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sea-side-scribbles · 3 years

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Fanfiction: Sympathy For A Downer

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22737214/chapters/77923952

Chapter 63

Arthur followed Nick into his bedroom where he fetched the press pass. “I knew I still have it!“ Arthur shook his head “You think they believe you’re a random reporter that accidentally looks like Nick Lightbearer?“ “Of course not!“, Nick replied, going for his drawer next. “I have some duller clothes for occasions like these.“ “But your face? You don’t have another face, do you?“ “No, but another mask. They won’t think it’s me without the mustache.“ Arthur let his shoulders sink in defeat. “Okay, fine. But do me a favor, leave the talking to me…“ Nick had turned around to change the mask and now began to change his clothes. “Whatever you want, King.“ Arthur sighed. Now, there goes nothing. He didn’t say how strange it was to see Nick like that. After all, he had other worries. He only hoped that Nick would see how insane the town was. Haworth Labs, where Joy was created, seemed to be a good place to learn. If they survived, that was.

Some time later, they crossed the wide bridge to approach the massive dark building of the Labs. It didn’t look like Verloc liked guests. In fact, Arthur was surprised it didn’t have cannons on the roof. “You still wanna go in there?“, he asked Nick who kept staring at it with wide eyes. “Why not?“, his lover unfortunately said. “I’ve never been in there. Aren’t you excited to see it from inside for once?“ “I’m rather excited about getting the fuck out of here.“ “Come on, Arthur, we can’t chicken out now! Sally is counting on us!“ Yeah, she’s waiting for us to do the job for her, Arthur thought bitterly. At the entrance, they showed their press passes, Nick much prouder than the actual reporter. “Dr. Verloc loves to be in the papers“, they were told by a friendly voice. “Come right in.“ “See, this is not so bad“, Nick said and strutted in. The long hallway was full of Bobbies that went on with their business, not interested in the two visitors. Another Bobby at a desk occurred to be the receptionist. “Where do you think you’re going?“, he snarled, looking up from some papers. “We’re not open to the general public! Bugger off!“ Nick looked at Arthur. „We’re here to interview Doctor Verloc“, Arthur told the man who’s attitude changed then. Still, he didn’t want to let them in. „You’re not saying something’s gone wrong“, Arthur said suspiciously. „Noo, of course not! Everything’s peachy!,“ the Bobby backed away. He rather reluctantly let them use the elevator to the lab and pretended it was only a protocol for their own safety, but Arthur had a bad feeling. “What crisis makes them lock down the entire factory?“, he whispered to Nick when they moved on. “I bet it’s only the usual safety-blahblah. The Avalon has the same protocols“, Nick waved him off. Arthur shook his head and wished Nick would pay more attention to subtle hints.

Finally, the elevator opened up again and they were greeted by lightning bolts shooting out of cables in the walls and dancing along the wooden panels. “A short circuit?“ Nick was confused. “Perhaps a worker is already on the way to repair this…“ “I hope you’re right“, Arthur replied. „Looks like the only floor accessible is the one for the employees…“ Before them lay a corridor that was protected by a sort of barrier. The sign “Employees only“ assured them that they weren’t welcome. “That’s probably a Joy detector…“, Nick however said and walked towards it. “Wait! What if…!“, Arthur began, but Nick already stepped behind the barrier. “You are not authorized!“, the alarm system went off. “Please clear the area immediately.“ Nick gave Arthur a startled look and froze. Arthur ran through the barrier and pulled Nick with him. Pressing themselves against a wall, they noticed that nothing followed. “Huh…it was just a warning…“, Nick huffed. “This isn’t a hostile place after all.“ Arthur helped Nick up. “I don’t think the workers will care much about our press passes though. After all, we’re not authorized.“ “We’ll see“, Nick said. “Oh, this is getting interesting.“ Behind the barrier, Arthur was glad to find a groom full of lockers. “I think it’s time for another makeover…“ He lifted up a worker’s suit. “Perfect!“, Nick approved. “We’ll blend right in!“ Nick showed Arthur something that hung from a locker. It was a gas mask. “What do you think they’d need these for?“ “I have no clue,“ Arthur admitted. “We should take them with us, too. They could be useful.“ Arthur searched the room for other useful things. Turning a corner, he stood in a larger shower room. Nick watched Arthur pick up a rubber duck and put it in his pocket. “What do you want with these?“ „They can be quite useful, too.“ “Yeah, when you have a bath“, Nick chuckled. “Trust me, they’ve saved my life more than once,“ he said and held out a duck to him. “Take one.“ “How can I say no to that?“, Nick said eyeing the duck. “How adorable! You think we can spare one for Sally?“ “I think she’d prefer the oil…“ “Yeah, right.“ “Sssh…, lower your voice a bit. And act natural. We’re just two workers on our usual shift.“

