antietam | week 6 trial aftermath; luke's room

[This went from bad to worse to completely batshit all in the span of a couple of hours. His mind's fairly blank and though he'd been quick to be on guard, quick to protect people (protect Adam specifically, knowing what he knows now is messing with his head more than he wants it to.

They'd been right that something else was living on the ship. Something had possessed both Elizabeth and Rhys. Why? How long? How is it possible? What a thing to discover during a time when his worst nightmare preyed on him?

And of course there's losing Frankenstein the way they had, consumed by his own power. He had to have known what he was doing. There's Light who died trying to help his sister. Hancock who died because he trusted a friend.

There were way, way too many things wrong.

He knows Adam's following him. He does nothing to stop him, keeping his head up and eyes sharp as they walk all the way down to the end of the hall where his room is. He still says nothing when Adam follows him into the room and it's only when it's closed up that he fixes him with a sharp look.

...but of course, Adam's still a teenager. More importantly, Adam's still a mortal teenager and this had been hard on all of them.]

...c'mon. You're staying here tonight. [There seems to be no question about it and he walks toward the ladder, starting to climb up first just to make sure there's nothing in his room. However, he looks back over the edge, too, to ensure that Adam's following. They'll talk more when they're both settled in a little. His priority right now is to keep calm and not flip out when Adam looks so horrified. That's just a little easier said than done.]

[ Adam nods quickly because he'd been hoping for that. It's much easier when Luke just says it for him. He doesn't want to be alone now, not with monsters or with himself. Despite his survival instincts, he's positive being controlled by a monster and killing people—killing someone he likes—is the worst thing that could happen to him. It's happened before and he can't let it happen again.

When they get up to the room, he sits down because he finds it very hard to support himself. He's quiet, trying to get himself to calm down but he really can't. He runs a hand through his hair. ]

If that happens to me, you have to kill me. [ It's quiet and collected, but he looks up at Luke seriously. That's been in the back of his mind since they walked out and he needs to just say it. ] If you suspect it at all, you have to.

[He'd have to be completely heartless to make Adam fend for himself, especially right now when they're not sure where the other creature might have scurried to.

The room itself...is a mess. Sorry, Adam. It looks like there's a bunch of those same paper cups of coffee (empty) scattered around his desk. There are a few boxes of the peanut butter crackers which is enough of a sign that his eating's been pretty unbalanced over the week as well. The top bunk's clean and made, but the bottom bunk is messy, sheets tangled and a blanket strewn over it, pillows lobbed carelessly. There's an assortment of random items and trinkets taken from places (office supplies, art supplies, food, etc.) and one one of the walls there's what looks like the start of a map. It's not very clean since Luke's not really an artist but there sure is a canvas tacked to the wall with that painting. There's also a painting of a pine tree. And winged converse shoes. And probably other weird things. Most notably Adam will find there's stacks and stacks of papers and pens on the desk and also what appears to be a kitchen knife, and hanging from the closet is a torn up, slashed through chiton.

But Luke himself is settling in a seat opposite of Adam so he can keep an eye on him, and he raises both eyebrows.]

Now wait a minute. [UH.] ...who says we're gonna allow that to happen to you?

[ Adam does take the time to look around the room because it's easier than looking at Luke. He can't really process a lot right now but he's also automatically noting everything, particularly the paintings. He also sees the kitchen knife but is unconcerned with it; he's definitely bringing one to his room after everything. ]

Maybe it's already happened. How would I know? I wasn't lying when I said I'm not a third party, but what if I just don't know it? [ He's panicking against and he continues looking away to calm himself. He doesn't want to go through this again and he knows Luke has to understand it. ]

I don't want to hurt you. Or anyone. [ But especially not Luke and a select few others. ] And if it's in me and nothing happens and we somehow get back—I—I have a kid, I can't bring this back, I can't do that to Ronan again. [ He starts to curl into himself on the chair. This is the worst thing that could happen to him. All his life he's wanted to have free will and be self-sufficient and now he can't do anything about it. ]

You understand, don't you?

[Normally he's say "we'd be able to tell" but...that thing was possessing Elizabeth for the whole trial and none of them could have imagined it. For once he's not sure what to say and Adam panicking isn't a good sign and he's desperate to think of the right thing to say. He gets it. This bullshit is horrifying to anyone, but moreso someone who's used to things like this.]

