paradisalogs | Nepeta: Wake.

Entry tags:

Nepeta: Wake.

Who: Nepeta Leijon, Aradia Megido, Jane Crocker, Vriska Serket
What: It's never fun waking up after you've died.
When: Tonight
Where: The basement
Rating: Lots of talk of death. Lots of it.

New memories flooded to the front of Nepeta's mind at a pace she could hardly keep up with. It was as if they were all happening at once and yet still in sequential order.

She could see through the vent; the violent highblood had her moirail in his grasp and yet he did nothing to stop it. She heard herself choking back tears and anger and disgust, but mostly anger as every part of her defied Equius's last words to her. She saw herself leaping at Gamzee and felt his hand grab her wrist as he scarred his own face with her claws before discarding her like she was nothing.

She saw the club coming down upon her...

-----

[Nepeta's eyes open as she tries to escape what she can now remember from her timeline back home. Her heart is racing as she tries to sit up, but finds herself unable to freely move. Her head immediately hits upon glass, and in her panic, her hands begin to pound against the glass of the cryo-chamber she'd been kept in these past weeks. She wants out out out out out someone please get her out of here!

Something catches her eyes. Words appear in front of her rather politely as the chamber recognizes that its occupant is now awake. Escape? Yes, please get me out of here! she thinks as her fingers finally manage to press the button to open the glass. When she sits up, there's a large inhale of breath, as if it's the first time she's breathed in a very long time.

How did she wind up here in the first place? Her new memories of home are the most recent thing she can remember no matter how hard she tries. The only images appearing are that of her final moments and the horrible sights that accompanied that. She doesn't want to remember that. Perhaps she's better off not remembering anything.

She's still panting as she attempts to climb out of the cryo-tube, but she moves too quickly and suddenly the room around her is spinning. Her shaking hands do little to steady her, and she finds herself falling back into the tube in a heap. Nepeta finds herself with little strength to even hold herself up.

What in the world is happening? Her voice cracks as she calls out.]

Hello? Is anyone around? Please, I don't know what's going on...

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[When Aradia came downstairs this evening, like she did every night, she didn't expect to hear anything. After all, she certainly hadn't heard anything for the last three weeks straight. But first there was that insistent banging noise, and then the hiss of the door opening, and she knows which one that is - a little bittersweet that it's only the one, but it's good, it's wonderful! She grins and scampers over to the pod, sticking her head in to see her friend, alive again.

.... Okay maybe she is a little overexcited about this whole affair. And possibly leaning in a little closer, or grinning a little wider, than absolutely necessary.]

Nepeta!!

[SWEET POUNCE'S LITTERBOX. Aradia's sudden presence is enough to startle the already startled and disoriented Nepeta. Her fingers press into the sides of the tubes as she tries to scoot herself back and away until she realizes just who it is.

Of course, this explains nothing.]

Aradia? What are you doing here?

[Fortunately for Nepeta's blood pressure, Aradia backs off, placing her hands on her hips.]

What am I doing here? Waiting for you two to wake up, silly.

[Immediately Nepeta's bringing a hand up to her head as she tries to sit up again. After what Nepeta's been through, Aradia is making it sound as if she's simply been taking a nap.]

But I thought we died. I don't have another dream self. [Head tilt] I thought you died!

[Oh. Oh dear. Aradia's grin falters a little bit. That couldn't be her second loss, could it? Or - she couldn't have gone and come back, not so neatly and in the same place without even being noticed...

Her wings flutter uneasily, and she extends a hand, palm up, to help Nepeta out of the pod.]

Nepeta... we're in Paradisa right now. That was a long time ago. Don't you remember the castle? You've lived here for almost a sweep. [She'll start with that and work her way forward...]

[The name certainly sounds familiar. Paradisa. Paradisa?

Oh! Paradisa! She's been here before, hasn't she? Or she never left. Had she left? She honestly can't tell and she doesn't know if it even matters. At least that explains Aradia's condition, which is most definitely not a pile of exploded robot bits. In fact, she's wearing the very same outfit from the dream she'd had--RIGHT. God tier. It's all slowly coming back to her.

Except the part about her being shoved in some weird recuperacoon.

Nepeta graciously takes the hand and pulls herself up, still feeling very much woozy.]

Oh, right. I remember Purradisa. I just don't remember this part of Purradisa.

