Requiem 06: Dreams Are Forever
Last night's kiss with Yukari (and subsequent teasing) are still fresh in Tom's mind as he prepares for his dinner with Mitsuru.
Yukari is downstairs, chatting amiably with Fuuka.
Boss and Minato left as soon as the night fell.
Thomas is, again, in his suit: freshly washed, dried, and ironed. He saunters down the stairs, straightening his tie as he draws toward the ground floor,
"Hey guys."
"Evening Tom."
"How am I on time?"
"Uh..." Yukari looks up at the clock. "Should be okay. Why? Planning to get your nails done, too?"
"Fssh. Don't have any and not minding one bit," that sound, grinding metal is heard again as he mocks cracking his knuckles.
"Anyway...she'll be here soon. She called ahead." Yukari perks up a bit. "And we'll have the place to ourselves! Right, Fuuka?"
"You'll have it to yourselves, huh?" He chuckles, hands sliding into his pockets, "Well, as long as I get to hear every little detail
later."
"Yeah right. Go on, get out of here! You should be waiting outside, like a gentleman."
"Alright, alright. Don't let me stop you two..." A snicker, he moves to the door, stopping at its foot, "...If anything strange happens,
call me right away, alright?"
"We'll be fine."
"Well, alright..."
He pulls open the door, stepping out into the night, "Have a good time, ladies!"
After a few minutes, the limo pulls up. Mitsuru isn't inside.
"Miss Mitsuru is waiting at the restauraunt." The driver confirms.
Not at her house? Damn. He nods and slides into the back of the Limo, "Thanks."
The limo heads for a rather expensive restauraunt. It takes a bit to arrive - the city's a fair bit bigger than one might expect - but finally, the driver
gets out, opening the door for Tom.
Tom steps out of the limo, straightening the wrinkles that managed to distort his coat, "Thanks again."
"My pleasure, sir."
So, this was the place? His eyes look for the sign as he approaches the door.
There's a doorman standing outside. He welcomes Tomas with a friendly nod and opens the door.
Mitsuru is sitting inside, legs crossed, the same black dress from before. She looks up at Thomas's entry. "That took longer than I expected it
to.'
"There was a bit of traffic on the way," he says, just managing to keep himself from stammering at the sight of her, "Sorry I'm a bit
late."
"If it wasn't illegal, I would have thrown cars out of the way."
She stands up as the waitress comes over. "Are you ready for your table now?"
"We are," she confirms.
He nods, "After you, Mitsuru." Really? He just wanted to be able to look at that ass.
Mitsuru starts walking, those hips saying left and right just as perfectly as the prior day. She settles down at the table and lifts a menu in one seamless
motion.
He figured he could probably count time with those gyrations. His descent is slightly less graceful- mostly because he had to be very careful to avoid sitting
too suddenly, lest the chair shatter under pressure.
At least it seems sturdy... He, too, grabs a menu for review.
"You look nice," Mitsuru says after a moment, perusing the menu and probably not really actually looking at Tom at all.
"I try my best," Tom put on his best 'chill' face. The one that said he already knew... Despite the fact that his insides were squirming at
her compliment, "I'm just glad my suit was in one piece."
She glances up, but not at him; she's looking around at the mostly-empty restauraunt, lowering her voice. "I apologize for inconveniencing you,"
she says after a moment, "But I can't eat at home at the moment, and this is the best way for us to meet without it looking..." She purses her
lips. "Suspicious."
"I guess my antics at the office didn't help any," he says, suddenly feeling just a bit sheepish. A roll of the shoulders- nervous twitch,
"I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to cause such a ruckus."
"It's not your fault," she replies smoothly, "The fact that the files disappearing was covered up is proof that they suspect me, not
you."
"I see..." The cyborg's fingers steeple together, he releases a breath- mourneful, perhaps? Or regretful? "Either way, I've caused you
trouble. I'm sorry."
"But those files are what were needed, right?"
"You didn't cause me any trouble. Blame the Requiems if you want to blame something." She folds her menu up. "That's right."
"What did you want to talk about? Regarding the documents..." Among other things.
"Hold on." She flags down a waiter. "I'll have a steak. Well done." The waiter seems a tad flabbergasted - that he was on his way to
another table is plainly obvious.
Mitsuru, frankly, doesn't seem to care. "A salad and a bottle of something from mid-1900 would be helpful as well."
"Y...yes ma'am. And for you, sir?"
"I'll take one, too. Medium rare," He liked his bloody, yes indeed, "And a greek salad. As for drink, water will be fine. Preferably in
something sturdier than glass, I'm a bit clumsy." He twitches his mechanical fingers as if to push that point home.
The man takes a glance at the fingers, then gives a nod. "Right away, sir, ma'am." And with that, he scurries off, leaving his original
table...well, to suffer, because they didn't have anyone as demanding as Mitsuru.
"We should take care of the food before we begin conversation that could be overheard," Mitsuru notes.
Domineering personalities tend to be great for ordering about weak willed public servants. "I agree. Talking about such sensitive information in a place
like this might not end well for either of us."
"So eliminating a bothersome waiter is probably a good idea."
"Only if people are paying attention," she replies coolly, "Restauraunts have always been a place for information to be exchanged."
"The case of rival spies, for example, exchanging mutually beneficial information over a bottle of wine, several loaves of bread, and a flight of geese,
then?"
Tom thinks back to all those movies, and books... There were always ducks, weren't there?"
"Are we rival spies, then?" She inquires, a hint of amusement playing across her voice.
"Perhaps, but in those old stories, neither is usually aware of the other's intent until it can no longer be helped," Score. Amusement was better
by at least sixteen magnitudes than cold indifference.
"So who knows? We might be, we might not be. It all depends on what our motivations are."
"To get rid of them." She replies calmly, flicking her eyes over towards the kitchen. "That's all that matters to me."
"For me? Well, let's just say that if eliminating them didn't make me feel warm and fuzzy every night, I wouldn't be doing this."
"...And maybe I'm just a bit too curious for my own good."
"Mmm." She non-answers, as she does so often; those perfect lips press together, either in thought or from habit.
Fingers tap idly against metal knuckles to pass time. If he knows anything about women like Mitsuru, it's that guys who proved too talkative often prove an
annoyance...
"...how was it?" She asks after a very long moment.
"Hm?"
"Your kiss with Yukari."
A light flush of blood rushes to his cheeks. Was she jealous? No, couldn't be... "It wasn't bad, though I can't really say for sure- it
wasn't for too long."
"I see." There's no jealousy in her tone - it's more like odd consideration for something she's never particularly thought of before. And
then the waiter sets their food down before them and hurries off to avoid more conversation with the
terrifying devil-woman. Mitsuru picks up her knife and fork delicately, ascertaining that the area is clear. "...tell me about the files." She says
immediately, whatever kiss-related thoughts may have been running through her head
absolved in a heartbeat now that the chance is open.
Tom's knife released a thin broth of juices from inside the slab of beef. Perfect, as he expected from such a high-class restaurant. A switch activated in
his mind, recalling from the depths of his long-term memory information regarding the files in question, "Well, the guard's file only confirmed much
of what we know.
He's been a bit erratic as of late, and it seems the company is aware that he's a Requiem. But the other folder was much more interesting. It seems
someone's been doing research into the Requiems. They've even got a classification system going."
"Yukari's working on cracking it, now. I just hope she doesn't overwork herself... We're also a bit worried. They've obviously spent a lot
of time doing work into researching these things, and it seems that Boss and Headphones might have begun to find trouble in detecting some of the beasts. We
think a more advanced detection device might be in development somewhere in the company, but aren't yet certain."
He slides a piece of the meat into his mouth, being sure to swallow before continuing, "Though, I'm not sure how we'll be able to confirm that if
security's been alerted."
"I don't want to put you in the way of any unecessary harm, to your body, or your reputation."
"I s-"
Mitsuru's voice freezes. In fact, everything freezes.
Freezes, and then goes black.
It's a most unique experience, sensory deprivation; not like Tom doesn't experience a mild form of it
every day, but this is the first time he's been completely deprived of everything. And then, slowly, he's aware of a voice, a murmur, really, in his
ear - 'tonight'.
"-ee," Mitsuru finishes.
Tom manages to make out a 'Wha-', turning to the source of the sound...
"...Oh, this can't be good."
"...are you alright?" She asks.
"Either I'm going insane, or something really nasty is going to go down tonight."
"Sorry. There've been... voices as of late. On my cell phone, usually. This is the first time it's actually come to my ear, though."
"..." Mitsuru swallows the piece of steak and nods. "I understand."
Well, at least she doesn't seem to see Tom as a crazy man.
