fourteen : taken away to the dark side [video]

[everylittlegirl]

[The room is dark and Hayley's face is only vaguely visible, lit only by the glow of the console's screen. She sounds tired, posting in the middle of the night. Someone paying really, really close attention might notice the Flash pajama bottoms she's wearing or the Superman cape, courtesy of Jor-El, strung about her shoulders like a blanket.]

I don't know if someone else already said this, but in case they didn't? Bart Allen and Kon-El are both gone. Back home, not missing.

[A beat.] Will someone bring me some food? I haven't really eaten for awhile.


[ooc: Assume Hayley's been angsting avoiding everyone for a few weeks. Feel free to assume check-ins or other interactions. I was hiatused a lot and am still slow, sorry!]

Comments

[skeletonenigma]

The Passage. The necromancers' version of the Rapture.

[Skulduggery would have thought that was obvious. But then, people always seemed to get stuck on the more obvious points.]

I don't know. This is all conjecture on my part. If you want the specifics of his belief, you'll need to talk to him, not me.

[everylittlegirl]

[Hayley tilts her head and rolls her eyes as if to say: 'oh, duh, that's obvious' in response to his first clarification. She takes another bite of her brownie to make herself feel better for missing something so obvious. To the latter, she gives a modest and almost entirely insincere smile.]

Yeah, of course. I will. [Despite her false smile, her words are honest. The girl has every intention of talking to the Necromancer to learn more about him, his beliefs, and the church or whatever that he serves. She'll also take everything Skulduggery says with a healthy dose of skepticism, given that he's a talking skeleton. Fair or not, Hayley was biased towards the attractive magician over the skeletal detective.]

So you think the Temple is the wrong way of doing things. [She takes a sip of her coffee, holding up a finger for a second to indicate she wasn't finished.] Mm. You think the Temple's the wrong way, but you wanted to murder the guy who killed your family, right? Why not go to the police or whatever?

[skeletonenigma]

[For better or for worse, Skulduggery's still amused.] What police? The ones who fly in on broomsticks with flashing lights on their tails? I am the police, Hayley. I'm the closest thing to law enforcement sorcerers have. When cold-blooded murder occurs, I'm the one they send in.

[It wasn't true, strictly-speaking, but it was true enough. Skulduggery was the only one who could have done anything about Nefarian Serpine - especially since, by the end of the war, he was the only one who cared.]

My employers granted him immunity once they signed their peace treaty. I appealed to them many times to change that decision, but they had this very strange notion that I might be ever-so-slightly biased. I can't imagine why.

[everylittlegirl]

[His attitude doesn't perturb her in the slightest and, instead, she wears the same false smile. Hayley takes another sip of her coffee as he talks about the peace treaty and being biased, unsure what to make of him really.]

You don't agree with Necromancy, but you're all for cold-blooded murdering a cold-blooded murderer? [She tilts her head in a mixture of genuine curiosity and slight mocking. It's hard to tell whether Skulduggery is being hypocritical or not when she continues to know so very little about the pair of them overall and to believe even less.]

[skeletonenigma]

[There are many excuses Skulduggery's used over the years - and there are even more he could use with Hayley. She's never had loved ones murdered in front of her, as far as Skulduggery knows - she has very little right to be making judgements.

But she isn't making judgements. She's asking a question.]

In my defence, I tried to arrest him. But he tried to kill an associate of mine, and I was forced to kill him to save her. There are people who are completely irredeemable, Hayley, and that man was one of them.

[everylittlegirl]

[In a rare glimpse into Hayley's often unspoken views, she responds by simply taking another bite of her brownie. With very little change in her nonchalance, she looks up to meet what should be his gaze, eyes burrowing into the dark emptiness of his skull. What was a fake smile seems ever slightly more sincere now.]

I think it's cool, that you can do what's needed to make sure the monsters aren't allowed to hurt anyone else.

[skeletonenigma]

[He has to admit, he wasn't expecting that.]

You're a very wise young lady. Don't let it go to your head.

[everylittlegirl]

[Hayley's smile slips into something modest and yet amused, covering for a very well hidden arrogance that the average person would miss entirely. She dips her head in a subtle gesture of acceptance.]

Thanks. Not everyone here would agree. I mean, about the killing.

[skeletonenigma]

Which is odd, don't you think? I've been given to understand that the magic which brings us here is incredibly discerning, but it seems to be the exact opposite in practice.

[It's also, however, just as odd that Hayley holds an attitude like that, given her age. Did she have direct experience with the choice, or with someone who had to make it? Skulduggery might have asked, if Hayley's state of mind wasn't as delicate as it was.]

