open; lay your weary head to rest

[shivving]

Who: Joel & YOU
Where: Tartarus
When: Throughout the event
Rating: R for eventual death
Summary: There's a hundred monsters between him and Ellie. Joel will cut through every last one of them to get to her if that's what it takes.
The Story:

[ Joel opens his eyes, and his heart sinks. The room he's in is unfamiliar, and it's immediately obvious what's happened. It's another event, the mansion transforming itself around them as they sleep.

At least he remembers who he is this time.

He gets to his feet and goes to the window, frowning at the sight of a dark, foreboding green sky. Then he takes out his phone and calls Ellie. The connection's spotty, but he manages to get her location - his main objective, because he's willing to bet that she's no longer in the next room over, as she had been when he'd gone to sleep the night before. He's also willing to bet that it's not going to be a picnic in the park getting back to her.

And as it turns out, he's right. He's barely taken two steps when something horrible and screeching whizzes past his head, and just the sound alone is nearly enough to drive him insane.

Oh, this'll be fun. ]

Comments

[quickgenius]

[There are a few perks to being a speedster. There are downsides, too, but when there are things out for your blood, healing quickly is a damn godsend. (The metabolism is starting to bite her in the ass a little, but she’s doing okay.) She’s long since forgotten the drying blood on her legs from the creatures that have attacked her. There are more important things.

Like helping who she can.

It’s the sounds of dogs that draws her attention first – she knows that sound. What it means. It’s a familiar noise, and immediately she’s tensing, racing towards the sound in a streak of red-gold lightning. Please don’t let her be too late.

Only she is.

She arrives just in time to see Joel go down under a pack of invisible dogs and even though it’s not the first attack she’s seen, not the first horrible thing she’s witnessed or experienced the horror of it, the sorrow (she doesn’t know enough yet, can’t do what she should be able to, what Barry can do, and she hates it) at being too late to help him still brings her to a halt.]

[backpacking]

[ Ellie doesn't even notice Jesse arrive, at first. How could she pay attention to anything else, when Joel -

She screams, a real scream. She's never really let herself think she was going to die (endure and survive) and has always believed the same for him, even when things were at their worst. She has to think that now, even with something tearing him apart, having knocked him down, overwhelming him. He's not going to die. He can't. So... she'll lure the things away, stab them as much as she can, give him a chance to get back to his feet, and... they'll figure it out from there. One thing at a time.

The smell of blood hangs heavy in the air. Ellie doesn't realize it, but some of the hounds are showing interest in the additional prey. ]

Joel! [ She shouts, voice cracking. ] Can you hear me? Can you - [ She sucks in a breath, catching sight, finally, of another person. It's Wonderland, so this lady could have magic or superpowers or something to fucking blow these dogs away, and so Ellie waves her arms frantically to get Jesse's attention. ]

Help us! [ Comes the desperate yell, and then, with emotion breaking her voice again, she gestures wildly to where Joel's just fallen. ] Help him!

[shivving]

[ There's someone there, maybe. A stranger, or a red-and-gold blur. A ghost, or a hallucination. Someone who can help or someone who will die alongside them.

Joel doesn't know. His legs are useless, bloody messes, hamstrings ripped to shreds along with everything else; he couldn't stand now even if Ellie managed to give him half a chance, even if adrenaline gave her the strength to pull him to his feet, even if the pain wasn't completely overwhelming him. The pain, blurring his vision, making any kind of critical thought impossible. The dogs, growing bolder with each second he doesn't fight back, growls and hot breath in his ear, teeth snapping at his arms and his sides and anywhere they can find a place to tear at him.

Ellie is screaming. She's screaming and she's still fighting, trying to lure the dogs away from him, attacking with a weapon that does nothing. Joel shakes his head and nearly passes out, weak with blood loss. ]

No -

[ He waves an arm weakly, urging her away, and coughs up blood. The dogs. The coppery smell of blood. The pain and the lightheadedness, eyes crossing as he struggles to stay conscious. This is all there is now. This is all there is for him, and it's too much for him to fight.

Only one thing matters now. Joel gathers the last of his wits for one last burst of effort, one last desperate plea. ]

Ellie. Go!

[quickgenius]

[Shitshitshit. Jesse hates this place, she hates this, all of this. Hates that she can do so little, and for a moment she misses them; misses her dad, misses Cisco, misses Barry. He’s going to die, he’s going to die and she can’t do anything to help him. He’s going to die, and she doesn’t even know who he is, beyond his first name. And the sound of the girl’s voice is breaking her heart.

Why can’t she do more? Barry would, her dad, Cisco. They would all find a way. She knows it. They’ve been doing this longer than she has, they know what they’re doing. But Joel, the two of them get her.

She hates this place so much.

He’ll come back. He has to come back, even if deaths in the mansion aren’t as straightforward as believed. She’ll find him. Meet him. Apologise for not being able to do more.

But there’s something she can do. One thing. She can save his – Ellie. She can save Ellie. She looks at him, meets his eyes, and takes a breath. Then she’s running towards her, running towards Ellie at normal speed.]

Hold on.

[Not bothering to wait for her to actually do it, because there’s no TIME, Jesse reaches out and grabs a hold, curling an arm around Ellie’s waist – and then she’s racing them away, trailing red-gold lightning.]

[backpacking]

[ Joel is being torn apart, but Ellie can't choose to heed his last words or go down fighting before she's - gone.

There's a strange moment, one where she sees the stranger running to them, and then... what? A blur of movement, a rush. It's beyond confusing, and she has no idea what's happening until she's released, after which she stumbles, dizzy, and whips around to look for Joel. ]

Joel...! [ But he's nowhere to be found, and so she has to round on Jesse, eyes wide and almost accusatory, expression wild. ] What the hell did you do? Where is he?

[quickgenius]

[Jesse had expected this, almost. Had known that Ellie wouldn't react to being forced away from Joel. So she takes the consequences easily. Although she defends her actions. She can't help it.] I did what he asked. He wanted you safe.

I couldn't save him... but I could save you. I could do what he wanted.

[What he would have done himself, had he been able.]

[backpacking]

Well I want him safe! [ She shouts, but she isn't looking at the stranger. She's whipping around, trying desperately to find the way back... though she has no idea which way she'd come, and knows that time is - crucial. ]

Take me back. [ Ellie demands, now rounding on Jesse. ] You brought me here, now take me back!

[quickgenius]

[And it feels like she's been kicked in the stomach. She hates this. Barry would have been able to save them both. Cisco. Caitlin. Her dad. They all would have figured out a way.] I'm sorry. It was too late. There wasn't... [Time. Even being a speedster, there hadn't been time. She'd gotten there too late.]

No. [She wants nothing more than to do what Ellie wanted, but she can't. She won't. Joel is dead and she won't go getting the one person he wanted to protect more than anything killed. She couldn't save him. She won't fail him. Any more than she already has.] There's no way in hell. He'd kill me when he gets back.

[And she's not breaking a dying man's wish.]

[backpacking]

He can't kill you 'cause he's dead! [ She continues to shout, emotion overcoming login. In Wonderland, you come back to life after death. She's seen this happen to other people, but never herself, and not Joel, either. This... is new. Horrible, brutal, and new in the worst way. ]

You don't know he's dead! He was just attacked! He's... Jesus, he's been through worse before, and he pulled through! You don't know him, or me, and you've gotta get me back there!

[ Sorry, Jesse. The normally level-headed Ellie is just in chaos at the moment, thrown there over the death of her closest confidant. ]