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Post by Liam Dayton on Nov 13, 2017 17:26:17 GMT -5
Liam was pacing up and down the boys hallway, all of the traumatizing things he had witnessed so far going through his head. Remembering the deaths of his friends and how he could do nothing to stop them. Remembering that he was trapped with those that could only wish to see others dead. It made him want to die, a quick way to escape it all, but now that wasn't even a possibility for him to consider. If he died, Ben would die too, and that wasn't something he could let happen.
And Ben wasn't the only person he had to protect. For some reason he couldn't figure out, Nero had chosen him to be his bodyguard. He was in charge of keeping Nero alive. Two lives were under his protection and he had no idea how to keep either of them safe.
He stopped where he was, right in front of his room, and laid back against the door. He needed a moment to breathe. He had to come up with a plan to keep them both safe. Some way to keep them alive. Some way to fight against the Despair that was quickly overtaking him and was hellbent on getting someone killed. It seemed so impossible but he had to go through with it. It was the only thing he could do to prove he was a real knight and keep his last friends from dying. Not paying attention, he started muttering a few plans to himself.
"H-How do I d-do this..."
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Post by Nero Fiammes on Nov 13, 2017 17:35:43 GMT -5
 Good Meals, Good Friends,
Good Laughs, Good Murders, What more could anyone want? Nero had been simply resting in his room, speaking with his father when he had decided that resting wasn't what he should be doing. He gave his father a temporary goodbye, and took Dorothy's staff, and slowly waddled out of the room, determined to make some cookies for everyone. Perhaps that would help his friends become happier, and welcome Hope into their souls and stop the growth of Despair. However, when he walked out, he heard a muttering from his side and looked over to see his friend Liam leaning against the door muttering to himself.
"Hello Liam!" The voice that came out of Nero was a cheerful one. Someone had to have Hope in their system, if only to cheer everyone else up. He happily walked over to Liam , flinching for a second as he took a bad step but it was as gone as soon as it had appeared. He was now standing in front of Liam with a smile. Nero the Hopeful Baker
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Post by Liam Dayton on Nov 13, 2017 23:58:05 GMT -5
"O-Or maybe- Gah!"
Liam was muttering plans out loud, none of them leading to any sort of real success. He was so caught up in it that he hadn't noticed the door beside him open and jumped when Nero popped up in front of him. He took a few breathes to calm himself, then spoke.
"You s-scared me... I l-looked up and all I saw w-was the staff. I g-guess it just brings back some b-bad memories."
That was true. Despite his quest to keep just one friend from dying again, he had lost Dorothy. Even though she didn't carry it around much, it still reminded him of her. Just another thing to add to the list of painful memories he'd never be able to forget. Not something he needed to remind Nero of, though. It was time for a subtle change of topic.
"A-Anyways! L-let's not dwell on that. I-Is there anything y-your bodyguard c-can do for you? Is it still okay?"
Liam looked down at Nero's leg. He hadn't checked up on it in a long time. Some body guard he was, letting the person he was supposed to keep safe run around with an injured leg. If he kept this up Nero would die too-
No, he couldn't think like that. Nero had to survive. He had to.
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Post by Nero Fiammes on Nov 14, 2017 0:22:53 GMT -5
Good Meals, Good Friends,
Good Laughs, Good Murders, What more could anyone want? Nero's smile turned to a frown at the mention of the staff. Those bad memories that Liam mentioned certainly wouldn't go away anytime soon. That frown only lasted for a glimpse of a second before the trademark Nero smile returned.
"It's fine. After what this staff did, it's only natural to be uneasy... Anything you can do for me? I'm not sure." Nero's smile disappeared a second time at the mention of his leg.
"That last trial wasn't easy on my leg... and I'm afraid it's gotten much worse since that talk all the way in the mansion... It's gotten a little more difficult to just walk, but I think I'll be fine as long as I take it easy." Nero tried to smile at Liam, but he couldn't. Even now, his leg was sore... It was in pain, but Nero tried to prevent it from being obvious.
Nero the Slightly Broken Baker
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Post by Liam Dayton on Nov 14, 2017 18:19:23 GMT -5
Nero wasn't smiling, and that was how Liam knew something was wrong. Back when they talked before, Nero had always smiled, he was always cheerful. The fact hat he wasn't now meant his leg was in a terrible condition.
