come_sailaway | END GAME: THE COUNTDOWN STARTS

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 - ]

[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.

[Touching fingertips isn't enough. It was hard enough to be across the hall behind bars, but now when they're so close he can feel her body heat, it's torture. Natsuno can feel the icy tendrils of fear coiling around his heart, his throat, and suddenly he's terrified he will never see her again. What if he keeps his promise, but something happens to Rita when the rest of them are still caged and helpless?

But she says she believes in him, so he can't let the fear show. Having someone to love and to go back to should give him strength. Will give him strength.]

Stopwatch to freeze enemies, petrifying powder and antidote. Got it. I'll grab Theodora too if I can find her.

[What else should he take, assuming they even find anything? His gun. A knife. Can he even carry the flamethrower? Maybe Marceline? With his supernatural strength sealed away, he will need to be careful.

Having settled on a semblance of plan, Natsuno lowers his head, leaning close to where their fingers are touching. His next words are soft, to Rita's ears only.]

What I'm about to say is not a goodbye, got it? [He smiles.] I love you.

[She nods, grateful and apprehensive at the same time. They're about to face a terrifying unknown: no clue what he'll find, what's going to happen, and unable to face it together, no idea when they'll be able to see each other again. But they have to if they want any chance at a future not spent rotting in a cell as someone's plaything.

He leans in and she does the same, as best as the bars will allow. And--his smile is everything at that moment. She manages a slightly strained one of her own--she believes in him; it doesn't matter how scared she is to see him go, she's going to have confidence that if anyone can do this, it's him.]

I love you, too. Go light that jerk's ego on fire.

[It's not a goodbye. It's not.

She moves a hand to try and brush a stray lock of hair out of his eyes, though mostly only succeeds in poking his forehead. It'll have to do.]

...I'll see you later, yeah?

[It doesn't matter if she pokes him in the forehead, he savors the brief contact nonetheless.]

Yeah.

[It's a promise. They will see each other again. Death refused him so many times - if it dares to try and claim him now, Natsuno Yuuki will drag himself back by his teeth if he has to.

He kisses Rita's knuckles gently. One last glance, and he's off without another word.]

[She meets his glance, eyes shining with with love and confidence and worry all at once, and then she watches him go as far as she's able to from the cell, the warmth of his lips lingering on her fingers.

It's not a goodbye. It's not a goodbye.

He'll be okay. He will.]

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.

Natsuno's a little surprised Cassandra doesn't know yet. He thought it would be the first piece of information to pass along the cells.

"It was Clarke," he says, quiet and calm like he's talking about the weather. He stands by his friend, but word would get out eventually, and Cassandra is someone he owes the truth to. "She talked to Tayrey before she disappeared, and Tayrey entrusted her with it."

Cassandra breathes out, and doesn't say anything for a moment.

"I wish she'd talked to the rest of us first. But it's done. Whatever happens ... I still think we were right to try."

He wishes Clarke had talked to him before go-time. Knowing that the thing possessing Valdis didn't give her any time hardly makes it better.

"I think so too. The realm was dying. Nobody wanted this... but we're going to fix it."

It's not optimism but stubbornness, the grim determination of someone who will see things through no matter what.

"When you get out of here, can you tell Clarke what you told me? Speak up for her."

"I'll do what I can," she says, still low. "I don't know who will listen to me."

It's bitter, the awareness that her voice doesn't count for anything with some, for good or ill. She's grown used to it, somewhat.

"I hope she will, at least."

(no subject)

neverleave - 2024-03-07 18:25 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

not_the_last - 2024-03-07 20:42 (UTC) - Expand

[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.

[Jade looks wrong. Without his glasses, trapped behind bars - even the stupid prisoner uniform look worse than they do on everyone else. For some reason he thinks about his father, humming to himself in the kitchen, speaking to the phantom of an already-dead wife.

Jade will never no just how immense is the relief Natsuno feels when the first thing he hears is a terrible, tasteless joke. It grounds him, calms the itch of wrongness brought on by the set up and unpleasant memories (why that of all things? this will not be examined now, possible ever - ).]

