[Nexus] Remnant III

[Devixer]

[Interrogation Room]

"You're mind is deteriorating," Iamar says, not bothering to sugarcoat anything. "You are becoming angrier and more insane. We can stop the process before your mind is lost, but I'm afraid we are unable to reverse it."

[happyturtle]

Spoiler

Show

Missy's Place 1.0

About an hour into the film, Magtok sighs again, pulling his eyes away from his left wrist. Seems he's been updated on the goings-on down at the MagCave again.

"Missy, I need a favor. A month or so from now, exactly four human supremacists are going to act up. They'll have all been reported as missing or dead previously, around this date and time. Decapitated, I think? I don't know the details yet. Anyways, they'll come back and make a decent effort of looking like they want to hurt people, but it'll all be an act, a well-staged and frightening lie."

Magtok focuses intently on the movie and away from Missy, knowing she's going to ask questions, and with no clue whatsoever how he's going to deal with them.

"I need the four MagClones, because that's what these people will be when they return, dead. Shot dead, arrested and then executed, forced to shoot themselves dead, it doesn't matter. Everyone has to believe those four were resurrected or something, that they were exactly who they appeared to be, and the only way for that to happen is if they die like filthy terrorists."

Missy's Place 1.0

"What?" Missy's neural net is running fast, trying to work out in what sort of scenario this can possibly make sense. "Wait, what? Why? What? No, I'm not helping you suicide four of you. Why would you do that? WHY?"

[Lost_Deep]

Interrogation Room

Terral silently approves of Iamar's straightforward approach. Sugar coating does not make a medical emergency any better. "Except for the 'we' part, yes. However, it's obviously a matter of importance for this to be done immediately. I would recommend you do some research and choose a location for possible treatment, I'm going to try and get permission for you to be let out and go get treatment."

[happyturtle]

Jyarl's Place

Jyarl was scared.

He couldn't remember how long it had been since he'd ever been personally afraid of anything. He'd feared for the men under his command, and lately (a lot lately) he'd feared for Jefferies. But for himself? Pain could be dulled with enough drugs, and death held no more secrets from him. What was there to be afraid of?

Still something more, it turned out. Whatever had just happened with Halifax had been more than just sex. He'd opened himself up to her, and she'd seen signs of the young man he'd been many years and worlds ago. He'd thought the spoiled noble heir had been killed in the Penal Legions, replaced by the cold and strong soldier he'd become in the Emperor's service.

What if he couldn't close down again? Had he lost his edge? Would he always have to rely on others now?

The warmth of Halifax's body in his arms steadied him a little. He remembered that when he first became aware of her, he had wondered what had possessed Vasquez to choose her for Mortal Coil. She was soft, emotionally open, hated to kill. Everything Jyarl wasn't. He'd seen her type before. She was the kind of soldier who got people around her killed because her "morals" held her back. So Jyarl had believed. After he'd served with her, he'd grudgingly come to realize that she didn't hesitate on the battlefield, even if she went all angsty before and after. He couldn't respect her as a person, but he could trust her as a soldier. That was the beginning and the end of their relationship, until the tenement fire changed everything.

He'd seen her run into a burning building, unprotected and unequipped. She'd had no way to personally rescue anyone. All she'd carried with her was a set of eyes that could talk to the tactical net and direct the firebugs as they worked. He'd been furious with her for disobeying orders, but more so for being there with his brother. He'd even briefly considered putting her on report for insubordination, but he'd known how that would go. Vasquez would have pointed out first, that Halifax wasn't in his chain of command, and second, that her actions had saved lives.

After that, most of his time was occupied with the sudden acquisition of a daughter, and it hadn't taken him long to realize he was in way over his head.

He needed help. And he knew one soldier who was soft and emotionally open, willing to put her life on the line for her duty, and rumor had it, had once had a child. If it allowed him to keep tabs on Halifax and make sure his brother wasn't insinuating himself into Remnant through a romantic attachment, that only added to his motivation.

The prattle of Jefferies' voice coming from the bedroom broke his reverie. He couldn't make out what she was saying, but he felt Missy chuckle. "Gorgutz was chewing on Master Chief's wing. Jefferies is demanding that he apologize," she said. Jyarl laughed as well. While Missy tried to straighten her disheveled hair, he kissed her bare shoulder and replaced a fallen dress strap.

