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Who: Luke and Once-ler, with Edward walking in on them
What: An angst fest inside the Hall of Doom
Where: Under 726 Anderson Lane
When: Backdated shortly after this log
Warnings: Swearing, mentions of violence, underage kids doing things they shouldn't be doing

[Ah, the Hall of Doom, Luke remembers you all too well.

Once a place that kept Luke from getting eaten by zombies and cannibals, it had pretty much became a safe place for Luke to go hide whenever he needed to be alone. An underground treehouse, if you will. After Edward was droned for a while, Luke had more or less claimed the Hall of Doom as his own. It was one of the few places in Mayfield that Luke could feel safe in.

Today, he was bringing a friend along. After getting mauled by a bear and blowing up a building, Luke figured they probably could use a quiet and safe place to calm down. It probably wouldn't help much - aside from how much his shoulder hurt, he felt pretty miserable about the whole situation. And seeing how quiet both him and the Once-ler had been on the way back home, he imagined it was the same way for him. Thus why he invited him along to the Hall of Doom in the first place.

He wasn't sure if Susan and Slugger would catch him - to be honest, he didn't really want them to find him here. He already felt guilty enough for letting his little adventure in the forest get out of hand and letting himself get hurt yet again. But he'll lead the Once-ler down into the basement, walking over to the jar of nails sitting on one of the shelves.]

When is a door not really a door?

[He mutters to himself, turning the jar of nails.]

When it's a jar, of course.

[The wall moves, revealing a staircase leading down. Luke glances over to the Once-ler, trying to force himself to sound more chipper then he felt.

Unfortunately, Luke is a pretty terrible actor.]

It's just down this way.

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[at least he's making an attempt; Once-ler can't even do that. this is the most sullen he's looked and felt in a long, long time. he's tired, hungry, filthy, and hurt. past all of that, he's completely and utterly devoid of any real feeling other than sheer exhaustion, so it really says a lot that the kid who's had it way worse than him tonight is still able to put up a brave front and a smile because he can't even offer that much.

and where are they even going? oh, right - just some creepy underground bunker Luke's dad owns. admittedly, his curiosity - the first emotion he's felt in the course of the hour that isn't a wholly negative one - gets the best of him and he peeks over Luke's shoulder, peering down into the darkness.]

You're sure it's safe?

[The brave front isn't so much a front, and more of something he's used to by now. He's been hurt far, far worse then this, although that knowledge didn't make him feel much better about what happened earlier.]

It's the safest place in Mayfield. We used to hide down here when bad things happened in Mayfield.

[...As long as you don't go near the places with death traps and stay in the main area, that is. He extends out a hand, to lead him down the stairs.]

[makes sense. if he had access to one of these babies, he'd never go above ground - ever. then again, he swore to himself that he'd never leave the house anyway from the moment he showed up in this crazy town.

really worked out to his advantage, that.]

So it's not a sicko torture dungeon? [it's his way of conceding, really. notice how he hasn't turned around just yet and instead moves to take Luke's hand.] Because it looks like a sicko torture dungeon to me.

[He huffs a little.]

It's not, all right? It's the place I used to go when Mr. Nigma was...

[he swallows, not really wanting to think about droning right now.]

Anyway, just trust me on this. There's no sicko torture dungeons down here, I promise.

[As soon as he speaks, he feels a strong pang of guilt. Just trust me was how they got into this mess in the first place. Luke goes silent again, trying not to show the sudden change in expression, before nudging the Once-ler to follow him.]

Edited 2012-10-19 07:01 (UTC)

[too late. even if his expression isn't that visible thanks to the dim lighting down here, that tone of voice still catches Once-ler by surprise. for a kid who got caught in an explosion and almost got his arm ripped off before that, Luke has a lot of fight in him. it would be adorable if it wasn't so sad.

...no, scratch that, it's still adorable. to a degree.]

Alright, alright. Sorry. [he means it too, if you can believe that. and then he falls silent again, following behind Luke down the stairs, trying not to trip over anything. even if it isn't a sicko torture dungeon, there still might be a rusty nail or two around here and that's just as bad.

after about two minutes, he speaks up again.]

