come_sailaway | END GAME: THE COUNTDOWN STARTS

I don't doubt your assessment in the slightest.

[he knows firsthand how difficult an opponent Fever can be, so he doesn't doubt that Steve can hold his own. truthfully, a kid can't be around here this long without proving themselves capable of survival.]

They're storm gods of varying degrees. That means they're powerful, but also unpredictable. The Captain wasn't convinced they were very bright, but I think it's a difference of priorities. Theirs will most likely be to kill Malin and then the Captain.

[ His eyes are distant and hollow, is the short way to put it. Both of them may as well be blind.

They’re—she’s saying something, and he can hear her, but somehow he can’t listen. Everything’s two too many steps removed. Nothing’s making it’s way to him and he doesn’t know why—he knows there are people missing and he’s stuck while other people walk around but not him because he’s weak he’s always been weak and God knows what’s going on out there while Darcy’s in the middle of all that noise, but he… he can’t… there should probably be some kind of panic, a sense of regret, but when he reaches for something in himself, he comes up empty.

Something about holding on. Well, failed step one? Maybe? He’s not sure if this counts.

Phil reaches fingers out through the bars like he’d done with Darcy and the cat Taba before. Talonless, which they haven’t been in over a year, and he never thought he’d miss them.

Inevitably: ] It’s okay. I get it.

Edited 2024-03-06 09:52 (UTC)

It's not okay.

[why lie about that? why say it's fine when it's not? when he's not? when wherever he is, it's somewhere that his light isn't - and how strange to see him without it around him. blown out like a candle. it's survival, she knows. when the worst comes, to separate the body from the self. that distance keeps one safe. not hurting. and yet, and yet-

only a bit of her fingers can get through the bars to touch him. still warm. still breathing. still really here.]

We're going to get you out. I give you my word on it. And when this is all over, if you'll allow me, I'll sit with you. Put your wings back in order, if you wouldn't rather someone else do so.

[it had helped Erin, when she had sat there and done it, figured out how. it might help him. but wings or not, the promise is for more time. time that they will have - they will. Malin could gut her like the necromancer did and leave her shattered, and she would find a way back to fulfill these promises that she's been making.

(when did she make so many connections that she cannot leave behind?)]

[now that has her eyes sparkling, and perhaps she should be really and truly upset to hear they're facing gods, but...unpredictable, she can work with. she can bargain with, persuade.]

We'll figure out how to spare the Captain their wrath. By bargain struck or self-evidence or something else sacrificed. I won't claim they'll owe us - they're paying in advance with this assistance - but something will inevitably come up.

[so you know how some people try to make indepth plans, Skulduggery? she doesn't. just the end goal in mind, and whatever happens, happens.]

She had that string put on his neck. That tells us where we need to start aiming.

[ He can't feel her fingers against his, although he knows they must be touching. There's space he can't close between them.

More words. Some kind of offer, some kind of comfort. Later, obviously. Nothing to be done now. He can hardly turn her down--of all people, especially her.

The promise of patience.

He's good at patience.

Part of him wants to lean up to kiss what bit of her fingers she can fit through the bars, but he can't move to do it. ]

Okay, [ he says. ] ... Yeah. I'd like that.

[Rita doesn't know a whole lot about Steve when it comes down to it. He was on team mutiny, yeah, but otherwise... What more is there to him then bad taste in clothes (her marine outfit was stylish, dammit!) and, presumably, an obsession with styling his hair?

Still, being right across the hall and all, it's not difficult to catch his eye. Fever and Natsuno both got heartfelt talks. Steve?]

Sure you can keep up with them?

"Granted if there are any it might be like the electronic devices on the ship: totally empty inside. But then again I'm not sure how well Malin actually knows the Captain and how he operates. If luck is on our side the answer will be not at all."

He looks around, not seeing any ventilation but then again there might not need to be any in his cell to begin with.

"I bet there are. There's probably no locks on the doors at the end of the hall either. Malicious compliance. It's what I would do."

