jackhole | week 7 | friday night

[ At least babysitting Break is fairly easy, since at least for now, he has no intentions of doing much of anything. He's completely silent most of the day, and even at night, he doesn't so much as lay down to consider sleeping. He doesn't sleep much anyways, but he won't even pretend to try now.

When Rhys comes in, Break is surprised not by his presence, but by his frantic nature. He frowns with a look of confusion and concern, since those words definitely set off a visceral reaction of distrust. Normally, he would probably question why, but as it is? He just ducks his head lightly in agreement and starts to follow after him, though he laughs distantly. ]

Sure. Though if this is a plan to lure me away to break our Thursday tradition, I hope I don't need to clarify that I'll cut you down for a betrayal.

[ If there were ever any doubts about Gilbert being the one that reigned Break in, that statement will definitely dismiss them... ]

[ it probably says a lot about rhys' life that he isn't even that thrown by the threat of murder, instead he just gives break a baffled look and clenches and unclenches his hands in a nervous gesture. ]

No, it's -- I'm trying to help!

[ it's whispered as they stand in front of the basement door before rhys starts to knock, slowly at first before pretty frantically and enough to get some attention in this little corner if miata doesn't open the door quickly enough. in fact, after a moment, he whines in still a bit of a whisper -- ]

Miata. Miata, please. I need your help, open up! I swear, if she's sleeping, I'll kill her...

[ It peeks open a crack, just enough for Miata's eyes to be seen. She looks a little exasperated for a moment before settling on "shock." ]

...what?!

[ Explain urself, Rhys. We Do Not Have Guests In The Basement. ]

[ oh my god, miata. please don't kill him. this is the most pathetic face rhys has ever given you as he goes -- ]

Gilbert's dead and I don't want Break to go insane and murder everyone because he doesn't know the truth so please let him join our team and protect him.

[ and it all comes out in a bit of a rush, still whispered but definitely enough for both break and miata to hear. also he's pushing on the door a little, frantically bouncing in place as he kind of begs miata with his eyes to agree. ]

—What?

[ Break is quick to seize up, and his posture shifts slightly to be more defensive. He had been making a rather dark (but still completely true) joke, but what Rhys says surprises him. Yet it's clearly not from the accusation of going insane and murdering anyone based on what he focuses on in what Rhys has said. ]

The truth? What do you mean by that?

[ Miata hesitates for a moment

before slamming the door in Rhys' face. Bye. ]

[ .....or not, as the clinking of metal can be heard on the other side of the door. Jk she's just undoing the chain lock.

The door swings open, and Miata gestures emphatically inwards. Get the fuck in here, asshole squad. ]

[ despair!! despair!! rhys was really ready to cause a scene though if miata did leave them out here but she doesn't and there's a short murmur of -- ]

Oh, thank god.

[ before rhys grabs break by the arm and pulls him into the basement! not too far into it but at least beyond the door, letting go of break to close it and shut it behind them. please give break the secret mole group 101, miata. ]

Look, I told you what we were planning and now with Gilbert gone, it's not... it's not good. Break can help us but not if he doesn't know what's going on and if you want to keep the game running without your boss knowing, you have to let him know. You're smart enough at this point to know Break's a liability if you don't.

[ still not answering break's questions here, huh, but that's as much as rhys is saying and it's addressed to miata with a pleading look. ]

[ Apparently today is full of all kinds of unpleasant surprises, but this one at least doesn't have him feeling quite so bitter. He actually laughs, though it's short and sharp. That kind of laugh might be worrying, and yet Break's posture relaxes. ]

Well, goodness, I really do have as good of a sense for people as ever. I'm impressed, Rhys.

[ He doesn't sound bitter, though. It actually sounds like genuine praise... Though he turns his attention to Miata, even if it's only an idle gesture to pretend like he can see her. He doesn't say anything, though, just waiting for her verdict on... Whatever Rhys is asking here. ]

And it's your fault for leading him on in the first place, dipshit. Whatever happened to 'you don't solve a security leak by adding more leaks'?

[ Her words are sharp and clipped, but still have an undertone of anxiety to them. She turns to Break, hands on her hips. ]

Provided you can reign in your murder fetish for one goddamn month, fine.

