[closed]

[rhygret]

Who: Rhys (rhygret) & various
What: Rhys's infection reaches stage 2
When: mid-Oct
Where: various
Warning(s): Attempts to remove cybernetics

[ All things considered Rhys think he's been handling being sick rather well. Sure he might have worn Jyn's patience a little with his constantly asking for things (tissue, coffee, dinner, lunch, breakfast, snacks, fluffing his pillows...the usual) but he's spent the majority of his time in a lump on the couch not doing a whole lot. He hasn't been taxing himself outside of the Bunkers & Badasses game, and though the event leaves him utterly exhausted and coughing up a storm later he relents and spends the next day sleeping for the most part. he wakes feeling...not much better honestly, but surely the worst of it is almost over. It's been a week now. Any day he'll start feeling like himself and he'll be on the mend.

Then the static starts. At first it's just small instances of white noise in the back of his head. It disappears when he pops his ears or rubs at his temple, comes and goes. Then it makes him feel lightheaded and awful. There's a churning in his stomach and he sits down to rub his temples when the beginnings of a headache start to take hold. Rhys pops a painkiller and goes to bed in the hopes that he'll stave it off entirely and when he wakes up things will be back to normal.

They aren't. ]

A: Who are you again?

[ When Rhys wakes up he's beyond disoriented. He feels faint and dizzy, he hurts all over and he can't remember how he got on couch. Did he fall asleep there? Why does he feel so awful? He's going to be late for work--

That he should in no way whatsoever be going anywhere let alone to work fails to occur to Rhys as he stumbles back to his room to try and get ready, and he gets most of the way there. His hair isn't styled perfectly and his dress shirt isn't tucked in, but Rhys drags himself out of the apartment anyway and begins to stumble his way into town.

Like a responsible, totally-not-sick-and-delirious adult. ]

B: Jack's Back, Baby

[ People find him, they take him home, and Rhys gets put back in bed in thankfully short order. He conks out almost immediately but wakes only a few hours later when suddenly, inexplicably, Rhys jolts awake. He has no idea why he startles the way he does but his ECHO eye lights up and out of reflex he activates the palm like on his arm despite the fact that it's only midday. Something woke him...right? He's awake because there was...there was...?

There's nothing. Just an empty room and a lot of dirty clothes on the floor. He really needs

"--to straighten up the place, huh cupcake? There's letting yourself go and then there's just being lazy Rhys. Three-day-old underwear on the nightstand? Seriously?"

Rhys freezes for the split-second it takes for shock to set in and have him flailing out of bed, arms windmilling when his legs get tangled in the bed sheets and he lands with a loud whump! on the floor. Sharp, cruelly delighted laughter reaches his ears even before he lifts his head to stare wide-eyed in disbelief at the flickering blue image of an all-too-familiar AI standing before him. Colour drains from his face as he opens his mouth, but sound fails to come out.

Jack cuts him off a second later.

"If you're looking to catch a bunch of flies there are easier ways than with that face. What's the matter cupcake? Surprise to see your ol' pal Jack again?"

He crosses his arms over his chest and smirks with obvious pleasure at Rhys's distress. He shakes his head at the vision--this can't be real, this has to be a mistake. The spiders. He'd heard Jack's voice when they were nearby, there must be spiders--

"Seriously? You think a bunch of bugs are responsible for this?" ]

Th...this is impossible. You're not here. Y...you can't be, I...

[ "You what? Murdered me?" Jack's grin only widens. "You think getting rid of me is that easy? You think I didn't know you'd turn on me Rhysie?" ]

This isn't real.

[ "Oh, but it is Rhys. And this time? I'm here to stay."

One hour later and Rhys is stumbling into the streets of the housing distracting, dishevelled and a stricken look on his face as the stumbles down the stairs and into and nearby wall, knocking over a garbage can. He doesn't even stop to try and pick it up or pay anyone else any mind--he's already struggling to bolt from the area, his cybernetic hand twitching and jerking erratically as his organic one grips it in the closest thing Rhys has ever managed to a death grip. ]

Get out of my head--!


