un: ut malum pluvia | audio

[somebadnews]

[ Since Five spoke to the Merchant, he's had a change in perspective. At first, the castle mystery seemed to be irresistible. (Not in any small part because it literally is. He's still compelled to dinner, despite since being smart enough to avoid the ballroom and gardens.) He won't say he loves mysteries, but it bothers him when he doesn't have a proper explanation for something; his ego is still alive and well and tells him he could absolutely solve it if he cares to. But once he found out Anurr mislead him (weirdly shocking) and has been amassing his power east, and that they're apparently actively hunting Matthias once they leave here, he's come to the conclusion that he needs to spend his energies on what's ahead of them in what little time they have.

He sticks inside the room he's been given, which is large enough for him to take stock of his inventory and blissfully gives him the freedom to properly pace as he works relentlessly into the night. Anurr's finger (still on the string it was given to him on) gets placed near where he's currently writing on the walls. He has half a mind to call him just to chew him out, but he hasn't been drinking enough for that. Apparently he has been drinking enough that he dragged one of the statues that kept turning towards him into the room. He's made friends with it, and asks its opinion on occasion, halfway appreciating the silence and halfway wishing it would point out something he's overlooking. Because there must be something.

Almost immediately after he starts writing probability equations, he gets sidetracked when he starts to work on how to save his brother's life. Their moment at the staircase made him aware of how fragile this second chance is, and he has no good answer for what to do if they reach the beacons and Allison insists on returning to an uncertain future where her daughter may or may not (but definitely not — how would she?) exist and Ben is stuck here. He should be using every waking moment with his family and take this as the only time he might have left with them, but instead he's still selfishly trying to figure out how to have it all. His family alive with no apocalypses or threat of the undead. There has to be a way.

For good measure, he writes some notes on the side, something to get back to, about Kamala's problem. The idea that it'll only take a few days to solve how to break apart universes, time, life and death itself is... ambitious. He's tried before. Notebooks upon notebooks of equations, some that might lead him back to moments when he could retrieve the siblings who were here and are gone, more that need to be worked out. Some that are utter nonsense that he wrote while half (or fully) out of his mind. He's tried so hard. Halfway through the space on the expansive wall he reaches another dead end and a breaking point.

It's been a while since he completely wrecked one of his rooms out of sheer frustration, and longer since he's had one so lavishly furnished to tear apart. Doing it here where no one can see is intentional, even if the explosive bout of anger isn't, and up until the last crash it feels fantastic to see the destruction and release some of his frustration.

Then he hears something scream and remembers. The things in this castle are alive.

Oh. Oh, that's... not good. His thoughts are immediately derailed by that horrible realization. He can't tell from the mess he made which thing made the noise. Did he just kill the vase or the dresser? Or is the curse going to put them back together? ...Shit. ]

[ Five clears his throat as he turns to the network. How to put this without admitting that he threw a tantrum and might have broken someone... possibly more than someone... several horrifically-cursed-people into pieces. For someone who can be fairly blasé when it comes to murder, this seems a little too much like insult to injury. ]

You're all pretty handy, aren't you? [ God, starting with a compliment. They have to know something is wrong, but he doesn't know how else to handle this weird problem. Maybe he should have written this down to not give himself away, but he's already started now. ] We have any carpenters, or... maybe some metal workers? I need something repaired.

A few somethings. I'm sure you can take a break from the mystery to do a mundane task. Call it a favor. [ Something crunches under his foot and he winces. That one may be a lost cause. ] ...Thanks.

[ And if anyone happens by his room (or heard the ruckus and went to investigate), he's at least trying to sort out the mess he made, and trying his best not to notice the statue looking much more accusingly in his direction. What's worse is he can't get a broom without worrying it'll snitch on him. Fucking magic castles... ]

Comments

[captain_marvel]

[Carol considers for a moment before:]

Candlestick I can help with, maybe? I can turn my hand into a walking welding attachmenet if needed.

[It's come in handy when she has to fix her ship.]

[somebadnews]

[ Well, it's about time someone offered real help, but also what the hell does that mean? ]

...Are you a robot?

[captain_marvel]

No.

[At least not last she checked. She holds up her hand and summons the beginnings of a photon blast around her hand.]

