revivalproject | What do vegan zombies eat?

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What do vegan zombies eat?

WHO: Leo and YOU
WHERE: all around Temba
WHAT: zombie invasion
WHEN: zombie invasion
WARNINGS: zombie invasion (...likely some gore and violence)

A: Early Invasion

In a way, Leo is almost... relieved. Okay, so that's a weird thing to feel when there are literally undead monsters walking around, but the thing is, zombies are a simple problem. He doesn't have to worry about zombies betraying him, or debating him about innocent until proven guilty, or any other moral quandaries. Zombies want brains. Leo doesn't want his brain to get eaten. This math is simple.

And while it's more than a little disconcerting now to be suddenly cut off from his powers, it doesn't slow down Leo that much. Well, maybe in the literal sense, now that he can no longer teleport, but for actual fighting, Leo has always depended more on his swords and his martial arts than his magic. So cutting zombies down isn't really an issue for him, especially when they're the slow, shambling kind.

It is, however, pretty gross. Leo cringes as he brushes some rotting flesh bits off his arm.

He's here because he heard someone calling for help, or because he saw someone fighting the good fight. Either way, he's here to help!

(And also look for Donnie, because of course they got separated again. But hey, kill two birds with one stone!)

"Need a little help?" he calls out, approaching. "These guys are a little too awake, huh? Never heard that phrase about sleeping when your dead."

B: Late Invasion (cw: tied up zombie brother)

Leo shouldn't be out here. He should be sheltering in the mines, like everyone else.

But here he is, moving with ninja speed and stealth toward one of the abandoned houses. He has a rope slung over his shoulder, and casts furtive glances around to see if he's being followed.

He's pretty good at catching when he is being followed, but with all these zombies around, it's possible to avoid his detection and see what he's up to.

Which is, admittedly, pretty suspicious. What is he doing?

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Sephiroth is not convinced. “A bird got in and you randomly named it Mikey just this moment?”

Because it definitely doesn’t sound like Leo was previously acquainted with said bird.

Leo hisses in a breath. “Geez, good ears, huh…”

There’s another thump, then a snarl. Leo doesn’t give any further clarification about the alleged bird.

“That did not sound like everything’s okay,” Sephiroth says flatly. He reaches for the doorknob. “I’m coming in.”

Shoot. Gotta think fast…

Sephiroth will hear the sound of a door opening inside the house, and Leo saying, “Come on, come on!” over the sounds of some agitated grumbling.

Sephiroth doesn’t like that either. What is Leo so determined to hide?

He comes into the first room, looking around for where Leo or this mysterious other person is.

The front room is empty now, safe the dusty furniture and a broken lamp. But the door to a room a bit down the hall is open, and it sounds like Leo and his mystery guest are inside.

“Mikey, stop!” Leo says frantically, only for it to be answered with another snarl.

Okay, now Sephiroth is concerned. He runs down the hall to the other room, on guard for, he thinks, anything.

What he will find is two turtles - though one of them is distinctly not alive.

This one is shorter than Leo, and, if Sephiroth is the type to notice, a different species. Dingy, peeling stickers decorate his bloody and dirty shell, and his skin is pale and drawn, his lifeless eyes sunken into his face.

There's a rope tied around his body like a harness, the end of which Leo has looped around the bedframe.

When Sephiroth comes in, Mikey turns his attention to the newcomer, sniffing and growling, but the makeshift restraint keeps him from coming close. Leo is wearing what looks like oven mitts, and he quickly puts himself in the space between Sephiroth and the zombie turtle.

"You weren't supposed to come in!"

"I said I would come in if it sounded like you were being attacked." Sephiroth is just staring at this scene. At least Leo seems to be taking some precautions to avoid being bit, but this is ... not good and not at all what he expected to see.

He does, however, quickly put a few pieces together as to what is going on here. He knows how the zombies work, of course, appearing as loved ones. Still, he has to say, "You know that isn't really Mikey." But he speaks kindly, with some level of understanding. It is hard not to think of them as loved ones. If one is lonely and missing them so, perhaps this makes sense to a teenager to keep a zombie loved one....

"Yeah, well, I wasn't," Leo snaps, still defensive, even as the zombie groans and snaps behind him, trying to get to their flesh.

At Sephiroth's observation, Leo spares the zombie a glance. Then he grits his teeth and turns back.

"...It doesn't matter. It's not your business."

"It wants to attack you," Sephiroth says. He's preparing to pull Leo away from it, if needed.

