No Mans Judge

Figure out what to do next. He's not armed, and he's not sure he'd be able to make it back into Home to grab the Punisher. He's not sure that he'd be able to...

No, not gonna worry about that now.

Instead he dives for a nearby sand dune, only to find-

"Zazie!?" Any nickname he could've used left his mind as he blew his cover with his surprise. "Shit-" Diving down, he gestures to the worm,

"Are you sleeping here?" Why not come inside!? Or at least use the shed. But, no time for that as bullets fly through the sand around them. "Fuck, no time for that, we need to, ah, shit, do something-"

But it seems fate decided that Zazie isn’t allowed any more peace. Bullets hit the sand dune they had nestled into, and the Bug is quick to scuttle out of the way - right into Wolfwood’s path.

Midvalley winces.

" Yeah, of course I do. We actually moved in at the same exact time. "

And the saxophonist had not put on his best performance when coming face to face with the man he was supposed to live with. He definitely made the guy all kinds of confused with what he had to ask; nobody in that building knew about the Earth Fleet, or Noman's Land.

If they had crash landed on this planet, all of this would had made sense.

He sighs and presses a hand to the back of his head, shaking it.

" Not like I trust him, or anybody else. Neither should you, worm, " he purses his lips, thoughtful for a moment.

"I rarely trust anyone anyways," the worm drawls as they approach Midvalley. "Out of work, I guess. Though a job might help you stay busy." They reply.

" I'd rather face the devil himself in this laboratory than my classmates. Right now, I am trying to focus, " he mutters under his breath, couple of more labels attached before he moves the track of samples into the cabinet of other specimen.

Finally, Knives turns to face the other, pushing his glasses further up the sharp line of his sloped nose.

Maybe, maybe a part of him is intrigued by the physiological components of someone like this.

When they are inquired about their state of being, the ghost lets out a loud laugh. How direct!

"No, I'm a figment of your imagination," Zazie responds sarcastically. "Yes, I'm dead. How do you think I became a ghost?"

" My concept of possibility versus fantasy has been tested a lot in recent years, " he quips.

" Hivemind networks are observed in insect colonies. There have been no such cases in mammals, much less humanoids. But, if what you claim is true, " a sugar cube is dropped into his cup of tea, and L daintly stirs it with a small spoon.

The smirk on their face isn't hard to miss as their tea companion makes their deduction. "Right on the dot there, Mr. Detective." They gleefully answer.

"Only problem is, I'm not connected to anything. So how do you think I'm still sentient, hm?"

It must suck, he thinks, to be cut off from so many others. And then he pushes that thought aside, instead turning on the screen on his phone.

"Would'a been better if you brought yers, since mine is all fucked up." He opens it up, scrolling through his haphazard and completely unorganized apps.

"...I guess the first question, O' Great Worm Majesty, us, uh,"

Then their attention is brought back to the phone lesson at hand. "Eh, probably, but your phone's like you. Rough around everything, but still functioning." They say.

Zazie's presence has always been an odd one. He knows they never chose a side to offer their full support to, and likely never will. Still, the two of them have accompanied each other for a long time. It feels like several centuries have passed since they first met in the middle of the desert. Knives had been just a child.

Good. He would rather deal with a wandering spirit, or a dozen of them, than another student. The only reason he frequented the laboratory in the late hours of the night was to not have to answer stupid questions. But judging by the tone, this one wouldn't leave him be if he simply ignored it - as tempting as it is.

"Sometimes," the specter replies. "Not all the time. Just when you're in here alone." Zazie immediately takes a 'seat' on the table top on the other side of Knives.

" So there is no need for death to end up here. "

Every time he thinks he has figured out something about this place, he is proven wrong.

He shoots a sharp glare toward the other again.

"Nope, seems like it." They chime in, unhelpfully. Zazie doesn't move when Knives glares at them.

