15strangers | You Find Yourselves Stirred By A Voice....

Entry tags:

*round 2

You Find Yourselves Stirred By A Voice....

[You feel as you are on a fluffy cloud of warmth and the urge to not want to move is great. However, the voice speaks again as if it is urgent...and maybe angry?]

Damn brats! Get off the merchandise before I call security on you!

[Oh. Well.

When you come to, the familiar scenes of your bedrooms fill your sight. However, the barriers are gone and strangest of all, there are people around. They can SEE you and for sure, they are gawking at the weirdos that are somehow sleeping in department store beds. But on the hands of Croix and Chariot, there's something on their hands...a phone number and a message saying 'Call me! :D' from some weird girl with an A name. But when you finally move and get away from any nosy customers, you have to wonder 'What just happened?' 'Is everyone ok?'

And why do you have the urge to go visit Cafe MYJL?]

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[ At first glance, Helena might appear to have changed clothes, her appearance now dominated by red rather than white. That's because she's finally put on Dio's coat over her normal hospital gown and it's... definitely way too big for her.

Expression-wise, Helena looks deadpan as always in one second and then startled and a little sad in the next. ]

Kaz...

[ The name escapes her involuntarily, an emotional reaction common when you're overwhelmed with feeling for a specific person... but then she catches herself in the next second and glances over the group of survivors. ]

Good that the win condition wasn't to actually win the fight, huh?

Helena! You're okay!

[ SHE IS SO HAPPY. Chariot is going to buzz like a bee around a lot of them, sorry. ]

... We put all we had into it, you know! Usually my kicks would be a lot more effective...

I can about imagine what it was like. I fought an angel last week and it ended... a little worse than this.

[ She waves her hand in a small dismissive movement. Seeing Ursula... Chariot again and being seen in return is weird. ]

All things considered, you guys didn't do too badly.

I had a feeling we weren't the only ones fighting... are you okay? You're not hurt, right?

[ She is genuinely worried. ]

[ What Helena probably isn't expecting is that, since Goro is busy, is that Croix is going to find a way to pull her in for a hug. And just hold tight for a moment. ]

...I really am sorry... For everything I said.

...huh-?!

[ Helena is too baffled to resist that and for a moment she just stands in the embrace awkwardly, not reciprocating but also not struggling free. ]

... after your first apology's grand culmination, I still have trouble believing that.

[ She steps back after Croix lets go and regards her seriously, though not angrily. She just wants to know what Croix has to say about all of that now that things are over. ]

...I shouldn't have betrayed you all. I thought that I wouldn't get attached, that I could save the person most important to me... ...There were a number of breakdowns in private. I'm... Honestly surprised I lasted as long as I did, looking back.

[ ...Nothing will ever make up for everything. How many people has she hurt with her actions...? ]

Hahaha...yeah. Yeah that is a good thing.

[Joey shuffles awkwardly in spite of her huge smile at seeing Helena again.]

I did bring the stuff to make one of those cocktails we were talking about, though. Didn't use it because non-Pin stuff wasn't hurting her, but I did remember.

[ And that makes Helena smile as well, her first smile since stepping back into reality. ]

Good job on that. You were prepared for all fight options this way.

[ She pauses a little. ]

... I'm sorry I wasn't there for that final fight like I said I'd be.

[ Joey is the only person for whose sake Helena had second thoughts over her suicide mission, even if just briefly. ]

You were, though. Just in a less literal way than you were hanging around the Mall and more like the metaphorical way my mom's always around. We could never have made it that far without you...

[She pauses.]

Although I'm still kinda mad that you blasted Coco, specifically. Did you apologize to her?

Uh...

[ She glances to the side, so that's... a 'no' presumably. ]

We talked again and we're cool now. I attacked the only link of the chain that could have yielded any results at the time, so I don't regret it, but... yeah. We're cool.

[ She looks over at Coco at that, who is totally distracted and thus not really going to confirm this... but hey. Thought counts. ]

Uh huh. Well, she's as okay as she ever was, so.

[Still...]

You know, I remembered a couple of things about what I was doing before I came here...I think I might be trying to overthrow a corrupt alien government? I was wondering if I could ask for some advice before I go, since that seems kind of relevant to your experience...

