Round 4 | Day 6 | 4AM

[earlofpudding]

Characters: Lloyd and Suzaku
Format: [action] i am so lazy let me tell you
This log is: Closed
Location: Da Lab again, lloyd go get a life already
Summary: Suzaku is looking for somewhere safe to hide and be emo, but, uh, Lloyd isn't the most comforting person. This might not end well.
Warning: don't punch me, bro massive amounts of emozaku

[There are lights still on in the workroom, even this late into the night. Or would that be this early into the morning now? Dawn is only two hours off, after all. Bits of light are visible here and there, through spots in the taped over windows that weren't quite covered. The door is, unsurprisingly, shut tight. Locked for the night.

Lloyd's been on a roll since the successful win that utilized the emitter. Sure, he occasionally sleeps, maybe he remembers to get food now and then, but mostly? He has work to do and there is no one here to stop him. He's built a few more of the devices, improved from the first one.

He's still working on one of them, though the weight of exhaustion is beginning to sink in. He nods off for a second. Just one second... juuust one...]

Comments

adds warning: Quite a lot of self-hating thoughts

[swordofzero]

[The night was long and the fire had long since died when Suzaku stood, he was filthy, his uniform top was ripped at the arm. His hair had white specks of ash in it, he smellt mainly of woodsmoke. He walked, it had been hours, hours since Lelouch had been rushed off to the infirmary, hours since Suzaku had broke his promise and drawn Enki's weapon.

Yet the voices wern't silent, he was a traitor, a traitor who betrayed his friends, who hurt those he was meant to protect. He shouldn't be here, Gino told him that back in their world he was dead. For some reason, and that reason mainly left Suzaku's mind fuzzy so he didn't try and work out what it was, Suzaku didn't quite believe it. Yet he found himself hoping for it because he didn't deserve to be alive, not when he did such monsterous things.

Suzaku blinked, he had been walking and he hadn't even noticed so lost up in his thoughts but that was not what surprised him. No what surprised him was the destination.

He looked up at the locked door, why was he here? Lloyd would be asleep, and even if he wasn't he would not want to see Suzaku. They hadn't spoken since the incident on the docks and the scientist probably hated him, as much as he could hate anyone anyways. He should leave, because no one should have to deal with him at the moment, he should go back into the forest, be alone.

That was what his mind was saying, but his hand thought differently and reached up to the door and knocked three times.]

[earlofpudding]

[The knocking at the door startled Lloyd awake again.

When had he put his head down on the desk? What time was it? What were these things on his face-- oh. Further inspection proves that those are just glasses, so he must assume he needs them. The scientist pushes himself up off the desk and leans back in his chair. A quick glance at the computer's little clock informs him that it isn't too far past four in the morning, so he couldn't have dozed off for long.

Finally, he turns his chair so he can squint at the door.

That's either a kid come to pester him or the system finally catching up to his shenanigans. Let's find out! Lloyd stands and strolls over to open it. Suzaku will hear the lock come undone before the door swings open and there the tall man in the lab coat stands. Despite Suzaku's misgivings, his first reaction isn't to slam the door shut again or be angry with him. It's only to give the teen a sleepy look, head tilted to one side.]

Suzaku?

[swordofzero]

[Suzaku wanted to run as he heard the locks unlocking but his feet seemed frozen in place. He braced himself for the anger, that he had woken Lloyd up but he didn't get it. Suzaku managed to half meet Lloyd's sleepy gaze and then focussed his eyes on the floor of the lab. He was trembling slightly but he was telling himself that it was because he was cold. After all it was four in the morning and he was only in his shirt and trousers, he had took his jacket off to fight, he had no idea where it was now. He didn't care.]

Lloyd? [His voice was cracked, uncertain but he made himself speak.] I'm sorry...

[earlofpudding]

... [Lloyd blinks. Why is he-- oh, right, the dock incident. That did happen, didn't it?] Yes, you were always a sorry thing, weren't you?

[A quip and that's the end of that, as far as the scientist is concerned. He whirls away from the door and strolls back into the workroom.]

Well, don't just stand out there. Come in! You haven't seen the new setup yet, have you? It isn't even on fire this time!

[swordofzero]

[Suzaku blinked, there was no way Lloyd was forgiving him that fast. But... well it was Lloyd and it had happened over a week ago. Suzaku felt uncomfertable though and blinked at Lloyd in confusion until he finally took in the scientists words and stepped inside.

He looked around, taking in all the things that Lloyd had filched from who knew where. He was right though, it wasn't on fire.]

The experiments are going well I hear? [His voice was still strained, he was desperatly trying to act normal but his voice cracked and strained and the way his eyes shone with tears that would never fall betrayed his state of mind. He had heard about Lloyd's 'experiments' though, who knew what the engineer was actually trying to achieve but rumours of battles won by cheating and a certain scientists involvement had reached Suzaku's ears.]

