Sweet Jive

Frankie, with an elemental breath vibe and the ability to sense powers of others, runs into Sweet, whose flare is inflicting intense pain whenever his emotion vibe activates. This means he's in constant agony.
Setting:
Orange District
Timeline:
During the Solar Flares
Preceded by Vibe Swap
Followed by Shark's a Shark
====
<Simon> mmm i really want to rp Sweet doing jive :U idk how to start though
<Frankie> that sounds funnn
<Simon> no it would be terrible haha jive does not agree with him but I've never rp'd the results before
<Frankie> I mean... fun rp... sob..
* Frankie QQ is horrible
<Simon> hahahahahahaha yessssssss B)
<Frankie> `flare
<&Hoss> You can sense other people's vibe power. This allows you to identify vibe powers and current solar flare effects on others around you
<Frankie> what would drive Sweet to use jive?
<Simon> right now he's got the pain flare
<Frankie> ick... does he have his original vibe?
<Sunny|work> :<c
<Simon> yep. so if he were surrounded by people he'd try anything since he can't turn his vibe off
* Frankie can totally hook him up...
* Simon everything hurts sob
* Frankie stumbles upon the UG while patrolling for family. Pat pat Simon. What seems ta be the trouble, kiddo?
* Simon wails when Frankie touches him- it feels like his skin is burning and freezing at the same time and his innards are slowly dissolving and his head- augh. "STOP IT," he shouts. "JUS-S STOP FEELING FUCK"
<Sunny|work> DD:
* Frankie stares for a moment. After weeks of helping steppers with flares, he's familiar with this one... Hell, only an hour ago Frankie himself had recovered from it, after it caused every vibe filled breath he took to be tortuous... "It's ok, Simon. We'll take care'a this." He rummages through his jacket- bingo. He'd just stocked up, after all. Frankie waves a vial in front of Sweet. "Simon. I know it hurts, but ya gotta listen to me. I ain't gonna give ya none less ya agree, but this here's jive. It'll stop yer vibe, an should kill the pain."
* Simon squints up at Frankie. He's never liked the idea of Jive- he just wants to numb his vibe down, never completely turn it off... But there are more and more people gathering in the street, all pointedly not looking at him. This sight had become common on the streets since the flare began. Hell, most of them had probably gone through it themselves. But these people were so many and they all felt things so intensely and it hurt. So. Bad. Every time someone comes within ten meters of him he shrinks into himself, nearly vomiting. Having Frankie there is bad enough. Delirious with pain, he grabs the vial from Frankie, rips the cap off, and downs it.
<Frankie> bb ;m;
* Frankie can sense Sweet's unpleasantly familiar vibe, feel as it reacts to the crowd, as well as sense the pain it's all causing him. That the kid held out as long as he did on the jive actually impressed Frankie. He tries to bury the feeling, all his feelings, tries to keep calm and emotionless until the drug takes effect. No worries, no fears, just meditative calm as he breaths a steady stream of cool mist into the district.
* Simon curls up into a ball until he feels the drug take effect. The pain disappears, but so does his vibe- He's been jamdeaf for a fair share of the past two weeks, so it's not until he raises his head and opens his eyes that he realizes something is terribly wrong. His insides turn to ice as he looks slowly around wide-eyed, and sees that everyone is gone. He looks next to him to see if Frankie's still there, but he, too, seems to have vanished into thin air. His mouth opens and closes silently and confused, and he stands up shakily, a hand against the wall behind him for balance. "H-hello?" He calls out hesitantly. "Where is everyone?" All the colour has seeped out of his surroundings, and everything looks askew. He has difficulty keeping his balance, becoming more and more nervous. The sun, there was something about the sun, but when he looks, the sky is just grey. No sun, no clouds, no birds, no nothing.
<Frankie> ,,OmO,,,
<Simon> WOOPS HIS VIBE IS REALLY INTEGRATED TO HOW HE PERCEIVES OTHER PEOPLE
<Frankie> LOVE IT
<Simon> COMBINED WITH TRIPPIN BALLS, EVERYONE DISAPPEARS
* Frankie can see clear as day when Sweet's vibe is killed by the jive. The flare that's causing the pain has nothing to work with now, he thinks with relief as Sweet uncurls. "There now, it's all ok, yea? Well keep ya under a steady.. stream.. of... -Simon??" He waves a hand in front of Sweet's face, puts a hand on his shoulder... honestly, Frankie wasn't too familiar with jive, seein as he steered clear of the stuff since it near killed him first time he tried it. Was this kinda thing usual?? He tries using his new vibe perception to understand... "Simon, I'm right here. Can ya hear me?"
* Sweet is starting to panic. His breath comes heavily as he tries to feel for someone, anyone with his vibe but of course, it's shut off and he feels like he's all alone. Even the trees are starting to fade. He starts to walk, quickly, in the opposite direction from Frankie, looking around him to see if there's any people in another street, maybe. He steps out of the way when a car drives by, soundlessly and without a driver. He makes a little panicked noise, something that could become a scream very soon if he doesn't find anyone. "Hello!?" He shouts, louder this time. "WHERE IS EVERYONE? HELLO?"
<Sunny|work> sweet baby no ;__;
* Frankie " Well don't that jus beat all... you can't see me. Can't see nobody- Ah damn-" He hurries after Sweet, but fails to get to him before the car comes- "FER GOD'S SAKE-" Frankie sprints, pedestrians scream for the car to stop, and the driver panics- but Sweet merely steps out of the way as if by magic. "Oh Jesus Christ," he shakes and latches on to Sweet, pulling him out of the middle of the busy street. "Nothin ta see here! Move along!" He stares down the crowd, puffing out hot sulfurous ash, and they back off. Frankie pulls Simon off the main street to somewhere less populated. "...Ok, I get it. Yer cut off. But I need ta talk ta ya nonetheless.".... He utters a small cough, and a shower of large pebbles drop from his mouth. He selects one and presses it into Sweet's hand. "Common buddy, notice it, yea?"