How's your shoulder?

[Luke's first thought is to go the supply room where the alcohol's being kept. That's what adults did to deal with problems, right? And he certainly wouldn't mind getting a drink out for himself - heck, it'd probably make his shoulder hurt less.

Whoops, there's that pang of guilt again.

At Once-ler's question though...]

Still hurts, but I've had worse. I'll be all right.

Edited 2012-10-19 07:23 (UTC)

[the further they walk, the brighter the room - or chamber or cavern or whatever the heck they're in - seems to get. the lighting fixtures around the walls and ceiling cast a warm green glow over Once-ler when he walks under him, and that actually provides a tiny amount of comfort. it'll always be his favorite color in spire of all the bad things he's come to associate it with. it doesn't remind him of money and power so much as trees now, so he supposes that might be a reason why.

the Thneed that's still wrapped around Luke's shoulder has gone from pink to a muddy red. absolutely foul doesn't even cover half of it.]

Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Generally if something still hurts, that means it's having a hard time healing.

[and that's the nice way of putting it. he doesn't want to wig Luke out.]

I think we should go to the hospital. See if we can get a second opinion.

[Luke shakes his head. His response is immediate, and maybe a little bit fearful.]

I don't want to go to the hospital.

[Too many bad things associated with it. What if the red-haired woman who operated on him was there? He'd much rather deal with some pain then go through that again.]

I-I'll be fine, really! All I need is some new bandages and then I'll wash out your [what was that thing called again?] Sneed. [No wait that wasn't it] Um, I mean your scarf! I don't need a hospital.

[Luke wonders if you can even wash a magic pink scarf, but he'll figure that out later. They pass by the supply room, and Luke starts heading towards Edward's office.]

- Thneed! Does it look like a scarf?

[well maybe. a dirty, slightly singed, blood-soaked scarf, but it didn't start out as one! that's the beauty of his invention - it can be whatever you want it to be, whether you like it or not.]

Come on, man. What if it gets infected? I'm not a doctor, don't quote me on any of this, but what are you gonna do if it gets worse? Green's a great color - [said as he turns his head to look at another strip of lights running up the wall.] - but I sure wouldn't like it if that's what my arm started to turn.

[deep breath!]

That's how people end up with giant fishhooks for arms. Do you want a fishhook for an arm?

[this is the most he's spoken since they left the forest. bet you wish he would've stayed quiet.]

Edited 2012-10-19 15:57 (UTC)

But the red-haired woman will be there! And she'll cut open my head again!

[Pause.]

And no one ends up with giant fishhooks for arms!

...Alright. First off, ew. Second off, double ew. And finally, what the heck are you talking about? What red-haired woman? How'd she get her hands on your head?

[a huffy sigh. good, now you've gotten him frustrated.]

Have you ever seen someone with a giant fishhook for an arm?

No, because it's ridiculous!

[he's not the only one getting frustrated. but as he explains Mrs. Johnson all of his previous anger quickly fades.]

...The red-haired woman was someone who showed up in January, right after the revival
machine broke and people started dying permanently. She said she could fix it, but all she did was kidnap people and operate on them, doing awful things like messing with their heads and disfiguring them.

I have no intention of ending back up on that table ever again.

If you've never seen one, how do you know they don't exist? I've seen plenty of ridiculous things, most of them before I even ended up here. [tl;dr: don't judge, man.]

Do you really think after all that she'd stick around? If she isn't dead, she's probably hiding from a huge angry mob. That's just basic bad guy logic. [as in, that's what he'd do if he had a huge angry mob chasing after him. it's just common sense.] Besides, you think I'd leave you alone? There wouldn't be a waiting room left if I saw her coming towards you.

[much like Luke, Once-ler's also terrible at acting. the only difference here is that means it, to an extent; he wouldn't leave Luke to be tortured and maimed by a crazy lady. as for whether or not he'd be enough to hold her off by himself, well...

...maybe. stranger things have happened. he never thought he'd be able to take down a whole pack of bears until tonight either.]

[Luke goes quiet for a moment, torn between his overwhelming fear of the hospital and his trust in Once-ler.]

