[open: tw for blood, mind fuckery, suicidal ideation] I guess it's over now

[dr_awesome]

Before:

He just needed something fun. That's what he's been telling himself. After nights of various unpleasant dreams being hijacked by his friends, and then being forcibly shoved into everyone else's weird nightmares like a far less fun version of the Matrix, Watts needs a break. He's not helping Sans with his science. He's not trying to wander the castle and have conversations with people that more than likely are annoyed by him. He just... needs some stupid harmless fun.

And when there's no gaming consoles or wifi in the castle, you have to get a little creative.

Apparently, Neil's codes aren't completely useless in the castle. Sure, he can't reset memories, disable speech or taste, turn off his visibility, or even lure out mementos, but he still has some skill with manipulating data.

He's found a nice little private space in the lounge, and passersby may find him focusing very hard on a patch of air in front of him. Literally a patch, it seems to jut out from the rest of the air, shimmering and shuddering in front of Neil's hand. Eventually, it grows and morphs, changing colours... and in another instant, there's a tabby cat letting out a loud meow as it's suddenly dropped from the air back down to the ground.

"Haha, yes!" Neil gets down to his knees, scratching behind one of the cat's ears. The cat surveys him and lets out another mew.

"Hm... not exactly up to my usual standards, but I'll have to make do. Now, what else can I try..."

After:

Neil's still in the lounge... it's just that now there are more of them.

There seem to be a literal crowd of scientists slouching around the lounge, leaned back on couches, staring out windows, walking in place. They're all mumbling to each other, some of them more clear than others. One of them smiles at a double of himself as you walk past.

"Well, I suppose I had a good run."

The other stares back at him. "Not good enough, it seems."

There's one that has cornered another Neil against the wall, constantly slamming his fist into the doppleganger's gut. "It's how people blew off steam before FPS were invented," he reassures you with a grin.

Still more snippets can be heard if you push through the crowd. "We always succeed, because we're awesome." "The geezers just keep getting crazier..." "I'd be screwed either way."

In the center of the group is Neil. The real one, not buzzing in and out of existence in bursts of static, but... he still doesn't look good. He's curled up on himself, nails digging into the floor, feebly coughing and hacking as blood dribbles down his jaw and onto the collar of his shirt. A few copies of the same woman stand around him, looking down at him with the same mixture of annoyance and apathy.

"Tell me what you see." One says, holding out a pill bottle. She takes off the cap and holds it upside down. Nothing falls out.

"Shut... just shut up." Neil mutters hoarsely, and another one laughs, answering in his own voice.

"'Shut up' isn't my name, you know."

He tries to pull himself away from them, crawling along the floor.

"Why are you working so hard for this? 'All this trouble, just for some girl.' That's what I thought you'd say."

One of them finally turns to look at you, and moves so she can block Neil from view. "Get out. This ain't a movie and you're no hero. You're just being a moron."

There's more coughing from behind her, but Neil doesn't seem to be trying to move anymore. There's no point, is there? He's fucked up enough here already. And he didn't want to be here anyways...

"Why would you waste time like that?"

Yes, why would he? Being here isn't doing himself any good. He's not going to fix his machine, he's not going to make any advances... all he's doing is running out his clock.

Might as well let the batteries die a little early.

Comments

Everything is NOT all right.

[lightofthestars]

Tauriel turns quickly at that voice--but Sans is not here. This is meant to distract her, and she does not have the time.

She drops to her knees at Neil's side and puts a hand to his shoulder. He is pale, far too pale. "Neil, can you hear me?"

THAT'S NOT HOW THE SONG GOES

[dr_awesome]

He tries to speak, but is silenced by blood slipping back into his throat. He gurgles for a moment, forces himself to cough it up, and then turns out-of-focus eyes on her.

"Tauriel?" He's pretty sure that's her voice, anyways. She's too blurry to properly make out. His glasses are laying on the ground a bit away, one lens cracked. Another one of the women picks them up, musing to herself.

"You know, it's really hard to see your eyes when you wear these. I guess that's the point. Isn't that right... Dr. Lorenzo von Matterhorn?"

IT IS WHEN TAURIEL SINGS IT. NAID BAIN Ú VAER, NÍL. :|

[lightofthestars]

"Return that," she commands the spirit, then turns her attention back to Neil.

"How were you wounded?" Her speech is fast, but gentle all the same. "Is it safe for me to carry you?"

