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ximilialog2021-08-01 12:57 pm
- ! event log,
- doctor who: clara oswald,
- doctor who: the doctor (11),
- fullmetal alchemist: edward elric,
- grishaverse: the darkling,
- gundam seed/destiny: yzak jule,
- mcu: bucky barnes,
- mcu: daisy johnson,
- mcu: erik stevens,
- mcu: sam wilson,
- original: dusty fields,
- pacific rim: newton geiszler,
- star trek aos: james t. kirk,
- yakuza 0: goro majima
MISSION: GHOST GIRL PART 2
● ● ● M I S S I O N 1 . 2
There is tension in the air for the next few days that follow, and there are too many questions and too few answers, and less that anyone in the palace is willing to give. The Orbers have been separated into two camps, with the sick and infected locked in a wing that cannot be accessed, save for the snatches of conversation exchanged through communication devices, and the rest kept in the dark with watchful eyes guarding their every move. But the team won’t sit down and accept their fates, and certainly not the fates of their newfound friends. Plans are discussed and carefully plotted between them, away from vigilant ears, and it can’t come soon enough.
1.0 Jim, Bucky, and Sam have been tasked with getting people in the infirmary to band together to knock out the guards, tie them up, and then escape. Syrlya will help the team from the outside, providing a portal to quickly help the infected escape the palace unseen. They will attempt to unlock the doors from the inside, and once unlocked, The Darkling can cut through the entire door, bringing it down; Daisy will help him. In the meantime, to keep the guards from alerting the rest of the palace, Richie will be tasked with distracting them, keeping their attention away from the infirmary.
2.0 Once the team has escaped through the door, Sabriel can help put the guards they come across to sleep, as well as disorient any servants they don’t want to catch leaving. Erik will be shielding them from any guards who try and stop them. It will be difficult for the infected to keep their wits about them, but they’ll have to remember who they are and focus on what makes them them. Finn will be the only one who can help the infected with the changes that affect the mind, so those who find themselves hallucinating, lashing out at others, or are struggling with any number of other changes may require some help to escape. From the outside, any other Orbers may join the escapees on their way to Yuryeong.
3.0 While the great escape is occurring, Clara, Hermann, and Clarke will have to try and convince the guards that they don’t support the escape and reassure them that they are on the side of Gyeongje’s rulers. In the end, will you escape to the outside and help as best as you can from the outer city? Or will you remain within the palace walls and hope that the guards don’t suspect you?
The knowledge of the way to Yuryeong leads the infected and those escaping with them deep into the forest, along a path covered in thick underbrush and a shelter of trees above. Eventually the group will notice a golden glow shining through the thicket of foliage and will be led to a small shrine made of stone and half-covered in moss; it seems old, almost abandoned, yet before it there is an altar bearing signs of offerings recently left upon it.
Once they approach, there’s an unearthly glow around the shrine like sunlight emanating from within; something seems to slowly be reaching out to envelop each escapee. Those familiar with magic will recognize it as a barrier spell of sorts — it inspects them, reads something inside them only visible to the spell itself… but whatever it’s looking for, it must be successful because the forest around them begins to blur.
When their surroundings refocus again, the small shrine has been replaced by a much larger one, and the trees around it carry red ribbons of prayer waving slowly against the wind. The entrance to the shrine is shrouded in darkness — though it’s not entirely natural, as becomes evident when the shadows start to move and a tall form emerges.
4.0 When you follow him inside, you’ll be surprised: instead of the inside of a shrine, the door is less a door and more a gateway. Behind it is what can only be called a small village: there are tent-like houses that stand on shaky foundations, made from leftover wood and harsh, hard fabrics, partially held up by the trees nearby; pathways that cut through the grass; a large area outside where pots are held over fire, the smell of stew wafting in the air. And all around there are monsters: different forms moving, speaking to each other, some around the fire, some emerging from their tents, and some ducking under the flaps to disappear into them. Perhaps more surprisingly, there are also people: some are dressed in clothes not unlike the citizens in the merchant district; some bearing the uniforms of the guards, mingling with the monsters with ease.
The shadow-man disappears into one of the tents, unmarked from the rest, and when he reemerges, he is not alone. So-Yeon’s white clothes stand out from the rest like a beacon and she slowly approaches the team members where the shadow-man had left them.
She nods to the shadow-man — it becomes clear the similarities between them; this is her brother — but anything more she wants to say is interrupted when one of the guards runs to her side, tugging her arm. It’s an emergency, they say urgently. She looks at the team, mouth half-open, but then turns away swiftly to follow the guard into one of the tents… She reassures you that she will speak with you later.
5.0 If you follow her suggestion, you’ll find that there are a few empty houses to occupy — though inside, they are barely furnished, mostly consisting of hastily-crafted wooden desks and spare clothes or sheets on the ground making what appears to be a bed. In general, all of Yuryeong seems less like an established town and more like an emergency encampment, and those who are not infected may want to do something about that. Perhaps you want to help make the “houses” more comfortable, or perhaps you volunteer to hunt and forage for food — with so many new mouths to feed, it’s clear that whatever supplies exist won’t be enough. Or maybe, having assessed the desperate situation, you decide to sneak back into the city, avoid the guards there, and come back with supplies.
If you are feeling inclined to do a little cooking, there are few pots and pans scattered about by the fires. Just be sure to leave some of the meat uncooked as some of the infected seem to require it raw.
Those who want to explore will find a graveyard in the woods near the shrine — there are nearly a hundred graves marked with stones bearing crude carvings. Those who walk among the markers might find some spirits of the deceased still lingering, dead townspeople, either killed in attacks or by the infection.
6.0 As the days pass, the infected will find that their changes have reached the end and have come to the completion of their transformations; and though they are not entirely losing their minds, thanks to Yuryeong’s barrier, the mental effects do persist. With the team progressing through a working cure — So-Yeon is there alongside the team members focused on the cure and readily provides what help she can… though pushing the orb’s power out of her and into the cure often leaves her anywhere between tired to half-conscious, carried back to her tent by her brother on numerous occasions.
Eventually the time comes for the cure to be tested… after all, while in theory it seems to work on the cells of the infected, reversing their mutations, you never know if it works in practice. The particularly brave or daring will be the first and necessary test patients — and indeed, the cure does not work without some hitches. Those it’s tested on find their transformations receding and then returning again, and unfortunately once the changes begin to be undone for good, it does not come without considerable pain.
But endure that pain and finally, finally, after countless hours of work, science and magic together, the cure will start to work. The infected team members will slowly start to change back to themselves.
The members of the team who choose to stay within the palace walls will have to convince the Lord and Lady of Gyeongje that they are there on the basis of believing the rulers are just and right in their thinking. And, sure, it takes some doing, but eventually it is the Lady Jeung-Sun who nods her head. It seems she believes you when you tell her and Lord Suk-Ju that you condemn the actions of your fellow teammates, that their siding with the Ghost Girl is to declare themselves enemies of the palace and its people.
That’s good, right?
7.0 For the remainder of the late afternoon, there appears to be a sense of camaraderie between you and the rulers of Gyeongje. You’ll be welcomed to tea and food, to be seated in the main room alongside the captain and some of the higher-ranking soldiers. At one point, the captain is beckoned to the main table where she leans in while Lord Suk-Ju appears to be relaying some important information he doesn’t want his wife to hear. (Lady Jeung-Sun remains none the wiser while she sips her tea, watchful of her company.) The captain nods, and then she nods again, and her eyes roam over to where you and your teammates are enjoying tea and bite-sized foods and other things. She straightens and approaches your tables, her expression solemn and unreadable.
You might be curious by this point, or perhaps you’re beginning to suspect that you’ve overstayed your welcome. But before you can utter a word of warning to the rest of your team, if you’d had any of the tea and foods, your tongue might start to feel a little strange, slippery to match the way your brain feels like it’s sliding out of place inside your head. If you decided to abstain from the offered sustenance, you’ll notice your fellow Orbers start to look quite unlike themselves: lethargic and a little overheated; some might start to babble confessions to questions they might otherwise have kept to themselves.
The next thing you know, you note the captain raising her arm, shouting for the guards to arrest you and the others while the truth serum is still in effect.
It’s time to go.
