TYL Event - after Nagi's return to his normal age

[have_your_lives]

[You know who has no respect for personal property? Or, apparently, bazookas? This guy. He literally tried to just grab the thing off of Lambo, because there is no possible way wrenching a bazooka out of someone's hands could end in anything other than candy and rainbows. Or whatever would be the evil equivalent as far as Schuldig is concerned - probably tears and kicked puppies.

It's been mentioned before that Schuldig has no inkling of common sense, and this should be an excellent reminder to everyone how crippling of a disability that is.

What actually happened was that the bazooka got dropped onto hard concrete and went off more or less in the telepath's face. And instead of being blown into the bloody, quarter-sized pieces he probably deserved, he got rocketed back into the past, while his twelve-year-old self has been jerked forward in time and dumped into Mayfield.

The upshot of this is that a small, skinny boy with scruffy orange hair is prowling around Mayfield. He's dressed in worn, nondescript grey clothing and looks kind of malnourished; there are many methods of discipline in Rosenkrüs, and denial of food is actually one of the pleasanter ones. Unlike others in this same situation, he seems less confused than wary and suspicious...but those who expect Schuldig's usual personality in a smaller package will be significantly surprised if they approach him. He's fairly easy to recognize with that hair, in any case.]

[OOC: I wish I had more icons for him as a kid, but this is pretty much the only one that even looks remotely close. :| You may see a lot of it.]

Comments

[weiss-tank.livejournal.com]

No...I'm not completely nice, sure, but I want to be. I like being nice, especially to kids who seem to need it.

[He's being honest with you there Keane, as he knows you'd catch him in a lie, and he doesn't want to lie anyways.]

[clairvoyeur.livejournal.com]

That's... not a bad way to think about it. I know it's difficult, Keane, but if you exten...

[]

[have-your-lives.livejournal.com]

[Unfortunately, this confirmation alarms Keane more than a little. He's willing to accept that this isn't Rosenkrüs' doing specifically when there's a logical alternative explanation, but the new explanation is infinitely more dangerous. It means he's tangled in Brad's mind, and specifically in the thoughts of his that are the most unfamiliar and risky for him to be dabbling in.] What? What do I do?

[The fear of losing himself - of going insane or comatose as many telepaths do - is one of the only real fears in the boy's life, and an exceedingly potent one.]

[clairvoyeur.livejournal.com]

[] Let me finish.

This? This is solid. [] There's nothing constructed here. Things are separated. It's simply that you can extend that possibility beyond the hypothetical metaphor. The future... is a fairly fixed, solid place. [] Here, for the moment. Are you following me, Keane?

[have-your-lives.livejournal.com]

I don't need it. [Keane seems annoyed by the thought of being pitied.] I can handle myself.

[weiss-tank.livejournal.com]

I know you can. I'll still be nice to you if it's all the same. [It actually isn't pity. Not really. It's just the way he is.]

[He pours some vinegar on his fries.]

[have-your-lives.livejournal.com]

...and I'm supposed to accept this place is for real?

[bittermayfly.livejournal.com]

It's better than thinking you've gone crazy because you can't make it stop.

[have-your-lives.livejournal.com]

I...think so. [Keane is frowning thoughtfully; it's the expression he gets - or used to get - when he's trying to figure something out. As he got older, and more deceptive, Schuldig took to hiding most emotions that weren't amusement or anger, so this will be quite nostalgic.] This isn't just something I'm seeing...I'm actually here?

[have-your-lives.livejournal.com]

[Keane looks as though Nagi just slapped him, and actually pales a bit. His eyes, however, seem to get darker as he glowers.] I'm not crazy.

[bittermayfly.livejournal.com]

I know. That's why I'm telling you this is real.

[withsparkles.livejournal.com]

[He's not really sure about that yet.]

Boooooooom! Call it Trölladyngja! [Very excited]

[glowing-science.livejournal.com]

[Except that it isn't obvious to Ema at all. In fact, she's horrified by his answer.] Shot?! But you're just a kid!

What the hell kind of operation are these Rosenkrüs people running?

[Her kneejerk emotional reaction is not so much pity for the kid as it is a sort of righteous, indignant anger on his behalf. Even if she hates the man this kid will become, he doesn't deserve that kind of treatment. No one does.]

[clairvoyeur.livejournal.com]

Precisely. This sort of aberration isn't unheard of; it should correct itself in a matter of hours. Until then...

[]

...keep occupied. Without... touching too many things.

[have-your-lives.livejournal.com]

[Keane doesn't seem to know what to say to this, and settles for finishing the rest of his meal. However, he's studying Ken all the time with those probing blue eyes, and Ken will feel his mind being examined minutely, looking for some kind of angle.]

[weiss-tank.livejournal.com]

[Ken winces a little, cause well hey, he's NEVER liked this, even when Schudig is bigger and has more finesse, but he doesn't complain about it. Why? Because he knows that people in Keane's position need to have security and reassurance and he figures this is how the kid will get it.

He likes kids, he genuinely likes people, even if he's seen the almost absolute ass end of them. He feels strongly that people should be treated fairly and that kids in particular need to be loved and protected. He just wants the world to be a better place and hurting itself.

Well, that and he's a very needy people person.]

[have-your-lives.livejournal.com]

I'd kind of have to be crazy to buy that.

[bittermayfly.livejournal.com]

[Nagi sighs. He can understand the reason for the insistence that this isn't real, but he doesn't know what to do other than get this younger Schuldig something to drink and eat.]

[have-your-lives.livejournal.com]

...what are you talking about? [Even with his telepathy, he's confused. :| ]

[have-your-lives.livejournal.com]

[Keane shrugs. He's no fan of Rosenkrüs or their methods, but when it comes to shooting burnt-out telepaths, he's fairly practical on the matter.] The ones that get lost are practically brain dead anyway.

[have-your-lives.livejournal.com]

[Keane is clearly still bewildered by all this new information. He can grasp the concept of the future as a physical place, and Brad is probably the only person he'd ever have believed something like that from...but he's not sure what to do with that knowledge, or what it means for him and his own sanity - is he trapped in someone else's head or not? - and that's to say nothing of other pertinent questions. Perhaps unsurprisingly for a boy fresh from Rosenkrüs, his first question is...] ...if I'm really here, can I die here?

[have-your-lives.livejournal.com]

[It takes awhile, but eventually Ken will see the confusion and uncertainty in Keane's eyes clear, and the boy relaxes.] You're an assassin. [It's hard to tell why this news seems to relieve him.]

[have-your-lives.livejournal.com]

[Clinging to the reality he's sure of is both a personal survival technique and something that the instructors at Rosenkrüs beat even more strongly into his head, so shifting him from this conviction will be exceedingly difficult for anyone.] ...so are you being nice because you think I'm Schuldig?

[weiss-tank.livejournal.com]

[Ugh, why would the boy dig for that of all things. Well...maybe cause he doesn't have a rose coloured view of the world? Who knows.]

Yeah, you could call it that. Though it's been pointed out to me that it's more extreme vigilantism.

Still...kinda the same thing.

[bittermayfly.livejournal.com]

I think you will be him.

[Nagi's just repaying Schuldig's awkward niceness, since it's bound to confuse or annoy him when he gets back to normal.]