If he has broken bones, she will leave him where he lies and bring healing to him here. If not, she does not want him to be among these spirits any longer than he must.

okay but please imagine tauriel singing a cover of that song ;;

[dr_awesome]

The spirit doesn't listen to her, just continuing to spin them by one of the arms in her fingers.

"He has really nice eyes, you know. No one at school believed me. The most brilliant shade of green... he could have been brilliant. But he just cheated through his entrance exams. He loaded paperwork on me. He did nothing but coast through life! I mean, what's the point of caring?"

Her voice suddenly changes back to Neil's.

"'Not our client, not our problem.' 'It's not like he's real anyways.' 'Worse comes to worse, we can just reset.' Why would you waste time like that? Why would you waste time like this?"

He moves over to his other side, glaring down at him.

"You may as well just kick the bucket now. There's no point in you continuing on like this. You're useless to me."

Neil has his head turned to the side. He doesn't answer Tauriel.

...Don't make me translate the song. orz Also enjoy Tauriel telling the projection to fuck off.

[lightofthestars]

"Ego," she says sharply to the spirit as she rushes to her feet. She seizes the eye-glasses from the spirit, or tries to, then returns to Neil's side.

"I am going to move you now. If the pain becomes too great, tell me."

I won't MAKE you but you have to admit it'd be amazing.

[dr_awesome]

Neil doesn't know nearly as much Elvish as he should, but he does know the swears, as he's constantly relayed them to Eva between giggles when she was attempting to watch movies. Thinking on that makes a pair of data projections appear on the nearby couch. Neil is holding a bucket of popcorn over the side of the couch, away from Eva, nearly laying on top of him in her efforts to reach the snack.

"Stop cheaping out, you stupid owl!"

"I told you, Eva! No popcorn until you name ten characters."

"Easy. Dumbledore, Hairy Feet..."

Neil looks at Eva, now smirking at him with a look of pride. "Oh, ha ha. I meant real names."

"Fine, fine. Gandalf, Bilbo, Fili and Kili..."

The other projection is distracted by watching the two squabble, and so allows Tauriel to snatch the eyeglasses from between her fingers. Neil squints up at the elf, and slowly tries to nod, letting out a shaky breath.

"Y...yeah. Okay."

Yeah, I think it's happening tonight. :D;;

[lightofthestars]

She barely hears the speech behind her; even were she listening, she would hear no names she knows. All of her attention is upon Neil.

With the greatest care, she turns him upon his back. Her lips press together as the blood he has lost becomes easier to see.

He wears a long white coat, and so into it, she places his eye-glasses. Her fingers brush strange material and a too-smooth bottle, but she does not waste time wondering what they are.

"I am going to lift you now," she tells him, still speaking gently. If he does not protest, she will do so, then turn to leave the room.

[dr_awesome]

There is indeed a lot of blood. He must have been like this for a while, if the mess of glitches didn't make that obvious enough. The blood has leaked all over his right shoulder, staining it pink. And he may still be coughing up more... it's getting hard to tell for him, anyways. Everything is blurring in and out.

He doesn't protest to the movement, though, even if being picked up directs a spotlight in another corner of the room, highlighting one of the women dancing with another Neil. Occasionally, she asks in a very quiet voice: "Why are you doing this?"

He never answers.

[lightofthestars]

She pays no mind to the spirits. There is only one person worth her attention now, and that is the man in her arms.

Long strides take her from the room, and, she hopes, the spirits. Else she will need to find a way to banish them, and she does not have the time for that.

"How did you come to harm?" she asks again, still softly.

[dr_awesome]

The spirits don't follow, and seem to fade the farther away Neil gets from the lounge.

Her voice is soft, and it hurts to admit that he'll have to keep on lying to her. He avoids eye contact.

"'s nothing. Just... worked too hard."

"Neil Watts. Age: 29. Showing symptoms such as hemoptysis, head pains, difficulties breathing, and some difficulties with activity. Possible case of-"

"God, will you just shut up already?" Neil silences his doppelganger before launching into another coughing fit.

[lightofthestars]

Her frown returns when he speaks. "Neil, I am no fool. You are plainly--"

A gasp escapes her, cutting off her words, when she hears just how young he truly is. He is a human, so she does not think he is a child, but he must be newly of age.

"Lie still," she tells him, her voice still gentler than before. "Where is your room?"

