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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[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?

[All the dark feelings Jane had been keeping at bay, with distractions and such? Yeah. They're creeping back in again.]

She'd gone crazy, or...or something. The Event Horizon made her crazy. You don't remember, Nepeta?

[Aradia goes rather serious herself.]

I don't know exactly what happened to her. When she was in my think pan I saw just... fragments of what she'd seen. Not even fragments. I don't know if she was tortured or what, but whatever was on that ship...

[She eyes Vriska's frozen face.]

... I think it managed to break her.

Yeah, she was acting really different before then. [Oh no...]

Did I start acting different, too? Is that why I died?

[Oh God, heaven forbid.]

No! You were definitely shaken, but nowhere near as bad as Vriska. The ship was definitely hurting whoever it could, but it got to some people worse than others. You died because-

[...She can't say it. She just can't bring herself to say it.]

[She happens to glance down at her shirt, which has so far been covered by that signature green coat of hers. The olive symbol that graces the front of her shirt looks... misshapen.

She pulls it down, realizing that it's not the symbol that's different: her shirt is stained with her own blood.

There's a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.]

I didn't do this.

[Oh God. Oh God, Jane can't look at it. She just can't.]

No. You didn't.

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