[ OH... thanks for throwing his words back in his face, miata!! he winces slightly but you know what? he still thinks he's right.

still, what a weird mix of feelings. thanks for the praise, break? he, uh, weirdly appreciates it. ]

Do you even see the type of people we have here? Teenagers and a handful of people who would actually play the game just to save their skins. Including me! Either Break was going to help me or you were going to help me and now circumstances have changed and I'm not losing one more person to this fucking insanity.

[ and actually, now you've got him started so he takes a step towards miata and jabs a finger at her. ]

You add Break in. He helps us. We bring everyone back from the dead. You told me yourself, your boss would probably kill the seven left anyway unless we do something about it. The way things are looking, Break and I are the only two people here left who wouldn't mind getting our hands dirty to win. If you don't want that to happen, I suggest you help us out.

[ then he pauses just a moment before sneering slightly and this is the rhys who was selfish enough to trust a homicidal maniac of an AI for his own gain. this is the rhys who has killed thousands of people to save his own skin before. this is the rhys who really isn't that good a dude. ]

Otherwise... I mean. Lithuania. Inaba. Roxy. That's three people who probably aren't doing anything next Thursday night. What do you think, Break?

[ There's a lot for Break to take in here, but as compared to that more distant expression, it sharpens in an instant as soon as there are actual pieces for him to take away here. Whatever Break had felt about Rhys's apparently alliance with Miata is quickly pushed aside in favor of the information that follows.

For one, it confirms something that Break had assumed, but had to proceed as if the opposite were true. The seven remaining getting to live or return or whatever was likely a lie. He wasn't so naive as to believe something that convenient, but with no other option, he had to accept that path. However, this is secondary. Because as soon as Rhys says something like bringing people back from the dead, that's when Break's gaze sharpens.

Perhaps, considering his own background, he should hesitate more. This was the sort of "too good to be true" deal that he knew so well. Changing the past and bringing people back from the dead— These were impossible prospects. And yet, even if it's a lie, he doesn't care. The life he has remaining is short even without this situation, and he already feels that there's no turning back on the larger path of his life. It's why he was willing to kill so callously at all. There was no salvation for him, and he accepted that.

Even though Rhys is using him as a part of his threat here, Break's words are clearer and full of more determination. Occasionally, he remembers that he comes from a shonen series. ]

I promise you that I'll do whatever it takes. I still don't know how much you know about who I am, but know this: No matter what road it sets me on, I'll honor a promise until my last breath.

[ ...Though he does quickly ruin the shonen sentiment with how he continues. ]

But that includes what Rhys is implying. If you'll have it, then I'll work however you want. If not, then I'll take out as many people as I can so that if nothing else, this will end sooner.

[ Miata's eyes widen the longer Rhys talks. For a few seconds she doesn't know what to say, sort of standing there, stunned.

And then she fishes a bundle of papers out of her pocket.

A symbol, immaterial, glows on the floor beneath her feet, and expands until it reaches Rhys and Break. Working properly, it should physically root the two of them to the spot. Miata holds up her hand, pointing directly at the former, and a faint green glow burns at her finger tip. ]

One, you don't call the fucking shots around here. How dare you think you can push me around, you fucking prick. If you feel like damaging what we've set up and endangering those three, I have exactly zero problems with handing your ass over to Mammon; she can be here in 30 seconds flat. Enjoy your shitty afterlife with no second chance. And that goes for you, too, Grandpa.

[ She takes a deep, shuddering breath. There's anger behind her words, but not legitimate, genuine malice. Whether or not she'd actually sic Mammon on them isn't clear. Her eyes dart between the two of them. ]

...that said. We're running an ambidex game down here. Reconnaissance and rebellion. Bringing back the deceased isn't impossible, so that's one of our end goals. I'm guessing that's what you're after.

[ rhys can feel it, when he's rooted to the spot and he wants to move and a smaller part of him wants to apologize, take back what he said. but he's at a point where his mind's sort of running on "panic" and he's not entirely sure how to stop it. he's fucked up, but he needs... he needs to survive? or... get out of here? or...

or, he's not actually sure. he just sort of wants it all to end already. how that happens, he doesn't really care anymore. ]

Then -- [ do it, he wants to say. egg miata on some more for... some reason. but he stops himself and scrubs his hands over his face and no, he can't. he can't do it. she's agreeing to protect break if he keeps his behavior in check.

can rhys keep his behavior in check? he jerks suddenly, when he feels like he hears the wheeze of a certain masked AI's laughter behind him, looking away from miata and break and to the rest of the room in a daze.

no, he's just imagining things. he looks back at them, eyes wide and mouth opening before closing and shaking his head and his shoulders slump. ]

Yeah, it's -- ... it's cool, I'm fine. Please, just... talk to Break.

