[ HE WILL... BUT... there's some hesitation here before he goes right into it, he doesn't want to waste any more time. ]
This isn't about -- well, the trial. Sort of about this trial. [ he lifts a hand to rub the back of his neck and frowns. ] Look, I knew Elizabeth and Jack were working together because Jack -- he isn't subtle about these things. He guessed about me being staff and I didn't lie to him. Same for the survivor count since when Luke died, it came up in conversation. He -- He wanted Luke's spot, probably, in order to leave but I knew I couldn't let him leave this place alive. I was always going to take out both of us after we were done. [ well, then he got his memories back and now he's kind of confused on that part tbh but oh well. ] But his two other friends -- Elizabeth and Sakyou, they definitely know things. Elizabeth more than Sakyou, probably.
[ a shrug. HE KNOWS... JACK... JACK'S A MORON WHEN IT COMES TO WOMEN. ]
That's why I kept suggesting Elizabeth for the collar and for the executions, she's up to something. If she found that much using Jack, what else is she looking for? You have to kill her and -- [ how to say this, he drops his hands and sighs before just going for it. ]
And I think Bigby's too compromised by her to allow it. He keeps shooting me down every single time I suggest her and I thought it was because he was working her but after seeing how far she got with Jack, I can't trust Bigby's judgment anymore. Either he's too sentimental or he's playing us instead. You can't tell me you don't have your suspicions too, right?
[ how can he just make it clear this isn't grudgewank........ IT WAS NEVER GRUDGEWANK he's just an idiot who never explains anything. like other. idiots. in this room. ]
[Stop this, Rhys, you're supposed to be a fucking moron. Well, you are a moron, BUT LISTEN.
Ciel has the queerest look on his face at Rhys talking this much sense in general. It isn't that Ciel wasn't also suspicious of everyone, just... Rhys... and Rhys. Just Rhys.] You need to work as fast as you can with the task I've given you. We've wasted too much time, but none of this would be possible if you hadn't bypassed the error.
[Ciel's... way of... saying thanks???] We need Bigby, so we can't offend him. Regardless, he may have told Elizabeth more than Jack. She may even try to get Bigby to assist them in killing us. Bigby isn't going to be able to play middle ground forever. [But he still gives Rhys a look. As in, this is what you get for puppy-ing after a soon-to-be psycho.] And learn to lie better. You have to lie to those you care about better than you lie to anyone else.
[After a moment or two of thought, his eye goes down to Rhys' feet.] You're required to vote. That won't be the problem. The problem will be other people voting for you.
Do you think you can disable it [A nod at Rhys' feet.] before the trial if you work on it before the other task?
Even if we killed Alice and Elizabeth, the others still know for who to vote.
[ UNFORTUNATELY rhys would like to go back to being a moron but he's also stupidly good at figuring out who's about to stab him in the back. unless it's jack. well, he's good at figuring that out too but he just... wants... jack to stab him in the back.
he's a little masochistic when it comes to jack. blame hyperion. (or vault tec?? wtf) ]
Fine. I already used the Day Tripper but since I have nothing else to do anyway, I'll work on what you need.
[ and then he takes a moment to consider the rest of what ciel's said and while he's not sure about not immediately dealing with someone who's probably going to betray them, he understands ciel's caution. bigby is the only one who can do certain things for them as long as he's still willing (considering... the fact they're all weak babies who have no muscle definition).
still, the thought of letting it linger unsettles him. ]
I'll -- I'll try and figure it out. I've been doing plenty of lying since I got here, maybe I'm getting better? Ugh.
[ which essentially means he agrees since he doesn't touch on it. he has an idea, actually, and if he could pull it off... that would be pretty cool. he actually kind of smiles at it. ]
I'll work on the monitor but -- I can also try and do something else. What if I change how I'm listed in the system? Judy was able to change Alice to Jeffrey, so maybe I can change my own name to someone else here. If they vote for me, they trigger someone else's monitor and they end up being executed. I have to work on stuff anyway, I can do it at the same time.
