touchedgod
in
damned
DAY 59: CAFETERIA
Billy surfaced into wakefulness. Sleep receded like an inky tide, and it didn't say anything to him before it was gone. His dreams had been nothing but the sensation of water, rocking him restlessly in his bottle. There seemed to be an ocean beyond his confines, but he couldn't see it and couldn't reach it. He pawed at the glass, but any progress
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"Yeah, but if we grab the guns first, then what do they have?!" He insisted, though then even Chipp had to stop and reconsider. Well, if they were anything like Harrington, then they could also set them on fire. So... Chipp didn't know what sort of "powers" that everyone else had, or why only the kidnapped people couldn't use them, but at first glance, the guy he was talking to didn't look like he was "powerless". "I mean, c'mon, we gotta at least try!"
Even Chipp could tell that he was getting into a topic that wasn't to be discussed lightly, but... maybe it just frustrated him how everyone was lying low for now. But Chipp wasn't so boorish as to insist that violence was the right way, especially not after what happened at A. Country with Erica. Damn, was all they could for now was sit there and take it?
"Chipp Zanuff." He introduced himself, trying to make himself grin as he attempted to sit down again, seemingly forgetting his punishment already. He didn't look any less annoyed when he was hastily corrected, forced to sit up once again. "Remember my name, because one day, I'm going to be President."
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"Believe me," he said with a sigh, "if I still had my powers I wouldn't still be sitting here. But without them..." He pulled a face. "We're all sort of stuck." Which really was infuriating; if he could still teleport this entire nightmare would be over in ten minutes. All he'd have to do would be to find Goku (older version) and Vegeta and bring them back here, and then...
But that was just wishful thinking. He couldn't will his powers into existence again, as much as he wanted to.
No, it was definitely easier to leave the escape part to people who knew what they were doing, while he focused on healing- and on bettering himself as a Kaioshin, if he could*. Which meant taking a special interest in the lives of those he met. "The president?" he repeated, before breaking into a warm smile. "That's great! I wish you the best of luck."
A beat.
"What's a president again?"
* That sounded clever, right?
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"A President is the leader!" Chipp exclaimed, about to sit down once again so he could explain in better detail to his breakfast companion before catching himself, perhaps just in time. Damn, this was seriously getting annoying. "A President is a leader that the people vote in, and she's the person that makes the... uh," Chipp paused, frowning for a moment as he tried to remember how that worked exactly. Erica was the President, but she didn't really... make the rules by herself, did she? He scratched his head and tried again.
"Okay, well, the President is definitely the leader, but at least where I met one, she writes down the rules, er, bills that she wants to come into power and then she has to get the Senate to vote on it. But the Senate is full of all of these corrupt old bastards who only care about money and sometimes the President has to do drastic measures like order the neighboring country to attack hers, but a President gets shit done!"
At his last statement, Chipp smacked his fist against his palm with each word, remembering that feeling of triumph he felt when Erica finally got her bill passed. When he became President... Ah, that's right, he totally had to get rid of those Senate guys. Why were they there in the first place? If they were there, it had to be for some reason, but Chipp couldn't really see it at the moment. Well, whatever.
"So remember to vote for me when you get the chance, alright?"
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Well. That made perfect sense!
Nodding along thoughtfully, it was only the slam of Chipp's fist that suddenly jogged loose a niggling little query he'd had the whole time he was listening. It was only little, of course, and it wasn't exactly out of the bounds of possibility that he'd simply not noticed, but-- well, it would have been rude not to ask for clarification.
"I don't know if I can vote on Earth, but I'll try if you want me too!" he began encouragingly. "You really seem like the kind of person who could, um. 'Get shit done'. I just have one little question." Sitting back into his chair he broke off and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. There was no easy way of asking this, but... "If the President is a she, does that mean that you're a woman? Or are you going to change once you're voted in?"
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What the hell?! "Why the hell would I have to be a woman to become President?!"
Where did that... Oh. Realizing his mistake, Chipp shook his head and held up his hands, not looking flustered at all but rather confused. Right, Erica was a girl, wasn't she? "No, no, Presidents can be guys or women! Cuz, the President I met, she was a girl and that's how she did shit, so ... you know, that's how it is!"
Seriously, what kind of question was that? Chipp didn't seem to realize that with the kind of face he was making and the harshness of his words might given anyone the impression that he was offended rather then confused.
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That said, there was enough force behind Chipp's retort that he had to cringe inwardly and wonder if he'd missed something huge. Should he have known about presidents? Had he missed something really, really obvious somehow?
Clearly, he had to plan his own response very carefully indeed.
"Sorry, sorry!" he said quickly, dropping his gaze to the table and lowering his head in humble acceptance of his failure. "I didn't... um... I know it's not an excuse, but I'm not completely familiar with the way most Earth customs work. I- I guess I can kind of understand, though?" It was a big leap, but he needed to save face here now that he already looked stupid- "That's kind of the same thing I do. Did. Sort of. And both men and women did it before me, too."
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It was still difficult for Chipp to wrap his head around though. This guy didn't look any different from anyone else here, so how could he be an alien or something like that? It didn't make sense, but how could someone from Earth be... asking questions about Earth like that?
And then he said something else interesting... like sort of being a President? Chipp was suddenly very intrigued and he really wished he could sit down so he could have a more personal conversation with this guy. It just kind of sucked that he had to hover over him like some damn bird. Damn, there was just so much he had to ask this guy!
"What do you mean? Were you the President of wherever you're from? Can you teach me about it?!" Now, chipp sounded like he was making an attempt at sounding halfway respectful. "... Please?!"
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What was it about this place that made him so chatty anyway? Just plain nerves? He'd never spoken all that much back on Kaioshinkai. Still, it wasn't as though he'd really had the choice back there, given that there was precisely one other person on the planet who already thought he was an idiot. Well. An idiot in training.
At least Chipp seemed to understand that he needed a little more respect than that! "I'm not a President, exactly," he explained cheerfully; how could he not be pleased, even after all that anxious babbling, that someone was asking for his advice? First Ritsu, now Chipp! "I'm a Kaio- ah, the guardian of the universe. Or at least I will be when I've finished my training properly." He smiled, wrapped up enough in his satisfaction that dropping a bombshell like that barely mattered. "What do you want to know?"
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This "not being able to sit down" shit was getting really annoying. Chipp wished he could have taken a seat and showed a little more respect to someone who was so highly ranked (even though he didn't really know how this shit worked - oh well, that's why he was asking, right?)
"Guardian, huh... Well, even if it's not the same, how'd you get that position? Were you voted in? How'd you do it?" Hopefully it wasn't anything too weird, but this guy seemed pretty nice and legitimate. Chipp found it hard to believe that this guy wasn't chosen for his position by others; the only kind of leaders he seemed to be familiar with were the tyrannical, ineffectual kind that no person in their right mind would willingly pick.
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