mayfield_rpg

Entry tags:

c: firo prochainezo

seven

[Firo doesn't like believing anything Mayfield says, but when he hears the information some of the others got from Zemekis, he has trouble not believing it. Everyone else seems to accept it as truth, and from what little he can understand in all the talk about copies and simulations, the gaping glitch holes and the way Mayfield could really mess with their heads seems to back it up.

And he finds knowing he's just a copy oddly comforting. If there's a "real" him back home, then that means Ennis will stay alive no matter what happens to him in Mayfield and that business with his Family keep running as normal. Of course, that also means he's basically superfluous.

He doesn't know what he'll do now, since it seems his survival suddenly isn't as big of a priority as it once was and whatever he does probably won't mean anything. He's ready to postpone answering that question until he can fully grasp what's been going on these past months, but it suddenly doesn't matter.

Because now someone else is deciding for him.

Controlled by Mrs. Johnson, Firo's out roaming the Mayfield streets, knife in hand and ready to kill. It's one of his worst nightmares; as much as he struggles to regain control, he just can't. He thought it would come from Szilard's memories, but who's doing it doesn't matter--what matters is what they'll make him do. If he sees anyone he'll call out a warning to them:]

Don't come near me! I can't stop-!

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[The knife keeps twisting, steady against Firo's struggles to halt it.He blinks, eyes wide with surprise at Czes's question and fear at his own actions.]

What do you mean? Of course we are!

[He'd only say Szilard wasn't human--though now that Firo's essentially torturing a friend he wonders if maybe he isn't a bit similar to that old man after all.]

[Czeslaw wishes Mrs. Johnson would let him pull out the knife, at least. He can feel his body healing itself around the knife, but it still hurts a lot and feels uncomfortable. He bites his lip once before continuing.]

I'm more than two hundred years old, Firo... you can crush my entire body, you can burn me to ashes, you can cut me apart and throw me into different oceans and I'll still come back to life. I've been a child for longer than America's been a country. I've seen so many people die... and it's never going to end.

What are we? Are we still human or are we some kind of monster? If we're still human... can you really still say something like us is still living?

[The knife does come out, since Czes simply continues to heal around it, but it only does so to find another entry point. This time it sweeps in for Czes's stomach, even as Firo grits his teeth and tries to hold it back.]

What're you talkin' about? Of course we're alive, that's the whole point!

[Though he knows where Czes is coming from. Monster, vampire... He's heard a lot of words to describe what they are. They're different, that much is certain, but he never stopped to think that they might be different enough from the average human to really be something else.]

Why would we be monsters just 'cause we come back to life?

[Szilard was always a monster, it was just becoming immortal that gave him the power to show it, or so Firo thought.]

[Crouched over Firo the way he is, Czes can only dodge so much. The knife doesn't stab as deep before he grabs at it, to push it away.]

But can you call us alive when we can't die? How do we know if we're really alive if we don't grow or really die -- isn't that the point of being alive? But we don't do any of that.

But we're still able to act like we're alive. We still feel pain when we get hurt, we can still like people, we can still dislike people -- we get sad and happy and we act just like any other human!

[That isn't the most pleasant aspect of his immortality that Czes remembers. He furrows his eyebrows and and shakes his head as he raises his knife to press against Firo's throat.]

And that's still the same here, isn't it? We might be copies, and we might not be able to get home... But we still exist, you know?

[Firo growls in frustration. Why is Czes asking this now? They have bigger things to deal with!]

I don't know! How'm I supposed to know any a' that?

[He had a job back home that kept him from thinking about stuff like that--or, rather, his original self did. When he became immortal he still didn't care too much for philosophy; an eternity is for doing things, not just for thinking. And how can he even think when he's stabbing his friend and there's a knife at his throat?

He withdraws his own knife to try and force Czes's scalpel away, but it's near impossible to reach the proper angle.]

Of course we exist! Just... just not in their world. Do we?

[And it's that world that matters to Firo.]

Edited 2012-12-19 03:06 (UTC)

[Czes presses the knife against Firo's throat more. The blade isn't sharp enough to tear the skin yet, though.]

But we exist here! Isn't that enough?

Why aren't you trying? How can you just give up like that?!

[Unable to work his knife to where he can defend against Czes, Firo moves to cut at his fingers instead.]

I'm not givin' up! I just- I...

[What use is he now? His Family doesn't need him, and it turns out he was never the one keeping Ennis alive. He has Barton and Czes and his Mayfield friends to live for, he supposes, but there's still the deep pain of remembering that family that's now lost to him. There used to be so many reasons for him to stick around, now there's only a handful. It makes the choice between him and Czes much easier. He can't live in place of a friend when his life is only worth something to himself.

He looks away, unable to face Czes or his own knife.]

...I told you, it doesn't matter as much anymore. You can go ahead and kill me, maybe then she'll let you go.

[Czes may have killed Firo then and there if his fingers were working, but that isn't to be. He finally pulls away and scrambles off of Firo's body. He dropped his knife in the retreat, and even though his fingers heal he's unarmed now, and he looks... hurt, as he frowns down at Firo.]

I don't want to kill you, Firo. [He doesn't want to kill anyone anymore 8C ]

Come on. I'll come back, but you might not. I don't want to end up on my own here.

[Firo's driven to scramble to his feet and limp towards Czes. His injured leg is a painful reminder of his mortality.

