[Closed] You're not who you say you are

[makesomedeals]

Who: Ava, Maximilien and Skulduggery
What: Skulduggery is not himself and his bffs Ava and Max are going to kidnap whoever this is and make him tell them where the real Skulduggery is.
When: End of June
Where: the Library
Warnings: Mild violence, emotions, potentially hugs.


The skeleton that Ava and Max have seen on the ship is not Skulduggery. It just isn't. Not only does he have a different skull, he has entirely different mannerisms and a more subdued personality. Whoever this is tried to set Ava on fire and Max saw him looking at clothes in the Tommy Bahama, two equally terrible things indicating that whoever this is, is not Skulduggery.

Ava had set a plan into motion and at the prescribed time Max is on his way to meet her outside the library to plan how best to take down a skeleton imposter.

Comments

[light_mischief]

"That... might be for the best," he tells Ava. As much as he would like to pretend otherwise. "At least until I've... mmm, gotten myself sorted out. Learned how to tell fact from fiction. After all, how permanent can madness possibly be?"

He knows the answer is pretty permanent, but he also knows that delusion is part of the whole deal. It balances out in the end.

"As to how we prevent any of this happening again..." Skulduggery flexes his hand into a loose fist, then drops it down to the stage. "We can't. Not yet, anyway. Either the captain was telling me the truth and has no idea how it happens, which means we have no way of safeguarding against it... Or, the captain was lying, which would mean he wants it to happen. If that's the case, he won't be inclined to help us prevent it. And unless something's changed in the days-and-months that I've been distracted, we have nobody aboard with any temporal or spacial abilities that could help us."

Not very reassuring, he knows. There's a good reason why he's been throwing himself into a manic vacation, after all.

[decohere]

She nods in understanding, though it's hard for her not to sneak up on anyone because she deliberately stays out of sight unless she cares enough to bother them. But she'll try.

"We couldn't stop it, because it was already meant to happen. And we can't stop it from happening again, because it's..." out of their control, apparently without warning. She wonders if this has happened to anyone else, if it'll happen to the rest of them. Ava really doesn't want to face whatever waits for her, even if it makes her feel like a coward. Probably nothing as bad as what Skulduggery just experienced.

"So what can we do? What do you need?" Ava asks. "Is there a way to help you know what's real and what's not?"

[makesomedeals]

Well that's not ideal. That what's going to happen will happen no matter what they do, they're headed towards a specific course and there's no way to divert. And anything they do might have been expected to happen anyway.

That's the worst part, what if everything they do was part of the plan anyway? How do you fight against inevitability?

"There's a good chance he's telling the truth. I would think if he did know how it happened, and enjoyed the emotional fallout, he'd simply tell you that. He'll get more of a reaction out of that admission than pretending to not know." and ultimately it's what Max would do if he was the Captain. So far that assumption has been pretty accurate, which is another thing he shouldn't think about for any length of time.

He huffs lowly because you know who knows a lot about portals and magic? Ebalon. You know who he's absolutely not going to suggest they talk to? Also Ebalon.

"Yes, let's focus on the current situation, and deal with the larger impact later. Sometimes it's the smallest thing that can tip the balance."

[light_mischief]

Skulduggery is feeling very much the same as Max in regards to the captain, apparently on multiple levels, but they are both consummate professionals when it comes to avoiding sensitive and emotional topics. Usually, anyway. This week was an exception to prove the rule.

"I'm personally inclined to believe him, but it helps to hear a rational mind agree." One day that will be him again, but for now, deferring to Max and Ava's judgments will have to suffice. "Helping me is easy enough; I only need to occasionally confirm someone is physically present. My hallucinations are annoying but, thankfully, incorporeal. I'm glad I gave myself that leeway; it would be awful if I had tactile hallucinations as well."

No way to have developed those when you're constantly experiencing one single tactile sensation for months on end, after all!

"And the others have to be warned, obviously. But explaining it is tricky. I've already weathered questions over technicalities and logistics, and the whole thing is absolute nonsense."

[decohere]

Alright. She trusts their judgment on matters of the Captain over her own instinct to assume everyone is lying.

"You'd know I'm a hallucination if I'm not finding excuses to touch you, anyway," Ava calls herself out for being overly handsy. She likes knowing not that other people are there, but that she still is. "It grounds me too," she tells him.

But she does loosen her hold on him finally, even if she doesn't completely break the connection.

"Maybe you should... write an FAQ. Pass it out when somebody asks. Cut down on having to explain the same thing over and over."

[makesomedeals]

"If you asked I'm sure Captain Stede would put up fliers." He's only partly joking, because he's pretty sure that man will take any excuse to put up fliers. It might be a little less alarming to read about someone you know experiencing tons of torture that lead to hallucinations when it's written in very fancy calligraphy.

"But truthfully, it might be best to inform those you know in advance, we can't be the only ones who would suspect something untoward is happening and take drastic measures." And not everyone will be as discerning when selecting ties for restraining purposes.

[light_mischief]

Skulduggery's head tilts in a short, abrupt shake of refusal. "Nobody will know the specifics of my time away unless I have a good reason to tell them. I am not sharing my newfound weaknesses with just anyone."

He's already let too much go as it is; bits of it have slipped out to the people closest to him, the ones who readily notice his new skull or strange demeanor. He doesn't know if he would have ever told Ava or Max about it if they hadn't attacked him.

"...But the other parts are important. I tried to write down what I discussed with the captain, and I passed that on to Palamedes and Jade. Given I trust them to be both rational and magically-adept, they made the most sense at the time." He trails that last bit, knowing now that it probably hadn't made any sense to anyone. "They both hunted me down for clarifications, but I'm sure at this point they've thought more about it than I have."

[decohere]

That's just encouraging them to attack you, Skully.

But she does look slightly slighted that he told other people first. 'Rational people,' she mouthes to Max. They're rational. But no, not magically-anything.

"It's okay, I forgive you, clearly you weren't in the right state of mind at the time." She pats his new-old skull gently. It might take a bit to get used to his new look, but at least she won't have to associate it negatively anymore. Not the face of an enemy.

"At least the... worst of all this is over, yeah?" Hahaha. That sounds incredibly naïve to her own ears.

[makesomedeals]

Wow, how dare Skulduggery decide that the woman who stole a kayak and all the lobsters, and the Omnic that went on a shooting spree and attacked a guy who can throw the moon, aren't the most rational people he knows. Max is hurt and offended.

"Very well, I trust you know best how to disseminate this information. And to who." He's certainly not going to tell anyone. Both because knowledge is power, but also out of respect for Skulduggery, who as far as he knows hasn't told anyone about his damaged power source.

"Please don't tempt it Ava."