zackthekiller | Week Three, Monday Evening

[ She stares at that text for a moment - she has a good guess of what she'll logically be asked here, but she'd not mind being surprised on that front. ]

Give me 10 minutes. I'll finish reading my paragraph and then head over.

[ Because who puts a book aside in the middle of a chapter when the chapter end is only a page away? Nobody, that's who.

But yeah, she's gonna keep word there and arrive at the park in about the announced time. ]

[True to his word, Zack is there, lounging on the nearby bench with one hand on his knee and the other gripping his scythe. He seems... Cold. Distant, possibly.]

[He looks up as Miach approaches.]

Took you long enough.

[ Miach raises an eyebrow at the scythe. She herself is unarmed and transformed. ]

You gave me short notice.

[ Pause. ]

But bantering about that isn't why you called me here. Ask your questions, I'll like it more when that is done with and you can put your weapon aside.

Right...

[Zack sits up and scoots over so Miach could sit next to him on the bench.]

I don't mean to accuse you of anything, but let's say you took the hell cat's bait last week. I know your home is a worse shitshow than this, and you don't care for playing along with Fav, but...

What WOULD you wish for?

[ Miach sits down without more than a split second of hesitation. The atmosphere isn't the same between them as it normally is, but she's not deterred enough to feel the need to put physical distance at least. ]

I haven't given it much thought. I just thought it was ridiculous to bait a dead girl with anything.

If I had to make a wish.... maybe I'd take Tuan and Cian and go live in another era. I don't think that would have made any of us happy though. We know where we come from and we've already had enough.

[ Then she realizes the names won't mean anything to Zack, so she adds: ]

Oh - Tuan is the girl in my hostage video this morning - Tuan Kirie, Cian Reikado. My comrades in lifeism hell.

...Nnh. That makes sense.

[Zack kept his grip on his scythe. He was ready to tear his friend to shreds but... What she's saying matches up to what she said in the past. He isn't going to slaughter her right this second, but he's ready. Just in case.]

Was Tuan the redhead with the short hair? It doesn't really make sense for her to be there if she's already dead.

Edited (*takes scissors to the hostage's hair*) 2017-04-03 17:44 (UTC)

[ There's a nod from Miach. ]

The same applies to me though - but if they truly brought her mind here just to serve as a hostage, that's a needless level of cruelty.

Tuan took the same pills I did. She wouldn't have abandoned me.

[ She pauses, then turns to look back directly at Zack. ]

But you haven't called me here to hear about my friends either.

...

[Well, she is capable of lying. But she seems to be acting as her normal, nearly emotionless self.]

... I'm still pissed off about that last trial. You were one of the suspects, but... I really doubt you'd want to try killing some random kid like that.

That doesn't mean I trust you blindly.

I wouldn't ask you to. Your own judgement is the thing you can rely on the very most in the end.

Regardless, I didn't do it. You said you wouldn't mind dying for a murder you actually committed... and if you had to try and kill me one day, I'd also strongly prefer it for something I actually am guilty of.

[ Miach leans back a little, now visibly more relaxed. ]

You care a surprising lot about the people here.

Edited 2017-04-04 02:58 (UTC)

[Zack nods, knowingly.] Thanks for being honest.

[He relaxes a bit himself, but never lets go of his weapon.]

I knew you wouldn't have done it, I knew you too well, then. It's just...

[Wait, what was that about caring about people? Tsundere mode, activate.]

Not really. Just a couple of people I ended up talking to... A lot... It's nothing.

[Yes, nothing. As if it was summoned, one of Eliza's pokemon trots up to Miach to investigate. It's a little deer thing, and it's sniffing at her cautiously.]

Crown, that'a just Mia. She won't bite...

[... Shit did he just sound like a father or something oh god how does he even]

[ 'Nothing', huh? Well, Miach will hold out her hand for Crown to sniff and get acquainted to her smell. ]

It's unexpected Eliza struck such a chord with you after all you said about energetic happy people - though 'emotional' may fit her better than 'happy' in the end.

