middleofsomewhere | So Familiar a Gleam: Conclusion

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So Familiar a Gleam: Conclusion

Time to leave!

There is not much of the city left, but the park is holding together as those anchoring help those who are not voidtreckers through back to where they belong. Monsters continue to attack and a little further out there is a battle of hearts and minds being fought with the mass of colours and chaos.

Eventually, after the bulk of citizens had been evacuated everyone with SCA's on would hear Jin-Roh's voice after a few frantic beeps, as Chiff aligned everyone's SCA's. "We are almost done here, if you are with anyone not tethered to a voidcraft get them to the evacuation point, as quickly as possible."

Anan pulls out of the anchoring point to call out to any defenders in the park. "Come on! Anyone who isn't a voidtrecker! It's time to go."

Luckily those off fighting the entity headed the message and made their way to the park as Jin Roh spoke again.

"Everyone else get ready. When we call it you need to leave. If you don't have your SCA on then get to someone who does."

As the last people rushed to the park Anan calls out again, through her SCA and outloud to the park. "You need to unanchor, before you can evacuate. Everyone be ready."

She goes in again though, because there are some last people, those from the large battle, getting through as another message was called.

"Almost there. Be ready. On my command..."

Anan unanchored again. "Quick everyone unanchor."

"NOW" Jin Roh's voice came through strong on their SCA's. Hopefully those with SCA's would grab those without.

There is some outside help as well, the train pulls anyone who is unconscious or still under the entity's control, forcibly evacuating them. This includes Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji and Zagreus.

Luggage Carriage

There has been a mass evacuation before and that was crazy enough but since then the population of the train has almost doubled and now it is an extremely tight squeeze as everyone crashes into the luggage carriage at the same time.

The train jerks and rolls as they enter into the void at breakneck speed and again as they seem to slow, rather than speeding off though the void.

There's a crackling from their SCA's. "Voidtreckers? Voidtreckers come in!" Anan's voice. "Please tell me you made it..."

There's only a few moments of signal and soon they are flying though the void again, away from the strange non-world, the entity sealed for now. To new adventures, but first hopefully some time to recover from all that has happened.

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"Huhh..." He almost asks 'which Kyoko', but refrains. Are there even still two...? He never really spoke to-

Katsuya blinks, and sits up. "Huh? Oh, yeah sure," he mumbles, stretching out what he can before stifling a yawn. "Yeah, let's go," before he falls asleep, he doesn't say.

At least there's a transgate not too far from there. But as he's making his way to that he mentions, "Y'know, you remind me a lot of my old first mate. Kraglin was his name. He joined my crew when he was real young. Still a teenager. Just needed somewhere to go. Stuck by me for a good odd... nigh on thirty years?"

Kraglin had messed up real bad, but it was fresh in his mind that his old crew had never forgiven Yondu for his mistakes. So he'd looked at Kraglin's regret and accepted his effort to really help him.

"He's the last one of us left back home."

"Yer first mate? Really?" ...Oh, huh. Well if he joined around then that makes sense. Old friend reminders and- "...Dang....tha's a hell of a long time..." Thirty plus more seems just so far away...

...and...oh yeah. Yondu was...

"T...Th' last one huh." ...Damn. "...damn..." He nods. "...sucks abou' th' rest then..." For whatever reason they would be gone, good or bad.

"He'll be fine." Sure, Yondu was a little mad at him, but he's sure if Kraglin played his cards right he could go find a more reputable crew. Maybe find his own ship.

~~He'd be pissed to find out he took his arrow, though.~~

"Wasn't a good situation but nothin' that can be helped now." The transgate's in the gym, and it's easy to get from there to the sleepers and then into the luggage car where he can pile out his locks.

The ones he'd gotten a month back. "It's been botherin' me that Cherry's gone... wonderin' when I'll go. So I want you to know where these are, an' if somethin' happens to me I want you to keep practicin' with 'em. Show a few other people what to do. A lot of us ended up in real trouble on that last mission."

