middleofsomewhere | Conclusion

Conclusion

Thank you.

For those inside the system the voices of the Great-Seasons ring out around them once the red mass has vanished and the blue plinth it was smothering is freed once more. They don't have all that much time to reflect on that before they find themselves waking up once more in their bodies around the tree trunks.

Or at least, around the tube that is the Great-Season they entered through. All illusions have vanished now, all that is left are pipes and metal.

The Great-Seasons allow them passage out from the centre, no sentries or pipes attack them this time. Everything seems to have been put to rights, the walls in the Autumn sector have stopped moving, there is no strange weather effects in the Summer Sector, no engineering problems in Winter and all the camaloid creatures in Spring are calm. Any Helpmates they come across are doing their jobs and no longer malfunctioning.

After a small amount of time, enough to check that all is well, their SCA's light up. All Passengers are to return to the Voidtrecker Express.

Considering the vast distances involved it is probably best that they use the evacuation function to return to the Luggage carriage.

Once all Voidtreckers have returned the train returns to the Void once more.

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"Oh--yeah I bet he would. The whole people caring about him seems to be fairly new."

It should probably still be weird, that Thanatos is from another world, but he's so different and kind that it hardly matters. He's just someone new, someone who needs help because Gaia knows, he will not help himself. She sighs, loud, and tucks her hands behind her back.

"Want me to go talk to him? See if I can drag him out of the room for a bit?"

Sitting around wasn't really like him, but he was just thinking. It wasn't the kind of thing he was expecting people to pick up on and he sat up a little bit more when Inigo slid into the seat across from him.

"Hey." He greeted and tilted his head slightly. "How did it go?"

"Practicing," he says brightly. "Have you ever played soccer?"

Awakening

Rich wakes with a yell in the real world again, sitting bolt upright before grabbing at his head. Dizziness comes in waves, and his head is throbbing... probably something to do with the SQUIP reacting to that weird network connection... or whatever it was.

He tries his best to shake it off, and eventually staggers back up to his feet. To anyone who may be nearby, he offers a little grin.

"Hey, don't worry about me. Just going to check something out. I've survived my first real mission, so that's a 100% success rate, right?"

He doesn't need to go far, anyways. He just cautiously approaches one of the Helpmates that's no longer glitching to give them a stern look.

"Hey. Are there actual humans here? Seems like this is a pretty big place, but I haven't seen another person anywhere."

Escape

The ping to Rich's SCA gets answered pretty quickly. He doesn't want to linger too long around the Helpmates, so long as there's nothing else to do.

He pops into the Luggage carriage without much trouble, just a bit of disorientation... but the fog in his head isn't going away, after a while of sitting. Actually, he's starting to sniffle too... and sneeze. He looks down, noting his still soaked outfit, and swears.

"Damnit... Trunks tried to warn you, idiot."

After grabbing a quick change of clothes from laundry, he'll huddle in the med bay to ride it out, with some minor whining. It's the first time he's been sick for two years. When an AI monitors your immune system, you start to forget what a head cold feels like.

"Hiii!" Entrapta announces herself with an overeager wave. She'd been patrolling the train for people she knew, eager to exchange notes and observations, see if there was anything worth learning. But hey! He has a cute...

What is that?

Oh. Right.

"I was wondering if we could talk to you and Senku about the mission. But I didn't realize you'd have a cute li'l friend with you! Fascinating." She uses her hair to thoughtlessly cephalopod crawl up the climbing frame, finding a perch without thinking about it.

He nods. On the one hand, he understands - people that weren't his uncle or his brother caring about him had been new to him too, until about two years ago. On the other hand, he hates that that's the case for Thanatos. Nobody deserves that.

"That would be good." He has a flash of inspiration. "See if you can get him to the dining car - I'll make enough cocoa to go around."

After a while, Otoha passes through medical to grab some supplies. He hears sneezing and walks up the stairs. Peeking through the door he spots Rich.

Hm.

A little bit later Otoha knocks on the door. There’s the faint sound of clinking as he shifts. “It’s Otoha. Can I come in?”

"And eating doesn't help you feel better?" Soldat knows the gnawing nausea that comes from not eating enough, but if it's chronic.... They definitely push the plate closer to Yoite, then, looking vaguely concerned. There's a fork sitting on it, ready for use.

"No. I don't know what soccer is." Nobody told the Winter Soldier about sports, and they only have a vague recollection of baseball from before HYDRA ever got a hold of them.

"I make no promises but I shall do my very best." It'd be funny to try to pull rank, considering she technically has none. But--she gets the feeling that wouldn't be a joke to him, it'd be all too familiar. The very idea--once funny, now seems kind of cruel. She wilts a little, following Ryo through the train. Regardless, she peels off when they reach the quiet car, waving him on.

"If I'm not in the dining car when you get done, feel free to come help me."

