#I do think Antoine would have woke up and been mostly okay

[seagull-scribbles]

Safe from the world, though the world will try…

So breath, breath with me~

[yeetustoafetus]

Hey! I'm Jay! And I've been dead for a while! I recently discovered WayneradioTV's "Half-Life VR but the AI is Self Aware" and I've become obsessed. I have also just become obsessed with the Half-Life series in general. All content is good content, Freeman's Mind, Gorgeous Freeman, the games, I don't care, feed me content. So, anyway, here's a fanfic I wrote at 3 am over the span of two days. Enjoy!

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Trigger/Content warning: Shouting/yelling, blood, swearing, mentions of slurs but none are said.

Word count: 1,845

Fandom(s) mentioned: Freeman's Mind, HLVRAI, Gorgeous Freeman, and The Half Life series.

Freeman's Mind belongs to Ross Scott

HLVRAI belongs to WayneradioTV

Gorgeous Freeman belongs to Antoine Delak

The Half Life series belongs to Valve and associates

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 A dull thunk of his skull against plated metal woke him up, his eye groggy. He glanced around with a frown, taking in his surroundings. The orange plate metal, the destroyed experiment… He knew where he was. He didn’t want to admit it, though. He smacked his hand into his forehead, the metal of his glove ripping a small hole into his forehead. He grumbled, wiping the spouting crimson from his skin

“Man, this fucking blows. I want to go back to Massachusetts.” He grumbled, standing up shakily. “Ugh, my.. Fucking head. Feels like college..” He muttered coldly. Dried blood, some his own, and some from other creatures, stuck in dried clumps throughout his beard and hair. A bloodied, now scabbed over, chunk of flesh had been ripped from the right side of his face, the eye having blurred to a dirty crimson days before. Most of his right ear had also been ripped off by a turret. A few guns hung from his beaten metal suit, bits and pieces having been chipped away. The pieces that remained hung from his figure by some kevlar and rubber. A rocket Launcher was strapped to his back, the weight offering him some unforgiving aches and pains. And here he was, trapped at ground zero once more. He hadn’t the faintest idea how he ended up back in the chamber he had begun this nightmare, but it wasn’t a welcome sight when he woke up. He blinked a few times and rubbed at his seeing eye, the vision going blurry for a minute before it cleared, showing him the blinding orange of the room once more. He groaned loudly, like a child being told to clean, before pulling his crowbar from the strap across his back. He’d have to do this the old fashioned way.

He walked around the chamber aimlessly, searching for anything, a loose side plate to pry up to get out, or a weak bit of the wall he could break through with his crowbar. After 3 minutes, he had found nothing. He growled and kicked the cart that had once contained the pure sample.

“GODDAMMIT!” He shouted, grabbing his crowbar and smacking it hard into the cart. “WHY IS THIS MY RESPONSIBILITY?! WHY AM I HERE?! GAAAH!” He screamed in frustration, punching the metal plated wall. He shouted in pain, hot tears pricking his eyes as a loud crack rang through the room. He threw his body against the wall and collapsed, grabbing his injured wrist.

“Motherfucker… I’m going to kill someone! I’m gonna fucking kill someone!” He banged his uninjured fist against the metal, the loud clang filling the room. He smacked his head back against the wall and groaned loudly. “Let me the fuck out of heeerrreee.” He droned loudly, almost sounding bored. “You fucking pussies keep me here because you’re scared!” He shouted, climbing to his feet. He smacked his crowbar against the walls once again, shouting unintelligible words mixed with a colorful vocabulary of slurs. He finally quit when he realized he was really alone.

“This is bullshit, man.” He growled, sitting against the wall again. He shook his head and let out a primal scream. Not of pain, more of frustration, anger. All of the feelings that had been bubbling since this shitshow had started. This was torture, and it was about to be even worse as he was left to die in a fully sealed room, alone. No one but himself for company. That’s what he had wanted, right?

...Right?

No, he could have guessed that after the third day of sitting alone in a broken lab. He had tried to pass the time by hitting the portal. Maybe that would bring something up, a beam of electricity to destroy the blast doors, maybe? He gave up on that when the crowbar shot back at him after a hard strike, cutting deep into the flesh of his shoulder. Just his luck that his suit had given out right there. He shouted in pain and dropped the metal bar, grabbing the quickly bleeding wound, as if covering it with his hand would stop the ooze of crimson. The blood stained the orange metal of his gloves, drips of the liquid falling to the floor.

“Mother fucker… You stupid mother… fucker..” He muttered, falling back against the wall and sighing as he clenched his fists. “...God..” He muttered. His vision went red and his anger exploded, “...GOD DAMMIT!” He shouted, throwing the crowbar as hard as he could. “YOU STUPID MOTHERFUCKER! I’M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOUR PARENTS!” He screamed. “YOU’RE FUCKING NOTHING, I’M GORDON FUCKING FREEMAN, I SHOULDN’T BE IN HERE! LET ME OUT!!” He shouted, throwing himself into a run, launching himself into the door. “YOU FUCKING WHORES, LET ME OUT!!!” He banged his fists on the door, kicking and shouting at it. All of a sudden, the doors outside of the blast doors blew open, and in stumbled 3 men, all donning some variation of the suit he had. He glared out of the windows in the blast doors before a booming voice came over the loudspeakers.

“Gordon. Freeman. Please step. Away from the. Door.” The voice rang around the room. “Like hell I’ll take orders from you!” He shouted, glancing around. “Let me out!” He demanded.

    “Gordon. Freeman. Please step. Away from the. Door, Now.” The voice repeated. He growled and crossed his arms. “Why should I? What are you gonna do about it, bitch?” He shouted. As soon as the words left his lips, a dart was shot into his neck. He yelped, grabbing at the prick in his neck. It was too late for it anyway, the tranquilizer had already begun pumping through his veins, his heightened heart rate not helping at all. He collapsed in a matter of moments, the heavy metal suit clanging to the floor with his limp body being dragged down with it. The blood from his shoulder painted the orange metal. After the disembodied voice was sure he was done, they allowed the three other men in, slamming the blast door behind them.

