A New, Unwanted Home

Fa Zhou groaned when he awoke, the stiffness of his joints sending a small jolt of pain through him as he tried to move. It was more painful than usual. Often it would just be a slight twinge in his neck, easily ignored. Now, however, he felt almost as rough as when he used to sleep outside in the flimsy tents provided to soldiers. He stretched his arms, knitting his brow as the pain became evident again, and began to sit up slowly, finally opening his eyes and allowing himself to adjust to the light.

As the room became clearer, he became more confused. Frightened, even. Where am I? The room was unfamiliar. It was bare apart from a table in the centre, and for a brief moment he tried to remember all of the rooms in his home, wondering which one this was, but try as he did, he could not remember a single one like this.

Madelline!

Something was wrong, and his first instinct was to think of her. It was the last thing he remembered seeing before he fell unconscious: her frightened face as she ran from the room. Was she here? Was she safe?

(OOC: sorry for the ramble! x-x missed the rp <33)

Dimitri knew something was wrong as soon as he felt the bright light against his eyes. The lights in his flat had not been on in a long time, the curtains always shut. He didn't like looking out, and half the time he was hungover in which the bright sunlight stung his eyes. The first place he assumed he was in was the hospital. He had woken up there many times, so it seemed a logical possibility. He hated being in there, nearly always because it meant he had failed and his pain would ensure for longer. This was no different. The last thing he could remember was drinking a concotion of pills and whiskey, but clearly this had not gone to plan as the light indicated. Unless he was dead. A bright light seemed to match that description. But if this was death then the afterlife had been greatly over-estimated. He still felt as terrible as he did alive, the tired weight of depression still hanging over him.

Actually opening his eyes however he realised that the situation was much worse. He thought he should have recognised the familiar headache, dulled in his memory from 5 years ago however common headaches had become in his daily routine. The familar walls around him were far too close to be anything but the place that had plagued his memories for so long. Sitting up suddenly in panic he started to shake. He had no idea if it was the same location or not, but it was close enough, and sure enough there was a camera in the corner like there always had been. 'No no no' he muttered under his breath, 'this can't be happening.'

He stood up shakily but he felt sick, not only because of what he had consumed last time he was awake. Everything looked the same, aside from different furniture. But the Villain had always changed the furniture. This was no different.
But the Villain had been found dead... They had all reported that the police found him, a coward with his own gun by his side. It didn't make sense for this to be replaying all over again. It could only be some kind of sick joke, or a terribly realistic nightmare. Maybe he was dead after all, and this was Hell. It certainly seemed the only fitting punishment he could envision for himself.

Looking around the room only had a small table in it, and on top was an old key. He cursed out loud then, kicking the table over and glaring straight into the camera enraged. How dare someone decide to be so fucking twisted and make him replay this all over again? He was barely recovered from the first time, this he knew he could not endure it. He already wanted his life to be over, even if the actual action was difficult to follow through with.

He barely paid attention to his room mate, although the man was stirring. He had no paitence to tolerate people, or make the small talk that had essentially consumed a whole year of his life. This was happening, but he could not accept it to be real. The mere thought was so unplausible, and terrifying, and instead all he could do was retch as the contents of his stomach finally made their way to the surface. He ran to the bathroom before he wa sick on the floor, not wanting to be trapped in a room with vomit on the floor, and started to throw up in misery.

[[lol It's alright, you have plenty to talk about so why not talk about it ^_^ BTW Will continue to use Fa Zhou's full name as I only just realised while making the audition video that Zhou's a really silly name XD]]

The sudden movement caught him off guard as another man appeared from the other side of the table, out of sight when Fa Zhou had initially woken up. Now finally the fear had forced him into a new level of consciousness and he began to look around the room. The man had disappeared now and there was a loud sound of wretching. It had only been a brief look, but seeing the man made Fa Zhou stop his thoughts abruptly. Brown hair, a familiar set of features, even if it was only vaguely familiar...

Ignoring the stiffness of his movements, Fa Zhou stood and limped towards the bathroom that the man was in and looked in, a small lump of panic rising in his throat. Yes, the man was haunched over and his face contorted as he vomited violently, but there was no mistaking him.

