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 Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2023 2:17 pm
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As they walked, Devyn occasionally picked up a scrap of metal here and there. He didn’t know why, it wasn’t like he hoped to piece things back together. The more scraps they found, the more he dreaded what might be at the end of the path.
And yet, he kept an even expression. His heartbeat didn’t falter. He grew a bit quieter and struggled to appreciate the success of arriving at the island. Every broken shard, every scrape or dent along the way, was leading him down a path that seemed less and less likely to hold any good news.
He’d collected the pieces somewhat absentmindedly, stashing them in his pockets despite their sharpness. He hadn’t scratched himself, but the pieces weren’t comfortable to hold.
His expression didn’t change when they found the stasis pod. It was what he expected.
Prettier than he’d thought, but a mausoleum no less.
Devyn squeezed Michael’s hand in response, with less strength. It was a promise that he was fine. Unhappy. Grieving again for a friend he’d lost a long time ago. He was saddled with the realization that Lucien must not have made it off of Alastor. A thousand years was a long time to be in stasis, and with the damage his pod seemed to have taken…
He sighed, and stepped closer.
“Oh, my friend.” For a moment, he couldn’t bring himself to touch the pod. He knelt before it with a tired look on his face. It was still sealed. Bumped a bit from the damage it had taken, but in one piece.
So, Lucien was inside.
He didn’t think he needed to look.
There was no point in dreaming that maybe he’d used the pod as some sort of distraction; he doubted the thing would even run without Lucien inside of it. If he’d been able to, he’d have come back for it anyway. That it was here must mean he was, too.
The weight in his chest was heavy again, but he knew Michael would be watching so he didn’t rub it.
Gently, he placed a hand on the pod. He didn’t know why. He hadn’t gotten to say goodbye before. He didn’t know if he could, now.
He felt tired, suddenly, and if there were words to speak, he couldn’t find them. He brushed his thumb across the scratched and dented metal, mindful not to disturb the vines or flowers. He’d wanted to make sure Lucien had gotten a proper burial but there was something peaceful about this, like Alastor had crumbled around the pod to keep him safe in whatever way it could.
Even if it was just debris and vines tucking him in, it was something.
This was a better state than he’d expected, but it was no easier either way.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2023 2:35 pm
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Once more, Devyn found strength in Michael’s reassurance. He didn’t catch the first pulse of light, but he caught the second, and watched with scrutiny and interest. He hadn’t meant to do anything, he didn’t want to disturb Lucien. They’d come here to make sure he was at peace, and if not to give him that.
Disturbing his resting place was not what he had in mind.
The pod still had energy, though, didn’t it? It if was lighting up like this, it meant it hadn’t completely shut down. Though, he didn’t know what that meant in the grand scheme of things. He could see where a hand would fit, and there seemed to be indication enough that he should put his hand there--but he was reluctant.
If Lucien was inside, after all these years, why disturb him? If he’d perished–
This was the pod he’d traveled in, though. It had kept him in stasis for a while before, hadn’t it? Never a thousand years, but Alastor had sustained Devyn for that long, what if–
He brushed the flowers off of the pod with a sudden interest, and he tried to tell himself that there was no point in getting his hopes up. Just because a pod could keep someone in stasis didn’t mean that they were in any condition to be kept, but the fact that it was still responding…
Devyn faltered, briefly, and then decided that if bones were the worst thing he could find, it was worth it just to make sure. He placed his hand on the pod and held still, watching with furrowed brows and bated breath.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2023 2:59 pm
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Devyn clearly had the same thoughts Michael had, even if he was also skeptical. Just because it still reacted to Devyn’s touch didn’t mean that it could have sustained anyone for a thousand years, could it?
And yet, a couple seconds after Devyn placed his hand on the indention, the pod pulsed again with light. The edge of what was apparently the door shifted, and some kind of pressurized gas escaped with a quiet hiss.
Something with weight inside the pod shifted, like something being suspended was released and slumped down to the bottom.
But it didn’t sound like a pile of bones.
Michael had been carefully moving the flowers off the pod as well, hoping to assist Devyn with whatever he was planning. And when the door didn’t open all the way, Michael reached over to try and push the pillar that had crumpled over top of it out of the way.
