sixth_attack: (Fading away)
Sechs ([personal profile] sixth_attack) wrote in [community profile] damned_city2014-01-06 07:44 pm
Entry tags:

Night 74: Night, Farwell

Who: Sechs, Marc
Where: Sector #4, Courthouse
Summary: Having met his demise in the underground coliseum, Sechs awakens to find himself severally injured but alive within the rebel city of Farwell. At last, after all the agonizing weeks he had experienced within the institute's walls, Sechs had finally escaped...



For an artificially born Replica, cloned from another and destined for disposal, living in the world for just a little over two years rarely gave one time to ponder questions regarding the afterlife. Sechs wasn't ignorant about death of course, having been acquainted with it many times as a thrill-seeking battle android. Yet he always escaped any true intimacy with it -- at least, that was until now.

The last choice Sechs thought he would ever make in his short life came so suddenly, so abruptly with little thought, he did not have time to fear what exactly it meant to die. He lost track of when it began, of when it ended. It was like falling asleep after a very long and difficult day, but with no recollection of getting into bed in the first place. All the pain and troubles drained away with the fleeting light into the endless abyss. Memories and faces which once flooded his vision slowly fell back behind a thick unseeing curtain. Sechs was free from his agony, but he was no longer conscious to grasp the peace which followed its absence. There was nothing left. It was over.

...

...But it wasn't over, was it? Something about this state of unconscious eternity was changing, like it was regaining awareness and a sense of time. That wasn't supposed to happen, right? Was this death? Or was this sleep?

The answer to that question came in the form of pain, an ache which grew with intensity while adding unbearable seconds to what was supposed to be a timeless existence. Sechs couldn't rest any longer, his awareness was forced to flounder in the pitch darkness until it broke through the thick surface of the subconscious. With an internal gasp he regained connection with his lost body.

Sechs woke up.

Opening his eyes for what felt like the first time in his existence, Sechs was met by a blurry palette of evening tones and architectural decay. He was on his back, laying on something soft in what appeared to be an expansive space, and the pain which wouldn't let him rest was emanating from his lower torso. He remained still, unable to believe his groggy senses. All Sechs could do was mutter the first thing that came to mind. "Dead... Am... Am I dead?"
damned_rebel: (with a cause)

[personal profile] damned_rebel 2014-01-07 02:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Marc was seated in the corner of the makeshift infirmary room, and he'd been there for some time.

This was the first person they'd picked up in a while, sweeping in to collect the corpse from the morgue like they'd done with a few of the other patients already. Granted, Marc hadn't been able to go, as Landel had special eyes looking out for him, but at least he had some help these days. Capable people who were making things happen.

For once, things were looking up. They'd completely disabled the equipment needed for Special Counseling and had even set up a teleporter so that patients could more easily find their way to Farwell.

Sechs here, though... he'd done it the old-fashioned way.

At this point Marc figured the least he could do was explain things in person, and so he'd set himself up in the infirmary, a small lantern placed nearby so that he could at least read something while he waited. Sechs' voice drew him away from the text on the page and Marc craned his neck up, looking over at the prone form on one of the cots.

"Not quite," he said as he pushed up to his feet to step closer. "You were, though."
damned_rebel: (listening)

[personal profile] damned_rebel 2014-01-08 04:45 am (UTC)(link)
No one was going to be able to accept that they were back from the dead all that easily, Marc knew. Between that and the intense pain that Sechs had to be in, it was no surprise that he was so out of it. Still, Marc was willing to be patient, and so he gave him a chance to try and take in what was around him.

When Sechs tried to sit up, Marc hissed through his teeth, a sound borne from sympathy pain. He was crazy to be trying to move around right now. The last time a group of patients had woken up here injured and back from the dead, one of them had been able to heal himself and the others. But Sechs was on his own...

At least he had the brains to realize he needed to lay back down. Marc could easily handle the rest.

"You're in a place called Farwell. It's a city outside of Landel's, over the mountain range. It's where we rebels are holed up for the moment," he explained. And well, the next part was the most exciting bit, so he was grinning as he said it. "Me? The name's Marc."

In reality, there could be a whole range of responses to that, but he was hopeful.
damned_rebel: (thinking it over)

[personal profile] damned_rebel 2014-01-09 03:21 pm (UTC)(link)
So Sechs had already heard about this place. That was interesting. It seemed that some of their visitors had gone back to spread the word, which was exactly what Marc had been hoping for. It was true that this was the least ideal way to arrive in this place, but they were just going to have to make the best of it.