* Sweet watches the car drive by in slow-motion and looks up at the exhaust gases fly through the air like dark grey birds made of smoke. Suddenly, a claw clamps around his elbow and he yelps, turning around to look at- Oh dear God. It's some kind of robot, a terrible metal beast with black, melting eyes and whirring circuits. It issues a series of clicks and growls at him and he's sure he's going to die, right here and now. He screams, more afraid than he's ever been before, and when the horrendous thing opens his mouth to let a rain of bullets fall out of it he pulls against its grip but it presses a bullet to his palm and it seems as if his skin just opens up and absorbs it, the metal melting into his veins. In reality, he's just dropped the pebble. He screams even louder and pulls, hard, and he's free. For the first time since he bought it, he reaches behind him into his trousers and pulls out a small, but serious-looking gun. He aims it shakily in front of him, ready to shoot, but the robot has disappeared. He turns around wildly, fingers twitching around the trigger- it's nowhere to be seen. "WHERE ARE YOU?" he screams. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?"
<Frankie> .....Hipple ilu =m=
<Sweet> B) shit's going down
<Sunny|work> 8UUU
<Sweet> hahahaha
* Frankie Suddenly Simon screams, and he realizes he isn't gettin through, not at all. His heart drops along with the rock from Sweet's hands. "Alright kid jus hold up it's gonna be allright-" Ah shit he's lost hold of the guy again- he prays Sweet doesn't try to book it again- "Oh." A gun? He should have known. He had known. But Sweet had never used it. Till now. His remembers the last time he'd been shot- no electricity ta save him this time. He backs away slowly. Dense, freezing clouds begins to seep from Frankie's lips, and ice forms along the street, creeping towards Sweet to hold him. He attempts to sidle out of Sweet's line of fire, hoping whatever it was Sweet was seeing didn't startle him again. "Kid, I'm sorry it got this bad. Jus-" Sweet can't hear him. “M sorry.”
* Sweet still hears the quiet clicking and roaring sounds, and it's like a bug flying by his ear. He swats around himself, trying to make sense of the situation. He lowers his gun, but still holds it at the ready should the thing come back. He nearly drops it when he looks at his hand, though. It's started... disassembling, flesh melting away into metal plates and arteries transforming into copper wires. Sweet lets out a choked sob. He feels a wetness on his face- another nosebleed, probably, and raises his gun hand to wipe at it. When he withdraws it, he sees not red, but black. He licks his lips- foul-motor oil, he realizes. He tries to start running, just for the sake of getting away, but he can't move. His legs are extremely cold. Metallic cold. He starts to cry in earnest, now, like a scared child. He's all alone. Nobody is coming, or will ever come again. He'll never see another human being, or anything alive and natural, not even himself. He catches his reflection in a black window in a building, and sees black oil streaming from his nose and red, glowing eyes. He shakily raises the gun to his own head.
* Frankie flanks Sweet, watching as he points the gun blindly at nothing. He just needs to get it away from him, then he can try and find a telepath, or drug vibe to clear this up... though both powers were extremely rare, he hadn't seen them since the flares started... He'll figure out something- First, the gun. He moves closer as Sweet begins to sob. Almost... Frankie nearly jumps out of his skin when the gun goes to Sweet’s head. He keeps silent, but begins to blow a steady stream of murky, unbreathable air... he didn't want to resort to this, but the kid was clearly a danger to himself. Frankie pours out vibe and reaches slowly for the gun, delicately prying it from Sweet's grasp...
* Sweet starts to cough uncontrollably as a dark storm cloud forces its way into his throat and lungs, zapping his insides with lighting. He feels dizzy, unable to breathe, and he drops hard onto his knees, the gun forgotten. He keeps on coughing even though it sounds more like a whirring to him, the sounds of circuits jamming. "Please..." he croaks out through powerful hacks to anyone who would hear him. Not that anyone would. "Please... oh God please help me..."
* Frankie sags with relief when the weapon is clear of Sweet, and pockets the pistol after setting the safety. He watches Sweet pityingly, and inhales deeply, clearing the air. "Alright Simon, we're gonna get ya out'a here, this ain't no place fer ya, not'at all," he murmurs softly. Probably should bring him to the orange leader... but Steven would be mad cause he got high again, wouldn't he...? Frankie chokes. That... wasn't something he had to worry over, because that's personal crap, and Steven and Sweet's personal crap ain't Frankie's, goddamit. "Gonna get ya home, paly. Jus relax," he says in a warm gentle tone, just trying anything as he melts the ice and lifts the thin rail of a man into his arms, preparing for a struggle.
* Sweet jerks away when the metallic monster returns, but he's not strong enough- still coughing a little. He tries to release himself from the steel grip, to no avail. Part of him is relieved to see the thing again, though- it's better than being alone. "P-please, don't hurt me..." he begs in between sharp intakes of breaths and sobs. "Did you do this? Where is everyone? A-are they dead? Did you poison them, too?" He hears circuits whirring as he turns his head away from the thing. "...why?"
<Frankie> D,8 </3 i was not prepared for this sad
<Sweet> sob sorry
<Frankie> its ok ilu and Sweet and everything ;m;
* Frankie carries Sweet, and counts himself lucky that the guy isn't putting up much of a fight. He just hopes none of the nearby onlookers get the wrong idea and call the orange higher ups with a story about a Mafia boss drugging and then attacking the UG leader's best friend. Frankie starts moving, and Sweet starts talking. He listens quietly and shudders, imagining the world Sweet's in right now. Was this better than the pain from before?? Though really, it didn't matter now... "Everyone's fine," he murmurs, though he knows it's pointless... "No one's dead, no one's killed nobody..." He pats Sweet affectionately, slightly awkward. What else can he do??
* Sweet flinches away from the pats- he has no idea what this thing is saying or feeling, and he doesn't trust it at all. Mostly because of how now, when he touches his face, big flaps of skin and muscle just melt off. He grimaces and tries to say something-he knows the thing won't understand, he just wants to pretend it does- but all that comes out is a series of mechanical clicks and whirrs.