[ ooc; closed prompts within! hmu via discord/plurk @ Dolly#0571 | owlits if you want a thread with rhys so we can plot! ]

Comments

[rhygret]

I...y-yeah...

[ No, no he isn't but considering who he's seeing? He's sure as heck just going to pretend everything is hunky-dory. ]

How. H-how are you? You're in my house right now. [ Cue the manly, nasally giggle. What even. ]

[originallutece]

[It's pretty weird, but she chalks it down to the fever.]

I most certainly am. And I'm perfectly healthy, thank you, which is more than I can say for you, I suspect. Sit up, hm?

[rhygret]

[ Bless your logical train of thought, Rosalind. ]

Oh...f-for sure, yeah, I just need...a minute here.

[ because when he puts up an arm to grab the back of the couch to haul himself up he misses the actual grabbing part. When he tries to use it as an anchor to pull himself up it simply isn't there, and Rhys falls back against the couch with a wheeze. ]

[originallutece]

[Oh, for god's sake . . . she reaches down, sliding a hand beneath his back and tugging him upwards. He's tall and she's not particularly strong, but it's not such a difficult feat.]

Steady, now . . . how dizzy are you?

[rhygret]

[ Jesus take the wheel, this is just like one of those rom-coms only with a masked ninja assassin. Rhys startles a little, but it's nothing compared to the excited wheeze of air he lets out as he stares up at her in awe, palms braced against the couch. ]

F...hhhhaaa, haha. I'm--p, pretty dizzy yeah.

[ DOKI FUCKIN DOKI ]

How're you?

[originallutece]

[What a goddamn mess? She actually looks a little concerned at this point, because he looks like he's about to faint and it's clearly not from illness.]

I'm fine, Rhys. I've a present for you, actually-- though if you're this sick, it won't do you much good, I'm afraid.

[rhygret]

Wh--no! I'm good, I can t-totally....

[ Be useless, is what should be at the end there. Because Rhys is about as helpful as a sack of bricks right now only you can't even build anything out of him at the end of the day. ]

You got me a present??

[originallutece]

[WILL HE AT LEAST STAY SITTING UP IF SHE LETS GO . . .]

It's something to stop you from being contagious. I presume you've friends who have wanted to visit?

[rhygret]

Yeah.... You came to visit.

[ the fanboyish gushing in his voice is embarrassing. ]

I--I mean not that I was. That I was waiting or anything, I jjhh...it's--cool. That. That you're here.

[originallutece]

[This has officially moved from amusing feverish babble to concerning nonsense. She'd gotten Rhys to fluster, but he'd never been doe-eyed over her.]

. . . tell me my name, Rhys.

[And then, because she's a little mean:]

I want to hear it in your voice.

[rhygret]

U-hh...h-heh. Sure?

[ Gosh Ros you go and put him on the spot like that. Rhys gets all flattered and flustered as he manages to bring one hand up and run it through his hair. A nervous gesture this time as he clears his throat and works very hard on staring at "Zer0" instead of glancing to the side. ]

That's, that's no problem...Zzz...Zer0?

[ h-how was that senpai ]

[originallutece]

[Ah. Well, then. She doesn't know who Zer0 is, but at least he's not looking at her like that.]

You're quite fond of me, aren't you, Rhys?

[rhygret]

[ God call him out on his fanboy crush why don't you. Rhys looks surprised to have that acknowledged, and if he were the blushing type that's what would be happening right now. Instead his flustered state from before only worsens as he very clearly tries to play it all off like it's not big deal. ]

W-whaaaat? Me? L-like you? That's a, that's. That's a....w-what gave you that idea, um, exactly?

[originallutece]

You're stammering. You're having trouble meeting and keeping my gaze, and you're lying. Poorly. Your pupils are dilated, which might be due to illness, but might also be due to arousal. And you look as though you might just pass out if I sit any closer.

