Everything's Nicer When You Smile (Jack)

[chaosmordecai]

Chaos found herself, once again, in the den with a very old-fashioned game boy in her hands. She was laying down on the couch as she usually did when she came in here. The room was of course practically empty. There was a few people playing a bored game or something and the television buzzed as people stood around it, knowing the channels as well as the visual was pretty sucky. She had not been sent to the Sensory Deprivation Room this week, but she was a little bored out of her mind.

Well Chaos was, now she was mostly miffed. She had been playing the same Mario level for the past half hour. It was impossible to beat. Every time she was almost at the finish line a turtle would drop down and she was dead; or sometimes she would be hit by surprise mushroom thingies. She was sure their location changed every time at the most horrible times. She was still smiling though. She was having fun despite the fact that she was sure the entire game was rigged. It had to be. She was brought out of her thoughts when a turtle shell knocked Mario off the screen.

"Sorcery," Chaos whispered. "This entire game is being controlled by sorcerers. That is the only explanation." She said and laughed at her own conclusion.

She continued to play the level five more times before the let of a huff in frustration. She pouted at the screen and muttered something about life not being fair. She thought of what her father would say if he saw her getting frustrated over a game. She laughed. And her moods were back up again. She felt someone standing by her and could feel their genuine curiosity, probably about why she was laughing. She moved her feet up more to make room for the visitor without taking her eyes off the screen.

"Hi I'm Chaos, but most people call me Michy."

[Jack Stone]

That was fun. A blonde hair nurse whispered as she sat up, pushing the covers around her naked form. Jack was getting dressed, rounding up all the discarded cloths that laid around his room. Once he slipped a black tank top over his head, he turned to look over his shoulder at the nurse who still sat there. You going to leave or just sit there and get in trouble? He asked. The nurse just frowned and picked up her uniform and quickly put it on, leaving his room with clear anger.

He just shook his head and left his room as well, watching her walk down the hall before she disappeared around a corner. He decided to head to the den, it was a semi dark room and relaxing. Pushing the door open, he found no one in there besides a familiar rainbow hair girl that he met a couple of weeks ago. She was fixated on a game boy and just walked over to a couch, taking a smoke out and placed it between his lips.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a match box and scarped the match against the side of the box, sparking a flame and placed it at the end of the cigarette. I know who you are, we met before. He said.

[chaosmordecai]

At the familiar voice Chaos looked up to see Jack. He was lighting a cigarette as it seemed to be a habit of his. She smiled, but frowned when the song of her defeat played. She looked back at the game boy. She had got hit with another flying turtle shell or something. And she was back at the beginning of the level. She only had one more life left and then it was game over. Again. She restarted it, though she was more focused on Jack now, insuring her loss at the game.

"Hey there! I've been playing this level for forever. It's impossible to beat. Th game is rigged. It has to be." Chaos said as she lost her final life -again- and got the game over song. She smiled as she looked back up at Jack. "So how have you been? You know you really shouldn't smoke in here. Nurses come by frequently to check up on people. A lot of people who come from the basement come in here. It's kind of like a cool-off zone." Chaos said completely oblivious to the lack of people in the room.

Chaos remembered all the times she had her little 'episodes' and she always ended back in here. It was very relaxing in the semi-darkness and the game boy that didn't care if you were crazy or not. Plus it was quiet, without being threatening, so she could always think up here. She mostly thought about her father since she missed him so much. But Garrick said that there would be a field trip soon so she could finally use that number on the very old scratch of paper collecting dust in her drawer. Maybe she could actually reach her dad. Maybe they could meet up. Chaos grinned at the thought.

[Jack Stone]

His eyes wondered over to the game boy once more and saw what she was playing. It had been awhile since he had played Mario, course when he played it was on a old Ninetendo station. It looked like she was having a hard time with the game.

Why don't you just get a running start then jump, you'll go higher and your reflexes will be faster. He suggested.

He inhaled deeply through his mouth, exhaling through his nose and sigh. Her next words only made him scowl. Like I'm scared of those bitches. He said and rolled his eyes. Those nurses could kiss his ass for all his care.

[chaosmordecai]

Chaos's eyebrows furrowed at Jack's suggestion. That made a lot more sense than any of her failed attempts. She tried his suggestion, her concentration fully on the game. And running, running, running, jump. Okay cleared. She took her time on the randomly falling mushroom thingies and then used the first strategy. Mario caught the pole and made his way over to the castle. Level cleared. Her eyes widened as she looked over at Jack.

I have been at this game for forever. That level is impossible. You, my friend, are a sorcerer." Chaos said in full confidence nodding her head. She grinned. "But thanks for the tip. Makes my day a little less frustrating."

Then Jack scowled cursing the nurses. Chaos could feel his distaste for the nurse and her head turned a little green cause of it. She looked at her hair in her own distaste. She didn't like feeling negative. Chaos situated herself so that she was kneeling on the couch's cushion. She leaned closer. She poked Jack on his forehead and laughed.

