BETRAYAL AT THE HOUSE ON THE GAME TOWER - END

[idolpro]

Who: Traitors and Survivors, Exael
Where: The Game Tower, and leaving it
When: Day 25, morning-- it appears that game lasted the bulk of day 24 into the night.

[ Abruptly, the nightmare ends.

You, in the rooms you kept restarting in, awoke. Before you can even panic, before even despair, the elevator doors were open in front of you to take you downstairs again. It could be a trap, sure, but your head is quiet— those fucking ghosts are gone. You also appear to be wet like someone dumped, perhaps, a bucket of holy water on you while you were asleep. All your wounds are gone, and you have been left bereft of any physical damage from your ordeal.

Unless you choose to take some with you. Nothing prevents you from taking any of your spoils downstairs with you, if you wish it, though all revolvers will have no ammo.

On the screens as you descend back to the lobby, Exael is clapping on screen, broadcast showing her in the mansion's entrance hall. "And so close the gates to this forbidden garden, and so closes this chapter of our story! Just as—" her hologram flickers as she doesn't seem to notice, chattering still to the cameras, "so too will—" fzzt, fzzt. Static, flickering, and then back into focus, "So give them all a hand! Everyone, you've done well! You stand before us still, ready to present us all with more marvels after having survived such grisly wonders with—" "—in the balance!"

As she speaks, she doesn't notice a figure approaching behind her. He's in a slick suit with both hands in his pockets, and you've seen him before— his portrait is in the foyer. His shoes are utterly silent as he walks across the marble floor, till he's right at her back.

"Audience and actors alike, we've been blessed with—" Her hologram doesn't flicker this time, but she stops speaking. Her eyebrows furrow as she tries to figure out what's amiss, and only belatedly begins to slowly look over her shoulder.

"Exael," he says with a friendly hand on her solidifying hologram shoulder, the effect spreading beneath his touch, "We need to have a chat about your requisitions paperwork."

She tilts her head, eyes wide with a finger tapping against her cheek as she thinks, "I didn't do any!"

"Yes," he agrees, smiling with all his teeth. "I know."

The broadcast cuts. The doors open to let you leave. ]

Comments

[fiberoptic]

[His face cracked into a smirk]

'Double Down' really does suit you.

[maxxximumeffort]

[starts messing around in ALL HIS POUCHES]

Duh. I got the expensive type that doesn't broadcast like a goddamn holiday special. It came in a lil' bonbon, so I put my tongue on it and got a flash and I know it's got it in there. Just haven't eaten it yet.

[fiberoptic]

[God bless these pouches]

Just a goddamn turd pellet of all your bad shit, huh.

[Braces himself since the bond's still going, hands clapsed firm around Wade's face]

Well? Bottoms up, beautiful.

[maxxximumeffort]

You sure you wanna stay connected? You just gotta be here.

[fiberoptic]

In for a penny, in for the whole metric fuckton, right?

Nothing you've got is gonna scare me off.

[maxxximumeffort]

. . . [takes in a loud, shaky breath.

and eats the candy, and slowly chews it.

and chews... i mean... it's a good chocolate. wow. that tastes amazing. Is that grand mariner? hints of lavender and salt? It really fills the whole mouth, smells fantastic --]

[maxxximumeffort]

[And then he remembers Ajax.

The connection between them wavers, and Nathan can feel Wade experiencing a little shock, like the sudden spike of uncertainty of thinking a stranger is in your home.

And then the shock increases because someone was definitely in his home. Lit it on fire, broke everything to pieces, beat him and fucked him and numbed him and cut him open while he was awake and he was helpless, helpless, helpless. It went on so long, and Ajax loved every second of doing it. Ajax was going to keep him until he died, and he wouldn't let him die for a very long time. And the worst part the worst of it is Wade almost gave up. He knew he would stop fighting. Ajax crawled into every fiber of his being and he couldn't stop it, this would be his whole life and he'd learn to love it.

The panicky relief of knowing he managed to goad Ajax into ending it, and that's how he survived, violently mutating to survive death forever, snaps the horror like a wire, except that wire is still a taut pinprick as Wade starts to shudder violently in Nate's hands.]

[fiberoptic]

Wade? Wade!!

[If a sharp shake isn't enough to snap him back to reality, Nate pulls him up from the ground and wraps him in his arms, trying to quell the shivering.]

Hey. Come back t'me. Come on...

[maxxximumeffort]

M-- I'm, what. Here. Don't shake m, just, hold...hold is nice. I --

[--He pushes away so he can bow over and choke, and hurl, and cough and hyperventilate. It seems to be just physical, he's definitely having a panic attack. But over the bond is like aw beans. and i'm okay. I'm with Nate.]

[fiberoptic]

[Okay, vomit was. Understandable. As long as he couldn't feel Wade completely losing it over the bond, then it was a matter of riding through this.