[rhygret]

A-a-a...arou....

[ J E S U S ROSALIND ]

Th, that's....c'mon.

[ please tell he doesn't have a boner that would be THE WORST. no, he doesn't. somehow ]

[originallutece]

[too sick to get a stiffie, who knew that'd be a blessing]

Am I wrong?

[rhygret]

[ please just never tell the real Zer0 about this, he'll die. THIS IS TOO MUCH. Being sick and hallucinating someone else is already pathetic enough, but when it also happens to be the Vault Hunter he tends to fanboy over super-hard? And they have a talk like this?

Rhys would like very much to bury himself in the ground at this point. ]

I...I-I mean you're...cool. You're a Vault Hunter. You've got that--that Thing. [ the invisible teleporting thing ] Sooo...so.

[ Rhys clears his throat. ]

Yeah. I like...that. You. Maybe? Ohhhh god what is even going on anymore... I can't believe you came to see me.

[originallutece]

[Okay, this is verging from amusing to overly cruel. Rosalind regards him for a few moments, trying to decide how best to handle this, but then . . .]

Rhys. Close your eyes, and believe me when I tell you that I'm not who you think I am.

This isn't Zer0. This isn't your crush. This is Madam Lutece-- can you hear my voice?

[rhygret]

[ The one time being pathetic works in his favour. He obeys her instructions easily enough because part of him for one ridiculous, feverish and kind of desperate moment have him wondering if this is the part where Zer0 kisses him with his...helmet and such.

Rhys's heart is going a mile a minute and he tenses, but thankfully he doesn't pucker his lips or anything weird like that. Rosalind delivers that second bomb of information before he gets the chance to really embarrass himself, although it probably doesn't have the desired effect since he starts cracking his eyes open again. ]

Wait....what?

[originallutece]

Close your eyes, I said. Don't disobey; listen. Can you hear my voice?

[If nothing else, that brisk, bossy tone ought to be familiar.]

[rhygret]

[ ok I know I joked about Rhys's boner but like. He definitely feels something when she goes and bosses him around like that. It reminds him of Dutch even though he can't conjure her or their experience to coherent memory. It's just this fleeting little pang? He's too sick and tired for it be anything more than that but for like half a second there's a rodney in spirit.

Rhys tenses a little and swallows, but obeys and keeps his eyes closed.

he actually feels less dizzy this way he realizes, belatedly. ]

I...y-yeah? Yes?

[ are you going to tell him to take off his pants ]

[originallutece]

[yes]

Now tell me: is it a feminine voice? Does it have an accent different to your own?

[rhygret]

[ hot ]

...I...

[ With his eyes closed Rhys has to actually think about it. His brain hadn't worried about the jump in logic between what he saw and what he heard, it had just assumed his eye's interpretation and filled in the rest.

Now without that he finds himself noticing that it isn't exactly...Zer0's voice, though he could have sworn it was only moments ago. There's an accent there, and something about it is familiar in a different way. ]

It's different. Why's it...?

[originallutece]

Think. Listen to my voice, Rhys, you can solve this puzzle. You're too bright to be fooled by a delusion. You have all the pieces of the puzzle, now put it together.

[There's something a little . . . mm. Not stressed, exactly. Not distressed. But this is growing tiring, because it reminds her far too much of what Robert went through, and she doesn't like thinking about that time.]

[rhygret]

[ Rosalind is right, somewhere inside the muddled mess of a brain he has right now Rhys knows that. It's just so hard to work through the fog and sickness to get his brain to make those jumps in logic, to truly get that something is off.

Having his eyes closed serves to ease his dizziness and make focusing on Rosalind's words rather than what his eye assures him he sees, but it also reminds him of how utterly exhausted he is. Rhys sinks a bit further into her hold, muffling a cough. ]

.......Rosalind....?