children, wake up; hold your mistake up

[headandhand]

WHO: All new and remaining Dualizens
WHAT: A mysterious return! And the start of Act II.
WHERE: Begin at the dorms, move on to wherever else in the city you want.
WHEN: Right meow c:
WARNINGS: Please use these in thread headers if applicable!

Maybe it’s a stream of sunlight that invites you back to consciousness. Maybe it’s a sound - a slammed door, your roommate’s snores, panicked shouts in the hallway. Whatever it is that wakes you, you find yourself in a plain bed inside a plain room, groggy and disoriented.

Maybe this room is a familiar sight, or maybe it’s a place where you’ve never found yourself before. Whether you’re new to town or an old hand at navigating the neon-lit streets of the city outside the dorm room window, one thing is for certain - you are one of only a very few people still populating this city, and not much about Dualis is as you last remember it.

Time to wake up and start looking for answers.

Comments

[metamorphotic]

[she’s put so much effort into holding herself together since she woke up and found the city empty, and when she sees duke’s words on the screen of her phone, it feels like a wall inside of her that’s been holding back all the building panic and fear shatters. she wishes she weren’t alone, but she’s also grateful no one is around to see her cry.]

yeah i’m at my place u can come over if u want or i can come 2 u just lmk

[exceptionalcrook]

Under here. One hour. [He then texts her a cross-street just above a tunnel juncture. He's there waiting for her, hesitant as ever -- you can't live in a town like Haven without making contingency plans.]

[metamorphotic]

[right, caution. it’s more than fair, and if nick weren’t so rattled, she would’ve likely suggested a similar meeting. but somehow, this is more upsetting than waking up in hadriel’s treacherous arena that first time, or the second or third time, or finding herself at the temple here a year and a half ago.

an hour is more than enough time for nick to pull herself together and make her way to the designated meeting place, though she doesn’t make any great effort to hide the fact that she’s been crying. duke’s already seen her a complete sobbing wreck, after all. she exhales a small sigh of relief as she approaches duke, a familiar figure in the landscape that seems even more foreign now that it’s empty.]

Hey. [she nods a greeting that surely looks more casual than she feels.] You really are still here, huh.

[exceptionalcrook]

[The caution might be worth nothing, he's not sure, but Duke feels it's better than nothing. Even if he's wrong (and he realizes he easily might be), meeting in the tunnels is a sensible safety measure.

When she shows up he's relieved, letting out a deep sigh of breath as a weight he refused to contemplate is lifted from his shoulders. Duke spreads his arms, inviting Nick in for a hug.]

Hey. I was hoping you were all right.

[metamorphotic]

[nick doesn’t hesitate, just glides right into duke’s arms and gently leans into his warmth, her own arms wrapping snugly around him. he’s the first thing she’s been able to trust is real since sho woke up.]

I dunno ‘bout all right, but I’m here. [she huffs out a breath, a ghost of a bitter laugh.] And feelin’ like a huge asshole for bein’ glad you’re still here, too.

[it’s selfish, and she knows it, recognizes the sharp twist of guilt in her gut. she hopes duke can forgive her for it, because she’s not letting go of him just yet.]

What about you? Wake up with any fun new implants I should know about?

[because asking if he’s ok seems pointless, given the givens.]

[exceptionalcrook]

[Maybe they can't trust each other. Maybe she's secretly been replaced, or maybe he has and doesn't know it. Maybe the Head's capable of that. He doesn't know. What he does know is that they both needed that hug. She didn't immediately stick a knife in him or crush him, which is a good sign.]

What, you don't want me dead? How would that make you an asshole?

[He rubs at her back, brow furrowing.] Not that I know of. Did you?

[metamorphotic]

Nah, not that I can tell. I don’t feel any different.

[she definitely needed the hug. she’d stay here all day if she could, but she needs to pull back a little now for what she needs to tell duke. he should be able to see that she’s sincere about this.]

Everyone else isn’t dead - they found a way out. Hank left me a note, and unless it’s a really good, really fucked-up fake, that’s what he said happened. [her expression pinches.] I just don’t get why some of us got left behind.

[exceptionalcrook]

Yeah, you don't seem like it. Hey --

[He doesn't want to let go of the hug but he wants to have this conversation in the open even less. When Nick pulls back he's grateful, because he can reach out to catch her hand.]

Come on. [The tunnels are safer to talk in, at least last he heard. That might not be foolproof against the Head but it's something, and now he'll take what he can get.

Once they're inside them he turns back to her, sighing.]

So some people got out? [Jealousy hits him like a thunderbolt. I wasn't even supposed to be here dies somewhere before he even thinks of saying it, but the instinct is still there. Fuck.] ...Good for them.

[metamorphotic]

[she follows him into the tunnels without protest, grateful for the link of his hand and hers. once inside, she takes his hand in both of hers, nods and drops her gaze to watch her thumb trace idly over his knuckles.]

Yeah, the note said - it said that Drifter, um - Drifter found a way out.

[her words are unsteady, not just from jealousy but from deep, intense hurt. heartbreak. her mouth presses tightly together as she tries to banish a memory from her mind, drifter's words: so if you wanna try to live that normal life, sister, or close to it? i'll do my level best to get you there.

she should know by now to expect to be left behind.]

I don't get why the fuck this is happening, I don't - Christ, nothing makes any sense anymore.