The men had been walking around the chamber quietly, inspecting it as the other man was passed out. One of them was quietly muttering to himself, more nervously than anything. One of the men was completely silent, peering around the room silently. The last one had a smug grin on his face the whole time, checking himself out in the reflection of the beaten metal. They all looked over in tandem as the waking man groaned, blinking quietly as he awoke. He looked around quietly, catching one of the men in his view. “...Who the fuck are you?” He grumbled at him. The man in question was tall, but rounder in some areas, a dad body as many would suggest. His skin was darker than the man who had spoken, most likely a mixed heritage. His hair was curly and was tied into a ponytail, streaks of gray running through the dark brown locks. His beard was a bit longer than Gordon’s, and his glasses had a crack through the lens. The other men in the room had similar features, each of them donning a beard and glasses. “Who.. Who the fuck are you?” He muttered to the men, going to stand up before almost falling again. “D-dammit..” He growled. One of the men stepped forward to help Gordon get footing but he batted him away. “Don’t touch me! Who are you?! Answer my questions!” He demanded from the three. The taller one stepped forward and cleared his throat. “I’m Gordon Freeman. I don’t know how I got here, And I have no clue who these two are.” He gestured to the silent one and the one checking himself out. The first Gordon barked out a laugh. “I know I look awesome, but you don’t gotta pretend to be me!” He smirked, but the other Gordon just raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure what you mean. I am Gordon Freeman, I’m not kidding.” 

The first man frowned. “I’m not fucking slow, dude. Just admit it, What’s your name?” The other man frowned. “I don’t think this is very funny, bro. Who are you?” He pointed at the silent one. “You. What’s your name?” The man looked him up and down silently before holding his hands up slightly. ‘My name is Gordon Freeman.’ He signed, looking between the three. Two of them stared at him like he had just grown 3 heads. He sighed quietly, this was going to be hard. He was going to try and translate before the one who hadn’t joined the conversation yet, the vain one, chimed in. “He said his name was Gordon Freeman as well.” The other three looked over to him. 

‘You can read signs?’ The silent one signed again. He nodded and looked over at the other two men. “I guess I’m the only one with a different name?” He frowned, raising an eyebrow. “Gorgeous Freeman. In the flesh.” The other three stared at him like he was an alien, and the frown etched deeper into his cheeks. “Whatever. You three seem to have a.. Naming situation. I might have an idea.” He nodded, smirking like a jackass.

    “Oh my god- Get on with it.” The first Gordon growled. Gorgeous held up his hands in mock surrender. “Okay, calm your tits. You can be… Freemind. Because you clearly have one of those.” He muttered, earning a growl from Freemind. “Let’s see… You.” He pointed to the taller, rounder Gordon. “Where were you before this?” He asked. “I.. was with a group of scientists.. And a security guard.” He answered, figuring specifics weren’t needed.

    “Coolio. So… I guess you could be...Hm.” He thought silently. “...What’s something people called you?”

    “Uh… The security guard called me a lot of things, mostly Gordon Feetman, but-” “Great, that’s your name.” Gorgeous cut him off with a smile. Feetman tried to protest, but he was blatantly ignored. “And you can be Freeman.” He pointed at the mute Gordon. He thought for a few seconds before giving him a thumbs up. “Great! We got names sorted. Now… How-”

    “There’s no way out.” Freemind muttered, crossing his arms. “I’ve been trying for 3 days, this room is built like it’s meant to take a damn missile.” “Well, you’ve never met me.” Gorgeous smirked, nudging  Freemind. It earned him a rough thwack to the side of his head. “Rude..” He muttered, walking over to the blast doors. He looked around and spied the crowbar that had been thrown. He picked it up, admiring it for a few seconds before shoving the sharp end between the doors. The other 3 watched silently as Gorgeous, with all of the strength in his body, forced the blast doors open. He turned back to Freemind with an asshole smirk. “I’ll wait for my applause.” “You’ll be waiting a while, then.” Freeman grunted, walking past him. Gorgeous shrugged and followed after him, Feetman and Freeman tailing behind slightly. And they were off.

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 40

Typing that title is just bizarre.  I never imagined I would ever write 40 chapters of this, and right now I feel like I am nowhere near the end of the story.  I’m not even sure how it will end, honestly.  This may be what it’s like writing episodes of a Star Trek show....

Special shout out to @baelpenrose for his help in the background on this chapter.  I am pants at military knowledge, while he is super knowledgeable in that area and has been a huge help.

I woke up to a low growl in my ear. “I thought we talked about this, Conor,” I groaned as I rolled over. However, instead of six plus feet of overprotective Irishman, I ended up with a mouthful of fur.

Growling, snarling fur. Lyric, I remembered before snapping into a sitting position.  The enormous dog was lying on my bed in a very calm but alert position, belied by the absolute promise of pain to whoever she was looking at. Mac sat next to her, nonplussed and blinking slowly.  Turning my face to the potential victim, I suppressed another groan.  A familiar face and leather jacket stood in the doorway, hands up to show he meant no harm. “Lyric, it’s fine,” I told my canine protector, resting one hand on her back. “Maverick, what in the world are you doing here?”

Keeping his eyes on the dog, he slowly dropped his hands to his sides. “Tyche cancelled our simulator session today, so I thought I would come check on you.”

“You thought you would, or she thought you would?”

A bashful glance at the floor gave him away. “A little bit of both? I asked how you were doing, and she said she wasn’t with you, she was resting.  I may have asked if you were up to visitors, and she may have told me to come by whether you were up for it or not? Just to make sure you were okay?”

“That sounds about right,” I sighed as I folded my legs and patted the bed for him to sit down.  It was obvious my nap was over, but I didn’t feel like getting out of bed.

Slowly, Maverick made his way over and gingerly sat down to make sure Lyric wouldn’t object to him being closer.  When she just glanced at him and put her head down, he got more comfortable and leaned against the wall. “Who’s the old lady? When did you get a dog?”

“The nice lady who let you in is Grandma Kim,” I scowled. “And this is her dog, Lyric.  They’re professional companions, like Antione, but more for people who need a little mothering and – may – have some paranoia?”  I looked at my lap and scratched the back of my neck. It wasn’t a very comfortable topic.

“So that’s an attack dog?” His eyes got wide as he swung the topic around. My sister and I were always amused talking with Maverick, mostly because he shared our tendency to have several conversations with the same person at the same time. “And I get being good for people with paranoia, but you aren’t paranoid – you have every reason to be scared shitless. Isn’t that what the saying is? ‘It’s not paranoia if they’re actually out to get you’?”

“Attack dog, sidekick to the attack grandma. What did you mean by simulator session?”

“Tyche asked me to teach her how to fly literally everything possible. Not being able to help when the ship was damaged did not make her control freak side happy.  She’s not going to make me eat gross food, is she? That’s what grandmas do, isn’t it? Make you eat gross stuff?”

“That’s a stereotype, for one,” I pointed out. “Second, I promised you that you never have to eat anything you don’t like ever again, and I meant it.  I don’t care if you live on miso soup and pizza, as long as you are eating. Food, with calories, not just vitamins and black coffee. Also, don’t ever let Tyche hear you talk about her ‘control freak side’.  Why didn’t either of you tell me she was training to become a pilot?”

He just shrugged.  I waited, staring him down pointedly. Finally, he huffed. “I figured she would tell you.  You two are super-close, right?  Besides, this is the first time I’ve seen you since you got out of the medical bay, so technically, I told you as soon as I saw you. It was literally the first sentence I used.”

