“Keep moving.” Luigi growled at his sister. His arm was snaked across her waist and her arm was across his shoulder. He was barely keeping her upright. They came across an abandoned building. “Pavi, check if the place is clear.”
Pavi nodded and ran in; gun held before him.
Luigi could barely hold his sister up. He wondered if it was fatigue from running so long or if his sister was putting more and more weight on him.
Pavi ran out of the building and nodded. “It’s-a clear.”
Luigi followed him in and found a large empty room with no windows and a single door. “This should be secure enough.” He laid his sister on the ground.
Amber curled into herself and moaned.
“Let me see.”
Amber was bleeding from a bullet wound in her gut. Luigi removed his jacket and pressed it on tightly. His vision went white for a second. He shook it off. Adrenaline was quickly sapping out; leaving a cold fear in his stomach.
Two men had ran inside Amber’s office and shot her. Maybe they hadn’t realized he and Pavi were there. He wondered if there had been similar assassins sent to their offices as well. He managed to shoot the two rebels but it became clear that GeneCo was being overwhelmed. The GeneCops had been sent to quell a riot at the other end of town. It was a trap. They had no choice. He grabbed Amber and they escaped GeneCo. A hidden escape route that led them to the outskirts of town. Maybe it was a good thing Rotti was a paranoid bastard. Gunshots had surrounded them. He hadn’t had a chance to check if Pavi was shot either. But he was on his feet. Amber was the one in need of help.
Pavi ran up to him. When did he leave? “There isn’t-a anything in the building. Just a first aid kit but-a nothing we can-a use to stop the bleeding.” Pavi’s voice was low and serious.
Luigi pressed against the wound harder. Amber cried out in pain. “We don’t have a choice. Just bandage the wound tightly.”
Pavi did what he was told. He forced himself to ignore his sister’s cries of pain.
Luigi released the jacket and stood. He rubbed his temples as he felt a migraine come on. Fuck. Not now.
Pavi tightened and taped the bandage. “It should-a hold for now.”
Luigi nodded. He couldn’t think. The migraine was pounding in his head. He felt his vision flash in and out. The adrenaline crash plus lack of sleep must have aggravated it. “We can’t do anything but wait. We should take turns resting. Pavi, take the first watch. Keep an eye out for the rebels.”
“Si, fratello.”
Luigi laid on the ground. He gripped his head. It was getting worse. His vision kept flashing in and out. He shut his eyes tight. Why now? Why now when he needed to find a way out of this situation?
“How are you feeling, sorella?” He focused on the sounds of his brother and sister talking; trying to ignore the nausea the migraine was giving him.
“Better. It’s…it’s cold.”
“I know. Here.” There was a short period of silence, “Better?”
“Yes.” His sister sounded so weak. Fuck. What could they do? If the riots were a trap, how long would the GeneCops be distracted for? Would they have planned a bomb or explosion to take them out? Then how many men would be left? When they came back to GeneCo, would they be able to take it back? They couldn’t stay here for long.
“Just take a rest-a, sorella. Everything will-a be fine.”
***
Pavi watched his sister as her eyes drifted close and her breathing evened out. He lifted his jacket to see the bandages slowly soaking red. Fuck. He stood quietly, so he wouldn’t disturb his sister. He approached his brother who was gripping his head tightly. “Migraine?”
Luigi just grunted.
“There’s-a aspirin in the first aid kit. But-a seeing how long this place has-a been abandoned for, it’s-a likely gone bad.”
“It’s fine.” Luigi said shortly. He paused for a moment. “Are you injured?”
“No.”
Luigi blearily opened his eyes and looked at him.
“It’s just-a my shoulder. It’s-a not bleeding. I’m-a fine.”
Luigi shut his eyes again.
“She’s-a going to bleed out. The bandages aren’t-a doing anything.”
“What do you propose we do?”
“She needs a doctor or-a someone who can-a stitch her up.”
“GeneCo is overrun.”
“Maybe not-a GeneCo. The underground clinics.”
Luigi paused. “They hate us. If they’re part of the rebellion, what’s stopping them from killing us?”
Pavi looked at his sister shivering on the ground. “We may not-a have a choice.”
“It’s too risky. It’s better to wait…” Luigi grimaced, “Wait for the GeneCops.”
“She’s-a going to bleed out.”
“She’s not…going into shock yet. We can wait…till morning… See…if the GeneCops…managed to take back…GeneCo.”
“She needs-a help now!”
“I’m…tired…Paviche.” Luigi turned to his side, facing his back towards him.
“This conversation is-a not over, fratello. You-” Pavi paused. Luigi’s hair was strange wet. It hadn’t been raining has it? No, Pavi was dry. Pavi reached forward to touch it. It was thick and sticky. Pavi pulled back his hand to see it covered with blood. His heart sank. “Fratello?” Pavi pressed his hand against Luigi’s head and he felt the open wound. Blood seeped through his fingers. “Fratello?” When was his brother injured? Why didn’t he say anything?
He pulled his brother onto his back; ignoring the strain in his shoulder. “Fratello.”
Luigi’s eyes just stared upwards. Shallow gasps escaped his lips.
“Fratello, look at me. Fratello, look at me, please.”
But Luigi just stared upwards, unresponsive; the shallow gasps the only indication he was still alive.
“Fratello, you bastard-”
“Pavi? Brother, what’s wrong?”
Pavi froze. He forced his voice steady. “Nothing, sorella. Fratello’s just-a being stubborn. Go to sleep, sorella. Please.” His voice cracked and his hoped his sister didn’t hear it. He waited and listened until his sister’s breath evened out once more. He turned back to his brother. “Fratello,” He tried to keep his voice down. “Don’t-a you dare do this. Don’t-a you dare make me deal with this on my own.”
His hand was still cupped under Luigi’s head and he felt the blood pool. Pressure wasn’t going to help. Underground clinics weren’t going to help. They needed GeneCo. They needed GeneCo. “Fratello please. Just-a look at me. Just-a say something please.”
No response. No flicker of recognition. What could he do? He couldn’t carry Luigi out like this even if his shoulder wasn’t injured. And even if he could, where could they go? Back to GeneCo? They’d be shot dead. What could he do? What the fuck could he do?
Pavi couldn’t move. He couldn’t do anything but sit there just holding his brother. He couldn’t do anything but quietly beg his brother to move; to reply him; something. But Luigi did nothing but gasp quietly in his arms. Pavi could do nothing but just watch.
***
Pavi awoke with a start. He was still in the same position he was before. Luigi was cradled in his arms, his right hand cupped around his brother’s head. He was supposed to keep watch. He was careless. The blood on his right hand was crusted. It wasn’t wet. Luigi was still staring blankly upwards but the gasps were no longer escaping his lips. “Fra…fratello?” Shaky fingers reached for his brother’s face. He was cold and stiff. “Fra..fratello… No… No… Don’t do this. Fratello, don’t do this…”
“Pavi?” Amber. Fuck. She couldn’t find out. She couldn’t know.
“Give…give me a minute, sorella.” He forced his voice to steady. He forced his eyes to remain dry. He pulled his right hand back and shook at the blood that coated it. He scrubbed the blood off desperately. He had to pretend everything was alright. She didn’t need to know. Not now. Not while she was so weak.
He stood and his knees refused to support him. He had to remain calm. Amber would find out. He had to remain calm. He approached his sister. “Sorella?” His voice was tight.
“Pavi…is…something…wrong?”
“No, sorella. Everything’s-a fine. How-a are you feeling?”
She stared at him and blinked. “I..I’m thirsty.”
“We don’t-a have water, sorella.” He placed a hand on hers and froze. Her hand was cold and clammy. She was going into shock. “Sorella, I need to get-a you to a doctor. If I hold-a you up, can-a you walk?”
