lieutenantantichrist | [17] [Text/Action for Mahogany] - "Whenever You Get Involved, Someone Gets Hurt."

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[17] [Text/Action for Mahogany] - "Whenever You Get Involved, Someone Gets Hurt."

[ACTION]

[In a low-rent corner of Mahogany, there's a real gym. No mazes, no boss trying to fight you in exchange for something they call a badge, no lackeys, just weight machines and a floor covered with rubber mats, the way it should be. Open twenty-four hours, and this late there's no human in this room but Blake. He's in a sweatsuit, gray in contrast to the brown of the Hitmonlee holding pads for him in its upraised paws. The only sound is his harsh breaths and the thump of his fists on the canvas. His shoulders are hunched like a boxer's. His eyes look straight ahead. Judging from the sweat darkening the back of his shirt, he's been here a while.

On the other side of the room, a Snubbull is sitting on the floor, looking at a Gear that's resting on the mats. A Musharna floats beside her. Fifteen minutes of frustration proved that claws are no good for texting with, but she wants to talk to someone. She really wants to.

She snubs softly, so as not to make her trainer angry. The Musharna's eyes show no reaction, but the buttons on the Gear depress. The text that Steve watches appear seems to be accurate, more or less. The transcription might come strange through the dreaming creature. It's close enough for what she needs.]

[TEXT]

Hello lo low hello

Please talk to me.
I want to talk.
I will tell you my favorite story.
He told it to me when I couldn't sleep. His eyes were closed for some of it but I shook his knee and got to hear the end. Without the end it isn't a story.

Once
upon a time there was a girl. She was poor and alone because her parents were dead, and child services didn't exist then, so she had to go to live with her wicked stepmother and do work for her. Hard work, the kind that nearly killed her, but in time she got used to it.

Then one day she heard the prince was giving a big ball. She asked to go, but her stepmother wouldn't let her. So she tried to run off and get a ride to the castle from a knight, but her wicked stepmother had tailled her, and she found her and dragged her off the horse. While she was going, the wicked stepmother threw the knight a gold coin. He held onto it, and he kept looking at it all the time. He kept thinking about the girl.
He wanted to help her, but he couldn't.

The knight went to the ball, and he was going to kill the prince, but there were too many guards around watching him, so he ran away.

Then the knight went to find the girl and save her. The wicked stepmother grazed him in the neck with an evil spell, but he killed her and all the other guys too, even though he got hurt bad. At first the girl was scared, but then she was free and she was okay. She got to go back home to her real parents. The knight was a hero. All the papers said so.

And everyone lived happily ever after.

..........
..........
..........

Tell me your favorite story.
Voice or video if you can.
The words alone are lonely.

Tell me please.

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Yeah. I think so, too.

[He loves Berk and can't imagine staying away forever... But the pokemon world was his first choice of an extended vacation spot.]

Oh, they are. They definitely are. My dad... One time he didn't even want me to know that he was listening to me. He was, but...

[Hiccup gives a weak chuckle, shaking his head.]

To prove it, he just gave my advice back to me as if it were his own. And my friends never stay put when they're supposed to. I guess I kind of don't do that either, though...

You'd be surprised at the kind of fights Vikings get themselves into.

He saved many people. He killed many people. Because he chose to become the savior for one side only, no matter what would happen to the other. And some did live that long, naturally or not; but that did not stop their children and grandchildren from joining in.

[Still, he can tell himself that his own future grandchildren will probably not have to take part in it, if nothing else. Considering the circumstances, that's something.]

...He's right when he says that it works like that for other worlds. He's also right when he says it's sometimes for the best. But ideally-

[Uh. That is most definitely a not very Snubbull-like shadow.]

_{[Rather than reply, Heather continues with the story.]}

Thinking fast, El-ahrairah kept digging and said, 'No, I'm busy. The fox and the weasel are coming, so I have to keep digging. If you want to bless me... you'll just have to bless my butt.'

_{[And then she stops and waits for a laugh, because when she was little she laughed at that part EVERY SINGLE TIME.]}

Oh hey, it's you. Got a clever little team, y'know that?