"Y-you're that guy, aren't you?" he asked dumbly, feeling the fear rise. "Dimitri? From the newspapers? You-"

The realisation hit him. He had seen the man in the newspapers years ago, when all of those victims escaped. No. No, it can't be. He wasn't even certain of what was going on- the man was still vomiting, and had yet to confirm or deny his unspoken fears- but somehow the idea had come into his mind and it wouldn't leave.

It was happening all over again, and now he was a part of it

Dimitri eventually stopped throwing up, some of the pills he had swallowed still whole in the sink. He turned around wiping his face weakly and looked at the man. He was old and frail, and he thought of how short he would probably last in a place like this.

'What of it?' he frowned, not really in the mood to be kind. The old man's face made it perfectly clear he had fit the dots together. 'Welcome to the freak show' he said with a shaky sigh, trying not to collapse or break down. His headache was still strong, and the shaking would not stop. Right about now he would go and grab another bottle, but obviously there were none. Just cameras, and water and bread. He wished that this hell would be over, and hoped that whatever game occured he would lose very soon.

He washed his face to try and wake himself up, as well as clean up the sick. He reminded himself that the toilet would have been a better choice, but it was too late now to have that sort of thinking. Tired he had no energy to continue however, and he walked slowly into the room before sitting down and placing his hand in his head with a sigh. He knew the routine. The man would look confused, ask some questions he probably should answer. And then they would wait until someone would die. All in all the only way to describe it was torture.

Fa Zhou stood still staring into the bathroom when Dimitri left, the man seeming all too forlorn. Despite the fact that he had been through it before, he looked almost as ill prepared as he himself felt. Perhaps that made sense. The first battle was always the easiest. You had no idea what to expect. But to know that someone would die...

"You missed a spot," Fa Zhou said weakly, moving towards the sink and cleaning out the smallest speck that was left in the basin. It was something to do. Something to distract him. Even for a split second. "I thought they said he was dead," he continued, barely realising that he was speaking until it was too late to stop. "The newspapers said he was dead. Killed himself, didn't he?"

He moved from sink, back to the doorway, and watched Dimitri as he sat there with his head in his hands. The absolute image of defeat. No. Defeat is the last thing on my mind.

"What happened to you before this? Did you see anyone?"

'Yep, dead like the coward he always was' he said bitterly, raising his head to look at him. 'Whoever has done this, they are bastards and thats all I need to know.'

He did not thank the man, instead remaining cold as he spoke to him. There was no point in getting friendly if he would die soon. One way or another being unkind would save him a lot of time.

'I was unconscious long before they got in' he said with a sigh. The vomit should have been self-explanatory as to what he had been trying to do. He didnt really want to spell it out for him. That just made him look pathetic, and the terms failed and suicide together just made him cringe with an overwhelming sense of uselessness. 'What about you, old man?' he said. 'Why have you been honoured with the oppurtunity to visit such a fine location?'

He smiled darkly at the old man reference. Obviously Dimitri didn't think much of him. It didn't matter. Either he would stop seeming so bitter, or one of them would die. Though looking at Dimitri's shivering hands and the almost morbidly pale pallour, he didn't know who would be the first to go.

"I was hoping you could tell me, actually," he said, moving over to the table and sitting on the edge of it. "I fell asleep before I saw anything... they must have came while..." Fa Zhou stopped and moaned, sinking his head into his hands. "There were others in my home," he groaned, saying it more to himself. He paused for a moment, composing himself, before breathing in deeply and looking up again towards the younger man. "Did you know the other man? The other kidnapper? Maybe this is personal. I don't know if I have any enemies, but maybe if I knew we were random... or connected... or... something... it might make more sense."

'Nope' he said, with a sarcastic smile on his lips. 'Randomly plucked from the streets. Sometimes the prisoners knew each other, just so he could mess with your head more. For instance loved ones, children, blah blah blah. He sticks a gun to their heads and you go kill someone for him. You'll get the picture pretty soon. Why? Worried about someone?' His voice did not sound particularly concerned though. He had pushed everyone away after the first time, now all he wanted was to die himself. He would not care if the Villain threatened anyone, at least thats how he was willing his mind to think.