8.0 It’s not without some fussing and possibly a brief scuffle before you manage to get past the guards and back out into the palace grounds. Your heart is beating so fast and it’s difficult to remember where you are or how to get out; the palace has been built like a maze. A figure seems to emerge from the shadows and she’s alone. “Trust me,” she whispers as she ushers you and the others down a path you don’t recognize, “I’ve helped one of you already.” But before you’re about ready to call her out, you see the exit up ahead. You’re almost there. You’re almost free.
There are others waiting for you right outside of the gates, and they lead you towards the merchant’s district, a comforting sight to those of you who have explored it, and familiar enough to those who haven’t. There are shouts in the distance, difficult to discern but it’s easy enough to hear the displeasure, and more importantly, how they’re in pursuit of you.
You’re led into a home with a dimly lit hearth and there’s enough space to look as though this might have once been the residence of a large family, maybe even a well connected one. The wood walls, painted red, seem dull now, the colour flaked and chipping away from the worn structure. It has seen and faced time and disuse. There are thick curtains covering the windows and trinkets left on a table facing a mirror. Everything is covered in a light layer of dust.
A strong, stout woman with her dark hair piled high atop her head comes from the next room over, followed by two other women, both much younger than her. Her daughters, perhaps, or maybe the daughters of her neighbours. Either way, they seem simultaneously protective and obedient to the older woman, moving to stand behind her while she and the guard who initially helped you escape exchange words. You can make out the words ‘Listen to them, they speak the truth’ — and then the guard nods in your direction and slips back out of the house without another word, leaving your fate in the hands of this unfamiliar woman who looks as though she might have boxed a few ears in her time.
“I’ve been informed that you can tell me exactly what is happening to our city and why we are made to suffer as we are,” she says. “You may call me Aunt Min-Ji. Which of you will speak?”
9.0 Not all of you will have been led to Min-Ji’s home, or perhaps you’ve simply decided to find your own way. Maybe you’re keeping guard from nearby, opting to protect the others during the quiet, informal council. Either way, the sound of the palace’s guard is louder, and there is commotion and flickering firelight reflecting against roof tile and cobblestone as Lord Suk-Ju’s search parties have entered the outer district with the intent to silence you before the truth gets out.
Use your wits and your weapons to protect this area and defend it from the guard. Those with abilities to snuff out flame might be especially useful at this time, as wood doesn’t exactly do well against fire, and the guards have come equipped with torches in hand.
10.0 It’s becoming clear that the palace guards were never going to allow you and the others to exist in peace, not while the Ghost Girl and the Infected were still at large. You’ve now been declared a threat and an enemy to Gyeongje and must be stopped at all costs. If you run into the palace guards, you’ll be met with a fight, and you must try and defend yourselves and the merchant’s district to the best of your ability. If you aren’t much of a fighter, you can still be useful. There are always other ways of tricking a guard or disarming them — just, you know, use that clever brain of yours.
Even while you’re in the midst of a tussle, you might notice a suspicious party moving past the commotion. There are a cluster of guards surrounding a dark wood box suitable for one, lifting it by its formidable poles. The palanquin is concealed by fabric curtains but a shift of wind reveals a man’s figure within it — he looks panicked and harried as he urges his entourage on. You know that face, you saw him only moments before he called for your arrest. Ah, yes, it’s none other than the Lord of Gyeongje, himself. But where is he going?
And while staying within the city has quickly become dangerous, there is some good news from those in Yuryeong...
The cure is administered to the Orbers first, and with very little complaint — “Our people are still wary,” So-Yeon explains when the rest of the compound hesitates, “let them see the success of this first.” She seems to pause, her expression thoughtful before she adds: “Besides… I have a plan.”
The plan, it seems, requires returning to the city. Everyone in Yuryeong is gathered in front of the shrine where So-Yeon speaks to them all, her voice easily carrying over the crowd with renewed strength.
“Everyone! Finally, we are returning to Gyeongje! We will take back our home and show everyone the truth. We will expose the lies once and for all!”
11.0 Her words are met with a roar of approval… and whether you agree or not, you’ll find it difficult to stop the infected citizens from leaving. One after another, they follow a procession through the door of the shrine, disappearing through the barrier that has protected them all these months — none look back.
The journey back to the city from the dark woods is deceptively easy but everything seems to change the moment the group reaches the edges of the outer district. Armed guards are waiting for them patiently as though they were prepared for their return — it is an army by the looks of it, assembled to pursue the monsters instead of protecting the palace.
