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 Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2022 9:12 pm
Takes place after Healing Springs
“Probably for the best,” he sighed after a moment of making sure Chad was actually asleep, and then looked up at Alastor for a moment to make sure he was okay. He worked quickly and carefully on his stitches. He wanted the wound closed, but there was only so much he could do.
“Soleiyu, do those slips have results yet?” he asked, glancing over to the Mauvian to make sure he was okay. There was a lot going on, but he was still confident that once they were at a good point, the water would help the rest of the way.
“What happened? I barely looked at the texts. Had to leave the Reids in a hurry, so I’m sure they’re worried too.” He would have to apologize later, but he knew they would understand.
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Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2022 9:21 pm
Alastor exhaled quietly when Chad finally slipped into unconsciousness, but he still stroked his hair and diligently held the monitor to his wrist.
He knew it was for the best, let him be unconscious so he couldn’t hurt anymore. Except, it meant that Chad couldn’t tell them what was wrong, and Devyn couldn’t have the reassurance that he was still alive and okay.
Soleiyu was hovering over the strips, eyes practically pressed to them as he waited.
“Just give me a few seconds, they’re almost done. If one of you is a viable donor I’ve got the kit ready to go, I’ll let you know.”
Briefly, Alastor looked at him, and all of his tools and supplies laid out over the table he was sitting on.
While he waited, Soleiyu continued, “I don’t think it was his father, but he must know someone in the Negaverse. I felt the Captain in the house before his father left. I think it was coordinated, I don’t feel like it was an accident. He went up, like he was looking for Chad. But everything was calm before then, I thought it was going to be an easy night and–it’s Devyn, the strip says his blood’s good for it.”
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Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2022 9:27 pm
Sessrumnir clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth in frustration. Not at anyone in that room, but at the situation. He knew that they knew they couldn’t risk bringing Chad back. He was going to be a target as long as he was alive if the Negaverse found out. And for his father to likely be in league with them?
He knew he needed to warn Jeremy somehow without giving away who he or Devyn was. He didn’t want to risk their identity, but he also didn’t want Jeremy getting involved with shady people.
He also felt guilty that Devyn’s blood was a match, and not his own.
“Are you okay with that?” he asked, looking up at Devyn as he finished the last stitch and placed a bandage over the wound to keep it clean. “I don’t think it should be a lot. Just enough to stabilize his blood pressure.”
After that, Devyn didn’t have to worry about it.
But… he felt like he already knew Devyn’s answer. He wouldn’t try so hard to save Chad and keep him safe only to refuse to help now.
“I’ll need to get to your arm. Let me get him set up for the transfer, and then we’ll move him into the water to rest,” he said, and then paused to glance up at Devyn again. He hoped he didn’t seem too weirded out by his own comments but… it seemed like that was the right course of action. Maybe he needed Devyn’s confirmation that it seemed like the right thing to do with the Springs.
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Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2022 9:42 pm
“Take whatever you need,” Alastor answered, and he shifted positions only once so he could hold the monitor with his left hand and tear off his sleeve with his right. If they’d had more time, or if he wasn’t being so careful making sure he was still able to monitor Chad’s blood pressure, he might have tried to roll up his sleeves. Instead, this seemed like the fastest option.
With his arm free, he flipped back the outer sleeve and made sure Sessrumnir had clear access before he returned to holding the monitor with his right. Again, he took a second to comb through Chad’s hair before trying to make it easy for Sessrumnir to do whatever he needed.
“I’m making plenty, you’re keeping me healthy. Take extra if you have to. Is the bite bad?” he asked, but didn’t want to move away from Sessrumnir to give it a look over. “The water works well. All of those healthy minerals and what not. I’ve been in the water in a worse state and came out all right, so that sounds like a good plan to me. I’ve got snacks and water for when he wakes up, I just want to make sure he doesn’t overheat. But I’m optimistic. Are you?”
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Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2022 9:43 pm
There was a moment when Sessrumnir couldn’t help but watch as Alastor so easily ripped off his sleeve so it was out of the way. It was obvious that Alastor had been filling out over the months that he’d been staying with him. He was no longer looking malnourished. His skin had a healthy glow. He fit Michael’s clothes well, instead of them being a bit baggy on him.
It was a nice change, especially when Devyn looked worse for wear when they first met.
But his attention was quickly pulled away and focused on Chad’s foot instead.
“I forgot about it, if I’m being honest. Thanks for the reminder.” He’d seen the blood, but he was more concerned about the wound in his side. Now that he was getting ready to get Chad into the water for his transfusion, he would just check then.