I nodded reluctantly. “Okay, yeah, you did tell me. But you could have sent me a message, you know?”

“She is your sister, not me.”

“Stupid technicality,” I muttered. “Anyway, how’s everything going?”

“She’s really good,” he admitted. “Like everything else about her, it’s kinda scary.  Super determined, ridiculous reflexes. She definitely has what it takes to be an incredible pilot.”

“I’m glad she’s doing great at learning to fly, but I meant how are you?”

“Oh,” he jerked a little in surprise. “Why? No one ever asks me that, and then first Tyche, now you.”

My eyebrows popped up at that. “Wait, no one ever just asks how you’re doing?”

He shook his head. “Just, like, doctors and stuff.” He shrugged like it was no big deal.

I shook my head and dropped it into my hands. Deep breaths.  Can’t kill the people who made him think this was a normal thing. Nope.  They’re probably already dead, and Tyche frowns on necromancy. I raised my head and took a calming breath.  “It’s actually normal human behavior, a way of making sure our friends and family are doing well, or a way of inviting them to tell us about any good or bad things that have been going on.”

“But I’m not your family, and we aren’t friends,” he sounded so confused.

Me, too. “We aren’t?” I asked, puzzled. “I thought we were…. I mean, you asked my sister how I was doing and came by to check on me….”

“Well, yeah.  You’re nice to me, and something bad happened to you, and Tyche’s nice to me, and it upset her, so I wanted to make sure the people who are nice to me are okay.”

“Maverick?”

“Yeah?”

“That is literally what being a friend is.  What you just said.  It’s when people are nice to each other and want to help each other, or just want each other to be okay.”

“Oh.  Does that mean we are friends?”

I laughed and resisted the urge to hug and/or strangle him. “Yes, it means we are friends.”

“Well, that’s pretty cool!” he grinned.

“So, other than teaching my sister to fly, how have you been doing?”

For the next hour, Maverick filled me in on helping with the sensor repairs, training new pilots – not just my sister, apparently – and new foods he had tried. It turned out that he, Zach, Derek, and Sam frequently got together for moral support with trying foods that had been suggested to them.  It was early days, but they had each found a couple of new foods they liked and several foods they knew to avoid. I was asking him to send me a list of the foods they tried and what the verdicts where, when Grandma Kim poked her head in the door.

“I just wanted to grab Lyric and let you know I’m about to be on my way, Miss Reid,” she explained and she called Lyric with a silent gesture. “Were you able to get some rest?”

“I was, thank you. And thank you, Lyric,” I told my nap partner directly, receiving a lolling tongue and doggy grin in return.  “She really did help.  I’m going to think things over for a couple days, and let you know what I decide.”

“Of course,” she nodded approvingly. “I’ll be out of your way, now. Have a good night, you two.” With a nod at Maverick, she left.

“And you said she’s an attack grandma?” Maverick asked as he watched her go. “How does that even work?”

“She told about some of her training…. I think she was special forces for some government agency at one point. Lots of combat and weapons training. She said very few people on the Ark can land one hit on her, and that no one can do it twice. She was very certain when she said it, too, like it wasn’t a boast, it was just a simple fact.”

“Sounds like a Green Beret or SAS, honestly,” he nodded.  “She’s American, but that doesn’t mean she couldn’t have gotten the training, especially depending on when she was enlisted.  If it was after the inception of the Global Parliament, chances are higher that’s the case. It would be easier to tell you if I could see her sparring – different countries have different fighting styles, even once the Parliament was established.  Lyric tells me definitely the North American or European Council, though, for sure.”

I shook my head with a smile.  It was always interesting to watch someone who was so bad at being people flip gears and remind you that he really is incredibly smart.  I really wanted to watch Conor and Maverick interact one day.  Preferably soon, and hopefully after being released from my medication schedule so that food could be involved.  The prospect was very entertaining.  Which reminded me. “Have you ever met Conor?”

“Who?”

That answered that question. “A very close friend of mine and Tyche’s,” I explained. “In fact, if you hang around long enough today, you’ll probably get to meet him.  He heads over here after work most nights, stays with me so I can sleep.”

“Your sister said something about that,” he confessed. “She said you haven’t been sleeping well since you came out of your coma.  So, when she said you still can’t sleep alone, that’s where this Conor guy comes in?”

“Yeah.  It just makes me feel safer,” I shrugged.

“And the dog?”

“Tyche and Antoine recommended I consider Grandma Kim as a companion, to help me transition back to something vaguely resembling normal.  I don’t want to keep depending on people as much as I have been lately.  I’m already in the process of returning to my position on the Council, and I sent over my approved selections for a new assistant so my sister can focus on her actual job and quit burning the candle at both ends.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “That makes sense.  I could tell you like helping people, but Zach was constantly reminding you to eat, so I don’t think you’re very good at taking care of yourself.  It’s got to be hard needing to lean on other people when you’re used to being the one momming all over people.”

“That was… surprisingly insightful,” I admitted.

“I have my moments,” he grinned. “Do you think you’ll do it?”

“Maybe?” I tilted my head side to side. “Grandma Kim made a good point about the fact that needing her wouldn’t be a burden to her – it’s literally her job.  And it would let me get back on more familiar ground with my friends and family.  You only saw part of it.” It was my turn to grin. “We used to have what we called ‘family dinner’ once a week.  It was like a sacred time for all of us, but fun and messy at the same time.  Tyche and I would take turns making dinner for everyone, we would try new foods.  Sometimes it was a bunch of us, sometimes it was just me, my sister, Conor, and – “ I choked mid-ramble. Arantxa.  Clearing my throat and fighting back tears and the urge to vomit, I tried to soldier on. “Yeah. Sometimes it was just us.”

Maverick tilted his head, eyebrows furrowed. “You really were close, weren’t you?”

I nodded silently, a lump forming in my throat.

“Dude, that sucks,” he stated emphatically. “I knew what she did was pretty bad – I mean, I saw what she did.  It’s hard to deny something like that when it’s right in front of your face. But I didn’t realize that you two were so close other than working together.  What kind of monster does that to someone they are so close to?”

I held up a hand to stop him from going any further.  He just pushed it back in my lap. “No, you need to hear this, even if I’m a jerk for saying it.  When we were on Level One, you barely knew me but you were so nice to me.  You didn’t have to be, no one asked you to be, not even me.  You could have let me keep on the way I had been for the majority of my life, but then I found out it is literally impossible for you to not care.  No one had cared that much about me since I was six.  And then, I had to walk in that room and find you beaten beyond recognition, almost dead. I was about to lose the only person who seemed to give a shit about me and see me as more than an appliance – all over again, just like with my parents.  And now? Now I find out that you considered her family?  If you went so far above and beyond for a guy you barely knew, how much did you do for her? And she still did that?  That’s a monster.  That’s worse than any boogeyman in the closet or under the bed.  That is a living, breathing monster.  And that sucks.”

