mayfield_rpg | Chapter 18 - Like Little Stars In The Dark

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Chapter 18 - Like Little Stars In The Dark

[Action A - When there were all those hazmats and drone-zombies and crap]

[With what the streets are crawling with, Dakki is sure that she has made the right choice, choosing to trade in her CAST self instead of her weapons. Because she damn sure needs those weapons right now. Even if the library is safe, what will people eat? How will they keep warm? Someone has to be out there, fetching supplies and protecting others.

And that's just what Dakki is doing, making dashes to the stores and suburbs for supplies, and attempting round up anyone in need of rescue. When she's not plugging things full of photon bullets at a distance, she's carving them up at close range. Her form is far from perfect. This human body is far inferior to her real one... but she's had some experience using it, and maybe that'll be the difference between a few wounds and outright death.

Since when did a Guardian fear death, anyway?]

[Action B - Library Steps, After talking to Zemekis]

[Having made it out the other side of Mayfield going to hell, and having talked to Zemekis herself, Dakki.... is wrote. Injured, absolutely bone-tired from all the fighting, and mentally numb. And not sure that the mental numbness is exhaustion, or what she heard and saw inside the church. But surely there was more for her to do? There was always more to do, wasn't there? What she had heard Zemekis say didn't matter. Being a copy was no reason to simply give up. She had to do more...

...just... after taking a little break. She's sitting on the library steps, arms resting on her knees, leaning forward and head bowed, staring blankly at the pavement. Just a bit of a break to catch her breath, and compose her thoughts, and maybe change her bandages and then... something.]

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[Lost in all of the excitement, Dr. Eggman finally emerged near the Library, his small army of robots flanking him. This was the first time he'd seen this one before - thanks to him trying to rebuild everything he wanted.]

...you look like you ran through the gauntlet. What happened?

[Although her reaction time is slowed, Dakki can't help but look up when she hears that small army of robots approaching. One hand shoots out to stabilize herself on the nearby railing while the other pulls out her photon saber, and she unsteadily comes to her feet.

And then she just... stares at Dr. Eggman.]

I...

[She looks at the robots. Looks up and down the street. And then lets out a hiccuping sort of laugh.]

There were drones. And hazmats. The streets were... they were clogged. You... you didn't see any?

[The robots flanking Eggman go on the defensive, making sure Dakki didn't try anything, but Eggman's unfazed by it all.]

Of course, I did. Of course, being stuck in another part of this wretched down didn't help in matters.

...but, it sounds like things have gotten worse, haven't they?

[Still not sure what kind of intent this guy with the pile of robots has, Dakki isn't sitting back down or putting away her sword. But she's not making any aggressive moves. And she's still holding onto that railing.]

...well. They're gone. You'd think that things would be getting better, if they're gone.

[She glances away for a moment, not looking terribly certain.]

She's in charge, now. That can't be good. I hope things will be better. But...

She's in...

[The "good" doctor stands down his machines for the moment. That's not good news at all.]

...after what she put me through nearly a year ago, I'd rather wish that she-devil of a witch dead. You added a "but", though. There's more, isn't it?

Ms. Johnson's in charge.

[She nods slowly. The man's hesitation says as much as his words do. She, too, puts her saber away.]

After what she put so many of us through, she deserves that much. Maybe... with everything that's happened, the door's open so we'll have that chance.

[Since she has a free hand now, she passes it over her face, as though trying to wipe away her tiredness.]

...but whatever comes after that, I don't know. I don't know if we can go home.

...what do you mean you don't know if we can go home? Of course we'll go home after that! We save the day, we're allowed back home! That's how it always works!

[Only in your world, Eggman. Here, it... might not be so easy.]

[He... really believes that, doesn't he? Dakki almost doesn't want to tell him otherwise. She gives her head a little shake.]

This place is a simulation. That might not be news to you. I've always believed that it was. But now we have absolute confirmation of it. But Zemekis was at the church. He talked to people. He told us how we were brought here. We're copies. We're copies of our original selves, brought here to populate the town.

...what? We're... copies?!

[Yep, that's floored the mad scientist big time, his eyes growing wide behind his specs.]

We're... we're copies. That means I'm still stuck in the White Space... a-and Shadow and Sonic are...

[There's a small "heh" before it turns into a chuckle, then full out laughter. It's... kinda broken him.]

That's what he said.

[Should she have... not told him? He doesn't seem to be taking it well. It's usually not good when someone with a squad of robots isn't taking news well. She takes a step back, uneasy.]

I'm sorry...?

Oh, don't be sorry, my dear... this is great! Even if the real me is stuck in another dimension, my ambitions won't be stopped here!

We'll stop Mrs. Johnson, then, I'll claim Mayfield as my own! I'll build the Eggman Empire right here in the ruins of this very town!

Wha...

[Usually, Dakki is happy to get to make someone's day. This totally seems to have made this guy's day. And she does not feel good about it at all. She opens her mouth to protest, lifts a hand, but then gives up before even beginning and just groans, a hand going to her face again.]

One... step at a time. Cross that bridge when you come to it.