'Sorry but i'm afraid very little is going to make sense in here. We never really answered many of our questions, since he died without leaving much of a note. Not even now can anyone explain it. Did you do something wrong? The last guy was quite the judging type. Had killers in here, rapists, thieves... but you know the term wrong can be pretty much twisted to anybody in this damn world.'

He groaned again. Of course he was worried about someone! So many people had been taken before... so many people had died.

"I don't suppose I did anything wrong," he said, though the words seemed muffled by his hands as he sunk his head down into cover. "Unless this is a foreign invasion. I worked myself to the bone for years so that things like this didn't happen. But I don't suppose that a political rebellion would have anything to do with you... just like I have nothing to do with any imitation kidnapping." It was one of the more likely explanations for what was going on... you heard all the time about people imitating things that they had seen on the television or read in the newspaper. Usually, those things were kids copying a horror movie or something of that ilk. He hadn't heard of someone imitating such a large, famous crime...

He shrugged. 'Its stupid regardless. I don't care for reasoning, I just care that I'm here and we are stuck. They could have all the political reasoning in the world, it still wouldn't jusify any of this. This is just... just sick.'

He knew he was now acting like a child, but it was easy to compare himself this way when the man was the age of his father. He struggled to not act entirely pathetic, but he had no reason to, and he rested his head in his hands as he shaked and trembled to hold back tears. He just wanted to be rid of everything, but apparently that was too much to ask.

He hadn't even thought of the others, but it was reasonable to assume he was not the only one repeating this once over. That would be too unfair and cruel, if by a random chance of fate they had just happened to find him on their search. 'I guess our questions will be answered sooner or later.'

Seeing this young man seem suddenly close to a break down gave Fa Zhou a sense of strength that he had long lost. It was not a comparitive strength- they had both been tortured in some way or another, and he neither wanted to dwell on his own past nor Dimitri's- but one born of necessity. He could not break down now. If their positions had been changed, the very last thing he would have required was a second pitiable character. When he's stronger, you can break down... but not now.

Fa Zhou stood up, stretching his neck slightly in the same way he would if he were at home, a place that seemed so distant now though he still did not know where he was.

"Maybe we'll find out soon, but I suppose the anticipation is worse than anything they could do to us now." It seemed to make sense... he knew that currently he would welcome any sort of sign of where they were, what was to happen to them, rather than this mindless silence. "If it's political then... this might end in a ransom. If it isn't... if it's just an imitation... then we shall just have to wait and find out."

'I already know how it will end' he spat. 'It ends when I die, when they kill me and everyone else in here. Thats that. No point in getting your hopes up of any other way out. Unless however this is decides to kill themselves too, which I strongly doubt, then we are stuck.'

He frowned at the man, not really sure what he was expecting. He did not wish to talk, preferring the silence, and he rested his head again. He had nothing else to do, nor had he ever before.

The outburst was out of the blue, but hardly surprising. Fa Zhou remained still, looking at Dimitri without emotion. He wanted to be sympathetic, truly he did... but his own fear was almost too overwhelming and it took all his effort not to fall to the floor in defeat.

"You have no hope, then?" he asked, a little too bitterly. Dimitri's reaction had of course been understandable, but it was hardly what he wanted to hear. "You escaped once. Something might go wrong. If you don't hold such a faith then they've already broken you before you leave this room"

He smiled weakly. 'I had already lost my hope when we left, and lets just say the past 5 years have not been forgiving on me. I don't even want to escape' he sighed. 'This place has long scarred me. I'm probably more prepared for a life like this than I am a life outside of here.'

He looked at the man. 'If you can keep that attitude up though maybe you won't become what I have. I should act as a good detterrent from pessimism' he said blankly.

"That attitude got me through three wars... I like to think it can't do anything but help here." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose thinking. "I'll certainly have to be optimistic for the time being or you'll drag me down with you." He stood again and began pacing, rubbing his hands together to give himself something to do. "You never know, it might even just be someone who managed to get hold of these rooms... someone who has no clue what they are doing."

Though they both knew that that wasn't true. Nevertheless, even if it was only for a short period of time, Fa Zhou wanted to keep that false hope and take every ounce of it.

"You'd have thought with all the media attention this got that we'd have a better idea of what's coming up"

'I'll try not to' he said with a bitter smile.