I sniffed as hard as I could and wiped the tears that were rolling down my cheeks. “I really don’t like talking about it,” I whispered.  “I just want to forget about it.”

“You told me I didn’t deserve what my aunt did to me, what the military did to me. I’m telling you now, you didn’t deserve what happened.  I think you need to hear that, because I don’t know if anyone has told you, or if you believed them.”

“I just want my life back,” I cried. “I want everything back to normal! I want to sleep in my bed like a fucking adult! I want to take a hot shower, instead of having my teeth rattled in the sonic cleanser!  I want this big gaping hole in all my stories to go away!!”

“Yeah, I get that.  I feel like that sometimes, too.  I want to eat foods that other people seem to like.  I want to be able to socialize normally.  No one should have an aversion to rice, you know? It’s like, the most boring food in existence, but I can’t even look at it.  Kind of how you can’t shower.  I’ve spent my whole life wanting to just be like everyone else, to stop being the weirdo in the room.”

“Maverick, you’re aren’t a weirdo,” I shook my head.

“Neither are you,” he said pointedly.  “I’ve never known you any other way, remember?  This is all perfectly normal Sophia behavior from where I’m sitting. And I’m so bad at being normal, how am I supposed to know if you’re not doing it right?”

That got a reluctant giggle out of me. “Let’s just be weird together.  You, me, Tyche… Derek, everyone.  Except Conor. He’s actually pretty normal.”

“That’s weird enough,” Maverick said in a horrified tone.

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[sonicrevival]

Reunions: Chapter 1 of 4: Preparation

AAAAAAAAAAAAAA I STOPPED POSTING HERE LIKE AN IDIOT

Okay, back in the game now, time for the second and final of the “End of comic baggage” arcs, that being the stuff I needed to get out of the way before I could start really telling my own stories.