[Ugh... gross.] Let's... attempt the least messiest option for now. [He doesn't want to listen to Rhys screaming because of an amputated foot when Judy, as a joke, refuses to put him to sleep. Besides--] We don't have the medical supplies needed for that.
[For a moment, he peers at Rhys without any kind of expression in particular other than curiously studious.]
[The error Rhys fixed also fixed another error: the one barring the entrance to the vault door's floor. Even if five of them had survived, in a hilarious bit of irony only Vault 62 could manage, no one would have been able to get out without Rhys or Jack, or maybe Angel.
Ciel takes Rhys in the elevator to the floor of the vault entrance. Inside, there's three skeletons huddled near the gate as an indication that five people do, in fact, need to be alive for it to open. If Rhys tries the door terminal, it gives him an error:]
[ rhys follows ciel all the while, staying quiet while they go because well, he's defeated here, isn't he? not by ciel but by his own god damn actions because now -- his motivation is gone. the way he sees it, the only thing he needs to do is fix this and then leave. join jack again and figure it out from there. he wonders if judy was telling him something by giving him the memories of the ai, a signal of sorts?
when they get up to the vault entrance, there's a frown on rhys' face as he sees the skeletons but otherwise he takes in the rest of the room. his cybernetic eye lights up, unconsciously scanning the environment and collecting data on it for rhys to process later. he approaches the door terminal with a look towards ciel before reading the error on the screen and huh.
really, huh. ]
I unlocked the front door and didn't even know it, hm?
[ he hesitates slightly and though he doesn't like the idea of going around judy since she hasn't been anything but herself to him, he knows ciel is talking around her for a reason.
so, he lifts his hand and a holographic projection pops up -- words hovering in the air for ciel to read them. ]
[ rhys pauses then, focusing on the terminal for a quiet moment before he starts to look for the power source, starts to map out the room with his eye and try and figure out where each piece connects to the large door in front of them. he talks as he does, still careful about what he says. ]
So, I'm dying, we both know that -- which means I want to ask something. If it's you and four empty slots of who to bring with you, who would you pick? Of all these people, who's your dream team? Like, ignoring Bigby and Ava for a moment.
[ callous, he knows, but still pretty par for the course of their conversations. just something to think about while rhys gets the lay of the land here. he's not quite done because he does lift the hand again and holographic letters appear once more. ]
[Both of Ciel's brows come together sharply and tightly, eye on the words above Rhys' hand. It flickers over them once, twice, three times, then looks up at Rhys' face. His lips are pulled into a thin line.
If it's him and four empty slots, who would he bring. There's nothing left outside, there's nothing left outside. Who would he bring. He thinks about everyone's profiles, then thinks about whether or not false memories would impact what they think they can do.
But he knows. He knew. All this time, he knew what none of the rest of them knew. Their real names. Their real places of birth. Their real histories. He went to sleep every night knowing they had the lies and he had the truth, and sometimes he thought he might suffocate under it before waking up. Hoping.] You, or Jack, or Angel. Whoever was left.
Veronica, or Bigby, or Paladin. Adam or Luke. Lara. [His eye narrows. He opens his mouth to answer, but can't find any way to do so without it being complicated enough for speech. He closes his mouth and shakes his head firmly.]
[ rhys knows the why is both in response to his spoken and written questions. while they talk, he continues to take the layout of the room because he wants every speck of dust in this place written in his harddrive. if this is the front door, then he needs to know the details so he can open it. the pressure feels like a strange weight on his shoulders, honestly. ]
Take Angel. She -- she still doesn't know the truth, the real one. She doesn't need to be stuck with Jack and I. [ he shrugs, that wasn't a hard one to piece together. ] She deserves better.
[ even if it's nothing, it's still a fresh start. she's also better than him at all of this. it'll be good for her. ]
Most of those people are dead now, you know. Did you kill Paladin?
