Week 7

[grimgrinningghosts]

[Well this is all starting to feel incredibly routine. After being trapped here for a month and a half with no sign of rescue, maybe you have just resigned to the idea that you'll never leave this place and that people will keep dying until none of you're are left.

Truthfully, I can't even pretend to make an optimistic about any of this. it's a dark and horrid world you all live in.

There are no new floors today. It seems you finally have access to the whole mansion.

15 people remain]

[SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY]

[Don't forget to fill out this week's Activity Check!]

Comments

[hasit]

[Arms shaking, Leia lets Stan take Marco from her, and god, there's blood all over her, all down the front of her cloak—

She manages to stumble to her feet and inside, somehow, waiting only long enough for Stan to get Marco inside before she slams the door firmly shut.]

Nobody goes out there again. Nobody.

[stanbyme]

[When he’s inside and the door is shut and everyone is safe and in sight, Stan slouches against the shut door... and looks down at what he’s holding.

To an untrained eye, there’s no visible reaction. But anyone who knows him can practically hear the internal screaming.]

We gotta- do something, keep the other kids from seeing... Damn it, he was- [His voice is shaking and his t-shirt is soaking through with blood and he’s holding a dead kid only a couple years older than Dipper, and on autopilot he pushes himself off the wall and heads toward the personal quarters.]

[hasit]

[Leia's tired as shit from carrying most of a very tall teenage boy all the way out of those shadows, but she's not done yet, she can't be done yet. They have shit to do.]

His room. [Her voice is wavering dangerously but she's doing her best to keep it from breaking.] We'll...lay him out.

[Get him cleaned up. From there...she's not really sure. The same thing will happen to him as happens to everyone else, she can only assume.]

[stanbyme]

[For one of the rare times in his life, Stan Pines is speechless. He barely acknowledges Leia next to him, focused on keeping his eyes straight ahead and not looking down.

The only indication he gives that he hears her is following her direction to which room is Marco’s.]

...Go grab the shower curtain from his bathroom and throw it over the bed. We dunno, maybe that dick won’t clean all the way to the mattress and we don’t need anybody looking at a halo of blood left behind.

[hasit]

[She nods, silent, and as soon as they get back to Marco's room she marches into the bathroom and rips down the curtain, spreading it over his bed quickly so Stan can lay him down. Her hands are full-on shaking now, and she should look away from Marco's bloodied and mutilated body but she can't.]

...His sweater. It's Hiro's.

[pinkflip]

[ So. When the return there's something there that Freddie or Leia probably didn't notice before. Namely because it has glowing red eyes and sports a panicked yell.

Leaning against the desk, in a knitted...sheath--the one who made it would call it a sword shirt--is Saba, the sword Kim gave to Marco when she died. ]

Oh, no...! No, Zordon forbid-- I told him to stay!

[ It's impossible for a sword to cry, but. Boy it sure sounds like this one wants to. ]

[stanbyme]

Son of a-!

[At the voice, Stan jumps. Instinct makes him clutch Marco’s body closer instead of dropping him, but he lays him down on top of the shower curtain, hands shaking as he closes Marco’s eyes and chucks him under the chin to keep his mouth shut.]

What the heck are you?

[hasit]

[Leia turns, startled, and—

Oh, good, it's Kim's sword. Kim's magic sword. Talking to her.]

A whole lot of good that did him!

[She's. She's a little bit upset and maybe taking it out on the enchanted weapon.]

[pinkflip]

[ Well, seems that's fine with him! ]

I am...a powerless sword...who couldn't convince a boy not to do something foolhardy.

[ He...trembles? Sort of? At the desk. It seems that's the only movement he can do. ]

It is my fault. I- I could not stay powered long enough...to talk him out of it.

[stanbyme]

...You, uh. You know this guy, Leia?

[hasit]

He belonged to Kim.

[Heavily, Leia slides down the side of Marco's bed, onto the floor.]

It's not your fault. Nobody could have stopped him, he just—he was trying to help.

[Her eyes squeeze shut tightly.]

[pinkflip]

...I am sorry, ma'am.

[ There's not much more to say. The red glow to his eyes dims. The saber's powered down in grief. ]

[stanbyme]

[Stan grunts with the effort it takes for him to slide down to the floor next to Leia, putting an arm around her shoulders. He's not going to get her any bloodier by holding her. They can start cleaning up the body in a minute. Right now they have to take care of the living before they can start tending to the dead.]

...It's something Dipper woulda done, too.

[Dipper "use magic to try to save his great-uncle from a dream demon" Pines. Dipper "run off to distract a demon and buy time for his great-uncles to think of a plan" Pines.

Mason "Dipper" Pines.]

It ain't right that they keep draggin' kids- And just... just...

[His voice is rough, both from raw emotion and from how he'd screamed in panic.

Stan's expression crumples, staring at the blood on his free hand, and he thinks about the boy shredded on the bed behind them. About a little body being fished out of a swimming pool that he never saw but he can imagine plain as day. A little girl spinning up and up into brutal fan blades.

Eeny meeny miney you!

The first sob breaks out of him, but even a dam several decades thick has to crack eventually.]

[hasit]

[It's a relief, feeling Stan slide down next to her, and even though there are so many things she needs to be doing, cleaning Marco up, figuring out...how to tell Hiro about this...

They both need a moment to just process this. She leans into Stan's side, slipping her arm around his waist.]

I know. I know. [She couldn't possibly verbalize the guilt she feels every time one of these poor kids ends up dead, and she's still here, alive and well.

And then she freezes, because she hears that sob, and she can't even measure how much it breaks her heart to hear that sound coming out of Stan's mouth. Her arm curls more tightly around his waist.]