After proceeding through the decontamination system, the peaceful silence was immediately filled with the hissing and buzzing of electric bolts, open fire and bursting out steam. Workers were repairing the broken machines, or at least they tried to. A woman in a corner cried. Through a speaker, a voice snarled commands, probably ignoring the state of the lab. Arthur thought it was most likely Verloc himself. This was exactly what Arthur had expected, if not worse. “Wow!“, he heard Nick gasp. “This is how they make Joy?“ “Careful, Nick! Don’t touch anything,“ Arthur hissed. Nick walked towards someone. “Look, a fellow worker. Hello!“ Arthur jumped to his side, ready to fight. The worker didn’t look up to them when he said: “Did you hear, Foggy Jack got another one, better stay inside.“ Nick’s face fell and Arthur shoved him further. “At least he said Foggy Jack not Foggy Nick“, Nick said when he recovered. They continued to cross the lab while it broke down right before their eyes. “I wish I knew what they’re doing“, Nick kept swooning. “Do you think they could give us a tour?“ “I doubt it“, Arthur replied. “Please, Nick, act like you’ve seen this before.“

Nick silenced and have Arthur time to search for a way out. Soon, he found an open ventilation shaft and pointed at it. Nick only gave him a puzzled look, so Arthur quietly climbed a pile of boxes and into the shaft. Glancing back at Nick, the rockstar had wide excited eyes. “This is so thrilling!“, he bursted out when Arthur pulled him in. “Ssshh!“, Arthur hissed. „Remember we’re not supposed to be here!“ Nick contained his emotions as good as he could while they went on climbing and crawling through the labs.

Eventually, they reached a hallway that was flooded with water and electric bolts were dancing freely through it. All they had to cross the deadly lake were little islands of barrels here and there. “Okay, that’s it“, Arthur said with emphasis. “The way is blocked, we’re going back.“ “But Arthur, we can cross this“, Nick protested. “It’s too dangerous, you’re not used to this!“ “I learned from you, remember?“ Nick suddenly leaped over the water and landed safely on a barrel island. “Ta-daaa!“ Arthur had to press a hand against his chest. He was sure his heart had skipped a beat. “Wait for me“, he demanded and jumped after him. Nick awaited him with open arms. “See, we are a good team.“ They jumped from barrel to barrel. Arthur had to warn Nick about the steam that was escaping the pipes in the wall. It was also him who found the wheel to open the door to safety. “That was something else“, Nick huffed when his feet touched dry ground again. Where’s the fucking cod liver oil, Arthur thought.