"If it does bite you, the infection could spread to others as well," he points out. "So unfortunately, in that respect it is my business. We don't need a pandemic."

He doesn't want Leo personally to be hurt either, but he doubts he would be believed on that, so he's trying to appeal to logic. If Leo will respond to that.

"He," Leo corrects automatically. He, not it.

"I've seen people who got bit and they didn't turn into zombies. It just hurts, like the spiders." Worse than the spiders, actually, but not enough to make Leo back down. "Besides, I'm not gonna let him bite me. It's fine."

Typical teenage logic. Sephiroth remembers all too well some of the things Zack got into because he insisted it was fine.

"It still isn't something anyone should be exposed to if they don't have to be," he says. "What makes you so sure you can avoid being bitten by him?"

He wants to get Leo out of here right now, but is trying to think of a way other than simply grabbing him and carrying him out. That would not be the best case scenario for several reasons. Aside from whatever fighting skills the boy has that he might use in retaliation, such sudden movements might agitate the zombie.

“Because I’m an older brother with fifteen years experience.”

Leo says this flatly, though it’s not entirely a joke.

“I can handle him. And it’d help if you would back off.”

Sephiroth looks so tired.

"You said you would be five minutes. It was longer than that. It's late; we need to leave."

He doesn't want to harm the zombie in front of Leo unless he has to, and the longer they stay, he's afraid it will grow more agitated and vicious.

Really, he has no idea what to do about this problem other than the obvious, of simply killing it. He doesn't see how he can leave it unchecked, but he doesn't know who to speak with about it either if he doesn't simply handle it himself. He doesn't feel very wanted, and he doesn't trust the others he knows of with the Security datapoint. Anyone he feels some better about, he doubts they would be able to do much. He wonders if there's anyone Leo trusts enough who could speak with him and make a difference. He's sure nothing he says will matter.

No one's forcing him to be here if he wants to go back and sleep.

Leo doesn't want to leave just because this guy says so, but getting into a fight here, with little space and part of the room dedicated to his zombie brother, would not be ideal. Leo still hesitates, looking from Sephiroth to the snarling "Mikey," before stepping forward.

"I'll leave, on one condition," he says. "Don't come back here."

It's not that kind of tired.

"Very well," Sephiroth says. "Let's go."

Leo nods. He looks back at the zombie, and for the first time since Sephiroth came in, he smiles.

"I'll be back later, Mikester. Don't chew through your rope this time."

Like the zombie will listen, but Leo leaves it there as he moves for the door, waving at Sephiroth to move on.

Sephiroth goes with him. He feels badly for the boy, really. How much is he missing the rest of his family to pull something like this? As badly as Sephiroth is missing Zack, he doesn't want a fake Zack around. Even if he isn't a dangerous flesh-eating zombie.

"... How long have you been keeping him here?" he asks as they head out.

It's partly that, but also that Leo just couldn't handle the idea of killing the Mikey zombie, or of anyone else killing him, either. He doesn't trust the people here much, and even if he acknowledges that this isn't really his brother, he still doesn't like the idea of what they might do to him.

Leo firmly shuts the door of the house before he follows.

"A few days," he answers tersely.

Sephiroth doesn't trust many of them either. By the time that mess with Stu finished, he honestly felt pretty much the same as Stu about the place and wanted to wash his hands of the whole thing. Even though he didn't.

"Does your brother know?" he asks. Not that he thinks Donnie is much more responsible than Leo, after the dangerous stunts he was pulling in the air.

Leo hesitates on that, before he says, "It's family business."

Which is enough of a non-answer to cycle back around to being an answer, but Leo doesn't want Sephiroth running off and telling Donnie, because there's no way he wouldn't say it in the worst way possible.

That certainly sounds like Donnie knows, but Sephiroth really couldn't say for sure. He's not particularly thrilled by the thought of talking to Donnie about it either. Whether or not Donnie knows, Sephiroth is sure he would not get a warm reception. That doesn't mean he won't try, but first he'll probably try to determine if that's really who he should talk to.

"How long do you plan on keeping him here?" he asks.

Part of him thinks it's actually not necessarily a bad idea to confine a zombie and observe it. They need knowledge in this situation. But he is highly doubtful that leaving it to a teenager is the best option.

Leo looks at him suspiciously.

"Why does it matter to you?" he asks.

"There's always the chance he could break free," Sephiroth says. "I can see you're trying, but your restraints may not last." He certainly heard the remark about the rope being chewed. "Perhaps someone else could help you make the house more secure, if you're determined to keep him."

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