But just how did they get there…?
12.0 Those in the city may have an answer for that. The signs of the guards mobilising are impossible to miss: their presence on the city streets is suddenly gone, like they have dropped all efforts to search for the team; instead, they can be seen dragging heavy carts full of arms to the palace.
It is possible, too, to see some of the guard sneaking back into the city, knocking on the doors of houses where some of the team have taken to hiding. There are whispers between the cracks of the doorways — It’s finally happening, the captain has called for us to go to war, it’s the Lord’s orders, what do we do —
But it’s the noticeable presence of the full force of the guard leaving the palace the next day. They form an impenetrable wall around the border of the outer district, some perching on rooftops in the merchant district, all alert, their backs straight … all of them ready to fight at their captain’s command.
13.0 And a fight does ensue the moment the Yuryeong forces arrive. Just as before, in the palace courtyards, hesitation ripples amongst those of the guard who seem yet again unwilling to fight — but most of them, it seems, have gathered their resolve. They aim to target everyone equally, human or monster; and in the midst of it all, the captain calls her forces to her.
While some of the guards wield regular swords (one or two), some have equipped themselves with sabers or bows and arrows — all are strong, capable in combat, and are clearly using the magical arts to help them fight. A single jump might take a soldier from the street to the rooftop or higher still into the trees. Some will fight with talismans, using them to freeze their opponents in place, to bind them, or make their weapons burn fire-hot. Some guards may also have their own special weapons: whips of pure energy, fans that create unnaturally strong blasts of wind, or arrows that — when they hit a target — neutralise any magic their target might have for long enough to leave them vulnerable for further attack.
As the fighting inevitably spills from the edge of the city and into the streets of the residential district, brave civilians begin to join the throng in an attempt to interfere. Further still are the innocent bystanders unaware of the fighting or the reasons for so much violence near their homes. Without weapons or the skill to defend themselves, they’ll need someone to protect them — they’ll need you.
The fight is heated on both sides, the cries of metal and magic ringing through the air amidst shrieks of the fearful citizens, and when it feels as though casualties are unavoidable, it’s So-Yeon’s voice that rings out over the city that has quickly transformed into an ugly battlefield.
The barrier that kept Yuryeong hidden slams through the city with a staggering force, and So-Yeon, with her face seeming greyer than just moments before, sways on her feet before taking a step forward.
There is a palpable hush among the crowd, surprise and wariness spreading across the faces of the Gyeongje guard in equal measure. Some of them quickly gather their wits about them, making attempts to push against the barrier that has suddenly materialized between the infected, the orbers, and the palace’s guards like a wall. But the others seem noticeably relieved, and others still are curious. Hesitant whispers ripple over the army. Many are unsure what to do next.
One, however, refuses to be silenced — as she pushes herself towards the front of the forcefield, the captain raises her voice to those under her command.
Her words are cut short, and shadows that seem to slide like liquid from darker corners of the city gather towards her, wrapping themselves around her arms and her legs and her mouth, binding her to keep her from speaking any further. Like the shadows themselves, Seung-Hyun’s form glides next to his sister, motioning to one of Yuryeong’s guards to take the captain away.
Without waiting for anyone’s permission, she begins to follow a path leading directly into the marketplace, the infected moving quietly after her, a procession of ghouls and ghosts made flesh. With no one to command them otherwise, their captain silenced, the Gyeongje guard slowly lower their weapons, watch for the Ghost Girl and her army, and follow.
F Y I
• The conclusion of the first mission will be revealed on August 14, and the team will return to the station then.
• If you have questions about anything in this log, please direct them here.
• Soundtrack for this log (parts I, II and III): ♪ ♪ ♪
no subject
He thinks back to a time when his father had pulled him aside as a teenager and Newt had gripped his arm hard, much like this. His uncle had never had anxiety attacks; his father had exceled at them in his youth, for reasons Newton never asked (though he imagines it may have something to do with his lack of grandparents, if he had to guess). Jacob Geiszler had a lot of flaws, but his voice was always soft and soothing in moments like those.
But that was — forever ago. Feels like centuries, even if it was only twenty years.
Twenty years goes quick and slow, all at once.