[It's later. He's got his hands in his pockets now that his clothes fit again. He doesn't know what to say. She still looks so... what the heck, yeah, Dio thinks they should start with that.]

You know, you get to keep that.

[ Dio looks good, being himself. Helena can't help but smile just watching him in a body that fits his body language. During the last week she got extremely used to his other appearance but this... it's natural. It's an image that never really left her head. ]

I've gotten kind of attached to the look.

[ ... of the jacket!! Yes, of the jacket on her. Oversized and dramatic and tacky and not fashionable at all... and a testament to a bond that was forged over life and death, without any superficiality. ]

So... thanks.

Yooooou're welcome.

[He takes Helena's one hand in a light grip as if he is going to casually lead her somewhere.]

Listen, I...

[Unlike how things seemed when he started, Dio apparently does not have something all that simple in mind, as his voice catches in his throat. After failing to complete the sentence, he goes on and takes her other hand, which subtly brings their bodies to face each other.]

I--I...

[He squeezes both her hands and stares right down into her eyes.]

I-- -[He comes out with it all at once, cracking a smile that is almost slightly goofy in the relief of not coming into contact with something too difficult.] --really gotta hand it to you too! Thank you, Helena. Thank you so, so fucking much. For everything. Being my partner, and approving of me, and laying down your unlife for our convictions. All of that shit. I could go on. You know the rest of what happened, though, you were there for the whole thing... whenever you could scratch my back or get me to scratch yours.

[After one last firm shake, Dio loosens his grip on her hands; and yet, he does not let go.]

Yeah, okay, that's about it.

[ That's more genuine sentiment than Helena ever expected to come from Dio all at once and for a moment she feels a little like she's been run over by an entirely unexpected truck.

Now that she remembers Kaz, Helena knows that her assumptions about Dio being the only person she can feel this close to were wrong. Now that she remembers Kaz, there is something distinctly awkward about the way she latched onto Dio without remembering someone she owes so much to. But even then, when she compares Kaz and Dio, Dio is the one who really gets what she needs to hear... Both of them are incredibly dear to her and... Ugh, this is really something she needs to think about more, even if nothing will ever come out of any part of it.

Focusing on Dio, she keeps on smiling. She can't stop smiling, truthfully. What a weird feeling. She makes no move to disconnect their hands, instead holding on just slightly tighter even after Dio loosens up. His real hands, this time...

She probably shouldn't feel happy about him returning to a body he shares with god knows how many others, but... it's him, isn't it? Dio just is a clone and that's just part of the person she grew to like.

It brings a sad thought to the forefront of her mind though. But first... ]

I feel all the same sentiments towards you. I really wouldn't have stayed sane through this ordeal if it hadn't been for you. I owe you a lot.

[ A bit overtly formal, but that's just the best way Helena knows how to say these things. And then there's the elephant in the room: ]

... you're probably going back to the moon now, aren't you..?

[Wow! His teeth show in a reflexive grin. Dio has rarely gotten anyone who acknowledges sentiments to feel positive ones towards him, let alone the same ones! It's such a warm sensation. He can feel the pulse in Helena's palms. Which means losing that warmth will be sad... while his mouth forms the typical devil-may-care smile, his eyes do crinkle with more actual bittersweet sadness.]

You really are a regular old Katherine Johnson. [Dio inflects it naturally, like "an Albert Einstein"; she's so damn smart, especially in the field of projection, he means.

He runs his thumb in a circle over her hand.] Yeah. [A subtle nod, tilted like his other expressions; the long lupine face really suits him the best in the end.] I know technically I can tool around honeymooning for a while longer, but it's the principle of the thing. They're waiting for me. [Even though they already heard the good news from the transmitter...] It's the same reason I can't go reaper just yet. Stop aging? All my brothers notice before long.

[The facts are about the same as before. The "I just can't wait to be king" mood has completely disappeared, however.]

I take it you're not exactly looking for a propaganda writing job, either...