Sonic: Revival- Reunions

Chapter 1 of 4: Preparation

The first thing Sally did after her return to life was sleep. Three months of uninterrupted consciousness had to come to an end, even if she hadn’t technically needed to rest during that time. Once she woke up the following day, however, she sat down at Tails’ kitchen table with Sonic, Amy, Rotor, Silver, and Tails himself. Nicole and Emerl lingered nearby. Charles had returned to the city, bidding fond farewells to each of them, leaving the Freedom Fighters and their new friends to their own devices. “I have a plan,” Sally stated, tenting her fingers as she leaned against the table. “I have been waiting too long to hear that again,” Sonic grinned. Sally smiled back at him, then focused once again. “We’re going to get the Republic back. We’re going to oust Naugus, and we’re going to make some reforms… But we need to be stronger first,” She began. “I like that idea, but how are we going to do it. With what Naugus is pulling, if we run in there and beat him down, he’ll probably spin that as us being the villains,” Nicole sighed. “Well, there goes my idea,” Emerl shrugged. “How is this guy even making himself look like the good guy anyway. From what Nicole’s told me, he’s not a good actor.” “Mind control,” Tails replied. “Huh?!” Half the room turned to look at him. “Can he do that?” Amy asked. “I thought that was Mogul’s thing…” Sonic mumbled. “Then again, the shadow magic somewhat came out of nowhere, I remember him being more about the four elements before…” Nicole murmured, stroking her chin. Silver paused for a moment, then sighed, and spoke up. “I have more information on that front, actually.” “Oh?” “Yes. Sally, your brother and I have been working together with a few others behind the scenes. We uncovered a plot on Naugus’ part to brainwash the council. We stopped him, and did a number on him, but I don’t know if it’ll keep him down.” “Hm, useful information,” Sally nodded. “Also, worrying. As belligerent as the Council have been, they’re the only thing between him and absolute power. Still, is Elias okay?” “Last I checked, he was,” Silver replied. “That’s good to know. Thank you, Silver,” Sally smiled. “Does Uncle Chuck know the danger he was in?” Sonic asked. “Yes, he does. He helps our team move around so we informed him. Unfortunately, he’s the only one that knows,” Silver explained. “Because of that, he can’t really do a whole lot. If he tells the others what Naugus is planning, well, Naugus can just ask how he found that out…” “We need at least four of the Council on our side. Before, we could rely on Elias to tiebreak in our favour, but now that Naugus is in charge, and he’s the one we’re trying to get rid of…” Tails frowned. “We can count on Sir Charles, and Isabella,” Nicole added. “Mom doesn’t like the Acorns much, but I think I can convince her that Naugus is worse,” The fox brightened a little. “That’s just three…” Sonic sighed. “Besides, isn’t the big issue getting him to be seen as the bad guy by the public?” “Depends what sort of mind control it is. If he has to keep it maintained to keep people following him, then we can just knock him out and it should wear off…” Tails explained. “I hope it’s that kind!” Emerl piped up. “It isn’t… but I know what his power source is,” Sally replied. “What we need to do is take that Chaos Emerald away from him, and his whole plan should come crashing down…” “Wait, how do you know that?” Sonic asked. “I had Eggman’s database in my head, and the two of them were colluding,” Sally replied. “That’s how he knew when Elias was leaving the city… Sonic, is… is Antoine...” “He’s alive, but he’s in a coma,” Sonic replied gravely. “Bunnie ran after that… I think she went to get stronger, somehow… but I don’t like what that might mean…” “Huh? What do you mean, Sonic?” Amy asked. “She made me promise to not talk about this…” He sighed. “I don’t wanna break that trust, but this is important.” “Is this about her Uncle?” Sally asked. “Her Uncle?!” Tails, Amy, Rotor, and Nicole balked. “I didn’t know she had an Uncle…” “You knew?” Sonic stared at her. “Of course I knew,” Sally replied, leaning against the table. “Bunnie is one of my best friends, she told me everything. And after what happened with Fiona, I’ve been running tighter background checks on everyone outside of the original five and Nicole.” “Oh yeah, you asked me a bunch of questions a while ago,” Amy nodded, smiling in realisation. “So that’s what it was all about.” “Yes. And while I respect Bunnie’s want to keep this secret, we’re going to have to head after her before we make a move. She’s part of that stronger base I want. So, since you’re about to find out anyway… Bunnie’s uncle, Beauregard Rabbot, is a Grandmaster.” “WHAT!?” “You don’t think she’s, erm, ended up as part of his Legion, do you?” Silver spoke up. He chose his words carefully… Sonic’s reactions to his accusations during his hunt for the traitor had been… aggressive, and even now, the blue hedgehog was giving him a look. Clearly, he had caught the unspoken meaning behind his question… “Bunnie wouldn’t do that. Even if she’s desperate for a way to get her cybernetics back and strike back against Eggman, she wouldn’t deliver herself to him.” Amy protested. “No, she wouldn’t. And I don’t think Beauregard would properly legionise her. He’s not a bad guy,” Sonic folded his arms. “Er, he works for the guy that made Sally into a robot with bomb inside her,” Emerl shrugged. “Not really by choice. The local Freedom Fighter group, the Sandblasters, practically forced out everyone that was once a Robian. They don’t trust anybody that was ever forced into Eggman’s control, and that left a lot of people with nowhere to turn except to Eggman himself. It’s a vicious cycle, and the only person that benefited from it was Eggman.” “I don’t like these Sandblaster guys. I think I wanna punch ‘em,” The Gizoid glowered. “So does this mean that Bunnie is safe? Will Beauregard help her?” “I don’t know…” Sally shook her head. “He’s a more honourable man than most of Eggman’s minions, and I don’t think Eggman knew she was there… if he did, he would’ve had her sent to him… But we can’t be sure of his underlings’ intentions for her…” “So we have to get her back,” Rotor frowned. “Yes. Fortunately, I’ve worked out what to do…” Sally stood up, folding her arms behind her back. “We’re going to split into two groups. One will go after Bunnie, and the other will make preparations for our move on the city, by rendezvousing with Silver’s team. There are eight of us, so two teams of four.” “Who’s going on each one?” “The team going after Bunnie are going to be landing right in the middle of a Legion Chapter and a group of renegade Freedom Fighters. They’re going to need to be fast about it, and we have no transport with the Tornado down… So I’m sending Sonic, Tails, and Emerl. Nicole, you work well with Emerl, so you’ll be going with them.” “Works for me!” Emerl pumped her fist. “Yeah, we can handle that!” Sonic nodded. “We’ll do our best,” Tails smiled. “You can count on us, Sally,” Nicole added. “Good. Silver, you’re going to take myself, Rotor, and Amy back to the city as quietly as possible. We’ll coordinate with your team and make our plans to oust Naugus that way.” “Yes, your highness,” He saluted. Sally laughed slightly, as the Freedom Fighters sighed, Sonic’s palm meeting his face. “Please, just call me Sally. I’ve never cared for formalities,” She smiled. “Oh, right, sorry,” Silver blushed awkwardly. “In any case… let’s get going.” *** Emerl wasn’t familiar with the Great Desert region, but with Nicole’s assistance, she was still able to get them into the general area with her Chaos Control. “Glad I’m sandproof,” She folded her arms. “So, what’s the plan? We’re landing in the middle of an active war between some bad guys and some slightly less bad but still bad guys.” “I have an idea, actually,” Nicole spoke up, her avatar resting on Emerl’s shoulder. “Most of the Desert Legion are only loyal to Eggman because they have to be. He has various methods of keeping them under control, but mostly he uses a surgically implanted cherry bomb inside the victim’s skull. They turn against him, he blows them up.” “I am really starting to regret not putting my fist through his chest when I had the chance,” The Gizoid growled. Sonic and Tails gave each other uncertain looks. “I intend to disable the bombs,” Nicole announced. “Due to the situation they’re in, they’ve made a fully functioning city of their own. If it weren’t under Eggman’s control, there would be substantially fewer problems with it. Once that’s done, it would be easier to justify removing the Sandblasters.” “I like it!” Sonic grinned. “How are we going to get you in, though?” Tails asked. “We’ll need a distraction… and I don’t think we can rely on Jack and his minions to be helpful. Added, I don’t want to give them the chance to kill any innocent people or cause damage…” Nicole mused, stroking her chin. “Wait, when Bunnie and I were here before, we managed to wreck a foundry by pretending to fight. Tails and I won’t even need to keep up the illusion, we can just focus on doing some damage,” Sonic snapped his fingers. “That should work…” “Whaddya say, buddy? Feel like having a cathartic throwdown with some bots?” Sonic grinned at the fox. “Yeah, that should really get some of the stress off,” He nodded. “Awesome. What about Emerl?” The blue hedgehog glanced at the two machines. “Emerl will be taking me into the base. She’s strong enough to punch through anything in our way, should the place go on lockdown. Ultimately, our goal will be find Bunnie. Beauregard won’t trust me, but he might trust her. That will be our best shot.” “I will endeavour to try and avoid punching anyone too hard,” Emerl announced. “Alright then, let’s go!” Sonic turned, racing off in a cloud of sand. Tails