They reached what looked like a large, unguarded area where they could move freely. The back of the room was covered in a weird pink gas. “Careful, this is Joy“, Arthur hissed with a hand on Nick’s shoulder. “Only Joy? I can handle that.“ Nick strutted forward. As soon as he dove his nose into the gas he started to giggle hysterically. Arthur held his breath, pulled him out and wrapped an arm around his mouth. With the giggling and winding rockstar, he stumbled into a smaller chamber and closed the door. There, Nick could make all the noise he wanted. “Nick, please, calm down…what sort of Joy was that?“ Looking around, another pink shimmer caught Arthur’s eye. It was a bottle of pink liquid that spread fume, but smelling it luckily didn’t mess up his mind yet. Next to it lay papers that announced this was the newest formula. “Oh god…“ Apparently, the actual plan was to create a permanent solution for the Joy problem, because supplies were running short. Their newest try made people happy but also insane. “Nick, are you alright?“ His lover breathed deeply to calm himself down. “Yeah, I guess, only a little dizzy…did you find something?“ “Only Verloc’s newest creeped out formula.“ He lifted up the bottle. Nick widened his eyes. “New Joy?“ “It’s not working. It turns you into a vegetable.“ “Then we better leave it here.“ Arthur looked at it. “I think I’ll keep this for now.“ “Ohh, exciting“, Nick smiled again. He leaned closer to sniff at the fumes, because in a split second it had smelled familiar. “No!“, Arthur yanked the bottle away. “What did I say? It’s dangerous!“ “Oh…“, Nick snapped out of it. “Sorry, I don’t know why I did that…“ Arthur stored the formula safely in the boiler suit. “Now, we have to use the gas masks.“ He showed his to Nick. “Make sure it sits tight.“ Nick gave the mask a suspicious look and then followed his lover’s advice. Arthur tried to stick a finger underneath it, to test how tight it was. “Well done“, he concluded and patted Nick’s cheek.

Walking though the gas, the found out that the area actually wasn’t unguarded. A worker in a white suit greeted them with a piercing look. “Oi, you two idiots! You have no business here! This is a restricted area for you!“ Arthur gestured to Nick to back away. Behind the area, they took off the masks. “What do we do now?“ “We have to sneak through,“ Arthur explained. “Stay right behind me. At their second try, they ducked behind the boxes and machines and crouched along. The worker was focused on doing his job again. Nick was amazed by how quickly Arthur oriented himself in the strange lab. To him, it was a labyrinth, even if a very interesting one. But Arthur knew where to go, and he moved quickly and soundless.

When that was over, Arthur had never been happier to see another Bobby in an office, even though this one told them Dr. Verloc didn’t want do be disturbed. There were enough good reasons to disturb him. “The brominating reaction has caught fire“, Arthur gasped, ripping off his mask. The Bobby in white uniform repeated the message to Verloc, who was rather annoyed about it. Arthur didn’t give up yet. “But some of the byproducts are poisonous!“ Of course Verloc dismissed him with an excuse. Arthur thought he needed another plan when the doctor realized something. “No one knows that“, he said. “They are imposters!“ He ordered the Constable to implement a curious safety protocol. “Aw! Yes, sir! That’s my favorite protocol!“, the Bobby replied almost cheerfully and stood up. Arthur saw Nick’s worried look when the atmosphere changed and the door behind them snapped shut. He wanted to tell him to run when suddenly the Bobby lifted up the massive desk and threw it at them. Arthur ducked down and lay flat on the ground. Shortly after, he heard the desk crash loudly behind him. Looking around, he found Nick lie on the floor too. He didn’t move.

“Nick!“, he yelled. Unfortunately, he had no time to help his lover because the constable was already on his way with something that looked like a blazing hot pipe. Arthur ran to get some distance, glad that he had brought the pliers from the locker room. Still, it didn’t look like the strongest weapon against the furious giant. He let his weapon clash against the Bobbies’ a few times. It didn’t occur to do much. He was thrown backwards by the sheer force this man put into his hits and then had to duck away again. The burning pipe hissed dangerously close behind his ear. From the bottom up, he kicked the Bobby into the stomach and used the time the man needed to recover to get up, ready to strike. A second after that, someone leaped at the Bobby, fixated his arms with his legs and pressed his own arms against the giant’s throat. Entangled like this, the Bobby winded. The blazing weapon swung close to Nick’s legs. Arthur jumped forward and let the pliers crash against the Bobbie’s forehead. He yelled and ripped his arms open, so that Nick lost his grip and fell on the ground. With an angry roar, the Bobby aimed for the helpless rockstar. “No, you won’t!“ Arthur leaped on his back now and pressed the air out of him. Nick struggled up and watched. The Bobby was still resisting and he still had his horrible weapon. Nick grabbed the hand that held the pipe and pushed it backwards, so that the burning end was pressed against his forehead. The Bobby yelled when his skin was fried and let the weapon go. It touched Nick’s arm and he jumped away with a shriek. The Bobby went dizzy and lost his strength. Arthur didn’t let go until he lay flat and stopped moving.

