Epidemic Exsilium: Stage Two

[initiates]

Date & Time: June 8th - June 14th
Location: Throughout Exsilium
Characters: Anyone participating in hunting down the sleeper agents; anyone participating in taking care of the ill, or being ill themselves.
Summary: Stage Two of the Super Virus Epidemic strikes; sleeper agents of the United Earth are revealed.
Warnings: Illness, violence, needles. (Those IVs, man!)

Sniffles and coughs aren't unusual during the spring, with people combating allergies even in the far future, and colds being as present as always. But with more and more people falling ill, and none responding to antibiotics, things are starting to get worrying.

The first death is of an infant, on the night of the 7th. It's not the only one: three more are recorded not long after. It's unknown about the state of patients who never presented for medical assistance. Those familiar with viral infections fear the worse, especially as the usually healthy demographic starts arriving, coughing and displaying symptoms of the same sort of illness.

If that's not enough out among the natives, the Initiative has received its own information and insight into the true nature of the virus. "Wasmannian" Agents, spies of the Initiative in the United Earth, have reported back information at great cost to their security in their undercover positions. There is a super virus headed your way. They've been shipping it in to the island since December 3312. These are the manifests. We've deciphered most the code-names. Good luck.

Now the Initiative turns to the Transports for additional manpower to hunt down the United Earth's sleeper agents, pick up the shipments of the virus, and track down its physical origins in order to do something to stop the impending decimation of Exsilium's population.

Things are getting scary. It's a sick, sad world out there. Where are you, in the middle of it all?

Comments

A

[alphonse]

[That moment of stillness is all it takes for Al to come clanking up behind him, his gaze clearly fixed on the blood.]

Are you still going to try to say nothing's wrong?

[He's going for stern, but the worry in his voice easily overtakes anything else. It's not unusual for Ed to be stubborn and difficult when it comes to taking care of himself, but these are hardly normal circumstances.]

[imperfect]

[Ed takes a moment too long to snap out of it and turn around. He looks faintly sheepish, but mostly just faint.]

Well... [He coughs again, marginally less raggedly. It doesn't clear his voice up much.] Maybe not nothing.

[He takes a few more steps toward the kitchen regardless, although he doesn't hurry. Blood or no blood, he still needs a drink.]

[alphonse]

[If they were dealing with something a little less serious, this is where Al would probably start arguing and trying to wrangle him back in bed. As it is, though, there's no way he's taking chances with symptoms like that, not from a virus that's been designed to kill. He doesn't hesitate before skipping straight to making demands.]

You're going to the hospital.

[imperfect]

I was gonna head down there later.

[This is actually true, although since the main criterion for "later" was "when it starts getting tough to stand up" there might have been a minor flaw in the plan.

He wipes a little of the blood away from the corner of his mouth.]

But it's fine. Look, I'm still here. [Unlike some people.] Just... give me a minute.

[alphonse]

Later? When you're feeling even worse?

[Al shakes his head, fighting a losing battle against frustration. How can Ed not see how important this is?]

Brother, this isn't some cold you're going to get over in a day or two. Whatever it is that you think you need to do, I can promise you that nothing matters more right now than taking care of yourself.

[imperfect]

Yeah, I know.

[He sounds neither convinced nor completely convincing.]

But I'm getting a drink first, Al. I'm not that far gone.

[alphonse]

Then act like it.

[Al just sighs.]

Stop overdoing it and go sit down. I can bring you something.

[imperfect]

I'm not overd-

[He must have misjudged how loud he could comfortably raise his voice, because this sets his coughing off again. This time, he sticks his other hand out to steady himself against the wall.]

[alphonse]

[The coughing fit proves Al's point better than anything he could have hoped to say, but there's nothing to be glad about. Honestly, he'd give just about anything for this virus to be something Ed could fight off with the usual force of will too, but denying reality isn't going to do them a bit of good.

He puts a hand on Ed's back a little awkwardly, wishing he actually had some way to help. Al isn't at all equipped to deal with a person this sick, and the sooner he gets Ed to someone who is, the better.]

Take it easy, okay? I'm just worried about you.

[imperfect]

I should've been worried about...

[He hesitates. Yeah, there's no doubt about it - his head isn't clearing any quicker than his lungs.]

...Maybe I will sit down.