“I’ll lift this if you want to try and pull it out,” Michael offered, already trying to hoist up the stone onto his shoulder and out of the way until Devyn could free the pod.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2023 3:35 pm
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When Devyn managed to pry the door to the pod open, what he found wasn’t a pile of bones. It could have been a corpse, but if they watched long enough, they would see the gentle rise and fall of the brown and white cat’s chest. Around his neck he wore a golden collar with the symbol of Alastor in the center.
“Has he been in stasis this whole time?” Michael couldn’t help but quietly ask out loud, completely perplexed by the turn of events. The Mauvian didn’t look like it had been laying on its side or curled up for the past thousand years, so Michael could only assume the stasis pod had somehow suspended him so as not to cause unnecessary damage to the body.
Then again, Michael had no idea how stasis pods even worked, so his guess didn’t really matter beyond trying to piece together the puzzle that had presented itself to them.
He’d moved closer to Devyn once the pillar had been lowered, but didn’t try to remove Lucien from the pod. Instead he took a quick look at the interior. There were claw marks in certain areas, particularly around where the hatch opened. It also looked like pieces of paneling had been removed, but then pieced back together, because the gouges in the metal didn’t always line up.
Michael didn’t want to say it out loud, but he suspected that Lucien might have been trapped inside, and with no way to call for help, must have put himself into stasis. However that worked.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2023 3:45 pm
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There was an expression of obviously disbelief on Devyn’s face, because despite his affinity to hope for the best, he couldn’t help but distrust something like this.
He sat down, cross-legged, on the cool floor as he maneuvered the Mauvian into his lap. He was gentle, and while he wasn’t any sort of doctor he seemed to be trying to take stock of any injuries. When he was younger, much younger, Lucien had given him a child-appropriate understanding of the features this pod had, but so much of that was lost to time that this still seemed impossible.
He was less interested in the pod and more interested in the Mauvian, though he had briefly noted the damage to the interior. With Lucien in his lap, he began to gently massage his fur, partly to wake him up and partly to stimulate any blood flow. He hadn’t noted any major injuries so far, but he was still being cautious.
He knew the device should have had its own safety protocols, to keep Lucien safe inside and to keep anything dangerous outside. If it had malfunctioned and he was trapped there, going into stasis until someone could find him was the smartest thing to do. But–
Devyn had been fooled by shadows before, and he had been blind to how impractical it was that they should manifest as the form of people he cared about. Over time, he’d grown used to this trickery. Things had been good for a while, he hadn’t had to worry about the shadows, or the Chaos. Now would have been a good time to strike. He was somewhere new after all–who knew if traces of it still lingered here?
If it resorted to the same tricks, he was vulnerable.
And yet, he still hadn’t sensed any Chaos. He should have brought some of Soleiyu’s readers, just to be safe.
It didn’t feel like a deception, though. If he let himself feel it, there was a pulling on his starseed.The familiarity was strong, but whether or not it was in his mind, he wasn’t sure. He’d played himself for a fool far more than once just by hoping.
He was safe, though. He knew Michael had his back. There was a lump in his throat he hadn’t realized until he was trying to swallow his concerns. The pressure in his chest was immense, but Devyn never seemed to waver under such things. He sat still, with one hand gently holding Lucien’s head, and the other alternating between stroking through his fur and gently massaging.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2023 3:51 pm
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At first, when Devyn moved Lucien into his lap, there was no change, no movement in response. But as Devyn gently massaged him and pet him, Lucien quietly started purring.
Maybe it was from stress. Maybe from being content. But it took a couple minutes before he actually stirred a bit more.
But waking wasn’t as though from some pleasant dream. Everything was heavy, except for the air which was uncomfortably thin. He couldn’t seem to move his body very well.
He could sense something, though. There was something more than just knowing. Instead, it was as though something was tied to him -- someone.
Lucien didn’t say anything as soon as his eyes had finally opened. Even in the darkness, it was difficult to get used to the light. He could tell he was being held, being cared for, and thus didn’t determine it prudent to immediately go on the defensive.
Instead, he glanced up just enough to see the outfit of the one holding him, and there was vague recognition there, at least at first. The bond he felt was too strong for him to not know who’d come for him.
