lieutenantantichrist | [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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Because he was stupid enough to grab the kid of a man ready to do anything to get him back?

[Let it not be said that Ash is bad at putting two and two together.]

At least there weren't nine deaths.

Turns out that was what he was after all along. Eight little kids drowned for his fucking daddy issues.

Then when somebody finally passes his fucking game, I...not me, but some other guy who's me...

[His eyes squeeze shut.]

I fuck up the happy ending.

......Seriously? What, was punching and yelling at his old man too much work, and the kids happened to be easier targets?

[The whole situation is pushing more buttons than he'd normally admit, but he's too angry to care.]

No wonder you thought the other guy could be dangerous. Anyone faced with that sort of monster would get angry enough to radiate murder intent. I hope he 'passed the game' in both worlds with some nice, slow, painful homebrewed justice.

[Blake growls through his teeth.] Who the fuck knows.

I was so fucking sure I knew who it was. It had to be the father.

It couldn't have been him. I never would have gotten him, not in a million fucking years. Would've just kept on killing kids right under my god damn nose.

...The closer they are, the harder it is to realize that they can be dangerous. Especially if they're smart enough to kill eight kids without getting caught.

[His hand is a fist, now, clenched tightly enough to feel his nails through his gloves.]

It was the biggest case I ever had. The most important job in town, left up to me.

And I fucked it all up.

...You can at least tell yourself that in your world, you didn't fuck it up as badly as you could have.

[Though he doubts that's much of a consolation at this point.]

Hah. You know what? You're right.

It can always be fuckin' worse.

This all proves that for goddamn sure.

That's the lousiest silver lining to any potential situation, but in some cases you just have to accept it.

Hah. Yeah.

[He rubs his head with his stinging knuckle.]

Look, Ash. If you don't want anything to do with any of this shit, I get it. It's not your damn problem. You didn't sign on for this kind of crap.

...It's alright. The way I figure, if even just talking about it can help, it's better than if you keep it in until there's absolutely nothing to be done about it anymore.

[There might be a slight touch of sadness in his voice as he speaks.]

I guess it's better than letting it drive me nuts. That wouldn't do anybody any good.

...thanks, Ash.

...You're welcome. Especially if it does you good.

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

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