Puzzle 34

[hintcoinplz]

[726 Anderson Lane.]

[Luke had only been gone a little over three hours, but the way he's stumbling into the house makes it look like he's been gone for a week. The front of his shirt is covered in blood, and he has a nasty bite on his shoulder. Despite that? He doesn't look scared or traumatized, as he usually does with each horrible event the town puts them through.

Instead, he looks really tired.

He darts towards the kitchen, and rummages for something to eat and drink. He's tempted to find someplace to sleep, but there's still a few things he needs to do first. The first thing he needs to do is make a phone call...]

[Phone.]

What all was found in those portals? What did everyone see? The more you can tell me, the better. We ought to start making a record of our discoveries as soon as possible.

[Around town.]

[After a fresh change of clothes, Luke doesn't look that much better, but at least he's not covered in blood anymore. His first goal is to check on the people he traveled with in the void and make sure they all came back in one piece. While he's mostly interested in checking up on people he knows, he'll stop for just about anyone.

When he's finished making sure everyone is okay, he'll go pay a visit to a certain sea creature at the lake.]

[462 Stone Street - Late night]

[The event may be over, but Luke's paranoia gets the better of him. He's spent most of his day fighting sleep and stalking his Mayfield family just in case they don't get eaten by a glitch or something. But even as he tries to go to bed, he still keeps waking up in the middle of the night thanks to some very nasty nightmares.

Deciding sleep is a lost cause, he slips out of the house in the middle of the night, still in his pajamas. He makes his way over to 462 Stone Street to check up on a certain puzzler. Worried about waking them up, he ends up sitting outside the door like a creeper while he decides if he should knock or not.

Unfortunately his lack of sleep catches up with him, because before he can make a decision, he dozes off on the doorstep of the Nigma family. If Edward or Ema checks outside in the middle of the night, they'll find Luke curled up and fast asleep on the porch.]

Comments

Re: action - around town

[hintcoinplz]

[The music catches his attention, and Luke is lured to the source of the sound. He'll stop a few feet away, letting the Once-ler finish his song before interrupting.]

[truffulacide]

[he's sitting Indian style under a tree, same one he usually sits under, strumming out a song. it's one of those rare moments where he looks peaceful - really genuinely serene. it's all the more remarkable if you take the dark circles under his eyes into consideration, and the length of gauze wrapped around his neck to hold a bandage that already needs changing in place.

at first, it seems like he doesn't notice Luke at all, but when he finishes...]

Well?

[- he can only be addressing one person.]

[hintcoinplz]

[All questions Luke had for the Once-ler is set aside for now, and Luke flops down next to him with a grin.]

You're really good! What else can you play?

[truffulacide]

[he flusters a little, being the type that eats compliments up like liquorice.]

Thanks. And, um - [he scootches over to make room for Luke.] Pretty much anything. Most of the time I just make up my own songs, test if they're really that bad by unleashing them on the unsuspecting populace.

[he leans in to tilt Luke's head to the side, not unkindly, humming.]

How about that - your eardrums haven't ruptured. I'd call that a success.

[hintcoinplz]

H-hey, quit it! [His grin widens, shaking his head.] Well I don't think you ought to worry about ruptured ear drums. If this is how you play, I'd say your songs are quite good.

[In fact, he'd ask for another song, but there's something else on his mind.]

You know, you've saved my life twice now and I still don't think we've properly introduced ourselves yet.

[truffulacide]

...Thanks. I try. [as much as he can when it's less of a hobby and more of a distraction. is there even a difference?

his fingers are trailing up and down the neck of the guitar as he listens to Luke, then they freeze when the boy makes his last comment. Once-ler's eyes grow subtly wider.]

Ehhhh, really? That's...um. That's pretty - [- awesome.] - Well, that says a lot about how well you take care of yourself. And I bet you thought I was crazy for wanting you to keep those fingers in your pockets.

[he hesitates before setting the guitar aside.]

It's Luke, right? That's what everyone was screaming.

[hintcoinplz]

H-hey I can take care of myself just fine! You just caught me at a couple bad moments is all!

[His cheeks puff out and he pouts slightly, but it doesn't last long.]

Mhm, I'm Luke. And you um...well, I heard Mr. Nigma call you the Once-ler, is that right?

[truffulacide]

Or maybe you're like a little magnet for "bad moments". [finger quotes!] Every time I see you, you always have an entourage around you.

Mhm. The, uh, "the" part isn't necessary. No sense in making it even more confusing.

[there's that hesitation again, but it's vanquished quickly enough because now he's holding his hand out. this is how the best friendships are cemented, right? right.]