In a tired voice that had clearly been unused for centuries, Lucien mumbled, “You snooped through my stuff, didn’t you?”
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2023 4:05 pm
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If it was a shadow taking the form of Devyn’s long lost friend, it made for a very convincing one. Devyn wouldn’t have imagined him purring from the beginning, he supposed. It made it feel a bit more believable.
But he wanted to believe, didn’t he?
It would have been so easy to deceive him. He had a family he cared for, people he loved. He wasn’t alone anymore.
And yet, it was so easy to fall back into the old habits of hoping.
Devyn didn’t mind how long it had taken him to wake up given how long he could assume he slept for.
The corner of his lip twitched into a little smile, but his brows remained furrowed. There was too much that could go wrong for him to relax, and he’d already spent so long trying to sort his memories and distinguish between the past and present. This was an anomaly within the carefully constructed walls he’d set up to separate them.
“I don’t think you can call it snooping when all I have to do is show up and doors start opening for me. When you put my symbol on everything, it’s practically a calling card.”
He glanced up at Michael with silent questions he didn’t dare ask out loud; he searched his eyes for answers, or approval, or maybe even just some reassurance.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2023 4:11 pm
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Michael was being cautious. He’d seen the way the shadows had tried to trick Devyn before. He’d experienced his own shadows when he’d been separated from Devyn in that cave. He’d been so convinced at the time. Had it not been for Devyn powering down and back up, Michael wasn’t sure if he wouldn’t have gone with the Chaos version of him.
For someone to survive this long -- someone who wasn’t a Senshi and tied to their world…
But then… Lucien had said his responsibility to Alastor was as much his as it was Devyn’s.
Michael caught Devyn’s gaze, and he shifted a bit closer so he could gently place a hand on Devyn’s back to offer him some silent support and reassurance. He knew what it was like to hope and get nothing in return, so this seemed…
Impossible. Or at least improbable.
Lucien didn’t respond much to Devyn other than a grunt of resignation. He’d closed his eyes for a bit longer, before finally opening them again so he could look around.
Any movement he made was immediately regretted, because his head throbbed, maybe from the thin air, maybe from the weight of gravity, maybe everything else.
But the longer he tried waking up, the more he realized…
He couldn’t remember… practically anything.
Basics he obviously knew. He knew Devyn’s face and what their bond felt like. Knew he was stubborn and probably searched for him despite his grief once he found out he was missing.
Why was he missing…? Something about… no, it hurt too much to think.
He was vaguely aware that there was someone else there with Devyn, and he turned his head enough to look up at him, but there was obvious confusion in his expression.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2023 4:40 pm
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Michael was, as always, an infinite relief to Devyn. He breathed a little easier with the contact, and continued to gently smooth his hand across Lucien’s fur.
There was no need to rush conversation, that was already a tangled web that was going to be far too complicated to plan how to sift through. He recalled easily how Michael needed to tell him that his memories were wrong. That everyone he loved was dead and gone.
He didn’t know what state Lucien, or his memories, would be in. He didn’t feel the need to introduce him to such concepts in this state. He might have been likely to have a heart attack, Devyn didn’t know, but he’d rather be careful about all of this.
“What’s that look for, haven’t you ever seen a Knight of Jupiter? Be kind, he’s very important to me. He helped me get up here. He’s very clever, and he’s been taking good care of me. I haven’t given him an easy time of it, though.”
He continued to stroke Lucien’s fur, and was tempted to take off his sash and try to make a little pillow for him.
“You’ve been in there for a while, haven’t you? Don’t strain yourself. You can take it easy, you’re safe. Are you hurt anywhere?”
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2023 4:49 pm
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Had he been in there for a while? He couldn’t remember. Was he hurt? Lucien shook his head -- or started to, but the movement was too jarring. “I don’t believe so,” he said instead.
He wasn’t sure what to make of everything Devyn said. He’d obviously seen a Knight of Jupiter before -- hadn’t he? He was too tired to think, but--
“There is no threat?” he asked suddenly, and shifted as though he had every intention of getting up from Devyn’s lap. He looked around, his ears twitching as he tried to pick up any sound.
“There was… something. Darkness. Shadows. I… I’m having trouble recalling…”
As Lucien spoke, Michael rubbed at Devyn’s back. He would have kissed him for his comments and praise, but would just have to do that later.