[She'll be waiting somewhere in the middle with a laser sword trying to stop him, of course, but no need to tell him that now....]

[A girl silently followed behind, and now stands at the base of the steps, switching between eyeing the ground and her every so often. She says nothing to either, still trapped in her own thoughts, trying to piece together everything that was said in that church.]

[Aurica is there? Yes. Of course. Aurica is there. Dakki lifts her eyes, offers the smallest of smiles, and then pats the stairs next to her. Sit. It's alright.]

[She stiffens up as their eyes meet, momentarily forgetting her thoughts. She catches Dakki's gesture and nods after a moment, walking up and sitting next to her. Her voice is not weak, but faint.]

... Are you okay?

[Dakki nods her head, and makes an effort to sit straighter. It wasn't good to worry Aurica.]

I'm okay. I'm tired.

[And she looks to the girl, worried in kind.]

...how about you?

[Garviel having done what he did, and all.]

I don't.. I don't know. I thought I knew.

[Meanwhile Aurica slowly matched her "mother"'s earlier position, getting lost in herself again. A morbid amusement begins to creep up in her, edging her voice just an inch.]

I don't even know why I keep acting this way, why I tried to stop him back there. Why I keep wanting to be close to you.

[She closes her eyes.] I don't understand why I keep having feelings about a boy I'll never meet or see. I don't understand anything, about myself.

[Dakki can sympathize. When she reaches out an arm and rests her hand on Aurica's back, it's as much for her own comfort as for the comfort of her "daughter".]

I don't think we're supposed to know. Not while we're in the middle of it. Not right now. We.... people.... people feel things, even if they don't want to feel them.

[Her voice quivers slightly. People felt things, if Reyvateils and CASTs and whatever else were people, but humans seemed to feel them even more, if the lump forming in her throat was any indication.]

[Her body leans in, seeking for that arm to wrap around her, for any sense of security to ground her. In a way, that's just what it is, right? Even if in the end they're just told to be this way by some magic of coding, that doesn't stop that they're feeling all of this. One could only look to see how everyone reacted to Garviel killing Zemekis to see that.

"... I wish you luck in whatever new struggle you FInd yourself in.

Let us hope the happiness you seek is greater than the happiness you have denied."

Those were the last words Zemekis left her with, along with a name, "Lucille". She knows that what was being imposed on her — on the entire town — wasn't what she wanted, so she'll never feel she denied herself that happiness, the happiness she could have had without his interference. So there's only one other conclusion.]

Ne, momma... [She wants to ask, "did we do the right thing?" despite herself, but it's not quite what she has in mind, so her words pause as she tries to find the right question.]

[Dakki slips her arm around Aurica properly, and leans a bit of her weight against the girl. She wants to be of comfort.... but she wants to be comforted, herself, too. The past while has been exhausting and confusing. The future is uncertain. And even if it's not real, it feels real, and that makes it real enough by Dakki's standards.]

...hmm?

[She tilts her head slightly, then lifts it, letting her bangs fall away from her face.]

What is it, Aurica?

[Feeling that acceptance, she wraps her own arms around that human form she knows Dakki better as. It's just like the first time she felt that warmth, a year and some months ago. Something they can share in despite what's to come.

If there's nothing left...]

If...

[She breathes in sharply, trying to get what she wants to say out without being her usually emotional self.]

..if we can't go anywhere, then..

[Aurica then shifts her head up, to meet Dakki's eyes again. There is a pleading look in her eyes, where she wants the mother she's come to love simply rest and be at ease, for her own peace of mind just as well as Dakki's own sake.]

..then let's try to be happy here. All of us, for as long as we can.

[Because Lyner would have wanted that for them, even if this Aurica will never get to meet him. Because Zemekis would have wanted this for them, even if his way was wrong.

Because this is the only way she can think of, to know that he might have done this all for one girl, just as much Aurica would have wanted to do anything for the boy within her thoughts.]

Edited 2012-11-28 07:22 (UTC)

[Aurica's suggestion seems like a good one. Even if it says aloud what she had been trying to just put out of mind, and worry about later. They can't go anywhere. This is all that they have.

She hugs the girl a little tighter and nods, smiling sadly.]

That's... that's a very good idea, Aurica. For as long as we've got left, we should spend it together. We shouldn't waste it.

[She would never see Parum again. Never her neighbors, never any other Guardians, never her friends from home. She would never know if they did finally beat the SEED. Homesickness had been kept at bay for all these months with the simple thought of "I'll go home someday". Now knowing that there's no returning? It's all rapidly welling back up.]

There are s-so many wonderful people here. Wonderful people that I'd have... we'd have never met if...

[She inhales sharply, laughing a bit, and trails off.]

[Her life more or less began when she was eleven years old. She can't recall what happened back then, as even after Aurica reclaimed her memories the earliest ones still felt far out of reach. All she can remember is a fire that changed her life forever. It happened in the world she was taken from, that much she's sure of, but something tugs at her, like she'll always forget something.