"Will you stay tonight?" he murmured. It was frightening, feeling so vulnerable, but he didn't want to be alone tonight. He wanted to feel he still had something, after losing everything.

Jefferies padded into the room and climbed up onto the sofa, squeezing between Jyarl and Missy, but wrapping her little arms around Jyarl. His heart swelled. No, he hadn't lost everything. If he had lost the coldness he'd valued so much, he had certainly been compensated richly.

Missy leaned in to give Jefferies a kiss on the temple, and then looked up at Jyarl with more warmth and tenderness than he'd ever seen in a woman's eyes before.

"I'll stay."

[Lord Magtok]

Missy's Place 1.0

Magtok backpedals and flinches away. Crap, he shouldn't have even mentioned anything. Should've just gone ahead with things and kept the identity of those Mag-Cultists a secret from everyone. Too late now, but at least you can try to avoid disclosing any more than you already have.

"Nevermind, then. Forget it, I just...nevermind."

He's still going to go ahead with the plan, of course. I mean, Cassius won't make for a very good hero if he still thinks he has blood on his hands, and magically resurrecting the supremacists is both too expensive and entirely too dangerous. Besides, in the grand scheme of things, what's four more dead Magtoks?

[happyturtle]

Missy's Place 1.0

"No, I will NOT drop it! Out with it. Now."

[Lord Magtok]

Missy's Place 1.0

Gods, this is looking like the Vasquez incident all over again. Magtok just doesn't seem to know when to shut up and keep things secret. Looks like there's no other option but to come clean, I guess. Magtok takes a deep breath, and hopes against hope that the details of this conversation never leave this room.

"Fine. Cassius...he must've taken the death hard, because there's four disembodied cultist heads in his possession now. If it were me who'd killed them, or Pat, or almost anyone else, that'd be the end of it, and they'd be buried somewhere in an unmarked grave or put in a furnace, but the poor kid actually feels bad about it. He wants me to bring them back, let their hateful lives kill themselves off, instead of him doing the job personally. Wash the blood off his hands and go back to being a good guy. Show more mercy than human supremacists deserve, really.

I can't make memories just reappear, though. Entropy and decay set in immediately; a brain loses almost everything of value in minutes, so those heads aren't of any use to me. Clones of those dead cultists are either going to be as bright as newborns, or full of MagThoughts, one or the other, and the idiot babies option is no option if I want him to believe those scumbags aren't gone. I can't very well just let the cultists go with a free magical resurrection either, given what they'll do and the things they'll remember, so the only option is impersonating the dead just long enough that Cass's conscience can feel clear again.

The alternative is a dark spot in the back of my son's mind, the sort of guilty secret that leads to otherwise good people wallowing in hate and despair, before eventually giving up on themselves and becoming a scumbag like me. I want better for him than that, and if I have to lie and get my hands dirty to scrub the blood off his own, so be it. It's four clones, it's nothing, and they wouldn't want to be trapped in cultist bodies for long anyways."

[happyturtle]

Missy's Place

Missy tries to hear him out and give him a chance to come up with some sort of rationale that makes sense.

This is not it.

She sighs and shakes her head a little. This whole thing was just so... so... Maggy.

"Magtok, one day Cassius will learn that you can't make a functioning clone out of a dead body, and then he'll realize that he killed four cultists and four of you."

[Lord Magtok]

Missy's Place

The cyborg frowns.

"I already considered that. There's a chance he won't find out, though. Good odds he'll forget all about those cultists if we iron out the ugly details for him. It's either that, or I tell him I won't help, he goes to some cleric to do the job instead, and we have four rogue terrorists on the loose. We can do that, I guess, but do you really want to take responsibility for whatever they might do before Rem catches up with them?"

Magtok reaches for the remote to pause the movie, having forgotten all about it. With the sort of mood they're both in now, it's unlikely it'll be unpaused later, but such a thing doesn't even occur to Maggy.

"If he finds out and confronts me, I'll just...just be a jerk about it. Convince him to disown me or something. Get him to focus on me as the bad guy of this story, and not himself. He has potential, Missy; he can be better than I ever was. A bona fide hero. Just once I'd like to be able to call something my own, without it turning to ****, and unless you're willing to risk whatever damage four reborn Charlie cultists might do, we really have no other option."