* Frankie can see that the physical contact is doing no good. Maybe a vendy... but the alternative to this is the flare agony... or sedatives... Old fashioned drugs hadn't worked on Frankie's pain, but maybe Sweet would have better luck. It was about goddamned time someone did-?! "Sweet? Sweet are ya wakin up??" Frankie was sure he'd been talking coherently for a moment there. Was the jive wearing off already?? "Jus take it real easy there son..." he changes course for a vendy, in case Simon is waking up...
* Sweet frowns. Was that a response? Oh God. His transformation’s almost complete. He doesn't want to be a robot, he just wants everything to go back to normal. He starts to cry oil quietly again, until "Oh holy fuck what's that-no-" They were heading for a Vendy, but he didn't see it as a Vendy, for him it was a terrible chamber full of sharp-looking things that would hurt and pierce and kill and starts to scream again. "Don'thurtmeDON'THURTME," he begs, thrashing about wildly in an attempt to escape. "PLEASE I'LL DO IT I'LL BECOME ONE OF YOU JUST DON'T HURT ME OH GOD DON'T PUT ME IN THERE..."
* Frankie's grip tightens on Sweet as he begins flail and fight. "Shh, shh, it's ok Simon, it's ok, I won't make ya go in there, shhhh..." He backs away from the machine. No reason to push it on him, as there wasn't any guarantee it would help matters none... Fuckin jive. He fuckin hates jive. And flares. And vendys. And feeling so goddamned helpless. "Alright, alright, we're jus gonna go get ya ta Steve, he'll take good care'a ya, Simon. You'll be jus fine, soon as we find him..." He isn't sure if these thoughts are coming from reason, or the shared memories from Sweet.... But it seemed like a good plan, regardless... But how can he calm the poor guy down in the meantime?? Frankie walks and thinks while unconsciously exhaling hot desert vibe winds into the city.
* Sweet breathes heavily when they back away from the terrible torture chamber. He wants to thank his captor, but can only speak in the clicks again. That's okay, though, he thinks, because at least the thing will understand him. He puts a hand on his chest to calm down, and looks down as metal hits... glass? He turns pale, but looks relieved, when he sees his heart pumping behind the small round window."<<You left it,>>" he whirrs. "<<But then why did you...>>" He is extremely confused. Maybe the thing carrying him is as well? Maybe it didn't mean to... "<<Are you alone, too?>>" There's buildings melting all around them and the road seems to stretch on forever into a grey and misty horizon and everything is dark and threatening-maybe the thing carrying him is the only thing that doesn't mean him harm in this world.
* Frankie continues walking through the orange district, slowly so as not to panic Sweet further, confidently striding to give the impression that he has the authority to be there. It does seem to deter many orange who would likely have gone for a sneaking Mafioso in a heartbeat. Ah- Sweet's speaking coherent again... or maybe not. Maybe the chattering was bringing him round? "Yea, I ain't gonna force ya in there pal, not ta worry. Vendy's are shit anyhow," he says conversationally. Though, that last question turns his stomach and makes him feel like crap, even if it was just jive rambling. "Yep. Jus me an you, an yer kinda far out right now, see? But that's ok, everyone's alone. That ain't nothin new." Casual conversation, casual walk, come on UG just be reasonable for one day, don't make this harder then it has ta be...
* Sweet seems to be satisfied with this answer. Even though he has no idea what the monster'd actually said, he feels reassured somehow. "<<All the people just... disappeared. Frankie->>I was with him, did he... Did they leave me?" Ah, normal speech again. He rests his head against what seems to be the thing's chest. "I hope they're okay..."
* Frankie "Didn't disappear, just yer vibe, pal. Makes sense...," he keeps the steady stream of words goin. "Guess yer so connected ta everyone, I 'sposse it's only nat'ral. I mean, when I was cut from my lightnin, felt dead inside..." Hm... but Sweet had been jamdeaf before this, he knew... Frankie tries to understand- no. It wasn't his job ta know every goddamned thing about the kid, he thinks with annoyance... as if he didn't already... "Soo... you still floatin, or you understand me, Simon?" he hazards as he nears the UG headquarters.... in broad daylight.... carrying a drugged up member. CONFIDENT STRIDE, KEEP ME SAFE
* Sweet looks up at the sky. There's little flashes of white coming through the dark grey, and they hurt his eyes so he rubs them, moaning in discomfort. His new friend is clicking at him again and he feels like he should understand, like there's something familiar about it, but thinking about it is making him nauseous. He suddenly feels light, though. "Feels like... 'm float'n..." he mumbles.
<Frankie> Robo, can Frankie walk into UGHQ unnaccosted? *w*
* Frankie looks down to Sweet with concern, but the terror seems to have abated for now... "Here pal don't worry about nothin.. Jus keep floatin along, that's real good." Frankie walks in the front door of the club with a friendly nod to the bouncer, meeting minimal resistance. Maybe he'd gotten some of that jive too, cause this was fuckin surreal. He carries Sweet into the UG venue, and is immediately hit with a sweet baseline.
<Sweet> UG what the hell is up with your security
<Frankie> idk I'm sorryyy
<Sweet> hahahahahaaa <3
<RoboPS> hey in Steve's club there is all the security
<Frankie> I'm sorry, I tried to ask, I really did ;m;
<RoboPS> I was afk haha. Also I don't get beeps on mibbit sob
<Frankie> ;m; I'm sorrrry
<RoboPS> wait are they in Steve's club?
<Frankie> yessss
<RoboPS> BI Sweet. SWEET
<Sweet> what
<RoboPS> why are you letting this chump into Steve's crib :c
<Sweet> he doesn't know it's frankie, he thinks everyone's DEAD
<RoboPS> NO EXCUSE
<Frankie> soob Frankie is just trying to drop off sweet, he's totally not here to cramp your style
<RoboPS> `flare
<&Hoss> Your powers are now out of control.