Amber stared at him. She blinked twice and slowly nodded. “Rebels…in…town…”
“I know. But we don’t-a have a choice” Pavi lifted his jacket and the bandages were soaked through. “You’re losing too much-a blood. We have to stop-a the bleeding.”
“It’s…cold…”
“You’re going into shock. We need-a to get you help before you collapse.”
“Rebels…”
“We have to risk it.” He placed his hands below his arms and pulled her up. Pavi bit back a curse as his shoulder protested.
Amber was on her feet but swayed.
He placed his arm around Amber’s waist. “Just-a lean on me.”
She leaned heavily on him.
“That’s-a it, sorella. I just-a need you to stay on your feet.”
“I feel dizzy.”
“Just-a lean on me. Everything’s going to be fine.” They headed out of the room.
“What…about…Luigi?”
Something tight clenched in Pavi’s chest. He forgot how to breathe for a second. “He…He wants to coordinate taking back GeneCo with the GeneCops. He will-a find us once it’s safe to get back to GeneCo.”
Amber’s brow furrowed, but she didn’t say anything.
By the time they reached town, Pavi was practically dragging his sister. “Just a bit more, sorella, please.” Pavi panted. His shoulder ached and protested but he couldn’t stop now.
“Rebels.” Amber muttered weakly.
Pavi’s eyes widened as he spotted them too. He pulled his sister into the alleyway.
Amber slumped further and further downwards. Her legs gave up and she sank to the ground. Pavi caught her and tried to pull her up. “Sorella, please. We’re already here. Just a bit more.”
“I…I can’t…hold…my….self…up.” Her words were beginning to slur. She leaned deeper into him.
Pavi caught her before she ended up on the ground. She lay against him, breathing heavily. He cradled her to him. “Sorella, please. It’s-a just a bit more. We’re just-a there.”
“I…I don’t…think…I…can…ke…keep…my…eyes…open.” Amber shivered in his arms. “It…it’s so…cold.”
“Please, sorella. Just-a hold on. Just a bit more. Please. Please, don’t-a leave me alone.”
“A…lone?”
Fuck. It slipped out. He hadn’t meant.
“Bro…brother…wh…what do you mean…alone?”
“Sorella, I…”
“Wh…what do you mean?”
“Fratello, he… he was-a shot. He didn’t… He’s dead.” Pavi shook as the words escaped his mouth.
“You…you said…”
“I didn’t-a want to upset you.”
“No.”
“I’m sorry, sorella.”
“No… He…he’s…not…dead.”
“Sorella, he’s gone.”
Amber raised a weak hand. “He…he’s ri…right th…there…”
Pavi grabbed her hand. She was so cold. “There’s-a no one there, sorella.”
“Pa…Pavi…” Deep gasps escaped Amber’s lips.
“Sorella, please.” He held her as she grew colder in his arms.
Her gasps grew weaker and more uneven.
“Sorella, please. Don’t-a do this.” Tear streamed down Pavi’s face.
Her gasps grew quiet as she shuddered and fell still.
Pavi held her tighter to him. Sobs wrecked his body. He couldn’t move. He refused to move. He just sat there cradling his sister’s body.
Footsteps approached him. Pavi still held his sister to him, tears long since dried. He just stared forward. He heard a gun cock. He looked up to see 3 rebels standing before him, gun pointed at his head.
“Do it.” He said hoarsely. He shut his eyes and waited.
Bang!
Note: In my defense, only Amber was meant to get hurt and everyone was meant to have survived. I… don’t know what happened.
Luigi opened his eyes blearily. “What the-” Where the hell were they? He was sitting on a chair; his hands handcuffed behind him. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know. I just woke up too.”
Carmela. He forced his head to turn and she was tied up behind him. Pavi was next to her. “Fag, wake the fuck up!”
Pavi stirred. “Fratello?”
Luigi pulled at the handcuffs once more. They were tight.
“Does anyone remember anything?”
Press conference at the other side of town. They were heading back then nothing.
“Fratello.” Pavi’s voice was wary.
“What is it?” He growled.
“The Pavi is-a no expert but the Pavi thinks that it’s a bomb.”
That’s when Luigi heard it; the quiet ticking. “How long?”
“10 minutes.”
“Fuck.” Luigi pulled at the chains once more. They had to get out. They had to find a way out.
Pavi let out a curse of pain.
Luigi turned to see but could only see him from the corner of his eye. His brow furrowed as his brother stood.
“Brother?”
“8 minutes.” Pavi muttered. He ran out of the room.
“Brother!”
Luigi fumbled with the handcuffs more. If his idiot brother could get out…
“He…he left us.”
Luigi pushed down the hurt in his chest. At least that asshole got out. Maybe he would be able to get help in time. No fuck that. He needed to concentrate on getting out. The handcuffs were too tight around his wrist. There was no way he could slid his hand out.
“Lu…”
“It’s going to be fine, Carmela.” If he fell backwards and tried to break the chair… no his hands would still be behind his back. He still wouldn’t be able to do anything.
“5 minutes.” Amber choked out.
Luigi froze. He looked around desperately. There had to be something that could help them. There had to be something.
“Brother, I…”
“We’ll get out of this, Carmela.”
“Liar.” Amber’s voice shook. Her breath grew faster as she started panicking.
“Carmela, look at me.”
“I can’t.”
Luigi dragged his chair forcing it to turn towards her. He spotted the timer at the corner of his eye. 4 minutes. “It’s going to be ok, Carmela.”
She turned her head towards him. Fear decorated her features. “Lu.”
“I’m here.” He locked eyes with her. “It’s going to be ok.”
She shook her head. “It’s not.” She choked out. “I’m scared.”
“I’m right here, Carmela. It won’t hurt. I promise.”
“Lu, I- Pavi!”
No. Luigi forced himself to turn more. His idiot brother ran back into the room.
“There’s nothing here.”
Luigi glanced at the time. 2 minutes. “Get the fuck out of here now.”
He had pliers in his right hand. His left hand was deformed. “It’s all I was able to find.” He headed towards the bomb.
“Pavi, you have no fucking idea how to disarm that thing. Get the fuck out of here.”
Pavi stared at the wires.
There were too many wires. There were too many fucking wires. “Paviche, get out of here. You’ll just set it off.”
“Brother, please.”
Pavi looked at them and then back at the bomb. “I have to try.”
“Paviche, don’t be a fucking idiot.” 1.5 minutes.
He placed the pliers on the black wire.
“Paviche, there’s no sense in all 3 of us dying. Get out of here and find the bastards who did this.”
The pliers shook in Pavi’s hand. “I won’t…I won’t leave you.”
“Brother, please.”
1 minute. “There’s still time, Paviche. Get the fuck out.”
“No.” Pavi snipped the black wire.
Luigi flinched but nothing happened. The timer was still counting down. “It’s not going to work, Paviche. They won’t make it so easy. Get the fuck out.” 45 seconds.
Pavi placed the pliers at the red wire. “One of these have to work.”
“Or you’ll fucking set it off.” 30 seconds.
“Brother, it’s ok. It’s ok.”
Pavi looked at them once more; pain on his features. His face hardened. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Paviche, don’t!”
Pavi snipped the red wire. The timer froze for a second, then turned to zero. Pavi’s eyes widened.
Amber flinched back.
Pavi threw himself onto the bomb.
“No!” barely escaped Luigi’s lips before a loud explosion threw him backwards against the ground. A loud crack. Then nothing.
Luigi sat on the ledge of the roof and just stared numbly out at the city. He couldn’t process what had happened. It’s been a week but he still couldn’t believe…
He sat there numb through the funeral. He couldn’t feel anything. He didn’t let himself feel anything.