[happyturtle]

Missy's Place

Missy sits for a minute, just blinking at him. Finally she gets up, grabs the keys off the hook near the door and tosses them to Magtok.

"Okay. Make yourself at home. There's food in the kitchen, clean sheets in the closet, and I'm sure you can figure out how to work the X-box. I'll probably be back tomorrow."

And unless he stops her, she's walking right out the door and leaving the base.

[Lord Magtok]

Missy's Place

"What? What are you...what?"

The hell is she doing? Why? Where?! Should he do something, or is this for the best? It could just be a harmless trip to say hi to that orc girl, it could be any number of things, including Why isn't he being told what she intends to do? Aaugh, this must be what it feels like to be Missy as of a few minutes ago!

The door is closed before Magtok can bring himself to get up and go after her. Looks like that's it, I guess. Best to just sit back down and see how this plays out, right?

Wrong. Magtok glances at his wrist for a quick MagCave news update, grabs the keys, and heads for the door. He's not quite sure whether to lock it behind himself, though. On the one hand, it's a secure military installation and everyone here is one big awful fascist family, locking the door will slow him down, and trapping Missy out of her own home would probably get him punched in the throat. On the other hand, she gave him her keys; whatever happens from here on out is her fault. Locking it would be the polite thing to do, and what she wanted.

"Missy, wait! Whatever you're doing, let's think first. Please!"

No way of knowing if she's still in earshot. She had a headstart, but she might've squandered it by walking away, instead of rushing out in a stupid panic like Maggy did.

[happyturtle]

Missy's Place >> Base >> Exit

Magtok can see Missy ahead of him. Shouldn't be too hard to catch up to her. She's standing still and all.

Oh wait, she just vanished.

She had to call in twelve kinds of favours and spend half a paycheck to get a teleport out of Remnant for personal business, but it was that important to her. She wasn't going to let Magtok ruin his relationship with his son over this.

---

1

Entrance >> Missy's Place

And some time later, Missy returns, full of guilt for making things worse. She's walking along staring at her feet and fumbling for her keys when...

.... oh ****, she'd left her keys here, hadn't she? With a different MagClone. Oh Prophet, please let him be gone, please let him be gone, I'll break in through a window, just don't make me have to face him after what I did.

[Lord Magtok]

Missy's Front Door

Oh, look! Someone's stuck something to your door, Halifax! It looks like a note!

Hi Missy. Keys are under the mat. If you didn't have a mat, you have one now. Doorknob has a small sensor on it, too. If you're not Missy and try to open the door, you'll be electrocuted. Non-lethally, of course, but it'll sting like hell, and you might have undiagnosed heart problems you don't know of, and this could really screw you up, so don't try it. Repeated doorknob-grabs are a bad idea too, for obvious reasons.

...Oh crap, do you have cleaning people come here? I hope they're literate, or their shift isn't until way later, or this is going to implicate the hell out of me for assault later. Any friends of Missy reading this, please just hang on. She'll be back soon, so don't electrocute yourselves needlessly. Seriously, don't.

-Magtok

PS: After you open the door, the sensor will just wither away. And I'm not mad, but if it's alright with you, I'd rather not have anything to do with you or anything to do with you for at least a month or so. Maybe longer. Too soon to tell. I'm sorry.

[happyturtle]

Missy's Front Door

Missy reads the note and nearly bursts into tears. It's just so very Maggy, and that just drives home how badly she'd betrayed him. And she couldn't try to stay away from him for a month, because she'd see him tomorrow morning, but after that, yes. She'd do her best to respect his wishes.

She looks for the keys and lets herself in without checking anything, simply assuming that the 'melt away sensor' thing was just a bluff on Magtok's part. Sometimes she doesn't know him as well as she thinks he does, because her player figure the sensor thing is entirely true.

Once inside, she packs an overnight bag and heads over to Jyarl's. Partly because she promised to talk to Jyarl about Cassius and keeping him safe, but mostly because she needed to see Jefferies and make sure she was safe and happy and protected, and knowing that one day she'd be in Magtok's place. That one day Jefferies would be able make her own choices, and she'd be unable to protect her then.

[The Bushranger]

[Rec Center]

Eileen, after the betting pool crowd dispersed, fetched herself a cup of coffee, and, blearily, sat on the countertop in the small preparation area next to the coffeemaker, warming her hands on the cup.

