damned_institute | Day 39: Music Room

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Day 39: Music Room

Lunch had been fruitful. Celes had chosen not to eat, but that was fine enough for her; she’d eaten plenty at breakfast and it was not very good manners to eat while discussing war (for Celes, it’d always given her a bit of a stomachache), or plotting. Especially if one was in mixed company. Her nurse escorted her to the Music room, citing that her ‘sister’ had suggested that musical therapy would be good for her. Celes rolled her eyes. This was no music room, with their ‘electronic’ instruments; where were the violas and the harpsichords and phonographs? She’d been past this room before, but had never been interested enough to go into it.

The general sat down at the keyboard, staring at the odd device before prodding the buttons with a nail. On, off, rumba, tango, Caribbean (what in the world was ‘Caribbean?’), little numbers that changed the tone. It was the first time Celes wished that there was a real instrument before her, instead of this ridiculous thing. Still, it didn’t stop her from curiously stringing notes together with one hand, and the only song she could bring to mind was the Aria di Mezzo Carattere.

How dreadfully delightful.

[for Adel~]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Something that granted wishes?! Oh, pork! Maybe this little bitch wasn't as useless as Porky had initially thought!

"It granted wishes?" Porky asked eagerly, his eyes open wide, "What was this device called? Did it have any requirements for using it? Was it still intact before you left your world?"

"Wishes? I don't know if that's what I'd call it, but yeah... whatever."

The old man was starting to get a look in his eyes that made Falis want to punch him. She didn't, mostly because being poisoned by the vultures would ruin her night, but she wanted to.

"It was called Teoria, and yes it had requirements to use is and yes it was still there when I ended up here." It just didn't work anymore, but she didn't feel like volunteering that information at the moment.

"Why do you care?"

Uh-oh. She was getting suspicious. Luckily, Porky was an expert liar, so fooling someone like this shouldn't be any problem at all. Then again, Porky's skills at deception were rather rusty...he hadn't had to lie in several thousand years, after all...Hopefully this girl wouldn't be sharp enough to pick up on what Porky was really thinking.

"Who wouldn't want an object that granted wishes?" Porky said happily, "Think about all the things you could do with something like that! You could be rich! You could be handsome! Well, I suppose you wouldn't want to be handsome, handsome being a word commonly used to describe males and all...but that's not the point! The point is, whoever has the Teoria or whatever you said it was can have whatever they want, and I think pretty much everyone would care about something like that!"

Falis snorted. "That damn thing caused more problems than it ever solved. There was a fucking reason it's called forbidden technology. Clearly, some people didn't want it and sealed it away. No one person should have that much power anyways."

Her gaze was locked on the old man's and she smirked a little. "Something handed to them by a mystical device isn't worth as much as something earned by hand. Besides, there is that saying about being careful what one wishes for."

"F-Forbidden?" Porky asked fearfully, "You never said it was forbidden..."

Truth be told, that only made Porky want it more. Everybody knows that forbidden things were always better than regular things. Besides, Porky simply couldn't resist messing with things he wasn't supposed to. The fact that it happened to grant wishes was only a bonus!

"I suppose there is a certain satisfaction that you get from earning something," Porky began, "But what about things that you can't produce with effort alone? Like...bringing back someone you care about?"

If the man thought Falis was buying the fearful act, he was full of it. She'd already caught the glint in his eye a bit ago, but if he wanted her to think she hadn't, who was she to stop him?

"No, I didn't, but where I'm from all Old World technology is forbidden so I tend to not remember to point that fact out to everyone I speak with here," the princess stated.

She was silent for a long moment after the man mentioned bringing people back. Falis missed Dominikov and Pete, but she wasn't sure if they'd be happy if she brought them back using something like Teoria. People disappeared for a reason.

"Sometimes people are meant to stay dead."

"Perhaps you're right..." Porky said sadly.

While it was true that Porky missed Ness and would like nothing more than to bring him back, it was also true that the reasons Porky wanted to bring him back were far from noble. Porky would have used the Teoria to bring back Ness solely to kill him again. Well, perhaps not too quickly. Maybe Porky would have made Ness beg for his life first, or kill those other brats in front of him and then kill him. Or make him into a chimera and force him to become Porky's slave! Anyway, if the Teoria was forbidden like this girl said, Porky wouldn't be resurrecting anyone anytime soon. Pity.