<RoboPS> ...ok Steve is having problems
<Frankie> oh nooo
* Frankie was trying to bring Sweet to his broooo what nooow
* Sweet looks around the empty building with sad eyes. "This place is usually full... Also the walls aren't usually crumbling charcoal." Absolutely empty. All of it. He's never seen anything less than a hundred people in this place, and now... "All my friends are dead," he chokes out with a breaking voice. "They're dead, or there'd be someone here. Steve would be here." His breathing starts getting heavy, and he hears it echoing through his metal lungs. "Oh god- Steven- he's dead I know it he's dead-" He can't go on, just clutches his companion tightly.
<Frankie> So Robo, what is the status of UGHQ
<RoboPS> Oh sorry, it is kinda open, people can come in. The bots will zap anyone who starts a fight/trouble
* Frankie "Is it?" It was rather empty, even to his unaltered perception... Fuckin flares... He'd never tell another living soul, but he'd love ta see this place in full swing. He idly wonders what the joint would look like, jumpin, drawin in the best dancers UG had ta offer.... He sighs. "No one's dead, Sweety," he mutters distractedly. "Specially not Steven. That boy's worse'n a cockroach in that regard. You jus got a bita a mess in yer head, elsewise you'd know that for yerself." He glances around the club again. Looked so much different than the blueprints... He peers at a security bot. "Hey there Mister Robit, can you tell me where Mister O'Rizzle's at? Mr. Sweet here needs him real bad," he cuts to the chase.
* Sweet looks at the robot with wide eyes. It's small, but looks vicious, sharp teeth and dark eyes. The orange paint on it looks muted, almost grey, charred and peeling off. He makes himself as small as possible, very still and very quiet. "Is that what killed everyone? Don't let it get to us..." he hisses at his friend, whom he decides needs a name-"Also I'm gonna call you Barryfrom now on, okay?"
<Bit> LIGHTNING BOLT LIGHTNING BOLT LIGHTNING BOLT
* Frankie stares at the unresponsive UGbot for a moment... but it's clear by it's silence that the thing isn't going to help him. It was pretty foolish of him to think it would, really. And it's clear that it's scaring Sweet too. Ok. He takes a deep breath and the club gusts with wind. Now what. No vendys, no Steven, no UG to take him off his hands... he's running out of patience- And then Sweet renames him and he bursts into laughter. "Kiddo, yer alright. How bout we get ya home instead, Steven'll meet ya there, I'm sure. And if Barry makes ya happy, sure. Why the hell not."
<Sweet> ahhhh yay!
<Frankie> yep
<Sweet> `flare for when the jive wears off
<&Hoss> Your powers are now twice as powerful
<Sweet> oh snaaaaaapppppp yes
* Sweet throws his arms around Barry's neck. "Yes. Home is good." He doesn't question how the machine knows where he lives or how he could suddenly understand one or two words he was saying. He was just deeply, deeply grateful that the thing was carrying him around everywhere he needed to go and that he wasn't alone. He needs to go home. The intense loss he suffered today has to be felt in a familiar place. Here, in the club that feels hostile now that it's empty, he can't bare to think of all the people he'd never see again, or the human body that had mutated into something disgusting. He wants to break down in peace.
* Frankie After all the things that have happened with Simon during the flares, specifically trading vibes, or that humiliating day he'd fallen hopelessly in love with him, Frankie is growing uncomfortable at the deja vu... But the new name is still too funny to him, and the humor helps him carry the UG back outside with composure. "Yup. Home is great. We'll get ya back, that nasty flare'll wear off, and you'll see soon enough that everyone's fine, Sweety." He gets some hostile looks as he removes his purple booty from the UGHQ, but the bouncers aren't after him, and people once again assume he's got a right to be there.
* Steven stretches as he rides the long lift ride down to the ground floor of the club, still in his pajamas and cat hoodie. Several hours of his vibe messing up and only one room trashed in his apartment. That was worth a celebratory drink. He pats the bar, ordering a drink and checks his phone for messages. Junk, junk, dispatch a team to clean up, junk- Oh. An alert about an undesirable in his club. He sips his drink calmly as he reads the message, scowling hard at his phone. Why the hell did the bots let 'Frank' in here? He enlarges the image when he sees Frank carrying someone- He facepalms loudly and drags his hand down his face. "Phone, auto-dial PinPrick."
* Frankie keeps walking through the orange district, making good time in the pleasant weather, despite the hostile stares that remind him of his old job, unpleasant as they are nostalgic. Good times. He's about to continue chattering to Sweet when his phone rings. "Oh hey buddy, good news. Looks like Steven's available now, ain't that nice?" he asks in a reassuring tone as he opens his phone and hefts Sweet into a more secure position. "Mr. O'Rizzle. Hello."
* Sweet concentrates on trying to understand Frankie. It's incredibly difficult, but he gets one word-well, name-"Steven? He's DEAD. Everyone's DEAD." He repeats it again, loudly, for good measure, to emphasize his grief. "Barry how do you know about Steven?" He does not see a phone anywhere and Barry's been clicking and whirring for a while now, and he's only picked up a few words.
* Steven "Valentine. What do you want?" he sighs, finishing off his drink. He really didn't want to deal with Mafia being dicks today- the auto voice-to-text translation picks up another voice saying he is dead? "What the hell? What kind of shit are ya tryin to pull today? One sec-" he covers the mouthpiece of the phone and tells one of the little ghosties floating by to shove off.
* Frankie "Shhh, buddy, it's ok. I'm tellin ya he's fine, lookit here, he's jus' on the other end-" Frankie drops the comforting tone he's using for Sweet as he returns his attention to his phone. When he replies to Steven, there is only cold professionalism in his voice. "Mister Sullivan's had some very serious problems with the flares today. Half dead when I found him by chance. Got him somethin fer the pain, tried ta get him to you. You weren't around. Gettin him home now." He's curt, polite, non-combative. Just tryin hard as hell to get Steven the bare facts without putting Sweet through more bullshit. He remembered how Steven was with Sweet...
* Sweet still doesn't realize Barry's not talking to him, and catches the word 'dead'. "He's dead, he's dead, he's dead~" he repeats like a terrible mantra.
