auroraexpress | The Twenty-Third Trial

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The Twenty-Third Trial

Who: trialgoers etc!
When: Day 50, morning
Where: the ~trial zone~

[Another morning, another Trial! Ugh.

At least this one seems normal, starting out with a shake and the Hermit’s booming voice:]

"Good morning, Heroes. You can guess why you're being called, but before we begin I have an official statement. The Prince of Stars and associates were not responsible for yesterday's Trial. It appears the system was copied by a Malicious entity -- we apologize for any confusion and are doing our best to locate this entity and find a way to prevent any such incidents in the future.

In the meantime, we've scheduled a low-stress Trial for today to lift your spirits. With teamwork and a little silliness, let's search for unity and peace within ourselves."

[The Hermit's tent is in the clearing, awaiting your arrival.]

rules | sign-in | mingle | rooms | winners & endgame

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

On a train where there's pods that literally revive people.

Only way to eliminate a threat is to make friends with it.

Only if they can reach those pods.

Only if someone who cares about them can reach those pods and between teammates and the bleeding hearts on the train, that means killing a lot of people, and then pissing off the people who care about them, and then dealing with them.

That's the thing about killing people. Its really easy to have to kill more to cover the ones you want dead.

Yet I did not see his teammates coming to his aid. If Eliza had not interfered, they may have very well assumed he was lost.

[ It's not like he was thinking long-term at the time, but he still feels confident that his solution could have been permanent. ]

But someone did come to his aid. She would have revived him because she's that kind of person. And if not her, it could be someone else.

There's also the problem of our numbers on this train is limited and making friends is also a literal matter of life and death longterm.

If you can befriend people, that's the literal best option for continued survival in pretty much every instant. Killing someone, in this circumstance, should only be if you can't avoid that option.

Defending what's yours is important. But defending what's yours also means knowing what could go wrong longterm and plan for that.

[ He bares his fangs, even as he's forced to acknowledge the elements of truth in that last sentence. ]

Do not lecture me about what I have been doing for years. I will handle threats how I see fit. Befriending others has yet to protect us from their abuse.

I'm a soldier. It is literally my job to assess threats and deal with them in defense of what's mine.

And to be fair, 'befriending' is how Felix would see it. The more pragmatic way to look at it is manipulating people into being gracious for you and be willing to work with you, which is kind of necessary with some people on this train if you're not already a fucked up person who can't throw stones anyway.

But making friends is a great way of having a way to deal with the abuse even when you can't kill people.

Like I would personally love to ruin the people who I know have hurt Felix in the past because even if he doesn't remember it yet, I know tells when I see them and frankly, death is too good for those people. Because I'm friends with Felix.

[WHOSE A MURDER PUPPY? DUSK IS A MURDER PUPPY.]

[ He looks even more enraged and even offended at that explanation. ]

I am not a manipulator! I'm nothing like that bastard!

[ A purplish ice spike shoots up in front of Dusk, as Felix spreads his claws at his sides, another much less human growl exploding from him, even as he shakes his head in fierce denial. ]

[ But that sudden rage shifts into confusion as Dusk goes on, gradually becoming something more wary. ]

... You are dangerous.

[Okay, he steps back from the ice, hand going to his side, ready to grab a gun from under his hoody is more attacks come.]

[But without a follow up, he doesn't grab the weapon, yet, but he doesn't relax his stance either. If the other picks a fight, he's making it obvious there will be a fight.]

Of course I'm dangerous. I'm a special ops supersoldier that fought in an intergalatic war to save my race from extinction.

Because I protect what's mine.

Felix is my friend. There are many people on this train who are my friends. And making this crazy bond thing work might be what saves my friends back home.

You could be a threat to Felix. You could be a threat to our saving efforts.

You're dangerous, that I know.

What I want to know is if you're a threat to what's mine.

[ Those claws flex but no more spikes appear. For now. ]

I know what you are. And I know what he chooses not to see. He has always done that.

[ So intent on weathering the storms, whatever they may be. So sure that the end result will make everything else worth it. Reckless. Stupid. What choice does he have but to remain in control in face of that? ]

I do not care about your efforts. I will undergo your trials. And I will bring back what we lost.

You are right that I am dangerous. I will be as dangerous as is necessary to protect us. But why should I believe your friendship is not an even greater threat? Others have claimed to care. That did not stop them from betrayal.

Yeah, that's not a surprise.

Then they weren't friends. Simple as that. Friends don't stab each other in the back.

And I don't claim to be a good person. I'm not. No matter what people might say on this train, that's just because they've never been my enemy. If I think I can get away with killing someone who is, I'd do it without a second thought.

I don't feel regret for any of the people I've remembered killing because they were my enemy. I feel more regret for blowing up my friend's dead body even though I had nothing to do with his death.

Because it's one thing to fuck over someone who you don't owe anything. It's another to do it to someone you trust.

If I betrayed a friend, I hope they do slit my throat.

Indeed, they were not friends.

[ He may not have the complete picture, but he has enough to know that much.

Felix continues to regard Dusk coolly. ]

You are honest. I will give you that. At least in terms of who you are.

Little point denying it. Memories get played on a big screen, sometimes it happens with trials, just means I'm being cagey and we already have enough cagey assholes on board making it hard to generate sparks.

And there's that.

What do I have to gain by hurting Felix?

What does anyone have to gain from hurting anyone else?

[ He just sounds tired now and brings his maimed hand toward himself. ]

[That....is a tired he knows.]

[He finally moves his hand away from his weapon.]

Depends what you're trying to get. But a lot of the time, hurting just comes from a long train of someone, somewhere, just deciding to be an asshole and people reacting from there.

I have no desire to hurt Felix.

And if you want to protect him, I don't want to hurt you either.

But that's only if the protection isn't hurting him.

[And he holds out a hand again and he's going to send a heal his way to help with that injury. It can't regrow limbs, but at least help the pain.]

So how about you tell me what's going on because I'm willing to work with you, but you have to be willing to.

[ Felix curls the remaining fingers of his injured hand into a fist, turning to the side. ]

There are plenty of... assholes out there.

[ He parses the world as though he's not familiar with having it on his tongue.

After a moment, Felix looks down at his hand in surprise. The nagging pain from aggravating the injury has faded again. He lifts his gaze to Dusk, still confused. ]

As I said, I will protect us from now on.

Oh, definitely. But that's why it's good to have friends who are willing to shoot them in the face for you.

Locking someone away isn't protecting them.

It is if they will not protect themselves. I gave more than enough leeway. I cannot trust him.

....have you talked to him?

[Since Felix had NO IDEA ABOUT YOU and all.]

How am I supposed to do that?

[ He remembers he did it in the past, but everything is still too jumbled to recall the actual process. ]

...how aware are you of things?

How aware is he?

I see everything. It is not the same for him. He is resting.

Do you know why he's resting?

Because I am here. The loss of blood was too much for him.

Re: WINNERS & ENDGAME

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