Upon hearing the knock, Kyle excused himself from Basil's side and opened the door. He smiled upon seeing Jace, automatically moving to give him space to come inside. "He's awake today--and he remembered that you were supposed to come, too. He's been looking forward to it." He sighed, closing the door before he came a bit closer to Jace and whispered, "He's...there's little more that we can do to prolong the inevitable, Jace. I've...I've accepted this. I just wanted you to know, so that we can both prepare. I'm the only biological family that he has left and you're his closest friend, so I thought that, only if you'd like, of course, that we could prepare together."
Nekoholic
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Bio
I prefer Casual and Advanced roleplays, as writing paragraphs and multiple characters makes it feel more as if a group is collaborating on an actual novel. One-liners, speed-posting, and the like just doesn't interest me. I don't have a specific genre that I write in, as I tend to jump around them, but I suppose that I tend to lean more towards ones that involve action, drama, and horror. When I write romance, I like for it to be that "slow burn" sort. But in general, I can be interested in just about any genre, as long as the idea of the story itself is appealing to me.
*The fanart in my avatar is not mine.*
*The fanart in my avatar is not mine.*
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Basil stood there, stunned, before he finally caught up to Jace and grabbed him by the wrist, stopping him. He then blurted out, "See, that's the issue, Jace! With...with all of this! With us!" He released him, stepping back. He clenched his fists, staring at the ground as if it'd personally offended him. "I'm not...I'm not who you think I am. And because of that, I'm not going to take something that was his, especially not after I've taken far too much as it is. I'm sorry."
As Kyle Lewis stared down at his son, the only thoughts that ran through his head were, "It's my fault. I should have done better. I promised, dammit, I promised!" His fourteen-year-old son, who currently lay unconscious in his bed, as he had for many weeks now, with only the uneven, weak rise-and-fall of his chest to indicate that he was even alive. In pain. Dying. There was nothing that he could do. Doc Thurston couldn't do anything, either. He was too far gone. It'd been a direct hit to his frail body. It'd been enough to kill a grown man in perfect health and shape. It was a miracle that he'd even lasted this long.
"Dad?"
He flinched, looking down to see that Basil had woke.
"Yes, Basil? Is there anything that I can get you?"
"Yeah...stop scowling so much. It's going to be permanent if you do it much more."
Kyle was silent for a moment, then chuckled. "Worry about yourself, Basil. Please."
"When is Jace coming? He told me that he was coming today."
"That was...yesterday, actually, but you weren't feeling well, remember? So he decided not to bother you. He should be coming again today, though; he comes every day, even when you don't ask him to, you know."
"Really?"
"Yeah, he's...he's a good boy. I'm glad that you have a friend like him."
"Me, too."
As Kyle Lewis stared down at his son, the only thoughts that ran through his head were, "It's my fault. I should have done better. I promised, dammit, I promised!" His fourteen-year-old son, who currently lay unconscious in his bed, as he had for many weeks now, with only the uneven, weak rise-and-fall of his chest to indicate that he was even alive. In pain. Dying. There was nothing that he could do. Doc Thurston couldn't do anything, either. He was too far gone. It'd been a direct hit to his frail body. It'd been enough to kill a grown man in perfect health and shape. It was a miracle that he'd even lasted this long.
"Dad?"
He flinched, looking down to see that Basil had woke.
"Yes, Basil? Is there anything that I can get you?"
"Yeah...stop scowling so much. It's going to be permanent if you do it much more."
Kyle was silent for a moment, then chuckled. "Worry about yourself, Basil. Please."
"When is Jace coming? He told me that he was coming today."
"That was...yesterday, actually, but you weren't feeling well, remember? So he decided not to bother you. He should be coming again today, though; he comes every day, even when you don't ask him to, you know."
"Really?"
"Yeah, he's...he's a good boy. I'm glad that you have a friend like him."
"Me, too."
Basil wished that he could claim that was enough to make him feel better, to satisfy him, but it wasn't because Jace had outright admitted that he didn't entirely understand what he was talking about. And why would he? If he had known, he probably wouldn't be here right now.
Sighing, he turned back around and said, "It's nothing." He then started walking after the others again. "We should regroup, though. Before they get worried and come back."
Sighing, he turned back around and said, "It's nothing." He then started walking after the others again. "We should regroup, though. Before they get worried and come back."
Basil remained silent for a long moment, but finally asked, "What if you were to wake up one day and realize that I'm not the person you knew? That I just...changed overnight? And that I look like Basil, and I talk like Basil, and I generally act like Basil, but there's just something...off that you can't quite put your finger on and it really, really bothers you, and...what if you come to realize someday that I've changed to the point that I'm just an entirely different person? Would you still accept me? Would you still want to protect me like you do today?"
Basil was quiet for a moment, but then sighed softly and, without saying a word, just wrapped his arms around Jace and pulled him close. He was warm, and real. It was as if he just needed to take a minute to make sure that he was, that he was still there by his side, even after everything that had happened and that he'd put him through, intentionally or not.
But after a brief moment, he drew back and stared at the ground, folding his arms over his chest self-consciously. "Look, I'm just...I'm sorry, for everything. You weren't the only one who lost their head back there." He started to walk after the rest of the group, albeit slowly. "I know that this has all been a mess. Actually, it was just impulsive of me to do in general. What about when we do find a G.E.C.K., you know? I have no idea how complicated they could potentially be; when you read about them, it sounds as if there's an absolute miracle with the simple press of the button, but that could just be a fable. When it comes down to it, it's like that Brotherhood woman said. I very likely don't have the proper know-how to fully utilize one of these things or, worst case scenario, I could just outright break it. I've only ever worked with the most simplistic of water purifiers, a mere mockery of the likes of Project Purity. I sometimes doubt that I can actually do this, and...I just lash out because of these insecurities, especially after you...you came out here to protect me because you think that I can do something, and you're the last person that I want to disappoint because you've put your own life on the line countless times for the sake of this. For the sake of mere possibilities. There hasn't been a single certainty with this entire mission."
