Week 5

[airlockedmods]

[Five weeks in, and suddenly your numbers have been reduced by a lot. All evidence of Oda's methodical slaughter has been wiped away by the robots, but getting rid of the memories isn't going to be so easy. Not to mention the emotional scars.

Again on Sunday morning, you'll find yourselves with some new memories and some new items. Today, however, there are no new rooms.]

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday


(( ooc: Don't forget to turn in your AC for Week 4, submit your memory regains, and put in your Benefactor threads! ))

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[nightcure]

[ Noctis had his hands folded behind his back By now, four other names had joined to wall--Stumpy, Sunshine, Void, Girlie. But those weren't what Varric was talking about, he guessed.

He looked at the man who he counted among his friends and managed a tiny smile. ]

I know you do. ... Thanks. For always listening. I don't tell you that much but I mean that, too.

[neverheardofhim]

Just wish I could do more.

[Not just for Noctis, but for everyone he'd ever met. It felt like, no matter what he did, no matter how many drinks he shared or palms he greased, the people he cared about were always getting hurt. Here was even worse -- how could he fight the tide of memory, against that which had already happened.

He lifted his hand and clasped it against Noctis' arm.]

So let me ask. What can I do. Give me something.

[nightcure]

[ Briefly, he touched his hand to Varric's. Boy, did he know that feeling. All he'd ever wanted, all he'd ever want, he knew, was for those he cared about to be safe. For his people to be cared for.

(There was a good chance of that, that the people of Insomnia would know peace and happiness. He'd died for that, had he not? Or he would, if he ever returned home.) ]

Survive this place. [ He paused and gave a wry grin. ] Or tell me a story about some of the people here. I'm not too picky.

[neverheardofhim]

I'm not going anywhere. [Varric's voice was firm and his voice sincere. He knew accidents could happen, or that someone might take him by surprise. It was the same as living in Kirkwall, where every dark alley and blind corner could hide a knife.

But if he could survive those streets for decades, could fight off a swarm of qunari, or be thrown into the fade and fight his way out, then he could get out of here. He had to, for Noctis and for everyone else in this blighted place.]

You want a true story, or something made up. I'm good at both.

[nightcure]

[ That was one of the things he liked about Varric. The guy never gave up. Never even thought about it, from what he could tell. But then again, couldn't that describe nearly anyone here? ]

How about something you made up.

[neverheardofhim]

Mmm. [He shut his eyes, already kicking around an idea or two.]

Give me a second to think, alright? In the meantime, I'll need a place to sit and something to drink.

[He snapped his fingers like he'd seen the pompous nobility do. It felt dirty, and he quickly found himself regretting even joking about it.]

If you don't mind. The library and some water should do fine.

[nightcure]

[ Luckily, Noctis could joke with the best of them. He gave Varric a low, sweeping bow. ]

At your request.

[ He straightened up and gave Varric a light grin. ]

Meet you there.

[neverheardofhim]

[A prince bowing to a supposed viscount -- what a sight to behold. Varric spent his walk to the library mulling the concept over, amused smirk on his lips.

Once he was settled in a chair though, Varric's thoughts shifted to the story he was to tell. There were plenty of people there to craft a narrative about. CT, the Project Freelancer mole; Pyrrha, the huntress; Rick, the mad scientist.

It was hard to pick just one.]

[nightcure]

[ It wasn't that long before Noctis joined him in the library. He had a pitcher of water and two glasses, and he took a seat across from Varric.

He poured him a glass and pushed it toward him. ]

There you go. Got any ideas?

[neverheardofhim]

One or two.

[Varric took the glass into his hand and took a sip. He liked to think he had a lighthearted enough idea rattling around in his head.]

The hour of reckoning was at hand. Thanks to the machinations of Rick and the brute strength of Akande, enough of Blaze Dudely's robots had been brought down and robbed of their weapons to create a formidable force. As Pyrrha charged forward with a pike made from the pipes that had felled her dear friend, she was joined by Soma, who crowded the forces onto her waiting weapon.

Leon gripped his trusty bat and bashed the bots too confused to know where to start, and Max finished them off with a few sharp blows from a kitchen tray. Fukawa was a menace with her blades, cutting wires from tubes and sending sprays of oil and other liquid into the air that was deftly dodged by CT, who tackled another robot to the ground. Will, saved from the coming blow from said bot, quickly kicked it in the head long enough to sever the power running from its torso to its cranium.

In the chaos, a king and a viscount fought back to back, kicking, punching and slashing at whatever beasts came there way.

In the chaos, one thing was clear. Blaze Dudely was outnumbered. He backed up toward a gaping door opening into the depths of space. Mozu followed. She was terrified, but this man had robbed her of both comfort and friends, and she'd had enough.

As the backs of his boots scraped the ledge, Mozu stepped forward. She placed her hands against the man's chest and shoved hard, sending him plummeting through the endless depths of space.

[nightcure]

[ As Noctis listened, he grinned. Using all of the people remaining to take down Spikes's army of robots? ]

You tell a hell of a story. [ He sipped at his own water. ] That'd be pretty awesome if it happened.

[ He couldn't speak for the others, but he was pretty done with everything. Maybe if he knew exactly what all Spikes could do, he would have been more willing to try something. But there were too many uncertainties. ]

[neverheardofhim]

Give it time. Whether he knows it or not, he's defeating himself in this game each week. We're losing numbers, but we're also weeding out those who would be willing to kill, too.

[At least, Varric had to hope that was the way it was going. When he went through the faces that made up their remaining "friends," he found that he wasn't entirely eager to trust all of them.

But that just meant he'd have to be extra vigilant, and keep them from hurting anyone else.]

We're going to get through this, one way or another.

[nightcure]

You'd think he would've learned by now.

[ Each week, it was the same. Noctis became more and more tired with each week, but also much angrier. Without this stupid game, would the people who'd killed done it? ]

With as many people as we can.

[ It hurt, that they couldn't leave with those who had fallen. Who had lives to get back to, just like they all did.

If he couldn't get those who were still living and breathing out, what kind of king was he? ]

[neverheardofhim]

He was desperate last week. Made the right move-- [It felt wrong to say, even if he didn't agree with it.] -- but he's desperate all the same.

[He took a drink from his glass, swished it around in his mouth, and then swallowed.]

As long as we work together, the rest of us are going to get out of here. [He met Noctis' gaze.] So don't go anywhere, okay. I need you.

[nightcure]

... Gotta admit, for a second, I thought about it. But I couldn't hurt anyone here.

[ He ran a finger along the rim of the glass, and as Varric spoke again, he grinned. ]

Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere, either.

[neverheardofhim]

I know what you mean. I... thought about it too.

[He'd thought about Bartrand, or even some of the people killed in the Chantry. Put a spin on it that Anders saved them, or something. It might not have helped everything, but it might have done something.]

It's not worth it, like you said. Not when there are kids like Fukawa and Max that deserve a chance to really live.

[nightcure]

And Leon, too.

[ Noctis was used to responsibility, to bearing too much... but that didn't mean he wanted other people to suffer the same.

He clapped a hand on Varric's shoulder. ]

Glad you didn't act.

[neverheardofhim]

And Pyrrha, and Mozu. I just didn't want to keep you here for five minutes, listing them all.

[Nearly every inmate had grown on Varric, especially those in the younger group.]

It's not worth it. It will never be worth it. Not when I can do more protecting people here than hastening my trip home. [Varric rested his hand on Noctis' forearm.]

That includes you.