shrugged and followed, as Emerl rose up, aiming herself toward the base. *** Beauregard Rabbot stepped into his office, slumping down in his chair with a sigh. Meetings with Eggman after he had lost something major were always a unique kind of stressful. There was nothing quite as terrifying as watching an old man have an extended temper-tantrum when that old man also had the power to end your life with the touch of a button if you so much as breathed out of turn. This time, it seemed that the shiny new Death Egg was grounded permanently after Sonic and his friends stole its power source. Lien-Da and most of her legion were also gone, not dead, just… gone. He wouldn’t say where, but given Eggman’s reaction, Beauregard didn’t think it was a voluntary thing on their part, nor something that Eggman himself did. He had also lost something else, but at that point, Eggman became unintelligible with rage and the video conference had ended shortly afterwards. Aside from the hazard to his health, Beauregard couldn’t help but feel a certain sense of relief from the news, however. He had never been the most loyal to the Eggman Empire, rather, it was the only place that would accept him and everyone else who had once been a Robian, at least within a practical distance. The dramatic upswing in Eggman’s progress had been worrying, and hearing that it had petered out and gone into reverse was something he could live with. In the end, it had been easy for him to choose his family over the Empire. Bunnie had arrived a few weeks after the launch of the Death Egg, and Beauregard’s face-to-face introduction to what had become of his niece’s best friend. He had no love for the Acorn family, but everything he had heard about Princess Sally had told him that she was far from the dubious standard set by her lineage, and a bright hope for the future of the Republic. To him, she was far more Bunnie’s friend than Maximilian’s progeny. Bunnie had arrived with worse news. Ixis Naugus had taken control of New Mobotropolis, her friends had fractured apart, and her husband was in a deathly coma. Beauregard had never met Antoine DeCoolette, but hearing Bunnie talk about him made it clear that he would definitely have liked to. Attempts to comfort her by pointing out that she had at least finally been deroboticized had not gone well. It turned out that her state was the result of Naugus’ magic, and on the following mission, she had forgotten to bring any weapons- Years of having integrated weaponry and super-strength had made her used to not using them, and she’d just not remembered- and that resulted in her getting knocked out by Mecha Sally and directly led to her being unable to protect Antoine from his fate. He took her in and provided her with a room, making sure to keep her hidden from all but his most trusted men. Those he knew would not reveal her presence to Eggman just for a quick promotion. He promised her that he would give her any good developments on the situation with Eggman, and he would do anything she needed to get her back on her feet. He’d spat his coffee out when she came to him a month later and asked to be turned back into a cyborg. “Darlin’, I understand why you’re sayin’ this,” He had said, looking down at her. She met his eyes with a steely gaze of her own, more determined than he had ever seen her. “But… It ain’t that simple anymore. If I use the legion tech on you, you’re never going to be normal again.” “Bein’ a cyborg is normal for me. I had long accepted that I was never gonna be completely flesh-and-blood again, before Naugus did that to me. Sure, I wanted to be turned back… but when it happened, it cost me everythin’...” Reluctantly, he had agreed. He couldn’t argue with his niece’s decision. When she had arrived, she looked lost and confused. She had later admitted that she had come to him because she panicked and didn’t have anyone else to turn to. But now there was a fire in her eyes that wasn’t going to be doused by anything. It took him another whole month to find a Legion tech that was more loyal to him than to Eggman. He had no intention of allowing anyone to put an explosive in Bunnie’s head. The operation had taken several hours, but he made sure to use the finest parts he had access to, and it ultimately went smoothly. Bunnie walked out of the operating theatre on a new pair of mechanical legs, her left arm glinting in the sunlight. He had his questions about the single arm, but she had explained to him that she had developed her own fighting style based around having a single strong arm and a single dextrous one. Now, just over a month later, she was ready to leave. She had packed up the room she had been sleeping in that morning, though she didn’t have a lot of personal belongings with her. A gentle knocking on his door alerted him to her presence, and he quickly opened it, allowing her to step inside. She had a duffle bag over her shoulder, her hat was back on, and she’d pulled her hair back into a rough ponytail. She wrapped her arms around him, smiling. “Thanks for everythin’, Uncle Beau,” She said, speaking quietly. “You’re welcome, Bunnie. I’m glad I could help you,” He replied. “All things considered, now is probably a good time for you to make your move. I just got out of a meeting with the doctor, and he’s beyond mad.” “Oh?” “Yeah, apparently your friends stole the power supply to his Death Egg and grounded it at the north pole. Lien-Da’s entire legion has apparently vamoosed somewhere, and he lost something else that he was too angry to actually annunciate.” “That’s great news!” Bunnie beamed. True, she had wanted to be ready in time to help turn the tide, but adding her own power to the mix while Eggman was already on the back foot could probably secure a much greater comeback, since she wouldn’t be expected. “I thought you might be pleased,” He chuckled. “Any news on Sally?” “None, I’m afraid. But I know you can bring her in, Bunnie. I made sure of it,” He replied. “You’ll get your friend back, I promise.” “Alright then, I guess I-” Before Bunnie could finish, a siren began to blare, and Beauregard’s screen lit up. “ALERT. FREEDOM FIGHTER PRESENCE DETECTED. ALERT. PRIORITY: ONE.” “Sonic? What’s he doin’ here? He’s supposed to be chasin’ Sally-gal…” Bunnie frowned. “He probably worked out you’d be here and wants to get a little more backup, I guess…” The older rabbit shrugged. “What’s he actually doin’ out there?” “Looks like he’s just tryin’ to draw attention to himself… So yeah… I think that’s your ride.” “I guess so. Thanks again, Uncle Beau,” She hugged him as tightly as she could without hurting his back. “Love you.” “Love you too, Bunnie.” *** Sonic and Tails had been expecting a welcoming committee of heavily-armed robots and legionnaires. They hadn’t been expecting a single person to fly out to meet them. They certainly hadn’t expected that person to be Bunnie. Immediately, all three of them embraced, Bunnie immediately blurting out apologies for her sudden exit. “Bunnie, it’s okay,” Sonic replied. “You were going through something impossible, it’s okay to freak out when stuff like that happens.” “Yeah, everyone reacts to things like that differently. We can’t hold anything against you,” Tails added, before he noticed the cold feeling of the arm around him. “But, you’re… y’know, metal again.” “Yeah, I know. I made sure Uncle Beau was watchin’, no bombs for me, but I had to do it. This is who I really am, guys. I accepted that a long time ago, and if I wanna get my best friend back and protect my husband, that’s who I gotta be,” She separated from them, clenching her mechanical fist. “Well, uh, Sally’s back.” “Wait, really? That’s great!” Bunnie pulled him into a back-breaking hug, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. “I knew you could do it!” “Well, technically Nicole and her new robot buddy did most of the work,” He wheezed. “Don’t sell us short, Sonic. We did manage to catch her and start bringing her home. Nicole and Emerl just pulled our fat out of the fryer when Eggman decided he wasn’t going to give up,” Tails interjected. “How is she?” Bunnie asked, releasing Sonic. “Safe, happy, and back to organic,” Tails replied. “The operation to make deroboticization possible again was a difficult one, but we managed to make it work. She went back to the city with Amy, Rotor, and Silver. They’re going to meet up with Silver’s team and make a plan to overthrow Naugus. She asked us to come out here and bring you home, so the team can all be back together.” “All of us? Is Antoine…?” “Alive, stable, still out, I’m afraid,” Sonic sighed. “That said, I haven’t been home since just after you left, so maybe there’s been some change… We’ll find out when we all get back.” “Yeah, I suppose. A part of me hopes he didn’t wake up to find me missin’...” “I’m sure he’d understand, Bunnie,” Tails put his hand on her shoulder. “I know. But that doesn’t make it better… Anyway, you mentioned Nicole got a new robot buddy?” “Yes, right!” Sonic nodded. “Her name’s Emerl, and she’s crazy-strong. Technically she’s something that the Brain Trust found and worked on before Fi told ‘em that just one of that sort of robot went crazy and wiped out a civilisation. Also, we think she can copy attacks.” “Huh… glad she’s on our side,” Bunnie mused. “Yeah, that’s why we made sure that only Sally or Nicole could activate her. Fortunately, she and Nicole seem to get on really well, and they’ve been working as a team. They helped save Sally, and Emerl took down an Egg Beater single-handedly!” Tails beamed. “Geesh… So where are they? I wanna meet this new friend of yours.” The reunion was interrupted by a streak of blue slamming down on the opposite side of the fortress wall, smoke beginning to rise from where it struck the ground. “Er, that would be her right there,” Tails mumbled. “Y’see, Nicole had this plan…”

