savetheearth | {001} Video

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{001} Video

Wow, a secret network! This whole story keeps getting more and more mysterious!

[She had never imagined finding something like this so soon after arriving in the States. Though nearly breathless with excitement, Misa attempts to keep herself in check and remain at least a little bit professional. Beaming at the discovery is impossible to cover up, but she manages to avoid blurting out the first question that comes to mind in favor of a thought-out response.]

Hello, my name is Misa Amane! I’m new here and I’d love to have a conversation with anyone who has been here a while, or has information about what’s been going on. The news has been pretty crazy, but if you want to share your stories then I’m here to listen!

[There, that sounded pretty good, right? She hopes that no one too weird answers, but at least with this number she doesn’t have to meet them face to face right away. Besides, an insider scoop is definitely worth the risks. This is going to get her name on the map for sure.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I've been-

[Misa stops short of insisting that she has been in love before. She has, but it's hardly relevant. And the fact that all of those relationships are in the past might be proof enough they weren't on the same level as her 'Other' and the mystery man.]

I'd like that. What's a good meeting place around here? I'm staying at the Holiday Inn.

I own a small coffee shop. You might have been here long enough to hear about it... it's called Espresso Yourself? It's something of a hub of Numbered activity, although it's had some bad luck recently due to people who aren't our biggest fans.

Oh, I've heard of that place! I've been meaning to check it out! Are you there now? I can probably be there in 15 to 20 minutes.

I am, as a matter of fact. Come on by; we'll talk and I'll make you any latte you'd like on the house.

I'm holding you to that! Vanilla sounds good right now.

[She gives him a wink and a little wave.]

See you soon!

[With that she puts her phone away, and after a few minutes of primping sets off in what she hopes is the right direction. Luckily there are plenty of people able to point her onwards and the walk doesn't take much more than 15 minutes. Misa takes a deep breath as she arrives at the store front; it's one thing to talk to people over the network, but this will be the first Numbered she's meeting in person. It seems like she made a good first impression, right? There's no reason to think things won't go smoothly.]

[Misa opens the door and pokes her head in, with a tentative:] Hello?

[Espresso Yourself has seen better, busier times. Some days it's more expensive than it's worth, and L operates at a loss to keep it open, but he remains optimistic. Business will improve when the city's attitude toward Numbered does, and that's going to happen. It must.

He glances up from behind the counter when she enters. He looks brittle and frail over the network, but the effect in person is something else entirely. Most people who look like L are not alive. Still, he offers a smile and holds a hand up in greeting.]

Vanilla latte, right? Or have you changed your mind? Please make yourself comfortable anywhere you'd like.

[That means one of the couches, unless Misa feels like taking one of the many unused chairs off the tabletops and setting it up for herself.]

Vanilla latte sounds great, thanks.

[She meanders around the room for a few minutes, taking it all in, before settling down at the end of one of the couches. With such a name presence, she had expected the place to be much busier. But it's nicer this way, even if she would have been warier about coming in had she known they were not meeting in a very public place.]

Is it usually like this?

OK. You got it.

[He starts making her latte, going through motions that are very well-practiced by now. Though he owns the coffee shop, he steps behind the counter fairly frequently when it's understaffed. These days, that's pretty frequently.]

It's been quiet lately. Some bad things have happened here, and business has fallen off a little as a result, but... that's life, right? Things will turn around eventually.

Yeah! These things always turn around.

[She watches Lazarus work, trying to get a read on him. He looks like he could be knocked over by a stiff wind. The bags under his eyes she had noticed over the network, but seeing him in person only exaggerates all that is unhealthy and frail about him. He must not be kidding about going through tough times.]

I talked to a few people, but most of them didn't want to get into specifics about what's been happening... can you tell me more?

[He chuffs a small breath of laughter at her optimism; he appreciates it even as he understands that it can only mean so much, coming from someone who's so new to the situation. He glances up at her as he steams the milk for her latte with hollow, dark eyes, a smile lighting up his pale face.]

That's very kind. Thank you. And yes... I wouldn't have asked you here if I wasn't willing to tell you more. Refusing to talk to the media has never done any of us any good.

I totally agree!

[Misa returns his smile, obviously happy to hear him say that.]

I mean, I understand why people are paranoid about it, but I think the mystery is making things worse for everyone. When people clam up, it just leaves more room for outsiders to make up their own version of what's going on. Putting the truth out there is the only way to stop it!

[He gives a small, slight laugh at the enthusiasm of her response. She's a good reporter, at least good enough to be charming and peppy and encourage the same from her subjects. It tends to be highly effective when it comes to people like Lazarus, who is inherently a very lonely soul.]

It's a cruel irony. The things we don't talk about are the scary things, and they're scary because we don't talk about them. Vicious cycle, that.

[He speaks as someone who has been treated, sometimes aggressively, for mental illness from the time he was in his late teens. He has always thought that the secrecy and stigmatization was a crock of bullshit, and nothing about his experience as a Numbered has made him feel any differently.]

So, Misa Amane... you care about the truth, and what to put it out there? If that's the case, I think we'll be very good friends. What do you want to know?

Aside from everything? [She giggles to herself as she opens up her notebook, glancing over the notes she wrote from her network conversations.] Alright Lazarus Lawliet, let's be friends.

First things first, I have to ask about the aliens. I thought that had to be a hoax, but the Bugman said it was true. Is it?