[everylittlegirl]

[She shrugs, her smile fading into something softer. The thought of what causes that kind of hypocrisy brings her back to why she has been feeling so awful in the first place.]

A lot of the heroes are delusional. Most of them believe in fighting, but they like to think there's another option besides killing. Only, this time, I don't think there is.. and I don't know where that leaves them.

[Her gaze drifted down to her coffee at the memory of Bart and Kon, trying to think what they might have done. Bart would have insisted there was another way. Kon would have agreed with Hayley in wanting to kill it. She was pretty sure about both. That she knew them well enough to guess only hurt more.]

Unless there is another way. But I don't think the magic's really that discerning, you know? Or else why would people like me be here? I mean, not that I'm useless or anything, but I'm a teenage girl who didn't have any superpowers or magic or anything.

[skeletonenigma]

Really? Wreath agreed to teach you necromancy on a whim, did he?

[Skulduggery points it out casually, like no big deal has to be made out of it. If the magic is as discerning as he's been led to believe - well, then there has to be a reason each individual is taken. And if that's the case, then that reason wouldn't have anything to do with magic or ability to fight. It would have more to do with potential, with attitude, with willingness to fight.]

There may well be another way. If there is, I'll consider it. If killing this thing were as easy as... well, as killing it, then I'm sure someone else would have managed it by now. We may be forced to get creative.

[everylittlegirl]

He still hasn't agreed. [She says coyly. It's obvious that Skulduggery knows about Solomon teaching her, but Hayley said he wasn't and so she'll stick with that story, even if they both know the truth. Her eyes flick up to meet his, then drop to her coffee as before. It's a nice thought that the Necromancer might be picky about who he teaches, that it puts her that much closer to him.]

And I already know some magic. Sabriel taught me some. [Another sip of her coffee, another bite of her brownie. The words about getting creative almost stung, the idea that maybe the thing couldn't be killed or that the people who had been here thus far weren't good enough to do it.] Yeah, maybe.

[skeletonenigma]

Well, there you go.

[Skulduggery recognises the name, but not from a meeting - Hayley mentioned it herself the first time the two talked via console. He never went on to track Sabriel down. Other things popped up, as they so often did.

But if Hayley and Sabriel were as close as learning magic from him implied, and she hadn't seen him in a while, then it was probably safe to assume Sabriel was one of those who disappeared.]

You don't agree?

[everylittlegirl]

[Hayley wraps a hand around the back of her neck, her expression bordering on sheepish. Although it's as much an act as sincere, that gray area Hayley tends to reside in when she doesn't know who or what else to be, she hesitates ever so slightly before continuing.]

It's just.. Well, has anyone actually tried? I mean, like, really tried. Like balls-to-the-wall, succeed or die trying, full on, all out tried. Because I see tons of people living their lives and occasionally doing something disruptive, but who's actually tried killing it - or anyone who works for it?

[skeletonenigma]

[A tilt of his head.] You're right. We could be doing more. The interesting thing is, so could he.

[The explosions from months ago are still forefront in Skulduggery's mind, and since there weren't even any casualties, he finds that strange. During the war with Mevolent, days like that were much more common than days like this, casualties included - remembering any single event in so much detail was almost impossible when there were so many of them. Malicant and his followers claimed to be spreading chaos. Waiting in between attacks could certainly be a solid strategy to that end, but this... isn't. It's bothered Skulduggery for a while now.]

[everylittlegirl]

[Hayley's lips twitch at the ends into an almost imperceptible smile. Skulduggery's acceptance of her words, rather than criticizing her for being ridiculous or over-the-top, helps validate her concerns. Although the girl doesn't need the validation, she appreciates it. It's the kind of gesture that makes it easier to continue, to have a real debate and set one's mind at ease rather than suppressing the concerns and dwelling on them.

His counter point intrigues her and she drops her hand from around her neck, sitting up straighter as she thinks on his words. He's absolutely right. She taps a slim finger to her lips, then stops in favor of sipping her coffee instead.]

So you think.. maybe it's building up to something? Or maybe it's a distraction.. or a test. [Another sip, then she lowers her cup in clear indication of conversation.]

You weren't here, but there used to be this horrible famine. Like, we had rations and it was only because of that garden Annabeth and Bruce built that we started getting fresh food again. And things like alcohol and cigarettes.. I mean, I don't smoke, but you could tell who did, because they were all irritable all the time from not getting any packs.. except then it changed and it hasn't been like that since.

