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

Comments

[anemptydecapo]

...That wasn't right. He actually had a topic in mind when he had begun speaking to Edward this morning, hadn't he? Somewhere between the melon-crushing and unwarranted sympathy, it had gotten lost, pushed out of focus in favor of childish trains of thought. And when he had finally realized this and was mere seconds away from reigning the conversation back into the direction it were supposed to be in, a certain dark haired woman interrupted to escort him away from the table.

He'd see him later then.

She was still smiling, happy, the same as in the morning. Venom didn't like that. Something was wrong when this woman was pleased in his vicinity. The feeling of him staring metaphorical daggers into the side of her head must of have prompted her to finally spill the information she had, because once out of the cafeteria, she immediately began blabbing away. "Isn't this exciting? It's so good of your friends to drive all this way to see you

[damned_visitors]

There was a certain tolerance level Eduardo had for sniping. Dealing with the two of them had taught him that there was no way to really maintain the peace, so he'd grown to accept the constant low-level barbs being thrown around with impunity. However, there was a limit to this. Usually the limit was keyed to Vincent- when he started shooting back and gritting his teeth, that was when things could get really, really bad. And right now, Eduardo did not want to be in the papers as the man who was at the epicenter of Loony Bin Brutality

[damned_visitors]

She supposed she should be grateful for Eduardo finally stepping in. He always waited until Vincent began to bare his teeth - whether it was because he believed him slower to anger or he was simply willing to let her get away with more was debatable. Regardless, she would cease for the time being. That didn't mean she appreciated being told to shush like a naughty child.

Alisa raised a brow and tightened her lips, but kept silent. Her irritation was no doubt palpable, even in spite of her fiance's affliction. Gossipy hen, indeed.

If it wasn't all jealousy speaking, she might be properly offended. As it was Vincent was no more than a fly. An aggravating, tiresome fly, but nothing that she could truly hate. Just one to swat away and never deal with again. Before the assault she wouldn't have a problem with him at all, if it hadn't been for him stalking her future husband.

One day, Eduardo would start listening to some sense and find some friends who hadn't gone missing from a padded cell.

[anemptydecapo]

Of course Master Zato stepped in the moment his subordinate opened his mouth. Millia would be able to insult and taunt him into oblivion, but when Venom began returning the favor the poor, precious, delicate princess had to be protected from hearing the truth about her infuriating and disrespectful behavior

[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

[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

[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

[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

[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

[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

[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

[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

[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