And glancing torwards the liquor cabinet...

[happyturtle]

Jyarl's Place

Missy feels better after laying on the floor with Jefferies and Jyarl for an hour playing out mock battles with fashion dolls repurposed as soldiers, Master Chief the plush beargon, and a swarm of painted pistachio shells that Jefferies told them were zombie beetles.

But after Jefferies is in bed, Jyarl pulls Missy into his lap facing him so he can see her expression. "Okay, Halifax. What's going on?" he asks with a frown and suspicion in his voice.

Missy closes her eyes and sighs. He'll see the indecision play across her features before she decides to just tell him everything. "Magtok's son went a little crazy after the assassination. He tracked down four of the cultists, murdered them, and brought back their heads. Then he came to his senses and decided he needed to turn himself in."

"I tried to talk him out of it. Told him I'd just drop the investigation into 'unsolved cases' and be done with it. But he's determined to do penance for his crimes. So he's coming to turn himself in tomorrow, and he'll be one of yours."

Missy looks down. She doesn't know how Jyarl will react to her to the part where she'd offered to break the law to keep Cassius out of the Penal Company. She could have told the story without that confession, but it didn't feel right to keep secrets from her ... lover? boyfriend? co-parent? Whatever she and Jyarl were to each other, she wanted there to be truth between them.

"He got four of the ****? Good for him." Jyarl growls, giving a glance towards Jefferies room. He had particular reason to hate Charlie's Family. "Think I should start him off with a fireteam?" Then he thinks about it. "Nah, not if he went squeamish afterwards."

Missy relaxes a little now that the worst was past and meets Jyarl's eyes again. "He's one of the good guys, Jyarl. Loves his parents, wants to do the right thing, insists on taking responsibility for his actions. I... I promised Magtok that I'd talk to you, call in as many favours as it takes for you to try to keep him safe. I know you can't treat him any differently than the other offenders, but if you could make sure his company isn't sent on any obvious suicide missions? Would you be willing to do that?"

Jyarl gives her a light kiss. "For you, yes. For someone who made the city safer by ridding it of a few terrorists, also yes." He shakes his head. "Shame about the paladin complex. I know Vasquez wants us to be shining white knights, but sometimes you just have to fight dirty."

"So you aren't disappointed in me for offering to let him run?"

"Course not." Jyarl says. He runs his hand along her spine, and then gives her a sidelong look. "So... you and Magtok?" he asks carefully. He's aware that he's made no commitments to her, and so he doesn't have any right to ask. But Halifax was far too good for that stupid, vainglorious cyborg.

"Just friends," Missy says. "Very good friends, at least until all this happened. Now I'm not sure he wants to ever speak to me again."

"Very good friends?" Jyarl asks with a raised eyebrow. "How good."

Missy rolls her eyes. "No, we never slept together. We went on a few dates, some months back. But he was there for me when I had my heart surgery, and again when I went to see my son. That's what I mean by very good friend."

Jyarl nods slightly, with a small frown, unsettled. It shouldn't matter to him, that Halifax has another good friend. Finally he realizes - it was the heart surgery. He should have sent a note, gone to visit her - something. He hadn't really known her then, but their lives had intersected at the fire. He shouldn't have ignored that.

"Tomorrow, huh?"

"I'm meeting him at the station at dawn. I'll put him in holding, then come swap Jefferies duty with you so you can go and do the admission stuff."

"I'll look out for the kid," Jyarl says. "I won't go easy on him, but I'll try to keep him alive."

"Thank you," Missy says, and rewards him with a kiss.

---

1



Rec Centre

"Dont. Even. Think about it." says a voice from behind Eileen. If she turns, she'll see PFC Tracey Elton, a lanky redhead wearing high heels and a scandalously short dress.

[The Bushranger]

Rec Centre

Eileen's eyebrow arches to nearly 'levitating' level, as she turns, and looks over the red-headed figure behind her. "...and let me guess, you're the person who drew the short straw when the Commander said she needed a voluenteer to be my mother hen?" the Nordic blonde asks, then chuckles. "Thanks. And aren't you out of uniform?"

[happyturtle]

Rec Centre

"You know how it goes in the marines. 'I need three volunteers. You, you, and you... get moving.'" Tracey says. "And anyway, my uniform is at the cleaners and plus it doesn't show off my legs. I'm Tracey Elton."