"A-Are you sure it'll b-be fine, just like that? Nero, if you need help, I can help you. It's my r-responsibility as a bodyguard. Besides, w-would she want you to go around h-hurting yourself? Even though she d-die what she did... she wouldn't want y-you to get hurt for no reason."
He had always thought killers were all terrible people, undeserving of forgiveness, but now he found himself unable to completely hate them now that Dorothy had become one. Of course, people like Valentina were still dead to him, metaphorically, as Cheshire decided that literally being dead wasn't good enough for Valentina.
With Valentina in mind, something clicked. Something about the two of them being chained together, having plenty of time to themselves...
"Nero, d-did Valentina do anything to you? Does she know about y-your injury? I know she made y-you lie in the trial, b-but was that all? If she hurt you..."
Liam left it at that, partly to not worry Nero further, partly because he had no idea what he would do to her. The only thing he could think of was that, and he wasn't ready to be executed yet.
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Post by Nero Fiammes on Nov 14, 2017 20:16:05 GMT -5
Good Meals, Good Friends,
Good Laughs, Good Murders, What more could anyone want? Nero's smile did not return as he answered. Rather, it was that same frown that had lodged itself onto his face. It was hard for him to say... but he wouldn't lie to Liam a second time. It had already hurt him so much mentally to lie to him the first.
"I suppose you're right... She wouldn't want me hurting myself for no reason, but I suppose using this staff as a cane has helped me dramatically..." Nero still had an unsure look on his face as he momentarily looked down. Who knows how long it had until it finally gave out.
"Valentina... She did what she had to do... and it was my fault. I wasn't cooperating with her and..." Nero's frown stayed on his face as he blamed himself.
Nero the Slightly Pained Baker
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Post by Liam Dayton on Nov 16, 2017 20:05:50 GMT -5
"Whatever she d-did, it wasn't your f-fault. What could you p-possibly have done t-to deserve her hurting you?"
He knew it. They couldn't trust her. She was a killer pretending to get better just so she could hurt the rest of them. There was no way she'd actually make an effort to get better. Liam was trying to keep his anger inside in an attempt to not worry Nero or do something stupid out of rage. knew it
"How m-much did she lie to us about... we w-were all stupid to believe she'd ever m-make an effort to change. W-Worst of all, I'm the b-biggest idiot for n-not realizing something was g-going on..."
He should have known something wasn't right. There was no way that someone could be chained to a murderer for a week and end up totally fine once they were released. Liam was an idiot just like the rest of them, though this was hardly a new discovery to anyone there. Putting those thoughts aside, he focused on what he really needed to know.
"N-Nero, I'm your bodyguard, right? I have to know how she h-hurt you so I can p-protect you better next time, and w-warn the others about w-what she did s-so they don't have to be h-hurt too."
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Post by Nero Fiammes on Nov 16, 2017 20:13:10 GMT -5
Good Meals, Good Friends,
Good Laughs, Good Murders, What more could anyone want? "...Valentina thought that Caelie might have been the killer... so she was concerned. She likes her, and wanted to keep her safe... but I wouldn't go along with her fake testimony. She threatened me... hurt my leg, but it wasn't... until she threatened to kill the people who came back to life until I agreed." Nero spilled the beans. As he said that, he raised his pants leg and turned so Liam could see it. He wanted to lie to protect Valentina, but that would be pretty hypocritical, wouldn't it? His leg looked substantially worse than last time, with smaller nail shaped cuts dug into his injury. He chose to leave out the death threat to himself. It wasn't important.
"...I can't blame her... She only did it for Caelie's sake... If you or Chi were up there, I might have done the same." Nero's frown stayed on his face as he blamed himself.
Nero the Pained Baker
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Post by Liam Dayton on Nov 16, 2017 20:40:54 GMT -5
Liam looked on at Nero's leg when he revealed it to the knight. Seeing it scarred and damaged... it certainly didn't help Liam's opinion of Valentina. The more he learned about Nero's torture at the hands of the aromatherapist, the more he felt as if something had to be done about her. Something to keep her from hurting anyone else.
"I-I'm so sorry I d-didn't do anything to stop this. I l-let her hurt you, and I let her threaten our loved ones, I sh-should have done more to stop her. W-Why c-can't I just stop something b-bad from happening b-before it does j-just once while w-we're stuck here?"
Ever since they had been trapped inside the manor, however long ago that was and however far away, Liam had let so many bad things happen to everyone, and he had known it. He defended killers, he let friends die. That was all he ever managed to do. Hurt people.
However, he still had Nero left, so he had to focus on keeping him alive for now. He put aside his own self-blaming to try and help Nero with his.