Open
[Natsuno wasn't expected to be one of the newly escaped, but if Steve managed to convince Rita's scary friend, he's not about to complain.

Having a purpose helps keep the dread and the frustration at bay; Natsuno is calm and focused is he walks down the corridor. There are some people he must speak, but he'll stop for anyone who might want to talk briefly.]

Rita
[She witnessed everything, of course. Guatauva's coming and going, Steve pleading, the lightning that melted the bars. When Natsuno steps outside, she's the first he comes to.

He presses his hands against the bars, fingers curling to touch Rita's. It's frustrating that he can't do more.]

I'll come back. Promise.

[Natsuno doesn't know what they are about to face, but he does know he's not going to throw his life away this time. This time, he'll return to those who love him. He's going to live.]

Clarke
[He knew she was still there, and they managed to pass brief "I'm okay" messages through the cells, but Natsuno still doesn't fully believe it until he stands in front of Clarke's cell and sees, present and alive despite Skulduggery and Darcy's efforts. Despite the bruises and the sickeningly familiar scent of nightblood hanging in the air.

Natsuno presses his face against the bars. If he could melt them with his will and anger alone, he would.]

Hey. We're gonna fix it.

Jade
[No heartfelt words here, no leaning dramatically against the bars. Natsuno simply marches up to Jade's cell (quickly, the fastest one can walk without actually running), staring with the particular lineface that says "I'm so glad to see you."]

Tell me your eyes aren't about to explode.

[Hi dad guess who missed you - ]

( steve levels her with a flat stare, unimpressed. )

Considering I'm one of, what, like five people around here not dealing with missing superpowers? Yeah, I think I'll be fine.

( there's no adjusting to baseline human when it's your default. he doesn't rely on fancy magic weapons, either. this is just a normal tuesday for Regular Guy steve harrington. )

Then it's a promise. After all this, after Darcy no doubt steals you away for a while and you've gotten a chance to catch up to people. Just call, and I'll answer.

[she can't fix this. can't bestow upon him some cold comfort or let the thoughts of Malin's death fuel him or swear she'll come back alive and have that be enough. it won't be enough until this is all over. until it's quiet, until he knows his child is safe and that the fighting has pulled back.

it won't be enough until his light has come back.

she fights back the impulse to press her face against the bars, as if that would do anything, could push her hand through them better to hold his hand. she has to succeed.

the narrowness of the bars stops her from pressing her fingers in further, but she tries regardless. feels the cold metal and the pressure and the ache of being forced back.]

I'll be there.

"You're out. I'm glad."

[Of course she's right at the bars as soon as Steve's trying to convince Fever. Rita doesn't know about him, but she'd vouch for Natsuno--yet somehow Steve does manage to convince Fever, which has her wondering (Fever's always had reasonable judgement, after all, so there must be something here). There's not a lot of time to think about that, though, because then Guatauva's calling a massive lightning strike down from the ether right across the hall, and Rita jumps despite herself.

The last time she was this close to a magic lightning blast--her and Jade, both--but despite lights dancing in her eyes and a slight ringing in her ears, nothing else happens.

Nothing else except Natsuno now walking free, and then that's the only thing that matters.]

Natsuno-

[She immediately presses her hands to his as much as the bars will allow, wishing she could lace their fingers and just--anything but stare at each other from opposite sides of iron. But she can feel the warmth of his fingertips, at least, and she sees the promise in his eyes. He's going to live. There's no helping the cold pit of worry that's going to eat at her insides while they're gone regardless, but--he is going to live. He'll do what needs to be done and he'll survive, because he matters, dammit.]

Yeah. [As much as she'd like to be at his side for whatever's to come, this is...acceptable, to her. Natsuno and Fever are both reliable and capable, and she can't imagine many others she'd have on her list of "people she'd entrust her life to".] I know you will. So...so I'll be waiting. I believe in you, you know?

Hey, if you can find our stuff at all, maybe-- [He already knows about her blastia, of course. What else might be helpful? Anything at all that she can add that might prove useful to undo some of this damage...] There's an hourglass--actually, it looks like a stopwatch, but if you use it, you can freeze an enemy in time for a few seconds. And I also had...oh, that powder. It should be in paper wrapping, but it's not labelled, so be careful--it can turn living things to stone. There's a st--I mean, a bottle of liquid for curing it too, just in case...

[She's trying not to ramble about anything too much. Keep it to the most important details. But nerves do still have her rushing the words out, and she wracks her brain for anything else she might've had. And of course the sentimental items keep entering her mind: Theodora, the Natsunaga, the wooden cat carving, the purple necklace, Fio's drawing. Nothing practical, even if she'd like to have them back.]

I think that's...probably all I had that would be useful. If you even come across anything.

"I can't see much of anything, I'm afraid. I don't have my glasses. I'd be lucky if I could tell apart your nose from your ears."

"But you aren't."

And it's my fault. And there is an old, instinctual fear that rises from the corner where she left it, with the clanking of old chains. If he was able to reach into her mind again, he'd see it, all rusted with long dried blood, wrapped around her ribcage, waiting to tighten. The tension on a man's face when he knows the lash is falling. A look on her face that says she's waiting for it.

Apology isn't enough, debasement isn't. Fever has to promise, here and now, and keep it for a prayer of survival. Or else, or else when she's free, she will have failed him.

"We could only open so many cells, or they'd notice. It -" She swallows, forcing herself to still speak. "Valdis, I owe her from the Village. She's why we managed to kill him at the heart of his power. And the boy, he wants to do better. Do right. He's brave, he's -"

Excuses. All of them. Gods, what has she done. Ruined something that was so cherished.

"I'm sorry."

It won't spare her.

[She might not feel much like laughing herself, but Fever's laugh isn't bad to hear--not at all. It adds to the dark satisfaction she feels imagining the suffering Malin would incur.

--And then. Well. Despite it all, a dust of pink covers her cheeks, and she suddenly can't look Fever in the eye--not out of embarrassment, because damn right she loves Natsuno and isn't afraid to show it--but the sincere, overwhelming gratitude and appreciation in the face of that promise, which threatens to choke her up.]

Th...thanks. He knows, too. But...th-thanks.

That's not exactly a winning endorsement.

[And yet. Fever chose to let him out--him, without Natsuno saying anything--and she must have had a reason. She sighs.]

All I can do is trust Fever... Just try not to fall of the edge of reality or anything, okay?

Cassandra catches Natsuno's gaze as he comes down the corridor, and beckons him close enough to speak in an undertone, for his ears only.

"This may not matter now, but ... do you have any idea who used the string? We'd thought it was gone, when Tayrey was."

Does she have any guess, any suspicions? Maybe. She hasn't forgotten that most of the team discussing it had been opposed to using the string -- some unwilling to see it used at all, some insisting on gathering more information first. And she remembers who was and wasn't at that meeting.

"So you set a prisoner free, on a whim, on a feeling." He's... smiling?

"You called him a boy. He's young, then? Impulsive?"

Don't fret. I'll save all jokes and teasing for when we're all in much better humor.

[making sure he knows he's a lucky man, that he needs to treat her right, that if she cries it's on his head, all the usual little comments and such. making sure she solidifies her place as Rita's scary friend.]

All I'll say for now is that I'm glad for you. You deserve the happiness.

It doesn't abate the coiling in the pit of her stomach. She knows a smile can herald the worst sorts of things. She knows, because she smiles before she strikes. Fever stands at the bars, awaiting judgement.

"Young, yes. Impulsive, likely. He fought me in the Village, and I struck him down. He wants to atone for what happened there - for the mistakes he made. And there was another in his cell as well. Also young, but known to be dedicated."

Numbers. That's tactical, right? That could mitigate the worst of the punishments.