[ he was wondering the whole trial, about the other two killers but then everything was thrown off by elizabeth and he hates it. he hates what happened yesterday, it was supposed to go completely differently in his head. ]
And... I don't know. Guess I'm curious. I've always been more for escapism.
[ his willingness to die and be uploaded is true in those words. it's also an answer to his own words. why leave when you can create your own fantasy through death? ]
No. [Even if he's a good liar, Rhys is answered with casual honesty.] I haven't killed anyone. [Though it doesn't sound particularly like he believes the face value of this. His hands haven't killed anyone.
But he's killed. Right?] It's meaningless. [Then why not stay?] All of this. [His eye shifts to the skeletons. The people who didn't make it. They had no choice but to stay. That's why.
That's why. Stay and shrivel and die, let Judy terminate them to start over. The people who didn't make it. Skeletons. They were from long enough ago to rot. Long enough ago, and that's why. Sector One, Sector Two, Sector Three. Sector 27. This is the twenty-seventh iteration, Judy had said. He did not do all he did to starve to death in this shithole because of some test.
The living burns in his eye and makes the socket of the other burn.] There's someone else I want to take.
[ that surprises him enough to look up and let out a short -- ]
Huh.
[ he thinks that through for a moment as he continues his scanning, considers what it being meaningless really means. he supposes his own approach to the digital consciousness isn't one ciel shares which is -- it's fair, he's always been more comfortable with technology and combining himself with it in some way, his arm and eye was a testament to that, made by his own hands and tied into his own flesh.
of course the other memories, the fake ones, the ones where he buys them for status and wealth contrast this and rhys hates that they both feel so real.
he's distracted enough by the thought that he almost misses ciel's follow up and he looks up, surprised. ]
Judy? [ a sudden anxious pang goes through him, the thought of being without his -- his friend? he's not sure. he's bonded with her though, that's for sure. ] Why?
[Without saying anything for some time, Ciel looks at Rhys with an unreadable expression. He tries to think about what he wants to say and how exactly he wants to say it.] Do you still plan to die after?
Judy keeps everything running. [It's partially a hint: if shit hits the fan with Rhys' tampering of the biosensors, then they only have one other option, and it isn't going to end with them leaving more than likely. They are going to have to destroy Judy before she kills them.] If she leaves... anyone left would not exist, and this place would not run.
[ rhys gets the hint immediately and there's a wide eyed look thrown in ciel's direction as he stops what he's doing to just think about it for a moment.
it would be simple then and no one already dead would really think to do it -- except jack, maybe, but that isn't something rhys trusts jack to accomplish, unfortunately. or at the very least, accomplish in such a way that he wouldn't break with it. rhys knows he won't break, rhys can trust himself with this.
and there's a quieter feeling there, of being able to do it instead of jack. of outshining jack in the process. he knows it's a bad feeling to have but it's okay if he doesn't share it, right? it's a personal thought. he would finally be the one in that relationship that's worth... more, wouldn't he?
the question springs out of his hand unconsciously and this time he doesn't accompany it with spoken words. he's not sure if he can trust himself to be secretive enough. ]
When I die, I'll be in a position to do that.
[ he pauses and starts to wonder how he can do it without... well, killing judy in the process. just disabling her, that would work. maybe a few moments of downtime while the shift occurs but they can prepare for that, can't they? and then rhys can carry on the rest of the way. she said she's living turned data, said she's preserved them in a way she's preserved, right? there shouldn't be anything stopping them.
and even if death isn't better like he believes -- if he's in control of it, he can be the one to make it better, can't he? ]
[Carefully, Ciel nods in acknowledgement. He doesn't like giving Rhys this much power at all. For good reason, though also because he believes, next to Judy, he's the only other person with relative power. It feels good. No, it feels secure. Reliable. Comfortable.
It's a gamble. The words and numbers for each sector position over his head to either side of it. One through nine. Ten through eighteen. Nineteen through twenty-seven. He's willing to take this chance if it means ending it all for good. Sparing a handful of what remains of the thousand people packed into the vault.