[He gives a shrug that says "fair enough," watching her take out her notebook as he puts the finishing touches on her latte.]

It's no hoax, and it's absolutely true. In fact, rumors probably don't do the reality justice; they're real and they've been monitoring Earth for awhile because of the strange activity occurring here.

[He holds up a canister.]

Whipped cream, or no?

[She looks like the kind of girl who probably watches her figure.]

No thanks.

[While she indulges in sweets from time to time, Misa tries not to go overboard and cuts calories where she can. The latte is enough of a treat without whipped cream.]

Where did they come from, what do they look like? Have you seen them in person? Did they leave behind evidence?

[He nods briskly, setting aside the whipped cream and putting a cap on the latte before stepping out from behind the counter, bringing it over to where Misa is sitting and handing it to her. His hands move oddly and a little bit stiffly, but it's leagues better than the way they used to be; a quick eye can glimpse traces of scar tissue at the bases of both wrists before he tugs his sleeves down and takes a seat nearby. Though his feet remain on the floor, he has a tendency toward hunching forward, gargoyle-like.]

I have seen them in person. They look like humans, or at least they're capable of making it seem that way. And I'd say they left behind a fair amount of evidence... there have been a lot of witnesses, including the Secretary of Defense. That meeting was pivotal in getting more of a military presence in Locke City.

[Misa accepts the latte with a grateful smile, pretending not to see the flash of scar tissue at his wrists. It confirms what she had glimpsed earlier over the video, but aside from treating him carefully she doesn't want to acknowledge it. For all her investigative curiosity, that isn't any of her business. Maybe they'll talk about it one day, if they really do become good friends.]

Crazy... I guess it's the sort of thing that's hard to believe unless you see it yourself.

[She removes the cap from the latte and blows on its surface gently before taking a tentative sip. Too hot, but good.]

Is the military presence here good for the Numbered or bad?

[Her manners do not go unnoticed. Lazarus will remember them, and it's another step towards solidifying the goodwill Misa has already done well to gain from him.]

It was, in my case. They have a guy... Geoff. He has what I'd call a preternatural charisma. It's practically impossible not to trust him when you're in his presence. Is your latte good?

[Quality is probably the one thing Espresso Yourself has never suffered for. L only buys the best ingredients, even if these days he has to throw away more of them than he'd like. Not enough people come in for all the milk to get made into lattes and smoothies.]

It's good for controlling the violence and riots, but... on a grander scale, I can't say that I'm thrilled about it. At least no one is getting lynched.

[Misa writes down the name Geoff, curious what "preternatural charisma" looks like.]

It's really good!

[She blows again and takes another sip as he speaks, trying to avoid burning her tongue.]

That's understandable. I'm glad they're doing some good here, but I'm sure no one wants to live in a war zone.

[It is something else. While it's immensely comforting, it certainly has a way of stripping a person of their agency. Lazarus doesn't recommend it.

His face brightens considerably at the verdict on the coffee, though.]

You like it? Good! Make some friends and tell them it's worth coming for.

[Said slightly ruefully, but he recovers briskly and relatively gracefully.]

I can get behind no more death, more than I can possibly say. I've lost friends; a young man named Anthony was gunned down right behind that counter.

[He points, over his shoulder, without looking that way. He has the location memorized.]

War zone or not, it's our home. We should be able to keep living here.

[Misa's eyes widen, following Lazarus's finger to stare at the spot. No wonder there's no one else here.]

I'm so sorry... That's horrifying. It's amazing you still work here.

[She hesitates, wondering if it's over-sharing to put her own trauma out there so soon after meeting him. But the more they have in common the more comfortable he'll probably be talking about things like this, and he is being very open with her.]

My parents were killed while I was in college. I couldn't make myself go back to the house after that.

[He's surprised at how much he appreciates her sympathy. They're facts of life at this point, but that doesn't make them painless. Reminders like this are reassuring for the simple reason that they keep him from starting to feel like so much ugliness and death are normal.

He owes her some in return.]

Can I ask what happened to your parents? I take it they died at home...

Yes.

[Her gaze drops to her lap, hand absently tracing the rim of her cup.]

A robber broke in and killed them. I was away and there was never a confession, so I don't know the exact details... it took a lot longer to get justice than it should have.

[Despite her insistence on being outspoken on the subject, trying desperately to get anyone's attention to help and to care, it still isn't easy to talk about. Misa takes a sip from her latte, not meeting Lazarus's eyes.]

[It's shocking and difficult. He knows that in a lot of ways, his best bet is to be very silent; better to be a good listener than a dreadful conversationalist. He stays quiet for as long as he can without it seeming too strange.]

I'm truly sorry. I cannot imagine how that would be.

[He's also an orphan, but his parents were both dead before he could possibly remember them. It is not the same thing.]

Did you finally get justice? Obviously it wouldn't bring them back, but I imagine it would give you a sense of closure, and that in itself is a good thing. Or... are you still waiting?

Thank you. They did get justice.

[Misa smiles, glancing up at him. It's nowhere near as exuberant as she was before, but it is sincere.]

He was captured immediately, but the trial was put off so long I really thought he was going to walk. It wasn't anything I did— I tried, writing about it and taking the story to different papers, blogging, but I guess it wasn't good enough. Someone else picked up the story though, and not long after that a prosecutor finally took on the case.

[She takes another drink from her latte, before putting it down on the table.]

I guess that's when I knew for sure that I wanted to be a reporter.

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