I know you don--wait you have a kid? [...what the fuck. He's staring for a moment but you know what it doesn't matter.] Adam, listen to me. Are you listening to me? [He's even moving to crouch in front of him so he can look at him. Come on, kid. Focus.]

[ Adam doesn't respond to the question about his kid, too busy being worried about her. The worst possible scenario is bringing something back home and he'd rather die than have something possess him. Then Luke is in front of him and Adam looks at him, taking in a deep breath. He knows he's being too emotional and he's usually so good at holding it back but this is far beyond his capabilities. ]

I'm listening. [ And he is. He trusts Luke and that's why he followed after him. Maybe it's stupid now, but he needs someone. ]

[At least that worked. So he's staying there in front of him and forcing him to calm down and watch him. A lot of what Frankenstein told him seems to be racing through his head...it's all he can do to try to at least be a better person.]

We recognize signs now about the possession. Gaps in memory, things like that. It's not much, but the more we study everything we'll have a better idea. We can try to talk to Elizabeth later, too, when she's recovered more. But more importantly, pretty sure this is more reinforcement of a buddy system. If people are together, it's less likely they'll get possessed without at least one other person knowing. And...if that other person winds up dead then we still have something to go on.

[Wow. Good way to be assuring, Luke.] I already told you I'm kind of a bad listener. So...you can tell me not to do anything for you all you want, but I don't think I can give you a choice anymore. Anything that comes after you will probably have to go through me first. Partners, right?

[ Luke manages to tell him everything he needs to hear. Think rationally about the situation, look for signs, be held accountable. He immediately decides he can take notes about his whereabouts every day to assure himself there are no gaps in his memory.

Most of all, he's pretty glad he's partners with Luke right now. ] You're right. We should get that running this week. Put it up on the whiteboard or something.

[ He's calming down now that he's thinking about the future and not dying or being possessed, closes his eyes and nods. Back home, he learned to accept help when it was necessary and now it's necessary. ] And I'll keep an eye on you. I'll make sure nothing has to hurt you. So you're... you're pretty stuck with me now. [ Like he wasn't before? ]

Sorry, I didn't mean to... You're the only person who would know how I feel. [ He opens his eyes again. ] But you're holding up pretty well.

[He's pretty terrified about taking responsibility for helping some of these people and ensuring that they get out of here. He's thinking mostly on his conversation with Adam yesterday, about fate and if he could maybe just pretend he didn't have a fate tied to himself. He's also thinking of what Frankenstein said to him. Is it possible to try and walk the good path? Maybe. He's fairly determined not to fail this time, at least.

It also helps that Adam seems to take his words with stride and relaxes and Luke grins a little. Adam might be more mature than he is in some cases, but this makes him feel like he's doing something right for the time being.]

We'll check out the whiteboard in the morning. Might not be bad to talk to Machias, too, and see what he thinks. [Yeah, his opinion of Machias went up, too. He's about to comment further, joke about how he was pretty sure he already had a Parrish-barnacle for the last week, but then Adam continues and Luke shuts up. Possession...is a pretty scary thing. Sometimes he forgets that Adam's experienced it, too, but he does understand. However...]

You have to remember that I lied to everyone I knew for several years. I'm kind of really good at hiding things. [That is to say he's freaking the fuck out too but mostly just internally. His smile's a touch more strained then.] Don't apologize for that anyway. I was starting to wonder what would really get to you in this place. Besides, pretty sure that answers the "am I possessed right now" question, too.

[ Adam feels guilty now. Of course Luke is just keeping everything in. For a moment, Adam is jealous of the strength that takes. He knows that Luke was worrying about possession for the last week and now it happens—and he's still managing to comfort Adam about it. He's invited him to stay the night instead of hiding away. Luke is way, way stronger than Adam has given him credit for (and he's given him a lot of credit for everything he's heard). ]

You don't have to hide. If you don't want to. [ But he's not going to push it. He knows what it's like when people try to extract your deepest fears and he's not going to do that. He just wants to be there for him. ]

Does it answer that? I guess at least we're aware... I feel bad for Elizabeth, being the first one. [ And killing someone important to her. He can't imagine how he would have felt if he'd killed Ronan—the thought makes him sick so he doesn't linger on it. ] I don't know if someone can recover from that.