He'd expected it'd happen sooner or later. It just ended up sooner than he could adequately prepare people.

"...Tha's good at least..." That wherever he is, this Kraglin guy is going to be alright, rather. That's important.

Katsuya blinks as they go through the gates, and blinks again as the locks are pulled out. It takes a moment more, before he realizes what Yondu is saying.

"I...wait, yer givin' me these..? ...Y' don' even know if-" ...If he's going.

But, he doesn't even know if he's staying then, either. "...Shit. ...I...I mean, I c'n try but I'm no teacher, I..." .... "...Only if somethin' happens t' you, yeah? ...I was gonna practice with 'm whenever I could anyway, but...th' teachin' thing, I..."

"Yeah, I don't reckon any of us do know for sure. But most of y'all are pretty young an' if I got the experience, I need to make sure it gets passed down. I know blue team is supposed to be about protectin' but sometimes protectin' requires doin' some shady shit."

He gestures towards the locks.

"It ain't too hard to show someone. Just correct 'em as they're doin' it if you see 'em goin' way off the rails, but give 'em a chance to do it right."

"Hell yeah it does, we ain't even doing anything totally 'legal' righ' now," he huffs, before looking to the locks.

"...I... ...Yeah, I guess yer righ'...I jus'..." ...

"...I hope I don' have t' be that guy, y'know?" He'd rather not think about people leaving, after all.

"Sometimes I try to tell people that, but I don't think it gets through to 'em. We're bein' all presented as heroes to these new places, but the train is a fugitive. An' the people on it depend on it to keep goin'."

The people like him, close to the end of their line.

"Right now, we gotta think like criminals. We gotta learn to get out an' buy time. Buyin' time is important. Keep people talkin' while you figure out a plan." He puts a hand on Jou's shoulder. "You already look out for people. I know you would anyway, whether I was around or not." And maybe it's that he reminds him of Kraglin that drives that line of thought.

"Yeah, pr'tty much. Nice tha' we got some guys on th' other end believin' us, but..." Well, at the end of the day, that could likely end very badly if the superiors for those guys get involved.

"Aw hell...I mean, I guess when it comes t' talkin' outta crap an' knowin' how it all works on th' end under th' table y' got a point..." He sure does have a criminal record...

...Katsuya breathes in, and nods- even if he's feeling a bit misty eyed at the thought. "...Alrigh'. ...I'll do my best, I dunno 'f it'll be enough if it comes t' it but..." Another nod. "I'll do my best, tha's a promise."

"I've been doin' some researchin'. There's a planet of people that does nothin' but treaties an' negotiation for the void. Ameqran. Remember that name, 'cause if one of the other Ministry people catch us they might respect us callin' for representation.

"Now, whether or not they actually defend us is a differ'nt story. Just talkin' 'em into it can buy us time."

He'll have to wait and see if anyone else can come up with some other way of tethering. But he knows he's given Jou enough already, and he feels bad the kid looks like he's on the verge of tearin' up. Honestly, Yondu doesn't know why someone would tear up over him. Though the pressure would make more sense.

"Ameqran....so like a planet 'f lawyers huh?" He hums, thinking it over. He remembered talking to...Thanatos? He thinks that's his name. He remembered they talked a bit about court room stuff, and it was all...weird.

Still. "Yeah, I'll keep tha' in mind. I mean, they'd probably know how t' get us outta it more than anyone else, an' if they're doin' nothin' but legal crap then they'd probably jump at it if we said there were kids involved righ'?"

Fair point. It's a standard sign of having at least half a heart. Katsuya pauses though, swallowing thickly as he blinks away any tears. "...You gonna tell anyone else abou'..."

About the backups. Stuff like that. He doesn't want it to lean on him, that's too much.

"Yeah, I been tellin' people on an' off for a little while now. Different stuff, what I figure they're good at. Been tryin' to make sure y'all know stuff, too, if ya weren't good at it before."