"You should smile more. It makes everything seem just a bit brighter. And it keeps my hair blue which is the way I like it. Green is okay, but if you keep that attitude up, it'll turn yellow which really isn't my color. So smile." Chaos said leaning back against the couch.

[Jack Stone]

Once she took his advice, she cleared the level with ease and he just smiled some. She looked alittle surprised by this and it just made him chuckle some. More of a Mario gaming expert, I use to play Mario all the time when I was younger. He said.

Her hair turned green and he remembered that she could feel what others felt. Maybe green meant dislike or even hatred. He decided to just calm himself, if he got to wound up then his own power will kick in and they would surely be in trouble.

She kneel on the couch, telling him that he should smile more often to keep her hair color normal. He just cocked an eyebrow and said. There's only a few things in this place that will make me happy....

A sigh left him then and he took another drag of the cigarette, the nicotine calmed him down now and he ran a hand through his hair. So, is that your only power? He asked.

[chaosmordecai]

Chaos felt her hair turning back, slowly but surely, to its original blue-violet. She smiled at Jack's words. "At least there's something that makes you happy. I think it would be sad to meet someone who couldn't be happy simply because nothing in the world made them happy." Chaos frowned sadly for a moment before smiling. "Our situation kinda sucks, but I try to always be positive. Like thinking that I'll be able to see my dad soon makes me happy. It's been about four years since I've seen him. Well that's besides the point. Being around people makes me happy. What makes you happy?" Chaos was a little curious.

She knew relatively nothing about Jack, but he was different. She could tell. And he could manipulate shadows, and that in itself was pretty fascinating to Chaos. She was a very simple person to please. A lot of people in the asylum were not very friendly and she didn't get to talk to a lot of people. There was Garrick and he was pretty nice, but he seemed to be the only one willing to sit and talk with Chaos. Now Jack was willing to sit and talk, but he didn't exactly come off as friendly. So Chaos was very curious to what made him tick.

Chaos shrugged at Jack's question. "I think of it more as a extra then a gift, but yeah that's pretty much it. I can feel others emotions and based on what their feeling my hair will change. Some people are naturally weak feelers, i guess you could call them, and only my hair really changes. On the other hand, some are very strong feelers and usually their feelings overtake my own. Like if their feeling angry, I get angry even if two seconds before I was happy. With others, its kind of like feeling two emotions at once, but yours is the only one that shows." Chaos said trying to explain. It usually took her a bit with people to detect whether they were strong feelers, weak feelers, or regulars. "It helps me understand people better, but sometimes it can cause mis-communications."

[Jack Stone]

Well, she had a point on that. There were some people in this world that just remained unhappy all the time because they thought that life was so hard. Those people were considered weak in Jack's eyes, sure, life sucked but you had to just live with that. There weren't many things that made him happy, but he didn't stay miserable, more pissed off if anything.

Sex, cigarettes, violence, music.....want to to continue? He asked somewhat sarcastically and cocked an eyebrow.

He listened as she explained how her power worked. It didn't seem like a very useful power, actually to feel others emotions would be a annoyance to him but she didn't seem to mind it. I see. He said and put the cigarette out now. Do you even like your power? He asked.

[chaosmordecai]

Chaos felt her brows furrow as Jack started listing off things he liked. She laughed at his sarcastic tone. "If you want to continue, I won't stop you. I 'm not really a fan of violence...or cigarettes...or sex...but I do like music!" Even though she mostly just sung one song. "They don't let you listen to music in here though. Which is too bad, but I guess there's nothing you can do."

Chaos didn't like a lot of the rules here, and though Jack didn't really care at all what the rules were or the punishments that came with breaking said rules, Chaos was well-aware. She was careful to follow all rules and take all her medication. And that was simply because she was too weak to handle the punishment. Unlike Jack, who apparently could handle anything the asylum had to dish out.

She was brought out of her thoughts as Jack asked her if she liked her power. She shrugged, smiling wistfully. "Yeah, I do. I'm not for the whole rebelling against the asylum in any way I can. I like to make friends, as many as possible. Knowing how people feel gives me a better understanding on how they function, their personality, and then I can figure out how to approach and form a bond with them. Or if I don't like a person I can, depending on how they react, push their buttons or even -rarely- scare them into staying away from me. That's never happened before, since I don't like being alone. Is my power useful? I guess its a matter of opinion. But I like it." Chaos said nodding.

[Jack Stone]

He just watched as her brows furrowed from his response and he couldn't help but to chuckle. Glad that we have something in common. He said. Jack liked to listen to music, he had even written a couple of songs in the past and he was a very good singer.