[But when he does make his way over to the nearest chair, he doesn't sit so much as gracelessly drape himself on top of it.]

[alphonse]

[Trailing off like that is enough to leave Al staring in confusion. It's a few long seconds later before he remembers the water and hurries off to fetch it, more out of a desire to be useful than any actual belief it will help.

Carefully, he offers the glass to Ed, watching him closely.]

Here. Need anything else?

[imperfect]

[Ed takes the water and gulps most of it down in one shot. He manages not to choke on it, but it doesn't relieve as much of the burning in his throat as he was hoping, and it's all too ephemeral. Figures, really.]

No, that's okay.

[He painstakingly pushes himself up into more of a sitting position, inadvertently leaving a small bloody smudge where his free hand grips the seat.]

Of all the worst damn timing...

[alphonse]

[Al doesn't back off after handing over the water. Ed can get angry about being crowded all he wants.]

I don't think timing would have really made a difference, Brother.

[They'd known, after all, that an attack from the United Earth was likely after learning they'd been spied on. But he doubts anyone could have predicted this is the form it would take.]

We would have been unprepared no matter what.

[imperfect]

I guess.

[Ed doesn't bother getting angry, although if he slumps any further he's going to end up headbutting Al by accident.

He drains the last of the water somewhat more slowly.]

You... heard how the trial last week went, right?

[He hasn't talked much about the failed comm devices to Al. It seems more than a little stupid in retrospect, given what convinced him to seize on the idea in the first place, but between not wanting Al initially involved in them for fear of awkward questions regarding a lack of physical brain and the aftermath of the field tests, there hasn't really been an appropriate time.]

[alphonse]

You're still beating yourself up about that?

[He isn't surprised, but all the same his tone conveys how silly he thinks it is for Ed to be taking the supposed failure this hard.]

Geez, no wonder you and Billy get along. You're exactly the same when it comes to this stuff.

[imperfect]

You think? [Ed would muster some real indignation, but he suspects all he'd get out of it would be another bout of coughing. He drums his fingers lightly on the side of the empty glass.] No... it's different for him.

But I think I might just understand how that other you must've felt.

[alphonse]

[That Al could reply to that with which one speaks volumes about the weirdness of their lives. Ed hasn't said much about either, though, so his attention is instantly caught.]

You'll have to explain.

[imperfect]

Well, it's a long story.

[He closes his eyes. He's already looking a little paler.]

At the end of it, he was coughing up blood too.

[He says this much too matter-of-factly.]

[alphonse]

[If Ed is aiming to horrify him, he's certainly successful.]

That's not funny! Don't you dare start talking like you're going to die!

[imperfect]

Okay, okay. [...He wasn't completely kidding, but that was a little too far. Besides, he did more or less promise to talk about Heiderich for real someday.]

What I meant to say was... he just wanted to make a difference in the world, feel like he accomplished something. And he knew exactly what he was doing. He was something else. But he'd forget it didn't just have a start and an end - there're consequences along the way, too.

[He sets the glass down on the floor.]

There's more to it than that. He had his own reasons. But that's the part I was thinking about just now.

[alphonse]

[Al fixes Ed with his best I'm still mad at you look even as he listens. As far as explanations go that's still a fairly vague one, and he wonders why Ed's picked now as the time to get talkative. Maybe it's an attempt to appease or stall him, or even just a result of the fever. Ultimately, Al decides it doesn't matter.]

We should get going. There'll be plenty of time for stories later.

[imperfect]

[It seemed like a reasonable argument to Ed, but he decides he'll come back to it when the room isn't quite as foggy.

Slowly, he starts to get to his feet.] Then give me some space so I can go fetch my coat.

[alphonse]

[He doesn't get far before Al has a hand on his shoulder to gently urge him back down. He knows Ed isn't going to like being babied, but letting him stumble around the apartment in this kind of condition would definitely be a bad idea.]

I'll get it. You just try to rest.

[imperfect]

[He takes it as a personal insult.] I can walk, Al. [And if he doesn't fetch his own coat, he can't use it to sneak all of his work out...]

[alphonse]

That doesn't mean you should, Brother. Getting to the hospital is going to be difficult enough without you pushing yourself before we even leave.

[He carefully doesn't mention that he already expects he'll end up carrying him.]