Gross, [Is all Natsuno has to say about releasing others via eyesplosion, but isn't he just doing his part? The annoying adult makes inappropriate jokes, the rude youth is rolling his eyes, and both pretend circumstances aren't so dire.

Three day. How much time has passed? Natsuno can't tell, so he can't afford himself to worry about it. Time is of the essence regardless.]

We'll just have to succeed, then.

[If they don't, then Jade's eyes would be the least of their concerns anyway.]

We're going to help Jenny's brothers. But if I find out where our stuff is, I'll get your glasses.

[Gross, Natsuno remarks, and for a moment it really all is just business as usual here. Jade makes his irritating and off-color remarks, Natsuno deflects them with his cursory bluntness, and surely the day will go on as days on the ship always had. An equilibrium maintained. Jade can't remember when exactly it all turned into a routine, into something more familiar than obligate. ...In much the same way banter with the party had eventually evolved over the course of the journeys back home...yes, maybe there's something linked there. Either way. Natsuno isn't the only one to draw a sense of assurance from it.

But naturally they're not here to admit anything like that aloud. No, this talk here and now...is the last cursory check, before deployment. Get in any last words of encouragement or instruction, and then set out, as the start of all battles in all wars go. Practical, and good for morale. Practically, yes, they'll address this as practically as they always mutually have--]

Oh, naturally, success will come first. [Will, not "may" or "hopefully". It's confirmed with a breezy sort of certainty. There's simply no room for any other outcome here, after all.] No need to go terribly out of your way to grab those glasses...I'd actually rather have my spear on hand first, if you find it there before them. [He can't tell whether it's still stored in his arm or not, right now, forced shut as all his fon slots currently are.] But you already know how to prioritize such things, no doubt. I imagine...you don't need any more reminders in general, about the situation at hand here.

[That he should take utmost care, as near entirely unknown as the enemy is, much less the terrain beyond this hall. That he needs to keep as level a head as he can. That Jenny's brothers would likely prefer death to perpetual enslavement, if there is no way to acquire freedom for them otherwise. That...

Hm. Now isn't this a familiar feeling? It shouldn't feel familiar as it does. This drab and crowded concrete prison hall is the furthest cry anything could possibly be...from the sprawl of Eldrant that had stretched out all around in another time. Those pale and crumbling ruins of a Hod that would never return--salty wind whipping from the sea thousands of miles below--and the sky dyed a brilliant orange, as Luke had turned his back on them all. To fulfill the promise he'd made to Lorelei. To let them all escape, and vanish himself.

That's why you must come back alive...or rather, I hope you do.

Natsuno would probably tell him to shut up too.

(Can't even give him a formal handshake between peers this time either, not through these bars. Instead,) Jade considers Natsuno's features gravely for a long moment.]

...Everything will be your choice, from here. I'm sure you'll proceed accordingly, and I look forward to hearing from you about the results. [And here, despite the leaden weight that's settled itself in his chest, a bit too heavy with a few too many reminders, Jade offers him a grimly humored smile anyhow.] I can only hope you agree, that we've had a few too many rash decisions for the day already, hm?

Edited 2024-03-21 17:26 (UTC)

[He can't help but grimace at that last part. It stings regardless of Jade's grim smile - after all, no one can cut through Natsuno's walls of detached indifference quite like him.]

Mm. No more bullshit. We'll fix it.

[He falls silent. That should be it, right? They each said their peace and there's no time to stand here awkwardly. Yet the way Jade put things keep echoing in his ears. It brings about a particular sense of reassurance that was absent from the more emotional goodbyes to Rita and Clarke. Not I believe in you, not If you die out there, I'm going to kill you, but your choice.

That's all he ever needed.]

...it's not a suicide mission, you know. I plan on coming back.

[And that, like always, is his choice.]

[Oh it's that guy. That one guy. With the eyes. And the hair. Yeah. That one. Okay he totally can't remember Natsuno's name, but by the transitive properties of Pratt stabbing Clarke and becoming friends, and Clarke and this guy already being friends, therefore him and this guy are now bffs or something.]