He listened as she explained more of her power to him. It seemed like the power was more of a bonding thing. Like it helps her understand and empathize with people. To him, it seemed like a useful power now, but he would only use that to use people to get what he wanted. She seemed to use it for the good reasons and he would use it for the bad.

I see. Was all he said. He didn't really know what else he could say, could tell her what he would have done with the power, but he decided to keep that one to himself.

[chaosmordecai]

Chaos didn't think the whole idea of her power would be very interesting to Jack. He didn't seem like the type of person to make friends with people just because he could. Chaos didn't mind. She knew her power wasn't very useful to most. It was like an acquired taste. It just took a specific type of person to actually be interested in it.

"Maybe it's just because of my gift, but I find emotions to be so fascinating. Certain things you can only do in a certain type of emotion. Most people don't yell at someone unless they're annoyed or angry or disgruntled. But then you never see someone laugh when their sad of bawl when their happy. The way certain emotions always bring out a reaction in someone almost seems unreal." Chaos said in a kind of head-in-the-clouds voice.

Ever since she was small, Chaos felt other people's feelings. She wondered why a certain action or thing made someone cry. She watched -and felt- her mother's actions bring out the worst of her father and made him feel the worst kinds of pain that Chaos would never want to inflict on another person. She watched him leave. And she felt his pain as he closed the door, leaving Chaos behind. But there was always that lingering hope that she would be able to see him again. And that's what Chaos held onto for all these years.

"But what about you? You can manipulate shadows. How does it work? Pros? Cons? Is it your only power? How many tattoos do you have?" Chaos was shooting off questions as fast as she could blink. Her train of though was known to run straight off the tracks. She would be on one topic, notice something else, and dive straight into another topic.

[Jack Stone]

She sure did talk alot. She got everything out that she wanted to say in one setting and still had much more to bring the the table. Guess she was one of those people who were a total social butterfly or something. Emotions make people act stupid.....and do stupid things. He commented and sigh.

Emotions were something that he had experienced before. Whenever he became angry, things around him explode and sometimes people get hurt. He just sigh from those memories and ran a hand through his hair.

She asked him six questions in one sentence and without even having to catching a breath. I can create shapes in shadows.....I can also use them to cover myself and the only problem with that power is that it doesn't work during the day to much, more of a night thing and the good thing about it is that I can sneak around without being seen. He said.

His other power. That was was his more powerful and deadly one. I have one other power, I can move things and people with me mind, if I wanted to I could throw you into that wall over there. He admitted and chuckled.The only bad thing about that power....is that if I become mad then it becomes unstable. He added.

Uhh to many to count, I'm just going to say that. He replied and chuckled.

[chaosmordecai]

Jack talked about his power and Chaos listened intently. She wasn't just a talker, she was a decent listener too. Mixed with her power for the better of understanding people and she was probably the best person to talk to. She had a handful of qualities that made her a decent friend and a lot of people find it difficult not to trust her. If the people outside these dreadful walls could look past their prejudice, Chaos was positive they would find a collection of wonderful people in the asylum. Even Jack who was a little rough around the edges wasn't such a bad guy. Well, that was Chaos's opinion.

Jack mentioned his other power, moving things with his mind, and mentioned throwing Chaos into a wall. Chaos and her vivid imagination actually pictured it and she winced. She laughed at the thought. He mentioned becoming unstable though. Chaos knew what that's like. If someone's emotions were strong enough, even she could do things that they would've done. For example, if someone she cared about was hateful enough towards another person, in the same hatred Chaos could kill someone. She grimaced at the thought. She smiled back at Jack.

"I guess under the right circumstances anyone could become unstable. Some are just worse than others. The damage a person could do to another is surprising enough, but the lengths they would go to do them. That in itself is pretty scary." She said thinking about it for a minute. She decided the thought was too dreary and as another popped into her mind she started laughing. "I think you've got the most perfect set of gifts in for escaping. Cloaking yourself in darkness and the power to move objects with your mind? Truly perfect. And when you mean move objects, does that include locks. Like you can just move the little triggers up or down and the whole thing unlocks?" Chaos asked tilting her head in curiosity. She really wanted to fully understand everything, including Jack's power.

[Jack Stone]

She had some good points. Sometimes it was surprising what lengths people will go just to hurt someone, he was a prime example of that and the people he had hurt and killed had done nothing wrong to him. She questioned more on his powers, stating that his powers would be perfect to use if he wanted to escape and he already knew that.

Yeah I could.......I mean I can move anything with just a thought. He said.

It was when he became angry did his power change somewhat. Instead of just moving things; breakable items such as glass would suddenly burst and shards of the broken glass would fly around everywhere. He had become angry once in this asylum, why he was angry he couldn't remember. He was alone in a room and he could feel his anger boiling, finally it peaked and when he let his steam out, windows busted into pieces and everything around the room went flying. Only when he was tazered and sedated did everything stop flying around.