Night 58: Ruins
[from here]She moved from the cover of the trees into the open space provided. In this, at least, they had been right. And these in front of her fit the idea of 'ruins' precisely--imperfectly so, as the result did not match the time. She eyed the buildings warily. And where would the new radio persona be, if he was indeed here? There were few
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Marc was always looking on the bright side.
He'd had no choice but to curl up on one of the pews and try to conserve warmth however possible. The jacket he had scrounged up only did so much. It wasn't his most shining moment, and more than that, his anger and grief over what had happened to his friend was hard to bear on top of everything else. This was no place for tears, though. He didn't want anyone seeing them, not even patients.
He knew it was pretty ballsy of him to even invite patients to come find him when he'd been dealing with Landel, but as far as Marc could tell he'd had no other choice. Honestly, he preferred that the guy was where he could keep an eye on him, even if being in his presence was enough to leave him aggravated all the time. Which got immensely tiring after a while. As it was, he had more bones to pick with Aguilar at the moment anyway.
Part of him knew that leaving Landel alone in the bomb shelter was a bad idea, but he'd needed a break, even if it was a short one. As time dragged on he'd started to feel his anxiety grow and was wondering if he should ditch this idea and head back, but then --
Then he heard someone calling from outside. The voice seemed familiar, but he couldn't place it right away. Marc sat up and then got to his feet, grabbing both his shotgun and the portable radio device that he'd used to make the announcement earlier. Carefully he edged to the front door and poked his head out. A ways down the road he saw three figures, though it was hard to make out more than that.
"Who's there?" he called back.
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To which she heard soon. The shuffling sounds of someone moving in the distance, a creak of a door, and then a voice called. Her eyes honed in on the figure, though there was nothing recognizable. Luckily, this one was recognized by tone. "Marc, then?" she said under her breath to the two girls. She closed her eyes, and once there came a reply, she moved forward, not wasting time in delays. At the least, if three became four, there could exist more of a united front against any threats, instead of one to be targeted alone.
...Or three, perhaps. If Doyle could control the beasts of the institute at will, there existed a chance his supposed protege could do the same. If so, it was possible that the three females were the lesser threat. A sobering thought, one that didn't need to be added. She halted some feet away, arms crossing over her chest as she quietly looked over the man that now ran the radio waves. The other two could speak for now. She was content to witness.
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Blue eyes drifted in the direction of the source, narrowing as Renamon broke the silence first. "You know him, correct?" she added, glancing in Utena's direction. The unspoken implication was obvious: if Utena was acquainted with Marc, it was best that she act as their spokesperson. Otherwise, an unfamiliar voice could chase the man away.
If this was indeed the person they sought, that is.
When they started to move, Tear followed, both hands occupying her arsenal in the event of an attack. She stopped just behind the eldest of the trio as she observed the figure before them. The darkness made it difficult to pick up exact details, but the Melodist was certain this individual was not a soldier. A relief, if any, but Tear refused to let down her guard. They still had the nighttime terrors to put up with.
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The three closed the distance between themselves and Marc, Utena calling back as they walked: "It's Utena! These are friends of mine." She picked up the pace the closer they got, and passed the point where Renamon stopped as a thousand questions roiled on the tip of her tongue.
"Man, it's good to see you okay, but are you seriously staying here? And with that guy? What the hell?" were the first questions out the starting gate as she stopped midway between him and the girls. Even if Marc wasn't staying in this place exactly, the more important part still stood. Just how bad were things that Marc had thought it was okay to join up with Landel of all people? That needed answering as soon as possible as far as Utena was concerned. How Marc could even get within three feet of the Head Doctor without making a move to strangle him was so far beyond her it might as well have been in outer space.
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The pink hair was impossible to miss, but Marc was shocked for a different reason. It had only been a hunch, but he'd thought that the young girl was gone from this place. That had clearly been a miscalculation -- either that, or she'd been put out of commission for a while. The girl seemed fine now, other than the fact that she clearly wasn't too thrilled with him.
Right now, being judged by someone who had put so much faith in him before was a hard hit to take. Marc glanced down for a moment before moving fully out of the doorway to take in the three patients. The other two girls were completely unknown to him, but if they were Utena's friends then they could probably be trusted.
Marc resisted the urge to run a hand down his face and then let out a sigh. It was time to explain. "I'm not staying here," he said first, because that was the easier thing to address. "My hideout is up in the mountains, but I needed some time to myself... not to mention the chance to make that broadcast." He wasn't going to direct patients to go to where Landel was; that was far too dangerous.
"Anyway, it's not like I can do anything about him," he continued with a frown and a shake of his head. "Just because he got kicked out doesn't mean that he isn't still packed with a ton of power. I can't even get a hit on him." He'd tried. He'd wasted one of his shotgun rounds attempting to shoot the guy in the chest. It'd just bounced right off.
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The two did obviously know each other at face value, from the easy back and forth, and she trusted Utena enough that the girl would ask what needed to be. However, Renamon required clarification, especially as a point raised echoed one she had touched on earlier in the day. "Excuse me," she said evenly, giving a polite nod. "I'm Renamon. This is Tear." She inclined her head at the other girl, before moving on. "You said... 'a ton of power.'" Her eyes were bright in the near dark, intent on the man. "Can you clarify what exactly Landel can do?"
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She nodded politely as Renamon introduced her, unwilling to speak until the Melodist had more of a sense on what was going on. It seemed Marc had little choice in Landel's presence. Furthermore, the former Head Doctor had the capacity to protect himself. A part of her wondered exactly what the man could do, a wonder that was vocalized by the eldest of the female trio. If that could be answered, then...
"Is there a reason Dr. Landel sought you out?" she asked.