[There's a shrug.] You already know what I'm worried about and what I've been worried about. Knowing it's a real possibility's just a little more troublesome. I'm probably scared of the same things you are.

[The trouble, of course, is that he's fairly sure he'd be a lot more dangerous being possessed than someone like Adam would. But he doesn't say so because that's not the point. Possession of any kind is scary. From there he plops down on the floor, still sitting fairly close to provide some form of comfort but also to keep talking.]

It's hard to say what parts were Elizabeth and what parts were somebody pretending to be Elizabeth. I want to believe all of that was her, but she had to have felt something if she was possessed. When you're possessed, you just don't...even if whatever it is is controlling you, if you can break through their control enough you can tell something feels weird. [A pause.] It's how I managed to warn Percy and Annabeth about how close Kronos was to completing the creation of his new form. [A frown.] I feel bad for her, too. Recovery's gonna take a while, but it depends on who sides with the idea that it was her fault and idea that it wasn't.

[ Adam nods and lets it be. He's grateful for how quickly Luke managed to defuse him. Gansey often makes things worse and Ronan is... different. So maybe Luke is an entirely new sort of friend, which is nice. He crosses his legs in the chair and leans over to watch Luke from above. ]

You're right, there are signs. Usually the thing that's inside your body will try to test. Definitely before committing a murder. [ But when it comes to the actual moment of possession, he isn't sure if it was the same for her. ] My possession was just my hands and eyes, so maybe it's harder to come back. I remember everything. [ He thinks about that for a moment and decides to say: ] I don't think it was her fault. There may have been steps she could have taken, but no one had any idea.

[ He's fairly positive Luke will feel the same way, but he can't be sure. He's throwing it out there. ]

[Normally Luke is an instigator and tends to mess with people for fun. This definitely isn't the time for that and so he doesn't seem to mind that Adam's still above him. The talk of possession is a little nervewracking since he knows how it happened to him is different than how it happened to Adam or maybe even Elizabeth, but it's something to consider.]

That's also possible. If something's controlling your body that's one thing but when it's body and mind control that's a little harder, I think. Both are pretty bad though. [Let's not discount the fact that what happened to Adam is also awful.]

…I want to talk to her myself if she'll let me. I think I might be able to help? [He sounds completely uncertain, not only because he doesn't know if he can help but also in not knowing he wants to leave Adam by himself right now. It's, again, a game of timing.] It depends on the kind of possession. Some people don't get a choice. We saw what happened to Rhys's body. But…some people do. I was completely aware of what was happening when Kronos possessed me. There were steps I had to take…go back to my mom's house to get her permission to bathe in the Styx, head to the Underworld and bathe in the river and try not to completely get myself destroyed. When you bathe in the Styx, you've gotta find a point for your heel and concentrate on keeping your humanity, basically. You don't focus on that, your soul gets crushed. Can be a place or a thing but…focusing on a person that keeps you grounded to mortality is the strongest.

[Thalia and Annabeth. Those had been his focal points.] Point is, I knowingly took him on and let him use me as a host. We don't know if that's what happened here or not but I'm guessing not unless she was also tricked unwillingly. […a pause.] It sounds crazy, I know, but Kronos used to contact me in dreams. This was a nightmare motive. You think maybe…? [Maybe that's how this happened?]

[ Adam has been thinking of ways to contact Liz since he saw that she was alright. He doesn't know if he can help, but he wants her to know that he doesn't blame her. It doesn't occur to him that Luke is hesitating in leaving him alone, and he wouldn't mind that anyway, so he nods. ] Yeah, I think letting her know she isn't the only one would help. We had different circumstances, but knowing that you'd also been possessed... I mean, no one can know what that's like if they haven't gone through it. [ The unspoken reason why he's trusting Luke enough to be here now.

He would never have chosen to get possessed, but he's also fairly sure Luke wasn't in his right mind entirely. It doesn't change how he sees it, though. ] They contacted her like that? I wonder... she said Hancock told her about his position weeks ago. If they did take her over this week, would they still have access to her memories? Or was it there the whole time?

It's possible that the nightmares allowed them to become active, though. I don't know why it took so long for them to strike.