But now…
Something tight clenched in his chest and he forced it back. He had to force it back. He couldn’t let himself feel. If he felt it, it would break him. He couldn’t feel. He must not feel.
It happened too fast for any of them to react. The doors flew open and the gunshots flared through the room. He crumpled to the ground as a sharp pain shot through his back. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t do anything. He just laid there on the ground bleeding. He forced himself to move, to turn, something.
And that’s when he saw him. His brother staring wide-eyed at him; a permanent look of shock etched into his features. He was still. A single bullet hole through the back of his head. Luigi could only stare at the unseeing eyes of his brother. He couldn’t cry out his name. He couldn’t move.
No.
He didn’t want to think. He didn’t want to remember. He didn’t want to feel anything. He didn’t want to…
He could hear his sister screaming their names. She was alive. She… He heard the rebels approach her. And he couldn’t move. He couldn’t react. He couldn’t stop them. He couldn’t do anything.
He heard more gunshots but Luigi couldn’t scream; couldn’t react. He couldn’t stop them.
Carmela crumpled into his light of vision. He watched her stare forward; gasping desperately for air. Luigi could do nothing but watch as she slowly gasped her last breath. Luigi could only watch as her eyes turned dull.
The rebels left. They thought he was dead. They were too arrogant to check. They left him alive. And he destroyed them all. He made sure every single one of the rebels were killed. They hung the last rebel leader today.
And now…what? What was there left to do? He had only one objective. Destroy the rebels. Destroy everyone that took his family from him.
And now…
And now…
Luigi felt something cold clench his chest and refused to let go. Luigi couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t scream. He still couldn’t do anything. Something tight constricted his throat. Overwhelming pain filled him. But he still couldn’t move; couldn’t cry out. He couldn’t do anything.
He had to stop. He didn’t want to feel this. He didn’t want to feel anything. His family was gone. He was all that was left. He was the only one left.
He wanted to scream. He wanted to lash out. He wanted something other than the overwhelming grief in his chest. He wanted…He wanted…
He wanted his family back. He wanted to see his sister again. He wanted to hear his brother’s voice. He wanted…he wanted…
He wanted the rebels dead. He wanted his revenge. He wanted them to pay. He had that. He had done what he swore he would do. He was done.
A sense of peace filled his chest. He had done what he set out to do. He was done.
Note: The next Comfortember entry is not being kind to me. I’ve been at it for the last 4 days writing circles and its not exactly…comfort. I really wanted to get that done but it just refuses to happen. This is just a really old story I had lying around (like 4-5 years ago old). Honestly, my headcanons and the way I write Luigi has changed alot since then. It could probably do with a rewrite. But I think 4 days without posting is really too long. So here’s just an old one-shot.
Luigi inhaled, letting the smoke flood his lungs. He glanced at the picture in his hands and looked once again to the woman he was following. It was her. Someone crashed into him. He slammed the man onto the ground and pressed the knife on his neck.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Here you go. I’m sorry.” He cried holding out the watch he swiped from Luigi.
He smirked as an idea formed. “You want that?” The man just stared wide-eyed at him, unsure how to answer. “See that woman there? I want you to rob her.”
“What?”
“Just rob her and the watch is yours. Just don’t hurt her.”
“Ye…yes sir.” He stumbled to his feet and approached the woman. He pulled a knife on her. “Hey, lady. Your money or your life?”
The woman raised her hands before her. “Please, calm down. I’ll give you the money.”
“Hurry it lady.”
Luigi approached the pair. He wrapped an arm around his neck and twisted his arm, forcing him to drop the knife. He pushed the man away, and he ran. He turned towards the woman. “Are you alright?”
“Yes. You saved me. Thank you.”
“It’s not a problem, ma’am. You shouldn’t be walking alone around here. The streets are dangerous.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be this late.” She laughed. “I just got carried away.” He looked at the shopping bags in her hand. Baby supplies. She couldn’t have been more than 7 months. A bit…excited, wasn’t she?
“Why don’t I help you bring your bags back to your home? Then you wouldn’t have to walk alone.”
“So, I’ll go with a stranger, to avoid other strangers?” She laughed. “I’m joking. You don’t have to be so serious.” She held out her bags towards him. “My back is killing me anyway.”
He didn’t know how to react. Half of him wanted to laugh. Half of him wanted to check again if he got the right woman. She wasn’t what he was expecting, that was for sure. He took the bags from her and followed her to her house.
“So, stranger, have a name?”
“Frank…Romano.”
“Italian?”
“By blood. Was born and raised here.” He paused, “From your accent, I’m guessing you are from there?”
“Well I was born there and I spent most of my childhood there. I came here when I turned 14. I’m guessing the remnants of the accent is from a really vocal family.”
“Must be nice.”
“It is.” She raised her hand, showing off her ring. “My husband is like you. Born and raised here. But believe me when I say, he is more Italian than I am. Those operas he love used to bore me to death.” Luigi chuckled. “Not your thing either?”
“No. But my dad loved it so I was practically raised on it. If I hear even one more aria, it’d be too soon.”
“Tell me about it. We are 90s kids. Give me some pop or something. Not what my grandmother used to listen to.” Luigi gaped at her. “What?”
“Pop? Really?”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing. Just didn’t peg you for a pop princess.”
“I’m not a princess. And please. You are my age. We should have been raised to the same music.”
“Not. My. Thing. Though you’d probably get along with my sister I suppose.”
“See. I should meet her. She sounds like she has taste.”
“More like she needs her ears examined.”
“Here we are.” She stopped in front of a house. It was decent. A typical middle class suburban home. He bit back a chuckle as the image of his father mowing the lawn like a stereotypical suburban husband. “Why don’t you come in for a drink? It’s the least I can do for dragging you all the way out here.”
Luigi considered refusing and letting her persuade him but he decided not to risk it. “That would be nice. Thank you Mrs-” He stopped himself. He realized she hadn’t introduced herself yet. He nearly gave himself away.
“Largo. But please dear, call me Angelina. I’m married but I’m definitely younger than you.”
Luigi gave a small smile. Definitely not what he expected at all. He followed her in. “Is your husband home?”
“Yes. Though he’s in his office, working. I try not to disturb him.”
Luigi nodded. The thing he first noted about the house was the abundance of photos. Angelina excused herself to keep the bags. He approached the mantel and picked up a frame.
“See something you like?”
He hurried and put down the photo, ashamed at getting caught. “No. You both just seem so happy.”
She laughed. “Why are you so surprised?”
“No. I’m not.” He sputtered. “I just…” He’s just never seen his father smile like that before.
“Not married are you?”
“No. And I don’t fucking…sorry…I don’t plan to.”
“Why not?”
“Doesn’t work. Doesn’t last.” He mumbled. He’d watched pops fall in and out of love with enough women to know that marriage is just an excuse.
“Cynical aren’t you?”
“Realistic.” He took a glance outside. The sun was setting. Soon, he would have to excuse himself like a gentleman. Which meant he’d have to do what he planned to now. He sighed, “Mrs Largo?”
“Frank dear, please. I’ve told you to call me Angelina. I won’t tell you again.”
“Angelina,” it tasted weird on his tongue but no weirder than ‘Mrs Largo’ had felt. “I know how this is going to sound but you have to abort that baby.” Well, let no one accuse him of beating around the bush. Luigi Largo, King of Fucking Tact.
The friendly smile dissolved into disbelief. “Excuse me?”
“The doctors were wrong. The baby will kill you.”
Her expression soured instantly. “I think you need to leave.”
“You have to believe me.”
“Now!”
“Listen!”
“Leave!”
“I’m from the future.”