It's alright. It's alright, Stanley, I'm here.

[Let it out. You're safe.]

[stanbyme]

[He cries like it's hurting him, hard gasps and broken, choked noises, his chest heaving with each one. When her arm tightens around his waist he turns toward her, wrapping both of his arms around her and physically shaking as he tries to do the exact opposite of what she's encouraging him to do.

Eventually he calms down enough, panting for breath, that he can pull back and push his glasses up, scrubbing his bloody hand over his face. His voice is still ragged and uneven, though.]

I can't let anything happen to Mabel. I can't, but Dipper's already...

[Remember what Randall said would happen to people who were already dead?]

I can't just do nothing.

[And then, in the closest thing his hoarse voice can get to a whisper,]

...He was just a little older than the kids...

[hasit]

[She does the best the can, which at the moment is to just let him cry on her. This is hard on all of them, but she doesn't have to guess why this is hitting Stanley so hard. It's obvious even before he pulls back and starts to talk. Her own hands are still bloody, but it doesn't stop her from reaching up to wipe the tears away from his weathered cheeks.]

I know. I know, Stanley, I—

[Something like fear crosses Leia's face, and she pulls herself up to her knees, reaching out for both of Stan's shoulders to pull him to face her.]

You can't think like that. You can't let him get to you. Randall—this is exactly what he wants.

[stanbyme]

[He looks up to meet her eyes when she gets up onto her knees and makes him. Crying has made his eyes hollowed, and his glasses sit crooked when they settle back on his nose. He knows she's right. He knows.

But if something happened to Dipper, he would never be able to look Mabel in the eyes again.]

I love those kids more than my own life. [His voice cracks but he doesn't break again, just wipes his eyes with the back of his wrist.]

...I promised Dipper he was gonna be okay...

[hasit]

He is going to be okay. [Her voice is as firm as she can manage, her fingers curling, digging into his shoulders tight.] We're going to find a way to fix this, but giving in to threats isn't it.

[She makes herself take two, three deep breaths, looking into his face; eventually, her fingers relax, and she reaches up to straighten his glasses, her other hand smoothing over his shoulder.]

Just...promise me. Promise you won't do anything rash, Stan, I—

[Her voice catches in her throat, tears welling in her eyes again.]

I've lost so many people already. Here, and at home...I can't bear to lose you, too.

[stanbyme]

[His face is covered in blood, he can smell it and see it, there's still a dead boy on the bed behind them, but Leia's fingers digging into his shoulders ground him, at least a little bit. He lets out a shaky breath, and reaches out to cup her cheek in his hand.]

Don't- don't cry on account of me, babe, I ain't worth it.

[His thumb sweeps over her cheek.]

I'd rather die than hurt you or Mabel. But I... got a pretty spectacular track record with hurting people by doin' rash things. I don’t wanna make you a promise I’m not sure I can keep by myself.

[Pines fam has an impressive lack of chill. He sighs, deflates, looking at the body on the bed behind him with a pained expression.]

...Don't let me outta your sight tomorrow, Leia. I don't...wanna do anything, I don't wanna hurt anybody, I don't wanna let him win.

[But, well, he hadn't meant to break Ford's science experiment. He hadn't meant to push him into the portal. He hadn't meant to ruin their chance to get rid of Bill the "right" way and almost get the kids killed.]

But somebody else might be desperate too.

[hasit]

[She wants to haul back and slap him when he tells her he's not worth it. She wants to tell him that he's the only thing she has right now that makes it all worth it. She wants to, but she doesn't.

As he talks, Leia feels cold dread pooling in the pit of her stomach, and the certainty that no matter what she does, no matter how hard she tries, that something worse is going to happen tomorrow. That she's going to lose Stan, no matter what.

But she can't tell him that. She pushes herself to her feet, reaches for Stan's hand to help him up, too.]

We're going to keep each other safe. I can't let anything happen to you. Or to Mabel.

[They're the closest thing she has left to a family.]

1/2

[sorrydoods]

[So...Soos is over here today because he sorta wants to have a dip in the pool since it sounds relaxing and...wait, why is everyone crowding around in here?]

Uh, guys? What's...

2/2

[sorrydoods]

...no.

[no no no nO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NONONO!]

MARCO!

[Hopefully no one's still in the way because Soos is running towards Marco's body, barely paying attention to the others as he falls to the floor and looks at his face...a face that was just fine the other day, now...lifeless.]

Marco...no...

[angelgoatdemon]

[Behind Soos is Lekmet, standing there all catatonic at first.

He's trying to process it all, from the blood trail, to the two adults having a moment in his son's room, Soos, Marco's mangled corpse...

He follows Soos and kneels by the body. There's not much he will do at the moment but stare with eyes glazed over.]

[hasit]

[Leia's throat goes dry and tight as first Soos, and then Lekmet come into the room; she drops her hands from Stan's, and crosses over to Lekmet.]

Freddie and I followed him outside...we found him like this. [Her voice is rough and raw as she looks past Lekmet and at Marco.]

I'm so sorry. I know that doesn't fix this, but...I know he was important to you. He was to me, too.

[stanbyme]

[Stan’s knees pop and his back creaks and he’s grateful for Leia’s hand getting to his feet.

Before he can even answer what she said (and he could tell from the look in her eyes they weren’t even near done), let alone approach the more immediate question of what to do next, he hears Soos and almost gets bowled over by his handyman. And behind Soos is Lekmet, and shit now it’s just awkward.

He lets Leia handle the sympathies, staying quiet and taking a step back when she drops his hands, using the last clean part of his shirt to wipe his face clean and scrub away any evidence of his breakdown.]

...We can spread the news and set up some kind of a memorial, if you want.