[ weirdly enough, it's the cybernetic eye that makes it easy enough to read ciel's lips -- the technology automatically recording and translating ciel's movements to read out the words in rhys' vision. so, as he understands what ciel says, he takes a moment to think.
ideally, he needs to know as much as he can. where the power is coming from, where judy's main system is located, what exactly judy is down to her last speck of code. the how's too, how she's become what she is and how she turns people into the same thing. he figures it might work the same as the ai in his fake memory, jack tapping into his consciousness to basically rewrite his brain in code. incredibly advanced in a way that he hadn't yet expected of the vault -- but not out of the realm of possibility. ]
Access. To her, mostly. I need to know everything I can possibly know about her and how/why she exists. No lies. No half-truths. Then I can recreate it.
[ he shrugs afterwards and a thought occurs to him because, well. the reason why he's working with ciel here despite how thrown off from his own plans he was -- he realizes they're similar. more than rhys would like really but it means he adds on one more thing after ciel's finished with his first message. ]
I'm going to help you because we both want the same thing in different ways. Your goal is outside. My goal is inside. We can work together.
Despite not being too reassured, Ciel seems placated for now. The floor Judy is technically on is a floor he had wanted to keep private. It was supposed to be a haven, and now he's having to share it with... Rhys.
For a moment, Ciel digs around himself, hunting for the paper he folded and kept from their mafia bungalow--so it wouldn't grow legs and walk off into the wrong hands. Explaining things from here on out would be too complicated, he thinks. He brings out the pencil, too, then moves over to use the terminal area as a writing table.]
I can take you to Judy, but no one can enter until the biosensors have been shut off. The door to her is sealed.
but rhys sighs low because this looks like... well, progress. this looks like something they can do, and hopefully something they can do to make up for -- for all of this. it gives rhys a renewed sense of vigor and if in the end, he still ends up with jack but can fix a few mistakes on the way, maybe that's a good thing. maybe jack can wait a little bit.
so, rhys nods and runs a hand through his hair. he can do this. he can do this. ]
Then I guess I have to get to work, huh?
[ and then a pause and when he speaks again, it's out loud. ]
Oh hey, I have something for you.
[ he drops his arm and goes patting around in his pockets before he finds what he's looking for. pulling the small object out of his pocket, he walks forward and presents ciel with his fake eye again. it's a bit dirty from wear but still whole. ]
I don't know if you want it back but I kept it just in case.
[Rhys is the one who found and kept his eye..............................GOD.
Without reaching out, Ciel looks at the eye, then glances up at Rhys. Finally, he reaches out to take it back, turning it over somewhat in inspection. He doesn't put it back in. Instead, he curls it into his fist.] Why?
Why did you keep it even when you knew I wasn't dead?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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What is it?
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This isn't about -- well, the trial. Sort of about this trial. [ he lifts a hand to rub the back of his neck and frowns. ] Look, I knew Elizabeth and Jack were working together because Jack -- he isn't subtle about these things. He guessed about me being staff and I didn't lie to him. Same for the survivor count since when Luke died, it came up in conversation. He -- He wanted Luke's spot, probably, in order to leave but I knew I couldn't let him leave this place alive. I was always going to take out both of us after we were done. [ well, then he got his memories back and now he's kind of confused on that part tbh but oh well. ] But his two other friends -- Elizabeth and Sakyou, they definitely know things. Elizabeth more than Sakyou, probably.
[ a shrug. HE KNOWS... JACK... JACK'S A MORON WHEN IT COMES TO WOMEN. ]
That's why I kept suggesting Elizabeth for the collar and for the executions, she's up to something. If she found that much using Jack, what else is she looking for? You have to kill her and -- [ how to say this, he drops his hands and sighs before just going for it. ]
And I think Bigby's too compromised by her to allow it. He keeps shooting me down every single time I suggest her and I thought it was because he was working her but after seeing how far she got with Jack, I can't trust Bigby's judgment anymore. Either he's too sentimental or he's playing us instead. You can't tell me you don't have your suspicions too, right?