He paused, clasping his hands behind his back. "We weren't prepared for this, yet you believed in me. You always have. No matter how stupid I really am or how many mistakes I make." He smiled. "Why, though? I've never been able to answer that question of mine, but...I never really focused on it, either. It's just a personal one, so I discarded it in favor of other pursuits. More scientific ones because, if there's one thing that you can depend on with science, it's that there is an answer somewhere, even if you never do actually find it. But people. They never do make sense and they're a constantly changing variable, at that. Nothing is certain for long." He turned back to Jace, finally meeting his eyes.
But after a brief moment, he drew back and stared at the ground, folding his arms over his chest self-consciously. "Look, I'm just...I'm sorry, for everything. You weren't the only one who lost their head back there." He started to walk after the rest of the group, albeit slowly. "I know that this has all been a mess. Actually, it was just impulsive of me to do in general. What about when we do find a G.E.C.K., you know? I have no idea how complicated they could potentially be; when you read about them, it sounds as if there's an absolute miracle with the simple press of the button, but that could just be a fable. When it comes down to it, it's like that Brotherhood woman said. I very likely don't have the proper know-how to fully utilize one of these things or, worst case scenario, I could just outright break it. I've only ever worked with the most simplistic of water purifiers, a mere mockery of the likes of Project Purity. I sometimes doubt that I can actually do this, and...I just lash out because of these insecurities, especially after you...you came out here to protect me because you think that I can do something, and you're the last person that I want to disappoint because you've put your own life on the line countless times for the sake of this. For the sake of mere possibilities. There hasn't been a single certainty with this entire mission."
He paused, clasping his hands behind his back. "We weren't prepared for this, yet you believed in me. You always have. No matter how stupid I really am or how many mistakes I make." He smiled. "Why, though? I've never been able to answer that question of mine, but...I never really focused on it, either. It's just a personal one, so I discarded it in favor of other pursuits. More scientific ones because, if there's one thing that you can depend on with science, it's that there is an answer somewhere, even if you never do actually find it. But people. They never do make sense and they're a constantly changing variable, at that. Nothing is certain for long." He turned back to Jace, finally meeting his eyes.
"Hey, don't worry about repaying us, okay?" Basil said, ignoring Jace's earlier statement. He smiled softly, then looked back to focus instead of putting away his belongings. "Just focus on getting better. It didn't even require very much of our supplies, anyhow. Besides, I want to feel as if I helped at least one person today, considering that everything else fell apart." He then pulled his pack back onto his back.
"Well, does that mean everyone is ready to go then?" Leith questioned, straightening up.
"Well, does that mean everyone is ready to go then?" Leith questioned, straightening up.
"Yeah, what Kaye said," Leith said. He weakly threw up one fist in the air, as if bro-fisting the clouds. "Optimism! Whoop-whoop!"
"We're almost done here," Basil said, giving Leith a concerned, sidelong glance. He then looked back at the boy, smiling softly. "Luckily for you, I'm 99.99% certain that the bullet is whole. And it's out. So that's a good thing. I'll give you the Stim-pak, though I still advise that you see a doctor as soon as we arrive in the town. Just to make sure that everything's fine and will heal properly."
"We're almost done here," Basil said, giving Leith a concerned, sidelong glance. He then looked back at the boy, smiling softly. "Luckily for you, I'm 99.99% certain that the bullet is whole. And it's out. So that's a good thing. I'll give you the Stim-pak, though I still advise that you see a doctor as soon as we arrive in the town. Just to make sure that everything's fine and will heal properly."
"There will be more than one G.E.C.K., Jace, considering that the government commissioned one hundred and twenty-two Vaults," Basil said idly as he continued his work, "And yes, not all of them were granted one, with Vault 101 being a prime example. However, I'm certain that we will find another. It'll just take more time."
"There's also the fact that certain Vaults were even granted more than one of the damn things," Leith said. He leaned against the wall of the Vault, staring at the ground with a hardened expression. "You'll find another. You just need to be patient. All good things are elusive. Isn't that how the saying goes? Eh, close enough. It got my point across."
"There's also the fact that certain Vaults were even granted more than one of the damn things," Leith said. He leaned against the wall of the Vault, staring at the ground with a hardened expression. "You'll find another. You just need to be patient. All good things are elusive. Isn't that how the saying goes? Eh, close enough. It got my point across."
"Look, we're all going to the same place, right?" Leith inquired, glancing between everyone. Basil, absorbed in his current task, did not respond, so Leith looked expectantly at Kaye and Jace. Before they could answer, however, he continued, "All of us intend to reach the nearest town, then do what we need to do there. How about we all focus on accomplishing that goal for now? Then, once we arrive there, we can...work all of this out. Go forth together, go our separate ways, whatever we decide is the best course of action after we have a few hours to think about it. But until then, it's safer if we work together. Especially when the Brotherhood could be anywhere out here."
Basil pursed his lips for a moment, then said quietly, "I'm sorry to...to hear that." He then lifted the syringe of Med-X, and said, "The first injection will sting a bit, but within ten or fifteen minutes, you'll cease to feel much for the next couple hours or so. Then we'll begin with the removal and I'll see what I can do from there. I'd recommend taking a deep breath and holding it while I inject it. You'll feel it less that way. So, you ready?"
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