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 Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 9:49 pm
Why was everyone singing and why didn't they seem to know any other lyrics? Why couldn't they sing something else. He knew a song, he wasn't sure where he heard it though but from where he was laying he started to join the rather odd group of dead folks singing his own song.
"Carry on my wayward son. There will be peace when you are done..."
He paused for a moment looking around, was this peace? Was he done? If he was done why were they all still stuck in these suits? And where was HIS Five, not Alpha Five, Theta Five. He rolled slightly looking around either for someone to continue his song, or to find his missing friend.
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Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 9:51 pm
"Bye!" A-Nine called after A-One. She could feel tears prickling her eyes once again but they were the happy sort of tears. She jumped up on the couch she was sitting on, waving and bouncing and no doubt annoying everyone sitting nearby.
"You were a good boss, Boss! Take care!"
A-Nine watched as he bravely strode through the door. Her waving slowed. "See you on the other side." she said softly. With a heavy sigh, she then plopped back down onto the couch.
A-Two had joined her at some point. The other woman was talking to Fiver about the door. A-Nine turned and listened in on the conversation with curious interest.
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Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 9:56 pm
Solemnly, Gamma Two watched as A1 took the plunge. It sent a shiver down his spine really and he was beginning to wonder if he would personally be ready to go through himself. Death was just the beginning according to some people. And while he was already dead, there was something about that door that just made things seem so... final.
Shaking his head, he tried not to think on it any further. The time will come when it came.
Standing up from his seat in the mean time, he stretched out and walked on over to the bar to give some of the remaining liquids a look. It wasn't as if he could drink any of it, but it gave him something to do in the mean time. When a random idea struck him, he grabbed two of the empty bottles and tested their weight.
He then began to attempt to juggle.
Whatever he was before he came to the island, it certainly wasn't a juggler. Both bottles ended up shattering on the floor pretty quickly.
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Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 9:57 pm
"Oh. Uh, thanks," A-Two said in response to A-Five's answer, deflating slightly. She scooted away just a touch as A-Nine flopped down on the couch, too... part of her instinct was to lean against the other girl, but her stomach flipped over at the thought of anything leaning, pushing, pressing against her... ugh!
But. They'd been through that together. Just the three of them. Even if they hadn't made it... or had they? They were here, anyway. "I, uh. You were, like, very brave. And, like, that was badass how you, like, hit that dude with that chair," she said, after a moment.
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Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 10:20 pm
A7 stood up quickly when A1 came closer, and a vague short of shock began to stun him. Was A1 saying he was taking that one, final step that A7 had just refused to do? Was the man showing him how to take his lumps in stride?
Was A1 leading him one final time, to their final destination?
God damn, that man was the best leader he'd ever known. Nevermind that he couldn't remember any others. He was the best.
A7 wasn't about to take a handshake and a pat on the back - no, he collected the man into his arms, and pulled A1 almost off his feet in the biggest, strongest bear hug he'd ever given. He knew the man could take it, and he hoped that wherever he was headed, he wouldn't forget him.
"You were the best. Thank you." A7 whispered to his leader, and as he pulled away he saluted the man with a stiff hand to the forehead. He kept his hand there, even as his leader, his boss, his very role model for his short time here.. disappeared.
It felt like the beginning of the end.
A7's hand dropped to his side, and he sagged visibly. He had no more songs left in his heart, after losing the one person he'd looked up to for guidance.
Now he had nowhere to look but that door.
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Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 10:25 pm
A-Nine looked at A-Two vacantly. "I hit a dude with a chair?" she tilted her head and tried to remember but her mind slid away from that horrible room and nothing came but blurred fragments and red.
And a deep sense of failure.
But it was okay. A-One said it was okay so it must be. She sighed a little wistfully and flicked her gaze away from the door over to where A-Seven was talking to Z-Eight. Even A-Seven wasn't mad at her and he roared at practically everything that annoyed him.
A-Nine smiled at A-Two. Things were okay. What happened had happened and they were all here now. Nothing left to do but take a load off for a while and relax.