_________________________________________________

If Beauregard seems inconsistent in these two chapters, compared to his comic self, yeah that’s what happens when you have a two-parter that ends with him and Bunnie effectively deciding that they’re enemies first and family second, and then have Bunnie immediately go to him when the plot decides to write her out.

I’ll go into greater detail much further down the line, but basically, seeing the weaponised Mecha Sally, learning about the World Roboticizer, and realising all that those two things implied prompted him to maybe realise that the Acorn Republic was the lesser of two evils now.

Also in this chapter, I will be trying to dodge around any and all connections between the Acorn/Baronies conflict and the American Civil War because yikes.

Also Silver told Sally and co. about the Secret FF because keeping secrets from your own side is pretty darn silly.

[theblazeofmemory]

I Want to Know everything about our Special Boy ♥

It’s so funny to me when you want things about our Special Boy because, like. He’s our Special Boy. You know about him. I don’t know what I could teach you about him, but also it gives me a chance to just. Spill how much I love him.

I’m stuck on that Greek Gods AU stuff, so. I just. Let me tell you the semi-abbreviated story of Antoine and the first few months of his life and also a couple extra tidbits in there.

“But Azura! In the original fic, Jehan said they aren’t interested in sex! How did they have a kid?”

He fell out of a tree

Like, the tree, the one Jehan and Montparnasse grew together, the pomegranate tree in the garden

He looked like he was maybe four or five, and he just, kinda, showed up. The tree had a big split in the bark, and he was sitting in front of it in the garden, and Parnasse remembered that tree nymphs were born from trees like that, so? Maybe he’s a nymph?

He knew who Montparnasse and Jehan were right off, like, identified them by name, but he wasn’t quite sure who he was at the beginning

He’s not a nymph, he’s the God of Balance, and he’s super calming to be around

And he always smells faintly of pomegranates, it’s nice

The first few months are amazing, like. He gets to play games with his father’s lieutenants and go on walks and swimming with his parents, and they have the biggest dog ever, ah, he loves dogs!

But Jehan has to leave eventually. And Montparnasse can’t keep their sweet little sprout from the sun, he deserves the world. Jehan has to at least try to take him with them.

Surprisingly, Antoine can cross between the realms even though the only ones who should be able to do that are Gavroche and Jehan (but only on the equinox), but Antoine is something totally new, so he apparently gets around the locked Gate

His first day out of the Underworld was… hard. Jehan has a lot of friends who all wanted to meet the little Prince of the Underworld basically at the same time, and a lot of them don’t like his father, and even though Jehan explained that Montparnasse couldn’t come with them, Antoine thought they would be going home at the end of the day and didn’t understand why he had to stay on Olympus

He fell asleep in Jehan’s bed and woke up in his own, at home, in the Underworld, and thought maybe the whole thing had been some kind of weird dream, but Montparnasse looked confused to see him and Jehan isn’t there, so…

He curled up with Parnasse anyway, and Montparnasse is starting to think maybe their son has more abilities than they thought when Gav busts in to frantically tell him Antoine’s gone missing, but… he’s right there… how???

Well, the “how” can wait, actually, because Jehan thinks someone kidnapped him and is ready to tear the world apart to find him

“Well, I don’t know how he got here, but he’s safe. Can you go tell them?”

“I’m… pretty sure just telling isn’t going to work. They’re, um…. Terrifying.”

Antoine trusts Gavroche, and Montparnasse makes it very clear that he has to go back before something bad happens to Jehan, so they both show up in the middle of a very angered Flower Deity ready to tear Olympus down if someone doesn’t return their son immediately

They don’t even see Antoine at first, Bahorel is trying to keep them distracted and maybe fight them if he has to, so Antoine can come up behind them and take their hand

When they realize that he’s there, Jehan falls to the ground and hugs him so tight, he’s such a tiny blossom, they were so worried that something horrible had happened to him! What if someone had hurt him?

“I’m sorry, Han, I went to see Papa on accident, I didn’t mean to.”

“As long as you’re safe, my dove. As long as you’re safe.”

He has to practice it with Gavroche a while, but Antoine gets to be just as good at traveling between the surface and the Underworld as Gav is

He brings Montparnasse presents all the time, all sorts of things. Mostly flowers when Jehan makes a new one, letters, whatever he and Jehan think Parnasse might like

He also learns to sketch and likes to draw the stars. He’s helping Montparnasse set stars in the ceiling so that the residents of the Underworld can enjoy them. They don’t really twinkle the same way, and they don’t move, but they’re still pretty

He likes to sit with souls that died traumatically and talk them through things, help them know things might not have been okay before, but they’re going to be okay now. He’s very hands-on and doesn’t like to see people cry

His laugh is like sunshine. Parnasse calls him “sunbeam” because he lights up the whole Underworld every time he shows up

He really, really loves his parents a lot, like. He never gets too old to hug them. He loves to cuddle all the time. Winter is his favorite time because his whole family can be together, and he doesn’t have to keep flitting between the two worlds

This got really long, but the point is: I love him

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 13

Author’s Note:  This is the first chapter written by my new co-author, @ritualistic-raven, AKA The Real Tyche.  Initially, this was a fanfiction she wrote from Tyche’s perspective, but as soon as I found out, I had to read it.  The idea of everything was just too good not to include!  Obviously, this chapter is dedicated, first and foremost to her: For being my biggest fan, my staunchest supporter, and with everything going on in our lives right now, making everything as easy as possible on us both.

She would like to dedicate this chapter to Dante, God Rest His Soul.

Please: Read, Review, Reblog.

“Where were you when it happened?”

I sighed deeply as I placed my mug on the table. “Antoine, why would you ask this?” As I said his name, his grip on my hand tightened reassuringly.

Sophia raised an eyebrow at his gesture. “You have been avoiding it. You haven’t even told me and I’m your sister. Between you and my old therapist, I know first-hand that talking helps. You know what I’m talking about.” She gently pet the purring puddle of fur on her lap, pausing only when it stretched, showcasing claws and fangs.

In my heart, I knew she was right. There was a complication though: my memory never had been reliable. “More holes than a sponge and nowhere as absorbent,” is how I had always described it. I could summarize ten years in three sentences. These survivors wanted a story, not the bullet points.

“I haven’t undergone repair yet. I know Noah can fix me. My memory. I’m just not sure I want that. Soph, you know how bad my life was back home. Antione, darling, I’ve briefed you on a few parts. Conor, Arantxa, you will likely find out soon. I don’t hide my past, but I also don’t simply offer it,” I sighed again, the last few words feeling tight in my throat. “What I mean is… I only remember pieces. I can share those, but a lot is missing. Most was either repetitive or I just don’t remember.”

All eyes were on me, even the bright green eyes of the fur-puddle.

“Tyche?” Antoine spoke softly, but his voice shook ever-so-slightly.

The hand that wasn’t on mine reached for my other wrist, the one I hadn’t realized was held in a fist next to my shoulder. He pulled back to show blood on his fingertips, only, it wasn’t his.

My sister stood up casually and announced our meeting was over for tonight. “Tyche will be okay. I’ve got this. If everyone could just leave, without touching her, I’ll get her cleaned up. It’s PTSD, and she just told us she hasn’t let the Miys treat her. Tyche will be okay. I’ve got her.”