[ how can he just make it clear this isn't grudgewank........ IT WAS NEVER GRUDGEWANK he's just an idiot who never explains anything. like other. idiots. in this room. ]
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Ciel has the queerest look on his face at Rhys talking this much sense in general. It isn't that Ciel wasn't also suspicious of everyone, just... Rhys... and Rhys. Just Rhys.] You need to work as fast as you can with the task I've given you. We've wasted too much time, but none of this would be possible if you hadn't bypassed the error.
[Ciel's... way of... saying thanks???] We need Bigby, so we can't offend him. Regardless, he may have told Elizabeth more than Jack. She may even try to get Bigby to assist them in killing us. Bigby isn't going to be able to play middle ground forever. [But he still gives Rhys a look. As in, this is what you get for puppy-ing after a soon-to-be psycho.] And learn to lie better. You have to lie to those you care about better than you lie to anyone else.
[After a moment or two of thought, his eye goes down to Rhys' feet.] You're required to vote. That won't be the problem. The problem will be other people voting for you.
Do you think you can disable it [A nod at Rhys' feet.] before the trial if you work on it before the other task?
Even if we killed Alice and Elizabeth, the others still know for who to vote.
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he's a little masochistic when it comes to jack. blame hyperion. (or vault tec?? wtf) ]
Fine. I already used the Day Tripper but since I have nothing else to do anyway, I'll work on what you need.
[ and then he takes a moment to consider the rest of what ciel's said and while he's not sure about not immediately dealing with someone who's probably going to betray them, he understands ciel's caution. bigby is the only one who can do certain things for them as long as he's still willing (considering... the fact they're all weak babies who have no muscle definition).
still, the thought of letting it linger unsettles him. ]
I'll -- I'll try and figure it out. I've been doing plenty of lying since I got here, maybe I'm getting better? Ugh.
[ which essentially means he agrees since he doesn't touch on it. he has an idea, actually, and if he could pull it off... that would be pretty cool. he actually kind of smiles at it. ]
I'll work on the monitor but -- I can also try and do something else. What if I change how I'm listed in the system? Judy was able to change Alice to Jeffrey, so maybe I can change my own name to someone else here. If they vote for me, they trigger someone else's monitor and they end up being executed. I have to work on stuff anyway, I can do it at the same time.
[ then he pauses and then shrugs. ]
Or push come to shove, we cut off my foot.
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[For a moment, he peers at Rhys without any kind of expression in particular other than curiously studious.]
Come with me.
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you got it, bossman. ]
And where are we going?
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Ciel takes Rhys in the elevator to the floor of the vault entrance. Inside, there's three skeletons huddled near the gate as an indication that five people do, in fact, need to be alive for it to open. If Rhys tries the door terminal, it gives him an error:]
BIO-SENSORS ONLINE. BIOMETRIC READINGS INDICATE IMPROPER THRESHOLD. CONTAMINATION LOCK DOWN.
[He puts a finger over his mouth.] This is how we get out when five are left.
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when they get up to the vault entrance, there's a frown on rhys' face as he sees the skeletons but otherwise he takes in the rest of the room. his cybernetic eye lights up, unconsciously scanning the environment and collecting data on it for rhys to process later. he approaches the door terminal with a look towards ciel before reading the error on the screen and huh.
really, huh. ]
I unlocked the front door and didn't even know it, hm?
[ he hesitates slightly and though he doesn't like the idea of going around judy since she hasn't been anything but herself to him, he knows ciel is talking around her for a reason.
so, he lifts his hand and a holographic projection pops up -- words hovering in the air for ciel to read them. ]
You said there was nothing out there?
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[At the words, Ciel confirms with a nod of his head. Nothing, mouthed. A frown lingers behind on his lips.]