Be proud of yourself for that. A tall order, he thinks, as he sits down on the log. He pinches his nose, tastes blood for a moment as he breathes through his mouth. The pulsing pain in his head has simmered down into a dull, long yawn, one that comes and goes with less urgency. Maybe it's just a head injury, Sam; he seems to have a recovering one, anyway, with a neat row of stitches situated over a cut on his temple that seems to have been healing well.
He'd already ditched the wrist splint. It felt fine enough.
Looking up, he offers a small nod, his words a bit wobbly as he speaks up:]
Uh, yeah; yeah, I'm good. I think I'm just tired. It's been a long — everything.
It's just catching up with me, is all. I'm overreacting.
[He assumes, anyway. He's always been overdramatic. Anyone who knew him would have said so.]
lemme know if you want Sam to find something wrong with the wrist (injury?)
From what I hear, you pushed yourself hard as Sabriel did, yeah?
[ Exhaustion and the mounting anxiety of trying to find a cure could have easily gotten to him. That flood of relief, when the sole focus of your anxiety and worry suddenly finally gives, can cause anyone to overbalance, to tip over and be more susceptible to what might otherwise not get to them quite so badly. Not to mention things are far from over - they're marching into a fight. Newt ain't exactly look like much of a fighter. ]
One of my vets... this huge brickhouse of a guy. Honorable discharge due to the injuries he sustained. Drove a truck full of soldiers, just a routine patrol. Thing got blown up. He was the only survivor. So he gets shipped back home, right, to his wife and his daughter, who barely remembers him, 'cause he served almost two full tours. And he thinks he's fine. Except every time he gets in his car he gets real nervous and just... breaks down. Shaking, crying, sometimes for hours. Can't drive his daughter to school. Can't find a job, 'cause he'd need to drive himself. Feels useless, 'cause he can't drive himself and the wife to the store to buy groceries. So for a couple of weeks, I went to his place, every day. Just got him to sit in the car with me, no driving. Just talking. Man, to this day I swear I can recount his daughter's every school adventure and what she had for breakfast, and what kinda toy she really wanted. He loved that little girl, and talking about her. So damn proud. And when he didn't get nervous about being in the car and talking anymore, I started driving him places. Every damn day, I drove him and his daughter to school, him and his wife to the store, and him to job interviews - and to his shifts, when he got a job. And I had him tell me interesting things along the way, y'know. Who lives in that house, what's up with that weird looking tree on the corner there. 'Cause if it's just him, he starts thinking... there might be someone hiding there with a grenade launcher, and they're gonna blow up my car. Or he might think, that pothole could hide a landmine, if I drive over it everyone in this car will die, just like my squad died. His mind just slid sideways, and there was nothing he could do about it. I taught him other things to focus on. Name 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, 1 thing you can taste - that's a classic. Taught him a couple breathing techniques too, for when he'd start feeling nervous. Mostly, taught him to be able to relax and be comfortable in a car again, and learn to trust himself again. And then one day, he asked to try and drive the car into the garage. Just that. Can barely be called a drive, I mean it was like a couple of feet. But it was a victory. And then a couple days later, he drove the car down the road before I had to swap in. And it was a little more every day after that. Took us a while until he could drive the car himself with more people than me in it. Took us a longer while until he could drive the car with his wife and daughter, without me there with him. But we got there. And his daughter's growing up. Last I heard he's teaching her how to drive now. Still calls me sometimes to talk my ear off about her. Just like I'm talking your ear off.
[ Sam grins, briefly. Unconcerned about people marching on past them - he's got his wings, he can get them back anywhere in the column even if they fall behind. ]
He's doing good. Called me once, though, after a long ass shift. He was dead tired. Plastic bag blew across the street in front of his car, and it set him off. Fullblown panic attack, car sat in the middle of the street, and he was unable to step on the gas. Called me and cried, and felt like a failure. Grown ass man, went to war, now he gets spooked by a plastic bag and stops functioning. [ Sam looks into Newt's eyes. ] More like survivor who carries injuries no one else can see, if you ask me. You're a much smarter guy than I am - so I know you know scars hurt sometimes, even years after a wound's healed up. You don't gotta pretend that hurt ain't real. I wouldn't call my friend with his car over dramatic. And whatever you been through, whatever plastic bag just blew across your street - you ain't over dramatic either, man.
