Day 28: Bus 1

[accursed-rock.livejournal.com]

Zelgadis was not happy, at all. Not that this was any change, but the events of the past few hours had given him more to angst about than usual. Nightshift had been dreadful: first he was attacked by a small green man and then covered in leeches, neither of which lead to warm fuzzy feelings.

And now this.

When the nurse had come into his room with new clothes he had a small glimmer of hope-- some thief had taken his normal Landel's wear in the night, so perhaps this was a change in luck. However, it was not the godsend he had hoped for. Minus the threat of sedation, there was nothing in the universe that could make Zelgadis wear a bright lemon-yellow shirt. There was a jacket of a slightly more tasteful variety, so Zelgadis made good us of it-- he put all his coupons in a pocket and pulled up the hood. It was almost as good as his cloak. Well, no it wasn't, but it would have to do.

With mild protesting, Zelgadis was lead to a large yellow vehicle. He climbed the stairs, took a seat towards the back, and readied himself for another frustrating day of being attacked and threatened with spoons.

Comments

[not-rly-fai.livejournal.com]

"Interesting," he said calmly, though his heart raced just a little faster and his smile slipped just a little. It could have appeared to be some kind of sympathy for the death of Haku's father, but in truth it was far from that. The thought of his own past coming back from a tomb of ice and snow to haunt him was a little unsettling. What kind of magic could they use to do such a thing?

"I guess that would be quite a surprise. Are you sure it was him? Not some... oh... I don't know what else it could be, but some kind of copy?" He shrugged, as though innocent to this sort of knowledge.

[faithful-frost.livejournal.com]

"I suppose it's possible," he admitted. "But if that is the case, then they do quite the convincing job of it." Haku laughed softly. "I do know for a fact that this place can bring back the dead, and I am quite good at telling copies from fakes."

Besides, Haku was good at the clone technique. He should be able to tell if what he was facing was real or fake.

[not-rly-fai.livejournal.com]

He'd be able to tell the difference, he told himself firmly. It was the same as the other versions of people they knew as they passed through the other worlds. There had been another Ashura then too. But no Fai... he reminded himself.

There'd been talk of it, on the message board. Bringing back the dead. Perhaps this place was an opportunity in disguise. Perhaps he'd be able to find the way to bring back Fai, the twin who's identity he'd stolen so many years ago. If that were the case, and he was so close to finding out, then maybe... maybe this place was worth all the risk.

"I wonder how they manage that," he said thoughtfully, inwardly hoping Haku would elaborate. How did his bench-mate know for a fact it was true? The father, right? Haku had seen him after his death. "Do you know of any other instances? Or was it just your father that returned to life?" After a moment, he smiled and added, "Ah- I'm sorry, I didn't mean for the conversation to become so serious."

[faithful-frost.livejournal.com]

Haku laughed lightly and waved a hand. "Oh, no. I don't mind at all. Even talk of serious things doesn't have to be dour." He thought for a moment.

"It wasn't just my father. If that were the case, I would have simply assumed it was a copy and left the matter rest. However, I know a few people, patients here, who have died only to find themselves placed here." He tilted his head to look around the bus, perhaps trying to find another person who had suffered the same as he.

Not seeing anyone at a cursory glance, Haku smiled back at Fai.

"I died before waking up here, as did one other from my world."

[not-rly-fai.livejournal.com]

He was relieved that Haku didn't seem to mind speaking about the subject. It interested him deeply, more than he'd care to admit. And most surprising of all, Haku had actually been dead and somehow come back to life! If he could just find out how they'd done it, there was a chance he could bring back Fai. Yuuhi missed his brother more than he could say and the chance to find a way to revive him... it was something too tempting to pass up.

"That's incredible," he said honestly. "You certainly don't look it..." He fidgeted in his seat, a question on the tip of his tongue. "I... I'm sure you've been asked this before, but... do you remember? What it was like? Everyone has theories... Heaven... Hell... Reincarnation... but... I guess I- I'm really just curious. You say you died, so you must remember being dead." He scratched his head, for once he wasn't eloquent or witty or amusing. "I'm sorry, I... I'm at a bit of a loss really."