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 Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 9:17 pm
His head was swimming, too many thoughts to comprehend and with pain added on top it just made it even harder to think. And then there was the thought of her...the bloodied, broken girl he had left back in the alley like trash. For the fourth time (possibly more, he couldn't keep track) he forced the urge to hurl away and continued his trek.
Thankfully he had enough sense to power-down. A school-kid wandering around with injuries was -much- safer than a Negaverser. The city -was- dangerous afterall, hopefully he could bump into someone and...
NO. God damnit all he wanted to do was get to the damn hospital and see -Z-. His own injuries didn't matter. The blood dripping from his face and various cuts meant nothing, nor did the pain from his ribs that was all but killing him. It was minuscule when compared to the fact Z was in unknown shape, but whatever it had been it was bad enough that his little buddy needed an -ambulance-. Demy had to get to his side, and he had to do it -now-.
A few onlookers on the street had stopped, mostly staring in confusion and horror at the mess of a boy that stumbled his way past them. One had even tried to stop him, but Demy had pushed the man aside and continued his trek. He should be going slower, minding his ribs and not pushing himself to almost jogging down the sidewalk. Every twist and bend and breath hurt afterall.
But he had to find Z, -now-. Screw Scheelite and his sick sense of 'justice', he didn't have time to worry about that now.
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Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 9:33 pm
Alexander was in deep s**t. What time was it again? No matter. It wouldn't change the fact that he was late, horribly late and out past Hillworth's acceptable curfew. A lone schoolkid was one that was the target of riffraff and muggers, and a lone schoolkid that also came from Hillworth? Even worse. It didn't matter who you were at that school -- someone was bound to know someone else in there, and because of that similarity... More often than not, it was more of a reason to get jumped.
The boy was glad that he left his video camera and handheld video game systems in his dorm room, along with his arcade money. Even if he did get jumped, the only thing worth anything was his cellphone. And his jacket. Alex was careful to not make eye-contact as he hurried along. The jacket was the only winter-approved thing he owned aside from his hoodies, and layering those was so out of season.
This plan, however, failed completely when he ran into someone. "Ow! Hey! I'm sor- McCracken?! What the hell happened to you? I thought you were already jumped before! It's not good to take second servings of getting trashed!" He reached out to steady his rival, staring wide-eyed at the complete mess Demy got into.
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Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 9:44 pm
His path had continued on with no notable moments. People moved, people stared, and he continued on lost in his thoughts and emotions. At least until someone stopped and steadied him. For a moment he panicked. Was this someone else coming to fight him?! To avenge the girl left behind?
Or...no, no wait. Demy narrowed his eyes and stared at Alex...though really it seemed more like he was staring -past- Alex. Apparently he was having some trouble focusing. The blonde was eerily silent for a few more moments before letting loose a rush of information.
"I-it's not me you should be worried about man! It's..it's Z, Alex..dude, man...I need to go. D-don't you understand?! Z's messed up dude...messed up and in the hospital and I have to go, I have to find him now and..and..."
He had tried to move...in the wrong direction. The hospital was not the way he was attempting to stumble off. Demy was disorientated, lost, confused.
"E-either you're with me or you're against me and maaaaan you don't want to be against me right now because...because -Z-, god...I just...where the hell am I?"
The rambling paused so that Demy could cough. The harsh noise ended with a fresh bit of blood dripping from his mouth.
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Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 9:55 pm
Alex stared in horrid fascination at his rival. What just happened? Did someone beat him at Guitar Hero?! And... oh man, did Demy just cough up some blood on him? He took a step back in surprise, then brought his fingers up in front of Demy's face and snapped his fingers. "Hey! HEY! Tune in to the right channel! Didn't you stop to check your HP? You're in no condition to stumble off like a drunk anywhere man! Just lookit yourself! Guitar Hero needs food badly. You lost your 'shroom and the goombas are comin' Mario! How do you think you'll make it in that condition? You need a one-up man."
As Alex rambled he dug into his coat pocket and withdrew his phone. Most likely Demy would have to suffer a retelling of this moment not once but several times, as Alexander was a geek enough to have a green mushroom charm attached to his phone. See, a green mushroom in the Mario games is a one-up or extra chance and Alex has one, get it? Get it?
He flipped it open and pushed a couple numbers. "Dude, just... Sit your pretty GH-King a** down that parkbench and wait for me to call the red'n'white chariot here to pick you up, okay? You're on a street with a bunch of on-lookers - HEY YOU WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL 911 WHEN HE FIRST STUMBLED BY? TOO LATE NOW I'M ALREADY DOING IT -- and Hillworth is thaddaway and the place you wanna go isn't this way. Hi operator! I'm on 4th Avenue in front of 5th Base Sports Goods, and my friend here needs an ambulance aye-ess-aye-pea."
