[047]

[oliverplus]

[after days of inadvertently slipping off to sleep and experiencing the same nightmare, then seeing others on the network banish theirs, Oliver knows he can't just keep running out of the room when he turns up in his. he has to make this stop somehow

Comments

[tsundereisms]

You can do it, Ollie!

[oliverplus]

Haruhi! [he really didn't mean for the sphere to be on, but...the more people who come on to encourage him, the better he feels] Thank you.

What an ironic thing for you to be saying, girl! For someone so opposed to killing, Oliver, you certainly make a habit of becoming friends with killers.

[tsundereisms]

Shut up!

[she turns back to Oliver]

Ollie, I'll be by your side.

[oliverplus]

[nods, taking a deep breath] You can say what you want, Puppeteer, but you won't change my opinion of anyone. And you won't make me stop fighting you. I'm not a killer. I refuse to be!

Refuse to be now, maybe. You haven't snapped yet. [grins] But she doesn't know about that, does she? Here she is, offering her support, and she doesn't even know you! Would it change her mind, you think, if she knew she looks up to someone who's going mad?

[tsundereisms]

I don't believe him Ollie, not at all.

[oliverplus]

Oh, you might not believe me, but he does. Tell her, Oliver. Tell her what you see in your nightmares. Tell her about the darkness you're trying so desperately to hide inside.

[Oliver falters] Some of it's true, Haruhi. [to the Puppeteer] But that doesn't mean I'll go mad! It doesn't mean I'll become you!

[tsundereisms]

I don't care, Oliver is my friend and I'll never let you twist that!

[oliverplus]

[oh, he could hug you right now, Haruhi] Give up, Puppeteer. I won't let you keep doing this.

[the Puppeteer sneers, grabbing Oliver's mother by the arm] And how will you stop me?

[Oliver makes to start forward, wanting to stop it, but he's already seen that fighting it physically is useless, so he stops himself] Haruhi? I'm gonna try something, but I need your help.

[tsundereisms]

[nods without hesitation]

Got it! I'll be your back up!

[oliverplus]

[smiles, then closes his eyes] Let's talk about something, then. What have you been doing on the ship lately?

[the Puppeteer looks at Oliver oddly, then jerks his mother's arm, breaking it and causing her to cry out in pain. Oliver cringes, but he keeps his eyes closed, waiting for Haruhi's answer]

[tsundereisms]

[Haruhi cringes too but tries to stay strong for Oliver]

K-Kyon was reading to me in the library.

[oliverplus]

Oh? What does he read to you?

Have you stopped caring, then? You'll just let them die? Is that any different from killing them yourself?

[Oliver cringes again but doesn't respond] Tell me about it, Haruhi.

[tsundereisms]

[she moves forward slightly to grab his hand]

He reads me stories about people have great adventures, castles, knights, that sort of thing.

[oliverplus]

[he jumps slightly at the touch--when did she come into the room? but if he opens his eyes, if he reacts, it'll ruin everything] Haruhi, you don't have to be in here.

[the Puppeteer seizes the opportunity, calmly squeezing the neck of Oliver's mother, breaking it, and dropping her before it starts forward toward them] Will you let me kill her, too?

[tsundereisms]

I want to be here.

[oliverplus]

But if... [he's trying not to pay attention to it, but he can't ignore the possibility that she might get hurt. that's completely different from putting his own safety on the line. still, he stops, almost able to sense the Puppeteer grinning even though he can't see it]