[Oh good, she does remember. Thank gog for small mercies. Aradia helps her over to a small, utilitarian table with chairs in the middle of the room.]

It's just the basement. I think York took it over when the Peace Patrol disbanded, or something. Hence the convenient cryogenic stasis tubes.

[She motions vaguely at them. Vriska's undoubtedly visible in another one, and possibly one other person ~~but as to who, I haven't the foggiest, so let's just pretend the glass is frosted over :3~~]

[She wrinkles her nose in confusion, not quite noticing the Vriska-in-a-pod just yet.]

Cryo-what?

[Plainly] You were frozen today.

[WELL EARLIER THAN TODAY, TECHNICALLY, BUT TODAY ALSO.]

Wh--!! Why was I frozen!

[It sounds more like a demand for an answer than a question.]

[WELP she was trying to be gentle, but when you ask so directly, there's only one answer aradia can possibly give.]

... To keep your body from going bad. You've been dead for over three weeks.

[Aradia's true title: Queen of Tact.

Nepeta's not even sure which part of that is more alarming. The fact that she died (again) or the fact that she's been dead for over three weeks. Both are equally terrible.

She stands up abruptly in protest.]

Three weeks?!

[And then promptly falls back into her chair in a dizzy spell.]

Okay, wait. Okay. Um. I remember dying, just not in Purradisa. Ugh, this is all so confusing!

[Gotta watch those headrushes, gurl. Aradia smiles sympathetically. It's been a long time since she got to play the psychopomp, but it's a little weird to do it on someone who is technically alive. Still, letting them remember the details (if they can) is an important part of the process!]

Take your time.

Do I even want to remember?

[That's it, Nepeta. Just try to remember. Try to piece it all back togeth--

Or just slump in the chair and lay your face on the table in front of you. That works, too.]

[Aradia gently pats her head. It was a pretty nasty business, to be honest, but the first step to working through your own death is to understand that it happened.]

Probably not. But it's generally better to remember it because you were trying, than to have it sneak up on you when you're not expecting it.

[She groans for a good few seconds before she genuinely tries to piece things together. Maybe talking it out is best.]

I remember... space? Ugh, no. I am thinking of the meteor again, aren't I?

[That's the ticket! :3]

No, you had it right the first time. We did wind up in space recently, as a world change.

[It's slowly starting to come back to her, whether she likes it or not. Many details are still hazy.]

I remember a big glowy thing. It was really bad, but I don't remember why. People were scared, and then Vwiskers--

[Oh there we go.]

Vriska! What happened to her? Is she okay?

[Jane had been wanting to visit Nepeta and Vriska for some time now. Knowing they were in the basement cryo-whatsis, she had finally decided that today was the perfect day to go down. She felt awkward not bringing something along for them, though, so she had picked some flowers for her friends. There wasn't a gravestone to leave them by, but it felt nice to do it all the same.

She's humming as she descends, but she pauses when she hears voices. They're...familiar.

Curious, she runs down the rest of the steps, and stops short on the last one, her eyes widening.]

Aradia...? [And then, a little louder,] Nepeta??

[Oh boy, the Vriska discussion... that was a part Aradia wasn't particularly looking forward to, for sure. Fortunately(?), at that moment she hears Jane and looks up.]

Jane! You're just in time! Nepeta just resuscitated a couple minutes ago. [She waves her over. GET IN HERE GURL.]

Jane? [Nepeta quickly turns her head to watch her approach]

Jane was there, too. And so were you. Where is Vriska? Did we get her off the ship?

[It'd been so long since everyone else came back that this throws Jane off a little. But it's still a good thing - Nepeta's alive again! Jane hurries over to them, the flowers forgotten.]

You're okay! You're really okay! [She's about to hug you, but then you mention Vriska.]

Oh...um, well. Aradia said you were both in the tubes, so...she must still be in one of them, right? [Unless she's come back already and is hiding, which would be really awful.]

[Aradia points obligingly to Vriska's tube.]

She wouldn't come.

[That's really all there is to say on the matter. She wouldn't leave the Event Horizon with them, and now she is dead.]

[You are correct.

There sure is a Vriska in one of these tubes!

DEAD.]

[Nepeta only turns to look in the direction of the tubes, not moving to get up. Does she really need to see another dead body so soon? She doesn't want to.]

What even happened? I remember we found her, right? Why wouldn't she come?

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