* NegaSteve "And ya just happen to be walkin by and found him, right? It's fukkin funny how many times you bump inta each other when yo in trouble." he snickers humorously before running a hand through his hair, letting out a noisy sigh. "Where are you? Bring him back here right now." He tries to keep his voice even, but that shit was hard when you couldn’t even hear yourself. He was tired too. Last night was 'out of control' flare time aka, void time... He checks his phone, that was six hours ago. Six. Not more. Not days. Not months... six hours... Keep it together. " I'll be in UGHQ." he closes his phone with a snap before massaging his brow between his fingers. He orders another drink as he waits.
* Frankie "Shhh, Simon. What ya mean ta say is alive. Alive," he repeats, forcefully trying to stop the horrible chanting. He'd had a long fuckin day too, alright?? He listens to the voice over the phone. Course, the petty little bastard couldn't get his head outa his ass long enough ta think of his sufferin friend ‘stead of himself and his jealousy. Frankie scoffs inwardly, waiting for a moment to speak, to defend the poor kid who'd been through hell- "Look, I ain't bringin him back the club, somethin about it's fuckin with his head-" and you ain't my goddamned boss- AND HE'S BEEN HUNG UP ON. OH. OH. OH FUCK YOU KID. For god's sake, he hadn't wanted praise, but fuck if he's gonna be treated like shit while helpin Steven's own. Frankie continues up and into Sweet's apartment. He's full of anger now, and is forced to turn his head away to avoid breathing burning steam over Simon.
* Sweet goes absolutely silent once they enter his apartment. Everything in it is suddenly immaculately white- it's the least damaged thing he's seen since everyone disappeared and the world changed. The only sign of dilapidation is the fact that everything is covered under a thick layer of dust. He shakily detaches himself from Barry, stepping down from his arms. He holds on to him in order to remove his shoes and socks-testing out his new, mechanical toes and then he lets go to take a few wobbling steps, lets his fingers drag across the walls of the narrow hallway. Once he's in the-completely white- living room he turns back to his companion, but he's gone. "Barry?" he whimpers. "Barry where are you?" He sounds like he's about to panic. He can't lose Barry, too.
* NegaSteve’s phone catches the last bit from Frankie before he hangs up. He reads the text and growls. Fukkin- he rises to his feet and sways a little on the spot, his head pounding viciously as one of the orbs near his head natters away. "Seriously. Just fo a little while. Shut up." he grumbles. Steve finally gets outside, trying to summon a portal, only to find his vibe ain't working. "Fuck." he tries an arrangement of different styles till the portal up, today seemed to be crossed between Kabuki and ...capoeira? All he knew was all the flips were making him feel worse than he already felt. He slips through the rift, already used to the eerie stillness between the jump before landing on the pavement a block away from Simon. Steven squats down for a while, trying to collect his senses before making his way to Sweet's house. That bastard better not of done anything to him.
* Frankie is quiet while Sweet finally tries to move again. He looks better now that he's back home. Less terrified and lost, certainly. He stands, ready to go to Simon's side the moment it gets scary again- ah. He puts a reassuring hand on Simon's shoulder. "It's ok Sweety. You ain't alone. I'm here." He'd like to reassure him that Steven was coming, but the stupid child seemed too caught up in jealousy, and Frankie doesn't want to promise somthin he ain't sure of. "It'll be alright soon. You see, everyone's alive an' well..." He keeps contact lightly with Sweet. It was clearly helping.
* Sweet keeps a tight grip on Barry's wrist. "Don't leave me," he whispers. He feels like they're waiting for something to happen. No idea what, but he has trouble feeling completely at peace. He feels- he feels- There's a flash of colour behind his eyes and he clutches at his head. The feeling passes, and he stands again. "What are we waiting for?"
* Frankie calms in the quiet of Sweet's apartment. "I won't leave, kiddo. I promise, I'll stick with ya till yer feelin ok." It was only fair... Sweet could have left him to the madness when they'd traded vibes... could have humiliated him when he’d fallen in love... The man was just too kind. Frankie wonders vaguely if he'd stay, even if he wasn't so far in the guy's debt... He shrugs the distressing thought off. "We're jus waitin fer you ta come back outa the clouds. Take yer time though, there's no big rush now.”
* Sweet nods, even though he have no idea what Barry's saying. "We have to plan," he says decidedly. "We need to survive out here, get food, water-do we even need to eat anymore?"He doesn't know shit about robots.
* NegaSteve takes the trek up Simon's stairs, wiping his mouth- Ugh, he forgot about the weird face bone mask thing- He still couldn’t get it off. Maybe it was attached to his skin? He shudders lightly before knocking on Simon's door with a shadow hand while the other straightens up his clothes- He should have put on trousers- eh, Sweet had seen him in his in his boxers plenty of times, and anyway, his face was scary enough now for people to ignore the cat hoodie.
<NegaSteve> here is a full body shot of Steve atm
<Frankie> dem shorts XD
<NegaSteve> he is in his boxers u_u
<Frankie> PFFFT >U<
<Brown> XD
* Frankie hears the knock- paranoia hits suddenly- he inhales deeply, ready to attack- but... no one knew he was here... It was for Sweet. Of course... Probably. "Plan? Sounds good, buddy," he agrees amicably as he gently pulls Simon along to the door. "Water, lots'a canned goods, maybe stock up on vendy bars," Frankie idly rattles off survival plans to keep Simon's wandering mind close. "And hey, we'll have another friend at least durin this apocalypse a'.... yers..." He opens the door. Oh. This was not. Well. In his disorientation, Frankie suddenly recalls hundreds of Sweet’s memories of pantsless Steven. It only makes the situation stranger, but he composes himself at the pseudo-familiarity. "Mister O'Rizzle?" he bows slightly without releasing Sweet's hand.
<NegaSteve> LOL shit, Frankie does that mean he remembers all those 'no homo' moments that steven had with sweet too?
<Frankie> yes, at times
<Sweet> oh yes
<NegaSteve> :I
<NegaSteve> BI
* Frankie TRIES TO BURY THEM OH GOD
* NegaSteve >BC
<Brown> FRANKIE WAKES UP AT NIGHT IN A COLD SWEAT
<NegaSteve> with the weirdest boner
* Frankie B| ...fml.
