THE THIRD STANDARDISED OCCURRENCE OF VIOLENCE PREREQUISITE TO ROMAN ANTZ (Jacky+Invisimort)

T.Mor:

I felt Bells wrap around my arm.. which was kind of comforting, actually, instead of just feeling my own fingernails dig into my hand from gripping the railing so tight... Partly from...er... anxiousness... and partly because I didn't want to fall if it decided to stop supporting weight.

"Uhm... bad things... I... uhm... it's... People... die. ...a lot... uhm...from... badness." I stated. I didn't really like going into graphic detail about these things, uhm, It was really... I didn't like to think about it. I could see it all too clearly... it was too real. "They're... uhm... not... good people... most times..." according to the government... Which technically didn't mean anything... I mean, my parents had been.... uhm... considered... not...good... because of the... tax evasion... and that, it... yeah. Nevermind.

We went down further and after a few more flights down, reached the door. I glanced at Bells, which was kind of weird because instead of seeing her face all I saw was the blank mask... how easy it was to forget that people were wearing them until you looked at them...and then... there they were.

Bells

T.Mor's mask was turned to face me, but I couldn't tell if he was really looking at me or not. I hoped he was. I looked right back, and just kept latched onto his arm. My heart was drumming in my ears, but y'know . . . hearing my own heartbeat was better than hearing screams, so I just focused on my heartbeat.

T.Mor:

I pushed the door open and... it was immediately... noticeable that the crematoriums were down or overextended again... It smelled... like... death and gore.. and yeah. I tried to avoid looking against any of the walls... because that's where everyone would be ...stacked... Several guards turned to look at us in the middle of their... uhm...assorted... jobs.

Screaming continued, and even though there was no piping to this center hallway, the noise still carried. I kind of wanted to walk right back out of there and keep ignoring it's existence. ...but then we might not get as much for our house. Right. ...right. Great.

I started forward into the place...headed for the desk in the centre of the hall. Cellblock five had been...renovated... so uhm, now, what used to be the end of the hall...was the middle... and that was where the desk was....nailed to the floor...so.. that's where it was. Yeah.

We would talk to the guy at the desk.. and hope he wasn't some kind of... psycho. We had those... psychos... they worked here... and did... really well. Because they were psycho. ...yeah...

The guy at the desk made it so that he looked like he might be looking at us as we got closer. "I do no think that you are where you're suppoused to be." He stated before I could say anything.

"Ah...er...well..." I mumbled.

Bells

I made the mistake of looking at the walls, and buried myself deeper against T.Mor. That hallway seemed to go on forever. Death, screams, more death . . . was this honestly the only good way to sell a house around here?

I jumped at a voice. We'd finally met another desk, and the person, with the mask. I froze. But then, T.Mor wasn't saying anything. I supposed that meant I would have to.

"A-ah . . . we're selling an 'ouse . . . we were wondering if we could ask around for anyone who's willing t' . . . t' buy."

T.Mor:

And then Bells talked. Which was...completely welcome. I watched the guy, which was difficult since I couldn't actually read his face at all... No one could read anyone's faces with these things... it was easy to be misunderstood...because...well, you were just a voice. And I mean, yeah... tone and all... but if you couldn't see their face... it was like... less understandy. Which probably isn't the right word.

"Oh. I'm guessing you're up in the Brownstones then?" He replied after a minute, surprising me by sounding saner than I had expected him to. And less old... but that was just a guess. "I guess I can go ask around real quick... Mr.Face isn't due down here for another hour."

Bells

"A'right . . ." I looked to T.Mor, waiting for what might happen next. Mr. Face. That was the faceless thing. I bit my lip, pushing that memory out of my mind.

T.Mor:

Bells looked at me...I think, and I kind of shrugged a little bit. If Mr.Face showed up, we might be in trouble some how. ...Some...how.

"Be Right back.. just stand here and look important and no one will care... most likely." He said, before he stood up and started walking around And going in and out of all of the cells. When he opened a door, you could actually hear the screaming get louder... I kind of shuddered.

After about three more cells, some guy with a big pointy thing on a stick came out. There was bits of gore attached to the pointy sticks for...reasons that.... uhm...well... you can probably...guess.

"I hear you're selling a house?" He asked, sounding kind of... well, I dunno how someone can have a sketchy voice.. but they can. This guy. He had a sketchy voice.

Bells

I stared, hiding a bit behind T.Mor. And I nodded. "...Mhm."

T.Mor:

The guy put his pointy stick thing down... which made things a bit less... intimidating. "I'm looking for a bigger place..." I had to wonder what kind of people were willing to work down here long enough to collect overtime... and what kind of people could afford to need a bigger place... and I mean... why would you even need a bigger place? What would you put there? "I'm guessing it's closer than [insert location here]?"

I realised that Bells didn't know any Audian geo... geo--whatever. "...It's... five blocks... from... uhm... here." I told the...well not the ground looking at the ground meant that you could see...uh...yeah... So I was kind of looking... I didn't even know where. I might have had my eyes closed. Not like anyoen would have noticed under the mask.