When asked about his identity, Marc only nodded, waiting at the proverbial edge of his seat for some greater reaction. In the end, it was pretty muted, most likely because Sechs didn't have the energy to hold any strong feelings right now either way.

Marc was used to not being trusted, though, and he huffed out a laugh and held his hands up, placating.

"Believe me, I get it. Kind of hard to trust a shadowy voice, but it was the only option I had." Speaking of which, he'd been planning to make a transmission tonight, but that might be derailed by dealing with Sechs here.

Still, Sechs was willing to work with them, and that was what mattered. Marc grabbed for the chair he'd been sitting in and dragged it closer to the cot, sitting in it backwards. "All right, ask away. Just... make sure you take it easy when you do." Sechs' wounds were bad, and moving around too much could run the risk of him bleeding out.
damned_rebel: (uncertainty)

[personal profile] damned_rebel 2014-01-12 03:26 am (UTC)(link)
Marc watched as Sechs shifted around, trying to feel at his back. It wasn't that surprising, considering where he'd been injured, but it made Marc nervous to see him moving even that small amount.

He held back, though, relieved to see that Sechs was able to move his legs. When they'd brought his body back, the others had expressed concern that he wouldn't be able to walk, but it looked like he'd gotten lucky.

The question Sechs eventually came out with didn't make that much sense, but Marc just shrugged. "It's... a little after eleven PM."

He let out a small chuckle. "You know, we thought with the damage to your spine, you might be in pretty bad shape... which, well, let's just say it could have been a lot worse. Might be a while before you can walk around, though."
damned_rebel: (things aren't so bad!)

[personal profile] damned_rebel 2014-01-13 12:39 am (UTC)(link)
Marc hadn't seen Sechs' coprse before he'd revived, but he'd listened to the report given by one of those who'd retrieved him, so he'd been told about the scars. He just hadn't been sold on the idea of bringing it up, not wanting to touch on a subject that might be sensitive, especially when Sechs was already in a pretty bad state physically.

As it turned out, though, he got an explanation anyway. Just as he'd suspected, those scars were a result of one of those CM-US sessions. Marc let out a low sigh and dragged his hand down his mouth. A lot of the patients had already been victim to that, and from the sound of it, Sechs' had been quite the doozy.

Marc couldn't really imagine what it was like to be injected with something that spoke to you. It didn't sound possible, but Landel's was all about trying out the bizarre and potentially dangerous, so he shouldn't really be surprised.

But somehow, the damage that was done to Sechs' spine during his death had actually helped to silence the voice, which was good news.

"Looks like there's a silver lining to all this, then," Marc said with a smile of his own. "We'll try to take care of you as best you can until you're healed up. We don't really have magic on our side, which means you're gonna have to do it the old-fashioned way," he said apologetically.
damned_rebel: (staredown)

[personal profile] damned_rebel 2014-01-14 02:57 pm (UTC)(link)
So far, this Sechs guy had some pretty strange requests. He seemed more concerned with his spine than anything else going on, though considering that injury had almost killed him, Marc couldn't judge too much.

If Sechs' back really got that cold, then a heating pad should do the job in offering him some relief. Marc was going to have to go dig one out of the supply room. As for electricity, they obviously had enough to keep this place running. Marc saw to it that they saved energy as much as they could, but seeing how it was the middle of the night, most of the lights were off. Plugging in one heating pad shouldn't be a big deal.

He nodded and stood up out of his chair, ready to go in search of a heating pad, but that was when Sechs suddenly called out.

Marc's back straightened, instincts sending him into panic mode for a second before Sechs explained. Right, he was worried about his friends, the ones who'd seen him die...

"Well, normal transmission radios can't reach all the way back to the institute," he said uncertainly. "The only thing I can do is make a broadcast to all the radios, which means everyone would be hearing it. I could slip a message in there that you're all right, if that's what you want." Marc had been planning to make an announcement anyway, so it wouldn't be a big deal to add that tidbit of information to the end of his broadcast.
damned_rebel: (thinking it over)

[personal profile] damned_rebel 2014-01-15 03:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Marc could understand why Sechs was so anxious. It was natural to want his friends out here with him, but when the only way he knew of to get here was by dying, well, it didn't leave a lot of options.