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So, I'm dying, we both know that -- which means I want to ask something. If it's you and four empty slots of who to bring with you, who would you pick? Of all these people, who's your dream team? Like, ignoring Bigby and Ava for a moment.
[ callous, he knows, but still pretty par for the course of their conversations. just something to think about while rhys gets the lay of the land here. he's not quite done because he does lift the hand again and holographic letters appear once more. ]
Then why leave?
no subject
If it's him and four empty slots, who would he bring. There's nothing left outside, there's nothing left outside. Who would he bring. He thinks about everyone's profiles, then thinks about whether or not false memories would impact what they think they can do.
But he knows. He knew. All this time, he knew what none of the rest of them knew. Their real names. Their real places of birth. Their real histories. He went to sleep every night knowing they had the lies and he had the truth, and sometimes he thought he might suffocate under it before waking up. Hoping.] You, or Jack, or Angel. Whoever was left.
Veronica, or Bigby, or Paladin. Adam or Luke. Lara. [His eye narrows. He opens his mouth to answer, but can't find any way to do so without it being complicated enough for speech. He closes his mouth and shakes his head firmly.]
Why?
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Take Angel. She -- she still doesn't know the truth, the real one. She doesn't need to be stuck with Jack and I. [ he shrugs, that wasn't a hard one to piece together. ] She deserves better.
[ even if it's nothing, it's still a fresh start. she's also better than him at all of this. it'll be good for her. ]
Most of those people are dead now, you know. Did you kill Paladin?
[ he was wondering the whole trial, about the other two killers but then everything was thrown off by elizabeth and he hates it. he hates what happened yesterday, it was supposed to go completely differently in his head. ]
And... I don't know. Guess I'm curious. I've always been more for escapism.
[ his willingness to die and be uploaded is true in those words. it's also an answer to his own words. why leave when you can create your own fantasy through death? ]
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But he's killed. Right?] It's meaningless. [Then why not stay?] All of this. [His eye shifts to the skeletons. The people who didn't make it. They had no choice but to stay. That's why.
That's why. Stay and shrivel and die, let Judy terminate them to start over. The people who didn't make it. Skeletons. They were from long enough ago to rot. Long enough ago, and that's why. Sector One, Sector Two, Sector Three. Sector 27. This is the twenty-seventh iteration, Judy had said. He did not do all he did to starve to death in this shithole because of some test.
The living burns in his eye and makes the socket of the other burn.] There's someone else I want to take.
Judy.
no subject
Huh.
[ he thinks that through for a moment as he continues his scanning, considers what it being meaningless really means. he supposes his own approach to the digital consciousness isn't one ciel shares which is -- it's fair, he's always been more comfortable with technology and combining himself with it in some way, his arm and eye was a testament to that, made by his own hands and tied into his own flesh.
of course the other memories, the fake ones, the ones where he buys them for status and wealth contrast this and rhys hates that they both feel so real.
he's distracted enough by the thought that he almost misses ciel's follow up and he looks up, surprised. ]
Judy? [ a sudden anxious pang goes through him, the thought of being without his -- his friend? he's not sure. he's bonded with her though, that's for sure. ] Why?
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Judy keeps everything running. [It's partially a hint: if shit hits the fan with Rhys' tampering of the biosensors, then they only have one other option, and it isn't going to end with them leaving more than likely. They are going to have to destroy Judy before she kills them.] If she leaves... anyone left would not exist, and this place would not run.
Unless someone took her place.
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it would be simple then and no one already dead would really think to do it -- except jack, maybe, but that isn't something rhys trusts jack to accomplish, unfortunately. or at the very least, accomplish in such a way that he wouldn't break with it. rhys knows he won't break, rhys can trust himself with this.
and there's a quieter feeling there, of being able to do it instead of jack. of outshining jack in the process. he knows it's a bad feeling to have but it's okay if he doesn't share it, right? it's a personal thought. he would finally be the one in that relationship that's worth... more, wouldn't he?
the question springs out of his hand unconsciously and this time he doesn't accompany it with spoken words. he's not sure if he can trust himself to be secretive enough. ]
When I die, I'll be in a position to do that.
