria, you in there?" Jane's voice called out from the other side of the door. A rhetorical question, no doubt, Jane knew that Daria was in there, she just made it very clear she was there.
"Just open the damn door and let me out Jane!" Came the annoyed reply. "You guys could've told me about that broken stairway sooner."
Jane reached for lever only finding it lying on the ground, no wonder that Daria didn't return, she must've grabbed onto the lever and broke it off when falling down. The door was solid; this would require serious strength to break open.
From the other end of the door Daria heard how Jane tried to open the door but her tries were in vain, but then came another sound, somebody joined Jane at the other side of the door.
"Daria, listen carefully, go to the amplifier and unplug it." Came Trent's voice. "I have just replaced the blown fuses but it will short-circuit all over again when the amplifier is still plugged in."
"Got it." Daria nodded and carefully making her way to the amplifier, finding the chord with which it was connected to the power and unplugging it. "Okay, you can put the power back on."
Daria heard how Trent ran away from the door and only a few seconds later the lights came back on. Daria blinked a few times adjusting to the light again and then her gaze fell on something that came from the amplifier when she toppled it over, Daria bowed down and picked it up, a picture.
"On your marks, get set, go!" Trent roared while kicking the door down. "Daria, are you okay? ...What...is that... you didn't actually find...?"
Daria turned to Jane and Trent with a Deer-In-The-headlights look. The painting was understandable, it just revealed openly what Jane saw from the first time that Daria met her brother but this was something totally different.
"Trent, how could you..." Daria whimpered, shaking, while holding the very revealing picture.
(Thea_zara)
Daria held out the newly found painting. It was another of her and Trent, this time she is standing and looking at the viewer with one arm raised and her glasses gone. She covered by a stretch of material wrapping her body lightly from one raised shoulder, across her chest, around her back, back around one hip and trailing out behind her as if in the wind. Trent is kneeling beside her on one knee head bowed as if in awe of her. He is dressed as a roman soldier. In the background of the piece you see what looks to be the remaining members of Mystic Spiral, also dressed as soldiers standing in chariots. The painting is again one of the better ones she has ever seen of Jane's works. The skill of the artist would not however save either of the Lane's standing in front of Daria from her wrath in this moment.
"How the Hell could either of you do this to me? Damnit Jane, I trusted you!" She spit out with venom and hurt, before again turning onto Trent. "And I suppose this was some sort of game for you as well? Show me off like that to the guys, making me into a joke for your friends? To hell with the both of you!" She burst into a run, all semblance of her impenetrable hardness gone, just wanting to be as far from Jane and Trent as possible.
Trent and Jane both had the same expression on their faces, mouth hanging open, looking as if they were trying desperately to speak but had forgetting how. Finally Jane managed to get out a sentence. "B-bu-but I didn't paint that." She stared at it in amazement wondering were in the hell it had come from when Trent managed to find his voice, "I did Janey."
This confession on top of everything was the last straw and Jane simply dropped, luckily she was in front of the old couch Trent kept down here for when the band was hanging out, and she managed to fall down onto it. She reverted to a state of shock; looking for all the world like a giant Jane shaped goldfish. Her mouth working to form words and failing miserably.
Trent watched her a moment then moved to the small fridge he kept down here, pulled out a cola, opened it, and handed it to Jane. He figured the caffeine would at the least help her speak again. She took the can and downed it in three quick drinks. She stopped trying to speak and simply stared at her brother for a few moments then finally, "When the hell did you decide to take up painting, and why did you paint that picture of Daria?"
Trent looked at the painting for what seemed like a long time then he turned to Jane and started speaking. "After I broke up with Monique for good I started having these weird dreams. I mean they weren't bad dreams or anything, just weird. I found myself in different places and the only thing that was always the same was that Daria was there with me. I mean sometimes the spiral was there, and most of the time you were, but Daria was always there. I really liked them Janey, but I started sleeping even more than normal, missing more practices than ever, and even a couple gigs. I even flaked out on that project you and Daria wanted help with cause I was sleeping, hoping I'd have one of the dreams. I figured that if I got it out of my system somehow then I wouldn't sleep so damned much waiting to have one. I tried to write it out to create lyrics, but you've seen how that turned out. I couldn't even begin to describe these dreams and how they make me feel Janey. I asked you what you do if you can't sculpt or paint out what you feel, remember?" Jane nods drawn into what Trent is saying. He smiled at her and looked back at the canvas a moment before going on. "You told me if one medium doesn't work that you move on to another till you find one that helps you express yourself. So I tried another medium. I thought about it and they say a picture is worth a thousand words so I just started painting. It took me awhile to get the hang of it, luckily you were off with Tom so much you didn't notice me running around the house trying to find your turpentine stash with paint all over me." Jane managed to crack a smile at the image before he went on. "I painted and painted, what I felt, what I saw, what I thought while I dreamed. When mom called I told her I was trying to understand my dream state and asked if I could use one of the blank checks for supplies. I replaced what I had used of yours and bought my own paints and canvases. Finally things started easing up. I still have the dreams, and I still love how they feel, but I also love waking up to paint them. Janey I never showed anyone my paintings, are they really so bad that Daria would be that mad at me?"
Jane looked at her brother shocked at how he could amaze her with how deep he was becoming then revert to Bobo the oblivious boy the next. "Trent, Daria wasn't upset cause the painting was bad. In fact it is really good, better than most of mine. She thought we were making fun of her."
Trent now gaped at her, "Why would we make fun of her?"
Now at this point the three threads take drastically different paths. For now you simply continue reading what came to be called Thread Three: Daria & Melody, but in the future I hope to be able to offer you the various story line choices.