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Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 10:11 pm
"Stoooooop!"
Demy whined and swatted at the fingers snapping in front of his face. This wasn't the time for Guitar Hero or mushrooms or channel surfing or ANYTHING. Damnit man, why wasn't he understanding?! He needed to get to the hospital ---
Awh -s**t-.
"No, no no no! Dude, man NO I d-don't need an ambulance I need to get there FOR Z. You got it?! Z. NOT ME. Cmon man pleaseeee they'll..they'll -do stuff- to me and question me and I won't get to see Z and I need to, I need to make sure he's okay and and..."
Those were -tears- Alex. Tears running down Demy's face even as he tried to wipe them away furiously.
"I d-don't want to hurt anymore....but...but Z....."
He grabbed uselessly at the phone...unfortunately only nabbing the green mushroom. Sorry Demy, that 1-up won't do much for your health.
And no, he was not sitting down.
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Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 10:23 pm
"HEY! Lay off my shroom!" Alex cried, the phone getting dragged away from his ear when Demy latched onto his charm. "C'mon, leggo and go grow your own! Oh hey, lookit that, I didn't push send! No wonder the operator didn't pick up, haha! I thought I was talking over her, but I guess not," he closed his phone and tried to pull the mushroom out of his rival's grasp. "Come on I spent three days at the ticket-games to save up enough for that!"
Alex shook his head. "Maaan, you owe me big time dude. You sure you don't want a ride to there in the whaambulance and wanna hoof it?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 10:41 pm
Demy finally let go after a few tugs, and stopped to stare at his hand in confusion. He had reached for a -phone-. Why was there no phone in his hand? The snap of a shutting phone signaled one being put away...but dude he had -totally- grabbed for it so why wasn't it there and just...
Man he hurt.
"H-how far is it?..."
Not that it mattered, because he was stumbling off again...though thankfully this time it was in a direction that'd eventually lead to the hospital. That was something, right?
"I just...I c-can't get admitted man. They..they won't let me see Z then and I have to, someone has to be with him! He's -messed up- dude..."
Well, so was he, but he didn't seem to be saying anything about his own injuries. The blood and useless clutching at his side was probably evidence enough of it being his ribs again.
But it didn't matter, only Z did.
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Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 10:51 pm
As much fun as it would be to stand back and watch Demy stumble off, he wasn't sure if Demy would be able to make it. What if he tripped and couldn't get up like an upside-down turtle? What if someone jumped him? What happened? What if someone else beat him at Guitar Hero? There were so many questions with little answers, and considering how off Demy's aim was... well, either Alex wouldn't get a straight answer, the wrong answer, or the confession that Demy saw a pokemon was following them.
That was the last thing he needed. Those shiny pokemon still eluded him.
Alex caught up to Demy easily, resisting the urge to poke his ribs as he did so. "I dunno, but it shouldn't be too far. What in ToonTown happened to you? Z got hurt? How? Why won't they see you? I mean, given how you look man, I kinda get where they're comin' from. Speaking of, you might wanna wipe the blood off your chin and zip up your coat so the doctors can't get a look at you. Once you show up lookin' like that, they're gonna wanna strip you and force you in bed. Away from tha- Z. Away from Z."
The second-to-last thing Alex needed was to tip off Demy that he had met Z, and was being blackmailed by him.
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Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 11:12 pm
"I...I dunno man. I g-got this phonecall saying Z was hurt and they were taking him to the hospital and..."
How to explain his current condition? Really even he was hazy on details, the only things burning in his memory were the last look at his opponent and the injuries now making every step a rather agonizing adventure.
"And...then I ran into you."
Oh yes, clearly just skipping right to his run in with Alex was the best way to explain his looks. But at least he was listening! Demy zipped up his jacket (whimpering and cringing as he did so), and quickly wiped the blood away from his face.
"I'm...fine. Really... And no! No one's forcing me away from Z, I just...where the hell is the hospital?"
He continued his (pretty slow) trek, eyes scanning the buildings for any sign of the hospital. They definitely were not there yet.
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Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 12:18 am
"Whoa, whoa, you got a phonecall and then you ran into me? Dude, either you've got some scratches on your disk or someone skipped a cut-scene. You can't do that! Skipping cut-scenes is like buying a candy bar and throwing away the candy to lick at the crumbs! You miss out on valuable information and awesome action scenes and boring dialogue and... stuff!"