His rate of consumption only hastens with the odd message, but not to the point of rudeness...
"Will you be alright, or do you need a ride?"
"I'm not sure..."
"Maybe... To where the guard might be this time of night. People might be at risk."
"If there's something on the loose, those two will take care of it. I'm be more worried about the girls at the agency itself." She rubs her
arm, the first display of actually human emotion she's shown in ages. Clearly she's pretty close to Yukari and Fuuka.
Images of that first night, of the girls in bandages and bloodied by combat, bones broken flood back into his mind, sending a chill through his spine and into
phantom limbs, "I'm sorry. My curiousity got the better of me. You're right, they need the most help, right now..."
She shakes her head, finishing off her steak - when the hell did she do that?! - and leaning forward. The amount of cleavage that dress shows should be
illegal...or not, goddammit. "Do you believe this voice?" She asks after a moment.
If it was illegal, that legislator should be shot, "It hasn't steered me wrong yet..." He says, just moments before finishing off the rest of his
steak... And again, "It... lead me to them, the first time."
"...will you be alright alone?"
"If I didn't know you could handle yourself, I'd say no."
"Mitsuru, be careful."
She nods and stands, leaving the money (and a generous tip) on the table. "You too." She says after a moment. "Don't let anything happen to
them."
"Of course. Knowing that they were hurt would wound me more than any gash," He, too, stands, metal legs pushing the chair away as they again bore his
full weight... "You can count on me."
"I'm glad to hear it," she says, and means it. With that, she makes her way out.
He'd follow her... After all, he probably needed a ride.
She obliges, and as it nears midnight, he's home at the Detective Agency.
Yukari looks up from her desk-work with a wave. "Almost-morning!" She chirps.
Tom is significantly more somber, still bothered by the message, "Hey Yukari... What's up?"
"Fuuka just went to bed. She said she almost has the code cracked."
"So how was the date? Anything steamy happen?"
"Heh, you wish..."
"Is Junpei around here anywhere?"
"He's cleaning up." She makes a face. "He threw up in the bathroom."
"Food poisoning!" She quickly amends. "He tried one of Fuuka's lunchboxes."
"Nothing Requiem-related."
"I got a message again today..."
"It said 'Tonight...'
"You're sure nothing weird's been happening?"
"What about Akihiko and Shinji?"
"Quiet as a churchmouse," She replies, looking over at the clock.
"Are you able to send them any messages?"
"I'll probably have to send a text down to the engineers, too... I hope Mitsuru's alright," Don't pop a vein, Tom...
But he's talking to nothing. Yukari's gone, the agency's gone...everything's gone. Tom is standing in nothingness; absolute, utter blackness as
far as the eye can see.
He blinks, and blinks again... What- where was he?
"Hi there." A voice says from behind him.
The sound of metal against nothingness- something like one hand clapping, as Tom turns toward the voice, "Huh?"
It's a young man, maybe eighteen, nineteen at the most, with pale skin, black hair, and a really, truly outrageously horrible yellow scarf wrapped around
his neck. He's holding a book in one hand, and a pen in the other.
Tom's eyes take a moment to focus onto this figure, fixating first on the face, then the scarf, then the face again, and decide, with long agony, that
looking at a corpse was better than that thing, "Hello?"
"Hi." The young man repeats, looking down at his book, then looking up at Tom again. "It's nice to meet you, Mister Magnusson. Did I say
that right?" He frowns.
"Uhm, yes you did..." Well, this is indeed certainly odd... What was that book? "Who are you?"
"I'm a writer," he says after a moment, a smile blooming on his face.
A chuckle winds its way from the cyborg's throat, "We're all writers, in a way. So, what do I call you, Author?"
"Morpheus. I write peoples' dreams for them." He scratches something down in his book.
"It's not my name, but I like it enough to keep it."
"Ah, a nom de plume? So this is a dream?"
"...Are you the one who keeps sending me those messages?"
"No." He answers, "I just write dreams. I don't call people on cell phones...but dreams are supposed to help people figure things out."
He sits down, crossing his legs, and gestures for Tom to do the same. How he can sit in nothingness is...well, a little weird.
"And I have some questions for you, too."
Tom thought that for a moment, as well... But then again, he fought off what looked like something from a Lovecraftian nightmare, so this couldn't be
worse.
"Well, it looks like I've got quite a bit of time..." He says, setting himself on the floor, legs crossed one atop the other, "What did you
want to ask?"
It's a strange feeling, sitting on nothing, but Morpheus seems to be doing pretty well for himself.
"You've had a lot of good dreams recently, right?"
"I guess you could say that..." Good, Mitsuru-and-home-filled dreams.
"I don't have dreams myself," Morpheus continues. "I don't sleep. I have to keep writing. So I like to ask people about their
dreams." He gives a bit of a shrug of the shoulders, parroting Tom's own motions. "But people don't usually remember me."
"I know what happens, in all of them. But I like to hear what people think of them too."
"I see... Well, they've been keeping me sane, so I guess I have you to thank for that."
"You really like Mitsuru." It's a statement, not a question. "So I've been writing a lot about her for you. I'm glad you like
them."
He shifts a bit. "Now...do you have any questions you want me to help you try and figure out?"
"Yeah..."
"Actually, it's more of a request."
"I've never had a request before."
"Fuuka's been deciphering something important... You said dreams help figure things out, could you maybe help her out- even a bit subtly?"
"Oh, I have! She had a dream about you the other night, and the two of you sat down and decoded the whole thing."
"I thought she'd like that. She's very cute. It makes me miss them a lot."
"Y-yeah, I guess she is... Anyway, I'm glad you're helping her out... I am curious though..."
"What is it that scarred these people so badly? I know it relates to Headphones but..."
"He killed me." Ryoji offers a smile and looks down at his book, scratching something else in.
"But I can't tell you any more than that. I promised Yukari in one of her dreams."
"I see... From your tone, you don't seem to have minded it, much. I mean, you're taking death rather well."
"The Shinigami were very nice. They let me have my book, and the job was open."
"I didn't mind it, but everybody else took it very badly."
"Especially Headphones. That kid looks like he's a walking corpse."
"He is." Morpheus folds his arms across his chest, book resting in his lap. "I think it hurt him the most of all."
"By the way," Morpheus adds, "You're going to wake up in the hospital. It's been two days since you went unconscious because of me -
I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but I have something really important to tell you."
"Yeah... I've noticed that. He's got a lot of pain under there. I'm getting the vibe that he's cold because he doesn't want to face
that pain," Tom sighed, rollion his shoulders again, "T-two days?"
"The Tower of Oblivion is steadily sinking into the Earth." He purses his lips. "That is, Vespertine City is falling apart at the seams. I
think...you were brought in to help stop that. Minato and his partner didn't choose you, but they think they did."
"But...I have a request for you, since you had one for me. Gosh," Morpheus cocks his head, "I've never given a request, either. This is a
real first for me."
"Is that alright, Thomas?"
"I mean...Mister Magnusson. May I call you Thomas?"
"Yeah, sure, and please..." Tom shifts his weight again- two days, huh? "Call me Tom. So, what's up?"
"Tom. Does that mean we're friends, then, Tom?"
"If you like, sure, why not?"
"I'm glad. You're special, Tom - your arms are part of the reason we like you so much." He smiles. "I'd like to test them."
With that, he stands, and writes something in his book; the blackness disappears, replaced by a huge arena full of screaming Romans.
"So if you'd please, would you fight with me?"
"I want to see the full strength of the Shadow Syndicate's favorite experiment."
"Shadow... Syndicate?" Tom rose to his feet, glancing about at the arena, "Fight you? What are you talking about?"
"My request is that you allow me to fight you," Morpheus says.
"Will you, please?"
"Well, since you said please..."
Tom slides into a more battle-ready stance. Let's hope those Romans didn't feel the urge for too much blood... "Let's see what you've got.
Maybe if I win, you can tell me more of that Syndicate thing."
"I'm sorry, I can't. Your mind doesn't hold all the clues yet."
"But if you win, I'll make sure to write more good dreams...you'll need them!"
He settles his pen against the page. "Are you ready?"
"Well, that's all I can ask for, I guess. Sure, let's rumble."
Morpheus taps his pen to his chin and writes something down in the book. "If you win, though...I'll tell you my real name...and tell you a little
about what happened that night."
"That's good enough for me!" A quick hop, then a rushing straight. Let's see if the kid could dodge...
The punch lands, smashing Morpheus in the face; however, he steps back at the last minute, soaking a lot of the damage into his motion and throwing the punch
off badly.
Connection, but nowhere near as solidly as he likes. Still he wagered that the strange lad would be feeling that one...