There have been problems with super heroes' powers and magic. There was that bombing. Oh and I heard about some underwater zombies one time and something about the shell breaking? But that was before I got here. It seems.. I don't know.. kind of.. paced? Like how teachers give tests with smaller homework in between.

[skeletonenigma]

Perhaps. Complacency is certainly a valid tactic, when it's used right.

['Building up to something,' as ominous as it sounds, is probably the most likely explanation. If any of the recent events have been a test, reaction time and steadfastness were probably the subjects of it - in which case Skulduggery would say they failed horribly.

Underwater zombies, on the other hand, catch Skulduggery's attention. Useless to ask Hayley for further details if that's all she knows, but if it coincides with the shell itself breaking, it's almost certainly important. Skulduggery makes a mental note to follow up on it later. Then famine, problems with magic, shortages...]

It does. Do you know what caused the famine?

cw: mention of abuse of a child

[everylittlegirl]

[His words and thoughts continue to be genuinely interesting and she takes a moment to consider them again. Complacency. Wasn't that a tool she had used herself in the past? It gave her a quick chill to think about it being used against them, that everything they had overcome was just to keep them self-satisfied. As if murder and betrayal and all those other horrors they endured were just to keep them occupied. It was a sickening thought, but she knew it would work all too well.]

Huh? [She replies immediately, his question snapping her from her reverie. Before he has a chance to repeat himself, though, she realizes what he was asking and nods.] Oh, yeah. I mean, not exactly? But the turtle was sick. Something about the magic being tainted and there not being enough hope or something like that? A bunch of people did a bunch of things to try to help it and Annabeth and Bruce made the garden to have fresh food and eventually things got better.

[Hayley gives a small shrug, though her face darkens as she continues.] I think that was when we were going around, disrupting the blood magic that it's followers were using. We freed some kid who'd been locked in a closet, starving and cut up and everything.. That was our group. But there were others too, doing stuff like that.

[skeletonenigma]

[Asti being sick causes famines? Skulduggery has to wonder if that's commonplace among continent-turtles, or if that's purely a result of Malicant's influence. Or, as Hayley's implying, if that particular sickness and famine was caused by disrupting enough of Malicant's influence in enough places that Malicant lashed out in the only way he knows how. Interesting. Malicant himself has, so far, been passive; he works through others. There's a connection there, but Skulduggery doesn't believe he has the knowledge to put it together. Maybe he can ask Quintus for more details, but he doesn't expect that to lead anywhere - unless Quintus has been talking to other long-lived Foreigners.]

Tell me, Hayley, is there usually at least a month of peace in between these events? Or are some periods longer than others?

[everylittlegirl]

[She thinks on the subject, giving each of his questions considerable thought between sips of coffee and bites of brownie. After awhile, she lightly shakes her head.]

I haven't been keeping track or anything? But it seems like it varies. Like, all the really bad stuff seems to happen months apart, but little things are happening all the time. And, I mean, the famine lasted for like.. six months, I think? And bad stuff happened during it too, so.. I guess it depends on how you define 'peace.'

[skeletonenigma]

Little things like what? Gang attacks, or people going missing? The sorts of things people might generally overlook?

[everylittlegirl]

That, and things like stopping places and people getting killed or wandering into bad portals or whatever. I don't know. I never thought to look for a pattern. I.. didn't really think I'd be here that long.

[She gives a childish little shrug and then shoves more brownie into her mouth, trying to swallow her pain with the chocolate.]

[skeletonenigma]

[That brings up another point which Skulduggery debates saying out loud. There may not be any rhyme or reason to the people who vanish, but there is a possibility Hayley's hoping it will happen to her. She's certainly going about it the right way - if a soldier stops being useful, then you stop using that soldier. The problem is that they don't know what happens to a person when they vanish. They might end up back home, or they might simply disappear into the ethos. The only sure way of ending up back home is winning this war and asking Eva to reverse her magic.]

How long have you been here?

[everylittlegirl]

[She thinks on that for a moment, then takes another bite of her brownie. The realization of just how long its been surprises her slightly, but it's not entirely unexpected. It seems like forever, but Kon was here even longer.]

Like.. a year and a half, almost. In a couple months, I mean. It's kind of weird.. being sixteen without school or a driver's license or any of it. Doesn't really feel like growing up when I know it'll all go back to normal.

[skeletonenigma]

[Skulduggery nods.] If I understand correctly, time doesn't pass normally here, either. If you want to grow up, you'll need to find a way home. And finding a way home isn't as simple as giving up and hoping the magic will eventually overlook you.