“Is it over?“ Nick asked. He had rolled up his sleeve to look at his wound. “For now“, Arthur gasped. “Oh, no…“, he said noticing the wound. “It’s not so bad…“, Nick assured him although it burned like hell. “Are you hurt, my hero?“ “I don’t think so,“ Arthur said flattered. “I got to say you don’t need a hero anymore. You’re really brave.“ “I’m doing my best to learn from you, King of the Parade.“ He pulled Arthur into a hug that the “King“ didn’t mind at all. “Why didn’t it work?“, Nick asked afterwards. “What didn’t work?“ “You know…“ Nick made a gesture as if he was choking someone from behind. “Well, you…maybe didn’t press hard enough. Or you didn’t find the right spot.“ Arthur hesitated, then he showed the move on the Constable’s unconscious body. Nick tried it too and Arthur adjusted his grip until it was perfect. “Like that. And don’t let go until it’s done.“ “I didn’t mean to, he threw me off“, Nick explained. “I know.“ Arthur kissed his cheek. “I’m so proud of you.“ Their lips met and Arthur as sorry that he had to let go and continue this journey.

He was sorry to find out that the Bobby’s office only led to an even bigger lab room that was filled with busy workers. While Nick followed him, he was thankful that the workers had other things to do than looking for intruders. However, when they ended up in the middle of the room, staring at a locked door, they seemed to be trapped. Nick was looking around for a way out, but Arthur poked his shoulder and pointed to the door. Nick was about to go there, but Arthur pulled him back. “Look“, he hissed from under the mask. His finger drew a line from the door to the right side of the lab. Finally, Nick noticed the black cables that ran from both sides of the door into the depth of the lab. He turned back to his lover and nodded. Then Arthur showed him a rubber duck. Nick lifted an eyebrow. Arthur waited for the right moment, then he tossed it in a corner far away. It landed with a little „quack“. Nick was delighted to see the workers run in the direction from where the noise came from. He and Arthur now hurried to follow the cable and were safe behind the machines again when the workers walked back to their places in confusion. Nick was overwhelmed by the console full of buttons and levers. Arthur decided to pull the biggest lever down and the cable started to glow green. He received a happy nudge from Nick.

Observing the area, Arthur found another way they could go without making noise. Nick followed, but soon pulled at his lover’s suit to make him turn around. Then he pointed at the worker that they seemed to go towards. Arthur gestured him to stay back. Nick was again amazed when Arthur suddenly shot up, pressed an arm against the man’s throat and let him slump on the ground. They crouched past the unconscious man as if nothing happened, and hid in the middle of the room again. Now Nick put out his rubber duck and showed it to Arthur, asking. Arthur seemed to think, then he confirmed. Nick decided for a spot and then let the duck fly. He was sure seeing the startled scientists run because of a little “quack“ was the funniest thing he ever saw. The cable led them to another console where Nick pulled the lever this time. Arthur crouched as close to the door as possible before he threw his second duck. It helped them to finally run through the door.

Arthur wasn’t happy to find brains in glasses in the next room. “The science of phrenology…Is this a joke?“, Nick asked. “No“, Arthur said firmly. Nick shook his head. “Why did Sally think the cod liver oil would be here? Unless it’s toxic or explosive I don’t think they’d need it here.“ “You’re starting to think. I like that.“

Finally meeting Verloc, Arthur confronted him with the sorry state of the lab and it’s workers. And the insanity of the permanent solution. Of course Verloc had a good explanation for all this. And he'd keep the oil too, great. Arthur lost his patience and pulled out the bottle with the pink liquid. “If I smash it and you breathe the fumes, will it make you happy for every and always?” He hadn't considered that Verloc's desk had a button that sent electric bolts into their direction. Paralyzed, they could only watch the doctor run into a popper and disappear. “Holy shit!”, Nick gasped when the shock was over. “Now, where's the fucking cod liver oil?”, Arthur shouted out loud. “At least he confirmed he had some”, Nick said looking around. “This is the cleanest office I’ve every seen…Arthur muttered. “I think he has a secret lair somewhere.“ “Oh“, Nick commented, „He’s a man of taste, I see.“ „Oh, look at that. A bright red button“, Arthur said after examining the bar next to the desk. “I wonder what it does.“ He pressed it and a wall opened. „That’s too easy“, Nick found. Arthur went in, eager to leave this crazy place. Nick followed slower, looking into every corner, searching for the ingredient.