[... oh no, STEVE. Yusuke isn't sure what to make of what she told him about Blake (what did he see on the network that bugged him out so badly?), but he sets that aside as soon as he notices her looking... well, as close to crying as a dog could. Eyes widening, Yusuke quickly blurts out:]

C'mon, Steve, don't do that -

[Shit, shit, what does he do about this? Yusuke's never been particularly great when it comes to comforting crying people, so he feels even more out of his depth now that he suddenly finds himself confronted with the possibility of having to do so with an animal. He flounders for a second or two, and then, forcing himself to relax, gives her a level look, addressing her as calmly as possible.]

Listen. I dunno what's goin' on with the old man, but I'm positive that whatever it is, it doesn't have anything to do with you or what you did or didn't do. So don't feel like you've gotta convince me of anything, all right? I know you. You're a good girl.

[Yusuke's voice is firm. He doesn't know when he went from fighting demons to comforting little pink dogs, but you know what? He gives a shit about this little pink dog, and that's enough to keep him from feeling awkward or embarrassed about it. If anybody has a problem with that, they can take it up with his fists.]

... anyway, you wanted to hear a story, right? [He smiles wryly at her.] I'm not all that great at tellin' stories, like I said, but uh... I guess I can give it a shot, if it'll make you feel better. What kinda story were you wanting?

[He's still curious about what's eating Blake, but Steve's upset, and it seems important to try to take her mind off of things. If that means he's gotta tell her a dumb story, fine. He'll do it.]

[Steve looks at the screen and blinks. For a moment, but for the steady thuds in the background, everything is quiet.

Slowly, her paws come up to cover her mouth.

It's a strange little muffled snuffling noise that escapes.

Feel lucky, Heather. Not a lot of people in the world have heard a Snubbull giggle.]

My trainer says sometimes you have to hurt people to help people.

But that's sad, for all of them. They were still all people, weren't they? Just living in different places. How different could they be-

[She's in mid-snub when a hand reaches down and picks up the Gear. There's just enough time to see her jump and try to shrink into the mat before the Gear is lifted up and the only thing visible is Blake's drawn face and dark, deep-set eyes.

He doesn't yell or raise his voice. His words are low and cold.]

What the fuck are you telling my dog?

Yeah. Real smart.

[He reaches down. For a moment, the screen is dark as it's covered by his palm.

When it clears, it shows his face, sweaty and sunk-eyed, strangely pale.]

I heard you telling her about other worlds. Shadow worlds.

[At the bottom of the screen, the Musharna's mist is barely visible as it floats up. Blake can feel it rising around him.]

That wasn't a smart thing to ask about.

[Well, someone certainly looks unhappy today. It's even enough to make Ash switch to video. The glass that's now visible in his hand might explain a lot about his choice of subject, too.]

A story.

[Ah, but that's not quite true, is it? And Blake doesn't seem in a mood to hear lies at the moment.]

A little alternate history lesson, really, but calling it a story makes it sound less painful. She's a very good audience, too, asks all the right questions.

Hm? Why not, you got some experience with 'em?

_{[Once Heather hears the telltale snorting, she knows she's still got the touch.]

[She grins.]}

Pretty good, right? Talk about a creative way to tell someone they can kiss your ass.

Anyway...

'All right then...' said Frith.

And suddenly, El-ahrairah's tail turned shining white, and flashed like a star. His hind legs grew strong and powerful, and he tore across the hill, faster than any creature in the world.

And as he ran, he heard Frith call out:

'All the world shall be your enemy, Prince With a Thousand Enemies.

And whenever they catch you, they shall kill you.

... But first, they must catch you.

Digger, listener, runner, prince with a swift warning.

Be cunning, and full of tricks... and your people shall never never die.

Edited 2014-07-05 04:54 (UTC)

There's questions that shouldn't get asked.

[There's no expression on his face. Not even the usual anger.]

You were telling her about some guy who killed a lot of people.

What happened to him?

Fine! Let me think of something...

[And she thinks long and hard for a few minutes.]

Have you heard the Little Mermaid yet?

[Steve's ears perk up.]

The little what? Is that like a Wailmer?

People keep talking about something like that.

[He doesn't look at the mist to see the shapes that appear there, projected like from an old movie camera. Dark forms on a rooftop, waiting. Rain.]