[ He's saying it like he hasn't been downplaying in his own trauma getting triggered hard these past couple of days. But that's not what this is about right now. ]
It's okay not to be okay, and you don't gotta need a big dramatic justification. But maybe you need someone to sit in the car with you for a little bit.
no subject
People like Raleigh, like this guy Sam's talking about, they're the ones who endure that kind of suffering. Jumping at shadows, feeling that panic at things nobody else would give a second, uninterested glance at. Things like plastic bags.
It's why he laughs — not one that is full of mirth, the kind that would be offensive in the wake of that story. He laughs in an awkward, uncomfortable way, the kind that would have probably gotten him in trouble in school. He folds his arms and looks at Sam with a sort of — shame, maybe.]
Sorry, it's — I'm not a soldier, dude. I'm a scientist. I'm. That's not what's going on here. I was in a lab for 95% of the War, yanno? Not in open combat with guns or giant robots, out facing monsters or - or anything like that. I can't... I don't have scars like someone like him would have.
[He sounds almost like he himself has offended the guy in Sam's story, by virtue of being compared to him.
If he's intentionally ignoring the ugly flashbacks to the day Otachi nearly collected him from a hole in the ground, or the way he wakes up alarmed and unsure why, it's not like Sam'd know.]
no subject
[ Satisfied enough with his little check up, Sam puts a hand on Newt's shoulder, just to offer a steady point of connection. Also to feel that tension in them, that discomfort Newt still carries.
Shame's not unusual. Neither is denial. Takes Sam back, hurts his heart a little on behalf of this man who is suffering and clearly hasn't been validated or helped in it. ]
War's a common reason for it, so you got a lot of soldiers with it.
[ Sam can't do fireworks. Even the firecrackers back at the palace, the small indoor things... no. Too much like flying through RPGs aimed at you. ]
But trauma ain't just for soldiers fighting on the frontline, Doc. Hell, any stressful or frightening singular event or prolonged experience can cause it. You don't gotta tell me, unless you wanna, but...
[ Sam shrugs with one shoulder, makes a gesture at everything around him. ]
Honestly, working yourself to the bone to save all of us? That alone would qualify. Just 'cause you ain't a frontline fighter don't mean you didn't go through some shit to still be here today. Just means you probably think you ain't as valid as people with guns or... giant robots, facing monsters. You are though. Look at me, man, I'm way too pretty to lie about stuff like this.
[ Small smile there, trying to help put Newt at ease and encourage him here a little. Sam knows it's unlikely he'll change his views on himself on the spot. Still important to make sure he hears it though. ]
You're valid. Promise.
no subject
I don’t really know how to explain it. I, um… I had this — [ —theory, and I was in these creature’s heads, and it was nightmarish and it still scares me to think about. The words catch in his throat. He tries to get them out, but his tongue feels heavy.
(Don’t talk about the drift. Do not talk about the Precursors. Do not talk about what you saw. It’s not for anyone else to know. Never speak of it again. Talk about the Kaiju; just the Kaiju.)
Newton sighs, smiles softly, sadly. Yeah. He’s not really ready to talk about that.
But the Kaiju should be okay.]
It’s embarrassing, honestly… I spent a lot of my life devoted to learning about the monsters attacking my planet. Sure, I made things to fight them back, and I wanted them stopped, but — I wanted to understand them, and… I guess some part of me hoped they were just… mindless creatures, not aware of what they were doing. Animals working on primal instinct, you know? Like the dinosaurs. How can you possibly hate a dinosaur?
… But then I learned that’s definitely not what they were; then I ended up in an underground Kaiju bunker while one of those monsters ripped a hole through the street, just to come find me and take me.
[He could hear its thoughts. The hive mind. He could hear it, looking for him, wanting Newton Geiszler.
Folding his arms, he looks down, scraping his teeth over his bottom lip.]
It almost did get me, too. I was… shoved in front of her — in front of them, kind of like a peace offering? The people down there with me, they just wanted to save their asses. Can’t blame them for it, honestly, because I might’ve done the same. I probably would’ve done the same. One life versus a shitload? Yeah.
[Snorting, he looks at Sam.]