Eventually, they found a chamber that had three cells. Nick was overwhelmed to find people in them. Arthur not so much, he had seen worse by now. The first prisoner was busy scribbling something at his wall and didn't notice the visitors. The second one stood at the glass wall and beat against it. “Oh, my”, Nick said quietly. “Are they patients?” Arthur's gaze wandered over the charts that described the 'progress' with each of theses people. “Test subjects would be the right term”, he concluded. “Test subjects...for Joy?” Arthur pressed a bright red button. It released gas into one of the chambers. “The King awakes! The King awakes! The King awakes!”, the first Wellie yelled, who's name according to the chart was Harry Plantagenet. “He thinks he's the rightful King of England”, Arthur explained and then made a noise that sounded like he had to contain his laughter. Nick was far away from laughing.

“Perhaps he had been crazy before and they're trying to heal him...”, he hoped to find an excuse. “And him? That's Harry Haworth himself.” Arthur pointed at the other Wellie. “What? Can't be! It's probably a coincidence.” Arthur pressed the button on his cell too and the gas made Haworth throw up. Actually, he didn't stop throwing up. “Oh, dear”, Nick whispered. “Gemma Olsen”, Arthur said as if he was meeting a good friend. “She got out.” “Who is she?” Nick eyed the shattered glass wall. “She was a fellow reporter. I was looking for her because she was investigating a conspiracy about the Joy's production.” “What conspiracy?” “Well, the permanent solution? The stuff we found in the lab?” Nick fell silent. “Let's move on.” Arthur found another side room that was filled with papers and other clobber. Sally's name on one of the letters caught Arthur's attention and he couldn't help but read them all.

Nick, however, had suddenly heard a noise. It sounded like someone called out for him. “Nick, you're my hero!”, a faint voice shouted. “Take me with you!” Nick walked along the chamber and pressed his ear against a wall. It was quiet, but definitely there, so there must be another room... Struck with the idea of finding the person who called out for him, he searched for one of the elements that Arthur had taught him to pay attention to. Soon, he found a cable that was connected to a button and pressed it. He was happy to see a wall slide open. Walking through it, he found more cells. And in one she was, cheering and knocking at the glass even though nobody was there. Nick saw that her brown hair was matted and also her green polka dotted dress had seen better days. When he knocked from the other side, she didn't care. The chart said her name was Deborah Pankhurst and she had hallucinations. Still, if she wanted Nick to safe her, he'd do all he could.

“I love you Nick, you're my hero!”, was nothing he could easily ignore. Also, he had to put an end to this madness. He searched the glass wall for hints, but there were none to find. Frustrated, he looked around. The next cell was open already, even though it had a chart. He couldn't believe his eyes when he read the name. “Jack Worthing? Why?” At the end of a long list of procedure descriptions he found the word 'released', so that explained why the cell was empty now. Nick still eyed it in disbelief. Did Uncle Jack really life in here? Maybe another coincidence? Nicknames for the patients? However, Nick went to a console he hoped to be useful. The mass of buttons and levers puzzled him. Who could even control all this? Nick's gaze fell on a row of buttons that fit the number of the cells, and one of them was already glowing green. Could still be the air conditioning, but he tried them all. With a slight hiss, the cells opened.