* Sweet keeps rattling on, completely oblivious to the fact that Steve is right in front of him. "Yeah, but what with the metal parts and all we have to get motor oil or something as well, I mean I have no idea what these kinds of bodies even need and what about rust? How do we deal with that?" He realizes his companion's attention is elsewhere. "...Barry? What are you looking at?"
* Frankie "Don't worry about the rust, I know a good cleaner that'll get that right off," He steadily answers Sweet without taking his eyes off Steven. "And I'm lookin at Steven. You know Steven, right pally?" He isn't sure how much Sweet can actually understand him, but he's going to keep answering him in a calm tone, let the kid know everything's fine, even if he's apparently made of metal, in his own mind. But the stupid selfish prick seems to think this is the opportune time to shout. Marvelous. "No need to yell, Mister O'Rizzle," Frankie says quietly, chest growing warm as vibe builds with his anger. "His vibe was giving him intense pain, which old fashioned drugs do not affect, from my experience. I have given him a dose of jive for it. You can scream at me later. He has finally calmed down enough to realize people are alive, and I would very much like to keep it that way, sir." Smoke escapes with his overly polite words, but he's trying.
* Sweet 's face falls at the mention of Steve- it was either Steve or cleave, and he doesn't know how cleaving stuff fits into their conversation so... "What is your deal with him? I don't..." his hand tightens around Barry's, "He's gone. We need to worry about survival first, let's go-" He moves to go out of the apartment and bumps into something. "Wh-" He looks up and immediately starts screaming- it's another metal monster and this one looks even more dangerous than Barry does- all angry, glowing eyes and a metal skull and an disproportionate amount of large, terrible claws-"SAVE ME, BARRY," he jumps back, breaking contact, and the monster disappears. "WHAT WAS THAT," he shouts, breathing heavily. "OH GOD WHAT WAS THAT IS IT GONE?"
<Sweet> also save me Barry. i had to
<Frankie> CX
* NegaSteve pulls back a little, unable to track Frankie's and Sweet's mouth movements at the same time- "Why is he shouting? Who is Barry? Ya should have just taken him to a vibepire. He's fuckkin stupid on drugs, no offense Simon." He rolls his eyes, placing one hand on Sweet's shoulder the other waving in front of his face. "Yo, Simon. You in der?" he asks in a soft, motherly tone. He really wished he could vibe down. Maybe his skull attire was scaring Sweet or something. He didn't know. He brushes the boy's fringe out of his face, his eyes settling on the Mafia's and his friends hands interlocked... These two better not be what Steven's brain was thinkin-
* Sweet tries to pull out of the iron grip on his shoulder and throws his arms in front of his face defensively when the monster starts waving a claw in it. "NO PLEASE OH GOD DON'T HURT ME PLEASE" He does not like this new development. Everything was fine when it was just him and Barry- well not fine, everything was terrible, but at least Barry didn't try to kill him.
* Frankie "It's ok Sweet, we're safe in here," he reassures him- but it's too late, he's screamin again. He puts another hand on Sweet's, trying to mimic the connection that his vibe gave him as best he could. And luckily for Sweet, Frankie was quite fluent in batshit insane. "It's ok, jus another survivor, buddy. Had to disguise himself." He looks to Steve, and quietly whispers to him. "It is his vibe, sir. He is so connected with it, he can't work without it. It’s not the same as jamdeaf... Jive is funny like that. But if it is anything like the average flare agony, he is far better off like this. Things are just spooking him at the moment. People and machines, mostly." He sighs. Explaining all this to Steven in Sweet's presence was a goddamned pain, why couldn't he have stayed with the phone call a few fucking minutes longer?? "All the vibepires I am aware of do not have their original vibe. I did the only thing I could. It was an emergency, and as your security has undoubtedly already informed you, I attempted to contact you and resolve the matter with your involvement." Was that all his bases? Perhaps. Perhaps he's still fucked. Didn't matter. He'd take whatever the temperamental brat threw at him in stride.
* NegaSteve holds back a growl as he gets smacked in the face, wincing at the sound of flesh on bone. He takes a step away and holds up his hands. Delusional and paranoid. Great. He doesn't notice until the end that Frankie is talking to him, only catching the last few words." What? I can't fukkin hear, alright?" he voice sounds a little strained and worried. Simon could always recognize him when he was high... well not always, but if was never as bad as this. His hand tentatively rubs his jaw, a hand reaching out to Simon again. He wanted to comfort him, somehow. Just hug him. Fuck. He crosses his arms and sighs.
* Sweet looks distressed as the other 'survivor' disappears again. "How did he... He's still here, why can't I see him? And you, too, Barry, I-" he takes a step backward and this time he actually looks at Barry when he stops touching him. The mechanical man disappears. He puts out a hand, and he's back when he can feel him. "Why..." It starts to come through to him that something isn't right, here. Sweet looks around, quickly, at the white and dusty apartment- suddenly there's colour again, but it's gone when he blinks. "What's happening?" he asks. Suddenly he can see both of them without touch- he sends out a short burst of fear, quickly smothered. "Wha-" he starts, but then he clutches his head, which feels like it's splitting open.
* NegaSteve eyes dart between Simon and Frankie. Ok. He didn't know what the hell was going on. "Simon? Simon!" he goes to touch him but holds back. What was he meant to do? Steven begins to beatbox, holding his hands hovering around Simon's head. Destroying matter, breaking it down... Could he do that with feelings? Maybe he could temporarily delete that part in the brain that feels pain... Fuck, no. Too dangerous. Knock him out? "Simon." he hums, wrapping his arms around him, pulling the boy into a hug, wishing he could eat feelings.