Hey hey, what's at the end of the hall? Is there a door or something? Where are you going? And have you seen Flan at all?

[He is so. bored.]

[Thank you Pratt, your blabbering help distract him from the completely unemotional conversation he just had with Jade - ]

There's a door. We're going to help Jenny and her brothers, and Flan was across and to my right.

[He's holding a red braid, one of those Flan passed around. He is absolutely ready to use it as a garrote.]

Oh sweet that's good.. Uh wait... Tauva and Huraken? I kinda fed Ebalon to one of them so, you know, don't get eaten.

[He can take a lot of things in stride and roll with it, but there's a limit to that even for Pratt.]

Do you have her hair.

Tauva is fine. The other two are under Malin's control.

[You know, this is the first time he hears about Pratt's involvement in the Ebalon incident, and he has SO many questions but it's really not the time to unpack all of them.]

And yeah, that's her hair. She was passing braids around with the ants. Not like I have anything else to use.

Dude. That's fucked. What about Jenny?

[Maaaaan this sucks. In multiple ways.]

You know, I am not even gonna question any of that. Sure. Makes about as much sense as anything else.

(no subject)

neverleave - 2024-03-09 07:05 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

theweakhavepurpose - 2024-03-09 17:40 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

neverleave - 2024-03-09 18:24 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

theweakhavepurpose - 2024-03-09 19:36 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

neverleave - 2024-03-10 18:10 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

theweakhavepurpose - 2024-03-11 23:17 (UTC) - Expand

( she hadn't cried yet.

had been on the bridge to watch what she'd hope would be their exit ticket turn into a prison sentence in the blink of an eye, had run herself ragged pacing the cell and beating the walls and popping her own broken nose back into place and rewrapping her wounded wrist, had been yelled at with pure vehemence from the starrs across the way, and (worst of all) been on the receiving end of fio's gentle, childlike disappointment. she'd put herself through the wringer comparing past mistakes to this very moment, demanded of herself that despair be replaced with anger and vowed to fix it — only to watch four of the five people she could see be freed by bastion and be left feeling all types of helpless. she'd pet a cat who seemed certain there were vents she couldn't see, and tried rattling the bars again in case this time they'd give so she could investigate herself but failed. and yet, clarke griffin hasn't shed a single tear yet.

that changes almost instantly when natsuno yuuki pops his head into view.

signs of life retold by others in this abhorrent game of cell telephone had soothed the initial ache, but hadn't done a thing to treat the underlying worry. and then suddenly he's just there — out and whole and free, but also probably in danger just by virtue of being out of his cage. and clarke, who had exhausted pacing and resigned herself to sitting on the floor with her back pressed against the wall while gnawing on the nails of her uninjured hand shoots up and floods towards the back. threads her fingers through and curls them around cold metal so hard her knuckles blanche white, her face as close to the bas as can possibly get without actually bumping their noses. and a bajillion emotions swarm across her face; elation, relief, despair, curiosity... an equal amount of questions choke themselves off in the back of her throat because she'd heard a few murmurs passed down about another escape but didn't quite catch all the details. but what ends up ruling the day and coming out of her mouth, possibly overlapping his reassurances — is regret. )

I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, it wasn't — ( and the tears are definitely there, but for what it's worth she's trying her hardest to keep them back. it wasn't... supposed to be like this. supposed to happen like this. supposed to fall on you. ) You weren't supposed to have to fix up my messes.

( and she shakes the bars; if guilt-driven motivation could bend metal, with their emotion-based powers combined they may actually be able to get her out of the cell too.

but this isn't mount weather. there is no back way around the steel bomb door keeping her from her friends. this is like sending bellamy blake to infiltrate, but this time clarke isn't shying away from the weakness that is loving the soldier sent to clean up her mistakes. )

It's not just your mess.

[His voice is soft, yet there's a firm finality in the words. There's nothing she can possibly say to convince him that this is her mess and hers alone. Natsuno wishes he could grasp her bloody hands and squeeze, like the contact would someone unload some of Clarke's guilt and replace it with Natsuno's conviction. Instead he curls his fingers as far as he can through the bars to touch hers.]