[ Helena has thought about it. Quite genuinely. At the start of the game, she figured that if a multiverse exists out there, it wouldn't be so bad to disappear from the world that contains Neo Yokio forever. Land the ultimate coup and then disappear forever, never to be caught - free.

And if Dio's world was different, maybe she'd ask him here to let her follow him home. It's just... that the idea of Free the Soul continues to send chills down her spine in a bad way. A world where mankind has almost perished... What's there for Helena to do in that? She wants to help mankind as is. Before it can come to something like that. So she shakes her head. ]

I didn't originally want to go back to Neo Yokio... I hate that hollow-hearted metropolis and escaping it... that was the happiest moment of my life for a bit. The first time I felt I can breathe easy.

But now I am thinking that my work isn't done yet. If I become its composer, then I have the power to actually bring about real change. It's a suffocating place, but it's a place where people live. And in the case of long island walled city, it's a place where people die for no fault of their own.

Before all this happened I was really keen on escaping society forever. But if I've learned anything, it's that I can't let one act of greatness be the end of it. I can't remain passive. Maybe if I give up the need to breathe in the first place in order to jump to action, that'll help me in the long run?

[ She grins lopsidedly at that. ]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm... I guess you don't have to love a city to make sure people can live there.

[He seems to be jokingly playing up the extent that this topic required serious thought before coming to a generous conclusion. Separation from the material world is a beautiful thing, and humans are mostly corrupt beings who need to be purified, but protecting another person is the noble course of action to take as long as it's not motivated by "love" or a similar biased feeling. It's not hard to do this. Dio has been doing intense mental acrobatics. He's strengthened those muscles his whole life. He might as well use them for the sake of the woman he... earned approval from. Speaking of strengths, he fires off another one-liner:]

And, no offense, you are a lot stronger in the Underground.

[Helena can always keep his attention with asphyxiation metaphors. Her thin neck is another one of the areas that the hospital gown has always exposed.]

If you ask me, [and the lilt does reveal Dio is self-aware that he is very biased for several different reasons] I think your rat races are going to be a lot more fair than any of theirs. And, you know, if you ever do have to recruit reapers, it might... [Be nice to get approved by you again as your Conductor. Actually, that could be taken as a declaration of the intent to be with her forever, which he still knows isn't going to be possible when he returns to leading the Myrmidons. He lets go of her hands.] Never mind. Just know that your judgment is gonna be great.

[ Helena should wonder more deeply about what Dio was going to say and then didn't, but for once her own thoughts are too occupied with simple issues to be able to see through Dio accurately. Namely, her hands are free now and that... that makes this a now or never situation.

And Helena would rather go back to Neo Yokio without amassing any regrets after all. ]

I'll miss you, you know?

[ She smiles a little as she says that, but more nervously than usual. The cause for that reveals itself a split second after when she goes for a short hesitant hug. ]

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notgentle - 2017-12-27 21:54 (UTC) - Expand

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totalbullshit - 2017-12-28 22:28 (UTC) - Expand

[ He's going to be making his rounds now!

So, she'll find him walking over and just. Resting a hand on her shoulder. ]

You're probably one of the craziest people I know...

[ A soft chuckle. ]

Even if I'm not sure if that should be taken as a compliment, coming from me...

[ She grins a little at that. Even though Akira has horrible taste in people as far as Helena thinks, he himself is pretty decent in the end. ]

Defying the norm may not be inherently positive or negative, but it means you're thinking for yourself. I'll take that as a compliment any time.

[ Though presumably none of them are really qualified to talk about what's crazy and what isn't, after all that happened in the last month... ]

Of course not. Twould be a poor judgement otherwise on my end.

[...sup?]

[ So this is the fabled composer of this mall... Helena suppresses her confusion at being approached by her only half-successfully. ]

Giving an near-impossible win-condition to prove yourself for a task that is equally near-impossible wouldn't have appeared illogical at a glance.

[ Though, all things considered: ]

I'm glad you were more reasonable in the end.

Have you seen this lot?

[It's said with a bit of a snicker.]

The idea was never to defeat me but to endure for a period of time. Those who say they are strong enough would end buried in the ground before they can unshealth their weapon. As they are now, I do not think they will be able to defeat him. But given time and strategy...they have a chance.

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