Working at L Corp was still dangerous. I can acknowledge that. It's just that I would have rather stayed there than experience all that instead. That's... probably why it was like my "ideal" memories. It still feels real sometimes, but I'm reminded that I really left and friend and coworkers behind to save myself. And that same friend... confronted me about it.
[ She closes her eyes. ]
That's where most of the blood came from. On my clothes.
Well, she sort of knew that, but it never felt real to her. Now that Charles says it to her, it feels like such an epiphany that's been forced to the front of her mind. ]
[ And they are dragged into a void! Not agaiiiiiinnn...
[ Lobotomy Corporation, specifically Branch D-02, is currently undergoing lockdown. The halls are cold. The underground building is set for mass burial along with the employees and Abnormalities alike. It's to prevent Abnormalities from reaching the surface, they said.
In the midst of the sirens, the announcements blare throughout the underground building.
INITIATING SITE BURIAL.
People are screaming. They're frantic. Everything is dyed in a red light. With two eyes, she can see so much more. Yuri has three minutes. She knows that if she wants to escape, she will need to allocate all three minutes towards that or else she's toast. The elevators are not working. She is right next to the stairs. The heavy metal doors will close in to trap her forever.
ENERGY TRANSFER IS 85% COMPLETE.
But in the distance, in the other end of the far hall, having tripped and with her hand reaching out to Yuri, she hears:
"Yuri! Don't leave me behind, Yuri!"
Alex is Yuri's friend. Alex is Yuri's coworker. Alex is...
... weighing her down.
Yuri turns her back and rushes up the stairs, ignoring any and all pleas for her to come back. She has tears in her eyes. Some of the ceiling starts to cave in, and she receives a lot of injuries on the way up. The stairs feel like they never end until they do. Yuri is trying so hard. The sirens keep blaring. The entire underground building trembles. When she finally makes it out of the stairwell, she sees one of the Abnormalities that had breached containment: The Mountain of Smiling Bodies. There is no way that she can fight an Abnormality of such a high threat level, so she keeps her sword withdrawn and tries to dash over to the exit. It's so close. It's within her reach. The metal doors are about to shut permanently.
The Abnormality doesn't make it easy for her. The rotting stench of the multiple corpses gets worse as it lashes out. Before Yuri knows it, her right eye is struck and she screams. Still. She can't give up here. She grits her teeth, grinding them together so that she can stop screaming and throws herself out the exit despite how she's bleeding profusely from her eye and feeling lightheaded.
The metal doors slam.
And she's free.
She's free...
Charles and Yuri will find themselves back inside the medbay again, where they just were.
[ Yuri quietly breathes out and looks over at Charles with a weak smile. ]
I'm... alright. In fact, seeing this memory again just reinforces that that altered experience back in the mission wasn't real. And I really need that right now.
Kindness would definitely be the last thing on the list I would expect out of most people and corporations in The City... which was why it would have been foolish to trust in others' goodwill.
Always. It will most likely be like that for a long, long time... I don't think there is anyone that can band together to topple what we have right now to overhaul its entire system.
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applebough) wrote2024-02-24 07:36 pm
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I'm sorry, Yuri. That sounds cruel.
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[ She pauses. ]
Working at L Corp was still dangerous. I can acknowledge that. It's just that I would have rather stayed there than experience all that instead. That's... probably why it was like my "ideal" memories. It still feels real sometimes, but I'm reminded that I really left and friend and coworkers behind to save myself. And that same friend... confronted me about it.
[ She closes her eyes. ]
That's where most of the blood came from. On my clothes.
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Do... you want a hug, Yuri? A light one, of course.
[her injuries. also the blood but whatever.]
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Not this time. I want to be really mindful of my injuries, but thank you for offering. You're always good at cheering me up, Charles. Thank you.
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That's fair. Can you imagine how badly people would kill me if I accidentally made your injuries worse?
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[ (clueless) ]
I think I'm good at taking care of myself too, and I know you're reasonable.
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[ Yuri being loved. She's loved?
.......................
Well, she sort of knew that, but it never felt real to her. Now that Charles says it to her, it feels like such an epiphany that's been forced to the front of her mind. ]
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Yuri smiles. ]
I'm very lucky then. I won't tell even if you did it accidentally.
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I know--
[ And they are dragged into a void! Not agaiiiiiinnn...Charles and Yuri will find themselves back inside the medbay again, where they just were.
... ]
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well, this explains a few things from before—but more importantly, he turns to yuri, concerned.]
... Are you all right, Yuri?
[because even if it's not real, it's something that did happen to her.]
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I'm... alright. In fact, seeing this memory again just reinforces that that altered experience back in the mission wasn't real. And I really need that right now.
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[it's cold to say, but it does seem that if yuri had stopped to help her friend, neither of them would've made it out.]
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He would also be right. ]
... Good thing then, since the corporation didn't go under out of kindness.
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The kind of environment that encourages people to be cutthroat, huh?
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charles just looks so disgruntled at this...]
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[ She puts a hand on his shoulder. It'll be fine. ]
I'll be here during lockdown to heal the rest of what I can. Please be careful out there.
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I will. You stay safe too, Yuri.