[ Whether it's fatalism or familiarity, Break's expression doesn't shift in the slightest when he suddenly finds himself rooted to the spot he's standing in. He can't see the symbol, so he actually has... No idea what's happening here, but he doesn't need to. He does have some familarity with what she's doing, though whether he recognizes it or not isn't clear, but probably more than that, he just doesn't care if he dies. That's the real crux of why he's here at all, and it's not until Rhys responds that Break speaks. ]

It is, yes. If I can return home, I'd appreciate it, but it's secondary.

[ He nods, but it seems that he's at least taking this completely seriously. ]

That's more or less what working for Pandora entails, so I can be of assistance. My skills admittedly lie more heavily in strategic assassinations, but I'm not unskilled in gathering information. I've been gathering a fair amount for my own purposes here, after all. [ He shrugs, since he doubts that 'how to get away with murder' is exactly what Miata is looking for here... ] Please tell me what your exact goals are so that I know what to look for. I'll bring you whatever I can.

Edited 2016-04-02 05:23 (UTC)

[ Slowly, slowly, Miata lowers her hand, and the green glow fades. It takes another few moments to get her to shove the papers back into her pocket, the circle fading in turn.

.... ]

We've been gathering the objects that the dead players brought here with them--the rickshaw, the tome, the shoes, the crystal.... they're links to their homeworlds, so provided their souls are still here, we can use them to draw their souls back to prepared vessels. That's the first problem. The second problem is that I'm not as skilled in magic as I need to be to do a ritual like that.

[ a pause, and she waits to continue ]

[ rhys is still a little bit on edge but he's not going to bait miata again. he stares at her though, listens to her explanation and at least adds a bit of a helpful tidbit, or at least what he thinks is helpful. ]

You're more skilled now though. Leviathan, the demon of Envy, [ that clarification was for break ] gave you her power, right? And you've been practicing this whole time. You have to be better now, right?

[ if he sounds kind of desperate, it's because he is. ]

[ Break nods in understanding, since at least his canon is bullshit enough that he really has no problem accepting this... It's still not as bad as the Abyss or Jack, so he can actually accept this fairly easily. ]

Mm, I understand. Have there been any issues collecting things thus far? I hadn't paid it much mind myself.

[ Though Break also hasn't really cared about anyone that's died, so. ]

...As for magic, my own usage of it is rather specific, so I don't know if I'd be any help. But if there's a way I can assist, I will. Is it a matter of lack of power or lack of time to master the skills?

Not really, no. Buddy has Morrigan's staff and Urashima has Cheshire's bell, but they seem committed enough to keeping them safe, so I'm not actually worried about them, for now.

[ when urashima dies is a completely different matter, though, um ]

The latter. Katerina, my boss, she's been studying magic for over ten years. Kinda hard to learn all that shit in the span of a few months.

[ a nod to Rhys ]

Well, yeah? That was a mid-level paralysis spell, so Leviathan's help is definitely doing something to bolster progress. But bringing the dead back to life isn't a walk in the park, it's one of the most difficult spells you could ever imagine.

We'll get them, I'm pretty sure about that. There's not enough people left for everyone to notice if the staff or the bell go missing.

[ rhys just shrugs then. he knows how this works and he's pretty confident about being able to pull it off.

but right, huh. there's something that occurs to rhys then. ]

... Katerina is sacrificing all of us for her own power, right? What if some of us were sacrificed to you so you could bring us all back? We'd only be dead for a little bit, it could work.

[ Break seems to be deep in thought as he tries to think all of this over, but ultimately, he's also playing catch up here. Rhys thinks about this more quickly than he does, and when he offers his suggestion, Break's brow furrows deeply, but he lowers his hand. ]

...Like I said, I'll do whatever it takes. I don't have anything to lose here anyways.

[ a nod ]

That's the basics of it. Make sure to gather the dead players' items, in one piece, and be my eyes and ears. [ a beat ] Ears.

[ .....sorry grandpa

Miata goes and collapses in the sofa, motioning the two of them over. ]

This is gonna be a long story.

[ and insert here the tl;dr i'm gonna give christy on plurk ]

week 7 | friday night

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

2/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject