Day 50: Waiting Room / Lobby 1 (3rd Shift)

[hat_einen_vogel]

Prussia wouldn't admit it out loud, but it had been nice to see his brother this morning. West had obviously been doing well before he ended up here; he must have recovered from the war some time in the gap between Prussia's own time and his, and kept on surviving, no matter what rules and restrictions and laws the Control Council had put in place

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[damned_visitors]

Perhaps there was some potential after all. Now that neither of them was saying anything at each other, Eduardo didn't care how they were seething. It might come up, it most certainly was going to come up, but at least he'd bought some quiet so he could think and proceed on.

While he felt that hand on his shoulder, he brought up his free one to check who it was. Calloused fingers, rougher skin... ugh, it was Vincent, wasn't it? He wished he could roll his eyes where someone could see it, but he didn't bother. Instead he just sat down, encouraging Alisa to follow with him. Progress was being made! They had to proceed while the opportunity presented itself!

Elegantly crossing his legs and leaning back in his chair, shifting a little to make himself comfortable, he mused out loud. "You're an assistant of mine in our law office. We worked well together, until..." He cast his blind gaze to Alisa, and a warm smile crossed his lips. Despite everything, she was still one of the best things to happen to him. "...until Alisa became my wonderful fiance. Then you started acting erratic, and..." His gaze shifted to Vincent now, or in his general direction, a hint of barely-controlled anger in his voice. "...you tried to kill her. It was only because she graciously agreed not to press charges that you aren't in a cell."

The more he thought about it, the more angry he got. Which was why, at the repeated question, he just turned to Alisa. "How far was it, again?" It wasn't like he could read a map, after all.

[damned_visitors]

Alisa wasn't terribly fond of the direction the affair was going in. She had hoped to have stirred Vincent into a fit by now, or otherwise give Eduardo reason to leave early. And now that Vincent had settled into a considerably more tranquil mood, her likelihood of success had dropped to virtually zero.

She did not glower at the other man as he guided Eduardo back to his seat. Rather, she tossed her hair and followed suit, giving a pointed glance at the clock. Vincent could snivel and cling all he wanted in the time they had left, but the fact of the matter was that he would never take Alisa's place. She almost pitied the brute in his desperation.

Actually, no, she did pity him. It was too pathetic not to.

Eduardo's account brought her into a genuine smile for the first time today. Visiting Vincent might be a pain, but he was worth it. No questions about that matter. But of course the summary ended with the attempted murder, and the smile was gone in a flash.

"Mmm," she murmured thoughtfully. "Not far. At a little inn in Doyleton, but only for the night. We leave tomorrow morning."

[anemptydecapo]

To be completely, pathetically honest, he almost recoiled at the feel of a hand against his own. The cynic in him rose: this can't be real. It isn't them and they aren't brainwashed. You're fooling yourself. They're only monsters. The more you trust them, the easier time they'll have to show their true faces and rip your throat out. You've had dreams like this before - they only end in death.

But the death didn't come. The hand didn't pull at his, wrap around his wrist to drag him into unnaturally sharpened teeth. It didn't do much of anything, really. Just touched.

It was most likely far more brief than he imagined it was, but just that was enough. It was warm. Alive... His mind went into a temporary haze, eyes seeing nothing but the fingers tentatively tracing his own, feeling nothing but the warmth of his skin and controlled strength he knew was held in that hand. He had always been so strong, more so than Venom could ever compare to. He could have crushed his bones if he wanted to. And yet it was restrained now, gentle, the contrasting colors of their skin just barely meeting for that brief moment.

He didn't understand. Master Zato was perfect; he was strong, capable, intelligent, resourceful, charismatic, everything Venom could never be and would never be, so why was he the one to die? Why wasn't it her? ...why wasn't it him?

I'll save you, Master Zato.

Something inside his chest began to burn and by the time the sting of it shook him out of his revere, the other two were already back in their seats. The assassin followed suit, returning to his own chair and pushing aside his thoughts in order to listen to their explanation.

For the sake of not laughing hysterically at the idea of the two of them agreeing to get married, he could ignore the disgusting swooning. But a murder attempt on Millia's life? "Oh." He slid his hands onto his knees, idly brushing a bit of fuzz off the surface of his pants with his thumb and for all the world looking less like a guilty child and more like a disinterested third-party. That was all? Somehow, he thought the lies would be more fantastic and unreal. It was disappointingly true to life.

Still, he mentally filed the information away for later on the chance that it would become useful and-- "What?" As much as he had been attempting to ignore Millia's existence, her words produced more reaction than any of her goading the last few minutes could. They couldn't stay there for the night. They couldn't. If Landel's control reached to there and something happened, he wouldn't be able to reach them in order to help. They had to leave today! "I don't think you should stay that long." Think of something, damn it! "The locals there aren't very welcoming to strangers. It would be best to leave as soon as possible."

[damned_visitors]

And of course, in all brutal honesty, the moment went utterly unnoticed by Eduardo. His hand was withdrawn quickly, and he didn't pay any attention whatsoever to the reaction he'd earned from Vincent. Even still, he noticed that... something had changed. The atmosphere had definitely shifted, with neither person at his side complaining or sniping at the other. Perhaps he needed to put his foot down more often, if this was the end result. If someone walked in right now, they'd think that they were a normal, well-adjusted group.

Which was good enough for him. At this rate, he might just be able to patch together the controversy surrounding the law firm, and finally get his life back on track. That would be nice indeed.

What wasn't as nice was Vincent suddenly taking an interest in their lodging plans. Eduardo blinked slowly, then turned to his fiance, the arch of one eyebrow showing over the rim of his sunglasses. Were the locals really that unwelcoming? And for that matter, was there any reason whatsoever in leaving so soon? He doubted it, very much indeed, but he wanted to hear her thoughts before he verbalized his own.

[damned_visitors]

That was it?

The man had tried to murder her, and he didn't give so much as a twitch at the mention of it?

Even Eduardo was being unusually calm about it. Not once rising to her defense, simply sitting there in utter complacency. He had just mentioned the incident as if it were no more than a petty squabble and moved on. Anger began to burble amongst the long-stewing irritation.

Alisa was, under ordinary circumstances, a graceful woman. She didn't tolerate disrespect, but she dealt with it with a great deal more taste than most. Yet everyone had their limits. Having to watch her would-be-killer cozy up to her fiance and have him not care was too far a stretch.

"How so? They've seemed perfectly courteous to me," Alisa supplied coldly, taking Eduardo's silence and heavy glance and running away with the implications. He wanted her opinion? Well then, he would get it. "The maid managed to avoid trailing hopelessly after my fiance for all of five minutes. Difficult, I know, but she managed. It was quite a refreshing break from the last few months. And the bartender has yet to take a pool cue to my neck, which I greatly appreciate. I'd say it was the warmest welcome we've had all year."

[anemptydecapo]

She was speaking again.

For a moment, he had been hoping Master Zato had finally put that traitor down into her place, but she never learned. She always did this. She never knew the meaning of respect, never listened to anything she was told. She was cruel and-- no, not cruel. Cruel implied an intent to act the way she was. Intent implied she was intelligent enough to think as far as planning her ridiculous actions out.

She was a miserable ghost of a being. She didn't deserve anything she had.

His fingers laced themselves together in his lap, turning his head upward and away from the woman as she went on. "You must feel at home there, then. By all means, you can stay." Being devoured by the living dead was a fitting fate for such a braindead bitch. But... The ice melted as his attention turned back to the other man, voice imploring. Worried, even. "Please, I beg you. You must leave that town before dawn."

Please listen to me...

[damned_visitors]

In his turn, Eduardo was... 'upset' was too mild a word. The two of them were being children, spoiled children, and he was tired of dealing with it. All of this petty sniping, all of these stupid little aggravations, it was just obnoxious. Yes, yes, Vincent had tried to kill Alisa and she was kind of a witch to him at times, but this was just getting farcical. Why couldn't they just stop it? Why couldn't Vincent be well, and Alisa be all right with him, and all of them just move on? But no, they just went on and on in a circle.

It never ended. Vincent wanted Alisa dead, and he didn't miss that implication. If there was something in the town that was so bad that Vincent was well-nigh pleading with him to not stay, he still wanted Alisa to be there. Perhaps to be killed, perhaps even worse than that. And Alisa! She knew that, if she put up with this, then she'd get properly treated later! She had Eduardo every day, and yet she seemed so infuriated, so insulted, her voice as cold and sharp as he'd ever heard. A refreshing break? 'Greatly appreciating' it?

Despite being blind, Eduardo had a notorious reputation in the legal sphere. Normally he was rather calm- self-centered yes, but calm- in the courtroom. But every now and again, when there was stress or when a case was starting to teeter... there was a change. He became more vicious, more commanding, like a beast unleashed on the unsuspecting court. That was what he did now, his temper flaring until he finally snapped, "ENOUGH!"

He stood up, the better to glare in the general vicinity of each one in turn, and when he spoke, it was so forceful that his voice seemed to echo. "ALISA, THIS TRIP WAS TO HELP VINCENT, NOT BADGER HIM AND MAKE THIS SITUATION WORSE. AND YOU, VINCENT..." He turned upon the man, anger filling his voice as he rebuked him. "I HAD HOPED THAT SOME TIME HERE WOULD PUT THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE. CLEARLY, I WAS WRONG."

He'd graciously allow both of them one final word, and then he was done. There was no point in wasting further time when it was obvious that such would be of no use to him, or indeed, to any of them.

[damned_visitors]

It felt as if her heart were on the verge of exploding. To say Alisa was angry would fail to do the situation justice. Eduardo had descended into utter ridiculousness, just as he always did when defending Vincent.

And honestly, she had had her life long fill of it.

There was a sound smack, a hand across a cheek. The nurses had already begun staring, drawn in by Eduardo's tantrum, but now a few gasped in horror as Alisa struck her fiance.

"How dare you," she seethed. "Were you actually so foolish as to think that this was a good idea? That bringing me here would help? I am appalled that you would even think for a moment that I owe him any measure of courtesy - any kindness at all! Vincent tried to kill me, Eduardo! And you expect me to forgive him that? To understand when you defend him? Show him mercy? You weren't the one with the cue against their neck. How dare you ask this of me."

Alisa's fists shook. She was too furious to even spare a glance at Vincent. Livid blue eyes were trained solely on Eduardo's face, and no amount of shame or self-righteous bluster would cool them down now. "I've had enough. If you're going to continue being so selfish then you can stay here with him. As far as I'm concerned? You're both mad."

And then she left, blond hair swishing behind her and sending cool glares at the nurses she caught staring. She would take their private car back to the hotel. Eduardo could call for a taxi when he was done.

If he didn't have any fare with him, he would just have to walk back, now wouldn't he?

[damned_visitors]

Even if he hadn't been blind, he would never have seen that slap coming. Suddenly pain exploded along his cheek, sending him reeling. His glasses were knocked askew from the violent whipping of his head, and the opening part of her enraged tirade was lost to the ringing in his ears. She was a strong woman, in more ways than one, and yet he rarely had to have it confirmed in such a manner.

It was the last part that caught his attention and let him know that he'd stepped over the line. 'You're both mad'? No, he couldn't let that go. If she ran off like that, she might never come back! She might decide that she was better off without Eduardo, and then where would he be? His beautiful, sexy fiance, slipping through his fingers over something as stupid and petty as Vincent's insanity? He couldn't allow that. He wouldn't allow that.

"YOU'RE TEARING ME APART, ALISAAAAA!" Without so much as a glance to Vincent, Eduardo went after her, following the sound of her footsteps as quickly as he could. He wasn't going to be left walking back to town on his own, and he wasn't going to spend his money because his future wife was storming off in a fit of pique. This was, by far, not the way he'd expected this particular meeting to end, but... after all, it had only been a little while. Time would heal the wounds.

...and if not, he'd have to think of another way to force those two to behave.

[anemptydecapo]

Venom had been scolded before. With his relationship to Millia and penchant for expressing his dislike of her, whether provoked or not, it would be a blatant lie to say he hadn't been. Master Zato never could stand for misbehavior. Venom could respect that.

But this time the words burned. It had nothing to do with the words themselves - it was the tone. That tone. That voice.

It had been hard enough to withstand the notion that Master Zato was alive, that he was here, yet completely out of his reach. It hurt enough to know nothing he could say would be believed, to see the man cling feverishly to that woman and be incapable of remembering what hell she put him through. But now came that voice, that damn parasite's voice.

Master Zato was alive, but he wasn't cured. That shadow was still eating away at him, wasn't it?

He tried to stay calm, but he could feel his shoulders shake through the repressed fear taking over. It was still alive. She was here. Even on this world, Master Zato wasn't safe.

Smack!

The very instant that sound stuck the air, the fire that burned in his chest turn to ice. Had anyone even noticed him, they may have been impressed with how quickly the look of horror on his face switched so suddenly into murderous disgust. How dare she-- HOW DARE SHE?! Hate coursed through him, sheer vitriol willing him to stand, for his hand to raise at that heinous excuse for a woman! "Don't you ever touch him that way!"

A strong hand pulled back his own as that witch ran off and Master Zato followed behind. Venom turned, barely able to catch a glimpse of the white scrubs behind him but enough to know where to drive his elbow. "Get the hell off me!"

His elbow met muscle, then found itself bound back by another hand. Damn it, would they get off him?! "Calm down, Mr. Lant."

"You're in my way."

If the orderly was at all intimidated by the look of hatred burrowing into his skull, he didn't show it. "They'll be back, Mr. Lant. Please sit down and calm yourself."

He could kill this man right now for his actions. The blood would disgust him and the guilt would never leave, but he was capable of it. Just free one arm and pull with the other, use the man's weight against him and drag his neck into the assassin's open palm. The man had to be able to see that in the stare he was giving him. He had to know.

No. Calm down. You can't listen to your emotions.

The man eventually let go and, begrudgingly, the Guild Head reclaimed his seat and waited.

...and waited.

The intercom switched on, partially drowning out Nurse's words of pity. "I'm sorry, Mr. Lant."

"..." Master Zato...