MoM IC Contact

[khajidont]

Jaime's cell phone is more or less plugged riiiight into his brain, so he tends to pick up like 99% of the time! If not, however...

"Hey, Jaime here! Leave a message, and I'll get back to you ASAP."

Comments

[khajidont]

He's just desperate. And, y'know, crazy, but that doesn't exactly justify messing with all of our heads. Maybe that's why he confessed.

[youbastard]

No, it definitely doesn't justify it at all. [There's a slight edge to her voice there.] Did he tell you about why he wanted to get to the Porter? Or anything like that?

[khajidont]

He did. It seems like just asking him questions and waiting for the answers go a long way with him.

[He's peeked at some of Yomiel's other conversations, and the way he seems to thrive in infuriating some, and ends up giving others - like Jaime - straight answers. Maybe he feels guilty.]

He wants to move on - to actually die for good. That's not all, though. He said that he wanted to bring two people here from his world.

[youbastard]

He didn't mention the bringing people from his world here to me, but he did tell me that he wanted to see if the Porter could help him. [And that had been the story that had managed to make Ellie feel sympathy for him.]

He seems really ...lost. It's almost hard to stay mad at him.

[khajidont]

The people he wanted to bring over from his world are already dead. I think he wanted to give them a second chance.

[It's not an evil thing he's gunning for, at least. The way he's been trying to get there, however...]

Gotta say, he turned out to be a little more complicated than I thought.

[youbastard]

[She let out a tiny, somewhat bitter, chuckle.] Yeah, he really did. I'm not sure if it makes it better or worse. At least there's a deeper meaning than just evil for the sake of being evil. But...it definitely makes things complicated. [It's a lot easier to be really pissed off and stay pissed off if it's just evil to be evil or crazy...or both.]

[khajidont]

The only thing that he didn't make more complicated is the fact that we still have to figure out how to catch him. I'd be forgiving him a lot more easily if he didn't make that poor girl think she was a murderer for all that time. [His heart aches for her, and it shows in his tone. He can still see her in his mind's eye, shoulders hunched in the vast prison cafeteria, voice thick from crying.]

Could be that that's why he ended up confessing. It's one thing to get us locked up for a few weeks, but murder would have gotten her years.

[youbastard]

The only idea I have for that is stasis of some kind. [And that seemed almost cruel, then again it wouldn't be too different than what he did to them.] I heard a bit about that. Do you know who the girl was? [She hadn't paid enough attention to all of that and she's realizing pretty quickly that she should have.]

Maybe. It's possible he wanted to get her off the hook, or get us all off. It's equally possible he figured he might as well since he really doesn't think he can be caught or stopped.

[khajidont]

Her name's Ruka. I don't really know her - I just caught her in the caf after she was arrested. [He reflects on the idea of stasis for a moment, but eventually decides it doesn't sit well with him. Jail's one thing, but to be kept from moving eternally... it sounds too cruel for a long term solution.]

Maybe he's hoping that someone can actually help him. That might be the best way of taking care of him, actually.

[Once he's moved onto Heaven or Hell or whatever it is waiting for him on the other side, he'll have had his wish, and he won't be their problem anymore. Win-win, right?]

[youbastard]

Ruka? I know her, we've spoken a few times. [Her voice held a lot of sympathy there. That kid didn't need anything else terrible in her life.]

I think that might be it. Or at least he hoped he could find a way to do it. I tried to see if I could convince him to look for other solutions, but he seemed more interested in wallowing in things than thinking about that too much.

[khajidont]

Then hopefully someone who can do something about it sees it sometimes. I don't know how sorry I feel for him, but he doesn't deserve to live - unlive? - like that. Nobody does.

[youbastard]

I wonder if there even is someone that can do anything. [She sighs.] No, nobody does. I wish he'd recognize that he hasn't lost everything though.

[khajidont]

He'll be tough to convince as long as he keeps up that whole evil manipulator slash woe-is-me routine. But you're right - so long as you can talk to other people, there'll be something out there that's worth it.

[youbastard]

It looks like he's pretty intent on keeping that up too. [A sigh] I've dealt with someone like him before, that refused to drop the woe-is-me routine and see that he hadn't lost everything. It's not worth continuing to try to change his mind.

Anyway... are you really alright with it all?

[khajidont]

[To Ellie's credit, Jaime doesn't respond with the quick yes that he's been feeding everyone else. He pauses for a moment instead, actually weighing it over.]

Yeah, actually. I'd be resting easier if he couldn't do it again, but... I don't think he'll be coming after us again. I'm just not big on the idea of losing control again, is all. How about you? You had it a bit worse than I did.

[youbastard]

Maybe we'll still be able to find a way to make sure he can't do it again. [There has to be something, right?] I know what you mean though, I'm not big on the idea of losing control again either. [And now she hesitates for just a second.] I'm okay. Brings back a few bad memories from my home, but I'll be fine.

[khajidont]

Really? What kinds of bad memories?

[youbastard]

[She doesn't say anything for a second as she mulls over just how much she wants to say.] The last few years of my life have been a series of being trapped in places that were being overrun by creatures called necromorphs. Then there was one very unpleasant time where I was held as a bargaining chip by an insane cultist. [Because worrying about space zombies wasn't bad enough.]

[khajidont]

[That... is a lot of unexpected, very unpleasant information.]

Oh, holy crap. No wonder you don't mind it so much here.

[What to even ask about first...?]

I'm sorry, that sounds awful. What did these guys have to do with you, anyway? Or was it just wrong-place, wrong-time?

[youbastard]

[She hesitates again for just a second.]

It's a long story. And not a very happy one. [It always ends up feeling like it's really almost too much to tell other people.] Do you really wan to know?

[khajidont]

Only if you're willing to tell it.

[youbastard]

I think it's more awkward for other people to hear. [A pause and she takes a breath.] I worked and lived on a Titan Station, a civilian space station with a population over one million. The Outbreak happened while I was at work with a team of around thirty people. It started with reports of regular people attacking each other. Then the dead started to get back up, they were different though. Most of them had mutated beyond recognition. My team and I tried to clear a path for the rest of the shifts to follow behind, but there were too many of them and quarters were too close. I was the only one that made it off the Station.

[khajidont]

[If Jaime hadn't already offered his condolences, he'd be offering them again, because wow. This isn't what he'd expected from Ellie, the woman he'd met joking around about visits to Sea World and the beach.

Zombies, he thinks, but that's a little disrespectful to the people that must have been Ellie's family and friends, right...?

When he does find words, his voice is quiet, sympathetic. It's a good thing she can't see his horrified expression over the phone.]

For the record, I'm glad that you did. Did they manage to figure out a way to cure the, um... outbreak?

[youbastard]

[She pauses for a second and when she responds she sounds pretty sad.] No. The only thing we could do was destroy Titan. Only me and Isaac made it off alive. After that I eventually went back to trying to find a way to stop the outbreak from spreading any further, or reaching Earth.

[khajidont]

I'm sorry. I can't imagine how hard that must have been.

[If that happened to him, if all that he had ever known had been torn away from him, would he still be able to go on? He doesn't know.]

You and Isaac are amazing.