snowblindrpg | Event: Consolidation Theory, Part Four and Five

[That... reaches him, but not in a good way.]

'Making that up?' You attacked us.

[His voice rises with sudden agitation.]

Y-you attacked us!

Attacked...

[That can't be right. That can't--

Every part of him wants to move closer. To try offering something, anything, as comfort. But that's impossible right now, isn't it? He can't scare Flynn off. It's better to just.. slide down against the wall until he's sitting, instead...]

No way.

I-- I wouldn't...

[No, calm down. There has to be an answer to this.

The anisomycin must've been part of it. It likely made it impossible for anyone to form memories of what was coming next. It explains the day cutting out during the hallucinations. But then the rest? Maybe they could cause people to become violent, but that alone wouldn't come close to explaining how Flynn's group could be targeted.

...

Suggestibility, maybe? Could everyone have been given orders...?]

... Your neck and arm. Do you.. remember who did that?

[When Junpei mentions his neck his arm comes up defensively, like he suddenly remembers it.]

S-someone. With the red lines. I don't wanna talk about it.

All of you attacked us. You were all crazy.

... I didn't.. hurt you, then?

[That's.. really his highest concern.]

...

What if it wasn't us?

I- I mean, it's gotta be our bodies, yeah. Everyone's beat up. But there's no way everyone here is like that.

What if those drugs put us under someone else's control?

All of the red lines hurt everybody. You... you tore at us and at yourself and each other and--

[His breath hitches and he pauses, trying to collect himself.

Drugs. Someone else's control. Norfinbury, it's Norfinbury, these things happen, they happen all the time.]

I-I don't know. Maybe. Yeah.

... At ourselves?

[... Well. It kind of.. feels good to learn his own injuries weren't caused in self defense? And yet. Worse. A lot worse, actually.]

You mean-- Couldn't you guys fight back? Why would--

[There isn't a why. Not until they find out more about what's going on.]

...

I don't.. think it means anything now, but..

I'm sorry.

I don't wanna hear anyone start forgiving the bastard who put this all together. It's just.. You gotta know I'd never do that...

[He just shakes his head no.]

Couldn't move.

[You gotta know I'd never do that.

Flynn rubs his face, exhaling and slowly, slowly nods.]

I... I know. I know that. I'm sorry, I just, it was very... very disturbing. I think I'm in shock. I'm probably - yeah, the symptoms kind of align. It should [small wave of his hand] wear off eventually...

... What the hell...

[They couldn't move at all? ... Maybe it's not that unreasonable. He couldn't react when the static came for him. It could be similar.

Shock's probably right. It's not a good idea to pry any further.

Except...]

...

I wouldn't be so sure about it wearing off. He said last night was the first attempt...

[w o w junpei

OF ALL THE THINGS TO SAY

Flynn's eyes widen because in his current state of mind that sounds entirely too sinister and too much like a potential promise. Backing away from the cell now.]

No. No, nono, that is not... it's not happening again. S-something else, not this.

[Wait no come back.]

Look, we don't know what Miller's trying to "fix", anymore. I thought it was gonna be the lines. I.. I thought I was gonna wake up and find myself skinned, or something.

[Well, he kind of does have a lot of bandages, but that's not right. He can still see his markings between them, and the pain's nowhere near as intense as he'd imagine.]

Instead it's you getting hurt? It doesn't make any sense. You didn't do anything to deserve this.

[... But neither did Junpei. He was pushed. He was supposed to make it to the end, too.

... He was.. supposed to end up like Flynn...

That would've been better than hurting him, any day.]

...

The next phase should be different. Yeah. But I still don't understand why you guys showed up. What any of this has to do with you.

... Some detective if I can't even figure that out, huh?

[Flynn just shakes his head, clutching his hair. At first it looks like he tries to focus on that, on the questions, the puzzle, but that just sends his mind spiraling even more, picking up tangents here and there that go in completely different directions. Deserve? Figure it out?

Is it about deserving, is this punishment, do any of them deserve this? Why would he be here?]

I do. I-I asked the questions. I asked so many questions, maybe it's that. I didn't mean to? It just, it felt like the right thing to do at the time, I thought I was helping you, I thought I could figure this out, I, that's what I do, I figure things out, I...

You asked--

You talked to people! That's.. That's nothing. Y-you don't fucking tear people apart because they had a conversation.