Thankfully, Marc and his rebel group had foreseen that problem. The only other way had been going through the caverns, which was a mess all on its own from what Marc had heard. Which was why they'd decided to open up another way.

"Actually, there is something," he said, smirking the way someone did when they had a secret. Not that he held onto it for very long.

"A few of my people snuck in the other night. On top of sabotaging the equipment Landel uses to induce Special Counseling, we also set up a teleporter to bring people here to Farwell. I was going to mention that in my radio broadcast too."

So if Sechs' friends wanted to come and rough it out here, they would certainly be able to.
damned_rebel: (with a cause)

[personal profile] damned_rebel 2014-01-16 02:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Marc smirked triumphantly at the mention of Landel throwing some kind of fit. Yes, Marc had harbored Landel for the time when the military had taken over the institute, but he had only done so because he'd had no choice. He'd still been recovering from his injuries at the time, and there hadn't been any way for him to take the Head Doctor out.

That was something he was trying to make up for now, and they were finally getting somewhere. It was good to hear that Sechs was on board -- once he'd healed, anyway.

"A few people have passed through here, though most of them have moved on by now. We've got Byrne here still, but Sora and Locke both headed back to the institute. Claude, Guy, and Anise also passed through, and we gave them something that should help disable Landel."

Those were all the recent arrivals. "Other than that? We've had a few. But the people who were brainwashed are lost to us for right now. Who are you looking for? I can let you know if I've seen them."
damned_rebel: (bad news)

[personal profile] damned_rebel 2014-01-17 05:22 pm (UTC)(link)
So Sora was out there spreading the news. That was good. Marc hadn't spoken to the boy himself, but he'd heard about him from some of the others, and he sounded like a spunky kid.

But as Sechs went ahead with his explanation, offering up physical descriptions and then a list of names, Marc found that he couldn't really help him. Most of them didn't ring a bell, save for one, and even then he didn't have any helpful news.

He let out a sigh, leaning against the doorway with his head bowed slightly. "Well, your friend Alita is definitely out in this world somewhere. Once Landel's disabled, she should snap out of it.

"The others are probably in the same situation, but I can't say for sure." Some of them may have been killed in the institute. He just didn't know. "I met Utena once, back when I first arrived in Doyleton, but I haven't seen her since then."

Sechs was just going to have to believe that they were all right, and that they would come back here once the brainwashing had been undone.
damned_rebel: (looking away)

[personal profile] damned_rebel 2014-01-20 07:00 am (UTC)(link)
Marc would guess that most of the people who had been brainwashed were going to be pissed when they snapped out of it, and he had to admit that the thought of them all storming the institute in a rightful rage was something he'd daydreamed about a few times.

While he wished that he could give Sechs some more concrete answers about his friends, that was all he had. He wasn't even sure about the fates of those who died in the institute. He got the feeling that they were gone for good, or made into leftovers -- which he had no intention of bringing up right now, no sirree.

It looked like this little Q and A session wasn't over just yet, though. He hadn't expected Lydia to be brought up, and without even realizing it, a smile formed on his lips.

"You found that, huh? Well, don't worry too much about her. Lydia knows what she's doing. She's smart and she got away from that maniac. She's way off the grid now -- it wasn't safe for her to be here. I don't even know where she is, but I'm pretty confident she's just fine." Besides, she had Harrington with her.

Marc pushed off of the door frame and started to turn away. "Anyway, let me go grab that heating pad for you. I'll be right back." And with that, he disappeared into the dark hallway.
damned_rebel: (thinking it over)

[personal profile] damned_rebel 2014-01-21 04:56 pm (UTC)(link)
It did take some time for Marc to dig out a heating pad. That wasn't the sort of thing they needed that often around here, and the job was made more difficult since he was searching in the dark.

Still, he eventually found it, which was good because Marc hadn't wanted to come back empty-handed. By the time he returned to the infirmary, though, Sechs was fast asleep.

It wasn't that much of a surprise. It was the middle of the night, and he was badly injured and on heavy pain medication. This was probably enough excitement for one night, and hopefully he'd feel at least a little better in the morning.

As carefully as he could, Marc reached out to roll Sechs over and then set the heating pad under him. Then he plugged it in and turned it on -- soon enough it should warm up and offer him some relief.

With that taken care of, all Marc had left to do tonight was that radio announcement. Considering this a job well done, he left Sechs to sleep and went to the broadcast room.