He's a criminal, in the end, and they're going to need to know the 'good' in being a criminal. Though if he remembers Thanatos was a lawyer, this may be good to mention to him. Eventually.

He's pretty much been prepared to think that has been his last good run, a little bit of borrowed time. The hope he has had has been slim, and he knows it to be unlikely.

"Well, y' did a good job. Are doin' a good job, I mean," he coughs after a second.

He looks at the cuffs and things in his hands. "...Guess I oughta...put this in a locker now huh..."

He grunts, because he doesn't know if he's done a good enough one.

Or even if it really matters if he did a good enough one. People seemed to come and go anyway. He always felt as if he were taking up a slot on this train, one better suited to one of the kids Ego killed, or to one of his loyal crew that fought 'til their last.

This whole mess has left him a special sort of depressed, and there's a whole lotta tired in him that goes beyond trying to drag people back to their home universe.

"I ain't got the best history with bein' a 'good guy' but that's probably somethin' you figured out by now. So I don't really think like one. An' when I think of protectin' I usually don't do it in the noblest of ways."

"I mean...." Katsuya blinks, and shrugs. "...Does th' real 'good guy' ever like, think abou' it?"

...Huh.

"...When yer keepin' someone safe, it ain't about th' nice way t' do it. I figure, 's a reason movies an' comics an' stuff are...y'know, movies an' comics." A smile, and he tries to carry on. "...Way I see it...bein' th 'good guy' is more about what y' do in the end. ...And t' me, you're a pretty good guy!"

"I guess you got a point. I don't got a clue what goes on in their heads, I ain't one."

His priorities are usually confused, depending on how emotionally charged he is at the moment. It could be to run off and kill a motherfucker threatening him or his. Or it could be for him to take someone important to him and run. There's a selfish motivation in much of his actions, even if they veer back around to him being protective.

"How long you been on the train, by the way?" He's never really asked. Probably should have.

"Huh, me? Uhhhhh...." The blond pauses, crossing his arms with thought. If he thinks about it... "...Couple months I guess? ...damn, I'll prob'bly have my birthday here then..." he mutters, blinking through the surprise of it.

"How old are ya gonna be?"

He figures, well, if he's still around, he should get the kid some kind of small gift. A little something for being a decent guy. Which he is. And a good hunk of these kids would otherwise be spending the day with their friends and families.

"Heh! 18~ I'll be an adult! ...Er, kinda I guess. Can't uh, can't drink 'r anythin' back home, gotta be 20 f'r that..."

It counts though dammit! "That part never really mattered t' me though." What with his dad's whole deal and all.

Edited (quickly adds a thing,) 2021-08-13 08:38 (UTC)

"Nah, be careful with it. You're on the right track. I actually didn't drink so much back home. Been doin' it more here 'cause I'm more social."

And sometimes he lacks anything better to do.

...And also he's been more than a little depressed after everything. But he supposes by this point, Jou's noticed that. Considering he's preparing to not exist.

"Heh! Thanks. ..Uh..." ...Because of...social huh...

"...Just uh...jus' tha', huh..."

He swallows. Frowns.

"...Oi. ...Don't...uh. ...Don't take it too far, alrigh'?"

He pats his shoulder. "Sounds like your old man really let you down. His loss. You're a decent kid."

He wouldn't have asked him for such a huge favor if he didn't think that.

Katsuya rubs his head, wincing. "Aw, he didn'... ...He's doin' better now I mean, he wasn't th' worst jus'..."

A bit lost to his depression, ultimately. (A lot lost.)

At least he didn't mess up that bad. It sort of gives him hope that some of the kids have something decent to go back to. Hopefully with his animals.

"Good of ya to give 'im that chance to get better."

He...supposes? He...well.

"...I'm jus' glad he got one, I guess."

He's not sure that was his to control.

So Familiar a Gleam: Conclusion

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