[earlofpudding]

[Sorry, Suzaku. You must be this much Rakshata for him to hold a grudge against and I see you are far too flat-chested and short for to be her. Congratulations! All is forgiven.]

What experiments~? [Lloyd drops back into the chair at the desk and lounges there. Yes. What experiments indeed. Certainly nothing here. Nothing to see at all. Riiiight, Lloyd. Right. He may have noted the distress the boy was in, but, well, he doesn't bring it up. What would he do with a crying teenager? Besides panic?

He does, at least, offer the distraction of chatter.

Though his smiling expression becomes somewhat sharper, a little more narrow-eyed.]

Have you been hearing things about experiments?

[swordofzero]

[Well if Lloyd isn't going to shout at him then the conversation is welcome. Suzaku doesn't want comfort, he doesn't deserve comfort. He would rather be screamed at but if that wasn't going to happen then he was glad for the distraction.]

Just rumours, I heard that Theta's weapon stopped working when Zoro was fighting Sherlock and you're Sherlock's weapon. [The kid who had been telling Sora had been worried that Lloyd was forcing Sherlock to break the rules. But didn't seem to know how the weapon had broken or what exactly Lloyd had to do with it. But if anyone was going to mess with the system it was Lloyd and so Suzaku assumed that the incident and whatever Lloyd was doing in this lab at four o clock in the morning were connected.]

He didn't seem happy, the person I heard it from, said that you'd both cheated.

/needs an edit button x2 dlfnhsg

[earlofpudding]

The system would have punished us if we had cheated, hmm?

[That smile of his. Lloyd is looking far too pleased with himself. That, by default, generally does mean trouble.]

Sherlock did break the other man's weapon and we did win, so that part is correct. They can cry cheater all they want, but it's all hearsay until they prove it.

[swordofzero]

I guess so. [Punished them or punished someone else, as this system seemed happy to punish innocents for other peoples mistakes. Suzaku just hoped Lloyd was being careful. Even without the system interfering some of this stuff must work differently then the machines Lloyd was used to from back home. Still it seemed Lloyd was not going to admit to anything.

Suzaku sat silently his thoughts swirling, stopping every now again in their spiril travels to tell them how much they dispised him, how badly he had screwed up this time. He had to talk, the silence would drive him crazy.]

So what have you been doing in this lab of yours?

[earlofpudding]

[Oh Suzaku. Stop looking so much like a kicked puppy.

It's almost heartbreaking.

Lloyd turns the emitter he'd been working on over, idly checking what else still needed to be done. Danger, innocents getting in the way, such unimportant details. Suzaku should know better. Those wouldn't stop him. It would, as ever, take someone to persuade him against finishing his work.]

Oh, well... [That, my friends, is the smile of someone who is trollin'.] Ways to cheat, of course~.

[swordofzero]

[Sigh, Lloyd why are you trolling an emotionally unstable teanager going through a crisis at 4am? Why?]

So you are planning to cheat? [Disaproving look, or as disaproving as you can get when you are close to tears.]

[earlofpudding]

[It's Lloyd. Does that even merit a question?]

My, my. It feels like everyone is going to be up in arms over me breaking this silly little game. Are they forgetting that we're prisoners here? [Tsk, tsk.] Think of it more like exploiting a glitch in the system, not cheating.

[He holds up the emitter he's been working on. Normally, he wouldn't talk about it, but this is Suzaku. He wants to trust Suzaku. He can do that, right?]

This is the only weapon I'll need to pick this school apart~.

[swordofzero]

[Of course you can trust him, right until the moment he betrays you! Suzaku sighed and nodded, he didn't have the strength of mind to try and explain that while he was happy for Lloyd to exploit glitches in the system that had kidnapped him he was less happy about the fact he could get into trouble, or get others into trouble. When the system seemed perfectly happy to punish.

He looked at the weapon with a raised eye brow] And what does that do?

[earlofpudding]

Very simple. It destroys the holograms.

[Lloyd sets it down again. Well, even if Suzaku was to betray him -- most likely to Lelouch, which isn't so annoying, but still -- there wasn't a lot the betrayal could do.

He wasn't keeping all his eggs in one basket. Not by a long shot.]

We've already tested it on the weapons.

[swordofzero]

[Destroys holograms? The weapons... but when a weapon broke the person whose weapon it was fell unconcious. That was why he was here, and not in bed like everyone else. Because two people lay in comas because of him. He started shaking again and closed his eyes briefly.]

"You mean you can destroy the weapons without hurting the people who the weapons come from?" [Because that would indicate a flaw in the system, and after what he had seen this week, though most of it had been his fault and flaw they could find would help them take the system down from the inside!]