Welcome to Gaia! ::

:::At the site of Luke, Mercy 7 loses her breath. Her eyes go wide with realization and confusion. Her expression stays that way, while something in her mind slowly drills its way up. Tears begin to flow from her eyes, but she's too busy trying to understand that she does not seem to notice.

Seconds later, the innitial shock wears off, and she jets away from her seat. She stands safely, few feet away... she still hasn't taken a breath:::

:::Finally her eyebrows furrow in deep confusion...the tears still running.
I know...him:::

:::She feels herself quiver as she attempts to speak to him. She's starting to realize that for this to be possible, she must have been someone before she was Mercy 7:::

I...

:::The information from her subconcious begins to surface. It's not as though over coming amnesia... When she was turned into Mercy 7, her memory was not only erased, but she, as a human, was entirely reprogrammed to fulfill certain purposes. Human interaction was not one of them.

She put her palms back up to her head as the functions of her prior self began to replace her Mercy programming more and more:::

I... know you! :::She groaned, the inner conflict was overwhelming, but the human spirit was unrelenting:::

*The groan makes him flinch back a step.*

*She knew him?... Luke squints as he considers it. No, no way. He's definitely never met her before.*

I'm sorry. I've-I've never seen you in here before.

*He's on guard. This woman's not stable. Unstable people do crazy things.*

*Luke eyes go wide. She said ---*

Cora? You know Cora??

*Luke nears her.* You---

*He looks right in her eyes. For Luke, it happens in slow motion. Memory assists him, producing an image of Cora crying in the Brink. It was a scene he'd witnessed several times over. He remembers her face, the way the tears ran down. Instead of rushing swiftly through him, realization is superimposed. He feels his heartbeat race. Though her hair and clothes have changed, it's the same face he's looking at now.*

*Luke's mouth has gone dry. His mind can still barely take it in.* Cora?

*His breath is heavy at the shock of it. Not thinking, he rushes towards her.* Cora...!

*Though he's upset - beyond upset, distressed to see her in this state - another part of him is relieved. Relieved as hell to see her.*

Holy s**t...What... *What the ********, What the ********, What the ******** puts a hand on her shoulder.* s**t, Slim... *Relief fades. She looks so much older. And sad, so incredibly sad.* Who did this? What happened to you?

:::She cringes a bit at his touch...before appearing in the brink again, her body hadn't been touched in a year, and according to her programming, she'd never been touched at all. But she stayed, like her mind told her to.:::

I... don't know...

:::She was afraid of what she might remember, but she slowly pulled her hands away from her face to look at him...:::

I don't know.

I... who.

:::The tears kept coming:::

*Cross appears behind the bar... as if he's crouched behind an embankment with his pistol drawn and visable.... a first in the brink... the pistol is unusual at first glance but likely the occupants of the brink are too busy to notice and once he sees where he is he puts it away and pops up... then notes luke.. and Cora..*
Cora lass!... he prepares to pop up.... then realizes Luke is in no danger... something hits the pit of his stomache like a stone..... but he shakes it off* er..... *he steps over kitty corner to luke... but says nothing.... again the spiced rum remains at the bar....*