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Her shoulders relaxed and her expression softened somewhat as Renamon and Tear took over for a moment, her most immediate concern out of the way. The new questions on the table, in turn, were definitely ones she wanted answers to as well. Now that she knew Landel still had power, she really wanted to know what all he could do. And Tear was right to ask about Landel seeking out Marc in the first place: had he really just needed someone to help him make a broadcast to the patients? Even Utena could guess that Landel wouldn't have stuck with Marc for this long if it were only for that. There had to be something else going on here.
For now, the only thing Utena had to add was "Yeah, it's not like he went to you because he figured you two would be best friends or something like that," as she put a hand on her hip and waited for Marc to answer.
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Tear and Renamon. They all had names that would count as out of the ordinary on Earth, but Marc was used to that and it made them easier to remember in a way. The girls were also all on the young side, but they certainly didn't waste any time getting down to business. Marc would have normally found that admirable, but he was too tired for that at the moment.
Still, this conversation allowed him to forget about Giuseppe, at least for a short amount of time.
"No, best friends we are not," he said with a mirthless laugh and a shake of his head. "He came to me because honestly, he has nowhere else to go. I guess teleportation isn't something that he can do so easily anymore, so he found me on foot. He could go into town, but they're all in the dark about the military thing, so... I think he's biding his time." Until what, he had no idea. But he didn't like it.
"As for what he can do, I couldn't even begin to tell you. He has a wide range of abilities. Ask her," he said with a nod to Utena. "She saw the number he did on me before." And that wasn't something he particularly liked to remember, but it made his point.
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Hm. That gave Renamon only two real questions.
When he shifted for them, Renamon waited for Utena and Tear's move. She was fine wherever this conversation went on, and would stay or follow. Honestly, the man seemed the worse off of all of them, and really that made him seem more human. Compared to the other at this point. "Might I ask two questions?" she spoke up again. "What's the threat that the military provides that has the two of you working together?"
That was something straightforward. What else she would ask was possibly not. Without looking at either girl--both who were clearly human and might not understand what the Digimon asked, she questioned again. "What is Martin Landel, exactly?"
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Dr. Landel's powers. A "wide range of abilities" spoke of many things, and instantly, the Melodist glanced at Utena, curiosity written in her gaze. What could have happened for the girl to understand the severity of the aftermath? Something bad enough, apparently.
Furthermore, Renamon illustrated exactly how much she was reading Tear's mind by asking the very questions on her mind. Her eyes slid between the older female and Marc, waiting with bated breath for the answers.
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Utena took the invitation to move inside very gladly, shivering as a cold wind blew between her bare legs on the way in. She had just begun to appreciate the closed door behind them when Marc mentioned asking her about that night in the forest, and her head perked up in surprise. "Wait, so that was him who did that? Directly?" she asked, blinking with slightly widened eyes. So that's what he meant by "didn't sic anyone on me", she thought in astonishment. Landel didn't have to rely on anyone else's power to get his own dirty work done, then...
Tear and Renamon were looking at her expectantly now, but weren't asking anything yet. She supposed talking about Marc's horrific injuries in front of him wasn't the best idea, and the other girls knew it, thank goodness. She would tell them after they left, then, and nodded to let them know as much without words.
As they moved on to other questions, Utena was slightly confused at first when Renamon asked what Landel was. The idea that the Head Doctor wasn't even human was not something that had ever crossed her mind. What was Renamon getting at with this, she wondered?
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With these three, at least, it seemed to be working. If he was lucky, they would spread the word.
One thing at a time. As the door closed, Marc leaned himself against one of the pews, trying not to draw any attention to the skeletons that were scattered around the area. None of the girls had commented on them yet, which either meant they'd been here before or they hadn't noticed yet. He gave Utena a grim nod to answer her question before moving onto Renamon's inquiries. "Well, technically the military has the financial power. The backing, I guess you could say. They also have some control over Landel's powers." He couldn't speak in specifics even now due to that mental block Landel had installed.
Which, predictably, kicked into full gear in regards to Renamon's second question. "There are all sorts of rumors. What he can do... most humans can't do that, obviously. But no one knows for sure, I don't think." He scratched at the side of his head with the hand holding his radio and sighed.
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But that still left holes. "It was assumed as much from Landel's reaction when the military first appeared. He became a bit more frantic, and the fact that he could be removed without much fanfare added to that. But I would question why you, yourself, would see Landel as the lesser of two evils. When your predecessor cut ties with the man."
She understood that Landel had supposedly forced himself on Marc. But it remained that the man was working with Landel, rather than fleeing to the military to sell the former head doctor out. Which would lead one to believe that Marc as well saw the military as the worse of two. Hm. "The military, at least, is more upfront with what they are doing."
As for the man spoken of, she accepted that what he was exactly, was not known. Instead she prompted. "What do you know of what he can do?"
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Tear would have to consider this later. Here, a part of what Renamon put forth caught her attention. Though she was just as interested in Marc's views on the military as well as Landel's powers, Tear knew that she was missing a vital piece to understanding this portion of the conversation. Best to gain the knowledge now than to save it for another time.
After a brief consideration, the Melodist moved to ask. "Predecessor?" she raised in a bemused tone.
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Then, of course, there was the mention of Marc's predecessor. Utena could guess who Renamon meant, but she did have a question about that, and interjected with as much before the other girl moved on. "Wait, you mean Jack, right? Sorry to butt in, but what about Jill? I haven't heard about her since I got back. Did something happen?" she asked, directing the question mostly at Renamon, but also at Tear or Marc on the off-chance they knew more on that front. It honestly worried her that she hadn't even heard the woman's name brought up once, even on the bulletin. Utena knew the woman didn't broadcast often, but people had still talked about her at least...
She stayed quiet again after that, waiting to hear what Marc had to say about Landel's abilities.
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