"No, you w-wouldn't have done the same. You're t-too good of a person to do that. No g-good person w-would ever d-do something so... so horrible to a p-person that hasn't d-done anything wrong. Promise me you'll r-realize that."
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Post by Nero Fiammes on Nov 16, 2017 21:46:15 GMT -5
Good Meals, Good Friends,
Good Laughs, Good Murders, What more could anyone want? "...I promise... and please promise me you won't do anything to Valentina because of this..." Nero goes over to Liam with a smile, and gives him a small hug. It wasn't very strong, though neither was Nero.
"Liam. Even in this horrible game, I've experienced many wonderful things for the first time. Even making true friends like you. Please don't do anything that would cause me to lose that." Nero looks at Liam with a pitiful look.
"It hurt when Dorothy died... I don't want to lose you as well..." Nero lets go, looking at Liam with a small smile, and rests his leg as he uses the staff to support it.
Nero the Pained Baker
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Post by Liam Dayton on Nov 16, 2017 22:59:15 GMT -5
Somehow, Liam was able to find a few moments of peace as Nero hugged him. It was a reminder that he had made friends here too, even if he had lost most of them. Dorothy, Kris... would they really want to see him join them because he was executed for a horrific act made out of anger?
"...I promise. I'm not going to do anything to Valentina that'll g-get me executed."
It wouldn't be good for Nero's only bodyguard to go and get executed for murder. As much as he hated the thought of Valentina going around, possibly hurting someone else, he'd have to leave her alone for the time being. Now all Liam had to worry about was being a victim.
"D-Don't worry Nero, y-you won't have to worry about losing me. I'm not going t-to die. As l-long as you're still alive, I'll d-do my best to stay alive too."
Liam returned the smile, trying to make the second promise seem genuine, to both Nero and himself. He wanted to believe he'd survive this awful game, but the odds were against him. Nero was one of the only few people who could stand being around him. He figured that most of the others probably didn't want him around. If anyone was to become a victim in this game, it would be Liam, but he couldn't let Nero figure that out.
"I p-promise you that w-we'll survive this t-tragedy together. We'll m-make it out and p-prove to the rest of the w-world that we s-still are the true pillars of hope they thought w-we were."
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Post by Nero Fiammes on Nov 18, 2017 22:37:39 GMT -5
Good Meals, Good Friends,
Good Laughs, Good Murders, What more could anyone want? Nero smiled as he looked at Liam. His promises seemed genuine to the baker, and the bright smile that replaced his previous frown proved it. Even his leg seemed to be holding up ever so slightly better.
"I'm glad to hear that Liam. Together... we'll survive for Hope! We'll show the world that no matter what happens, Hope will always triumph over Despair." Nero's smile continued for a few seconds, before it turned to a greater one.
"We shall survive... And perhaps one day, after we escape, you can meet my family. My sister and I would make you the greatest meal that the world has ever seen!" Nero looks very proud of himself as he mentioned his sister. Even more so as he imagined the greatest meal that he and his sister could cook. It would certainly be one for the history books.
Nero the Happier Baker
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Post by Liam Dayton on Nov 22, 2017 22:47:10 GMT -5
"Y-Yeah, I know w-we'll survive. We have to k-keep living for each other's sake. We c-can't die."
Well, Nero had to survive. Liam was hitting the point where he didn't care if he survived anymore. His life was probably nearing its end, anyways. Nero, on the other hand, still had life to live, reasons to go on, friends on the outside that probably needed him. Things Liam didn't have. Things he wouldn't ever have. That's why Nero had to live.
Liam gave Nero a smile in return, though it did seem just a little forced. It was naturally just part of knowing your death was soon.
"If even half of w-what you said about y-your sister is true, I know it'll b-be a pleasure to m-meet her, and I know whatever you guys cook will be w-wonderful. You are the Ultimate Baker, after all, r-right?"
It was then that Liam had realized just how long he had been standing in the hallway. Even before Nero had shown up, he had been in there for quite some time. It was probably time he went out and go figure out what to do about all the problems that were piling up on him.
"I'm s-sorry, b-but I think I should go n-now. I have to do some thinking about things. I-It was nice talking to you, though. A-And don't hesitate to c-call for me if you n-need your bodyguard."
Just like how it went in the mirror. Adequate job, Liam.
With that, Liam took off down the hall to elsewhere in the kitchen, things like Valentina and his own death on his mind.
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