Staying as calm as he could (there was still worry there, he couldn't hide that, but push it down), Nate wordlessly rubbed his back to try and ease the nausea and shakes]

[maxxximumeffort]

[YOU BETTER WORRY ABOUT ME!!! I DEMAND WORRY AND FAWNING!!! whimpers, still shaking]

Ffuuucckk. Fuck... oh, fuck.

[laugh! laugh] Why... why can't I just... have been sent by aliens in a baby pod to rural America? Huh? Why not Deadpool? Jesus... fuck. That origin story is the worst. I. I hate it. Bad.

[fiberoptic]

[So needy!! He's trying to stay in control of the situation and not bleed his freak out into you? The mad is still there though, he's aNGRY on Wade's behalf]

I swear, if you haven't killed that sick fuck already, I'm gonna feed him all his own bones.

[maxxximumeffort]

God, I had to... I wouldn't have stopped until I did.

[He sags against Nate's chest, groaning. He clutches his hand like a lifeline, sniffing and shuddering.]

Fuckin'... it was a whole operation. The fucking cancer, they said they could cure it, I didn't have anything to fucking lose. They took me 'cause I was... [DEEP BREATH god it's hard to ramble when he's crying] a green beret or something, I don't know, it's not well defined. They were making mutants.

[fiberoptic]

[Holds him in a comforting embrace of the most rock hard bara muscles a dystopian future could buy.

The word mutant definitely felt like it should mean something very important to Nate - but the details are hazy. It felt like something that shouldn't be able to just. Be manufactured, though. Nate narrowed his eyes and squeezed Wade's hand back.]

Taking advantage of terminally ill soldiers to experiment of them... Turning them into living weapons and breaking them...? Christ, that's setting a standard for evil.

[maxxximumeffort]

[his shuddering is calming. over the bond he's... quieting? weakening. dulling himself. But not chaotic. Sorting out.]

Hhah...

Listen... go on, go... go home with your team. This can wait. I'm gonna be... as okay as I'm gonna be, Nate. I got you, yeah?

[fiberoptic]

Wait. There's something--

[Nate hesitates. A flare of regret and sad dad when Wade mentions his team.]

I need to know something. Not bein' able to die - is that really what it's like?

[maxxximumeffort]

. . .

[l-laughs]

Wait can you-- can you say "Does it hurt?"

[fiberoptic]

Wade, please.

[He is trying to tell you something serious, Wade. Nate lowers his voice, a sinking pit in his stomach]

Heart Soldier has a power that can do that. Not the healing part, just being unkillable. The-- [he pauses. This is a dangerous secret.]

The kids decided to buy it.

[maxxximumeffort]

. . .

Gotta have healing. No healing that-- that just sounds like living hell if someone -- you'd be fine if you didn't get caught. Then it just like-- sucks, but you don't die. Better to get stabbed in the brain and not die than instantly die? Shit, it starts to feel good sometimes.

But if someone has them-- they gotta be able to turn it off, Nate. Gotta have an escape.

[fiberoptic]

I don't got the details of how it works. They were real cagey about telling me the plan at all, knowin'-- [he scoffs, bitterly,] knowing I'd lose my shit over having them volunteer to be easy targets.

And after this, they'd have plenty experience with pain. I... [guilty swallow,] I don't know what's right. If I'd rather see them die or just suffer - I don't think SensitIV can fix everything...

I mean, fuck. Someone's already got them in their clutches, and it's the psychos running this place.

[maxxximumeffort]

[sssigh.]

It's their power. Could be yours, too.

They're gonna do it, so it's better if you don't fatherlord it and just work with them so they don't get too fuckin' wild with it... I don't really remember getting to use it a lot, but fuck, Nate, I had to teach myself to dodge again. If they know about it maybe they can -- you want me to talk to them?

[fiberoptic]

[He sighs and runs a hand through his hair, heavy with dad responsibility.]

No, I-- They've got enough to deal with right now. No one outside the team knows yet, and I think it's gonna stay that way until the axe actually falls - they wouldn't have plans to abuse it like you probably did.

Thank you, though. [guiltguiltguiltlove] For helping'em as much as you do.

[maxxximumeffort]

...Hey.

[he reaches up to touch his cheek. feeding that guilt and responsibility back - this is absolutely something they have 100% in common.]

Not like How To Dad guides include how to handle this shit. We just... gotta get 'em through.

[fiberoptic]

[Ugh he loves you a lot. What would he do without you. Just this helpless flutter of appreciation in his heart, ENJOY THAT]

There has to be something I can do for your kids too... [They're. Very confusing though.]

[maxxximumeffort]

[he laughs. ah, he loves him too. he loves him in the gayest way. what would he do without him. eat himself probably??]

You make a good target. Easy to tease, very charming.