h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

*Once a center of social activity, the cafe is now deserted, its windows and doors boarded up, its back porch overgrown*

*the only way to enter the cafe now is from downstairs, a lobby which once provided lift service to CLI and Lil's Atelier, but now only affords access to men's and ladies' rooms, a cleaning closet, a flight of stairs up to the cafe's main floor, and another flight of stairs that head down to some other destination*

*unlike the other deserted parts of H2G2 Island -- barring Matina's kitchen and Chloe's linen closet -- everything is spotlessly clean*

*Steps into the Cafe*

*over at the distant left corner of the café, in exactly the spot where there used to be a broom closet, there is now just a gaping hole*

*not only the big padlock but also the door itself seem to have vanished without a trace*

*the broom closet is empty, except for some old-fashioned cleaning tools like brooms, buckets and rags*

*steps into the café too, with a sweet smile on her face at the sight of the pianola, the Deep Purple sofa, the counter and the IIEM and - *

*spots the empty closet*

*freezes, holds her breath*

*remembers having a shower and freshening up at the Atelier*

*breathes out, trying to look as clean as possible*

*looks up towards the rafters, but fails to see a helpful long hairy blue arm reaching down to help her up*

*repeats to herself: don't panic, don't panic, don't panic*

Oh O!

*chokes on her PAG a bit, unsure of whether or not RL will allow her to continue here...*

*for the meantime, feel free to make use of sea's pockets and assume she'll follow the group*

*follows the others up the stairs and into the cafe proper*
S'Dark in here. *pokes her luminescent squid a bit*

Here's the IIEM over here. *walks carefully across to the counter*

No, wait. It's over there. *blinks* Has it learned camouflage?

*arrives and looks for a Bar*

It's particularly tidy in here. Look at the shine on Bluebottle's tea kettle!

Don't go wandering off on your own, Red Dog and keep your wits about you. You have no idea what could be lurking in the shadows.



*sets the lamp on her miner's helmet to 'wide beam' in an attempt to light up as much of the Café as possible*

They never served alcohol in here, Red Dog -- it was strictly light refreshments. Now I'm going to go over to the counter where I know the IIEM always used to be, and I'm going to believe strongly that it is still there. Drat this improbability! Who knows what else in the area has been affected?

*walks toward the counter, trips over a chair leg, stumbles, tries to catch herself on the end of a table, and falls, pulling the tablecloth with her*

*little fossilised packets of sugar and splenda fly everwhere*

*thinks she can see something glowing red in a dark corner*

*squints*

*thinks it might be a CLI logo*

*checks self*

*looks at the others*

*discreetly edges away from GL and Red Dog*

Provided GL is here?

*Goes to his favorite seat, from his few visits to the cafe, which promptly dissintegrates upon being touched.*

*Witty is overcome with dread as she watches the dust from the chair hit the floor. She looks nervously over both shoulders, looking for safe place to hide. Finding nothing, she jumps higher than she ever thought she could, high enough to reach the lowest of the rafters. She pulls a leg up and climbs higher.*

*tries to disentangle herself from the furniture and winds up pulling another table down and getting enshrouded in the tablecloth*

Help! I can't see!
*struggling*

*watches Witty and wonders if she can jump that far up*

I have a bad feeling..

*the dust motes circulate in widening circles*

*Feels something touch his leg, sees nothing when he looks*

*finally struggles to her feet, and throws the tablecloth into a corner, in a mixture of embarrassment and ire*

*continues to the counter and starts feeling around*

*several utensils crash to the ground*

Here it is!

Lil, please be careful, we could be about to unleash something truly terrifying!

*decides to give in to her inner girlie, makes a and joins Witty in the rafters*