"Huh." The young (dead) man touches his cheek where the metal fist landed. "I actually felt that...it looks like they used something really
strong in your arm." He puts his pen to paper and starts writing again.
"Uh..."
"Alright then!"
Another punch!
Unfortunately, the whole 'punch me moar!' thing throws our intrepid young cyborg off. Just a glancing shot, this time, off the arm.
One Morpheus doesn't even apparently feel; maybe he's tougher when he's writing in that book.
He looks up at Tom, and removes his pen from his paper, stowing it in his pouch.
The ground around Tom reaches up, grabbing at him as hands of stone; fortunately, there's no significant damage, but...still...
"Wha-" That really threw him off. What just happened?
"Do you like it?" Morpheus asks, hope in his voice. "I took a nightmare and used it as a weapon!"
"That was..."
"That was just kind of weird!"
"I like that. Let's keep going!"
PAAAANCH!
"You do? I'm glad!"
"I've never had a friend before. At least, not in this world." He laughs.
He keeps laughing, even as he twists with the punch once again, his pen drawn out of his pocket for a half-parry spinning into his writing again.
"Heh, maybe we can do this again sometime?"
"I'm glad they did what they did to your brain, Tom. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to remember this."
"I'd like that!"
"...To my brain?"
Again, his words threw him off, this time, right out of range... "Who did what to my brain?"
"They messed with your brain," Morpheus says, and an image of a brain being slowly picked apart and shuffled around appears in front of Tom, a
resonating pain in his head as the brain's tendrils reach out to grab him with shocking nerve endings...
He'd wince a bit, shaking out the cobwebs... It would take more than that... "Who messed with my brain?" Another pot shot...
...But it was enough to throw both of his attacks off center.
"The Shadow Syndicate," Morpheus replies as a horrible monster - a zombie Junpei, it looks like - slams its broomstick down over Tom's head,
shattering it. Probably Fuuka or Yukari's nightmare.
Only to pass straight through him. A ghost attacking reality, "They did more than just my limbs..."
"A lot more."
Another punch, this time, more focused. More... 'Tom...' "Like what?"
Another sliding, glancing blow as Morpheus twists himself at a very odd angle. "I'm not allowed to tell you. You know that by now, right?"
"Yeah, I figured!"
Morpheus's next attack is another stone hand to the balls. However...it does absolutely nothing, passing through Tom once again.
That's what he gets for using other people's nightmares...
The next hit, though, is one strong enough to knock Morpheus back; the arena explodes in a puff of smoke, and everything goes back to that infinite void. He
stands up, unharmed, and still smiling. "Thank you!" He says after a moment, clapping his hands together and bowing in the traditional way for Area
Eleven.
"I had a lot of fun fighting you, Tom."
Tom would have been panting, if he weren't dreaming all this... "Yeah... That was a good bit of fun. Let's do it again sometime."
"So..." His knuckles mime a cracking motion. No sound but creaking metal... "What's your name?"
"Okay. Oh! My name!" He taps his chin. "My name is Ryoji. Tell it to Yukari, and maybe she'll tell you what happened."
"Ryoji... Alright, I'm sure I'll remember. Come by any time, by the way. Just... Don't knock me out for two days straight next time,
alright?"
"There are rules. Igor would be upset if I broke them."
"He's very interested in you."
"Rules?"
"...Igor?"
"They're for me to know!" He waves at Tom. "I'll be sure to give you a really great dream tonight as thanks!"
And then he's gone, the darkness is gone, and Tom is awake, lying in a hospital bed and staring into the faces of Yukari, Fuuka, Mitsuru, Junpei, and -
strangely enough - Shinji.
There's a dog sitting on Shinji's lap, wearing a t-shirt of all things - must be the 'Koro' mentioned at the bar.
The girls breathe a collective sigh of relief - even Mitsuru - and Junpei crosses his arms. Shinji just snorts, as if he was never worried and didn't
expect Tom to do something as stupid as die.
Tom blinks into the ceiling- and consequently, the wreathe of people- amusingly, mostly composed of elevens... "What a strange dream..."
"You passed out from exhaustion while we were talking," Yukari says, "Right at twelve o'clock, you just keeled over."
"Yeah... And..." He looked at Junpei, "Yeah, you were there..."
"...you had a dream about me?" Junpei makes a face at him. "That's pretty gay, man."
"Yeah... Well, you were trying to hit me over the head with a broom."
"...Kinda looked like a zombie, too."
"...freaky."
"Yeah..."
He wonders whether or not he should bring it up...
...Well, everyone was here...
So he may as well...
"And, uh..."
"Ryoji says 'hi.'"
It's like a gigantic fucking hammer just descended on everybody's head. Mitsuru turns and stares out the window, Junpei backs up against the wall,
Fuuka freezes and puts her hands over her mouth.
Yukari...Yukari's hand snaps up and slaps Tom across the face. "That's not funny!" She shrieks, storming out of the room.
A flabbergasted orderly drops some of his paperwork as she stomps past him.
"...how do you know that name?" Shinji asks after a long moment of very, very painful silence.
Ow. Yeah, he felt that... "...He's the reason I was out for two days."
"He wanted to talk to me."
"Ryoji has been dead for years," Mitsuru's helpful insight informs.
Not that everyone in the room didn't know it already.
He presses his metal fingers against the warming mark on his face, "Yeah... He told me that it was Minato that did it..."
"No shit." Shinji says after a moment, sounding vaguely thoughtful.
"But I think he wants you guys to know that he's alright with it, for whatever reason. He's still watching, y'know."
"...that's fuckin' creepy, man," Junpei mutters.
"Don't say that to Yukari." Shinji says as Koro's growl turns to a high-pitched whine.
"Yeah... I should have thought more about that one. 'Course, it was him that told me to ask her..."
Tom sighs, sinking his arms back into the bed, "All I know is that he's been watching you guys. Helping you sleep soundly at night, stuff like
that."
"...fuckin' creepy..." Junpei repeats.
"They were dating." Shinji informs him after another awkwardly silent moment.
"Hey...dude, that's not really your-"
"He has a right to know. It ain't like she's ever gonna get over it." Shinji rebuffs.
"Y...yeah, but..." Junpei's at a loss for words.
"It's alright, I understand it's none of my business..."
"But I can't help thinking that, somehow, this thing with Ryoji is related to what's going on with the Tow- er, Vespertine."
"I doubt it." Shinji replies. "But here. Here's the info I promised you."
"I dug up that missing person yesterday. He's dead, by the way - shot in the head."
"No taint. Totally mundane."
"...A standard murder?"
"Yup."
"Koro didn't whine or anything."
"...I see. So he was clean..."
"Uh-huh."
Mitsuru's hands clench at her arms.
"Well, if that's a dead lead... What about the guy who killed him?"
"No way to tell."
"Could be all kinds of motives."
"Then I guess that's one dead end..."
"How rotted was the corpse?"
"Couple days." He shrugs again and pets Koro.
"A recent slay..."
"That's a bit coincidental..."
"That was the day I was KO'd."
"And the day that the voice told me 'Tonight.' I'm also curious as to why the body was buried. Someone would have noticed unless it was done
very quickly."
"...Even then. An unthorough job, coupled with a missing man means that the corpse would have been located. The family should have put out a missing
person's report... How well hidden was the burial?"
"You mean the dumped corpse washed up against a riverbank outside the city?"
"Heh, so that's where you found it, or are you being metaphorical?"
"That's where I found it. Some local thugs did the dumping - I had to beat it out of them."
"I see."
"Well, then I suppose it's fairly dead of a lead, isn't it...? So where do we go from here?" ...Was it Mitsuru? It could have been...
Possibly...
"Dunno, don't care." Shinji sets Koro on the ground and stands. "Your problem now."
"Yeah... Thanks, Shinji."
"Eh."
"Listen."
He glances at Tom. "Don't dig too hard around here. Things have this fucked up way of being connected to other things...and it gets more and more
fucked up the deeper you go."
"Yeah, I've noticed..." Rustling. He was scratching at his scalp- an art perfected... "But I feel like I owe it to Ryoji, too. He puts up a
pretty good fight, you know."
"...I don't know what you're babbling about." Shinji admits. "But be careful anyway."
"Yeah. I will. Thanks, Shinji."
With that, he heads out, leaving Junpei, Fuuka, and Mitsuru.
Thomas sighs to an invisible facade on the ceiling... "So, what else did I miss?"
Fuuka's still kinda getting over the shock that a dead guy was talking to them, Junpei's still just hanging at the wall, and Mitsuru is still staring
off into space.
Nobody seems willing to volunteer much information.
"So..."
"Fuuka, did you sleep well?"
"..."
"..........the....code's been deciphered." She finally says.