He worked on getting the necessary needle set in Chad’s arm first before moving to work on Devyn’s. And he did not let his hands linger on Devyn’s arm.
“I’m… cautiously optimistic,” he said with a sigh. He didn’t want to get too confident in what they were doing, only for it to come crashing down. He glanced over at the blood pressure again, and nodded to Devyn so he could take it away from Chad’s wrist for the moment.
“Will you be okay sitting at the edge of the pool? I can maybe move the chair closer,” he offered as he powered down. It would be easier to dry off by powering back up to head home. And easier for him to remove his shirt now, which he did, along with his shoes and socks.
But there was definitely a reason, and that was so he could carefully lift Chad up from the cot, and then carry him as he stepped into the pool and slowly settled him down into the water.
“I’m going to work on his foot once I get the transfusion started,” he explained as he stood back up and reached for his shirt to dry his hands off. He gestured to a place at the edge of the pool for Alastor to sit, and worked on hooking up the tubes.
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Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2022 10:18 pm
Alastor stayed absolutely, perfectly still. An impressive feat, considering how much he always seemed to move, especially when he was feeling impatient
With Sessrumnir’s permission, he lowered the monitor but kept it next to him just to make sure it was ready if they needed it again.
“You’re the expert, I can be wherever you need me.” By the edge of the pool was easy enough, and if it got Chad in quicker, good. He could make sure he was safe if he was next to him. He moved when Michael did, and though he seemed to have a permanently worried expression on his face he still trusted Michael.
If something was wrong, he knew Michael would say something. But, he trusted Sessrumnir’s magic. Trusted Soleiyu’s supplies. Trusted Michael’s experience.
Trusted Chad’s resilience.
He didn’t really relax, but he was almost comfortable, despite everything.
Alastor didn’t doubt that Chad was going to make it through this. But it wasn’t just this that they had to worry about.
“He said his father wanted him dead,” he said after a few seconds. “He apologized to me. I don’t understand why anyone would want him dead. He’s a good kid. Someone should be looking out for him.”
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 5:41 am
“I can’t even begin to imagine how people like that think,” Michael muttered quietly as he worked on getting the tubes correctly established, and waited for it to start working before he settled back along the opposite side of the small pool. It wasn’t so large or deep that they had to worry about Chad slipping under the water while they weren’t looking, but Michael kept an eye on him anyway. There was nothing they could really do but wait.
And not beginning to imagine how people like that thought? Well, that wasn’t necessarily true. He knew it usually came down to things like money and power and greed. Or just being cruel on purpose. But he’d heard shortened versions of stories about Marius and everything surrounding his eventually adopted son, so Michael knew that Devyn was aware that people did cruel things for any number of reasons.
Why would someone want any innocent, good kid dead?
“But this goes beyond getting the police involved, or the courts. If his father is already connected to the Negaverse somehow, Chad will never be safe. I’m sure the Reids wouldn’t mind taking him in and looking after him, but if the Negaverse caught wind… I can’t let them get involved in this. I’ve already lost--”
Michael cut himself off, because he knew Devyn knew what he’d lost to the Negaverse. Soleiyu knew. Talking about it wasn’t going to do anything, so eventually he’ll figure out a way to ignore his impulse to say pretty much anything around Devyn and go back to bottling up irrelevant comments.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 6:10 am
Alastor nodded; he probably didn’t have to when he was sure Michael already knew, but it was a habit he didn’t seem to think he needed to break. He didn’t move much more than that, though; he didn’t want to accidentally jostle anything Michael had set up or do anything that might negatively impact Chad.
“I can probably help, just give me a little time,” Soleiyu insisted. He didn’t want to be near the water but he didn’t want to be away from them. Just in case.
“I’ve been making devices for some of the senshi that have shown up. You know, the others from other worlds.”
Alastor glanced at him with sudden interest, if only because that hadn’t really been a subject they’d shared before. He didn’t know how many others there were, didn’t know how many Soleiyu knew. Didn’t know if they’d had the same Chaos, or if they’d come here for the same reason, or if they had solutions he didn’t have, or–
“I didn’t have to for you, you fit in,” Soleiyu continued. “But some of the others, they’ve shown up with ears or tails that aren’t quite human. I might be able to make him something that changes his appearance a bit. Just for right now. It’s not going to change his DNA or his fingerprints, but it’d be better than contacts and dyeing his hair. But he’s not going to be going out for a while, not in this condition.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 6:47 am
Michael took a moment to glance down at Chad as he lay unconscious in the water. Even asleep, Michael couldn’t help but think he looked sad.
But now wasn’t the time to figure out how to make him happy. It was keeping him alive and off of the Negaverse’s radar.