"Wow... that's convenient." He stated, leaning on the pointy thing casually. Guess my eyes were open then.

"uh...huh..." I said.

"Look, why don't you two go wait outside for about an hour, and then you can show me around after I get off my shift?" He asked after a minute of awkward silence.

I looked at Bells to see if this worked for her.

Bells

I nodded again, just wanting to get out of there as soon as possible. Even if we had to wait outside the building. . . . He did mean building, aye? We didn't have to wait down in Cellblock Five for an hour?

T.Mor:

"ok... uhm... see you... then, then." I managed, and then I was walking Bells out of there as fast as I could without looking like we were both running from being on fire. I hoped she didn't mind how fast that was... And we were going upstairs... and yeah... Everything would be ok.

"So... ...er. This is... ...good..." I muttered as we went back up.

Bells

And then we loitered and then Axman and then we went.

*nodnod*

((BAHAHAHAHA JACKY.))

T.Mor:

So... then we loitered and then axman and then we went... and walked through the riot fires all the way back to my street. It was kind of weird, because my street wasn't normally on fire- we had good taxpayers on my street...generally... uhm, these days. But as we walked down it, I could feel the heat and the smoke that came with being way to close to a fire that is on your street. I mean... you could see the glow from further up the row.

Suddenly something wasn't feeling right... something wasn't feeling right at all. That fire wasn't... wasn't... It felt like.... it wasn't in the right place. It couldn't be. Because... as we were getting closer... that... that was my roof.

...that was...

No.

Nononononoononononono.

That.. that was the wrong house...surely... that... that was the house next door... yes, that had to be it... just had to be... it couldn't be... I tore off running towards it, just to prove...

...

...

...

oh.

Bells

That . . . that . . .

The house that we'd gone into Cellblock Five for, and T.Mor had struggled with and lived with and been attached to for so many years . . .

. . . that wasn't the right house. I still didn't know my way around the neighborhood very well. It wasn't the right house. I was just remembering wrong, aye?

". . . T-- . . . T.Mor . . . that's not it, aye?"

. . . it was it.

T.Mor:

I... I was... I wanted to... I wanted to go die somewhere. Basically. This... everything.. everything was... over. This was it. We couldn't afford to buy the other house without this one... we couldn't...

...everything was in there. Everything we owned was in there. ... ... ...

And... and...where... where was Ana? She should be... be... here...

I hadn't done anything wrong! ..I hadn't... really! I hadn't it wasn't... I... The... I always paid my taxes... I... it...

I had to go inside there. And... get... whatever I could...really. Anything. Anything to remember them by... he letter was probably gone... Ana... Ana...if I could find her, I'd get her, of course... Anything...

I took off again towards my front door.

Bells

"T.Mor!" I dashed after him, reaching out to catch his arm. The words flew out of my mouth in a whispered flurry. "You're going into a burning building, wha-- it's on fire--" And then, I let go. I couldn't tell him not to run into the building his sister was probably in, as well as everything else he'd ever had in his life?

T.Mor:

I felt Bells pull me back for a moment. She... she... yeah... it was a burning building... But...

Everything was in there.

Everything.

"I'll...it..yeah." I stuttered... I felt her let go of me and... and... and... then... then I tore off into the house--- my house...

Which... really...wasn't really a...a... good Idea... everything was really hot...and and... filled up with smoke and... kind of on fire. And... And... it was... yeah. I couldn't see...for...for crap. Basically. I ran upstairs... which...which was kind of... hard... because some of the steps had gone... and it was so hot... so very hot... and the wallpaper was peeling and...like.. upstairs floorboards and... then....

And then... a piece of the roof fell right in front of me... which...

I guess... that's when everything kind of... hit me... There wasn't... there wasn't I couldn't get up there... I couldn't... ... my stuff... was... gone... forever. The deed to the house... the letter...from...from them... Ana...

A really big part of me just wanted to curl up...on the floor here...and...and wait for everything to be over...

But... there was Bells. Bells...was...standing outside... and... and... yeah.

I... I went back down what was left of the stairs... I couldn't really breathe anymore, but... whatever... and... and... I stumbled into the kitchen and... and... got to the drawer with...with whatever...savings I had... and... well... grabbed that... and...

then I was outside... hacking and coughing on the ground and... and there wasn't anything I could do... and....

And... ...everything ...and... and...

I might have been crying...or that may have just been my face being all... how it was from all that smoke burning my eyes... I couldn't tell... I didn't care... I wanted everything back.. and It felt like that day... back when... and I didn't ... I lost...more...more people... and...

I didn't.... It... I...

Bells

And immediatly, I had him in my arms.

"I'm so sorry, T.Mor . . ." The smoke coming off of him was enough to make me want to cough, but I held him anyway. I wasn't sure what to do. This wasn't my tragedy. I had already considered this new life a tragedy. Right then, I was just a tag along . . . and I was at a loss. What was there to say? What does anyone say, in this situation? "T-T.Mor, I'm sorry . . . sh sh, it'll be a'right . . ."