"Perhaps death really would be best for him," Porky said solemnly, "Life was never easy for Ness. He was always fighting some self-proclaimed ruler of the world..."

"Oh. A hero-type," Falis replied with a bit of a snort. "Though those world ruler people always need someone to give them shit."

"Don't you laugh at him!" Porky responded angrily, "I guarantee he was twice the fighter you'll ever be! You should have seen him while he fought Giygas! A baseball bat in one hand and a bolt of psychic energy being readied in the other! Oh, it was magnificent! Giygas didn't stand a chance against him!"

Porky wanted to kill Ness again, that was true, but he certainly couldn't reveal that right now. If he could make it look like he idolized Ness instead of vilified him, there was a better chance that she wouldn't suspect Porky's true identity. Judging by some of her past responses, Porky was willing to wager that this girl wasn't going to be too happy if she discovered that Porky was an ex-king.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Falis laughed. Oh, that was amusing. This Ness was twice the fighter she'd ever be? That was fucking hilarious.

"Oh. Sorry," she said once she'd stopped laughing, though a few giggles still escaped. "You should be an entertainer, old man."

"You little whore!" Porky shouted, "I said don't laugh!"

Normally Porky wouldn't get this worked up about someone insulting Ness, but to call him weak...that was unacceptable. To call Ness weak was to call Porky weaker than weak. Ness had, after all, defeated Porky once, and, while that was long ago and back when Porky was still a mere child, it was still a defeat for Porky.

"He defeated evil itself! He could conjure massive explosions with his mind! He could heal the gravest of wounds without batting an eyelash!" Porky shouted as he rose from his chair, "Perhaps I was being to brash about what I had said earlier! Now that I think about it, he was probably ten...no, a hundred times stronger than you!"

The man's explosion only made Falis's shoulders start shaking as she continued to silently laugh. She'd been called worse than whore in her time, so names really didn't bother her.

"Actually, you didn't tell me not to laugh, though I sure as fuck don't give a shit what you say," she replied. A smirk spread across her face then as she leaned forward, resting her forearms on her legs.

"You know, old man, evil really isn't that fucking hard to defeat. Been there, done that," she stated. "You really need to listen to yourself, cause it's fucking hilarious."

"Oh, really?" Porky growled, "You think you've seen true evil? What was this so called evil you defeated? Some punk with a handgun? Maybe a serial killer or something? That's all you'd be able to handle! If you saw Giygas, you'd have a heart attack and drop dead right then and there!"

So much for keeping his cool. At this point, it was all Porky could do to not punch her in the face, and that didn't even have to do with keeping his cool. All of Porky's initial instincts for avoiding attention had gone out the window, and the only thing keeping Porky from hitting her was his self-preservation. If Porky and this bitch got into a fight, there was absolutely no question who would win.

Falis' smirk grew larger, her body positioning only relaying how amused and relaxed she was. There was nothing to fear from this old man. He really was entertaining.

"I've been a bounty hunter most of my life, old man. I specialize in magical creatures and magic users." She snorted. "I don't need to tell you anything about who and what I've killed. Only the weak feel the need to boast."

She ran her tongue over her canine, almost as if it was a fang (though it was a perfectly normal tooth). "I wonder if this shit records, because I think I'd like a copy of this conversation to show my friends later. They'd laugh their asses off."

This time it was Porky's turn to be entertained.

"Magic?! You...you think that magic can compare to Giygas' powers?! The embodiment of evil itself matched in strength by a wave of a wand?!" Porky laughed, his rage quickly subsiding, "Ha ha ha ha! What, did you defeat the dark wizard Osohe and his little pet dragon with the legendary sword of the Magypsies?! I'm sure you managed to save the princess, too! Ha ha ha! For a second, I thought your power was genuine, but now I see it's all just a story out of a fairy tale! Forget one hundred, there isn't a number high enough to show how many times Ness is stronger than you!"

"And...and a bounty hunter, too!" Porky chortled.

This girl had been infuriating only a moment earlier, but now Porky couldn't help but laugh at her!