"Yeah, that makes sense," they murmur. Their visible eye glances up at Knives. "If that would help you feel better, I'd recommend it. Wanna head out and start looking now?"

"Ah, y'mean... lookin' out for people around here?" Kind of like a 'forest ranger' from what he understood of the neighboring Mistwoods, really.

"I don't stick to a routine, exactly. Sometimes I'll head into the town of Umber proper, see if anyone needs help there too. Maintenance at Home with the rooms n'geodome n'the animals... Visit the inner Wards. So, 'being on the move', I'd say that's what I'm often doing, haha."

He's not mentioning the strange situation he'd come into to begin with—the all-hours project of taking on what his past self had left behind, and deciding what to do or how to feel about it. It's a half-lived legacy he didn't ask to inherit, nor did his past self ask to create it. But talk about it with Zazie might not even be all that interesting to them.

The swarm incarnate hums, a familiar frequency between the both of them, as they listen to Vash speak. When Vash lets it slip he's not the only Plant, Zazie just laughs softly.

"I already met the other you. The taller one with dark hair," they say - knowing exactly what Vash let slip. "He pointed me to this way. Mentioned that you and Punisher live out here."

Ivan was the head of the entomology club, and was very good at recruitment.

Just...not so good at retention.

Luckily, Zazie was always happy to join for clubs sessions.

(He's not sure if it's them being a ghost that he talks to, or that he'd rather hang out with the bugs than talk to other people.)

"But otherwise, I've just been working on grading midterms for my advisor. What about you, Zazie?"

When Ivan asks what they've been doing, the ghost lets out a laugh. "Oh, you know, being a ghost." They cross their legs on the table they now "sat" on. More like hovered over.

"My usual person I bother had his brother with him in the lab I haunt, and so I decided to cause more noise in the hallway. Don't like being around too many people if I can help it. Outside of that, though, just ghost things." They grin - childlike just like the size of their form suggested they may be - at the other.

" Master Knives is busy. You should find ways to entertain yourself in this place, as I am trying to, " the words are spoken under his breath, hushed and tinted with irritation.

Another bookmark is placed on the page to accompany the few dozen others sticking out of the book before he closes it, head tilting as he runs his fingertip along the carving of the cover.

" Other ways than bothering me, that is, " a necessary addition. He leans as far back against the bench as possible, head turning towards Zazie.

They look Legato in the eye - well, the visible one at least - as he looks back at them. "Another you from a different timeline, huh? And you moved in with him? Interesting." The hivemind tilts their head to the other side.

"I don't think either of us are in good condition right now. I can't defend myself, you aren't able to use your network to scout out where we are," Midvalley sighs, a hand resting on his hip, brows knitted together. He had to think.

Zazie stands there, arms crossed over their chest, as they watch Midvalley think. They knew he is right - after all he was just voicing the obvious to help his thoughts.

His vacant stare drifts up towards the peculiar stranger, now dangling before him like a ragdoll from loose strings - and clearly amused by his irritation. At first glance, they don't seem like more than a simple nuisance.

"Not really a spy," the Worm responds. "Just curious. You look awfully similar to someone I know." They hum - in a specific frequency only they or Plants could hear. Another test for this look-not-alike.

There was nothing more irritating than being pestered by that damned worm. No matter where he went, no matter who he was with, it felt as though the beast was always at his heel, one way or another. Knives always had his eyes on his subjects-- and though Zazie claimed to be a neutral party in this chess game played on Noman's Land, Midvalley couldn't help feeling like the worms relayed their thoughts to the wicked angel.

Midvalley throws his hands up, trying to swat Zazie away with an annoyed look on his face.

" If this is the afterlife then it's definitely hell, " he complains, and then pauses, thinking about the absence of his saxophone.

As Midvalley goes on about missing music, the Worm frowns. "They really took your saxophone?" They ask, their eyes narrowing. Just what kind of place is this? They had only been joking since they hadn't seen it on his person...