It's everyone's. Everyone who helped launch the distress call, everyone who said they're looking for another way and would have us all obliterated while they talked about kindness.

[Yes, Clarke put that string around the captain's neck. Yes, it landed them in this awful predicament. But like he told Ruby, staying put would've only made their coffins slightly prettier. Guilt would get them nowhere.]

I'm sorry I can't get you out of this cell. So at least let me carry some of the burden.

( every time she falls, he tries his best to pick her up. jury's out on if natsuno's repeat kindness and absolution and stubborn companionship will ever really undermine clarke's own self loathing, but she adores him for trying.

but this ache in her chest doesn't relent. it somehow manages to be different than the time she'd watched her father walk into an airlock and clarke can't quite place it. is this how abby griffin had felt watching her dress in hazmat suit before driving off into the apocalypse? is this what bellamy blake felt whenever he'd watched octavia run off to fight? vice versa?

the sentiment you die, i die gets scrambled upon delivery into something more like: )

If you die out there, I'm going to kill you.

( but she smiles at him. just a little, watery and fragile. best believe if there were a thing clarke could do to get out of this cage, it'd be done; this isn't a reluctant agreement to let him carry the weight of the world on his shoulders alone, it's just that there's no other choice. she sniffs particularly hard here too, then launches into a similar train of thought as she'd accosted steve harrington with. )

If you're taking the vents, be careful. They work both ways, and Malin could pump something dangerous through them if she figures out where you are. ( to really sum up all her fears and worries about this plan, all it takes are two simple words. ) Mount Weather.

[He smiles back.]

You think I wanna get slapped again?

[A weak attempt at humor, but maybe there's a small part of Natsuno that truly believes Clarke Griffin would be able to slap the lights out of him even through the veil. Regardless, the smile vanishes when Clarke relays her grim warning. Mount Weather.]

I know. Hopefully the cat has the right path, and I think I've still got my night vision. We'll do our best, I'll do my best. I'm not going out there just to throw my life away recklessly.

[He doesn't know what they'll face out there, but for the first time in years, Natsuno Yuuki fully intends to stick around through all of it. He will come back.]

Good. Don't. I held back that time.

( when she really thinks about it, there's never actually been a time within their friendship that natsuno's willingly left her in an hour of need. sure, there was the halloween they'd all ended up possessed, and his incident with the monkey bomb earlier that same month. an insurmountable rage sure had managed to pop up in the wake of tears and grief during his three day respite in the morgue, but past the moment clarke's managed to restring some empathy over the whole ordeal; how much had he been silently suffering to go that route in the first place? neither of those two incidents count.

he'd held her and tried to stop the bleeding in the middle of the battle royale. he'd been the one to yank her away from the decaying lexa in the middle of the desert and urged her to run. he'd flanked her on every stupid venture she'd allowed him to, and shadowed her as simply a pair of bright red rings in the dark even when she had not. he'd stood outside of her door after more than one of her untimely demises, to the point his presences had honestly become expected.

long ago, clarke griffin had become comfortable with the idea that even death would not separate the two of them. but now the very daunting possibility it could and would looms over their heads. that familiarity and comfort was why it'd hurt so badly seeing just the tableau of his death in the labyrinth; why she begrudges the fate that deigned this moment —

next time you can leave me behind? make it even?

like hell. whatever happens "next time," we're facing it together.

— would be the next time, with no door present she can force open in order to run off beside him; why they ended up best friends, why she trusted him, why she needed him.

and it's why she knows that if she doesn't try to push him to go, she's just going to end up asking him not to and there may even be the slightest chance natsuno would consider it. a few of those restrained tears fall, even as clarke nods viciously and tries to buckle her face back into the realm of composure. )

May we meet again, Natsuno. ( where he's managed to worm his fingers through the bars in order to touch hers, clarke manages her best to squeeze back in turn, regardless of the sharp throb of her wounded wrist. she doesn't feel it, she doesn't care. it hurts far more making herself subsequently let go of him. )

Now go, okay? We'll be fine, I'll be fine. You probably don't have a lot of time.

Natsuno - breakout

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject