show_my_cannons | 11 - Action for Azalea / Text

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11 - Action for Azalea / Text

[He jerks awake. Immediately, his hand goes to his chest, to the back of his head, fingers scrambling over his human form.]

[Everything is whole. Everything intact. There's no rust, no gaping wounds from Sentinel's weapon. Even the scars remain. His body is breathing, it's moving. Its systems are functioning as well as can be expected. Even his hip and shoulder feel better.]

[That's not right.]

[He hadn't made it out of DC. He'd felt everything go dark, felt his systems crumble away while he tried to fight to stand up, to shoot, to act and not let the inevitable happen. They'd been betrayed -- he couldn't lie down and let it happen. He'd tried, he'd tried with every failing piece of his strength to stay online. But it hadn't been enough.]

[And now he's here. Alive.]

[It feels like he's been gone for years. And it was -- since the battle in Egypt, it had been three years... His eyes rest on the 'gear.]

[For a while, he just sits in silence, staring at it, while gradually realizing there are people here who may be concerned for him. His team... his friends... they're beyond his grasp now. That realization in particular feels like a physical blow, and he has to bow his head and breathe for a few minutes longer before he can pull himself back together. His allies. His leader. Everything he'd fought for, everything he'd tried so desperately to return to, was gone.]

[There is no more going back.]

[Finally... Ironhide picks up his 'gear, and taps out a brief, halting message.]

How long was I out? Feels like... |

[He leaves the text unfinished, dropping the 'gear in favor of silence and brooding.]

((ooc: Potential spoilers for Dark of the Moon abound in the post and possibly in the comments.))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

_{[... oh. Oh man.]}

You went home??

_{[Suddenly Heather's a whole lot more worried than she was a couple seconds ago.]}

you cant have been gone more than a week over here...

I didn't even know you were out

It was three years.

[He doesn't elaborate. He's not really sure how to.]

_{[... Whoa.]

[Three years...]

[Admittedly, she knows people sometimes go home and then come back later... but that's a long time for someone who'd been lying in a bed for a week...]}

three years?

... are you okay?

_{[It's an absurd question, really, but she can't think of anything else to ask. A lot could happen in three years... and he'd said there was a war going on in the Earth he knew.]}

Yeah. Fine.

[He isn't 'okay'. But that's the beauty of text. There's no messy 'tone' or 'expressions' involved. It's easier to hide.]

_{[Very true... which is why, even though Heather's pretty sure he might NOT be fine... it'd seem really weird to keep asking.]

[So she'll... let it go. But only for now.]}

Well...

at least you didn't miss much here.

Everyone... Everyone all right?

[Oh hey look, a change of subject. HUZZAH.]

Everyone's fine.

I'm heading to Ecruteak City with my dad and some friends. 

Everything's... pretty good!

_{[Well, except for the past catching her on its horns and chucking her headfirst into Oh Crap, Not This Again, but he doesn't need to hear about that right when he got back.]}

Are your busted bones better now?

_{[The one GOOD thing about lying around for a week was it gave stuff like that a chance to heal...]}

Where is that?

[He sort of doubts it's near where he is, but, hey, it's a distraction. No reason not to ask.]

. . . Yeah. They are. Nothing hurts.[Nothing physically, anyway.]

It's just north of Goldenrod, I think

wait scratch that, it's a little northwest. 

We would've stopped there earlier, but we went straight to Olivine on the bus during that crazy storm and just sorta stayed there.

_{[But she needed her Fogbadge now.]}

And whoa, that was quick!



well, I guess only quick to the people on this side.

... Did you remember anything from here when you went back?

Not near us, then.

[Well, there goes one idea for a great distraction.]

Quick to you. Yeah. ... I cannot remember. Things... deteriorated. Badly.

No, but it's closer than Olivine is

if you guys head to Goldenrod, we'd be within a weeks' walk or something

_{[Then she pauses, though, because that doesn't sound good at all.]}

... you sure you're ok?

Not sure when Cliffjumper wants to leave. Up to him.

[Since... Ironhide's not really in a decision-making mood right now.]

Just trying to process. Nothing is wrong.

[Says the lying liar who lies.]

All right

_{[She doesn't WANT to leave it there, but...]

[Sob if only they were talking on video.]}

I'm glad the bones are better

That means you don't have to stay in the Center anymore right?

[If they were on video, she'd see someone who looked exhausted, despite being asleep for a week.]

Yeah. Guess so. Have to go... fight the gym, though.

_{[... Poor guy... and after that soulless sleep the other month, too...]}

Don't worry, that guy's a piece of cake.

I beat him without even trying


WHILE running from the police, too!

_{[TRUE STORY.]}

[Oh thank the nonexistent All Spark for this HUGE DISTRACTION.]

What did you do.

_{[IT TOOK HER AWHILE TO THINK OF ONE, BUT HERE IT IS.]}

well it wasn't my fault exactly


about a year ago this fucked-up thing happened and a lot of us otherworlders started hallucinating


and I kinda concussed a nurse with an IV pole and then beat up a bunch of police and ran away into the woods




... so there was a warrant on my head when I showed up in civilization again

_{[... Yep.]}

. . . You attacked a nurse. And law enforcement.

well I kinda


um

thought they were monsters at the time

... That happen often?

No... just that once

it was kinda like what happened the other month... you know, the nightmares...

except then when I woke up, it turned out that it hadn't been a nightmare.

_{[As much as she jokes about it, it still leaves the sour taste of guilt in her mouth.]}

I mean, I wasn't the only one who it happened to.




... I'm pretty sure I was the only one who attacked the police, though.

... Just an accident. Nothing to worry about.

[He's just trying to reassure her. The last thing they need is the two of them freaking out at the same time.]

Did you win?

_{[Fortunately, she's had a year to come to terms with it... and while she still feels bad, she knows it wasn't her fault.]

[Plus, Ironhide's seen some of the monsters from her hometown... it's hard to blame anybody for getting violent when they think they're surrounded by a bunch of Closers.]}

Against the police?

Well, I don't REMEMBER exactly... but according to everybody who saw the broadcast footage, I kind of totally kicked their asses.







apparently it was hilarious

[That's the only reason she's not getting lectured right now.]

...

Then we really must teach you how to fight.

I know how to fight

I'd just like to learn how to fight BETTER.

_{[With WEAPONS.]

[... The Jennies are gonna LOVE Ironhide after this. Heather's not exactly their favorite little foreigner.]}

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