He flailed his hands for emphasis, dropping them before reaching out to point at Demy. "Besides, you don't look "fine" to me, Link! You've got about a fourth a heart left, and I'm surprised there aren't any warning bells going off. And if your ego wasn't so heavy, I'd offer to carry you there. It shouldn't be too far, if I remember correctly," he said, looking around. "I think we're a couple blocks away? Just don't pass out on me or anything, 'cause the first thing I'm gonna do when you hit the pavement is search your pockets for loot and the secret to your Guitar Hero skills. Then I'll take half your wallet's contents in exchange for dragging you to the hospital to cover travel charges."
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Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 2:08 pm
"You're some friend..."
Seems that disc skipping was back, because Demy had jumped right over the whole 'how the hell did you get like this?' bit of the conversation and right onto ragging Alex about his future looting plots. Alex did not need to know about his little raiding and leveling up experience. Besides...even if he did tell him, Alex would likely just call him a hacker.
"But like really, awesome to know you'd loot me and -then- help me to the hospital. Remind me to never be around you when I'm really hurt."
Like now, not that he said that.
"I am NOT going to pass out. I am FINE. I need to see Z!"
He repeated this every so often, sounding more like he was trying to reassure himself rather than any person following him. But at least he was still moving, that was a positive sign right?
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Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 10:28 pm
Alex already knew Demy was a hacker. How else could he explain Demy's skill at Guitar Hero? HAX. If Alex ever found out about his double-life, he'd probably wonder what new game Demy was playing. Run around and steal starseeds? What was it, a new version of capture the flag? Psh. He'd seen 8-bit games with more backstory then that (but oh, would he be so wrong!).
"Loot you? Who said anything about lo- damnit!" Alex smacked himself on the forehead. "I didn't mean -- well, okay I did but you weren't supposed to hear that! How am I supposed to find your secrets to Guitar Hero mastery now? Curses! I need to get even more tricky, trickier than breaking into your room for instance. You have everything everywhere so finding anything would be rather hard...
And yes, yes. You need to get to Z, fine! Keep moving then, slacker! Instead of tapping the directional pad, maybe you should hold it down and start trying to take bigger steps...?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 10:34 pm
"Right, being tricky step one...don't say your plan out loud. Dude that's like such a villainy cliche and just...-god-."
....Wait. What had Alex just said?!
"...Breaking into my room? Huh?"
Demy stopped for a moment to stare at the other. It wasn't like anything in his room was really missing, and he hadn't yet noticed the way everything had been -mixed up-. But...really? Why the hell was his rival in his room?!
...No matter. Z. Had to get to Z.
The slacker comment went by for a moment without a remark. The blonde simply shuffled along, seeming to have ignored it....until he suddenly lashed out and attempted to snag the other by his collar. Whoa boy, the look in his eyes was -not- normal. It was crazed really, partially from anger and a -lot- from pain.
"I would TAKE bigger steps, if baby steps didn't really hurt as it is...okay? Okay."
He gave an irritated sort of snort and resumed his trek. God damn irritating rivals, this was -not- the time to be calling him a slacker.
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Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 10:45 pm
The other boy didn't seem to pay attention when Demy stopped, continuing at a leisurely pace and rambling. "Geeze, what does a guy have to do in order to come up with something? So what if it's easier to talk to myself, it's not as if anyone really pays attention or anything then again that's probably why most of my schemes haven't been working out. Maybe that's why I've been losing YouTube subscribers? Man! No won- gyaaak!"
Alex stopped as Demy snatched and yanked on his collar, stopping and more importantly, shutting him up. "Gyarrgh," he replied, waiting until Demy released him to carefully step back and stare. "Damn man, first ribs and now..." He shook his head, as if unable to picture it. "Would it help if I half-carried you? Arm over the shoulder, one step together sort of awkward stuff. Or we could try stealing a rolly-chair from an office supply store and push you on that, except it doesn't have seatbelts or brakes and.. yeeeah."
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Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 11:05 pm
"It's -still- my ribs..."
Demy ground out a response. It seemed like it was everything he could do to control himself...or at least keep himself standing up and moving on.
"They hurt so bad, you have no idea, but like..it doesn't matter and I just...whatever man, whatever gets us there."
He stopped, pausing to catch his breath. Every inhale was pure agony, and somewhere in all that huffing he made a very distressing sound of pain. The darker side of his brain sat in it's corner and simply laughed. Weak, it said. He was weak and if this was how he handled life he'd -never- be able to truly protect Z. He had to toughen up, learn to live with the pain, embrace it, feed off it. Being someone's bodyguard meant being ready to do -anything- for them. Take orders, take the hits, and hell..even die for them if it came down to it.
That darker side didn't think he was ready, it nagged away at the fiber of his being and informed him of just how unprepared he was for this job.
And the other side told it to -shut up-. He was learning damnit, and even if he wasn't capable of dealing with much pain now he was -always- ready to do whatever it took to protect Z.
"It...m-might help. I dunno man, I just..dunno..."
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