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

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

[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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[]

...they never... get this good. [] They don't last... long enough.

[The boy stares at him, eyes boring holes as he probes at Crawford's mind - not particularly well compared to his present-day skills. It's a rough and blatant intrusion compared to the silk that is Schuldig sliding into his mind. Every now and then, there's a flicker of uncertainty across that young face; Brad is one of the weaker spots Rosenkrüs could have played with, a trusted source it's hard to question.]

...no. I don't care what face you use, I'm not going to believe you. You want to see if I'll break and I won't. [This last part comes out almost violently.]

...I'm fully aware.

[]

I just need you to understand.

[Keane - that name Schuldig long ago discarded - seems to be losing his resolve not to accept this place fairly quickly in the face of Crawford, and perhaps the things he's finding in the man's mind. He's still denying them, for the moment, but...no longer with any degree of certainty. It may be fear that's motivating his refusal to accept any of this now.]

Understand what...?

[] That this is a glimpse. What happens next. This is...

[]

...the future? Our future? [He may not be directly probing your thoughts right now, Brad, but Keane's still able to hear surface thoughts as easily as his present-day counterpart. Judging by his frown, he's both skeptical and a little intrigued.]

Did I get caught inside one of your visions or something...? [This is the only explanation that makes any immediate sense to him.]

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

[]

[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.]

[] 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?

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?

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.

[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?

Yes, you can. [] The future is an amorphous solid, like glass, if you will. Things at such a distance from reality are largely set into place, but... there's nuance to catch the slim variety of options. If you die here, what might have existed from here on out is gone.

[Keane is silent for a long time. He seems more thoughtful than frightened by this possibility - but then Rosenkrüs does include plenty of chances at death. To him, there isn't much obvious difference between dying there or dying here.] ...so this future means we make it out of Rosenkrüs. [His blue eyes seek out Crawford's.]

[] This one, yes. I think... you'll be rather pleased with this one.

[This prompts a smile from Keane - an actual smile rather than a grin or a smirk, which is an expression that in Schuldig had gone almost extinct.] Yeah? Why's that? I've met a couple people already, and two of them seem to hate who I'm going to be. [Judging by the smile, however, their future dislike doesn't carry as much weight as Crawford's recommendation.]

[]

You're something of an... acquired taste not everyone has learned to enjoy.

I don't care. [This is said quite matter-of-factly.] If we get out of Rosenkrüs, that's all that matters. [Well, that and Brad's apparent approval of what happens afterwards. Things get better. That's more than enough.

He does cast a somewhat bewildered look at the neighborhood around them, however.] ...this isn't the kind of place I'd expect us to end up. [Even at twelve, enough damage has been done that he feels out of place in cheery suburban surroundings.]

It's an amazingly temporary arrangement. [] Japan is dreadfully sickening in its own way, but it's not quite so abysmal. You seem not to mind it much. Not that it matters. []

[You keep puzzling Keane, Crawford, though he seems much more relaxed about this than Schuldig would be. Schuldig needles and questions; Keane trusts almost unreservedly as far as Brad is concerned. The possible reasons for this switch are known only to Crawford and Schuldig himself.] Japan? Really? What do we do there? [He's already resolved to take back as much knowledge of his future as he can.] Why doesn't it matter?

[] Japan because it's where Eszett finds us to be most effectively and fruitfully deployed. You'll enjoy it while it lasts.

...we work for Esset? [It's hard to tell what Keane thinks of that. Not because his face is hard to read, and certainly not because he's learned to hide his emotions yet - even if he had, he wouldn't from Brad - but because he seems conflicted. On the one hand, even after only two years, he hates Rosenkrüs and Esset and has harbored quietly seething fantasies of ripping them apart...on the other hand, Brad said he'd like this future. Does something change? Or is there something he doesn't know?]

...you keep talking like something's going to happen.

We do, after a fashion. It's convenient for some time. They provide a high level of utility for minimal deviation from our own objectives. You'll have to trust me on this one, Keane, but... it's worth dealing with them, in the end. We get to see the end of the world.

[Keane's mouth opens, then shuts without anything coming out of it. It's fairly early days for him yet in Rosenkrüs, long before he became Schuldig and developed an actively sadistic streak, and to him - or at least him as he is now - seeing the end of the world holds little appeal. He tries to think of a way to phrase the question properly before he eventually ventures it.] ...why do we want to see that? [Because it's clear that Brad is holding this up as some kind of reward.]

[] Because it's coming rather quickly, whether we like it or not. We'll see it from the position to weather it.

And... it's a long ten years.

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