[If Adam wanted to contact Liz himself, really the only thing he'd request is Adam take a weapon with him. That's something else to bring up to the boy but for now this is a heavy enough conversation.]

On the other hand, it then becomes "do we wanna tell more people that we've both been possessed?" [Yep, lumping Adam right into that.] If we could trust her to keep her mouth shut then it doesn't sound like a bad idea. Plus talking to her might give us some answers about where these things are coming from and why they're choosing the people they're choosing.

[Yeah he's not wrong. Luke was already a little too broken to not say yes.] I think they'd have access either way. She was saying some things to other people--[Jack, namely]--that seemed to imply it was working pretty fast. I think we'd have to talk to her to see if it was there the whole time. For all we know, these things got to all of us when we were in stasis and has been sorting through all of our memories. And maybe they needed time to get strong enough to obtain a host. Otherwise it's probably "just because." We've been here what, almost two months now? You always strike when people get too comfortable and start letting their guard down.

[ Luke is right and Adam looks away, feeling ridiculous for not thinking about the consequences of telling her. While people are scared right now, they'll be looking for any reason to assume someone is a monster. Especially if they think that some people are more susceptible than others. ] It's important to talk to her, but yeah, keep it quiet. I don't know what her incentive would be for that though... [ Is he thinking of ways to blackmail this girl? Yup.

Talking about memories has brought up Frankenstein in his mind. He wasn't the only one who brought up his abilities, but it was a last-ditch effort to try to figure out why Liz wouldn't be lying. ] Yeah, I guess we've all been getting too close to each other. Now people are going to be way more hesitant to expose their roles. [ He looks carefully at Luke. ] You were friends with Frankenstein, weren't you?

I'll find out. [That's about all he can do. He trusts himself more to handle Elizabeth than to maybe possibly put Adam into a line of danger. Then again, he also knows Adam's clever and could bail himself out of something like that if necessary. Still, he makes a face to show his sentiments.] It's getting hard to say what anybody's incentives for anything are in this place...for that reason. [A lopsided grin.] I didn't come into this thinking about making friends.

[...but they had. That's the scary part. At the mention of Frankenstein though his expression drops a tad bit. ] I'll find out. [That's about all he can do. He trusts himself more to handle Elizabeth than to maybe possibly put Adam into a line of danger. Then again, he also knows Adam's clever and could bail himself out of something like that if necessary. Still, he makes a face to show his sentiments.] It's getting hard to say what anybody's incentives for anything are in this place...for that reason. [A lopsided grin.] I didn't come into this thinking about making friends.

[...but they had. That's the scary part. At the mention of Frankenstein though his expression drops a tad bit. Frankenstein's a bit of a touchy subject.] I dunno if I'd call him a friend, but. [He bites on his lip a bit.] …it's complicated. You remember that first trial? [The one and only he was a suspect in.] Frankenstein and Light were the ones searching my room and then Frankenstein came to me after the trial was over. [He nods toward the torn up chiton.] We were all still new to the game, I didn't have time to hide incriminating evidence. Frankenstein put two and two together and figured out that I'm not exactly a full mortal. Never got around to telling him the whole story though. [No, that privilege remains solely Adam's.] After that I think he wanted to keep pushing me even if he didn't want to. Dunno if you've noticed, but I kind of like pushing limits.

[…a quiet sigh.] We talked about some stuff. I respected the guy probably more than I should have. [A pause.] …you remember yesterday when I said I don't know why I'm here? Today he helped me figure it out. Does that mean we were friends? You tell me. […so yes. Yes it does.]

[ And he trusts Luke to find out. It's better for his relationship with her if he's not the one actively threatening her, anyway. Luke can be the jerk. When he mentions friends, Adam can't help but smile a bit. He hadn't either but it's... kind of nice to have someone consider you a friend when you once thought you were all alone. He nudges Luke's head with his shoe.

He stops, of course, when Luke starts talking about Frankenstein. But the mention of the first trial keeps his smile going. He remembers Luke being a terribly suspicious suspect and learning about him for the first time. That he would murder. It sticks with him. Of course, the smile goes away as Luke continues. ]

Really? I dunno, maybe he was more of a mentor. [ Which is still just as bad to lose. Adam would be upset to lose Dorian or Bull. Apparently, they've both completely failed at not getting close to people. ] What did you figure out?