The bounty hunter was unphased. She leaned back and laced her hands behind her head, propping her feet up on the back of the old man's chair.

"Aa. I ain't from your world and you ain't from mine, otherwise you'd already know who I am. I don't know what the fuck this Giygas you're babbling on about is and you sure as shit don't know what the fuck magic is back where I'm from," Falis replied. "I don't know about you or your buttboy, Ness, but I don't need any fucking parlor tricks to do the job. Just cold steel."

She chuckled. "Got any more amusing shit to say or has your hard-on for Ness gone down and you're just sad you ain't got a cloth to wipe the mess up with?"

"Gohohohoho...No, I'm afraid I don't have anything else to say about Ness. At this point, it would be redundant," Porky chuckled quietly. He had managed to calm down.

Porky didn't care about what this girl said at all now. The argument was over, and Porky had won, no matter what that girl said.

"Anyway," Porky said politely, "Now that we've both gotten that out of our system, is there anything you'd like to talk about? I'm up for anything."

The hunter's lips curled up. Whatever.

"Yeah, got a name or do I get to make one up for you?"

"Ha ha ha! You just get funnier and funnier!" Porky said.

As for the name, Porky wasn't sure he could tell her his real name just yet. There was no telling what sort of vile rumors she would spread about Porky if she knew he name. Plus, he was already rather infamous amongst the patients for his failed attempts at soliciting help. Porky still didn't understand why, though.

"As for my name, it's Aloysius Jones," Porky said, smiling, "I don't suppose you'd be willing to tell me yours?"

"You don't look like an Aloysius, old man," Falis replied. "I still might make one up for you. And you can call me The Hunter."

She wasn't lying; many of the other knew her by that name. Still... two can play this game.

"'Don't look like an Aloysius?'" Porky repeated, amused, "For your information, it's a family tradition to name the first-born son Aloysius. My father is named Aloysius and so is his father, etc, etc. To be completely honest, I'm actually Aloysius Jones VI. I'd be interested to hear what name you'd give me, though. Then again, it'd probably be something crude like 'Boner' or 'Ass-Fuck.' Based on what you've said before, at least."

So, she didn't want to tell Porky her real name, either, huh? No matter. Even if most of the patients didn't trust Porky, there was at least one that did, and Porky didn't have any doubt in his mind that that one patient would have too much trouble finding out "The Hunter's" real name. Honestly, the Commander was almost too determined to follow Porky's orders.

Oh wouldn't this man love to know Falis' real name. It was a quick ticket to a swift death or at least a severe maiming. Though, the name she did go by when not using her bounty hunter side, wasn't terribly hard to figure out. If he really wanted to know that, he'd find it. And then he'd find out, if he read the board and looked at past posts, he'd know she killed the alien thing single handed. She really didn't care.

"Aww, you hurt my feelings, Al," Falis said, clearly not hurt by his insult. "I am more than capable of class and manners when I'm around someone that deserves them."

"But you're not above insults, are you?" Porky responded, "And not much for subtlety, either! But that's beside the point. You seemed so eager to give me a name, so why don't you? I'm dying to hear it!"

Peh. This girl had gone from annoying to infuriating to amusing and finally to boring. If she didn't say something interesting soon, Porky would have to spice up the conversation himself, and, while that wasn't something he would have trouble with, he didn't want to reveal any of his secrets.

Falis smirked. "Now, now, we've just met. A proper nickname only comes after knowing someone for a while and finding what suits them. Such artistry takes time."

She crossed one ankle over the other, feet still up on the back of the man's chair. "I'm so sorry I don't back down and talk bluntly and directly. Subtlety and shit like that is for politicians, rulers, liers and people that generally need to have their jaw broken."

"True, true," Porky sighed, "I can't say I'm not disappointed, though. I'm sure a nickname from someone with such a brilliant mastery of the delicacies of the English language would be a sight to behold...or perhaps a sound to hear?"

That bit about politicians and rulers was a little disconcerting, however. Well, Porky didn't have to worry about it too much. That is, he didn't have to worry as long as he kept his cool, which was almost a given now that he had gotten rid of all that pent up anger.

"So, wait," Porky said, "Are you saying that all liars and rulers that speak with subtlety need to have their jaw broken? That's a little harsh, wouldn't you say?"

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