T.Mor:

And... and I felt Bells... holding me... and... I... It... It was... More... less... bad... than... than... last time when with my parents...and... but... I just couldn't... I mean... what do we do...How do we... how doe we... How...what...

...it was all gone... Everything.. I.. It was... I... There was me.

I clung. ...like... like... Like... I didn't even know... and... and... uhm... yeah... I mean...

I heard her talking... saying...saying that... that... it it... it would be alright... I... I didn't even... I didn't even... know... how... how... We...we...didn't... didn't... have... anything... at all.

I tried to say something... only that just kind of turned into coughing and...and... bad... and... it was so... It was so... ...

... ... ... ... ... ...My brain wasn't even...like...making sense... I just sat there, with Bells...and...and... it... yeah... And it was being all... like how reality sometimes...sometimes got weird when...when I... work up... only...only I hadn't been...asleep...and...and...I just.... it was all shaky and... and I was... I was.. it... I don't even know.

Bells

I'm not sure how long I was there in silence. There wasn't anything I could do, except cling to him as he clung to me. So, that's what I did, and waited for . . . what? For me to wake up? You know that saying that some things are too good to be true? Well . . . this was the opposite. It was too horrible to be real. I had to be dreaming.

So I held him, waiting for myself to wake up, but . . . I suppose I never did. " . . . What are we going to do?" I asked him softly.

T.Mor:

After... a second... a minute? ... three days? I didn't know... things didn't... weren't enough realness at the moment, I heard Bells talk again.

...what... what were we going to do? I mean... We had that house that we would buy...and... and... sinde... both of us worked... it would be easier to afford...especially...since..

...since...

...

...since...

yeah... uhm...

"... ...I don't... I... ...don't... know... ..." I muttered into her shoulder... and...and to think... I'd wanted to go...spend the extra money we got from selling...selling.. the... uhm... yeah... I'd wanted to spend it on...like... nice things... that we...we...didn't really need...since...since we'd have the money for once... but... but...no....It...it didn't... work...like... like that...

Bells

The fire wasn't getting any smaller. It was the Luna side of me that thought . . . well, if his sister had died, at least she wouldn't haunt us with all of that fire around. And it was the scar-faced, scared, desperate, longing, and loving side of that told me not to think such things. I could only hold his head agianst my shoulder. " . . . T.Mor . . ." I bit my lip to hold back tears. This was not my tragedy, in the same way that it was to T.Mor. This was his life being swept away, not mine . . . wasn't that how it worked? I was just new, not a part of his life before or his house or his sister . . . so why did I feel like crying? I could make it without this house. I was no worse off than before. " . . . T.Mor, I'm sorry . . ."

T.Mor:

She.... She... apologised.. to... to me... about... about... uhm. It was... kind of... weird... being.. uhm... on the the... the receiving end... of.. of that....

I realised that it was... kind of... uhm.... hot... here... we were probably too close to the... the fire... but I... I... It... I... uhm. I didn't....really... I didn't feel like I could even...like... make myself...move... so... erm. I... I... just...I was just I ... wanted to ...to sit... here...and...and cry but... uhm.

I mean... I felt awful...That was... I mean...

They... I was suppoused to take care of her... And... and I... I didn't... I mean... I... I... I was the reason she wasn't... wasn't outside... I was the reason she... she... never left the house... she.. I was trying to keep her safe... but that... that...didn't... work... and... an she... and the house... were the... the... only reasons...I... I ...I didn't... uhm... commit... suicide... yet...

And.... and... now I didn't have the house... or... or...

...

A--Ana...

But... I... I ...er... I do have... I have... Bells... so... so...I... I mean...

I tried to say more things... kind of... only... I... I was...it didn't really work... I...

"...we... ... ...uhm... " And that's... that's about as... as far...as I got... so...

I just clung some more.

Bells

We stayed that way quite a while, him and I.

The fire wasn't getting any smaller. The heat pressed against me in a growing reminder that I would have to leave eventually, no matter how long I decided to ignore it. And finally, I had to murmer, "T.Mor, we 'ave to get out of 'ere."

T.Mor:

After... I didn't really know how long... Like I said... time was being all...freaky... and stuff... I heard... I heard her say that we had to leave...

I didn't ...want to leave... This... this was... home. This was...

I registered finally that it was... really....really...hot. ...which...was... bad.

"...what... ....yeah..." I muttered, shakily peeling myself away...

Where... where to...to...go. ...I mean... really... where... is... how...

Maybe we could go... ...move in...early...uhm...down... that way...

As I pulled myself up, I tried to clear my head enough...enough to ...to... count whatever...I'd grabbed... from ...savings... Not much.

...another kind of charred piece of paper made me notice it...it was on the ground while I was trying to stand...and count... at the same time...

I...shouldn't have...have picked it...up... On... on the other side... there was...was... a picture of my... ...house... ...and...and...another separate picture...of... of... fire... and under those... troll face. As if...as if to ask... "problem?"

It kind of stopped me... halfway through getting to be... uhm...standing.

... ...yeah. ...yeah... there was... a problem...I mean... if that wasn't...