[The Bushranger]

[Rec Centre]

"'Never voluenteer for anything'...because you're going to get voluenteered." Eileen chuckles darkly, before offering her hand for shaking. "Eileen Thorsson, one-time holy crusader-then-hotelier-then-Remnant fire-putter-outer," she introduces herself fully.

[happyturtle]

Rec Centre

"I'm just a grunt. I imagine I got volunteered because of my past. Alcohol, cocaine, morphine... you name it, I did it. So I'm proof that you can blah blah insert pep talk here." Tracey says. "Anyway, the less you spend on liquor the more you have for shopping. Shoes, not booze. Remember that. It's an important life lesson."

[The Bushranger]

Rec Centre

"Ouch. And hey, my shoes are just fine, thanks." Eileen chuckles, motioning to her combat boots, but nods. "Just so you know, I'll try not to be too trying but I can get on peoples' nerves in a hurry. So You've Been Warned."

[happyturtle]

Rec Centre

Tracey gives Eileen's boots a look that can only be described as pure contempt, and then shakes her head. "Yes, yes, I have been warned. You haven't been though, so you can just quake in fear of the unknown. So you want a 24/7 babysitter, or just someone checking in on you? If the first, you're couch surfing at my place, because no way am I giving up my waterbed."

[The Bushranger]

[Rec Centre]

"Well, to be honest...at least at first it might be a good idea, if your sofa isn't too uncomfortable, to be watched over. Because I haven't disposed of my under-sink cabinet-stash yet," Eileen admits, running a hand through her short blonde hair. "It wouldn't be anything long-term though, don't worry. I just need help getting started."

[happyturtle]

Rec Centre

"Right then. First stop, your place. You'll want to pack a bag, and I'll want to execute an unlawful search without a warrant followed by destruction of property." Tracey says. "Lead the way."

[happyturtle]

Vas's Office

"I can't believe you're leaving me in charge."

"Alice, you've been pushing me to take a vacation for months."

"I know, but why me? There have to be dozens of people more qualified! I'm barely proficient with the rifle!"

"This base is full of people who can shoot well. What I need is someone to hold everything together. You know the Council. You know the soldiers. You know what they can do. Just point them where they need to go."

"Vas, can't you see I'm terrified?"

Vasquez gave Delisle a hug. "If you weren't, you'd be too stupid to hold the job."

"I don't care how much sex you're having, if there's an emergency, I'm calling you in," Delisle mutters.

---

1

Gus was waiting outside with their bags, brimming with excitement. He had learned about the tropical island resort and planned the trip once he discovered their speciality. They employed a temporal mage who could use time loops to allow all sorts of kinky shenanigans: Making out with yourself. Having a threesome or foursome while remaining monogamous. Or for their purposes, allowing Gus and Jake to meet face to face for the first time.

Jakey was in on the secret. Vasquez was not.

Gus slid an arm around Vasquez and dipped her low for a passionate kiss, to the cheers of a few soldiers nearby.

"My love, this is going to be a holiday you never forget," Gus promised.

They intended to show her a hell of a time.

((Written with Wolfy's approval. While he's away, Alice is running Remnant IC, while OOC it's being run by me, Morty, Teru, and Ghar.))

[Mindfreak]

Interrogation Room
Hunter thinks.
"So...I could go to GLoG...Elexxion...Dave's Clinic...what was that hospital you said I could go to again?"
He liked hospitals.
They had good food there!
((Least at the one I went to had good food. They had the BEST lemon squares *Q*))

[Devixer]

[Interrogation Room]

"The Never Lose Hope Hospital. It is here in Inside," Iamar says. At least she thinks it is. Might have changed since she saw it.

[Lost_Deep]

Interrogation Room

"Actually, I did some research and there was a disaster a while back and some people went insane? I think the current top-notch hospital is the Lots of Hope Hospital."

Honestly, this isn't surprising. Hospitals and asylums are the biggest candidates for sudden horrorfests in the nexus.

[Mindfreak]

Interrogation Room
"Who runs the Lots of Hope Hospital?"
And who runs it Player-wise?

[Devixer]

[Interrogation Room]

Iamar falls silent once more. She had not known about this incident, so she obviously doesn't know anything about the Lots of Hope hospital.