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The Vine That Ate The South

Chapter 6: Ebb and Flow

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Emerging from the depths, Nick had never been so grateful to see the sun before. Arcade was right by his side, helping drag Willy back along. Even with the horrible scene that'd just unfolded before them, it was an unspoken agreement that they wouldn't just turn tail and run, but turn tail and run with the old coot. He may have tried to kill Nick, to stop what he thought was Nick recreating the incident that led to old Irving's consumption, but he didn't deserve to die down in the darkness. For his body to become overgrown and festering with those whip like tendrils.
Willy didn't resist as Nick and Arcade both took an arm and hauled him along to the light of day, he was slack jawed and drooling.
There was no change in him in their march back to town.
Nick looked to Arcade with trepidation, asking "Do you want to talk about-" what had happened down there. What had called to him. What fate he was saved from by drawing blood.
And he briskly said "No." Only looking straight ahead, putting as much distance as he could from that cave.

 

At the wall, Joseph awaited, scorn turning disbelief and worry as he saw the state of the trio.
He looked behind them expectantly, a dawning horror on his face.
"Where's Sarah? She went to go get Willy- did you not see her?"
Nick's somber expression confirmed his worst fears.
"I'm sorry, but there's something about Sarah you may not have known."

While Arcade helped Willy back into town into the arms of the other settlers, Nick began to tell the sordid tale.

"The preacher wasn't the only one to discover the source of the vines, Sarah and her father had first. After her father's death… that was when the vines first started causing problems, right? Doctor Gannon discovered that somebody had been cultivating them near and in the town, had been feeding them sacrifices. That somebody was Sarah."

Joseph went silent, face convulsing, trying to sputter out accusations, counters, but they died at the tip of his tongue. Something in him had known, made excuses for her.
Shoulders shaking, he choked out
"Where is she?"

"I'm afraid she was the final sacrifice."

The toughness that he tried to keep up crashed down all at once, as he could only whisper a swear.
"Fuck. FUCK!"
"I'm sorry-"
"No. You've done your part. Fuck off."

Nick left Joseph to deal with the knowledge, and left him the task of sharing the burden to the town. He had someone to report to himself: who'd brought him here.

Georgia wasn't among the gathered crowd, hanging back with a fearful glint. Nick removed his hat as he approached her.
"Danny … got justice, in the way of the wasteland."
Her eyes drooped. "That's all I can ask."
But Nick knew all too well that whether or not their killer lived or died, there would still be the gap. There would still be an empty chair at the table, there would always be the ghost. But at least there was closure to the unquiet grave.

 

He found Arcade after some difficulty, he'd found a cranny where the lumber was stacked to catch some respite. His armor was discarded like a cicada's shell, and he sat with his head in his hands, curled into himself.
Nick coughed to announce himself, a feat he was capable of despite the lack of lungs. "Doctor Gannon?"

Arcade jerked up, nerves still alight from the incident, green eyes wild and tears streaking down his face. Nick's face softened with sympathy as he sat beside him, making sure to give the doctor enough space.
"It'd be plain stupid to ask if you were alright after that, nobody would be. But it's behind us now, we can breathe."
Arcade stood still, gazing at the ground and some nightmare past it.
"Is it terrible to say that when I was under the sway of that thing… that was the most at peace I've been in a long time." He let out a laugh that could easily be a sob. "Makes you realize how on edge you've been when a nightmare plant's idea of peace seems tempting. God I'm a mess….I'm glad that's over with."
He turned to look at Nick and deflected "So you've got your justice? Ironic justice, brutal but."

Nick sighed. "Well, it would have been more ideal to let her own decide what to do with her. It isn't like the old Nick's days, where there were wide scale systems in place. Of course, those weren't great either, full of cracks and corruption. I just do the best I can."
He absentmindedly checked his skeletal hand and decided to keep talking, trying to sort out his own emotions by speaking them aloud. From his circuits out into noise, making them more real.
"That question you asked… the ship of Theseus. My ship may be a poor reconstruction of the old one, but it gets the job done. The more things change, the more they stay the same." Nick smiled ruefully. "But what was in that cave…" he shuddered. "Scared me silly. Lucky I'm not human. But not machine enough that I can be satisfied by logic, there's a flaw in my programming. The townsfolk might have just strung Sarah up, and this may have been the most fitting end, but… I don't think anyone deserves to die that way. Let alone someone not in full control of their actions. This wasn't civilized justice, no matter how poetic." He groaned.
"Sometimes I almost wish I was a proper synth, let it all wash over, rely on cold logic, without fear."

A soft murmur in reply from Arcade. "Homo sum: humani nihil a me alienum puto."
"Pardon?"
Arcade looked up with a deep weariness and an inner warmth. "I am human, I consider nothing human is alien to me. I… feel on the outside, that there is something separating me from other people. But in the end, I'm still human. And it seems like you're human too, maybe not in body, but in heart."
Nick didn't meet Arcade's eyes, but felt the need to say something to such a vulnerable statement. Maybe the doctor was still addled from that encounter. He sure as hell was himself.
"... That's a good motto."

 

 

Nick didn't dream, not even of electric sheep, and he was thankful for that. Well, not in the usual way. Instead he was lost in the memories of the old Valentine. They were even more incomprehensible this night, dancing out of reach, like something viewed under water, under ice. Distorted and shifting, yet…
Homo sum: humani nihil a me alienum puto

He whirred back to life with Arcade's voice replaying in his head, and found a new resolve.

 

 

Arcade was found on the edge of town, bringing back belongings from his hideout, getting supplies from a tall woman with the teen Ellie lingering in her shadow.
"On the move?" Nick called out, getting that same jolting response.
"Oh, Detective Valentine. Even though Sarah was the doctor here, they've still got somebody with medical expertise. I'd offer my services but I know when I'm not wanted." His voice lowered. "Selfishly, I don't want to come anywhere near this place again."

Nick shuffled his feet slightly. "Well, I could use a doctor if you want to lend a hand."
Arcade looked at him in disbelief and a wry grin. "No offense, but I wouldn't know where to begin. I think you're in need of a mechanic."
"Maybe not for me, but someone with your skills could be great for the people I'm helping, ones with flesh and blood. And didn't Sherlock Holmes have a doctor by his side? He was the world's greatest detective." He cracked a smile.
"Can't say I've heard of him. But I think I could be persuaded to help." Arcade adjusted his glasses. "I'm looking to do some good in the world, and you seem to be doing just that, aren't you? Serving out justice, the old world way."
"Guess you could say I'm an old fashioned guy. The Commonwealth is a piece of work, but nothing you can't handle." Nick said.
"I'm flattered by your assumptions. If you want me to help people get a fair shake and a chance for real justice? I guess I can't say no to that." Arcade seemed to be trying for some distance, but the warmth in his voice gave him away.
"I'd like that very much."

 

With the cool sea breeze battering them, the detective and the doctor made their way up the coast, back to the green jewel of the Commonwealth. A bond had been forged in a trial by fire, and where it would lead was a road paved with good intentions.

Notes:

The story of The Vine That Ate The South ends, and more entries into the horror noir series of Valentine&Gannon may appear next year! Thanks for reading!!