[hintcoinplz]

Well I thought I was doing pretty well until I got bitten.

So it's just Once-ler then. Got it.

[And Luke will shake the offered hand.]

It's nice to meet you, then This time without killer drones or evil carnivals.

[truffulacide]

In all fairness, those things came out of nowhere. I mean, we were expecting something bad to happen, but nothing like...that.

Same. Maybe if we get good enough at it we'll be able to see each other without one of us getting mortally wounded in the process.

[hintcoinplz]

Ha, hopefully we can manage that at least.

Speaking of which, how's your um... [Luke motions to the wound on his neck.]

[truffulacide]

The - ? Oh! This? [he wags his thumb at his neck and manages a cocky - but uneasy - smile.] Pfft. It's already on the road to healing, no problem. It just looks bad is all.

[his eyes travel down to Luke's shoulder and the smile wavers.]

Not as bad as yours, but hey - we can't all be human pin cushions.

[hintcoinplz]

[Luke places his hands on his hips, trying to look smug but winces instead.]

Ha, this is hardly the worst thing I've ever been through. I'm a lot tougher then I look!

[Not that getting bitten/stabbed/severely injured is a reason to brag, but Luke has quite a few war stories to tell about this place.]

[truffulacide]

I believe it. It takes a special kind of person to keep on fighting when they've got a hole in their body.

...Nooot that we wanna see that repeated. Did you see the look on your dad's face? Man, was he freaked.

[hintcoinplz]

Heh, I guess so. I don't really remember much of the fight after I got bitten.

[And that smile fades at that. Looking a little more uneasy and...guilty?]

Hey.

During that fight did I... [he swallows a little, afraid of the answer he might get.] did I really kill that drone?

[truffulacide]

Well, he was super ticked. So was Annie.

[and here his smile disappears completely. that's one way to bring his mood down. even when Luke poses his question, Once-ler's expression doesn't change. it's that same downcast, slightly irritated look.]

Nah. She did. Come on, did you really think you could tear that thing's heart out? You're tenacious, but not made of steel.

[hintcoinplz]

Y-yeah, you're right. There's no way I could...

[He shakes his head a bit. Losing control like that was scary.]

Anyway I just didn't want to lose anyone else. This stupid town takes away enough as it is.

[truffulacide]

I know.

[- and at once, Roxy comes flooding back to him. stupid, chatty, overeager Roxy. he's been trying to shut her out of his thoughts, but it's more or less a losing battle when the idea that her drone is somewhere out in the town right now is looming over his head. the girl he remembers is gone. he'll never see her again or listen to her talk about how stupid the music here is, or bug him about knitting. he'll never see the real Roxy again.

the thing that wore her face in the void may be dead, but she's still around in the form of a mindless, perfect puppet. that hurts so much more than he would have ever expected.]

...It won't last, you know.

[hintcoinplz]

Hm?

[Luke sits up straighter, giving him a questioning look.]

[truffulacide]

The town. Has everything ever fallen apart this consistently? First it was the carnival, now... [he just gestures, waving a hand at their surroundings.] ...This. The portals. The mementos. Rick Grey turning into a bubble.

It's all happening for a reason, right?

[hintcoinplz]

...Right.

[Luke nods.]

You know it might be worth exploring this town again. We might find more pieces to the puzzle that we couldn't get there before. Grey protected us so we could find those clues, so it's important we work hard too.

[truffulacide]

Uh-huh. There's still a lot we don't know, isn't there? It's...heh, it's pretty darn surreal, actually. Feels like everything we're doing now actually has meaning. And that's coming from someone who hasn't even been here for as long as some of you old folks have; I bet this feels extra weird for you.

[hintcoinplz]

If I remember right, I think I've been here nearly two years. For the longest time, I just accepted that we weren't going home. I thought we were all alone here, with no way out.

But...what if it's not like that? Maybe Mr. Grey isn't the only one trying to help.

[Luke sounds a bit more excited. He can't remember the last time he felt this hopeful.]

Maybe there's more people on the outside, trying to help us get out!

[truffulacide]

[blinkblink] Like a resistance group? Rebels? Freedom Fighters Anonymous?

[it's an interesting thought and he'd like to share Luke's sentiments so very much, but let's be honest: someone needs to be realistic.]

Why would it take them this long, though? This stupid town's fit to fall apart and they still have the nerve to be cryptic? What kind of sense does that make?

[hintcoinplz]

I don't know. I mean, it's taken up until now for us to be able to do anything. Maybe they were having as much trouble breaking in as much as we did trying to break out.

As for being cryptic, well, we still have a lot of enemies here. It's a little worrying that Lucy has been so quiet for a while now.