Say there's a shadow of you. Say he did something you didn't.

But you could have.

...He finally, finally realized that destroying a civilian enemy colony would not avenge his lost loved ones, or keep those that remain to him safe. Good thing, too, because he was one trigger away from launching a missile at it.

[He's speaking of a barely averted atrocity, but his voice holds an undeniable fondness, a touch of pride, a drop of sadness.]

Fifty years of hatred, only to realize it wasn't helping anyone, least of all himself. Fifty years spent pretending he couldn't empathize with his enemy, only to fight to save them in the end. I wonder if that hurt? Realizing that he'd wasted so much time?

I don't know what's wrong. Usually he talks to me, even if he thinks I don't understand, but now he won't.

[Steve sniffs hard with a whuffing sound and gets a hold of herself. Yusuke says she's a good girl, and he's a clever boy, he'd know.

His smile is nice and normal, too. It's good to have company.]

I like all kinds of stories. Funny ones. Ones with fighting! Or happy endings.

What kind do you like?

Oh--are you talkin' about alternate worlds, maybe?

Okay, sure, let's say that happened. What of it?

[He doesn't really get how it's possible for humans to all speak the same language, but most things about this place are bizarre as it is so really, he shouldn't be surprised at all.

He's talking to a pink dog right now, after all.]

I don't know.

I think it's possible. Even places that sound bad still have good people in them.

[Ocelot is cynical as hell and is of the belief that most people are out for themselves, but The Boss is not exactly someone he's ever going to forget.]

Maybe it was all the work of one person. A god. Maybe it was multiple gods. I don't know how anyone could tell.

Me? Uh... psh, hell, I dunno. Ones with fighting, I guess. I kinda prefer actually doing the fighting rather than talking about it, though.

[That, and all of the stories he could tell her off the top of his head about his fights are either boring because they ended really fast or too messed up for him to want to talk about them, so... yeah, he's just gonna. Lay off of the fighting stories, thanks. What story could he tell her, though? Yusuke furrows his brow a bit as he considers his options. There's a few folktales he remembers liking as a kid, like Momotaro and Issunboshi, but...

...

Huh. Suddenly, an idea pops into Yusuke's head. He could tell her about that, he guesses. It's a little embarrassing, but you know what, it's late and he hasn't slept worth a damn and there's a dog on his screen giving him big sad eyes, so if somebody he knows sees this later and tries to give him shit, he'll just use all of that as an excuse.

And also threaten to punch them out. That always makes him feel better.]

All right, I got one for ya. You seem like you could use something with a happy ending, so... you wanna hear it?

Humans are so strange. I don't think I'll ever understand them.

I like them, though.

Friends don't stay put a lot around here, too...People go away all the time.

[She doesn't have much time to be sad over that before she's distracted.]

Hey, what's a Viking?

Well. Isn't that nice for him. Not blowing up a planet. Gotta get you some karma, something like that.

Doesn't bring back anybody he killed before, though.

Whatever happened to that guy? Everybody he killed, all the shit he did. Did he pay for it?

Yeah. That shit that people keep bringing up again and again.

This shadow you. Say he did something wrong. He made a bad mistake. The kind you don't come back from.

[Blake's eyes look dark and haunted.]

Is that on you?

Me too usually. [Steve and Yusuke have a lot in common, really, for a teenage Japanese ruffian and a tiny dog.] Today a lot of things are different.

[She's quiet, letting him think. In the background there's a pause in the thuds, some heavy breaths, and then they resume.

Steve perks up when Yusuke seems to think of something.] Yes please. Tell me.

How would I know? It only happened half an hour before I ended up with a fire-breathing hellhound and a crazy woman calling herself my mom.

[Any and all softness in his voice is replaced with... defensiveness, perhaps?]

...He's a popular high-ranking army commander, most of his casualties were enemy soldiers killed in battle, and he has the support of the current government and the rest of the military leadership. He'll probably be fine. If they wanted to punish him they have to shoot everyone in both armies to be fair, anyway.

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[17] [Text/Action for Mahogany] - "Whenever You Get Involved, Someone Gets Hurt."

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