[Maybe that's wrong. He's seen some pretty awful stuff that can easily prove otherwise. Still. Context. This isn't like that. This isn't one of his cases. ... And that's the problem. That's why he doesn't know enough. Why he can't understand what's happening. Why he can't protect anyone from it, either.]

...

Know how us with the markings didn't have any control last night? It's gotta be the same thing. Maybe it played on your nature, but it wasn't you. None of that stuff back then was your fault.

Control...?

[Control. Yes, he didn't have control, people didn't have control. That's important, he keeps forgetting that, why does he keep forgetting that?

God, why can't he focus?]

It's the town. You're a detective, we're trying to figure this out. W-we were in the pit.

[The town, the town, it's always the town.]

Wow, b-being in shock is really annoying?

[But at least he stays, for now.]

Yeah. The pit.

Something wanted us to go down. Something else wanted to prevent us.. or so I thought.

Maybe we never were saved. It would explain why trying again didn't help. Whatever happened at the bottom of the pit, that could've been more lost memories. There's probably an answer to why only some of us got red eyes, too. It was marking them in another sense. Marking them for.. more loyalty? Less self control?

... Wait. Less--

That was how we were selected. Mostly.

The room only brought in those who were the most suggestible. The ones who jumped in needed to be marked as.. volunteers, maybe. Usable for whatever was next.

I'm not sure how important those two nights of paranoia were. I think they were only a test run. To see what it took to control those of us with markings. Your group wasn't out to get them like anyone thought. You were testing how easily they'd give in. How well they'd follow orders.

... That might have been a failure, though. "Something wrong with us". There wasn't any effect on those of us without red eyes. We weren't marked willingly. We could resist it more. ... That's why this attempt is so much worse. Being locked in cells, given all those drugs...

It's pretty clear Miller wants complete control of us. It probably looked like he had it, last night, but if you're saying we started scratching ourselves up, too, that's the kink he's still gotta work out. What good's a toy that just breaks on its own?

Between what happened in the pit and what's happening here, I think his goal is to use us for anything he wants, at any time. Back in the town, or.. even after we've escaped. We're just extra bodies to get away with whatever he's planning.

Now the problem is I have no idea who this guy is. I don't have anywhere to go from here. You've been around longer. What do you think?

[Flynn frowns, trying to keep up but his head is spinning and his arm hurts and all around him people are hurt so badly and some of them are making pained sounds or are crying and nothing makes sense. A few of Junpei's musings reach him and he starts pondering them but the information is too much right now and he ends up staring at him blankly.]

What?

[He shakes his head, confused.] I don't know him. I didn't see him. I was chained to the wall?

It's--

[It's not something Flynn should have to deal with, is it?]

... It doesn't matter. We'll stop him when we get out.

You wanna sit down?

[He nods toward the bed, careful not to make any further movement.]

It might help with the stress.

Yes. Yes, I probably should.

[But he doesn't enter the cell; instead he sinks to the ground where he stands, sitting outside on the floor.]

That's better.

[That's.. probably fine. Cautiously, Junpei moves to sit closer to the barrier, as well.]

Yeah. And everything's gonna keep getting better once we're out. One way to look at it, compared to this place, the rest of the town's not so bad anymore.

Seriously? You tell me again how you're not the optimist?

[He scoffs but the corner of his mouth lifts for a moment. That's better. That's something he can work with, that helps.]

Maybe I just can't see how it could get any worse.

[But that slight smile's worth having said it.]

What I got is hope. It's not optimism-- you can have it and still spend every second knowing it's gonna shatter. But once you lose it...

I think the risk is better.

[He runs his hand through his hair, mulling the words over.]

I guess I can get behind that.

[In a way, isn't that what he's doing? His mind wanders back to a conversation with Judson. Boy. That whole "I'm off on a mission where there's a good chance I'll probably die" feeling, that never really goes away, does it?

And it doesn't but he goes out anyway.]

Hope's good. Big fan of that, hope. I think you're on to something there.

Right?

Let's hold on to it.

Everything sucks right now, and I bet it'll stay like that the whole time we're in here. But we will get out. Maybe we gotta wait until it's over. Maybe we get to fight our way through. It's gonna happen either way.

I can do that. [Holding on to hope. It's a force for good, like the Library, and if Flynn can do one thing it is latch on and cling to an idea.

And he likes this idea.]

... You're right. We're getting out. One way or another, we will figure this out.

Event: Consolidation Theory, Part Four and Five

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It can get worse.

Junpei you are forever banned from the job of Guardian.

But he loves you ;__;

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