[dr_awesome]

He has no idea what shocks her so intensely, but he doesn't have time to figure that out, because suddenly, she's even quieter, and he has to strain to hear her. He obeys her, staying as still as possible, but he does nod his head over to the right.

"Down at the end of the hall."

[lightofthestars]

"Tell me if I am moving too quickly," she says, and begins to walk as swiftly as she can.

It is plain she does not have much time, but she also cannot chance making him worse through being careless.

[dr_awesome]

"It's... 's fine."

"White lie," an Eva quietly says as she hurries along beside him. "That's what you call it, right?"

Neil doesn't even have the strength to talk back to them anymore, just shivering as his eyes start to droop closed.

"God... think I'm gonna... pass out."

[lightofthestars]

She slips a look to the spirit, but says nothing. This one seems helpful, and so she will let it be. She will also slow her steps a small amount.

...Though keeping to the slower pace is difficult when Neil next speaks.

"Stay awake," she tells him, trying to sound as calm as she can. "If you need, I will speak and you can listen for my voice."

[dr_awesome]

It's not just helpful. As it walks beside them, it keeps shooting worried looks over to Neil, hands curled in fists by her sides.

Neil just gives a nod. He's too tired to talk, but he might be able to listen. Tauriel can say whatever she wants to say, and he can put up with it.

The spirit chuckles softly. "Wow. I think this is the first time I've heard him at a loss for words. He never keeps his mouth shut, not even when he flubbed his lines in that school play."

[lightofthestars]

Tauriel pays little attention to the spirit. As long as it is not harming Neil, she will let it be.

"We are soon to reach your room. When we do, I will lay you down upon your bed and check you for wounds. Once I know what has caused you this harm, I will fetch herbs from Grune's garden. She has been letting me grow healing plants there, which is very kind of her. I have found some in my time here, though I have yet to discover athelas."

And that is something that worries her, for its need seems to grow by the day.

[dr_awesome]

"I don't think you'll find the wounds. This isn't something external. It's... something he's been dealing with for a long time. He just won't tell anyone." The projection laughs again, but this time, she sounds sad and bitter. "He won't even tell me."

"Dammit... Eva..." Neil tries to look for her, but his head is spinning too much, so he just gives up. They'll be in his room soon. That's what matters.

[lightofthestars]

As she carefully opens the door (it is difficult while still holding Neil), she asks him, "Is that true, Neil?"

Wounds she can cure. Sickness of the body--that is far harder.

[dr_awesome]

There's a long moment of hesitation, but then Neil nods, keeping his eyes closed so he doesn't have to see Tauriel's reaction.

[lightofthestars]

She draws in a breath as she feels something drop within her. When she speaks, however, all she says is, "I see."

Once inside his room, it takes her little time to reach his bed and lay him upon it. She spares a moment to remove his shoes, then comes to stand next to Neil's head.

"I am going to seek out what I can to ease your coughing and your pain. I will be back as quickly as I can."

Though she is unsure, she looks to the spirit of the woman who has stayed with them. "Will you keep talking to him?"

[dr_awesome]

That's... not a good response. Neil can tell that much, even as dazed as he is. He wants to apologize, but that will just have to wait until she gets him some herbs and he's made up for the blood he's lost.

As for the woman, she kneels down next to the bed, looking up at Tauriel.

"As long as he's conscious, I'll be here. It's my job to look after this stupid owl."

She says that with more affection than annoyance.

[lightofthestars]

Tauriel nods. "Be kind to him, else I will find a way to banish you."

She sets a hand upon Neil's forehead, then brushes aside his hair. "Stay awake, mellon."

She turns to leave, moving quickly. It is not until after she has left the room and passed beyond she thinks must be the hearing of a human that she begins to run.

[dr_awesome]

'Mellon'. Probably an offhanded figure of speech for her, but for someone like him, who knows parts of her language... it's life-changing. For all his effort, for all his attempts to look like an asshole, to push people away... he was being called a friend.

He doesn't pass out while she's gone, too in shock to do so. He just stares up at the ceiling, hands shaking for entirely different reason besides illness now.

[lightofthestars]

She returns slower than she would like, carrying a tray upon which sits two tea pots and two cups. There are also two squares of soft cloth folded upon the tray, a bar of soap, and a basin of water.

"Neil, I am coming in," she calls before entering.