“I hope it’s a good disguise,” Michael frowned as he settled down in the pool himself so it would be easier to take Chad’s foot and start working on patching it up. The water had washed away most of the blood, and the wound looked like it could get away with a few butterfly stitches instead of having to get involved more than that. Still, Michael took his time making sure the wound was cleaned and carefully dried before working on bandaging it up. Once out of the water he’d need new bandages, but this was good enough for now.
“Jeremy knows we were interested in keeping Chad safe. Once they find out he’s missing, they’ll probably launch an investigation. I’ll probably have to head back to keep track of everything there. He talked to the Reids too, so they’ll probably find out Chad is missing as well,” Michael sighed, because there was a lot he needed to work on covering up to protect them from getting too involved, especially if the Negaverse was involved already.
“Would you be comfortable staying here with him, Dev? I can leave you all the supplies I keep with me. I don’t know how soon I’ll get enough energy to come back… maybe a week or so?”
They’d left supplies and food with a long shelf life the last time they’d visited, on the off chance that there would be an emergency. It seemed like they hadn’t prepared for nothing, although Michael wished that they were just being paranoid.
“Why are other Senshi showing up on Earth? Do they have similar backgrounds as Devyn? Their world taken over by Chaos and… somehow they survived?” He couldn’t imagine the loneliness that came with being possibly the only one left. But he was glad Devyn was stubborn enough for them to meet.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 6:59 am
Briefly, Soleiyu gave Michael a look–as if he would have half-assed any project, but he was too busy being careful not to get his tail wet to make much of a show of it. If he was going to make a disguise, it would be perfect.
“I’ll stay for as long as I need to. But he’s going to be worried about Elliot,” he cautioned, “He’s going to want to see him sooner rather than later. He feels safe with the Reids.” Probably for more reasons than just because he liked Elliot. “I don’t want him to feel like he’s trapped up here. And if there’s an emergency, I’ll want to be able to get back. I should be able to manage it with my phone, right?” he asked, looking at Soleiyu.
“You might have to take a detour to Alastor but you can get back to Destiny City.”
Alastor was visibly guarded about this suggestion, but Soleiyu insisted, “It won’t take more than a moment if it comes to that. I did good programming but I can’t bypass everything. It’s still connected to your world.”
It wasn’t worth arguing about, and Devyn didn’t understand technology–much less Mauvivan technology–anyway. So, he nodded, and let himself be reassured by Soleiyu’s expertise.
He wasn’t sure how this whole investigation was going to go, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t involved. He had Chad, they could do whatever little Earth legal paper pushing things they needed. He understood that Michael had to go back–he had a life. Things to do. A job. He understood why he and Chad would be safest away from it all right now. He was at home on Sessrumnir, he didn’t mind being here.
…But he would miss Michael, he knew that already. What if something happened and Devyn wasn’t there to help? Would he eat? –What if he couldn’t sleep?
It made him feel a little agitated. Not mad, just antsy. Frustrated. Not at anyone. He just didn’t like the idea of having to be apart from him, not when they’d spent so much time together.
He told himself it was necessary, but still.
“I haven’t exactly been able to figure out why they’re showing up here. One was asleep for a long time. She didn’t know the Moon had fallen. She thought it was Chaos. The other one doesn’t call much but we’ve had a bit of a communication barrier. He’s adapting, but I don’t think he was ever around people much to begin with.”
“Can I talk to them?” Alastor asked, even if it was an idea for down the road.
…But, he had his power back. He needed to figure out what he could do to help his world. To help whoever was lost and suffering in these storms. To fix everything that had broken.
“I can set something up, I’m sure. But you’ll have to tell me if you figure anything out. I haven’t been able to solve any of it. Yet.”
Alastor nodded, brief and somewhat distracted. It was difficult to sit still, but. He was doing his best. He reached out again, once more to brush Chad’s hair out of his face. And, maybe to make sure he was still breathing. Just in case.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 7:10 am
“He might feel safe with them, but they’re not safe if he’s around,” Michael frowned, although maybe it was a little harsher than he intended.
It wasn’t as though he wanted Chad to be miserable or lonely, but after what happened with his father, and what happened with Paris, and what happened with Chris years before that, and what almost happened with Chad…
Michael took in a deep breath and let it out. He knew it wasn’t Chad’s fault, but he was also incredibly protective of Elliot. He’d basically helped take care of the kid since he was in kindergarten, back when he first moved to Destiny City and started working at Azure. And Elliot’s parents were important to him, too. Normal friends who he wanted to keep safe from the nonsense that was Destiny City and magical wars.