[ And here's where there is an attempted head-pat for Crown. ]

Maybe next week we'll have a letter from her as well.

[Crown hesitantly accepts the headpats. He gives Miach a confused "ling?" noise and looks up at her.]

[Zack grimaces.] you know, I actually came this close to killing her at one point, but...

[Sigh.] You know, it's weird when you have to worry about death battles and... Whatever killed BB.

Takes the fun out of doing what you always do, huh?

[ Then another thought comes to her, so now that she's curious she has to ask: ]

Is that what makes you so angry about it? Like you said about the girl this morning, if anyone's killing these people it's you?

No, I actually don't want to die in magical girl hell if I can help it.

[Did he tell her yet? Maybe he should explain.]

Uh, you mean Ray? Er...

Funny story about how I met her. Did I tell you about the murder building yet?

No, we didn't get that far in your backstory.

[ She turns to look at him instead of crown, pulling her knees up to her body and propping her head up on her hands. Story time is expected now. ]

[Oh, Crown doesn't get any more headpats? ... Crown don't care.]

[Zack sighs and begins his messed up story.]

Well, one thing you gotta worry about when you're an impulsive serial killer is the cops. Killing other people was illegal in my time, though I guess you probably read about that already.

So, yeah. One day I decided to hide out in a church... Or I thought it was a church of some kind... There was a priest there. A weird priest who smelled like he bathes in perfume on a daily basis.

[ Killing other people is still illegal now Miach thinks to herself, amused by how that phrasing came out but not really wanting to quarrel over meaningless wording details. ]

Maybe he thought that by smelling different from other humans, people would come to believe in his supernatural purpose more?

[ It's a rhetorical question more than anything, mostly she's focused on listening here. ]

[Funny you should mention that...]

Yeah, either that or he keeps some kind of drug on him. Like, five minutes after I entered, the air around me started smelling like that priest, only ten times heavier...

That's when I started tripping balls.

[Crown was also staring at Zack at this point. He had a look on his face that made it seem like he was thinking, Why did I end up with this weirdo for a trainer?]

[ She laughs at that. ]

Religion is often compared to a drug for the mind, but the literal combination is also a classic. So then..?

[How dare you laugh at that.]

It ain't funny, it was fucking weird!

I was in this empty room where all of the assholes from my past were mocking me, laughing like fucking hyenas. I got pissed off, grabbed my knife, and proceeded to try and stab the shit out of every single one of them.

But they wouldn't bleed normally! They like, spewed blood everywhere and wouldn't stop laughing like lunatics until I slashed their throat- And they had way too much blood spewing out everywhere! It was a fucking mess, and I think I was so high I couldn't help but laugh at it all. And then a shitload of blood splashed on my face.

The next thing I knew, I was in front of a knocked over fountian thing with my knife in my hand, drenched in water... Probably holy water now that I think of it...

And there was the priest, standing behind me with a smug grin on his face.

[Crown looks a bit confused and disturbed.]

[ Alright, this is significantly less funny, it's true. Miach briefly imagines seeing her own abusers again and she thinks that with certainty, she'd kill them too this time. How frustrating if they wouldn't die....

As far as the story goes, she stays silent, only urging Zack to go on with her eyes. ]

He walked up to me, put a hand on my shoulder and asked if I didn't know better than to destroy things. I said nothing- how the fuck am I supposed to awnser anything if I had no fucking idea what was going on?

"I understand," he said. "I know what you want in this life," he said. "Come with me, and I shall take you to a haven where you may kill as much as you like."

[At this point, Zack realizes how much this feels like his current situation. He groans and shakes his head.]

I can't believe I actually accepted that offer, but at least he gave me a choice. Unlike some people...

[Crown doesn't know what to make of that.]

That sounds much like a Faustian deal, you made there. The devil wears a priest's mask... I'm sure the classic authors would have loved this concept.