If he was moving under his own power, he would have frozen in his tracks at Czes's last sentence. Right. He's been so caught up in what's not there that he completely neglected to consider that Czes needs someone looking after him if they're released from Mrs. Johnson's control.]

I'm... I'm sorry.

[He growls and shakes his head. The other thing holding him back was that he just can't bear to hurt his friend. It's painfully short term thinking, but that's the kind of thinking Firo often finds himself trapped in. If Czes is killed here and comes back, he'll have someone to be with him. If that person is killed instead... Mayfield isn't the kind of place a child should be left alone, even if that child is actually centuries old.]

Then what? Am I supposed to just kill you?

That's what I'm saying. [Mrs. Johnson is well aware that the scalpel was Czeslaw's only weapon, and she intends to make him get it back. Czes' eyes stay on Firo, but his body is already leaning to move at it.]

Go ahead... do it! [He raises his voice. He doesn't want to tell something like this to Firo, but he really doesn't want to risk killing him and not having Firo in this reality with him anymore.] It won't be anything, you can't do anything to me that I haven't experienced before.

I'm not gonna do that to you!

[But Mrs. Johnson is all too happy to oblige. Firo steps forward, kicking at the scalpel to move it farther away from Czes, but his injury prevents the kick from having enough power to send it completely out of his reach. That seems to be good enough for Mrs. Johnson's purposes, so he takes another step forward, tightening his grip on his knife.

Czes's last statement can't go without comment. Firo's not an innocent; he's been involved in gang activity from a relatively young age. Torture isn't his thing, but he would have thought he'd have more knowledge of such things than Czes--a sort of cultural osmosis, considering the people he calls friends.

Boy, is he in for a surprise.]

...What do you mean?

Then what are we going to do! If I try to get my knife, I'll be running straight at yours... and I don't care.

[He looks uncomfortable. He knows that Firo devoured Szilard. How much did that old man know about him and Fermet? How could he know how much Firo knew about them? If he told Firo... would Firo know? Then he'd have to deal with him knowing what happened between the two of them. He can't have that. He just can't, anything but that.]

... I'm used to getting hurt. Did you really think I could live this long in a body that doesn't grow, and not have people think I'm a freak? [He's lying, but they're lies that make sense.] Anything Mrs. Johnson can think of making you do to me with that knife, I've probably gone through it at least twice.

You don't..?

[He wants to spit Czes's words right back at him, but the key difference is that Czes is immortal right now, and Firo isn't. What Czes says next just makes Firo more disturbed at the thought of killing him, even temporarily. He doesn't want Czes to associate him with people who'd kill a child for being a "freak."]

...I'm sorry.

[He doesn't know what else to say, though he wishes he could find all those people and give them twice what they gave to Czes.

That thought will have to wait, because Mrs. Johnson's control orders him to charge at Czes, knife out to slash at his arms if he tries to defend himself.]

Damn it!

[Of course he's going to defend himself. Under Mrs. Johnson's control, the two of them are participants in a choreographed fight. Czes flinches at the new wounds and shakes his head to hide the tears. It's been a while since he was repeatedly injured like this.]

I won't hold it against you.

That doesn't matter, you'll still be hurt!

[His hand shoots out to grab at the back of Czes's collar in an attempt to hold him in place while he readies his knife. All the while he prays that Czes will b quick enough to get out of the way.]

I'll hold it against me!

[Czeslaw doesn't move, easily letting Firo grab ahold of him. He doesn't look scared, but it's clear that it's against his will because he glances quickly between Firo's face and the knife he's holding.]

It's okay.

You can just make it up to me... so you gotta make sure you stay alive, right? [As long as Firo Prochainezo's protests aren't an act, as long as he isn't like Fermet who's hurting him for the joy and out of fear toward Czeslaw... he can stand it. It won't hurt him.]

It'll hurt, but it's better than being alone with all these memories about Isaac and Miria and Miss Ennis.

[Firo's certainly scared. Why isn't he moving? The kid may be at a big disadvantage, but he should still try to fight back.]

Why don't you..?

[He trails off; Czes is giving him the answer even as Firo asks, but it's not one he likes. But he can't think of a good argument, and he can't stop what Mrs. Johnson's control is about to make him do.]

The knife lashes out for Czes's throat.

Please, please get out of the way...]

[Czeslaw isn't sure he would've dodged even if Mrs. Johnson allowed it. He's glad she didn't get very creative about the kill, at least. Knives might be better than someone's bare hands, even.

Poor Firo, though. He raises a hand to put it against the arm holding him in place.]

Don't worry. I'll come back from something like this in seconds. Just don't wait for me, okay? I don't want her making you kill me again.

[Not surprisingly, Firo doesn't find that comforting at all. It's almost more horrifying to see how calmly Czes is taking this.

His knife swings out again, and Firo just hopes that it'll be a clean kill if it hits. He knows where to aim for that.]

[He shuts his eyes tightly and braces himself. His last worry is that Firo might be creeped out by him, or try to avoid him because of this... incident.]

[Once it's done, Firo just wants to melt into the ground, or wait around so he can apologize to Czes a thousand times over. But he can't do any of that. Mrs. Johnson's control pulls him away immediately--there are still more copies to kill.]

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Holy catfish, I typoed that last tag horribly, I'm sorry! There should've been another bracket

It's okay <3

Thanks! <3