She paused. She erupted into laughter, “You had me there for a second.”
“I’m not joking. I’m telling the truth.”
Her face turned serious. “You’re insane.”
He smashed his fist against the wall in frustration. “I’m not! It’s hard to believe I know. Rotti Largo will build up GeneCo, hailed as a hero for finding a solution for the plague.”
“Frank-”
“But he’ll do it alone. You’ll die giving birth to that baby. You have to get rid of it.”
“How do you know about GeneCo? Rotti’s barely made plans.”
“I told you I’m from the future. There isn’t a person who hasn’t heard of GeneCo. I’m not lying.”
She just stared at him and something in her expression softened. For some reason, she decided to believe him. “Does he survive?”
“What?”
“The baby, my son, does he live?”
He froze, “Yes…” the response slipped out before he could catch it. As he saw her brow harden, he knew he should have lied.
“The doctors suspected all along. I just never had the heart to tell Rotti. He would have forced me to get rid of him.”
He growled in frustration, “He would be right, wouldn’t he? You can have more kids! Give it a few more years when GeneCo has the technology to save you!”
“And what about Luigi?”
“What?”
“My son. What about him? Get-get rid of it?” She points an accusatory finger at him. “It’s a life, he’s alive. Just this morning I felt him kick. It’s so easy for you to say get rid of him but he’s my son. What you are asking for is murder.”
“Your son is a murderer!” He hissed. “He doesn’t give a damn about anyone but himself. He’s a monster.”
“So this is what it’s about? Some ‘hero’ being sent to the past to assassinate a baby.” He held back a shiver as her eyes grew cold. “You are going to have to kill me if you want to lay a hand on my child.”
He took the chair and threw it at the wall, smashing it to pieces. “Why the fuck are you so stubborn!? That thing in your stomach is a creature. It’s a murderer from the minute he was born and he’ll be a murderer until he dies.”
Heavy footsteps echoed outside as Rotti Largo burst through the door. “What the hell is going on here?”
His eyes widened, he never expected to see the man again and there he was looking younger and healthier than ever.
“He’s trying to kill our son.”
Rotti’s eyes narrowed murderously. Rotti pulled out a gun and pointed it at him. “Who the hell are you?”
“I’m from the future. I was given a chance to fix a mistake. If you let that boy be born, he will kill your wife in the process.”
“Stop lying.”
The gun went off and a sharp pain shot up his leg. He let out a curse as he fell to the ground. “I’m not!” He said through gritted teeth. “Why the fuck would I go through all this trouble if I just wanted it dead? I’m trying to save your wife’s life.”
“Why?”
He racked his brain ignoring the pain radiating up his leg. The blood wasn’t spurting out or bright red, unlikely to be an artery. “A favour. You saved my life, I owed it to you.” Not that far from the truth.
“Even if you are telling the truth. You are asking me to choose between my wife and my son.”
“It’s not much of a choice! You’ll hate him. You can have more kids, better kids. And she’ll be there. She’ll be alive.” To his dismay, he found tears running down his face. He hurried to wipe them off before they saw.
“What’s your name?”
He froze, “I told you, it’s Frank.”
She knelt in front of him ignoring her husband’s cries of protest and raised his chin, forcing him to look at her. “Who are you?”
“Please.”
“Luigi?”
He couldn’t protest any longer. He dropped his head in defeat. “I’m sorry.” He knew somewhere deep inside, from the short time he’d spent with her, she wasn’t going to abort her child. He failed.
“Fuck!”
He turned towards his father and changed tactics immediately, “Pops please, you have to stop her. You’ll regret it, if you don’t.”
“Fuck!” Rotti repeated.
“You’re the only one in this family who has any sense. Convince her!”
“Why are you doing this?” He doubled back as he saw the tears in her eyes.
“There were only 2 events in my life of my own doing that I wanted to change. I figured if I change this, the second one won’t even happen. I know what I’m risking but this might be the only chance for our family to have a normal life.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Even with a different mother, they might still be born. I know it’s a risk but what we had…have can’t be called a family.”
“And you think me living will change all that?”
“I think you not dying will change everything.” He choked out. “I… I can’t say anymore. I was only allowed to change this. Please, listen to me. Luigi fucking Largo doesn’t fucking beg, but I’m begging you now.”
“What will happen to you? You’ll die.” His mother-no calling her his mother seemed too foreign as well-looked at him with such a depth of pain that he couldn’t help but feel guilty.
“I don’t care!”
“How can you not care!?”
“How can you!?"Maybe he hadn’t inherited his stubbornness from his pops after all. "Which part of this don’t you understand? I killed you! Don’t you understand that!?”
She bent down beside him once again, cupping his face in her hand, “Oh my boy, my son, how… how can you think that?” Her other hand reached out to stroke his hair back. She noted how he flinched from her touch.
“Please… I’m begging you. Please. Let me fix this. I need to fix this. Please.”
“It’s not your job to fix this.”
“No, you’re right; it’s yours.” He said turning to his father. “Pops please, if you love her like you always said you did, you’d stop this. Pops please.”
“I need to think.”
“What’s there to think? You never forgave me for this! Never thought I was worth losing her over.” The words flowed off his tongue; everything he held again this father come slipping out. He’d known, he’d always known his father never loved him. So he tried, he worked his ass off to keep his Pops proud. He thought he’d succeeded, he’d actually thought he’d done something right.
Rotti looked at him with abject horror. He’d seemed so different than the man he remembered. Had losing his wife really changed him that much?
“Look at me.” His eyes met his mothers’. “Luigi, if this is the only chance I’d get to meet you, I want you to know I’m so proud of you.”
“You know nothing about me. I wasn’t lying. I’m a murderer with a temper I can’t fucking control. You would hate me too. Please, save yourself.”
She pulled him into a hug. He froze, unsure of how he should feel or react. Slowly, he melted into her embrace. He wished he could have known her. She was as wonderful as his father would say on the rare occasions he was drunk enough to let down his guard.
He pulled away from her, hands shaking. "I am so sorry. Please forgive me.“ His hand tightened around the knife and drove it into her abdomen.
A cry of pain escaped her lips as her eyes widened in shock. He turned towards his father, "Get help.” Rotti rushed out of the room and he turned towards his mother. “I’m sorry.”
He grabbed her as she fell forward. “Why?”
“Don’t you dare die. The knife wasn’t long enough to reach your internal organs and by the flow of the blood, no arteries either. So you better not fu- kick it.”
“You sound like an expert on stabbing pregnant ladies or something.”
He looked away. “I told you I’m not a good person.”
“So what happens now?”
“I don’t know. There’s no way I could have missed so-” Blood trailed down his chin. He looked downwards and the front of his shirt turned red. “Lungs, there’s no way the baby would survive that.” He felt so much calmer than he should be. He leaned on the wall behind him.
“You have no right.”
“I know. But I take what I want. No one tells me what to do.” He felt weak. “Stable yourself, I can’t hold you up.”
He helped her sit down, leaning on the same wall he was. “This is annoying.” She reached to the knife in her stomach.
“Don’t pull it out. You’ll bleed out.” She obliged.
“You’re awfully relaxed for someone with a stabbed lung.”
“Had bad lungs for years. Was one of GeneCos first patients. Guessed I got used to it.”
“Luigi… I can’t let you do this.”
“Can’t really do anything about it now.” He shifted slightly, fuck it hurt. “Just promise me something. Don’t… don’t let this be a waste. Promise me you’ll live… and you’ll be happy.”
“I can’t promise something like that. I…” She paused and looked at him. “Tell me what I’ve missed. Your life, what’s it like?”
“There isn’t much to tell.” He placed a hand on his chest against the pain. “Spent my whole life in Gene Co really. One brother, one sister. Lung transplant at 15, GeneCo was already thriving by then. Liver transplant every couple of years since I started to drink.”
“Girlfriend?”
“None of them lasted long, not with them always pissing me off.”
“Two siblings huh?”
He nodded slowly, it became harder to initiate movement. “Pops married twice. Nearly a third. But I don’t think he loved any of them. Attracted to maybe but not love. He wouldn’t have had them killed if he loved them. ”
“That’s horrible.”
His eyelids fluttered, it was hard to keep them open. “I guess. Had to learn it from somewhere. Told ya the whole family’s screwed up.”
He felt a hand on his cheek again. Her hand was warm, she wasn’t going into shock yet. “Luigi, don’t.”
“I’m fine. I’ll wait for help with you. Make sure you don’t do anything stupid.”
“Yea stupid seems to run in the family.”
A grin formed on Luigi’s face, “Yea it does.” A cough escaped his lips, spattering blood on the front of his shirt. He leaned heavily onto the wall. “Pops could certainly hurry it up though.”
Tears flowed down her cheeks, “You don’t have to hold on for me. It’s alright.”
“Nah, am full of shit. Just want more time. I…” He faltered.
“What is it?”
“May…may I call you mom?” He looked at the ground.
A choked sob escaped her lips. She pulled him towards her, resting her forehead on his. “Yes…” She choked out, “yes.”
“Mom…” He breathed out. Tears flowed down his face before he could stop them. He wished he could have it both ways, he wished he could have her. He wanted to get to know her. He wanted more.
“Angelina.” The voice was soft, caring, an emotion he wasn’t used to in that voice. He pulled away from his mother and hid his face so his father wouldn’t see him cry.
“Mrs Largo, we’ll take you to the hospital now. How are you feeling? Do you feel cold?”
He felt a hand on his shoulder, “Sir, are you alright? Can you tell me what happened to you?”
“Leave me alone.”
“Sir, you are bleeding badly. You need help.”
“I refuse. Now fuck off.”
“Sir-”
“I said fuck off.”
“Luigi…”
He reached out and laid a hand on hers, “Goodbye.”
She stared at him, “There has to be-” He shook his head tiredly. “Luigi, please…” The paramedics told her to go with them. “I…” She placed a warm, gentle kiss on his forehead. “I love you.”
He couldn’t reply her. The words were stuck in his throat. He had never used those words before, not in his family.
The paramedics placed an IV drip into her hand. “Please,” She whispered, “Please save my baby.”
He closed his eyes in frustration, stubborn woman. The paramedics approached him again, “Sir, are you sure you do not want help? It looks serious.”
“Fu-”
“Yea, fuck off. Got it.”
The paramedics carted his mother to the ambulance. Rotti stopped one of them, “Save my wife. If it comes down to her or the child, save her.”
The paramedic nodded, “You are not coming with, sir.”
“No. There’s something I need to do.”
Tiredly, he raised his head to look at his father. Hesitantly, Rotti approached him and sat in front of him. “Pops.”
“I…I wanted to apologize.”
“For?”
“For not being a good father.”
“Pops, no. It’s not-”
“No. From what you said, from the way you act. It’s obvious. You deserved better.” He swallowed, collecting his words. “I’m proud of what you’ve done today, for your mother. You’re very brave.”
He stared at his father, not comprehending his words. “What did you say?”
“That you were brave.”
“No before that.”
“That I’m proud.”
“I’ve waited my whole life to hear you say that. Guess all it took was for me too die.”
His father looked at him with a mixture between pity and regret. “I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t be. It wasn’t like…it wasn’t like I was an easy child. Jealous of a sibling who had what I wanted…a mother. I just…never tried to get along with her, rebuked all her attempts to get to know me. After she died, you’d think I’d have felt sorry for him but I hated him even more. He was miserable and weak. He could be weak and no one cared. I spent my childhood learning how to run GeneCo and he spent it playing. I hated everything about him. I continued acting out more and more until one day I did something I could never take back. I can’t blame you for hating me. I hate me too.” A bitter laugh erupted from his throat which soon turned into a bout of wet coughs.
“I wish I had a chance to try again.” Rotti said quietly. “I wish I could give you the childhood you deserve. I wish there didn’t have to be a choice.”
“It’s alright, pops. I’ve made peace with my choice. I think it’s the right choice for once, don’t you?” Luigi’s face fell, he nearly forgot. With a shaky hand, he reached into his pocket and passed the crumpled paper to Rotti. “She said they wouldn’t be erased. But if m…mom cannot have more kids…Paviche and Carmela. These are their date of births and their moms’ names. It wouldn’t be fair for them to be erased as well. They deserve a better life. I know you and mom can give it to them.”
Rotti pocketed the note and laid a gentle hand on his arm. “I understand. I will do everything in my power to ensure that they will be born.”
Luigi nodded. “Thank you.” It was hard to keep his eyes open. He was so tired.
“Luigi?” Luigi forced his eyes open and looked at him questioningly. Why was his vision so blurry? “No never mind, I thought…” There was a pain in his voice that Luigi didn’t understand. The same pain in his mother’s voice. It didn’t make sense. He was no one to the, A stranger they’d barely known. An idea, that’s all he was. An idea of a child they’d never know. Luigi shivered, it was getting cold. As his vision blurred, the man in front of him looked exactly like his father.
“Pops…I’m…glad…I got to…see you again. I’ve…missed you.” If Rotti was surprised or affected by the fact that he was dead, he didn’t show it. “I’m sorry…I never realized you were sick.” It was getting harder to clear the iron in his throat and he began to choke. Rotti turned him to his side, allowing the blood to flow out of his mouth.
“That’s enough, son. It’s alright.”
On his side, he could no longer see his father, could no longer see much of anything. A pained gasp, “I love ya, pops.” A final sigh.
Note: I have not written any Rotti whump I’ve noticed. I did this a few months back. This is based on the solo RPG Frankenstein using the Wretched and Alone engine. You play a version of Victor Frankenstein chasing after the monster he created.
I have been tracking him for months. I’ve followed him all the way to this frozen tundra. I have finally found him. This monster I have created must be destroyed. My arrogance at playing God…I have lost everything. I will destroy this creature if it’s the last thing I do. I swear it on all those taken from me by this monster.
I managed to make it deeper into the island. I found supplies. I found my daughter’s diary in my bag. I shook as her childish scrawl greeted me. Luigi doesn’t even look at me anymore. Did I do anything wrong? Mommy says to leave him be. He has never been nice to me. Never cared for me. But…he looks sad all the time. I want to ask him what’s wrong but I know he’ll ignore me like he always does. Did I do something wrong? I never wanted this for them. I didn’t expect Luigi to react the way he did. I never knew what Irene said to him until it was too late. I would have told him not to listen. I…I just wanted him to have a normal life.
“Pops please, I don’t want to do this. We don’t know if it’ll work. Please pops. Don’t do this.” I keep having the same nightmare. The same desperate begging. Why hadn’t I listened to him? Why hadn’t I listened to anyone? Dr Smith refused to play along. He tendered his resignation on the spot. Why didn’t I listen to him? Maybe…things would have been different. There are times where I begin wondering if this monster is even real. Maybe I had lost my mind and began imagining things. No one else alive has seen this thing. Could I have just gone mad?
I was attacked by a bear. A passing by lumbar jack saved me and showed me a way deeper into the forest. He asked what I was doing here and I could only tell him half truths. We parted ways and deeper I went into the frozen Tundra. I…I still can hear the monsters voice in my ear. Why did it have to be his voice? I could have given him any voice. Why did I give him hisvoice? How did I fuck things up so badly?
I awoke hearing the sounds of an old Italian lullaby. My wife, my first wife used to sing that while pregnant with Luigi. She…she never got to hold her child. Luigi never heard his mother’s voice. It’s been years… Why am I thinking about her now? Because I failed her. I failed her and I failed our son. I never gave the creature a name. Stubbornly I held to the belief that I succeeded. So I never gave it a name. Lorenzo. It tried to call itself. A common Italian name. Foolish. I keep wondering what I would say if I saw it. I would ask it why. Why did he kill my children? Why did it take everything from me? Why…why didn’t I succeed?
I was foolish. I ate berries from a bush that I thought were safe. I began hallucinating. It took me to that night. The night I found out exactly how much of a monster I created.
“Carmela. Carmela I’m home.” Silence greeted him. “Carmela?” He entered the room and found the monster sitting on the bed.
“I…She wouldn’t stop screaming. I thought…I thought she would bring the guards. I just wanted to keep her quiet.”
Rotti’s eyes widened. In the monster’s arms was his daughter’s limp body. “What…what have you done!?”
“She wouldn’t stop screaming. Why wouldn’t she stop screaming?” He held the child up to him. “Fix her. Father, you can fix her. Fix her.”
With shaking hands he took his daughter from it. She was cold and stiff. Her face was ashen and her lips were a horrid shade of blue.
“Father please, fix her.”
“You killed her.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt her.”
“You fucking bastard. You killed her.”
“Father please.”
“I will fucking kill you.” Rotti aimed his gun at him. The monster pushed him down and ran out of the room. Rotti held Carmela to him and sobbed.
I had finally found where the monster was hiding. The villagers spoke of a monstrous creature hiding in the caves in the mountains. There. Now I knew exactly where I was headed. I will find this creature and destroy it once and for all.
I found the entrance of the cave. A fire was burning in front of it. On the side was a roasted hare, still warm. A chill filled me. Was the monster making sure I had enough food? I closed his eyes ready to kick the hare aside. My stomach growled in protest. No reason to waste good food… I sat down to eat the hare when I felt eyes on me. I looked up to see the monster watching from the edge of the cliff. It smiled, took a step back and jumped. “Luigi!” The cry tore from my throat before I could stop it. I ran to the edge of the cliff. The strong currents carried the monster downstream. There was no way it would survive that. Was…was coming here a waste of time?
I wondered what would be engraved on my tombstone. Rotti Largo. Fool. Failure. Child killer. Survived his children. ‘Sorely missed’ would not be there. There was no left to miss me. I’d lost three wives, three children. I deserved death.
I headed down the mountain following the river. I had to see for myself if the monster was dead. I found him from a distance panting heavily by the river bank. His eyes widened when it saw me. It turned and ran. I wondered if it was trying to convince me it was dead so I would leave him be. He killed my daughter. I know he claims it was an accident. Maybe that I could forgive. But…
Rotti froze when he saw the monster standing in the living room. “You!”
“I just wanted you to love me. Why didn’t you love me?” The monsters back was facing him.
Rotti reached for his gun. “Because you are a failure of an experiment and a monster. That is all.”
“I…I have his face. Is that not enough?”
“You have the face of a monster.”
“You will never love me will you?” It laughed a hollow laugh. “Well, no one will love you either.” It turned around and dropped something onto the ground.
“Pavi!” He picked his son up and turned him. Pavi’s eyes were open, staring blankly into his. His neck was twisted to an unnatural angle. “NO!” Rotti screamed, hugging his son to him.
“He didn’t suffer.”
Rotti let out a howl of rage and pain. He pointed the gun at the monster and shot. Bang! Red splattered over the monster’s shoulder. It stared wide eyed at him and ran.
I once again tried to find the monster. The cold was biting. I felt it seep into my bones. If I do not find this creature soon, this cold will soon take me. I had to find him. I had to end this.
A little girl passed me a note from the monster. Stop following me. Turn back. You will die. I scoffed and threw the note to the ground. The wind blew it and I realized there was writing on the back too. Why won’t he stop screaming? What…what was the monster talking about?
Rotti finally found the monster hiding in a riverside cave.
“You’ve found me.” The monster looked defeated.
“Yes.”
“Are you here to kill me?”
“Yes.”
“I just wanted you to love me. Why was that so hard?”
“You’re not my son.”
“But you made me!”
“Imade a mistake.”
“If I had pretended to be him from the start. Could you have loved me?”
Rotti was silent.
“Go on then. Kill me.”
“You murdered my children.”
“I…I’m sorry. Carmela was an accident. And Paviche…I…I just became so angry. I just wanted to punish you. I didn’t…”
“Then you should have come for me. Not my children.”
“I just wanted them to love me. I was their brother. They were supposed to love me too.”
“You are a monster.”
“I know.”
“What did you mean when you said he won’t stop screaming?”
The monster was silent.
“What did you mean?”
“I hear him sometimes. It was nothing more than an occasional whisper. But when I killed Paviche…He won’t stop screaming.”
Rotti froze. “It worked…”
The monster shook his head. “No! This body is mine. I’m alive. I’m real.”
“If I’d known Luigi was in there all along…”
“You’d what!? Treat me better? Treat me human? Treat me like your son!?” Tears flowed down the monster’s face. “All I wanted was for you to love me. But you failed even that.”
“Luigi? Can you hear me?”
“He’s powerless. He couldn’t even stop me from killing his brother.”
“You bastard.”
“Nothing I do is going to be enough for you. So go on, kill me. Kill me and destroy all traces of your only child left. That would be the sweetest revenge of all.”
“Stop this.”
“Stop what? You followed me here. I was resigned to this isolation but you wanted your revenge. So here I am.”
Rotti’s hand shook. “I just wanted to save my son. All I wanted was to save my son.” Rotti collapsed to the ground sobbing.
“He didn’t want any of that. He begged you not to do it. He begged you to let him stay.”
“And I didn’t listen.” Rotti sobbed. “because I was arrogant enough to believe it would work. I murdered my son.”
“Come on then. Let’s end this once and for all.”
Rotti didn’t move, he couldn’t. He was ready to kill the bastard. But if there was a chance his son was still in there.
“Go on then. Kill me! Just make him stop screaming. Please.”
Rotti closed his eyes. He aimed the gun at the monster’s head and pulled the trigger. BANG!
***
(Bonus scene ;))
Carmela screamed at the sight of the monster.
“Please. Please stop screaming.”
Carmela screamed more. The thing was disgusting. It didn’t look human.
“The guards will come running. Please.”
She backed away. “Daddy!!! Pavi!!!”
“I’m your brother. Please. Just listen to me.”
She couldn’t hear what it was saying. She was terrified. The thing ran towards her and grabbed her. She screamed even louder. “Let me go!!!”
“Please keep it down.”
“Let me go!!! HELP!!!! DADDY!!!!”
The monster clamped a hand over her mouth. “Please stop shouting.”
She fought against it. She bit its hand. “DADDY!!!!!!!!!”
It grabbed her waist and clamped a hand over her face once more. “Please. I just want to talk.”
She struggled some more. She couldn’t scream.
“Just calm down. I just wanted to meet you.”
She couldn’t breathe. She struggled harder. Daddy!!!
It held her more tightly. “Please calm down.”
She fought harder. She tried to bite his hand again but his hand was too tight. His hand was too tight. She couldn’t breathe.
“Father made me. So I’m your brother you see.”
She scratched desperately at his hands trying to make him let go.
“If you promise to stop screaming, I’ll let you go. Ok?”
She tried to scream but her cry was muffled by his hands. Tears pricked her eyes as her chest burned.
“Please just listen to me. Father won’t listen. I know you will.”
She was beginning to see stars. She arched her back desperate to breathe but his grip was too tight. Daddy! Help me!!!
“My name is…my name is Lorenzo. Do you like that name?”
She blindly slapped the monsters hand. She was losing coordination. Pavi. Help!!!
“Shit theres someone outside. Shhhh.”
Using her last bit of strength Carmela tried to scream as loud as she could.
The monsters hand clamped harder to muffle her cries.
Her hands fell to her side. She gapped desperately for oxygen that would not come. Darkness crept at the edges of her vision. Her legs twitched. Her vision turned black.
Note: Having ‘The Plagues’ on repeat does things to you. Nyway, the next part is a continuation of this. Hopefully by next week? I wish I had more time to write and really build up this AU but I kinda have to settle for scenes.
Pavi was gathered with the other rebel leaders. It’s been 5 years since he’s been back in GeneCo but he’s finally home. The rebels had been trying to convince him for years but he always refused. And then they promised him that he would sit on GeneCo and no one would be hurt. Pavi knew that the rebels were not powerful enough to hurt his siblings but his mother had asked him a quiet ‘please’ and Pavi agreed.
“They’ve locked themselves in the Panic room.“
"It doesn’t matter. I have an idea.” Pavi pointed at the blueprints laid across the table. “See this vent here? It is the only air supply in and out of the room. We can siphon in gas. Something toxic enough to suffocate them but not toxic enough to kill them. They would have no choice but to come out.”
“Pavi, are you-” Isabella cut herself of.
“It’s ok, mama. I’ve confirmed it with the scientists. The concentration won’t be toxic to an adult.”
“I… if you’re sure, Pavi.”
“It ok mama. They will be fine.”
“But…” Isabella cut herself off as the rebel leader sent her a warning glare.
They did as he suggested, siphoning the gas into the room and just waited. He didn’t know how long it would take, but Pavi knew his siblings were stubborn enough to stay in there until the last second.
And so, he could barely hide his surprise at how soon they surrendered. Barely a couple of hours had passed. Pavi expected at least a day or two. Pavi furrowed his brow. He told the men to clear the gas in the room. “Let me go in first. Defuse the situation.”
Pavi headed to the room as soon as the gas cleared. He looked up to the cameras and the doors slid open. Amber sent him a glare and looked away. Luigi had his back towards him. There was a third person in the room. A woman, Luigi’s wife. Pavi had been surprised when he heard the news over 4 years ago.
“It’s over, fratello. We’ve won.”
“Aren’t you proud?” Amber spat.
“Come now sorella. Don’t be a spoilsport. The Pavi managed to get you out.”
“You…you did this?” Amber’s pained expression nearly made him pull away. “Of course. How else would they know which vent to use?”
“You fucking bastard!” There was nothing but hatred on the woman’s face.
“Calm down, Bella. The Pavi has-a negotiated safety for everyone. No one has to get hurt.”
Amber let out a bitter laugh.
“I mean it, sorella. It’s like I’ve told you before, no one will get hurt.”
“Jac has nothing to do with this.” Came his brother’s voice finally. But he refused to turn towards him.
“Of course. Your Bella is-a free to go.”
Jacqueline just stared at her husband. She approached him slowly and placed a hand onto his cheek.
Luigi leant into her hand. “Wait for me.”
“Of course, my love.” She bent down by her husband’s side, facing her back towards him.
Luigi leant his head into her neck. “I’m sorry.”
They stayed that way for a moment before she pulled away. She and Amber shared a look. Amber just nodded to her.
Pavi felt strangely left out. He knows he was the one who chose to leave but…now he felt like an outsider within his own family.
Jacqueline headed towards him. He stepped aside and let her through the door. A guard raised his gun as soon as the door opened.
“Easy. She’s not involved. She can leave.”
The guard nodded. “I’ll bring her to the others first.”
“She can’t help us.”
“Regardless.”
“She’s not to be harmed.”
“Yes, sir.” The doors slid shut.
“You know, if it’s just being in charge that you liked, I would have given you GeneCo.”
Pavi sighed. “It’s not like that, sorella.”
“Then why? Why betray us like this?”
“Sorella.” Pavi sighed.
“Or are you just seeking mommy’s approval? You didn’t get it from Daddy, so you’re getting it from her?”
Maybe. “It’s more complicated than that, sorella.”
“I hope your new friends are worth it.” She spat.
“It didn’t have to go this far. I told you to surrender from the start. I told you once I was in power we could work something out.”
“And we were supposed to just trust we’d be safe?”
“Don’t you trust me sorella?”
“I don’t trust your friends.” She spat. “All this, this torture you’ve put us through. And we’re supposed to just trust you.” “If you had listened to me, none of this needed to happen. If you had just listened to me from the start-”
“Enough.”
Pavi glanced at his brother but his back was still towards him. He still refused to turn; refused to speak to him. “Fratello, I am right and you know it. If you weren’t so stubborn and just listened to me; this didn’t need to happen. You did this. You-”
“Pavi, stop it!” Amber cried out.
Pavi glanced at his sister then back at his brother. Luigi was curled into himself, shaking.
“Fratello…this…this wasn’t anything personal. I just…”
“You chose your side.” Amber spat.
“This was the most peaceful outcome. No one had to get hurt. I take control of GeneCo. The rebels are satisfied. Mama is happy. And we can be a family again.”
Amber looked away from him. “It’s too late for that, brother.”
Something settled in the pit of Pavi’s gut. “You don’t mean that.”
“You made your choice, brother.”
“Sorella, this wasn’t personal.”
Amber refused to look at him.
Pavi turned towards his brother instead. “Fratello, this wasn’t personal. This was the best outcome for everyone.”
His brother refused to turn; refused to say anything.
Pavi rather he yelled or screamed or reacted. Not ignoring him like this. “Fratello, look at me.”
Luigi still refused to move.
“Fratello, look at me!” Pavi marched up and stood in front of his brother. That was when he saw it. Cradled in his brother’s arms was a small sleeping child. No. Not sleeping. The boy was too still; too pale. The gas concentration was not toxic to adults but… Something clenched in Pavi’s chest. “I didn’t know.” A child. Their family was all over the news. He would have heard of a child. Just like Luigi’s wedding. He would have heard of it. “Fratello, I didn’t know.” He didn’t expect a child. The boy was so small. The concentration would have been too high. He stumbled back. “No one was supposed to get hurt. It wasn’t supposed to be lethal. I didn’t know.”
Luigi just stared forward, refusing to say anything.
“Fratello, I-”
A loud explosion shook the room. What was-
Luigi shut his eyes and clutched his son tighter to him.
The doors opened. The guard ran in.
“What happened?”
“The woman was wearing a bomb. When they brought her to the others, she set it off.”
“Is mama alright?”
“She wasn’t there.”
“How many?”
“A hundred at least. Most of the ones in charge were there.”
Pavi nodded. “I’ll be there soon.”
The guard left.
Pavi turned back towards his siblings. “Why would you do this? I negotiated safety. They will demand retribution.” Pavi’s voice cracked. He had everything planned out. How did everything get so fucked up. “They will not forgive this.”
“Good.”
“Fratello…”
“Go find your new friends, Pavi. You don’t have to bother with us.” Amber stood and headed towards Luigi. She laid a hesitant hand on his shoulder. When he didn’t pull away, she held him towards her.
“No one was supposed to get hurt.”
Rebels marched into the room and roughly dragged his siblings to their feet. Luigi refused to release his son.
“Leave him alone.” Amber screamed.
A guard slammed the butt of his gun into Luigi’s face.
“They’re not to be harmed.” Pavi could only watch numbly as they ripped the boy from Luigi’s arms and lead them out of the room. Pavi’s legs felt weak. He had everything planned. Why did this happen? A child. “I didn’t know.” Pavi crumpled to the ground. “No one was supposed to get hurt.” The child was so small. He didn’t deserve this. Pavi planned everything so well. How did they keep the child a secret? “I didn’t know.” His nephew. He murdered his nephew in cold blood. He… “I didn’t know.”
OK, so I haven’t been able to make myself write anything on hypothermia, and none of the alt prompts are grabbing me, so you get a true story. Fair warning, it doesn’t have a happy ending. (This is one reason I much prefer fiction.)
TW/CW: RL death (not graphic), drug use mention
So, you may remember that this past summer, I came across a dead body in a lake. Definitely a first for me. Before 2021, I’d never seen a deceased person outside of a funeral home.
So it was weird when it happened again, seven months later.
This was in late December. I was in my kitchen early one morning, making tea, and I gradually became aware of flashing blue and red lights outside my house. I peeked through the curtains to see what was out there.
Answer: several police cars and an ambulance. I was alarmed to see a lot of cops walking around my next-door neighbor’s yard. (Next door neighbors are a nice Ukrainian couple and their kids.)
A couple of paramedics wheeled a stretcher between my house and theirs, behind a hedge. I waited anxiously. When they came out, the guy on the stretcher was no one I recognized. Definitely not a neighbor. He appeared to be wearing a pair of undershorts and nothing else.
Remember, I said this was in late December. The temperature outside was near freezing.
Did you know some ambulances carry a portable machine that does chest compressions? I’d never seen one before. A handy device; I’m sure it saves wear and tear on your paramedics. The machine steadily thumped away as they loaded the stretcher into the ambulance. Eventually the ambulance left, but not quickly, and not with sirens. After a while, the cops also departed.
Later that day, I saw Ukrainian Mom in her yard talking to Nice Retired Guy who lives in the house on the other side of her. Of course I had to join them.
It turned out, Ukrainian Mom had gone outside that morning with their dog (a gorgeous Samoyed, naturally) and she’d found the guy lying on the ground between my house and hers. No one she recognized either. Somewhat scandalized, she told me that a pair of pants had been hanging on my fence, before the cops collected them. I noted that it’s a known phenomenon in late-stage hypothermia for a person to start taking clothes off. It’s called “paradoxical undressing.”
A few days later, I heard through unofficial channels that the guy was declared dead at the hospital. The cops knew him as a frequent drug user, and the most likely scenario was that he’d been in an altered mental state and just wandered off into the night. There’s a small suburban nature preserve behind my house, so he might have gotten lost in the woods. Still, there are houses all around it. It should have been easy to find help, if he’d ever been in a state to realize he needed help.
Just a strange, sad case. And weird that I encountered two victims of death by misadventure in one year.
The internal ghost type and death-oriented Pok/emon urge to talk in dept about death from a cultural, spiritual, and personal-experience-based standpoint. Like it is INTENSE.
I had written up the outline for a personal essay about death from my position as a death-related fictherian and as a person in my current life who has had up close and personal encounters with it and near death experiences, and also subscribes to the Death Positivity movement. But I never got the motivation to turn that essay into reality, partially out of fear of going so in depth on personal trauma and such like that.
But y’know? I still want to.
Send me death related asks and prompts, either in inbox or reblogs/replies, up to you. I need to talk about it a little bit.
Sad update everyone, Tama recently passed away… An estimated 3,000 people, including railway officials, attended Tama the cat’s funeral on Sunday, days after she died of heart failure aged 16. [x]
For those who haven’t read articles about it, the local shrine elevated her to a god. She’s now the Eternal Stationmaster and patron god of the station.
Beautiful.
Now I’m crying thanks
and a new cat was hired right?
yep! her name is Nitama (essentially ”second tama” or “tama II”) and she served under Tama as an apprentice before being appointed her deputy
she works very hard
Everytime this crosses my dash, I reblog. It is the law.
Law
I’m crying at 11pm over train cats
Nitama, already now a mature cat (born 2010), has a protege named Yontama (fourth Tama, b. 2016). There is no information available for either the physical befellment or tragic self-disgrace which has removed Santama from contention.
^Nitama majestic, and below with Yontama
Yontama.
a legacy
okay but actually what happened to santama (or sun-tama-tama, which is her name because it’s a pun on santama) was that she was basically sent to train for the position in okayama and they liked her so much they refused to send her back
“Sun-tama-tama” (a pun off of “Santama”, lit. “third Tama”) was a calico cat sent for training in Okayama. Sun-tama-tama was considered as a candidate for Tama’s successor, but the Okayama Public Relations representative who had been caring for Sun-tama-tama refused to give the cat up writing, “I will not let go of this child, she will stay in Okayama.” [25]
As of September 2018, Sun-tama-tama is working as the stationmaster in Naka-ku, Okayama and appears occasionally on Tama’s Twitter account.
Every time I see this post there’s new info and it gets better
You are only allowed to scroll pass this after you pay tribute to the great Tama Station masters.
The shrine of Tama Daimyōjin (Great gracious deity Tama), next to the Kishi station where she worked.
Nitama presenting her yearly offerings to Tama Daimyōjin on the anniversary of Tama’s Death, June 23 (The offerings are presented by the company president, as Nitama is a cat and thus can’t hold the offerings herself) (Not pictured, but also present, Yontama)
you cannot pass without reblogging guys. i’m sorry, i don’t make the rules.
You can’t not reblog a goddess. It’s just what’s so. :)
So, fun fact- the manga Noragami has an arc where the main character, Yato (a minor kami/God that is down on his luck but trying to make it big time) goes to a council/conference for all the Gods in Japan.
And they are announcing the winner of the “up and coming god” award, and of course, Yato thinks it’s him.
The people who made jokes about Jack’s dad’s passing deserve to get fucking eviscerated what the fuck
If you make jokes to get through your own pain that’s your issue. Go to therapy and get your shit sorted because that’s not always a healthy coping mechanism.
But making a joke out of other people’s pain is a whole other level of fucked up.
The Etsy shop I run with my best friend and cat, full of miniature animals, and hopefully soon, ceramic dishes! The Beast Boutique does both Made-to-Order and custom orders, as well as some OOAK items.
Also, our mascot is adorable. Come check us out.
One of Rachel/Chester’s oldest friends lost her father this Saturday. He was an amazing, larger than life man who leaves behind two daughters, 22 and 20, his parents, and 3 siblings, as well as countless loved ones. There are no words to process this loss.
We’ve decided as a team to donate 100% of Beast Boutique profits for the rest of the October to the family to help cover expenses and move forward. Please consider visiting our shop on Etsy and helping us raise money to donate.
“Massive alterations of pressure are considered acceptable lethal force in warfare so long as the death of the enemy agent is instantaneous. A magician may artificially elevate environmental conditions to a hyperbaric state and then rapidly depressurize to 1 atm. The recommended parameters for this disparity are between 7-9 atm.”
–andolucian demiurgic warfare handbook
MY CHICK BAD
(sorry for the blood if anyone’s put off! D: ive tagged what i could–let me know if there’s anything else i should tag)
I hated the term “Fuck 2016″. I was so miserable and in denial, I became a bit of a dick about it. I didn’t want to admit there was nothing better to say at times. Ya know?
Sometimes you can’t rationalize what’s happened. You can’t give meaning to a death or a loss. It doesn’t changed the facts. You just have to mourn and let others do the same.
On Tuesday Carrie died. My office was empty. I don’t think I spoke to a single person until I left for the day and chatted with the guy at the front desk and it kinda finally hit me. This comic is sloppy, but I hope the gist is clear. Give yourself time to mourn, talk to people, let them do the same. Please.
I wish you all peace, love and many victories in 2017. To a happier new year!