“The King is free! Death to the tyrant!”, he heard a maniac yell. Oh dear, someone was angry. He wouldn't attack Arthur, or would he? Nick ran back into the first chamber and almost crashed into his startled lover. “Nick, what have you done? The cells are open!” “Where's that Plantagenet?” “He ran upstairs, just like Haworth. I'm glad they're going for Verloc, not us.” “I'd like to see his face now”, Nick chuckled. Arthur had to laugh at that too. “I found the cod liver oil. Let's get the fuck out of here!” “Wait, I need to...” Nick ran off to see if Deborah was okay. She was standing in front of her cell, confused. “Hey, luv, you're alright?” He snapped a finger right before her eyes. She didn't blink but finally looked at him. “Nick?”, she asked, doubting. She had no idea who he was. “Yeah, I'm the Lightbearer, luv.” Her gaze wandered along his face. “But you have no beard...” “It's under the mask.” “Then take it off.” “Not yet. I have to hide my identity. I'm on a secret mission, you know?”, he whispered with a confidential wink. She lit up. “Oh, Nicky, I knew you would come!” She hugged him tightly just when Arthur came in. “What are you doing?” They let go of each other. “Debbie, this is Arthur, Arthur, this is Debbie.”, Nick cheerfully introduced them to each other. “Hello”, Deborah said just as cheerfully and waved. “Did Nick save you too?” “Debbie?” Arthur was upset. “I couldn't leave her in here”, Nick explained, begging for his empathy. “You said it needs to be stopped!” “That doesn't mean we have to make it our problem! We're only here for Sally!” “And we made it, didn't we? So let's get out!” Nick smiled widely. “Sure, what could go wrong?”, Arthur said desperately, looking at the quite disoriented fan girl.

They continued their journey and Arthur was not in a good mood. Firstly, he didn't like what he found out about Sally. That she had been such a big part of the Joy production and turning people into slaphappy vegetables. Reading her flirt with Verloc didn't help either. Secondly, he hated how that Debbie-person clung to Nick and Nick didn't even mind. Was he so dense not to see through her trick? Debbie made sure to tell her idol how afraid and helpless she was, so that he kept comforting her and helped her climb the ladders. He also didn't notice the craziness of this place anymore, because he was busy exchanging glances with his adoring fan. They went out through a room full of toxic waste and even dead people and he only made sure his fan girl didn't have to step into the puddles. What a hero! Arthur rolled his eyes.

Outside, Arthur couldn't take it no longer and sent the girl to sleep with a flash. “What was that for?” Nick complained, holding her, so she wouldn't slump down into the mud. “She's free now”, Arthur blurted out. “We did all we could for her! But if you want to stay with her, go on, don't let me stop you!” He proceeded to walk away. “Arthur, wait! Are you jealous?” Of her?” Nick followed him as quick as he could, carrying the fan in his arms. “No, I'm not jealous! I just can't stand you two any longer!” Arthur didn't look back. “I was only helping!”, Nick whined. “Yeah, you love to play the hero! First for Sally, now for her, who's next? Do you realize you didn't even get in without me?” “I know that, Arthur! I didn't mean to steal all the glory from you, but you didn't talk to Debbie at all! You acted as if she wasn't there!” “Debbie”, Arthur spat. “You already like her, don't you?” “No, it's not that I like her, I'm only being nice!” “Stop being nice, then!” Nick gasped. “Arthur, why is it that you don't want to help anyone?” “Because it's always....almost killing me!” Arthur stopped. “Think about what we did! We've been almost electrocuted, poisoned, burned to death or locked up in a cell, all for this!” He held out the bottle with the oil. “And her.” He pointed at the fan girl. “How did you know she wouldn't attack you?” Nick made an innocent face. “Because I'm her idol?” “You don't even look like yourself! You were lucky she believed you!” Nick fell silent. “Do I know how worried I was all the time? I could have lost you forever, to a fucking Sally whim!” Arthur radiated anger. And disappointment. Nick now looked very meek. “Can we put her down somewhere safe?”, he asked. “Please?”

They put Deborah on a bench in the park and made her look like she was taking a nap. Nick insisted on gathering a handful of Joy pills from a mood booth and place it next to her. Arthur assured Nick she still had her home, after all he still had his despite being a Downer, and the neighbours wouldn't remember. “Now let's give the oil to Sally, she'll be happy to see us!”, Nick tried to cheer Arthur up. Arthur took out the bottle and eyed it. Then he gave it to Nick. “Here, take it. Give it to Sally.” Nick's face fell. “You're not coming with me?” Arthur shook his head. “After all I found out about her in the lab, I don't know what I'd say to her.” He sounded gloomy. “Go. It was your idea after all.” Nick sadly watched him leave with slouched shoulders.

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