"I see... That's good."
"I knew you could do it."
"...it's really disturbing."
"Huh?"
"The...the analysis."
"Are you... up for talking about it?"
"I won't force you if you aren't."
"Not here," Mitsuru reminds him.
"Public."
"...Right."
There is a pair of heavy thuds on the floor as his mechanical limbs press against the hospital... "And Junpei?"
"...sup?"
"Sorry about bringing that up like that."
"...whatever, man. I think you're just some kinda nut...you probably read about his death in a paper or something and dreamed the whole thing."
"Then again, we did do that thing that night the girls were out cold..."
This gets both Mitsuru and Fuuka's attention.
"...the Requiem! Jeez! What is it with you people?"
"Yeah... Unless we fought off that thing with the power of man-love, I wouldn't get any weird ideas about that night, you two."
"...the what?!" Fuuka goes pure red at that.
"Yeah, you know, love-love."
"But nah, we just beat it senseless."
"...."
"............"
"........................"
"...What?"
Three different people manage to stare at him in complete silence for three different reasons.
At least it dispelled the funk!
"...Hey. I'm a ladies man. I don't do that kind of stuff."
"A ladies man." Mitsuru says dryly.
"I meant that in that I'm not interested in guys... Man. I'm foot-mouthing a lot today..."
"You and Junpei should compare notes."
Ouch.
Yeaahhh... "Ack. Felt that one..."
"Right in the Ego..."
"Mitsuru's got a talent for breaking people."
"Oh. And... You were able to get to safety that night, right Mitsuru?"
"Nothing happened that night, Magnusson." Ahhh, back to the last names.
"Absolutely nothing."
"Well, as long as everyone's safe, that's fine by me."
"Glad to hear it."
"Um...Tom..."
"I'll get you the notes when you get out, okay?"
"So then, let's get out of here?"
"Uh... I think I'm alright..."
Fuuka wrings her hands together, looking away, and suddenly, Tom really doesn't want to know just what sort of dreams inspired her.
"The hospital wants to keep you overnight." Mitsuru replies.
'...They were solving it... together.'
...Suddenly, he had the vaguest idea. And it made him just a bit pink, "I'm pretty sure I'm fine, unless they can check for hearing dead
people."
"Probably not," Mitsuru offers. My, she's full of bite today.
Maybe it's a release of tension now that he's woken up.
...probably not.
Something definitely upset her, it seems... Or maybe she lacked someone to keep on a leash, "Yeah, probably not. Maybe they can check for cold shoulder
instead."
At that, she actually gives a bit of a chuckle and heads out. Junpei does as well, leaving Tom alone with Fuuka.
My, that can't possibly uncomfortable.
Dammit, Morpheus.
Noooot comfortable at all...
"...um...Tom?"
"So... Uh..."
"Yes?"
"...was he...happy?"
"He didn't seem unhappy... Yeah, I'd say so."
"That's...that's good. Yukari...she'd like that..."
Fuuka wrings her hands again, blushing. "..."
"Yeah... Losing someone like that... It's always better to know they're happy, wherever they are."
She nods again.
"So, um, I heard a really weird rumor while you were...meeting with...him!" She perks up a bit.
He blinks at the normally reclusive Fuuka... A rumor? "Huh? A rumor? What kind?"
"About this guy who shows up every full moon looking for a fight." She wrings her hands again. "They say he shows up by the fountain in the
square with a sword as big as he is, and takes on all comers with a promise of 'a wish to one who beats me'."
"But supposedly he just...disappears...after...."
"...Well, that's interesting..."
"I just thought...you know...break the ice..." She blushes again and looks down.
"...Maybe I'll have to check it out!"
"When's the next full moon up?"
"Um, this sunday...the day before the festival."
"S...speaking of..."
"...are you...going with anyone...?"
"Hmm... No, I don't think so..."
"Did you want to come with me?"
There's no words to describe the color of red that Fuuka's face takes on. It's really, truly epic. However, she manages a nod and stands up.
"I...I'd like that...very much!" She squeaks.
Kamina would have called it 'Redder than the flame of manhood!' - or something like that... "Good! Then it's a date." Tom grins, idly
scratching at his nose. His face had taken on something of a... perhaps lighter shade of red...
Hot damn, not even a month into the job, and he's got a date!
At this, she looks like she's about to pass out; she quickly scurries out.
The orderly comes in to check on him, hands him his paperwork, and so on.
And... Homework. Brilliant.
Just to make sure he wouldn't sign anything he didn't want to... And in part because he had nothing better to do...
At least it's not difficult, unless his encounter with Ryoji scrambled up his brain to the point of not remembering his name.
It's time for a read.
The most significant thing he recalled...
Was that Syndicate...
There's not much to the paperwork that a half-brain wouldn't be capable of.
And thus they would be looked over, and completed in relatively short order.
The pen is fortunately reinforced.
Apparently someone read somewhere in his paperwork that Yukari checked in that he was a cyborg.
One that regularly broke things, too! He likes this hospital.
Waaaait a minute. Weren't they looking for a cybor...and he was in a...oh, fuck.
The realization isn't quite fast enough to prevent a man in a very typical detective outfit, followed by a very typical pair of cops with very typical
handcuffs.
Apparently, someone wasn't quite smart enough to figure out that very typical handcuffs were really not very useful when dealing with cyborgs.
"Are you Tom Magnusson?" The man in the coat asks.
"Me?"
"No. The other cyborg in the bed."
"Oh. Sorry, I think I was too rough with her. Yeah, I'm Tom."
"Funny." The detective removes a badge from his jacket, flashing it at Tom. "Listen. You're in seriously hot shit, kid."
"So if you wanna joke, be my guest, but know that people who joke with the law in this town get tossed in the slammer." Tossed in the slammer? What
the hell era was this guy from?
Pre-noir. Very much pre-noir... "Uh, sir?"
"No offense, sir, but, uhm... You are aware that my arms are made of metal, right?"
"Yeah, and?"
They haven't actually handcuffed him, so maybe they were slightly smarter than that.
Truth be told, he half expected a french thief in a bad red suit to pop out of a cupboard or something.
The detective messes with his hat. "Look, I don't have time to dick with you. But I'm not under orders to arrest you."
"Oh! Okay then. What's up?"
"I'm looking into the incident at VitaTech."
"And you, frankly, are number one on my list of suspects. But I don't have orders to arrest you." He leans forward.
Tom tilts his head... "Oh. Okay then."
"I've got this saying, kid." He rubs the side of his head. "If you break the law, somebody, somewhere, is gonna get you for it."
"I thought you were here over the whole monster thing..."
"...monster?"
"What monster?"
"It's really, REALLY complicated."
He just kinda stares at Tom.
"I'm an investigator, myself."
"...I dunno what the hell you're talking about, but...yeah. I know. I did some digging."
"You work with that Minato guy."
"Well."
"Cold piece of work. I don't trust him. And I don't trust you."
"I wouldn't word it like that."
"Yeah, I've noticed the whole cold thing, but I don't think he's capable of lying."
"Look, this ain't a social call, alright?! I don't care how you'd word it." The detective stands. "I've got places to be. But
I've got my eyes on you."
"Oh, one thing..."
"...ngh?"
"There was a gang shooting just about the city limits."
"...how the..."
"..."
"A guard was killed."
"...fine. I'll look into it."
"I was planning on informing you folks... Thanks."
"Don't let me catch you slipping up."
"The second you do, I'm on your ass like that queer barkeep and his beanie-loving boyfriend."
With that, the door slams shut.
...Yeesh.
Someone had a badger crawl up his ass...
Talk about a hard-ass.
Shinji could probably fix that.
Well, if there's nothing to do but paperwork...
Time to do paperwork.
The paperwork is otherwise finished without incident, and he's wheeled out by an orderly in a lovely little wheelchair.
'All patients leave in wheelchairs,' eh?
Apparently.
Well, at least his ordeal was (mostly) over.
Now it was a full moon warrior and a date with the scientist girl.
Not to mention the mysterious festival mentioned in an earlier phonecall...
And the dead kid, of course.
That was important. Probably.
Well, yes.
Not to mention the list, the investigator, and the whole 'Tower Sinking' thing.
Yes, it looked like Tom's schedule wouldn't be clearing up for some time now.
Well...
Like Yukari said...
Sleep will be rare.
...Speaking of which, that was the first thing he needed to attend to.
The city seems determined to make sure he doesn't get much. Fortunately, Morpheus seems similarly determined to make sure that what he does get, he enjoys.
One might expect dreams of Fuuka and Mitsuru to frequent his sleep tonight.
Simultaniously, perhaps?
That would be strange.