Her memories tell her that she was here before all of that, living a life of peace and simple joy. She somehow knows that isn't true, but they never strayed far from her thoughts. It was something she truly wanted, after all. Either way, it still meant Dakki is her foster mother, and one that she can't bear to lose.]

Dakki... momma... [She buries her face in Dakki's side and hugs back even tighter, as if to give her strength.] I love you so much. Please, rest.

[Rest from having to think bad thoughts. I don't want you to be sad. I want you to be happy, to live with me and have nothing else matter for either of us.

She doesn't voice those selfish thoughts, afraid of what her mother might think of her, but the final bit seeps out in a whisper on accident, now unable to control her feelings as her shoulders shake.]

For me...

[If Dakki were herself, a CAST made of synthetic flesh and nanoceran, she might have been able to keep herself completely pulled together. But she was a tired, worn-out human with astonishingly volatile emotions now. With a sudden fierceness, she brought both arms around Aurica, hugging her close.]

I just... I...

[She's not my daughter. I'm not her mother. But I'm all she has. She's family. FAMILY. I have family, here....]

...I am tired, aren't I...?

[Her hug loosens, and she gives another weak little laugh.]

Alright. Alright, Aurica. I'll rest. I could... I could take a nap. In the library. If it's still safe...?

[As she's fighting the wide variety of enemies that Mayfield currently has to offer, Dakki might notice a man who actually appears to be having a good time in all of this mess. He's armed with a wide variety of makeshift weapons and appears to be in possession of a few Mayfield-issue firearms.

Seriously, this guy is laughing as he blows holes through various attacking things with a shotgun. And yes, he sawed the barrel of that shotgun off himself.]

[On her way back from hastily raiding the general store's inventory, Dakki's sure that she sees someone else fighting their way through the piles and piles of monsters. Someone that might possibly need help? It was hard to tell from here, with so many clawing, scrabbling drones in the way. So she sliced her way forward, photon saber thrumming and crackling all the while, getting closer...

...was he laughing? What?

And she stops abruptly, seeing that a hazmat is closing in on him. It takes a moment to send her saber back into nano-storage and pull out her handguns, which she uses to shout a warning.]

Hazmat! Behind you! Pull away!

[And she proceeds to plug it full of holes. Holes that let out the toxic gas inside of them.]

[It's clear from Asakura's reaction time that he's no stranger to a combat situation, and he'll roll out of the way while Dakki wastes that hazmat.

And does he thank Dakki for the save? Nope.]

I didn't ask for any help.

[He's got good reflexes! She can respect that! And she's about to toss out a compliment to that effect, when he shows a lack of gratitude.]

...hmph! Well you had some help anyway, so there!

[She takes a few more shots at the lesser drone-zombie-horrors along the path that she had been taking, and darts forward while the way is still clear.]

Where are you headed?!

[Ungrateful as he is, she's not about to abandon him to fight the hordes alone if he's got somewhere to be or something to do.]

Who cares where I'm headed? I'm fighting.

[One moment there while he blasts a few more drone-things and then starts reloading as he talks...]

I've been vexed at this place for long enough. Feels good to work it out.

Oh.

[So he's one of those. She makes no effort to conceal her eye-roll. And she takes a few more shots at the gathering drone things, continuing to keep her way clear.]

Don't go and get yourself killed! Who knows if this place will still resurrect you?

[He's had worse than eye rolls. That doesn't seem to faze him much.]

I never worried about resurrection back home. At least I'll go out having fun if it happens. This? This is like a festival.

[Someone is just having a little too much fun as he shoots at some more of those drone things.]

[He's... absolutely one of those. As much as it pains her, she doesn't have time to spend having it out with misanthropic psychos. There are mouths to feed and non-combatants to protect.]

Enjoy your festival, then. When you get tired, head for the library! It's warded against these things.

[A flash of blue light and her guns vanish, to be replaced with a double-ended sword/lance looking weapon. which she then starts to use to cave her way to the end of the street.]

[While Dakki is lost in thought, a figure quietly slips beside her and sits. Quinn rests his elbows on his knees, silent for a few moments. He looks like he hasn't slept in god knows how long, but who in Mayfield has been sleeping peacefully lately?

He's not sure what to say. What can you say at this point?]

...

You hangin' in there, darlin'?

Hm?

[For a moment she's not sure who just sat down beside her. It takes lifting her head and a few blinks before it actually registers.]

Quinn!

[And she sits straighter, eyes wider.]

I'm... I'm alright. I...

[And that's about as far as her burst of energy gets her. Seeing Quinn in that sort of battered, tired shape is hard. She raises a hand, hesitates for a moment, then rests it on his upper arm.]

How about you?

[He gives her a tired smile, then puts his other hand over hers.]

'M hangin' in. Surprised I even made it this far.

You've been keeping safe, right? You kept inside?

[Quinn's no fighter, she knows that much. Just one more thing to worry about.]

I'm glad that you did make it this far.

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Chapter 18 - Like Little Stars In The Dark

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I have suddenly realized that it's very Sega in here.

XD

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A - My God, that smile

That smile is never a good sign, really...

There, that scowl is much more encouraging!

Hooray for normal expressions!

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