[log] Let the walls break- What we have they cannot take [Closed to Sad Losers]

[heroproceeding]

Characters: Kunsel (deus_ex_phs), Zack (heroproceeding), Zell (swatsflies), and Jim (rattlingthestars)
Location Building 141 [Post Office]
Date: Evening/Night of Day 122
Summary: THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN. And finding each other again after TERRIBLE THINGS HAPPENED IN HOGWARTS SNOWHELL. As usual. TIME TO GET THE WHOLE GANG TOGETHER AGAIN.
Warnings: Likely lots of mentions of character death. Snot. More snot. Blah blah serious business.



[ BOO HOO HOO GHIBLI TEARS EVERYWHERE AGAIN.

MAKE YO' OWN TOPLEVELS, BITCHES. ]

Comments

[heroproceeding]

[ Of course, Zell would be Zell... and do Zell things like that. The first poke to his cheek doesn't have Zack looking up until he hears that question and then suddenly finger right there in his face. He twitches away. The reach for his hair though? That gets him batting his friend's hand away with a weak: ] Hey! Come on, I just fixed it!

[ It's a halfhearted complaint at best though- and quickly forgotten in the face of those final questions. Zack shakes his head with a frown. ] No. S'why he tripped me up in the first place. I didn't even know he was there until I saw him running away.

[swatsflies]

[ Reaching up with his other hand and placing both on Zack's shoulders as he meets his look. Grinning after a moment at the protests. ]

Really? It looks like how it normally does when you wake up.

[ And At the admission over Mochi, he'll just offer a light chortle as he shakes his head. ] Make sure to make it up to him. [ Mochi's fate is to be tripped or stepped on here. ]

You do remember how it feels though, right? [ Nodding to his hands. ] It won't last long and then I'll mess up your hair when you can feel again.

[heroproceeding]

[ At least with both hands in sight, there's no reason to jump like he had just moments ago with the face poking. Instead, he just kinda holds that frown, especially at that tease. His hair isn't that much of a mess again... yet. Give it a few more days in this showerless wasteland, okay?

His expression only melts somewhat at the mention of making things up to Mochi and he finds himself muttering an 'I know, I know..' He does feel bad. Mochi had been Tadashi's cat, after all. He.. couldn't take care of Hiro. They should at least be able to take care of the furball, right?

That's something to be taken care of a little later though... For now, he nods in agreement. ] I do... It's just a little weird. [ And a little offputting, if he were to be honest, but... Not like he can do anything about it. His stare lingers on one of Zell's hands for a moment longer than maybe necessary... and then some, even as he speaks up again. ] Hey, Zell... You know how you had one of those weird dreams?

[swatsflies]

[ He grins easily at that. Mochi does deserve a lot of affection, especially when he has to be put in a bag to travel between places.

Zell doesn't seem particularly phased by the staring at his hands. Amazingly enough, he waits patiently for Zack to share what he finds interesting about it. Then he asks about the weird dreams. Giving a slight nod of his head as he feels reluctant to let his mind go back there. He knows he won't be able to look at masks with breathing apparatus the same way again. ]

Yeah. What's up? Did you have them, too?

[heroproceeding]

[ It does feel cruel in some ways- that he's bringing it up right there and then. Especially after all Zell, himself, went through when that had happened. But it's something he knows he ought to touch on. Something he knows might be important for them all to know- to keep in mind.

...even if he might skirt some certain details.

He nods all the same as he finally meets Zell's eyes once more but his expression's far more serious than before. The expression of a trained SOLDIER. ] Yeah.. I did. And if it's anything to actually go by, we have a time limit here before things go south. [ Well... More south than usual. Much more south if the bizarre glacier had been any indication. ]

[swatsflies]

[ He remembers feeling Jim tensed up when he shared about the dreams. Shifting a bit as he glances to check for his partner and to avoid meeting Zack's gaze. ]

Y-yeah, I know. We have at least four months left. [ They might get more time, but even he knows how dangerous it is to put hope in something from a frickin' dream. Shaking his head. ]

I don't even know how much we should even believe them, but it's the only lead we got. [ Crossing his arms as he finally meets Zack's look. ] What else did they say?

[heroproceeding]

[ Realistically, going off a dream in general is a bit on the insane side of things. But when there's multiple people having similar premonition-like dreams, well... Can't really just leave that kinda stuff completely go.