* Frankie "Deaf? Like, literal??" Ah. Steve’s still going through that?? Frankie looks past the shorts and gets a full read of all Steven's strange flares- his patience for the kid grows slightly. There's no time to dwell on it, though, Sweet is panicking again. "It's alright buddy. I toldya, yer heads jus' floating a bit. It'll wear off soon, I'm thinkin." Might need to dose him again, if the pain returns. That wouldn't be pleasant for anyone, but it was preferable.... Frankie screams suddenly at the burst of Sweet's vibe, letting out a wave of painfully cold air and darts to a wall. Frankie doesn't know what's after him but he's terrified, he knows its bad oh god he KNOWS. In seconds he's pulled his knife, gulped lungfuls of air and crouches, silently trembling in a corner as far away from Sweet and Steven as he can get, ready for the attack that every instinct is screaming warning to prepare for.
* Sweet is slowly but surely coming down from his trip. He looks at his hand and that's all it is, just a hand. Barry and the new guy are steadily becoming more human, too, and he can even see them without touch-only he can't recognize them. Barry-he's blond, handsome and he knows him, he knows he knows him, but before he can put his finger on it he's disappeared again. Suddenly, a hug- he twitches into it, spreading 'uncomfortable-scared-confused' around the room in quick, short bursts. He lets the kid hug him, though, and fuck who is it again he- "OhgodSteven, you're alive" he breathes, hugging back tightly and bursting into tears. "You-were-dead-" he says in between sobs. "Ev-everyone was-" He forgets the other man can't hear him.
* NegaSteve feels the front of his t-shirt get soaked as he swayed on the spot, rubbing Sweet's back. He feels something tugging on his emotions, but he keeps it under control, Simon’s vibe not entirely connecting correctly with his brain. He hushes Simon, telling him that he’s here and it’s going to be ok. He pulls back a little, wiping Sweet's face down as he leads them both inside, a giant shadowy hand closes the door. His eyes settle on Frankie for a moment- well, more on the knife. What the hell was wrong with him?
* Frankie becomes a horrible twitching mess under the effects of Sweet's continued vibe. His one clear thought left is to attack what it is that's trying to hurt him, to terrify him. He exhales, a seemingly endless stream of fire roars out around him without any specific target, desperately trying to keep the threat away, whatever it may be. Steve and Sweet are forgotten. He hasn't a clue where he is, mindless with terror under the emotion vibe.
<Sweet> aaaaaaa omggggggggg gdagklhsghlksg frankie pls
* Frankie cant handle emotion vibe, sorry guys
<Vivi> ;____________;
* Sweet is still busy crying and coming down when suddenly there's a fire and all of that gets shoved aside, along with Steve, whom he literally shoves aside, out of the line of(snerk) fire."Barry-I mean, F-Frankie? Right, Frankie- just oh god calm down-" he tries to turn his vibe away from Frankie, but it's coming so erratically that he can't predict when he has it and when he doesn't. For a few seconds, it seems like the fire is coming from nowhere.
* NegaSteve gets pushed aside, rolling his eyes a little as Sweet turns his attention to Frankie again. Of course. He sighs a little, crossing his arms, watching the other try and talk to the Mafia man. "Frankie." he squats a few feet away from the man. "Listen to me. Calm the fuck down. No one is gonna hurt you." he hums softly, trying his best to not look menacing.
<Sweet> omg i can't help it jelly Steve is too kawaii
* Frankie looks up when Sweet calls his name, but its too far- if he leaves the safety of this corner, he'll be exposed, a much easier target. He stays huddled in the corner of Sweet's apartment, at last stopping the flames to take a deep drink of air. He watches Steven approach, absolute fear in his eyes as Sweet's vibe continues to hit him. When Steven speaks quietly, Frankie knows its just another trick, that was how this was going to be played, he'd fall for it and they'd mercilessly slaughter him and them he loved before the night was over-? Frankie utters a confused sob as a fresh wave of Simon's power hits him, and resumes pouring vibe out, creating a shield of burning static that chars the floor and walls.
* Sweet tries to calm Frankie down with his vibe, but he himself is anything but calm. He's unstable as fuck, and the negative emotional feedback he's getting from Frankie is making him nauseous. "B-Frankie, no one's gonna hurt them," he says. He staggers a little with the effort of trying to direct his vibe anywhere but at Frankie. He wonders how long it'll take before he has to vomit. Probably not that long. He crouches down to get on Frankie's level, anyway, and looks through the wall of burning static. "It's okay. I'm here."
* NegaSteve stands up, seeing Frankie isn’t calming. He had no idea why Frankie was even freaking out so much. "If I was gonna hurt you, I wouldn't do it with you shittin yo self, punk." he growls lightly, crossing his arms in a huff. All the emotional shit wasn't really his forte and with Simon acting up... Wait. "Simon. Simon." he places a hand on Sweet's shoulder. "Direct yo emotions inta me."
* Sweet flashes a nervous smile at Steve, whose image is still distorting into something a bit grotesque. "Not that simple," he croaks, "It's flickering, I can't predict when it oh there it goes-" He puts a hand on Steve's shoulder and puts all his confusion and fear into him, but also the sheer relief that everyone turned out not dead. He looks at Frankie, who's still getting some of it, but not nearly half as much. "Nobody's gonna hurt you here," he tries again. He warns Steve that he's going to puke on his boss' shoes if there's any sudden movement. He might even do it if there isn't any.
* Frankie is screaming to himself its a trick, it's had all only been a trick, the whole thing was meant to trap him here, and he's dead the moment he runs out of vibe- Sweet's comforting words mean nothing in the face of the absolute terror, but his efforts to redirect his vibe to Steven make a huge difference. Doubt as to the actual danger enters Frankie's thoughts- It gnaws at the mind killing fear, and Frankie can think- enough to realizes blindly spewing dangerous vibe at the UG leader and his closest friend was incredibly dangerous. He stops himself out of sheer self preservation, but keeps the knife up between him and the two UG, heart in his throat. He needed to escape now, before they killed him.
* Sweet pours everything he has into Steve, focusing completely on him. He's twitchy and sweaty and slightly green and /tired/ and he just wants today to be over. He smiles crookedly at Frankie. "See? You're okay."
* NegaSteve starts to feel the vibe tugging at his emotions, so he beat-boxes. It's strange. He can feel his vibe and he can feel his body pulse, but Simon's emotion feels separate. As soon as the emotions touches the surface of his own, be can feel his vibe eat away at them, breaking them down until there’s nothing left. "More." he hums.