Normally I use it to blow things up but when you're maintaining a spaceship all by yourself you learn how to get creative.

[somebadnews]

[ He kind of wants to see that, if it works or not. If they melt the thing down entirely, at least he'll know for sure that it's dead. ]

Worth a shot, if you want to give it a try. [ And sue him of being alone if the rest of what she says doesn't push certain brother-related buttons. It's not relevant, but he asks anyway. ] How long were you there?

[captain_marvel]

Twenty-five years, give or take. Technically when I'm not being kidnapped by alternate universes, I'm still there.

[Space has been her preferred habitat for some time now.]

[somebadnews]

[ It isn't relevant to anything really, but the implication that she was alone manages to strike a chord. He can't help but think of his brother, and how he tried to relate his time on the moon to Five's decades in the apocalypse. He probably would have been excited to talk to her, so he owes it to him to ask. ]

What were you doing up there?

[captain_marvel]

A lot of travel, mostly.

[Her experience and Luther's experiences weren't 100% the same. Sure, she isolated herself but that was her choice 90% of the time. She also could visit planets whenever she wanted. But she could definitely relate to Luther's experience, if nothing else.]

If people on different planets had problems that were too big for them to handle, they would call me and I would come and help them handle it.

[somebadnews]

[ Different planets. That's... an interesting life choice. He has so many questions. ]

They call you... in space, and you travel to whatever planet is in trouble?

[captain_marvel]

Yeah. Basically.

[Sometimes she just happens to stumble across the trouble, but it's been years since that's needed to be the case.]

I go in, I punch stuff, and hopefully I leave it better than I found it.

[somebadnews]

Really.

[ He's never heard of someone with an intergalactic reputation for punching, but she's succeeding in pulling him away from his furniture murder. ]

Do you have a hotline for that, or is that a different superpower?

[captain_marvel]

Depends on which planet I'm going to. I have a friend on Earth who pages me.

[Well, not anymore. They've upgraded their communication since then. But for a long time it was just one superpowered pager.]

But my ship is connected to the general network and I can be hailed by anyone who is either within range or has my number.

[somebadnews]

[ Weird. Very weird, but also, Reginald would probably have adored having someone like her on his team. ]

That must have kept you busy.

[captain_marvel]

It was a solid way to pass the time.

[And she certainly had a lot of time to spend, though some would argue that there's other things she could have been doing.]

But probably not the best way I could have spent it.

[somebadnews]

[ He's not sure how to take that. ]

You were hoping to do something bigger?

[captain_marvel]

Not exactly.

[She was doing some pretty big stuff. That wasn't the problem.]

I think it's more the little things you miss when you're off doing the important things.

[somebadnews]

[ ...Now that's something he gets. He was hoping to be retired by now, after the apocalypse was safely averted. ]

Sometimes the little things aren't meant for you. Is talking furniture not enough of a vacation?

[captain_marvel]

I'm the Princess Consort of a musical planet. Talking furniture is just another Tuesday.

[Okay, not really, but her world is a little ridiculous.]

[somebadnews]

[ What… He shouldn’t ask, and yet. ]

How does that work?

[captain_marvel]

The musical part or the my being a princess part?

[Because those are very different explanations and she wants to figure out where he's confused before she starts rambling.]

[somebadnews]

I understand how royalty works. [ Why he's pressing this. ] Was that a metaphor for something?

[captain_marvel]

Nope.

[It's very much a real thing.]

Singing is their language. Unless they're bilingual, they don't understand you if you're not singing.

[somebadnews]

[ Well that's ridiculous. Or this world has made him so gullible that he'll believe anything people tell him after what he's seen. ]

Does that give you an affinity for singing furniture?

[captain_marvel]

It gives me a tolerance for it?

[If things don't seem that weird, people tend to be a little more approachable and a little less skeptical.]

I don't automatically balk at it. I mean, my cat is a tentacle alien in disguise. We all have our things.

[somebadnews]

[ ...Now he's more distracted by wondering how Ben would take that. Not that he knows she brought it along and there's a big possibility he'll find out. ]

Things that continue to intersect into new and weird combinations.

[captain_marvel]

You have to deal with a lot of tentacle creatures around here?

[Maybe Goose can make some friends.]