And maybe he was also a little uncomfortable about not knowing if Devyn would be okay. Sure, he knew his Wonder was safe, but things could still happen. He could slip and fall in the Springs, or fall down some stairs because he wasn’t paying attention to where he was going, or some freak storm could electrocute the building, or the roof could cave in after over a thousand years of no maintenance and flood the place.
Okay, maybe that was a little much, but still.
He was glad that Alastor was distracted by the topic of talking to other Senshi like him, who were basically removed from time, trapped on their own Worlds by Chaos. Maybe it would make it less obvious about his irritation as he worked on bandaging Chad’s foot -- which he would not be able to use to run, so would only put others at risk even more.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 7:19 am
Of course Michael had a point. It wasn’t just Chad, it was Elliot and his parents, too. He didn’t know them well but he knew them well enough to know that they were important to Michael. So, they were important to Devyn. They were his friends. Something like family, maybe. They looked out for each other. Trusted each other.
It was enough for Devyn. He wasn’t going to put them in trouble.
“We’ll figure it out,” Alastor promised. “They’ll be safe.”
Michael had lost enough already.
“Chad and I can lay low up here for a bit. I’ll make sure he’s looked after.” He knew they had some supplies up here, and he had snacks. He could make them last. There was plenty to do up here, even if Chad needed to rest. He could pick a room and help clean it up, maybe.
“Are you going to be okay on your own?” he asked, because he knew Michael could take care of himself! But he–well, he missed him already, and maybe Alastor wasn’t as good at hiding that as he’d have liked to be.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 7:33 am
Maybe Michael knew that when Devyn asked if he was going to be okay on his own, he was saying something to the equivalent of how he would miss him. And in all honesty, Michael was going to miss Devyn too. Even if he would be safe. Even if it was just going to be for a short time. Even if Devyn had a way to get back to Earth if there was an emergency…
Michael looked up at Alastor for a few moments, taking in his expression, the way his eyes tensed at the corners, or the way he frowned just slightly. Alastor was incredibly good at keeping his expression neutral, good at keeping his emotions tempered down so as not to influence others.
But even without the necklace that cheated for him and gave him an idea of how Devyn was feeling, Michael felt as though he could tell.
And maybe that was also why his lip twitched into a tiny smile.
“I’ll be okay, Dev,” he promised with as much sincerity as he could manage. He would be okay, especially knowing that Devyn and Chad were safe.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 7:40 am
Alastor drew in a breath, a deep breath, and then let it out rather dramatically. “All right,” he relented. “We’ll be all right up here. I know my way around, I’ll stay out of trouble. Will my phone still work from this far away?”
“No,” Soleiyu answered, “Not unless he’s powered up, too. But that’s not particularly convenient if you’re trying to send each other good night texts.”
He couldn’t find anywhere that was comfortable for him over here, he wanted to go back to the nice, dry office. “I might be able to make a pager or something. Maybe. I’ve got some experience with cell phones. But it’s not going to be immediate contact, there’s no way you’ll get good reception for phone calls out here.” Definitely no internet. “But a little text box, I think I can do that.”
The alternative was him playing middle man and sticking close to Michael to play pass along through his phone, but he wasn’t going to give that up. He had other fires to put out and emergencies to fix and people to praise him for being so good at everything.
“I’m going back to the office, let me see what I can come up with. I’m getting my hands out, so don’t be surprised. I don’t have to worry about giving off any aura, so just ignore me if you can. And call if anything’s going on with Chad or if we have to head back.”
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2022 7:43 am
Michael wasn’t entirely sure what Soleiyu meant by getting his hands out, but assumed it was a Mauvian thing and didn’t comment on it. His attention was primarily on making sure Chad’s foot wouldn’t be messed up once he healed.
And also Devyn.
Even though the situation was not ideal, the dramatics and worrying was charming. The deep sighs and assurances and all of that. Michael missed him already. Wished he could just spend their time together there, without worrying about a police investigation. Especially when one of the police had attempted murder.
He didn’t argue about Soleiyu going back to the office. Really, he was grateful for a moment alone (minus Chad) with Devyn before he had to head back to Earth with Soleiyu.
“Just remember I haven’t had a chance to clear everything. Try to stick to the main areas we’ve been. He’ll probably need to soak in the water for a little while every few hours, but make sure he gets plenty of sleep. You know, he’ll probably fit into some of Percy’s clothes,” Michael said thoughtfully to himself.
Okay, maybe Chad was still a bit smaller than Percy, but if any of Percy’s clothes was still around from when he first became a Knight, then maybe.
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