"Not really." Yoite shook his head, but he picked up the fork and took a bite.

"I used to eat a lot, but it's just strange now."

Aw, that's sweet of him. "I'll sleep again after I eat," Soldat promises with a little smile. "Post-mission recovery. Sleep and eat for twenty-four hours. Not much else." It's what happens when a supersoldier with their particular serum variant shorts themself on sleep for a week, pretty much. They're used to it. This is a very familiar weakness to be accommodated.

The wings are getting a definite sidelong look of sleepy-eyed interest. The bat, once she's registered, gets a smile. Awwwwww.

They find themselves missing their little haunted ghost figurine.

They lean against the counter, accepting the plate with no qualms. Free food they didn't have to spend time and energy making: sore. After two bites, they ask, "Does she have a name."

“Good. ... You’re a decent guy. Don’t want you getting hurt if it can be helped.” He shifts a bit, uncomfortably. Feelings are hard. “... Kind of flipped out at someone earlier. Wanted to see if you were okay.”

Soldat used to feel like that. Sometimes, they still do. Right now, they're too tired to be anything but genuine. "That's kind, Otoha. I'm fine, though, promise. This is normal for me."

The toasting oven dings, and they reach over to pluck the toast out and onto their plate. There's butter and jam waiting to be spread on, but they debate actually doing it for a second, weighing the appeal of instant calories verses tastier calories. "Why did you flip out?"

"Tell him I'll make some for Mort too, but only if he comes out." It's half-joking, said with a smile, and then he realizes that if that's what gets Thanatos to come to the dining car, he's going to need to follow up on it.

Four mugs, then.

Muted as his Sense is, he can still feel Thanatos once they get close to the quiet car - he's definitely in there somewhere. He nods - "Good luck." - and keeps going, heading for the kitchen and the stores. Hopefully Persephone will be able to convince Thanatos to come join them.

“... Went to go bandage my wounds on my own. Weren’t that bad. Didn’t want to be a bother. Ryo sent someone after me. Grabbed my body and my soul. Flipped out, snapped back to being a weapon. Even after I got sat down. ... Just the routine after a mission if I got hurt. Force s was no break and reforge and break.” His gaze is distant, not really looking at anything in particular.

“... Easier if I’m not a person getting hurt. Don’t want to hurt him, either. ... Don’t want another Reiji.”

Persephone is not going to barge in--that's rude. But she will knock and slightly part the flowers to peek in. She lacks the sense Ryo has, so she's just kind of hoping he's actually in here.

"Thanatos?"

Thanatos is in there, hood down for once, with Mort on his shoulder as he writes in his notebook. He looks over at the window to see a sliver of pink. Getting up and throwing his hood back over his head, Thanatos opens the door.

"Persephone, hello." Thanatos looks tired, but has he ever looked rested?

Kaiba looks a little startled to see Entrapta climbing up the frame by her hair. That's...unique. Does flexing it require a special kind of muscle?

He loops his legs in and settles for a chat up here...sure, why not. He's done weirder. And while he waits, Snapper trots over to the bottom of the frame. She can't climb it, but she can look up at them curiously.

"Right. This is Snapper. Snapper, Entrapta." He waves down at her, then gets back to business. "What did you want to ask us about?"

"Its a game," Shinichi informs him. "The goal is to move the ball around the field and into the goal without using your hands."

Persephone perks up, floating to eye level. Hah, her theory was correct. And Mort, she wants to reach out and give him a pat as well. But boundaries.

"Are you doing anything important? Ryo was worried about you and wanted to see how you're doing. And honestly, I kind of feel the same way." She hesitates, then gestures downstairs, "There's a hot chocolate in it for you if you come. And Mort." Does Mort drink? Is Mort alive??? Questions that feel slightly rude to ask.

"Why is it strange?" Soldat asks, nodding in encouragement for the bite. They're glad they made a well-rounded omelet. Yoite can get plenty of protein and vitamins from thig.

And, because that might be personal, or traumatic, they add, "You don't have to answer. But. If you'd like to."

"Oh." Yeah, completely unfamiliar. "Can you show me?"

Definitely a good distraction. Maybe they'll even learn a new game. (Can't fuck that up with a metal hand, either. Training. ~~Boring.~~ You think everything's boring except food, Pit.)

(Well fuck that. No.)

Soldat wishes they were more awake for this conversation. The plates in the metal arm ripple slightly, clicking and buzzing, before settling. A recalibration pulse. (Thanks for trying, pal. Pretty sure you don't got a voice for your arm, buddy. Sarge, don't give it ideas. I ain't the one talking to it.)

Focus, Soldat. "I know. I. I worry about that, too. Hurting people. Are they okay?" The person who he flipped out at.

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Rich Goranski | Be More Chill | OTA

hitting the gym

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