I totally thought I was home free after she’d gotten distracted by the giant robots and left, but then I almost got eaten twice later. By one of her offspring. Crazy, huh? I must be the luckiest unlucky dude on the planet. But, I don’t know — maybe I deserved it, after all the benefit of the doubt I wanted to give the Kaiju in the first place. I mean, I have tattoos of them. People always called me a groupie. Maybe they were right.
Maybe it would have just been karma at work, to get slurped up by one like a noodle.
no subject
[ What an entire nightmare scenario. Sam can hardly fathom what one such encounter could do to anyone, much less several encounters like that. Being shoved in front of the monster like an actual sacrificial lamb... now that makes Sam sick to his stomach.
He shifts, takes a slightly firmer grip of both Newton's shoulders. ]
I know you ain't gonna believe me, man, but you gotta hear it. You did not deserve that. Any of it. Sounds to me like you been shamed often enough for it to stick. Trying to sacrifice you to save the rest is panic and survival - don't make it right. And you're allowed to hurt over it. You're allowed to wish someone had saved you, too. And you're allowed to not be okay because you went through something incredibly dramatic.
[ Sam knows Newton will likely brush it aside. Doesn't matter. Guy needs to hear it, and needs to hear it more often. ]
Sounds to me like you were tryna do what smart people like you are meant to do - figure out the threat. And sometimes, when you don't know, you have to take a gamble to find out. It's horrible when that don't pay off. Sucks when you're made to take the blame for it, and other people try to punish you for it.
[ Sam keeps his breathing slow, just to make sure he doesn't accidentally aggravate Newton more than he already is aggravated. ]
It's marching into battle, isn't it? The plastic bag blowing across your path. We're marching towards a situation you won't be safe in.
[ And maybe he still believes he'd deserve that death after all. ]
no subject
So, yeah... He does kind of feel like if he died, it was totally on him.
But then the battle is mentioned, and Newton winces in shame, looking down and away from Sam again. His voice is low and regretful, and more than a little disappointed in himself.]
... These people aren't monsters like the ones back home.
They're just sick. I'm not scared of them at all, I just... the fighting, and the crowds, and them — still stuck like that... It just all stacks up. I guess. But I'll be okay. I mean, I've gotta be.
It's not like this is getting put on pause until I get my shit together.
no subject
[ Sam turns his head slightly, as if he's looking over his shoulder. ]
Redwing, rise and shine.
[ The silver pack on his back is deceptively slim considering it houses his wings, jetpack and the drone. It genuinely looks like little more than a very flat metal backpack. However, on Sam's voice command, connections so carefully molded they're invisible open, and Redwing detaches from its resting dock on the wingpack. The kite shaped drone, sleek silver with red and blue accents to match Sam's gear, circles the two of them for a moment and then comes to hover over Sam's shoulder with a soft beep that sounds almost like a little chirp. On its underbelly, a camera does a quick 360 turn to assess the environment.
Sam turns back to Newton. ]
So this is Redwing. He's gonna be up in the air with me when we get back to the city. You wanna do me a favor and introduce yourself to him so he can learn your voice? I'll be in the fray, but I'll send Redwing to come look for you regularly. You just wave him down or call out to him, and he'll alert me to where you are. So you focus on staying alive and safe, but you stop feeling safe for any reason, you give us a shout, and we'll come get you.
no subject
Redwing... Holy shit, he's so cool.
I just yell his name, or whatever?
[Redwing and him are now best friends. BFFskies. He talks without even a moment's hesitation at the floating drone:]
Hey, dude. I'm Newt.
no subject
Finally someone else who appreciates Redwing. ]
Yeah, just yell for him. Hold still a second.
[ A small red light tracks over Newton, down once and then up again. Redwing chirps a soft confirmation, and Sam taps something on his wrist control panel. ]
There you go. Redwing's got your number now, and knows to be on the lookout for you. He's good at risk assessment. So if he can't interfere on his own, he'll send me a priority alert to haul ass to your position.
[ He claps Newton on the shoulder lightly, grins bright and earnest. ]
Consider us your security detail. We got your back.
no subject
His hand goes out for what seems like a harmless bump n' dap, but poor Sam's getting roped into a big thankful hug instead.]
Thanks, man.
no subject
Hey, of course, man. I got you.