She settled back into the couch. "Thanks!" she said somewhat belatedly to A-Two's compliment. There was a long pause and A-Nine realized she should probably say something in return.
"Um, I think it's neat how you say 'like' all the time. It's very unique." she patted A-Two on the knee in a friendly sort of way.
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Interesting Conversationalist
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Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 10:33 pm
"You really want to go through it, don't you."
It wasn't a question. Zeta Eight didn't seem to be very good with questions in general. But usually it was a veiled question in the form of a statement, a way for her to save face without revealing that there might be things she didn't know. She didn't like the feeling of not knowing. But she didn't need to this time. Even beneath the mask, her expression didn't waver, despite the inexplicable burn at the corners of her eyes, the urge to let her face tighten, to bite her lip. But that wasn't who she was, right? So she pretended to be strong and cold and uncaring as she stared at him, her own arms awkwardly by her sides.
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Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 10:35 pm
"Um. Thanks?" A-Two replied, nonplussed. That was... kind of a weird thing to compliment someone on, but even she had to admit that her usual targets for compliments or complaints - clothes, hair, etcetera - were pretty much non-issues here. "Your, uh... mask. Is nice."
...
"Nine's, like, a good number?" Er. She glanced over at A-Seven, worried as she saw the fight flow out of him. She didn't want him to go... she didn't. It was too soon. She couldn't... watch them all go away again...
"We should go together," she said, quietly. "Phoenix. Together."
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Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 10:40 pm
A7's head tilted quickly down to Z8, and he took a quick breath in to reply - but nothing but air came out. The answer wasn't as easy as she might have thought.
He turned himself completely to her, and once more wrapped his arms around her body. "I don't know what I want." He murmured, and he had the vaguest sensation that those words could have summed up everything he'd ever felt, in a nutshell.
"All I know is, you're here. And I like holding you. Our friends are mostly here. But we can't stay, can we? We've gotta go sometime." He leaned his chin on the top of her mask, and stared at the doorway.
"Do you think she went in before we even got here?" The question was a whisper. In fact, it sounded more like a scared little boy, than the man he thought he was.
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Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 10:40 pm
A tug on Zeta Eight's sleeve. A12 had been planning on leaving anyways-- It just happened to be after A1. When A1 had left the room, it hadn't struck a moment of awe that pierced itself so deeply with others. No, instead, it filled her with a heaviness in her heart because she too would walk through that door.
Alpha Twelve's small fingers, under her gloves, pulled at Zeta Eight's sleeve insistently, her heart thumping rapidly in her chest. She would have liked to say goodbye to A10 as well .. but nobody knew where she was. So Alpha Twelve would simply have to do with the few that was here.
"I-I'm going to be going now too. I'm not sure if I'll see you guys again .. b-but I'll be heading out too." She told Zeta Eight, her words clear enough for the surrounding crowd to hear. She tipped her head and smiled .. to Alpha Seven, the first Alpha she had met. To Alpha Two, in their brief encounter with Alpha Seven. To the rest she had only vaguely talked with or seen .. her hands curled over her chest, tentatively transforming into a small wave.
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Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 10:48 pm
"Thanks!" A-Nine beamed at A-Two's compliments. She was getting better at this conversation stuff. Usually people got annoyed with her and left shortly after she opened her mouth. Who said that death was the end of everything?
But A-Two was growing somber once again. A-Nine turned her head to where the other woman was looking. A-Seven did seem rather slouchy and slumped over. Maybe he was sad A-One had left too? A-Nine wouldn't blame him.
We should go together, Phoenix. Together. A-Two was saying.
A-Nine paused and chewed her lip. The couch was comfy and she was willing enough to just lounge about for a while yet and see what happened next. But if her team mates were leaving....
"Yeah." she agreed quietly. "I'll come to. Phoenix team sticks by each other, right?" She patted A-Two. "Right to the end."
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Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 10:48 pm
A-Two blinked under the mask at A-Twelve. "You better, like, be on the other side too, okay," she said, firmly, then raised her voice. "All of you! All of you better be there! You... you stupid stupid guys!"