...You gotta promise we'll run away if we see her there.

[he stops walking and turns to face Luke with one hand on his chest and the other raised.]

I do hereby solemnly swear to protect Luke McCoolbluehat from any and all red-haired ladies, especially the ones who look extra suspicious.

I'll even let you sit on my shoulders when we start running. That way you don't have to worry about tripping.

[Luke breaks into laughter, and it's probably the first genuine smile he's had since they got into trouble during their expedition.]

Good. Remember to keep an eye on some of those drone doctors, they might be up to something to! We don't want to get brainwashed or something.

If we were going to get brainwashed, shouldn't it have already happened by now? I don't feel any different. [and then, hastily:] I mean, I'm not wishing I was, don't take it like that. I just thought that, you know...

[he starts gesturing animatedly.]

We'd be arrested and thrown into whatever passes for jail here. Maybe tortured, maybe turned into robots, maybe both at once. I thought the cops here get mad at people for less than what we did, and we...

...Hoo boy, we did something really, really, REALLY bad. Awesome, but bad.

Edited 2012-10-19 18:46 (UTC)

Well...

[that is true. Luke's hand rests on the door leading into Edward's office.]

We did do it when the owners weren't around. M-maybe they won't find out about it?

[Luke shakes his head.]

No, that's silly. If anything they'd just force us out somehow. But...I never thought that we'd actually manage to destroy not one, but two buildings. I wonder if that's a sign that the town really is going to pieces.

How would they? It's not like we left behind any evidence.

[by now, they should have seen at least one creepy black van trailing them on the way home, but nope. for everything horrible that's happened, that stands out as a good sigh.]

Well, we just added another dent to it. Think I'll save the celebrating and bragging for when we're absolutely sure that we aren't going to jail.

We can still brag a bit, just uhm, not where the drones can hear us. But I'd rather not go to jail either.

I don't think they'd just put us in jail for something like that anyway. Maybe if we're lucky they won't know we even did anything.

[The door opens, revealing Edward's office. Luke starts to head towards his desk.]

I bet they have their hands tied looking for the Librarian. No one's gonna notice that dump's gone anyway; it's not like anyone was going there for the friendly service and staying for the bear meat burgers anyway.

[he takes a step in, peeking around the door frame. classy place; sort of reminds him of his own office, except much less grandiose and a lot more messy. something on the ground catches his eye and he leans down to pick it up, turning what looks like a broken question mark-shaped lamp over in his hands.]

What is this place?

Mr. Nigma's office! He's got all kinds of secrets in this bunker. I discovered this one about two months ago.

[He rummages through the desk, before lifting up a record.]

Aha, good! It's still here.

He has all kind of trash here, too. [said right as he throws the broken Riddler Trophy over his shoulder where it crashes against the wall, splitting in half.] It wouldn't hurt him to keep the place clean. A man's gotta take pride in his office.

[never mind the fact that his looks just as bad, if not worse. it's been months since he set foot in it; it's probably been overrun by rats and spiders by now. maybe they've made cute little furniture out of his Thneedville model.

he doesn't pay attention to Luke's rummaging and instead starts do so some snooping of his own. he lost his lighter when he threw it at the gasoline trail Luke left around the station, but maybe Eddie keeps a spare one around here. Once-ler walks over to the desk and starts rooting through the drawer over Luke's shoulder, completely disregarding the record.]

Come on, come on - Please be a book of matches.

[nope, just an eraser. that too goes flying over his shoulder.]

[Luke surprisingly doesn't call him out for it, a little too distracted by the record player in the corner. While Once-ler is digging around in Edward's desk, Luke stops just before he places the record down to glance over his shoulder.]

What are you looking for over there?

[it's getting pretty noisy over here. Luke would be forgiven for thinking that Once-ler's tearing the whole desk apart.]

...Hmph. Nothing now, I - [and he brightens up immediately, grinning.] Scratch that. Found some.

[he turns the matchbook over in his hands, making out the faint logo of Olney's Tavern on the front. groping around in his pockets for his last two cigars, he finally looks up and takes notice of the record Luke's holding.]

Oh, awesome. What are we listening to?

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