...But maybe not unwelcome.
Last night's kiss with Yukari (and subsequent teasing) are still fresh in Tom's mind as he prepares for his dinner with Mitsuru.
Yukari is downstairs, chatting amiably with Fuuka.
Boss and Minato left as soon as the night fell.
Thomas is, again, in his suit: freshly washed, dried, and ironed. He saunters down the stairs, straightening his tie as he draws toward the ground floor,
"Hey guys."
"Evening Tom."
"How am I on time?"
"Uh..." Yukari looks up at the clock. "Should be okay. Why? Planning to get your nails done, too?"
"Fssh. Don't have any and not minding one bit," that sound, grinding metal is heard again as he mocks cracking his knuckles.
"Anyway...she'll be here soon. She called ahead." Yukari perks up a bit. "And we'll have the place to ourselves! Right, Fuuka?"
"You'll have it to yourselves, huh?" He chuckles, hands sliding into his pockets, "Well, as long as I get to hear every little detail
later."
"Yeah right. Go on, get out of here! You should be waiting outside, like a gentleman."
"Alright, alright. Don't let me stop you two..." A snicker, he moves to the door, stopping at its foot, "...If anything strange happens,
call me right away, alright?"
"We'll be fine."
"Well, alright..."
He pulls open the door, stepping out into the night, "Have a good time, ladies!"
After a few minutes, the limo pulls up. Mitsuru isn't inside.
"Miss Mitsuru is waiting at the restauraunt." The driver confirms.
Not at her house? Damn. He nods and slides into the back of the Limo, "Thanks."
The limo heads for a rather expensive restauraunt. It takes a bit to arrive - the city's a fair bit bigger than one might expect - but finally, the driver
gets out, opening the door for Tom.
Tom steps out of the limo, straightening the wrinkles that managed to distort his coat, "Thanks again."
"My pleasure, sir."
So, this was the place? His eyes look for the sign as he approaches the door.
There's a doorman standing outside. He welcomes Tomas with a friendly nod and opens the door.
Mitsuru is sitting inside, legs crossed, the same black dress from before. She looks up at Thomas's entry. "That took longer than I expected it
to.'
"There was a bit of traffic on the way," he says, just managing to keep himself from stammering at the sight of her, "Sorry I'm a bit
late."
"If it wasn't illegal, I would have thrown cars out of the way."
She stands up as the waitress comes over. "Are you ready for your table now?"
"We are," she confirms.
He nods, "After you, Mitsuru." Really? He just wanted to be able to look at that ass.
Mitsuru starts walking, those hips saying left and right just as perfectly as the prior day. She settles down at the table and lifts a menu in one seamless
motion.
He figured he could probably count time with those gyrations. His descent is slightly less graceful- mostly because he had to be very careful to avoid sitting
too suddenly, lest the chair shatter under pressure.
At least it seems sturdy... He, too, grabs a menu for review.
"You look nice," Mitsuru says after a moment, perusing the menu and probably not really actually looking at Tom at all.
"I try my best," Tom put on his best 'chill' face. The one that said he already knew... Despite the fact that his insides were squirming at
her compliment, "I'm just glad my suit was in one piece."
She glances up, but not at him; she's looking around at the mostly-empty restauraunt, lowering her voice. "I apologize for inconveniencing you,"
she says after a moment, "But I can't eat at home at the moment, and this is the best way for us to meet without it looking..." She purses her
lips. "Suspicious."
"I guess my antics at the office didn't help any," he says, suddenly feeling just a bit sheepish. A roll of the shoulders- nervous twitch,
"I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to cause such a ruckus."
"It's not your fault," she replies smoothly, "The fact that the files disappearing was covered up is proof that they suspect me, not
you."
"I see..." The cyborg's fingers steeple together, he releases a breath- mourneful, perhaps? Or regretful? "Either way, I've caused you
trouble. I'm sorry."
"But those files are what were needed, right?"
"You didn't cause me any trouble. Blame the Requiems if you want to blame something." She folds her menu up. "That's right."
"What did you want to talk about? Regarding the documents..." Among other things.
"Hold on." She flags down a waiter. "I'll have a steak. Well done." The waiter seems a tad flabbergasted - that he was on his way to
another table is plainly obvious.
Mitsuru, frankly, doesn't seem to care. "A salad and a bottle of something from mid-1900 would be helpful as well."
"Y...yes ma'am. And for you, sir?"
"I'll take one, too. Medium rare," He liked his bloody, yes indeed, "And a greek salad. As for drink, water will be fine. Preferably in
something sturdier than glass, I'm a bit clumsy." He twitches his mechanical fingers as if to push that point home.
The man takes a glance at the fingers, then gives a nod. "Right away, sir, ma'am." And with that, he scurries off, leaving his original
table...well, to suffer, because they didn't have anyone as demanding as Mitsuru.
"We should take care of the food before we begin conversation that could be overheard," Mitsuru notes.
Domineering personalities tend to be great for ordering about weak willed public servants. "I agree. Talking about such sensitive information in a place
like this might not end well for either of us."
"So eliminating a bothersome waiter is probably a good idea."
"Only if people are paying attention," she replies coolly, "Restauraunts have always been a place for information to be exchanged."
"The case of rival spies, for example, exchanging mutually beneficial information over a bottle of wine, several loaves of bread, and a flight of geese,
then?"
Tom thinks back to all those movies, and books... There were always ducks, weren't there?"
"Are we rival spies, then?" She inquires, a hint of amusement playing across her voice.
"Perhaps, but in those old stories, neither is usually aware of the other's intent until it can no longer be helped," Score. Amusement was better
by at least sixteen magnitudes than cold indifference.
"So who knows? We might be, we might not be. It all depends on what our motivations are."
"To get rid of them." She replies calmly, flicking her eyes over towards the kitchen. "That's all that matters to me."
"For me? Well, let's just say that if eliminating them didn't make me feel warm and fuzzy every night, I wouldn't be doing this."
"...And maybe I'm just a bit too curious for my own good."
"Mmm." She non-answers, as she does so often; those perfect lips press together, either in thought or from habit.
Fingers tap idly against metal knuckles to pass time. If he knows anything about women like Mitsuru, it's that guys who proved too talkative often prove an
annoyance...
"...how was it?" She asks after a very long moment.
"Hm?"
"Your kiss with Yukari."
A light flush of blood rushes to his cheeks. Was she jealous? No, couldn't be... "It wasn't bad, though I can't really say for sure- it
wasn't for too long."
"I see." There's no jealousy in her tone - it's more like odd consideration for something she's never particularly thought of before. And
then the waiter sets their food down before them and hurries off to avoid more conversation with the
terrifying devil-woman. Mitsuru picks up her knife and fork delicately, ascertaining that the area is clear. "...tell me about the files." She says
immediately, whatever kiss-related thoughts may have been running through her head
absolved in a heartbeat now that the chance is open.
Tom's knife released a thin broth of juices from inside the slab of beef. Perfect, as he expected from such a high-class restaurant. A switch activated in
his mind, recalling from the depths of his long-term memory information regarding the files in question, "Well, the guard's file only confirmed much
of what we know.
He's been a bit erratic as of late, and it seems the company is aware that he's a Requiem. But the other folder was much more interesting. It seems
someone's been doing research into the Requiems. They've even got a classification system going."
"Yukari's working on cracking it, now. I just hope she doesn't overwork herself... We're also a bit worried. They've obviously spent a lot
of time doing work into researching these things, and it seems that Boss and Headphones might have begun to find trouble in detecting some of the beasts. We
think a more advanced detection device might be in development somewhere in the company, but aren't yet certain."
He slides a piece of the meat into his mouth, being sure to swallow before continuing, "Though, I'm not sure how we'll be able to confirm that if
security's been alerted."
"I don't want to put you in the way of any unecessary harm, to your body, or your reputation."
"I s-"
Mitsuru's voice freezes. In fact, everything freezes.
Freezes, and then goes black.
It's a most unique experience, sensory deprivation; not like Tom doesn't experience a mild form of it
every day, but this is the first time he's been completely deprived of everything. And then, slowly, he's aware of a voice, a murmur, really, in his
ear - 'tonight'.
"-ee," Mitsuru finishes.
Tom manages to make out a 'Wha-', turning to the source of the sound...
"...Oh, this can't be good."
"...are you alright?" She asks.
"Either I'm going insane, or something really nasty is going to go down tonight."
"Sorry. There've been... voices as of late. On my cell phone, usually. This is the first time it's actually come to my ear, though."
"..." Mitsuru swallows the piece of steak and nods. "I understand."
Well, at least she doesn't seem to see Tom as a crazy man.
His rate of consumption only hastens with the odd message, but not to the point of rudeness...
"Will you be alright, or do you need a ride?"
"I'm not sure..."
"Maybe... To where the guard might be this time of night. People might be at risk."
"If there's something on the loose, those two will take care of it. I'm be more worried about the girls at the agency itself." She rubs her
arm, the first display of actually human emotion she's shown in ages. Clearly she's pretty close to Yukari and Fuuka.
Images of that first night, of the girls in bandages and bloodied by combat, bones broken flood back into his mind, sending a chill through his spine and into
phantom limbs, "I'm sorry. My curiousity got the better of me. You're right, they need the most help, right now..."
She shakes her head, finishing off her steak - when the hell did she do that?! - and leaning forward. The amount of cleavage that dress shows should be
illegal...or not, goddammit. "Do you believe this voice?" She asks after a moment.
If it was illegal, that legislator should be shot, "It hasn't steered me wrong yet..." He says, just moments before finishing off the rest of his
steak... And again, "It... lead me to them, the first time."
"...will you be alright alone?"
"If I didn't know you could handle yourself, I'd say no."
"Mitsuru, be careful."
She nods and stands, leaving the money (and a generous tip) on the table. "You too." She says after a moment. "Don't let anything happen to
them."
"Of course. Knowing that they were hurt would wound me more than any gash," He, too, stands, metal legs pushing the chair away as they again bore his
full weight... "You can count on me."
"I'm glad to hear it," she says, and means it. With that, she makes her way out.
He'd follow her... After all, he probably needed a ride.
She obliges, and as it nears midnight, he's home at the Detective Agency.
Yukari looks up from her desk-work with a wave. "Almost-morning!" She chirps.
Tom is significantly more somber, still bothered by the message, "Hey Yukari... What's up?"
"Fuuka just went to bed. She said she almost has the code cracked."
"So how was the date? Anything steamy happen?"
"Heh, you wish..."
"Is Junpei around here anywhere?"
"He's cleaning up." She makes a face. "He threw up in the bathroom."
"Food poisoning!" She quickly amends. "He tried one of Fuuka's lunchboxes."
"Nothing Requiem-related."
"I got a message again today..."
"It said 'Tonight...'
"You're sure nothing weird's been happening?"
"What about Akihiko and Shinji?"
"Quiet as a churchmouse," She replies, looking over at the clock.
"Are you able to send them any messages?"
"I'll probably have to send a text down to the engineers, too... I hope Mitsuru's alright," Don't pop a vein, Tom...
But he's talking to nothing. Yukari's gone, the agency's gone...everything's gone. Tom is standing in nothingness; absolute, utter blackness as
far as the eye can see.
He blinks, and blinks again... What- where was he?
"Hi there." A voice says from behind him.
The sound of metal against nothingness- something like one hand clapping, as Tom turns toward the voice, "Huh?"
It's a young man, maybe eighteen, nineteen at the most, with pale skin, black hair, and a really, truly outrageously horrible yellow scarf wrapped around
his neck. He's holding a book in one hand, and a pen in the other.
Tom's eyes take a moment to focus onto this figure, fixating first on the face, then the scarf, then the face again, and decide, with long agony, that
looking at a corpse was better than that thing, "Hello?"
"Hi." The young man repeats, looking down at his book, then looking up at Tom again. "It's nice to meet you, Mister Magnusson. Did I say
that right?" He frowns.
"Uhm, yes you did..." Well, this is indeed certainly odd... What was that book? "Who are you?"
"I'm a writer," he says after a moment, a smile blooming on his face.
A chuckle winds its way from the cyborg's throat, "We're all writers, in a way. So, what do I call you, Author?"
"Morpheus. I write peoples' dreams for them." He scratches something down in his book.
"It's not my name, but I like it enough to keep it."
"Ah, a nom de plume? So this is a dream?"
"...Are you the one who keeps sending me those messages?"
"No." He answers, "I just write dreams. I don't call people on cell phones...but dreams are supposed to help people figure things out."
He sits down, crossing his legs, and gestures for Tom to do the same. How he can sit in nothingness is...well, a little weird.
"And I have some questions for you, too."
Tom thought that for a moment, as well... But then again, he fought off what looked like something from a Lovecraftian nightmare, so this couldn't be
worse.
"Well, it looks like I've got quite a bit of time..." He says, setting himself on the floor, legs crossed one atop the other, "What did you
want to ask?"
It's a strange feeling, sitting on nothing, but Morpheus seems to be doing pretty well for himself.
"You've had a lot of good dreams recently, right?"
"I guess you could say that..." Good, Mitsuru-and-home-filled dreams.
"I don't have dreams myself," Morpheus continues. "I don't sleep. I have to keep writing. So I like to ask people about their
dreams." He gives a bit of a shrug of the shoulders, parroting Tom's own motions. "But people don't usually remember me."
"I know what happens, in all of them. But I like to hear what people think of them too."
"I see... Well, they've been keeping me sane, so I guess I have you to thank for that."
"You really like Mitsuru." It's a statement, not a question. "So I've been writing a lot about her for you. I'm glad you like
them."
He shifts a bit. "Now...do you have any questions you want me to help you try and figure out?"
"Yeah..."
"Actually, it's more of a request."
"I've never had a request before."
"Fuuka's been deciphering something important... You said dreams help figure things out, could you maybe help her out- even a bit subtly?"
"Oh, I have! She had a dream about you the other night, and the two of you sat down and decoded the whole thing."
"I thought she'd like that. She's very cute. It makes me miss them a lot."
"Y-yeah, I guess she is... Anyway, I'm glad you're helping her out... I am curious though..."
"What is it that scarred these people so badly? I know it relates to Headphones but..."
"He killed me." Ryoji offers a smile and looks down at his book, scratching something else in.
"But I can't tell you any more than that. I promised Yukari in one of her dreams."
"I see... From your tone, you don't seem to have minded it, much. I mean, you're taking death rather well."
"The Shinigami were very nice. They let me have my book, and the job was open."
"I didn't mind it, but everybody else took it very badly."
"Especially Headphones. That kid looks like he's a walking corpse."
"He is." Morpheus folds his arms across his chest, book resting in his lap. "I think it hurt him the most of all."
"By the way," Morpheus adds, "You're going to wake up in the hospital. It's been two days since you went unconscious because of me -
I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but I have something really important to tell you."
"Yeah... I've noticed that. He's got a lot of pain under there. I'm getting the vibe that he's cold because he doesn't want to face
that pain," Tom sighed, rollion his shoulders again, "T-two days?"
"The Tower of Oblivion is steadily sinking into the Earth." He purses his lips. "That is, Vespertine City is falling apart at the seams. I
think...you were brought in to help stop that. Minato and his partner didn't choose you, but they think they did."
"But...I have a request for you, since you had one for me. Gosh," Morpheus cocks his head, "I've never given a request, either. This is a
real first for me."
"Is that alright, Thomas?"
"I mean...Mister Magnusson. May I call you Thomas?"
"Yeah, sure, and please..." Tom shifts his weight again- two days, huh? "Call me Tom. So, what's up?"
"Tom. Does that mean we're friends, then, Tom?"
"If you like, sure, why not?"
"I'm glad. You're special, Tom - your arms are part of the reason we like you so much." He smiles. "I'd like to test them."
With that, he stands, and writes something in his book; the blackness disappears, replaced by a huge arena full of screaming Romans.
"So if you'd please, would you fight with me?"
"I want to see the full strength of the Shadow Syndicate's favorite experiment."
"Shadow... Syndicate?" Tom rose to his feet, glancing about at the arena, "Fight you? What are you talking about?"
"My request is that you allow me to fight you," Morpheus says.
"Will you, please?"
"Well, since you said please..."
Tom slides into a more battle-ready stance. Let's hope those Romans didn't feel the urge for too much blood... "Let's see what you've got.
Maybe if I win, you can tell me more of that Syndicate thing."
"I'm sorry, I can't. Your mind doesn't hold all the clues yet."
"But if you win, I'll make sure to write more good dreams...you'll need them!"
He settles his pen against the page. "Are you ready?"
"Well, that's all I can ask for, I guess. Sure, let's rumble."
Morpheus taps his pen to his chin and writes something down in the book. "If you win, though...I'll tell you my real name...and tell you a little
about what happened that night."
"That's good enough for me!" A quick hop, then a rushing straight. Let's see if the kid could dodge...
The punch lands, smashing Morpheus in the face; however, he steps back at the last minute, soaking a lot of the damage into his motion and throwing the punch
off badly.
Connection, but nowhere near as solidly as he likes. Still he wagered that the strange lad would be feeling that one...
"Huh." The young (dead) man touches his cheek where the metal fist landed. "I actually felt that...it looks like they used something really
strong in your arm." He puts his pen to paper and starts writing again.
"Uh..."
"Alright then!"
Another punch!
Unfortunately, the whole 'punch me moar!' thing throws our intrepid young cyborg off. Just a glancing shot, this time, off the arm.
One Morpheus doesn't even apparently feel; maybe he's tougher when he's writing in that book.
He looks up at Tom, and removes his pen from his paper, stowing it in his pouch.
The ground around Tom reaches up, grabbing at him as hands of stone; fortunately, there's no significant damage, but...still...
"Wha-" That really threw him off. What just happened?
"Do you like it?" Morpheus asks, hope in his voice. "I took a nightmare and used it as a weapon!"
"That was..."
"That was just kind of weird!"
"I like that. Let's keep going!"
PAAAANCH!
"You do? I'm glad!"
"I've never had a friend before. At least, not in this world." He laughs.
He keeps laughing, even as he twists with the punch once again, his pen drawn out of his pocket for a half-parry spinning into his writing again.
"Heh, maybe we can do this again sometime?"
"I'm glad they did what they did to your brain, Tom. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to remember this."
"I'd like that!"
"...To my brain?"
Again, his words threw him off, this time, right out of range... "Who did what to my brain?"
"They messed with your brain," Morpheus says, and an image of a brain being slowly picked apart and shuffled around appears in front of Tom, a
resonating pain in his head as the brain's tendrils reach out to grab him with shocking nerve endings...
He'd wince a bit, shaking out the cobwebs... It would take more than that... "Who messed with my brain?" Another pot shot...
...But it was enough to throw both of his attacks off center.
"The Shadow Syndicate," Morpheus replies as a horrible monster - a zombie Junpei, it looks like - slams its broomstick down over Tom's head,
shattering it. Probably Fuuka or Yukari's nightmare.
Only to pass straight through him. A ghost attacking reality, "They did more than just my limbs..."
"A lot more."
Another punch, this time, more focused. More... 'Tom...' "Like what?"
Another sliding, glancing blow as Morpheus twists himself at a very odd angle. "I'm not allowed to tell you. You know that by now, right?"
"Yeah, I figured!"
Morpheus's next attack is another stone hand to the balls. However...it does absolutely nothing, passing through Tom once again.
That's what he gets for using other people's nightmares...
The next hit, though, is one strong enough to knock Morpheus back; the arena explodes in a puff of smoke, and everything goes back to that infinite void. He
stands up, unharmed, and still smiling. "Thank you!" He says after a moment, clapping his hands together and bowing in the traditional way for Area
Eleven.
"I had a lot of fun fighting you, Tom."
Tom would have been panting, if he weren't dreaming all this... "Yeah... That was a good bit of fun. Let's do it again sometime."
"So..." His knuckles mime a cracking motion. No sound but creaking metal... "What's your name?"
"Okay. Oh! My name!" He taps his chin. "My name is Ryoji. Tell it to Yukari, and maybe she'll tell you what happened."
"Ryoji... Alright, I'm sure I'll remember. Come by any time, by the way. Just... Don't knock me out for two days straight next time,
alright?"
"There are rules. Igor would be upset if I broke them."
"He's very interested in you."
"Rules?"
"...Igor?"
"They're for me to know!" He waves at Tom. "I'll be sure to give you a really great dream tonight as thanks!"
And then he's gone, the darkness is gone, and Tom is awake, lying in a hospital bed and staring into the faces of Yukari, Fuuka, Mitsuru, Junpei, and -
strangely enough - Shinji.
There's a dog sitting on Shinji's lap, wearing a t-shirt of all things - must be the 'Koro' mentioned at the bar.
The girls breathe a collective sigh of relief - even Mitsuru - and Junpei crosses his arms. Shinji just snorts, as if he was never worried and didn't
expect Tom to do something as stupid as die.
Tom blinks into the ceiling- and consequently, the wreathe of people- amusingly, mostly composed of elevens... "What a strange dream..."
"You passed out from exhaustion while we were talking," Yukari says, "Right at twelve o'clock, you just keeled over."
"Yeah... And..." He looked at Junpei, "Yeah, you were there..."
"...you had a dream about me?" Junpei makes a face at him. "That's pretty gay, man."
"Yeah... Well, you were trying to hit me over the head with a broom."
"...Kinda looked like a zombie, too."
"...freaky."
"Yeah..."
He wonders whether or not he should bring it up...
...Well, everyone was here...
So he may as well...
"And, uh..."
"Ryoji says 'hi.'"
It's like a gigantic fucking hammer just descended on everybody's head. Mitsuru turns and stares out the window, Junpei backs up against the wall,
Fuuka freezes and puts her hands over her mouth.
Yukari...Yukari's hand snaps up and slaps Tom across the face. "That's not funny!" She shrieks, storming out of the room.
A flabbergasted orderly drops some of his paperwork as she stomps past him.
"...how do you know that name?" Shinji asks after a long moment of very, very painful silence.
Ow. Yeah, he felt that... "...He's the reason I was out for two days."
"He wanted to talk to me."
"Ryoji has been dead for years," Mitsuru's helpful insight informs.
Not that everyone in the room didn't know it already.
He presses his metal fingers against the warming mark on his face, "Yeah... He told me that it was Minato that did it..."
"No shit." Shinji says after a moment, sounding vaguely thoughtful.
"But I think he wants you guys to know that he's alright with it, for whatever reason. He's still watching, y'know."
"...that's fuckin' creepy, man," Junpei mutters.
"Don't say that to Yukari." Shinji says as Koro's growl turns to a high-pitched whine.
"Yeah... I should have thought more about that one. 'Course, it was him that told me to ask her..."
Tom sighs, sinking his arms back into the bed, "All I know is that he's been watching you guys. Helping you sleep soundly at night, stuff like
that."
"...fuckin' creepy..." Junpei repeats.
"They were dating." Shinji informs him after another awkwardly silent moment.
"Hey...dude, that's not really your-"
"He has a right to know. It ain't like she's ever gonna get over it." Shinji rebuffs.
"Y...yeah, but..." Junpei's at a loss for words.
"It's alright, I understand it's none of my business..."
"But I can't help thinking that, somehow, this thing with Ryoji is related to what's going on with the Tow- er, Vespertine."
"I doubt it." Shinji replies. "But here. Here's the info I promised you."
"I dug up that missing person yesterday. He's dead, by the way - shot in the head."
"No taint. Totally mundane."
"...A standard murder?"
"Yup."
"Koro didn't whine or anything."
"...I see. So he was clean..."
"Uh-huh."
Mitsuru's hands clench at her arms.
"Well, if that's a dead lead... What about the guy who killed him?"
"No way to tell."
"Could be all kinds of motives."
"Then I guess that's one dead end..."
"How rotted was the corpse?"
"Couple days." He shrugs again and pets Koro.
"A recent slay..."
"That's a bit coincidental..."
"That was the day I was KO'd."
"And the day that the voice told me 'Tonight.' I'm also curious as to why the body was buried. Someone would have noticed unless it was done
very quickly."
"...Even then. An unthorough job, coupled with a missing man means that the corpse would have been located. The family should have put out a missing
person's report... How well hidden was the burial?"
"You mean the dumped corpse washed up against a riverbank outside the city?"
"Heh, so that's where you found it, or are you being metaphorical?"
"That's where I found it. Some local thugs did the dumping - I had to beat it out of them."
"I see."
"Well, then I suppose it's fairly dead of a lead, isn't it...? So where do we go from here?" ...Was it Mitsuru? It could have been...
Possibly...
"Dunno, don't care." Shinji sets Koro on the ground and stands. "Your problem now."
"Yeah... Thanks, Shinji."
"Eh."
"Listen."
He glances at Tom. "Don't dig too hard around here. Things have this fucked up way of being connected to other things...and it gets more and more
fucked up the deeper you go."
"Yeah, I've noticed..." Rustling. He was scratching at his scalp- an art perfected... "But I feel like I owe it to Ryoji, too. He puts up a
pretty good fight, you know."
"...I don't know what you're babbling about." Shinji admits. "But be careful anyway."
"Yeah. I will. Thanks, Shinji."
With that, he heads out, leaving Junpei, Fuuka, and Mitsuru.
Thomas sighs to an invisible facade on the ceiling... "So, what else did I miss?"
Fuuka's still kinda getting over the shock that a dead guy was talking to them, Junpei's still just hanging at the wall, and Mitsuru is still staring
off into space.
Nobody seems willing to volunteer much information.
"So..."
"Fuuka, did you sleep well?"
"..."
"..........the....code's been deciphered." She finally says.