“We haven’t seen anything. The Chaos -- the shadows that were taking over Alastor is gone now, as far as we know. Devyn was able to defeat it,” he said, but only because he wanted Lucien to know there wasn’t any threat. At least none they were aware of. He couldn’t sense anything.
“What do you think? Should we head back early, or make camp and rest some?” he asked Devyn. He didn’t want to just go back now. Not when there was so much more to explore. But he also wanted to prioritize Lucien’s health and getting him settled.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2023 5:37 pm
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Devyn leaned back against Michael’s hand; he hadn’t introduced him as Sessrumnir for obvious reasons, and he couldn’t introduce him as his husband for the same. He didn’t want to deceive Lucien, but he already seemed like he was a bit out of it.
“He gives me too much praise. I had many people helping me, I couldn't have done it alone. Chaos spread here, it did a lot of damage before we stopped it. But it’s gone now. It’s been more than half a year and there hasn’t been any trace of it. I’ve been looking, but I think Alastor is healthier than ever.”
He couldn’t really remember the last time he’d spoken to Lucien. He’d been tired of everything. Going through the motions but feeling next to nothing. He would have worked himself to death if Alastor would have let him die. He tried to be a better version of himself, tried to imitate who he was before he lost Percy, but it was so much work. He’d felt like a hollow shell, burning more energy than he could make.
Things were easier now, but he didn’t want to explain that he’d had centuries to grow, and change. He’d had time to fall in love again–albeit with Percy’s reincarnation. He had Atticus in his life, now, but–
He’d have to tell him that Marius had passed.
Devyn couldn’t decide on a mood to have. He was happy to have a friend here, someone he knew. Someone he missed. The Mauvian he was bonded with–was here, and alive.
But maybe that wasn't so odd. Alastor had spared him, was there not some way it spared Lucien, too? This world was his responsibility as well, wasn’t it?
“We’ve been up here for a while and haven’t felt anything odd. Don’t strain your memory. You’re safe, that’s the important thing. Are you hungry? I’ve got snacks.”
He looked over his shoulder up at Michael. “Maybe we should stay up here for a little while. Just to catch up on things, and make sure he’s safe to travel.”
They hadn’t been planning an extended stay; the only supplies they had were what they had packed up in their subspace, and he’d been so preoccupied with getting up here that he hadn’t really thought about how they were going to get back down, yet.
They’d probably need to head to Earth, but that was a lot to take in.
…Less than an empty Alastor, though. There were too many changes and too few people here for Lucien not to be able to piece together things he might not have been ready for.
Sessrumnir would be no better, he supposed.
Up here, on this island, they were away from the years of destruction and devastation Alastor had faced. Maybe it would buy them a little time to ease him into the conversations they needed to have about everything.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2023 5:56 pm
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Again, Lucien stared at the Jupiter Knight with bewilderment. There was something that he couldn’t quite figure out, but he felt like the answer was right in front of him.
Devyn’s reassurance was somewhat reassuring, though. Even if he was frustrated with his memories being so jumped and… just gone. It was unsettling and he didn’t like it, but there wasn’t much he could do.
“Thirsty, I think,” he admitted, his voice still rough from disuse. “Half a year…?” he repeated. That didn’t seem right. Had it really been that long?
But something about that didn’t seem right, either.
Devyn, at least, seemed to be in much better spirits than --...
Lucien groaned in frustration and pressed his face against Devyn’s leg. “Not straining my memory is difficult when I can’t remember anything,” he grumbled, but now that he was more awake, he shifted so he could try and stretch a bit, although he tried remaining in Devyn’s lap as he did so.
Michael was very aware that mentioning anything about who he was could cause problems, or at least confusion. He didn’t want to stress Lucien out any more than he already seemed to be.
But while Lucien had his face hidden, Michael leaned close to press a kiss to Devyn’s temple.
“That works for me,” he promised, and gave Devyn another gentle rub on his back before pushing himself up to stand. While doing so, he pulled a blanket from subspace. It wasn’t very big, but it was enough to dry off or keep warm if needed.
With it, he kept it folded and offered it to Devyn with a nod towards the Mauvian to indicate that he meant to hopefully help Lucien be a bit more comfortable.
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