The passage of time in this place is not easily tracked, not without a clock of some sort, anyway. The days may even begin to blend together, only occasionally interrupted by confrontations with the robot spiders or discussion with whoever is on the other end of that terminal.
It seems like things won't change any time soon. But something is off today, and some of you may notice it sooner than others.
The mind-numbing drone of the nearby builder going about its work has been with you from the very start. Located behind the terminal and far down below, it was the first sound you heard upon arriving here. It has been arranging walkways in increasingly complicated and baffling designs, extending them ever outwards into space. This much has not changed at all during your time here; the drone of the machinery moving and metal being slotted into place may even have become somewhat comforting background noise.
It is completely silent today.
The skittering of spider robots through the vents or patrolling the area is not heard either, and though the atmosphere remains as gloomy as ever, the lack of sound will undoubtedly be noticeable to some of you. Thankfully, you can still hear; it's simply that the machines have stopped their usual tasks, for whatever reason.
Janet's my best friend. Been with her for centuries.
[So let's get that straight, though like there's no bite to it. Might have been, if it were anyone else.]
She's an artificial being. They're made to operate the different afterlife neighborhoods humans go in, and to act as repositories of all the knowledge in the universe. No actual wires in there, though, just sort of...you know, like the sun.
[ it's fine. he's not afraid of her or if she lashes out at him. it's why he only did a single headpat. ]
Ya don't need to work too hard; I'll do my best to stay out of trouble. Regardless if there are going to be more things like this in the future or not—I can't afford to die.
[Dorothy's definitely not going to let Viktor fuck her up too hard at least; she's good with giving him directions and it at least makes life easier this way. It's strange to trust someone else with it, but Dorothy finds herself...
Well. Smiling just a touch. Don't comment on it. But Dorothy nods once he finishes up, careful not to move her arm around too much as she nods.]
I'm sure I can find something; hopefully without eating into our much needed supplies. But that's good to know. I suppose if I were to injure anything, I'm glad it's the arm I don't need to use as much.
[Once they're done, she'll get up and offer him her good hand if he needs it.]
...Thank you. I will not forget this--do let me know if there's anything I can do in return.
Something about that word gets Dorothy's shock for a brief moment, but...it's strange. Her expression almost seems to warm briefly as she listens to him talk about Janet, and it at least makes sense.]
So in a sense, she's more like...a cosmic being, or something like that? She sounds like she does an incredible job of her work, regardless. She certainly must, to have your approval.
[...]
She sounds like a lovely person. What is she like?
You do not have to concern yourself. I was able to help, so I did--I do not require anything for that.
[The toolkit went back to his collar, taking Dorothy's hand and standing before readjusting his balance leaning on the staff.] My skill does not match your technology, so your patience is appreciated.
I suppose, but she's artificially created. All the Janets are.
[Though really, Michael doesn't actually know a lot about that. He knows enough to have helped Janet troubleshoot problems she's had before, but he's not actually an afterlife engineer or whatever.]
Oh, she's great. Brilliant, very cool under pressure - good in a fight too, she would've been useful here. I've seen her kick the crap out of like ten demons at once. One time my boss tried to kill me and she picked him up by the throat and threw him into a wall.
[She's definitely the heavy in the team, not Michael. Shame he's the one who's here now, really.]
[Dorothy finds herself smiling at the explanation, honestly.]
Really? My, we really are alike in some ways, then. I used to be able to do such things with my own strength too...she sounds positively lovely, Michael. A truly stalwart ally, and strong too. Goodness, I certainly think she'd excel in a place like this.
[But still, wait, she can't just bury the lede--]
But your boss tried to kill you? I assume for what you about prior to me, or was this something different...?
[ it's fine, every room feels colder when wednesday is in it-
she nods. ]
Made it through, yes. [ asking a maybe-friend if they're alright shouldn't be above her pay grade but here we are, if how she talks to enid is any indication: ] You seem to have managed as well.
( mafuyu would like to think she did very good considered she got swarmed by a flood of spiders while completely alone, since it seemed like they covered the entire hallway- )
[Michael clearly can't help here, but he'll stand aside and keep up some chatter while other people get assessed and maybe Viktor makes his way over.]
It happened when I was first trying to leave Hell. I got the humans out, but I ended up getting caught, and that was the first time Shawn realized everything I'd been doing. I'd been lying to him for a good three hundred years already, and then I turned on everyone and smuggled a bunch of humans out. The only reason he didn't retire me right then is that retirement's a pretty public thing. He'd have to say why he was doing it. And if his higher-ups found out everything that happened under his nose, he'd have been just as hosed as I was. So he was gonna lock me up for a while, then kill me.
I actually thought he'd caught and killed Janet already, but she'd been running around in disguise. Came and got me, and we got out together.
( she's so cold, even with her cardigan- but then, the wool is also frosting over, so maybe that's worse! its definitely worse actually. she'll do as told, though. )
I couldn't find anyone but I heard a lot of noise...
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