Our friends placed their dinnerware on the counter and each said goodnight, concern in every word. After the doors to my quarters closed, Sophia sat beside me, where Antoine had been, and sat our now-shared cat on the table in front of me. “Can you see ‘now’ or are you seeing the past?” she asked quietly.

Being able to act in the present while my mind showed me only the past was an unfortunate skill of mine. No one could really explain how I could do this, but it was classed as a form of shellshock. With so many on the ship with moderate to severe levels of PTSD, the Miys had found my particular form of shellshock fascinating.

“Now,” I barely whispered. My right hand found the cat while my left was clenched tight. Blood dripped slowly toward my elbow.

“Good start,” Sophia said, still quiet, with a ridiculous level of calm that I knew was her own self-defense mechanism. “Your hand is bleeding. I’m guessing you flashed back to something really awful. I’m so sorry, Tyche.” She calmly uncurled my fingers to look at the cuts. My fingernails had dug into my palm pretty deeply, somehow without registering pain.

A voice came over the intercom that rang with panic and anger. “She’s bleeding! Why would you let her hurt herself, Soph?! How was bringing up the beginning of the End a good idea?!”

My chair fell back a few feet when I erupted from it. “Don’t you dare blame her for this!” I thrust my hand poignantly toward the camera module, emphasizing my last word. “Don’t you dare blame any of them, Simon!”

“Tyche, you need to calm down. Raising your—”

“Oh, fuck off. I have PTSD, as do all of us – except you, might I add? I am traumatized and I refused treatment.”

“That’s—”

An absolutely primal scream roared from my tiny frame because I could not stand Simon. He was truly terrible at handling any of my PTSD episodes, had been since the moment I first woke up on Ark.

“Tyche—”

I audibly growled before I spoke again. “What are you even watching me for? You swore you wouldn’t when you stepped down from the Council! What the hell do you want?”

He cleared his throat from his location elsewhere on the ship. “You have a meeting in two hours. Your quarter doors were set to Do Not Disturb and due to your illness history, there was concern for your safety. Apparently with good reason.”

“Simon,” my sister began as she set my chair upright, still unnaturally calm but clearly scolding him with that one word. “You know to check entry logs first. Then you would have seen I had an official appointment with our Assistant Director of Administration. Go back to work.”

“With all due respect, ma’am—”

“The concern is appreciated. She is my sister, though. I am one of the few people in any universe she trusts. Please, just – go away. Tyche would probably like privacy now.” She shifted her gaze to me.

I nodded almost imperceptibly. As I turned around to walk to my bed, the intercom clicked off. The Miys, with their not-very-good understanding of privacy, slipped words into my mind. “There is an infirmary approximately two-hundred and fifty yards from your quarters. Would you like to be escorted?”

The telepathic hive-mind alien ‘spoke’ in a tone of genuine concern. I don’t think it had witnessed a physical result from PTSD before.

“No, I have not. Your recollection is – fragmented, but very strong. How can the human psyche withstand such emotions of such strength?”

I brought the knuckles of my wounded hand to my forehead. “It can’t. The psyche breaks. Otherwise, post-traumatic stress disorder wouldn’t exist. If our psyche could handle it, our brains wouldn’t…” I waved my hand to signal I was trying to find a word. “Our brains wouldn’t glitch, or malfunction, or however you best understand the damage done to my brain by my traumatic experiences.”  Sophia opened the door and reminded me about the infirmary.  Apparently, our host had included her in the conversation.

“Right. Thanks. I’ve managed to keep my hand pretty since before the End. Let’s not break that streak now.”

The alien body in the infirmary was just as tall the all the others. Not really a surprise, given the months I had been on this ship, but I had hoped for some distinguishing feature from time to time. My sister, however, could tell them apart. How she did that remained a mystery to me.

I strolled over to the Miys body assigned here and carefully held out my wounded hand. With one pair of hands, it placed my arm on an exam bench adjusted to my shoulder height. It did know I was on my way, after all. This was also not my first visit. The Miys vessel moved a CD sized scanner over the wound, no doubt checking the severity of the injury.

“So, Tyche,” my sister said with a note of curiosity. “Who is this Antoine guy? You two seemed awfully chummy.”

I looked at her and blinked, trying to register what she asked. The Miys still had little understanding of dissociation, but Sophia understood perfectly and showed patience. She knew what post-panic numbness felt like.

“He’s, um… What do you mean? Chummy? In what sense?” My brain was catching up and my tone reflected playfully.

She placed a hand on her hip and tilted her head. “I saw Antione’s hand on yours. We both know you’re generally a prickly person,” she laughed. “You were practically cuddling with him, if someone knew what to look for.”

“Oh! That. He’s basically my assigned comfort-human. Ever since I told our hosts about touch-starvation, they’ve been trying to encourage me to bond with someone. Y’know. For my health.” A cold serum was injected into my palm. “Ah! You could have warned me!”

The serum was designed to heal our wounds almost instantly. It worked, mostly. As long as the injury wasn’t what human consider severe – the Miys considered everything severe – the serum could stimulate rapid cell growth. You could actually watch the injury heal within minutes. The only side-effect was a few days of the site tingling.

“Anyway,” I said as I watched the cuts on my palm heal, “Antoine was one of the ‘candidates’ to ‘facilitate’ catching me up on lost touch or whatever. He’s good at snuggling, will bring me meals when I’m not well, and fully respects that I am asexual. I ended up telling Them, well, It, since there’s only one mind… Ugh… I still feel awkward about the pronouns… Our Host that it really is best for me if I receive that touch from someone I can get to know. That sounds creepy, I know, but I digress. I guess Antoine is like an arranged boyfriend? He knows the deal. Aroace. He asked what it means and I explained. He said that actually makes things less awkward if we end up not getting along and have to end our ‘arrangement.’”

We both laughed as we left the infirmary. I told her it was much easier to get the cuisine I was accustomed to thanks to Antoine and some of the things he had told me about himself.

The pendant on her necklace chimed, signaling that my that my councilmember sister had another official meeting. Our three hours had come to an end.

“Same time next week?” She asked, casually brushing her fingertips over the pendant to silence it.

I looked down as I smirked. “I can take a sedative just to make sure things don’t turn out like this week. So yeah, same time next week.”

We parted ways and I couldn’t help but think of how badly I had reacted to a simple question. He didn’t mean anything by it. At some point, we all shared our stories with a crowd. Some days, the assemblies felt like Addicts Anonymous. The attending members were almost always awkward, fumbling through their histories on Earth.  Given that my position on the ship dealt with so many people, I knew that sharing my story would help them see me less as a bureaucrat. Seeing me as a person they can relate to would make my job easier when learning where to place them for jobs.

Looked like it was time for me to get the hard part over with, damn the emotions and full speed ahead.

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