Nepeta: Wake.

[rogueofheart]

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...

Comments

[psych0p0mps]

[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.

[rogueofheart]

[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?

[psych0p0mps]

[That's the ticket! :3]

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

[rogueofheart]

[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?

[cyan_maid]

[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??

[psych0p0mps]

[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.]

[rogueofheart]

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?

[cyan_maid]

[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.]

[psych0p0mps]

[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.]

[wagers]

[You are correct.

There sure is a Vriska in one of these tubes!

DEAD.]

[rogueofheart]

[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?

[cyan_maid]

[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?

[psych0p0mps]

[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.

[rogueofheart]

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

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

[cyan_maid]

[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.]

[rogueofheart]

[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.

[cyan_maid]

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

No. You didn't.

[rogueofheart]

[It's as if noticing her shirt has pulled the event to the forefront of her mind. Immediately she's recalling those final moments with Vriska and everyone else. She can remember the loud, panicked words, the struggling between everyone, and the look on Vriska's face.

And then she remembers the feeling of the sword digging right inside of her and she lurches forward a bit.]

I remember now.

[psych0p0mps]

[Aradia reaches out a hand to Nepeta's shoulder, to steady her if need be and comfort her regardless.]

I'm sorry.

[Sorry we couldn't stop her. That we couldn't save you. She knows she's not Vriska's moirail or anything, but she still can't help feeling partly responsible. She'd meant to distract Vriska, draw her fire herself... maybe if there'd been any logic left in her, it could have worked.]

[cyan_maid]

[Not could have worked. Should have worked. They should have been able to drag Vriska off that ship, at least, and kept her from hurting anyone at most. Jane too feels a bit responsible. She told Vriska she'd be okay, that everything would be okay. But it really wasn't.

Head down, mouth in a shaking frown, Jane puts a hand on Nepeta's other shoulder. She doesn't know what to say.]

[wagers]

[Nearby, inside the chambers, she can't help but stir. The feeling comes back to her, faint at first-- and she's moving. Somewhat. Lightly. Undetectable.

Images are flashing in her mind. Blood. Gore. Fire. Space. Everything's bleeding together. Everything in her mind is rushing back to her.
And her eyes open in an instant.

What-- what was this? Images flash through her mind again, one of her former friend, another of Tavros. Pain. And an explosion.

She was trapped, much like that. And there was nowhere to go. Immediately, she takes a deep breath. It feels so long since she's had an actual breath. It comes out as a choke at first, and then it turns into an audible gasp.

She can't help but move her arms. Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit. How does she get out? She's breathing heavily now, trying to find her way out, even going so far as to choke a small shriek...

And all she hears is her body pressing up against the cold metal.

There's a hiss.

And she's falling to the ground.]

[rogueofheart]

[It couldn't have been timed any better. Or worse? Still reeling from everything, Nepeta can't even fully process the events that transpired before her death. Their deaths. Vriska died, too. They were both victims of that horrible ship.

She turns a little too quickly but pushes aside that sick feeling in favor of pushing off of the chair to stand just as Vriska tumbles from the cryo-tube. Someone should go help her.

So why couldn't Nepeta bring herself to do it? She knows Vriska was lost to the ship. She also knew that Maladict was the victim of her nightmare self, and look where that went.

So she stands there dumbly instead, leaving the others to tend to her.]

Someone go help her!

[psych0p0mps]

[The hiss of the other pod makes her look up, and by the time Nepeta finishes speaking, Aradia's already in motion, her wings propelling her over the table and directly to her kismesis. Being pretty fast, she'll most likely even get there in time to catch Vriska before she hits the ground.

Speak of the devil, right?

She's thought about this a bunch of times. Every day that she came down here visiting, her mind kept finding its way back to the same question - what will I do if Vriska wakes up still crazy? She even came up with a contingency plan for it. Funny how she can't remember any of the details now that it counts. Probably for the best, though. Simpler to kill her, if it comes to that. Simpler, and probably more humane than keeping her alive.

... If she's still crazy. Only if. But it takes a lot to break someone like Vriska. Who's to say it won't take just as much to fix her?

Aradia eases her the rest of the way out of the pod, but it's not like with Nepeta. Not a cheerful reunion, not gentle. Instead she tries to force her to sit upright from the get-go, and her voice is tense.]

Once again, your timing is flawless.

[cyan_maid]

[Jane is startled by the hiss, and when she sees the cause...she can't bring herself to move. The fight on the Event Horizon is replaying itself in her head, and Jane is trying to push it aside to remember, did anyone else come back crazy? Or were they returned to their senses? They must have been, right?]

Vriska...

[wagers]

[She's weak as she spills into the other troll's arms, breaths labored as her eyelids droop. As loose as she is, Vriska cannot help but tense up, teeth gritting for a moment as she tries to find words. She's always had words, right? She was a Serket, that's all they were made of!

She opens her mouth to speak, but she can't seem to find any words. So she's attempting to climb to her feet... and failing.]

_{Damn it...}

[She utters a growl, trembling. Why did she feel so shitty? There's a sharp pain in the left side of her head... and she's weakly lifting a hand to touch her temple.

Oh.

That's a lot of blood.]