... And then the tears came. Awkwardly, because damn it was hard to blubber properly with a gas mask on, but A-Two managed. "Please don't go yet," she wibbled at the remaining Phoenix Squad members. "I'm not... I missyouguysokay-"
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Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 10:57 pm
A-Nine rubbed A-Two's back in what she hoped was a calming gesture. "Don't cry. It's okay, I won't go yet if you're not ready. So don't cry."
She looked helplessly over at A-Seven, at a loss for what else to do.
((man, if A9 were a dog she's be doing the 'don't cry, I'm here *wag wag*' doggie thing))
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Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 11:17 pm
She'd only done it a few times before, initiate contact with another person. Of those times, most of them had been with Alpha Seven, although for what reason, she couldn't have said. Not yet, anyway. It was... comforting... to have his arms wrap around her shoulders, like something she might have enjoyed, had the situation been different. As the well-built Alpha moved to embrace her, Zeta Eight was already lifting her arms to wrap them around his waist, unprompted. Beneath the mask, her eyes had closed, tightly at first, but then looser, her fingers brushing over the material of his armor, pretending she could feel it beneath her fingertips as she listened quietly. Beneath her head, she could hear his heart beating despite how she knew he wasn't alive, soft and fluttering like a bird. Throughout their four days, Alpha Seven had been the maverick of the group, the joking, protective, volatile, the one who cheered everyone up and always knew what to do or say, always was there to protect you... but underneath it she could feel a seed of uncertainty. It felt like he was... afraid. It felt like he needed her to be ok with it.
It felt... familiar. Like a second chance... to do things right where she hadn't before.
"Don't hold me just because you don't know what would happen if you let go."
She gave him a squeeze, so uncharacteristic to the girl she had been, the one she had used just as he had to cover it all up. She almost didn't, fearing she might reveal to much, and he might know she wanted to fight him about it. But that voice told her to, told her it was right, and so she held back the impulse to shove him away, forcing the little sickening ache to the back of her mind.
"I don't know," she answered after a time, her own voice low, "But wherever she is, I'm sure she's waiting for you."
She'd ignored the first few tugs to her sleeve, waiting just a little longer before letting her arms go limp, gently pulling herself from his grip to turn towards them. At first she seemed a little surprised to see her, her head tilting to the side in a silent question as she looked at her, the answer becoming obvious with every passing second. Everyone was leaving. There wasn't an acknowledging nod on her part when Alpha Twelve said it aloud, no motion on Zeta Eight's part for a few seconds as the once timid girl turned to nod her goodbye to the others. She waited until she was completely done before stepping in to wrap her arms around her shoulders, pulling her in close.
"You did good. You did really... really well."
She held the embrace for a few passing breaths, knowing she could keep her no longer than that. It was never longer than a moment -- they never had longer. But she held on for a second more before releasing her, turning so the breathing apparatus of her gas mask was tilted for her to hear.
"I'm proud of you."
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Interesting Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 12:04 am
Ah gods, this had been precisely what he hadn't wanted, somehow, it had gotten to the point, where...instead of feeling the usual satisfaction that came with spurning others, he actually felt marginally guilty for hurting the youth's feelings. Damn them all, he didn't actually know the other's age, he merely judged him by his behavior, with a soft growl, he took a step forward, eyes narrowing to slits behind his mask. "Look now. I asked if you truly wished to dance. A negative or positive answer would have sufficed, and all too clearly, your answer is yes." He pointed out, trying not to let too much icy frustration leak into his tone, and then he offered a hand to Fiver II. He was not a pleasant person, Three understood this about himself...but these being their last moments, he didn't at all have to make them collectively miserable.
And now Fiver was singing. Naturally. Looking to him for a moment, he then nodded. Not bad, the tempo would do at least, so if their fellow continued, then if Fiver II had his heart absolutely set on that dance...then dance they would. A shame it wasn't a classical strain, but without instruments...that would be quite impossible. Almost in the back of his mind, he could see the bow of a violin sliding across the strings, coaxing the notes forth.
He missed a life that on this side he would never remember.
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