"I see... That's good."
"I knew you could do it."
"...it's really disturbing."
"Huh?"
"The...the analysis."
"Are you... up for talking about it?"
"I won't force you if you aren't."
"Not here," Mitsuru reminds him.
"Public."
"...Right."
There is a pair of heavy thuds on the floor as his mechanical limbs press against the hospital... "And Junpei?"
"...sup?"
"Sorry about bringing that up like that."
"...whatever, man. I think you're just some kinda nut...you probably read about his death in a paper or something and dreamed the whole thing."
"Then again, we did do that thing that night the girls were out cold..."
This gets both Mitsuru and Fuuka's attention.
"...the Requiem! Jeez! What is it with you people?"
"Yeah... Unless we fought off that thing with the power of man-love, I wouldn't get any weird ideas about that night, you two."
"...the what?!" Fuuka goes pure red at that.
"Yeah, you know, love-love."
"But nah, we just beat it senseless."
"...."
"............"
"........................"
"...What?"
Three different people manage to stare at him in complete silence for three different reasons.
At least it dispelled the funk!
"...Hey. I'm a ladies man. I don't do that kind of stuff."
"A ladies man." Mitsuru says dryly.
"I meant that in that I'm not interested in guys... Man. I'm foot-mouthing a lot today..."
"You and Junpei should compare notes."
Ouch.
Yeaahhh... "Ack. Felt that one..."
"Right in the Ego..."
"Mitsuru's got a talent for breaking people."
"Oh. And... You were able to get to safety that night, right Mitsuru?"
"Nothing happened that night, Magnusson." Ahhh, back to the last names.
"Absolutely nothing."
"Well, as long as everyone's safe, that's fine by me."
"Glad to hear it."
"Um...Tom..."
"I'll get you the notes when you get out, okay?"
"So then, let's get out of here?"
"Uh... I think I'm alright..."
Fuuka wrings her hands together, looking away, and suddenly, Tom really doesn't want to know just what sort of dreams inspired her.
"The hospital wants to keep you overnight." Mitsuru replies.
'...They were solving it... together.'
...Suddenly, he had the vaguest idea. And it made him just a bit pink, "I'm pretty sure I'm fine, unless they can check for hearing dead
people."
"Probably not," Mitsuru offers. My, she's full of bite today.
Maybe it's a release of tension now that he's woken up.
...probably not.
Something definitely upset her, it seems... Or maybe she lacked someone to keep on a leash, "Yeah, probably not. Maybe they can check for cold shoulder
instead."
At that, she actually gives a bit of a chuckle and heads out. Junpei does as well, leaving Tom alone with Fuuka.
My, that can't possibly uncomfortable.
Dammit, Morpheus.
Noooot comfortable at all...
"...um...Tom?"
"So... Uh..."
"Yes?"
"...was he...happy?"
"He didn't seem unhappy... Yeah, I'd say so."
"That's...that's good. Yukari...she'd like that..."
Fuuka wrings her hands again, blushing. "..."
"Yeah... Losing someone like that... It's always better to know they're happy, wherever they are."
She nods again.
"So, um, I heard a really weird rumor while you were...meeting with...him!" She perks up a bit.
He blinks at the normally reclusive Fuuka... A rumor? "Huh? A rumor? What kind?"
"About this guy who shows up every full moon looking for a fight." She wrings her hands again. "They say he shows up by the fountain in the
square with a sword as big as he is, and takes on all comers with a promise of 'a wish to one who beats me'."
"But supposedly he just...disappears...after...."
"...Well, that's interesting..."
"I just thought...you know...break the ice..." She blushes again and looks down.
"...Maybe I'll have to check it out!"
"When's the next full moon up?"
"Um, this sunday...the day before the festival."
"S...speaking of..."
"...are you...going with anyone...?"
"Hmm... No, I don't think so..."
"Did you want to come with me?"
There's no words to describe the color of red that Fuuka's face takes on. It's really, truly epic. However, she manages a nod and stands up.
"I...I'd like that...very much!" She squeaks.
Kamina would have called it 'Redder than the flame of manhood!' - or something like that... "Good! Then it's a date." Tom grins, idly
scratching at his nose. His face had taken on something of a... perhaps lighter shade of red...
Hot damn, not even a month into the job, and he's got a date!
At this, she looks like she's about to pass out; she quickly scurries out.
The orderly comes in to check on him, hands him his paperwork, and so on.
And... Homework. Brilliant.
Just to make sure he wouldn't sign anything he didn't want to... And in part because he had nothing better to do...
At least it's not difficult, unless his encounter with Ryoji scrambled up his brain to the point of not remembering his name.
It's time for a read.
The most significant thing he recalled...
Was that Syndicate...
There's not much to the paperwork that a half-brain wouldn't be capable of.
And thus they would be looked over, and completed in relatively short order.
The pen is fortunately reinforced.
Apparently someone read somewhere in his paperwork that Yukari checked in that he was a cyborg.
One that regularly broke things, too! He likes this hospital.
Waaaait a minute. Weren't they looking for a cybor...and he was in a...oh, fuck.
The realization isn't quite fast enough to prevent a man in a very typical detective outfit, followed by a very typical pair of cops with very typical
handcuffs.
Apparently, someone wasn't quite smart enough to figure out that very typical handcuffs were really not very useful when dealing with cyborgs.
"Are you Tom Magnusson?" The man in the coat asks.
"Me?"
"No. The other cyborg in the bed."
"Oh. Sorry, I think I was too rough with her. Yeah, I'm Tom."
"Funny." The detective removes a badge from his jacket, flashing it at Tom. "Listen. You're in seriously hot shit, kid."
"So if you wanna joke, be my guest, but know that people who joke with the law in this town get tossed in the slammer." Tossed in the slammer? What
the hell era was this guy from?
Pre-noir. Very much pre-noir... "Uh, sir?"
"No offense, sir, but, uhm... You are aware that my arms are made of metal, right?"
"Yeah, and?"
They haven't actually handcuffed him, so maybe they were slightly smarter than that.
Truth be told, he half expected a french thief in a bad red suit to pop out of a cupboard or something.
The detective messes with his hat. "Look, I don't have time to dick with you. But I'm not under orders to arrest you."
"Oh! Okay then. What's up?"
"I'm looking into the incident at VitaTech."
"And you, frankly, are number one on my list of suspects. But I don't have orders to arrest you." He leans forward.
Tom tilts his head... "Oh. Okay then."
"I've got this saying, kid." He rubs the side of his head. "If you break the law, somebody, somewhere, is gonna get you for it."
"I thought you were here over the whole monster thing..."
"...monster?"
"What monster?"
"It's really, REALLY complicated."
He just kinda stares at Tom.
"I'm an investigator, myself."
"...I dunno what the hell you're talking about, but...yeah. I know. I did some digging."
"You work with that Minato guy."
"Well."
"Cold piece of work. I don't trust him. And I don't trust you."
"I wouldn't word it like that."
"Yeah, I've noticed the whole cold thing, but I don't think he's capable of lying."
"Look, this ain't a social call, alright?! I don't care how you'd word it." The detective stands. "I've got places to be. But
I've got my eyes on you."
"Oh, one thing..."
"...ngh?"
"There was a gang shooting just about the city limits."
"...how the..."
"..."
"A guard was killed."
"...fine. I'll look into it."
"I was planning on informing you folks... Thanks."
"Don't let me catch you slipping up."
"The second you do, I'm on your ass like that queer barkeep and his beanie-loving boyfriend."
With that, the door slams shut.
...Yeesh.
Someone had a badger crawl up his ass...
Talk about a hard-ass.
Shinji could probably fix that.
Well, if there's nothing to do but paperwork...
Time to do paperwork.
The paperwork is otherwise finished without incident, and he's wheeled out by an orderly in a lovely little wheelchair.
'All patients leave in wheelchairs,' eh?
Apparently.
Well, at least his ordeal was (mostly) over.
Now it was a full moon warrior and a date with the scientist girl.
Not to mention the mysterious festival mentioned in an earlier phonecall...
And the dead kid, of course.
That was important. Probably.
Well, yes.
Not to mention the list, the investigator, and the whole 'Tower Sinking' thing.
Yes, it looked like Tom's schedule wouldn't be clearing up for some time now.
Well...
Like Yukari said...
Sleep will be rare.
...Speaking of which, that was the first thing he needed to attend to.
The city seems determined to make sure he doesn't get much. Fortunately, Morpheus seems similarly determined to make sure that what he does get, he enjoys.
One might expect dreams of Fuuka and Mitsuru to frequent his sleep tonight.
Simultaniously, perhaps?
That would be strange.
...But maybe not unwelcome.