Part 2: Preparation (Third Person P.O.V)
The jangling of earrings can be heard, accompanied by the sound of echoing footsteps. Nona, best described as Head Arbiter, enters Quindecim. She has grown to favor Quindecim out of all the bars. Quindecim gives off a welcoming vibe, with the collected Decim seeming like the perfect manifestation of order. Such order can bring comfort to those entering the strange world that she and the arbiters inhabit.
The dining of the elevator doors goes unheard, due to the loud shouts that originate from the bar. Ginti, a man with fiery red hair yells at Decim, who seems unfazed by his harsh words. “You always take forever to make your judgments. Are you stupid? Huh? Are you stupid like those obnoxious humans? Huh?”
“I’m glad you are so energetic, Ginti. You’ll need that energy for your next judgement,” Nona, the silver haired woman says, her calmness surprising Ginti who expected her to call him a hot-head. “You both will need a large supply of energy, actually. Energy and determination. Ginti, you especially will need to learn how to keep yourself composed. The incoming judgement will be difficult...”
“Difficult? Ha! I can handle it, no matter what it is. Are the memories fragmented? Are they both murders? I’ve dealt with those judgements before... Why did we have to meet in Quindecim? Surely you’re not thinking of letting Decim do the judgement instead...”
Shifting her position on the bar stool, Nona clarifies the situation, “It is difficult enough were I’ve decided that it needs two arbiters. I was thinking...” she is soon interrupted by the red head who slams his hands on the counter.
“ME work with him? Come on Nona, we both know this case is way above his head...” pausing to give Decim a glare, Ginti continues to rant, “Besides, what makes it so difficult that it needs TWO arbiters? I’ve never heard of two arbiters working together before...”
Resting her chin upon one of her pale hands, Nona responds, “It is hard to explain accurately...” She speaks to the two for hours, with one hour solely spent convincing Ginti to look past his hatred of Decim to work with him for the best interest of all involved.
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“I never took you for the talkative type,” Clavis, the spunky elevator operator says upon Nona’s return to the elevator. Nona merely chuckles. Despite all the yelling, and the lengthy conversation that it took to persuade Ginti to work with Decim, it went better than she thought it would. She can’t help but feel a bit guilty. She did a lot of talking, but managed to leave out a lot. She never explained why she chose two opposites to work together, she never explained why she didn’t just take the judgement herself, and she didn’t tell them her real motive.
Perhaps it is because she has been doing her job for so long, perhaps it is because she it a bit of a trickster at heart, but she can’t help but take pride in the fact that she fooled the two so easily. Are a few encouraging words all it takes to manipulate the two? No it’s not manipulation, Nona denies, shaking her head side to side. I’m doing it for them... I’m trying to help them become better arbiters, to improve at the sole thing they exist to do.
“One, arbiters can not quite making judgments, for that is the reason why they exist. Two, Arbiters can not experience death, for that would make them too close to being human. Three, arbiters can not feel emotions, for they are dummies,” Nona whispers to herself, trying to remind herself of the rules she is supposed to live by. It is a shame that she has found herself unable to agree with the rules... Everything was much more simple when she didn’t question the rules. Now, however she can’t help but feel that some emotion is required to make a proper judgement. Her feelings have been proven correct, with Decim, having been prodded into feeling human emotions making more accurate judgements each day.
Compassion is one of the most important emotions. Many arbiters think humans are like rats, their population consisting of billions, all idiotic and pitiable. Basically, many arbiters think that they are above humans. How can one expect an arbiter to make a proper judgement if they regard humans as an ever constant flow of trash? What would motivate them to make proper judgements?
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“Huh? You want me to do WHAT?” Quin, the former arbiter of Quindecim exclaims with wide eyes. She normally has unwavering confidence in Nona’s decisions and requests, but she never expected to get such an outrageous request.
“It’s simple, I just want you to make a ‘mistake’. After all, you’re relatively new at memory gathering, are you not? It would be understandable for you, a novice, to accidentally send them the wrong memories...”
“Why do you want me to send the wrong memories?” the brunette asks, confused, “the memories of the dead help them figure out what kind of people the humans were. Memories play a major part of the judgement process...” her voice trails off as she continues to struggle to understand Nona’s logic.
“We also judge them based upon their actions here, don’t we? We push and prod them, having them participate in games in the hopes of getting their true colors to show. Just like humans often need a push, some harder than others, Decim and Ginti need a push. They need an immensely hard push. In fact, they need to be pushed without mercy. They need to be pushed right over the edge... The edge of the cliff that is holding them back. Humans are dying at in alarming rate, Quin. We need arbiters that can make both swift and accurate judgements. Don’t feel too stressed, however. You don’t HAVE to send them the wrong memories... You could always leave a few things out, or add a few things...”
“So basically, you’re letting me become an artist. You’re letting me take the fragments and make any sort of picture I want, even if it isn’t the one it is supposed to be,” Quin, growing weary of the conversation, takes a long sip from a nearby flask. Pausing to contemplate it all, there is a brief moment of silence. “I’ll do it. It sound like it could be fun...”
Nona smiles a warm smile of appreciation. She steals the flash from the alcohol loving Quin and takes a sip herself. “This,” Nona whispers, “is going to be fun, without a doubt.” Excusing herself, Nona leaves Quin to her work, and once again walks onto the elevator.
Ding.
It all ends and begins with a ding.
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SHE'S NOT DEAD (Death Parade fanfic)
Fanfiction{Upon death, humans are sent to a mysterious place. Once there they are judged. They are judged upon the memories of their own actions, and the actions they display in front of an arbiter. Humans are either sent to “Heaven” to be reincarnated, or to...