Zack mirrors Zell's crossed arms with his own... even as he hesitates briefly, eyes wandering elsewhere for a moment. Thinking about Aerith with the sightless eyes in the ice... isn't exactly any kind of comfort. ]

...Said something about how every day the 'ice gets closer' which sounds crazy, too, but... it probably has to do with whatever killed these townspeople in the first place. I saw this big... ice berg... and it was full of bodies. [ He grimaces as he admits it, shaking his head warily. ]

[swatsflies]

[ Ice? What? Zell is momentarily taken aback by that. There was nothing about ice, but maybe someone else had a similar tale? He'll have to check Steph's summary again to see ]

Didn't people find bodies in snow or ice here? [ Which was weird. Why would anyone freeze like that? His brows were drawn together as he thinks it over. ]

I was told the town will eat everyone in it. That it happened to the original residents.

[ He thought maybe the thing underground ate what was left of them, but maybe it's not that simple. Reaching up to ruffle his own hair. ]

[heroproceeding]

They ate them? [ Judging by the surprise in Zack's voice, this is... definitely... news to him. Just a little bit. Just slightly. Granted, again- guess work through dreams. But it's unsettling, regardless. It's enough for him to already start pacing, reaching up to scrub the back of his head. ]

But they did... yeah. [ That's even more unsettling. ] They didn't all look like they were... eaten though, you know? I mean we would have only found bones otherwise...

tin foil hat time

[swatsflies]

I don't know if they meant actually eat everyone, you know? I think he was trying to say the town consumed them. [ Zell doesn't realize it, but he's starting to tap out the words as he remembers those creepy bursts of static. ]

I wonder if that's how the admin kills everyone. After they go crazy and can no longer function. Kill everyone by freezing them all. [ Which reminds him of what Ecks said about the walls being on purpose. ] The towns are automated, so maybe they can control the weather, too?

[heroproceeding]

[ If Zack notices anything about the tapping, he doesn't say anything. Of course, it might also have something to do with just how south this conversation has gone this fast. He's also still a little caught up with the pacing, too, doing another round before he frowns at the ground with his hands square on his hips. ]

I dunno if they can control the weather necessarily. [ They can do a lot of things, sure, but even that sounds pretty far fetched to him. ] But... there's definitely something out there, some kind of muscle underground. Maybe that's what went after whoever went out of control in the end. Or maybe there's even several of those somethings. Who knows?

[ No matter who or what argues otherwise that they don't exist and that they're just seeing something, that it's just a hallucination, there's been plenty of gruesome proof in the morgues that, well... There's definitely something down there not happy to see them if they decide to tempt fate. Maybe they also have something to do with this? It's his best guess. But even then, considering how many frozen bodies are out there in the snow and how violent those deaths had been...

Zack groans to himself and rubs his face in exasperation. ] I dunno, man.

/lame

[swatsflies]

[ He'll churn it around in his head. The snow is weird and the frozen bodies in places is even weirder. The bodies shouldn't be so well... preserved like that buried outside.

His brain is going pretty much a bunch of directions, but mostly keeping off their limit time left. Shaking his head after a moment. ] Still need to find more answers. Guess we'll find out when we get to the center, huh?

[heroproceeding]

[ Those bodies really shouldn't or at least so he's heard. Maybe things work differently there. But... there's also a lot they still have yet to uncover about this town...

Zack shakes his head just a little bit, himself. He can't entirely erase that frustrated furrow to his brow. But he also knows standing there overthinking isn't going to do much good. Just annoy him even more. ] Yeah... Probably. It's just a matter of finding a way to there. But... we will.

[ They, themselves, might not be the first ones to uncover that route, but... even still. He sets his hands on his hips a moment as he looks to the floor almost too sternly. ] We'll find a way outta here... no matter what.

anything else you wanted to touch? besides shoulders

[swatsflies]

[ He remembers Beckett saying something like it might not be worth the effort digging into the past, but Zell really needs to know. History holds lessons and answers on how to fix everything. That's why people still teach that stuff in school. ]

We can always try stacking up again. See if we can get tall enough to see over the metal wall.

[ Stackable lunch for the monsters. The expression he wears says even he thinks it's a little silly. ] Maybe if we can build a really strong magnet...

[ This is talk he normally would have with Jim or Kunsel. Holding his hand up between them so Zack could see it before he places it on Zack's shoulder to give it an affectionate pat. ] We'll figure it out. All of us together.

Nah, I think that pretty much wraps this up.

[heroproceeding]

[ History's really all they've got there. To tell them what happened. To possibly tell them how to make things right or at least get things back in slightly better working order to maybe get back to where they belong. Maybe. There's no guarantee, but it's worth a shot.

It's a thought saved for later though- thoughts in general more or less disrupted at the suggestions, one of which gives him conflicted feelings... only for him to be steamrollered shortly after by the next. Seriously, a magnet, Zell? He's about to say as much when he sees that hand.

He tracks it as Zell reaches before he realizes the whole point had been... Zack blinks. Then smiles just a touch sheepishly as his eyes meet Zell's. ]

We will. [ And then his smile grows just a bit smirky. ] With or without really strong magnets.