[ he pauses and starts to wonder how he can do it without... well, killing judy in the process. just disabling her, that would work. maybe a few moments of downtime while the shift occurs but they can prepare for that, can't they? and then rhys can carry on the rest of the way. she said she's living turned data, said she's preserved them in a way she's preserved, right? there shouldn't be anything stopping them.
and even if death isn't better like he believes -- if he's in control of it, he can be the one to make it better, can't he? ]
We'll need some time to prepare.
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It's a gamble. The words and numbers for each sector position over his head to either side of it. One through nine. Ten through eighteen. Nineteen through twenty-seven. He's willing to take this chance if it means ending it all for good. Sparing a handful of what remains of the thousand people packed into the vault.
What do you need? he mouths.]
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ideally, he needs to know as much as he can. where the power is coming from, where judy's main system is located, what exactly judy is down to her last speck of code. the how's too, how she's become what she is and how she turns people into the same thing. he figures it might work the same as the ai in his fake memory, jack tapping into his consciousness to basically rewrite his brain in code. incredibly advanced in a way that he hadn't yet expected of the vault -- but not out of the realm of possibility. ]
Access. To her, mostly. I need to know everything I can possibly know about her and how/why she exists. No lies. No half-truths. Then I can recreate it.
[ he shrugs afterwards and a thought occurs to him because, well. the reason why he's working with ciel here despite how thrown off from his own plans he was -- he realizes they're similar. more than rhys would like really but it means he adds on one more thing after ciel's finished with his first message. ]
I'm going to help you because we both want the same thing in different ways. Your goal is outside. My goal is inside. We can work together.
[ he'll even finish it with a shrug. ]
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Despite not being too reassured, Ciel seems placated for now. The floor Judy is technically on is a floor he had wanted to keep private. It was supposed to be a haven, and now he's having to share it with... Rhys.
For a moment, Ciel digs around himself, hunting for the paper he folded and kept from their mafia bungalow--so it wouldn't grow legs and walk off into the wrong hands. Explaining things from here on out would be too complicated, he thinks. He brings out the pencil, too, then moves over to use the terminal area as a writing table.]
I can take you to Judy, but no one can enter until the biosensors have been shut off. The door to her is sealed.
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but rhys sighs low because this looks like... well, progress. this looks like something they can do, and hopefully something they can do to make up for -- for all of this. it gives rhys a renewed sense of vigor and if in the end, he still ends up with jack but can fix a few mistakes on the way, maybe that's a good thing. maybe jack can wait a little bit.
so, rhys nods and runs a hand through his hair. he can do this. he can do this. ]
Then I guess I have to get to work, huh?
[ and then a pause and when he speaks again, it's out loud. ]
Oh hey, I have something for you.
[ he drops his arm and goes patting around in his pockets before he finds what he's looking for. pulling the small object out of his pocket, he walks forward and presents ciel with his fake eye again. it's a bit dirty from wear but still whole. ]
I don't know if you want it back but I kept it just in case.
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Without reaching out, Ciel looks at the eye, then glances up at Rhys. Finally, he reaches out to take it back, turning it over somewhat in inspection. He doesn't put it back in. Instead, he curls it into his fist.] Why?
Why did you keep it even when you knew I wasn't dead?
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and when ciel asks him why, he just looks at him entirely baffled. like the answer to this is completely obvious to rhys. ]
Because I had to give it back to you? I didn't have a chance till now. It's your eye, no one else should have it.
no subject
It's such a simple explanation that Ciel is a bit confused for a minute. He's not exactly accustomed to... people giving simple reasons for things.]
Thank you.
[Thank you for giving him something that reminds him of the shit he wants to forget. :')]
no subject
No problem, man.
[ a pause and -- ]
So, what now?
[ to ciel's secret lair or... what. ]