[Please don't threaten nice girls, Adam, let Luke be the big bad and scary jerk. He's good at that. All the same, he actually allows himself to move back just a bit under the weight of Adam's shoe and he can't help chuckle to himself. Somehow it's nice to have somebody to actually hang out with even if all they're doing is talking about possession and faux-friendships. Nice. Despite that, he can't help but nods along. Mentor…maybe was a good word for it. He's not sure Frankenstein or himself would use it, but it's definitely A word.]

…did I ever tell you about Chiron? Frankenstein's a little less chill version of him. [But he rolls his eyes upward for the time being.] I think I figured out I have to go back to what I was doing. Being a real hero and all that? Frankenstein said people trust me here. Can't figure out why. [Mm.] But if this really is a second chance, maybe I'll take it. I promised him.

Sort of, I think. [ He's definitely mentioned Chiron before. Also, Adam has heard of him so it's easy to see why Luke would say that in regards to the mentor idea.

Luke's realization is quite different from what Adam told him just the day before, but that's alright. Adam is a naturally selfish person, but even he wants to try to be a hero. It's all the rage, apparently. ] A promise is a promise. Does that mean you won't do anything stupid since you have some responsibility?

[ If that's the case, Adam is all for it. ]

I'll tell you the same thing I told Frankenstein. I don't know how much further I can promise. I made a specific promise to him, and that's pretty much all I can do. [It's complicated. How do you say "I promised to protect people, especially the kids" without insulting one of the kids?]

...I'll do what it takes. I've always told you that. And that also includes making sure your sparring's up to speed to combat against things like aliens. [You didn't think he'd forgotten you were clinging to him during the post-trial fiasco, did you Adam?]

You know, you'd make for a good politician. [ Because he's pretty sure Luke is saying nothing at all. Or at least, he doesn't have the information to make sense of that.

He leans back in the chair at the mention of sparring, glancing away. ] How am I supposed to fight those things? I only thought I'd be going up against people, but that? If you're planning on teaching me how, you're definitely locking yourself in to a lifelong commitment.

[There's an expression suddenly that more or less indicates that yes, he knows, and he's proud of himself. On the other hand there's some truth to that.] How do you think I convinced so many people to join Kronos's side during the war? Not to mention how I convinced him to keep me alive for so long.

[It took a lot of bullshitting, really. He frowns again when Adam moves but he doesn't follow and instead considers that carefully.] I think the point of teaching you how to fight is to protect your life. I know what I'm getting into, but it all depends on if you're gonna commit or not. If not, that's fine. I'll think of something else. But we both need to be clear on what we're doing from here on out. Understand?

Manipulation powers? [ Not that he doesn't think Luke is convincing on his own. Look, Adam was adamantly against the buddy system when it was first brought up, and now he's here.

He takes a moment to think about it. He wants to give Luke a genuine answer. Can he commit to fighting if it might be entirely useless one day? If a monster could kill him in a second? It's a terrifying thought to him and he swallows, then nods .] I want to keep learning. Even offense. Those things aren't the same as people. But if I'm committing, then you're committing. No dropping out. [ Don't fucking die Luke. ]

...that too, but a lot of it was years and years of experience having to explain myself to people.

[But that's no longer relevant. He's patiently waiting for a response and even sits back to lean on his hands, staring at him quietly while he thinks it through. It doesn't surprise him that it's something that needs a lot of consideration. Most people haven't been fighting monsters their entire lives. It's only when Adam commits that he sits up, eyes suddenly bright and a little manic and he really should probably go the fuck to sleep but this is important.]

Don't you remember? I had to be the one to end it. [End his life, he means.] I'm not really that easy to take out. Stick with me, kid. You'll be okay. That scythe you stole from the garden might not be a bad tool to keep training you with. I know I said knife fighters are the most clever fighters and you can nail a lot of good hits, but the nice thing about weapons like spears and scythes is you have the reach taken care of. Keep a knife on you by day, keep the scythe out at night. As far as I know I'm the only one who can break into people's rooms without the key card. As long as you stay off of the vulnerable list, at least the people here can't get to you. [So...hopefully that'll be enough to dissuade random bodysnatchers for a bit.]

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