Did he keep word? And did it make you happy?

Uh... Sort of and not sure.

[Crown tilts his head, confused.]

[Zack rubs at his bandaged face as he explains.]

I mean, yeah, he led me to a floor in some basement where I was going to "work..." The whole floor, he remodeled to look like some shady back alley... My old hunting grounds... Gave me this scythe... [Here, he fiddles with his scythe as he mentioned it.] And food and a place to sleep.

But he had rules here, too. I mean, he had these... "Sacrifices" brought to the lowest floor, and they had to figure out how to get out, having to go through every floor on the way up. Those were the people I was supposed to kill. Couldn't kill the other "masters" on the other floors, couldn't leave my floor to chase people down...

I mean, in the downtime we could go to different floors to chat, but my coworkers were psychos.

[That sounds like a bit of a stretch, considering it's coming from a confessed serial killer. But there are worse people out there.]

So he domesticated you, made killing into your duty.

[ She doesn't say it harshly, at least? ]

But you were telling me about Rachel... was she a coworker or a sacrifice?

... Never thought of it that way, but yeah.

[How did he not realize he got roped into that sort of deal?]

Sacrifice. She managed to get away from me and go on to the next floor.

That's when I fucked up and followed her there.

Why?

[ That's.... a very simple question, but at this point she's just trying to move the story along. Zack actually has an interesting lifestory and not too many can say that of themselves, or so Miach thinks. ]

[Interesting, yes. Not so fun to live through.]

Well, when I finally caught up to Ray, the master of the floor above mine was unstrapping her from his operating table, laughing like a complete lunatic with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. He was all, "Oh I am just as happy as a lark!" because of her eyes or some freaky shit like that.

[You might recognize that master's likeness in the one eyed doll Zack would take home on Wendsday. Not that Zack really described what he looks like.]

That sort of manic joy just riled me up, so I slashed him up on the spot!

[ .......... ]

Quite the rebel you are yourself, breaking both of your rules in one go.

[ She doesn't disapprove but. ]

And I didn't even realize it!

[Crown doesn't seem to know what to make of this story. Then again, neither does Zack.]

Too bad the voice on the intercom chimed in ten minutes later to declare me a sacrifice because I attacked one of my "co-workers." You know what that means?!

[In case you haven't been paying attention...] They fucking made me fair game for those psychos to probably slaughter! I kind of LIKE not getting murdered myself, so I was pretty much screwed over.

While I was getting there, though, Ray had become this emotionless shell of a person somehow, so I couldn't bring myself to kill her. That seemed like the worst part, but then she walks up to me with that dead look in her eyes and just... Asks me to kill her!

[ That... predictably fails to have too much of an effect on Miach. She can't pretend she finds this weird, really. ]

Being murdered by a serial killer isn't a bad way to go, all in all. I wouldn't choose it for myself if I had other options available, but...

You said you wanted to kill her before then, so she wasn't suicidal when you met her, was she?

She wouldn't just kill herself because "it's unforgiveable." I asked.

And no, she had normal emotions when I first saw her, just like everyone else. What the fuck happened between then and the time I caught up to her I have no clue.

[ Huh...... ]

Suicide is condemned in many cultures, yes. Your body and life are given to you from God, so don't you dare discard it - that kind of thing. My friends and I used to talk about how Catholics of the old days buried suicide victims at crossroads so they'd never find the way to heaven as punishment.

I'm sure she was thinking of something like that.

That's almost exactly what she was thinking!

[You sound just like her!]

But we both needed to get out, and you know I ain't that smart, so I said I'd kill her after we escaped.

Last time I checked, she was still wanting to go through with that.

Edited 2017-04-20 03:38 (UTC)

...so that's why you're the only one who can kill her? Because she's your only help in surviving yourself?

Bingo.

[It's actually a little more complicated than that, but she pretty much summed it up.]

Week Three, Monday Evening

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suicide mention cw as always

When is Mia not talking suicide?

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CW: Graphic violence

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