Basil Disco

Even if he hadn’t gotten to know Basil as well as he had over the past few weeks, Jack could hear the awkwardness loud and clear in those questions. He was good with people, always had been - one of his many talents was understanding people and reading between the lines of what they were saying to what they actually meant. Now was such a time, and it made him smile.

“I’m alright,” he admitted, staring at his hands for a moment before he looked back out across the room. “It hasn’t been easy - actually, it’s a lot harder than I thought it’d be - but you’ve helped me a lot, too, you know. So thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”

Basil didn’t really know how to respond to that. He didn’t often do things for others that they would want to thank him for, so he didn’t know what he was supposed to say. “I know I didn’t have to. But I wanted to.” Why he had wanted to - well, he couldn’t really explain that. Or wouldn’t. Either one of those. 

"Wake up... please wake up..."

"Hey, are you okay? You seem a bit faint..."

"N-no no! Stay with me now!"

"Keep breathing, you'll be fine."

"Oh! You're awake! You've been out for so long-!"

"I found you unconscious back there. What happened?"

"Hey, are you alright over there?!"

"We found you in a horrid state.. but we patched you up as best we could!"

"Don't try to move. Just get some rest, okay?"

"Oh, I guess you weren't dead after all."

"Hey! This one finally woke up! Get me a doctor!"

"Shh... take it easy, there's no rush. You were passed out for a long time, you see."

"Ow.. my aching-"

"Ugh... where...?"

"Help me.. someone..."

"I can't hold on... fading away.."

"What happened? Where is this-!"

"Gah! S-stay away from m-me! I don't know who you are!"

"Did.. did you save me back there? Thanks.. I guess."

"I was passed out for that long?!"

"Help me up.. please help me up..."

"What happened to me anyways? I feel so lightheaded..."

"Am I in a hospital? I wasn't here before.."

“Suppose it depends on where you go - most places I’ve been are a bit more comfortable with the shades of grey. Then again…. some places are even worse than this. Guess it’s in their best interest.”

“In their best interest, yeah. Not ours though.” Basil watched Jack for a moment. “How...are you? Are you...coping?” It was becoming increasingly obvious that Basil had no idea how to express any care he had for others. He hadn’t had a close relationship, platonic or otherwise, the whole time he’d been in here. He wanted to express concern and care for Jack, but he was honestly just guessing at how to do that. 

“That I can use.” Harry said, already hatching a plan. “One weak link is all we need, and humans are so deliciously superstitious.” He smirked. “I will need to get close to him, allow him to knock me out if needed.” He went on to explain. “Best case scenario I need thirty seconds of uninterrupted eye contact, worst case I can do with a touch.” That was all he needed to plant the seed in the guard’s mind, spark the paranoia and fear into action.

“In that case I shall be your new best friend.” Harry said, or more stated as he didn’t leave it up for argument. Basil was useful, and he’d be sure to keep the man close for his own benefit. Perhaps even help him get out when he eventually escaped.

“Which guard is the weakest willed one.” He asked.

“New best friend,” Basil repeated to himself. Well, that felt strange. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been able to consider another living person a friend. 

Well, this was going to be interesting–most days Al could barely do the whole living thing themselves. They offered a slightly reassuring smile in any case.

“I…could probably help with that. First things first–”

They rubbed at their arms for a moment.

“–it’s cold. We should, uh, go back inside.”

“Is it?” Basil couldn’t tell that it was any colder than he was used to in his cell. Was that bad? It was probably bad, because it meant he’d grown accustomed to being cold constantly. 

“So actually it would be in my best interest not to be seen talking to you at all, is that what you’re saying?” He raised an eyebrow at the other man. “There hasn’t been a prison I have not been able to escape, but no need to make it harder than it has to be by painting a target on my back.”

“Yes, that’s what I’m saying. But it’s also in your best interest to befriend me, considering I know everything it’s possible for a prisoner to know about this prison. You don’t want them to associate you with me, but you want to be on my good side.” 

Okay, they knew that was a really, really stupid question. Al stared at him almost blankly for a second, collecting their thoughts. Well, time to attempt to fix things, and hope they didn’t indefinitely make things worse.

“Sorry, I’m sorry, that was dumb–Is there anyway I could…maybe…help? At least at the moment?”

“Help.” Basil repeated, and went silent for a while before he answered. “Help, yes. With life. I don’t know how to…live.” 

“Not much left to corrupt, I assure you.” He chuckled, still looking into the cameras and smirking. Whoever was looking through it would definitely be able to tell he was up to no good. He turned and looked at Basil. “We’ve got to trick Big Brother into thinking we’re not going to do anything then.”

Oh, oh no, Al didn’t mean to make him start crying. That wasn’t good–How were they supposed to help him without crossing any boundaries? Their primary comforting attempts almost always involved hugging, or something, and they figured he wouldn’t want it.

“Uh…you…you okay?”

“You’d think they were holding the world’s most dangerous criminals in here.” Harry said and smirked. “You’re sure of it, so you don’t actually know if someone is always watching?” He asked and moved his gaze to one of the more visible cameras in the room.

“I will manage it.” Harry said confidently. There wasn’t a cell or prison in the universe he couldn’t break out of given enough time. This was only a human prison, shouldn’t take him that long. “Just point me to all the cameras and the guards schedule and I’ll be out of here in a week.”

Al shrugged and shoved their hands back into their pockets. Their only reason was, well, something they’d know he’d deny. So they stood silent for a few moments, trying to come up with something else to claim their reason was.

Nothing came to mind, unfortunately, and with a quiet sigh, they just said their actual reason.

“I…thought you might want company?”