"I swear I'll come back. By my name and blood I'll figure out how to solve this problem. Unlock the bars or break them or bypass them - I-I have a spell that can do it, that can get you out. I can do this."

Please. Whatever he decides, let it fall on her head alone.

[Teasing?! That momentarily cuts through the wave of emotion, and she lifts her head again with a little huff. And, like, Fever was (physically) present at the weed party where Rita and Natsuno turned each other into furries via magic, but still-!]

Like there's anything to tease us for. We're a perfectly normal couple.

[But that little bit of uplifting banter is only momentary after all, because Fever's followup is just as sentimental as the last comment. Rita presses fingers more tightly against the bars as she averts her eyes awkwardly to the side and mumbles a reply.]

Th-thanks...he deserves it, too. Even more, actually...

"Fever, love. I'm not upset with you."

He stands up, approaching the bars.

"It's a story for another time, but... know that where I come from, there is significance in the freeing of an unlikely prisoner, at a critical moment. You've done what you needed to, and I'm not going to question it. Especially not when the most important parts of him already go with you."

"That bad huh? Well I'll let you know if anything happens. So far a lot of nothing except Friday walking by."

[As the time had whiled away, and the various rumors of activity passed down by occasional verbal telephone flow and wane like the tide of a particularly sluggish sea, Jade has ended up alternating between sitting and standing near the bars...but word of a cat and lightning and new activity had filtered in, and Natsuno finds him standing by the time he arrives at the cell.

Expectant, and outwardly seemingly not particularly tense. Maybe something shifts just a bit minutely, when it becomes visibly clear just whose steps it is now arriving...or maybe it's just that Jade's face is always going to be a bit strange without a pair of glasses on it at the moment, probably. Yes, that's surely it. Regardless--the idly cheery smile meeting that lineface is still about the same as it's always been. Definitely.]

In fact, it's a rather funny thing...I'm not entirely certain! I've something of a headache forming, though that could be for some other reason I just couldn't guess at the moment... [You know, like the suboptimal lay of the current situation, or the circumstances that have lead to it, or some other sort of very mildly stressful stimulus. Maybe. Truly who can say--] The critical point would normally be about three days, but it's also grown difficult to track time without Miss Friday's patrols to count any longer.

So, perhaps it'll be any moment now. Wouldn't be an entirely bad thing, though, would it? The blast may well blow some holes in the cells all around me, at the very least! I'd just need to warn everyone around me to stand back...

[It starts with good cheer. Reassuring as always, you know. Although, towards the end...the sardonic saccharine of his tone does taper off a bit...

Jade folds his arms. ...It surely isn't to stop himself from reaching for the bars and wishing he had pockets to tuck them in right now, or anything like that--]

...But then again, I would like to still be present, to see what's next. Exploding would be a bit inconvenient for that. [...] Should our abilities be restored, there is a fonic seal I can apply to my eyes by hand, to stabilize things for a few hours at a time. It's what I used as a child, before I had my glasses designed. So, Yuuki, rest assured--in the wake of your success, there won't be anything to worry about.

[...Oh, it's the youth with the hair...Steve. Natsuno has already been past at this point, and so in a way it's not so surprising to see Steve trailing down the hall eventually too--apparently the cells have been arranged more or less similarly to the ship's previous cabin layout, and so the two young men must have shared the same bars.

Besides that, it's still not as if they know each other terribly well. Jade has probably made himself more of a very mild indirect nuisance in Steve's life occasionally, more than anything else, in that brief stretch of time between his return to the ship and this situation now...dropping into 109 on occasion in unconventional hours to visit Natsuno alongside his other strange friends, and things like that. It's not as if there's a strong obligation to offer heartfelt well-wishes, or anything like that. But still...

Here, at what certainly feels like the end of all things--and knowing what company Steve's about to keep, very shortly--well. Perhaps now is as good a time as any--]

You know, sir, I don't think I ever did apologize to you for that particularly strange morning I gave you those weeks back...

END GAME: THE COUNTDOWN STARTS

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Natsuno - breakout

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