He looked around the room, but to him it seemed a perfectly professional job even if they were just mimicking. It had been copied exactly as he had remembered, and having a key in his room could only imply that they knew what had happened in the place beforehand. He supposed either that or it was a truely specific and unfortunate conincidence, but Dimitri was hardly going to think like that.

He sighed, remembering the media. But in all his interviews they had always asked too much, or wanted too many details. He had needed the money, but always hated the idea of going to them and reliving it. 'The media were told what we were willing to go back on, but even then they were guess working the reasons why the man did it.' He shrugged. 'All you need to know is the number of bodies that came out of here in 1 year. By comparison 20 escaping is hardly fortunate.'

He noticed that Dimitri's eyes laid a moment too long on the table and so Fa Zhou turned and took note of the keys that were there.

"They seem far too obvious to be for the door," he said with a bitter laugh. "What do you think they're for?"

He glared at the man for asking so casually. But obviously he was not to know what had happened as the result of an insigificant key.

'No, its not for the door' he muttered. 'Or probably for anything. But there are keys for every door, and keys for the room where all the monitors for the cameras are, and keys for the basement, and keys for the garden, and keys for the room where they keep the bloody bodies!'

He stopped, realising he was ranting, and stared at the man. 'Sorry, but I have no interest for keys' he said. 'None will ever lead to an escape.' He had already tried that long before, and it had got him nowhere. 'Just don't give yourself false hope.'

"We don't have any proof that it's false hope yet," he reminded Dimitri, though he did not move to even try the keys. He knew very well that they wouldn't work. And even if they did, there would be something to stop them from simply walking out safe and sound.

"How long did it take before?" he asked, though he regretted doing so. It seemed too personal, even in such a dire moment. "I mean, before something happened. I'd rather know now if we're going to be here for hours, days or weeks."

He shrugged. 'Days blur quite quickly in here, and you shall spend a lot of time sleeping.' He could barely remember his meeting with Lilo, but she had occupied his time with colouring. The first time they were taken away was.. well he wasn't entirely sure. But it had never been anything to look forward to. He was dreading what would happen to them, and so prefferred staying right here.

'You don't want anything to happen, trust me' he said. 'Its never a good thing when you wake up in some sort of game. All you can hope for is next time you fall asleep you find yourself in a room with beds and a room mate that is... well.. I suppose better company than me.'

"So we do find out who else is in here then?" he asked.

It was completely the wrong thing to concentrate on. He should have been thinking about these games, he should have been thinking about the impending torture, or even perhaps the well being of this man who looked ready to faint from exhaustion and defeat... the only thing he could concentrate on, though, was the idea that he would find out whether he knew any of the others. It would kill him to find out that Madelline were there.

"Better company seems like a sillier idea than false hope right now. If there are more of us here, I doubt that this is the only bad atmosphere in the building."

'Maybe..' he shrugged. 'We move rooms every so often, and then we are taken to games too. Drugged and in our sleep. But sometimes you see people, sometimes they die before.' He did not particularly care who he met, but if the man was worried about someone then he was sure he was.

'Who are you looking for anyway?' he asked. 'Your worrying is quite evident...'

"I'm not looking. If I look, I might find her..." He trailed off and bit his thumb irritably. "My... maid was in the house when I was taken. If she was still there then Lord knows if she was brought here as well." He sighed and released his thumb. "Are you not worried about anyone? Anyone who escaped last time?"

He shrugged. 'They are already dead if they have managed to get caught. Last time I tried to care about someone in here they killed her.. I've learnt from my mistakes.' He didn't want to think about them in all honesty. He just hoped not everyone was caught. Obviously he felt sorry for those who were stuck like him, but there was little he could do for them. He just hoped they wouldn't be hesitant in killing him if they had to.

That certainly set his mind racing. Last time I tried to care about someone in here they killed her... the words rang too true in his ears and Fa Zhou felt close to falling to his knees in prayer. It didn't mattter whether he knew someone deeply, whether they were simply passing acquaintences... after the wars, he doubted he would be able to handle the death of a familiar face again.

He looked about the room, a little lost, and finally saw the camera for the first time.

"So they're watching us now?" he asked aloud, finding the idea a little more than strange. "I suppose we'd be... punished for breaking it somehow. They keys look heavy enough"