<NegaSteve> his vibe is breaking down the the signals to his brain, so before he can even react to the emotion, the electrical signal to the part of his brain to feel fear deteriorates before reaching it... its all energy and Steven can break that down haha
<Sweet> that is so cool
<Frankie> Steve....
* Frankie QQ tuch
* Frankie The paranoia is still there, but his mind is clearing, and fear isn't drowning everything else out anymore. Reason comes back in force, particularly the thought that, if the men had wanted him dead, that piss poor animal display would not have stopped them. He looks at the reassuring knife, and forces himself to store it. "Gentlemen. Thank you." Somehow he can't bring himself to leave the safety of the corner, but when Sweet uses the same tone on Frankie that he'd been using on jived up Sweet, he balks, humiliated. There was no reason for this. No flares, no drugs. Just weakness from Frankie. Steven wasn't even affected. Frankie gasps back in the stray elements and stands tall. "Yes. I am fine. You both have my gratitude." He eyes the door, wanting to bolt and hide for a week maybe. "Well then. Now That Mister Sullivan is squared away, I believe I will take my leave?" and then proceed to die of shame. Perfect.
* Sweet blurts out, "Don't," at Frankie, and immediately regrets it. Steven's right there, and he know how he reacts to stuff like this but Barry was the only one there and he kind of wants to keep him next to himself. That's stupid, though. Almost as stupid as Frankie feeling embarrassed. "I mean I- uhm. First, let me... thank you. So much."
* NegaSteve eyes flicker back and forth as the emotions continue to pour into him. He visualizes his vibe eating all of it, trying not to let his mind wander, but... sometimes he feels something, something of his is - no. Just concentrate on beat-boxing and and protecting yourself- Steven locks on one point on the wall. His breath peaks momentarily at at times, but is otherwise very steady. He knew his head too well to mess up more than a few times. Knew himself. So when a tiny slither of emotion that was not his slipped it, he kept calm, breathed deep and relaxed. He feels something leak between his mask and his skin, but the sensation is diminished as his vibe starts to- He shakes his head, he was tired and getting sloppy. He needed a coffee. He flinches a bit when he feels a stab of pain just behind his eye, but he continues to concentrate.
<Frankie> aaww Steven...
* Frankie nearly jumps from his skin when Sweet speaks abruptly- the self loathing has not obliterated the fear entirely- but he does stop slinking towards the door. He stares at Sweet, bewilderment not entirely from the vibe. He's thanking Frankie after that hideous break down?? The mafioso manages to feign composure,. "It was no trouble, Mister Sullivan. Think nothing of it." At least this helped wipe some of his debt to Sweet out... well, not really, after that disgusting outburst. He takes a very deep breath, wind stirring slightly as he tries to slow his pulse. His eyes dart around the room, landing on Steven, who seems completely detached from the present events. Makes about as much sense as anything else right now. "Is there anything else I can do for you before I go, Mister Sullivan?" He asks Sweet quietly, face still burning with humiliation.
* Sweet wants to reach out and hug Frankie, or take his hand or something, but he looks at the man behind him and decides against it. He shakes his head slowly. "No... I'm good, here. And look-" He leans in a bit closer- "You're not weak, and you didn't show weakness just now. So don't feel ashamed."
<NegaSteve> aw Sweet :<
* Frankie begins to skitter towards the door again, longing to hide somewhere away from the world. But he manages to stop himself, turn, bow to Sweet and Steven- He twitches when Sweet leans in- when he tells him that- Somehow, in his terror he'd forgotten that fundamental fact about Sweet- His best masks were useless against the UG. He needed inner calm to combat that kind of power. For that, Frankie needed a different life. "Thank you, Mister Sullivan. You are far too kind." Of course, he doesn't buy Simon’s reassurance for a second, and it angers him that his self-disgust is laid bare for Sweet, even more so that Sweet knows he's angry- "Yes. Anyways. Perhaps we will see one another on better terms later," He says blandly to both of them, hand on the door. "Goodbye, Mister Sullivan, Mister O'Rizzle." Frankie doesn't slam the door, but the moment it's closed he books it to somewhere ‘safe’.
* Simon doesn't say anything against Frankie's feelings of anger, at himself, and fear, at the UG, because yes. He could do that. For a moment, he feels powerful. He cuts Steven off from his power- he's had enough, for now- and stands there looking worried at him for a second, before running to the bathroom and emptying his stomach into the toilet.
<NegaSteve> did Frank and Sweet have a fight? Is that why he is calling him Sullivan? Or is it just because Steven is there haha
<Frankie> just for Steven... he knows Steven gets jealous, and doesn't like Sweet hanging out with mafia
<NegaSteve> hey Steven doesn’t get jealous
<Frankie> ....
<Pheonix> ...
* Frankie that's adorable
<Pheonix> yeah right
<NegaSteve> Sweet can go hang with all the mafia he wants to
* NegaSteve doesn't care :1
<Pheonix> and Sweet isn't a druggie
<Simon> hahahahahhahahahaha
<Simon> ahahahahahahahahaha
<Simon> ahahahaha
<Simon> oh wow
* NegaSteve :'1
<Frankie> well, all I'm saying is, the last time Frankie was Sweet, Steven cared =w=
<NegaSteve> lolol Ugh, Frankie has felt how Steven has felt when Sweet has felt his feelings... gross
* Frankie so gross >_> Ugh, he even thinks the colors blue and orange is a mighty pretty combination. How awful.
<NegaSteve> LOL SOB
<Sunny|busy> XDD
* NegaSteve get out of my headdd
* Frankie NEVER WANTED TO BE THEREEE
* NegaSteve My head is awesome. Everyone wants to be here
* Frankie No, it's full of anger and shame. Frankie got enough of that, thanks.
*NegaSteve I don't feel shame, dumbdumb B(
* Frankie remembers all the times UG underlings/mafia/ANYONE hit on Steven while he's sober. Awful.
Category:Sweet
Category:Steven
Category:Frankie
Category:RP
Category:Solar Flares